The Issaquah Press - News, Sports, Classifieds in Issaquah, WA » Book Reviews

Rust eye gets last laugh

David Hayes — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:00:28 +0000

Teased teacher turns nickname into idea for children’s book

Steve Gritton, of Issaquah, poses with his latest children’s book ‘The Trouble with Sisters and Robots.’ Gritton wrote and illustrated (above left) the book. By David Hayes

Writers just never know where inspiration will strike for their next great novel. For children’s illustrated book author Steve Gritton, it came from an unfortunate incident while cutting shelving for a closet.

“I got a tiny sliver of metal in my eye,” said the Issaquah resident who teaches at Lake Hills Elementary School in Bellevue. “I didn’t even realize it was there until the next day, when my eye got all red and puffy.”

His sister warned him to get it removed before it rusted. Gritton said, sure enough, by the time he got to the doctor, the sliver of metal had rusted.

“Being a school teacher, once word got around about the incident, everyone on the staff started calling me ‘rust eye,’” Gritton said. “I thought that would be a neat name for a robot.”

Now, three books later, the little germination of an idea has been published into the children’s tale, “The Trouble With Sisters and Robots.”

After self-publishing his first three books, Gritton’s latest work was picked up by Albert Whitman & Co. But why a company out of Morton Grove, Ill.?

“I actually submitted the story to six publishers and they were the first to respond,” Gritton admitted.

But he said he believes the end product was better this time, as he had both an editor to help develop the story and an art director who helped flesh out the images.

“The Trouble With Sisters and Robots” takes the age-old tale of contentious siblings, throws in an out-of-control, magical robot with a king of Midas touch, that turns everything it touches into metal, and a life lesson of the older brother that finally has to turn to his annoying, little sister for help in reigning in the robot gone amok.

A teacher since 2003, Gritton originally earned a degree in college in illustrating. Having never completely abandoned his love of drawing, Gritton self-published his first book, “The Kandy Witch” and followed up with “Plain Fish” and “…and then I…” All three were offered up on his Web site.

The experience was different with his latest book

“The first thing they did was chopping 400 words,” Gritton said.

However, an editor helped him think of saying things a different way.

“The editor-in-chief said the story was OK, but got me to think of what to do to get it to the next level,” he said.

In addition, Gritton had to negotiate to stay on as his own illustrator.

While he doesn’t have a running tally of how sales are going, Gritton finds it exciting to track purchases occurring in locales around the world including India, Singapore and Australia.

With two kids of his own, ages 12 and 14, Gritton said he is always listening to the way they talk and watching the silly things they do, hoping for inspiration for his next tale.

“The fun thing about it is I’m writing constantly, tinkering with ideas,” he said.

Would he ever consider graduating from children’s books to novels?

“I don’t know if I have the attention span long enough for novels,” he joked.

David Hayes: 392-6434, ext. 237, dhayes@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Librarian pens second steamy novel, ‘Promise Me’

Kathleen R. Merrill — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:00:45 +0000

Deborah Schneider, author of 'Promise Me', sits beside her favorite statue in Issaquah, that of late City Clerk Linda Ruehle, on the corner of Rainier Boulevard and East Sunset Way. By Greg Farrar

Upon meeting Deborah Schneider, you wouldn’t expect her to be the author of a steamy romance novel. But you would be wrong.

And if you thought steamy romance novel summed up either her first or her second and most recent book, “Promise Me,” you’d be wrong again.

She had shopped “Promise Me” around years ago, but no one wanted it until she sent it to small publisher The Wild Rose Press, which is owned by women. They wanted to buy the book, but asked for it to be sexier, Schneider said.

“I didn’t think I could, but I guess I did,” she said during a recent interview, blushing at the mention of the racy scenes. “You never know what you can do until someone asks you to do it.”But the book is about much more. It’s the story of a strong woman who doesn’t like to take no for an answer, who wants to stand on her own in the world.

“It’s about tasting life. It’s a book about appetites,” Schneider said. “She’s hungry for life, color.

“I think that’s how we feel as women, starved for experiences and adventure,” she added. “I think that’s why we read, for the experiences and the characters.”

These characters — the tough, but soft Amanda Wainwright and the soft, but tough Samuel Calhoun — will stick with you for a while.

“I’m more interested in the woman’s journey,” Schneider said of her novel’s main character. “But I think both characters had a good story arc. I want to see them grow and change.

