Metamorphosis

After the 1985 movie Cocoon proved to be more than just a story for the older generation — and after it had won two Oscars — author and creator David Saperstein penned his New York Times bestseller and two subsequent  novels following the Geriatric Brigade on their interstellar journey. Be sure to follow the series to its exciting and thought provoking conclusion in Metamorphosis and Butterfly!

Learn more about David Saperstein and his Cocoon journey in January’s addition of AARP!

Sweet Stories and Furry Friendships: An Interview with Laurie Hyman

By Piper Fialkoff

“If you have an essence of truth in any of your writing, that’s how you grab your reader. That’s how they know to trust you,” says Laurie Hyman, author of the Sweet Tales series. She follows her own advice to a T, filling her stories with universal truths that are relevant to those young and old, while still maintaining a charming outlet through which to speak.

Laurie started writing when she was a little girl, finding she had a flare for words whenever it came time to write letters or birthday cards.

“I would write these humungous cards! It was my trademark!”

It wasn’t until she started taking creative writing classes at the New School, however, that she really started to let her writing blossom. She was told to write what she knew, and what she knew was that animals had more of a story to tell than they were letting on. So she settled down and started to spin her tales.

“I usually write in the late morning or night and begin a free write—there are times my mind takes off and I just keep on writing, sometimes over seven pages at once. I’m amazed and delighted by the burst of creative energy that occurs, but of course I have to go back to see if anything I wrote makes sense!”

The first story in Sweet Tales was based upon Laurie herself, who at the age of six lost her father. It’s hard to process such a horrific event at such a young age, but Laurie was able to cope with the loss with the help of a friend; namely, a stray cat, Twinkles, that ran to her side and kept nuzzling her until she could finally smile instead of cry. It’s stories like these that leave a testament to just how powerful the presence of an animal can be, and Laurie was keen to add more experiences into her book.

“One time, Brittney (an inquisitive kitten in the first book) led me into the woods, and I saw this majestic woodchuck — who actually lived in our woodshed — birds, and all these other animals, and it inspired the idea for the Council of Elders. Then there was Jerry, a chipmunk who Brittney would bring into the house to play with. There was one time I woke up to something furry by my feet, and noticing both cats were by my head, I drew back the covers and there was Jerry!”

While the animals that surrounded her gave voices to the characters she wrote, she was also granted never-ending support from friends and family.

“Once the program had ended [at the New School], life afforded me the time and space at our country home to review my written material and begin once again to just focus on my writing.  At that point, coincidently I was blessed with meeting Dorie Riendeau. We became a perfect team – with her specialty as an English teacher, and our shared love of cats, we became fast friends.”

The pair worked together on the first and second Sweet Tales, bouncing ideas off of each other, and growing what had been a simple writing exercise into a story that could be shared with the world, with Riendeau acting as an editor on both books.

There is such a beautiful connection between humans and animals, one that is often overlooked in lives so full of constant motion and distraction. We are offered glimpses into these bonds when we see animals offering support in nursing homes, dogs risking their lives to save their owners, or even wild birds traveling miles once a year to see an old acquaintance. We see the connections between animals themselves in those viral videos of unusual animal friendships. The Sweet Tales series offers a delightful glimpse into these relationships, with Laurie Hyman wonderfully narrating the stories of friendship, bravery, and the never-ending quest for the truth.

Thanks for Your Support!

We hoped you enjoyed the free book giveaway! Make sure you stay on the lookout for more free books in the coming months! Also, we have fresh interviews coming your way!

Last Day for Free Books!

Today is the last day to grab a free Kindle copy of any of these four books! Lost Treasures of the Heart, Cocoon, Rosemary Potatoes & Her Three Bears, and Welcome to Wompkee Wood can be yours today!

David Saperstein: Emerging from the Cocoon

David Saperstein, author of the Cocoon series, Evil on Earth, and co-author to the Christmas books, has written an article for the January issue of AARP Magazine. In it, he discusses growing older, but never slowing down; accepting the reward of retirement, but seeing it as the start of a new chapter of his life, rather than the end to a story. Check out this poignant read, and let us know your thoughts!

And More Free Books!

Grab your free Kindle copy of Cocoon today! Hurry; tomorrow is the last day to snag any of our 4 free books!

Antarean space travelers return to Earth to where their once thriving settlement, on the now submerged continent we call Atlantis, had been destroyed by the impact of an asteroid.   Their mission is to retrieve and revive a unit of Antarean diplomats, cocooned in suspended animation, for future use on Earth.  They find that the planet’s humanoid inhabitants have emerged from a primitive, tribal, nomadic existence to a position of planetary dominance.

More Free Books!

We’re continuing on with our Kindle giveaway! Pick up your copy of Lost Treasures of the Heart, Cocoon, Rosemary Potatoes & Her Three Bears, and Welcome to Wompkee Wood until Saturday!

Architect Jonathan West is on a big project when he learns his wife, Patrice, has been unfaithful. On a fishing trip in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, he’s wondering what to do about his marriage when he sees a ghost ship. On it is a spectral woman, gazing at him with a plea in her eyes.

Jonathan buys a house on the beach near the sighting and finds an old sea chest washed up there. Its contents, which include a miniature portrait, reveal it belonged to Kate Russell, captain of the Royal Thomas, which sank in 1721.

It’s the same woman Jonathan saw on the ghost ship, and her journal describes a life of piracy. As past and present collide, he starts seeing her everywhere, waking and sleeping. With a haunting desperation, he senses she wants something from him. If he can figure out what it is and find a way to help her, he believes her spirit will finally rest.

Free Books!

 

For the next 4 days, pick up your FREE Kindle copy of Rosemary Potatoes & Her Three Bears!

Rosemary Potatoes and her Three Bears is an enchanting new series from Terry and Kim Hagerty that follows charming Rosemary and her best friends Brenda, Billie, and Brutus.

Rosemary Potatoes & Her Three Bears takes young readers on the charming adventures of an imaginative little girl and her three stuffed bears. To Rosemary, Brenda, Billie and Brutus are very real (perhaps even more than she knows), and together they learn more and more about themselves and how to get along with others.

Free Books?!

Let’s kick off the New Year with our first round of giveaways! For the next 5 days, you can download a free Kindle copy of Lost Treasures of the Heart, Cocoon, Rosemary Potatoes & Her Three Bears, and Welcome to Wompkee Wood! 

Hurry! This offer is only good until this Saturday!

New Year, New Content!

Red Sky is gearing up for an exciting 2019 with new books already in the works! We are so excited to share these new titles, especially our newest children’s book, Rosemary Potatoes & Her Three Bears,  and a book to always keep you in the Christmas spirit, A Christmas Performance! We will also be releasing four more books from the Avalon Web of Magic series, so stay tuned for new release information.

Love our author interviews? Have questions of your own that you would like answered? Let us know in the comments on Facebook, tweet us @redskyauthors, or comment on our blog!