This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Mark will be awarding a signed eBook gift card (ePub, Mobi or MP3 audio book) to a randomly drawn commenter at each stop and a Grand Prize of not only the ebook giftcard signed by Mark, but a limited edition cover poster autographed by both the author and the illustrator will be awarded to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Ideas swirl in my head and pop out based on the season and the weather, but most especially the targeted audience. For years I worked as a freelance writer on topics ranging from Business to Pizza to Computers to Modern Brewery Techniques. All the while I kept writing fiction and began performing stories.
In performance storytelling, you encounter a diverse range of listeners. They can be toddlers, elementary school age or middle schoolers, and then there are families and adults who show up. Each event calls for a different set of stories and learning how to aim the right story at the right time is a real challenge.
Cinderella Spinderella emerged from this scenario. One summer I was performing in Boston for a diverse audience of listeners of all ages and colors. The same summer I was in Newport performing for a group of youngsters with severe disabilities. I wanted to create a story that could connect both groups—even though they weren’t in the same space at the same time.
I tried “Jack and the Beanchair” and it was fun, but challenging to get a wheelchair up and down the beanstalk. I tried “Little Red Riding Chair” which almost worked, but the chair kept getting stuck in the woods.
Finally, we hit on “Cinderella Spinderella” which was perfect because, as the Fairy Godmother says, “You can’t dance in glass slippers. But a girl in a wheelchair can rock those shoes!”
When it came time to illustrate the book, we decided rather than picking one Cinderella, we’d use ebook technology to allow the reader to choose. Is she Black? White? Asian? Hispanic? Or from the Indian Subcontinent? You can pick the prince too.
One word of warning. It’s an illustrated ebook, not an app or a game. So when you go back to re-read the story, aside from the characters of Cindrella and the Prince changing, you won’t see a lot of other differences. After all, should a story change just because the character looks different?
Again, the Fairy Godmother answers, “It doesn’t matter what you look like. What matters is who you are.”
In this story, Cinderella is a beautiful, kind, intelligent and hard working young woman with a smile on her face and a smile in her heart.
I know readers will love it!
About the Author:
A more detailed bio can be found at Light Publications.
The book can be purchased in the following locations and formats:
Digital Editions
Kindle edition: http://www.amazon.com/Cinderella-Spinderella-ebook/dp/B00EIHEPN4/
iBooks Edition: http://georiot.co/2KDN
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Mark_Binder_Cinderella_Spinderella?id=CSteAAAAQBAJ
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/cinderella-spinderella/wpbyU7rxY0-cxMlT89G9rA
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cinderella-spinderella-mark-binder/1116518295
Audio Book
iTunes: http://georiot.co/3VlL
Audible.Com: http://www.audible.com/pd/Kids/Cinderella-Spinderella-Audiobook/B00F4DMLWI/
Amazon.Com: http://www.amazon.com/Cinderella-Spinderella/dp/B00DPZ5I36/
Google Play Audio: https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Mark_Binder_Cinderella_Spinderella_Single?id=Bwhmzetkkfqrkyxzpvyodhu7i5m
Thank you for hosting
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