The story, a thriller and mystery set against the backdrop of a mining town in Montana, will pull you in and keep you intrigued and guessing, with its unexpected twists and turns, until the last paragraph.

Schneider studied American history, and did a lot of research into the Secret Service, which didn’t start guarding the president until 1901. Before that, the branch of the federal Department of the Treasury protected the country’s currency; agents investigated crimes involving money more than anything else.

Schneider, of North Bend, knows a few things about books. She’s the public programming coordinator at the King County Library System; she works at the service center in Issaquah.

“The first 35,000 words are hard, then the fun starts,” she said of writing.

Find “Promise Me” at your local library or on Amazon.com. Learn more about the author at her Web site — www.debschneider.com.

Kathleen R. Merrill: 392-6434, ext. 227, or editor@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Journey to new territory

David Hayes — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:20:15 +0000

One could say Laurence Moroney is quite the prolific writer, having authored 14 books since 2000. However, unless you’re as much of a computer gearhead as he, you’ve probably missed most of his technology guides.

“With technology guides, you get started at the bottom of the food chain, writing about topics publishers are having a hard time filling,” said Moroney, a freelancer with Microsoft since 2005. “Then, once they start selling, you can pick and choose the topics you want.”

For his latest project, Moroney has chosen to switch genres from technology guide to science fiction. His first book in a planned trilogy of teen novels, “The Fourth World,” came out in October.

With two children, 9 and 12, Moroney decided he wanted to write the kind of book they’d like to read.

“My daughter, Claudia, is a ’tween, and she’s read the whole Harry Potter and Twilight sagas,” Moroney said. “So, ‘The Fourth World’ should appeal to that audience.”

The idea of a Harry Potter in space has been percolating in his head since 2004.

“It came down to five years of procrastinating and two months of furious writing,” he admitted.Being careful to only take the barest of elements from the Harry Potter plot (four main characters at an eccentric school), Moroney wanted to steer his tale away from the problems he perceives in the other series.

“Many books and movies in the genre tend to be dark, depressing and moody,” he said. “I tried for a lighter, lighthearted and funny take.”

“The Fourth World” follows four multinational and cultural youths as they progress through a secret school run by the government at Area 51, aided by aliens who may have a hidden agenda of their own.

When Moroney signed up in college to study computer programming, he was required to take pure math and physics. As it turns out, he enjoyed physics the most and he said he hopes his love for the subject shines through in his sci-fi series.

With an insight into the difficulties of the publishing world, Moroney decided to form his own company, Destiny-Press. It allowed his book to come out online, registered to just him with his own identifiers, not some huge, anonymous publisher that would end up destroying any unsold copies.

Before the book could be published, however, he needed to know he was on the right track. He submitted the finished text last Christmas Eve to his harshest critic and subject matter expert, his daughter.

“She was the first to read it,” he said. “When she came in crying over the ending, I knew I had a good book.”

Claudia even went the extra mile to use it for her book report at school, helping to create a buzz for the novel among her peers who wanted to read it next.

Moroney knows the average sales for a book, excluding the big-named, best-selling authors is about 500 copies. His previous technology guidebooks have all performed above average, selling anywhere from 900 to tens of thousands. His book “Silverlight 2” was the No. 2 best-selling book in the U.S. on the Microsoft Web application and No. 1 in Japan.

“They’re great if you want to be an overnight thousandaire,” he joked.

Unlike the guides, which have such a short shelf life due to continual developing technology, he said he hopes “The Fourth World” will have legs, also reaching that 500-copy mark.

Where to get it

‘The Fourth World’

By Laurence Moroney

$11.99

www.destinypress.net

David Hayes: 392-6434, ext. 237, dhayes@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Local author’s book debuts after 25 years in the making

Kathleen R. Merrill — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:00:12 +0000

Zoe Escobar

Issaquah resident Zoe Escobar didn’t plan a career in writing. But she didn’t plan for her first book — “Beyond Cuckoo’s Nest, The Art and Life of William Sampson Jr.” — to take 25 years to write either.

“I’ve always enjoyed writing, but currently, I’m relating to Winston Churchill’s quote: Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then, it becomes a mistress, and then, it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is that, just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him out to the public.”The book is a large, beautifully bound and covered coffee table book about Sampson’s art. His name might not be familiar, but once you see his photo, you might remember him from the films “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” or “The Outlaw Josie Wales.”

The book is one that will capture and hold your attention, if not for the gorgeous art, then for the story of how it came to be.

The Press asked Escobar some questions about her book last week as she prepared for a book signing at The Grange.

What made you decide to publish a book about Sampson’s art?

When I was traveling with him, he often stopped to visit friends, many of whom had purchased his paintings before he became famous as an actor. They all proudly insisted on showing me his work. After realizing his work was all in private collections (except the two he donated to the Creek Museum in Okmulgee, Okla.), the only way to share them with others was to photograph them and publish a book.

What do you love most about his art?

Every picture tells a story. You can clearly see what the participants in the picture feel.

What can or should people learn from his art?

He painted with his own sense of what it was to be a Native American, taking as his subjects his ancestors, the land, the hard days and opportunities seen by a Creek Indian in the 20th century

Is there a special memory about him that you’d like to share?

When you were introduced to Sonny, his conversation with you would be about you. He showed genuine curiosity about you and your life. And if 10 years passed before you saw him again, even if it was in a different location than when you first met, he would remember you, your name and what you were talking about 10 years before. He was charming with a great sense of humor. He was always willing to share what he had.

Did he know about this book before he passed away?

In 1980, I asked Sonny if I could do the book and he said, “You bet.” He called many original holders and asked them if they would participate. Everyone he called said yes, so I traveled to Oklahoma with my Hasselblad camera and lights to take the photographs. Sonny passed away in 1987.

How long have you lived in Issaquah? Why did you move here?

I moved here from Hollywood in 1989. Phil Lucas (1942-2006) invited me up to work on a few documentaries that he was working on. I found the work on Native American documentaries personally rewarding and decided to relocate here.

What made you decide to write? Are you a career writer? Did you want to be?

After taking the photographs, I was told if it was going to be a book it needed words. It took me nearly 25 years to put the words together.

Have you written other books? Are you working on any upcoming ones?

This is my first book. I currently have no plans. I was hoping to publish Norma Jean Bible’s manuscript “Beloved Brother,” her memoir of growing up with Sonny, her younger brother. Norma passed away last month, so I don’t know if that will happen now. However, I was able to quote her in my book.

Where can people purchase this book?

‘Beyond Cuckoo’s Nest, the Art and Life of William Sampson Jr.’ can be purchased online at www.beyondcuckoosnest.com and at the Grange. It’s also listed on Amazon.

If you go

Zoe Escobar book signing

11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Dec. 5

The Grange

145 N.E. Gilman Blvd.

392-6469

New novel ‘PW2’ explores the end of the beginning in 2012

David Hayes — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:01:15 +0000

Author MC MIller displays his three novels, including his most recent release, ‘PW2: 2012 The End of the Beginning.’ By David Hayes

MC Miller couldn’t have published his new novel at a more fortuitous time to exploit the hype involving 2012 and the end of the Mayan calendar.

Hollywood rolled out the blockbuster disaster flick “2012” Nov. 13 and not long before that Miller’s novel, “PW2: 2012 The End of the Beginning,” debuted.

Not all apocalyptic tales are necessarily about the end of the world.

“The ending of ‘PW2’ pivots on a theory no one takes seriously,” Miller explained.

What “PW2” doesn’t have is a convoluted tale of a main character who must convince everyone that he’s found evidence the end of the world is approaching. Rather, Miller’s protagonist has discovered something strange, and isn’t quite sure what it means, but it sure goes a long way to explain the weird things happening.

An ex-physics professor has developed an unlikely theory involving a 13.7-billion year countdown, Miller explained, that somehow has something to do with the breakdown of expected probabilities. Miller equates it to a science fiction tale along the lines of “Minority Report,” which at its essence was a “what if” yarn.

“‘PW2’ is for people who want a character-driven story beyond the typical treatment of the subject,” Miller said.

Where does he fall in the hype or hysteria of the real-life end-of-the-world scenario of 2012?

“I’m more of an agnostic when it comes down to it,” Miller admitted. “I don’t necessarily believe it. I’m open to hearing any evidence there may be. But from what I’ve seen, we might make the world end more as a self-fulfilling prophecy, more than because of anything the Mayans did.”

To write his novel, Miller thoroughly researched the subject, as he’s done for his other books. He said he figures he gathers so much background information, that he uses maybe one-tenth of it in the stories.

“PW2” is Miller’s third self-published novel. His first was “Islands of Instability,” a techno thriller with the McGuffin (a plot element the drives the narrative in a work of fiction) of the possibility of a 500-pound bomb developed into the size of a microdot. His second novel, “Uberwoot!” journeyed into black-comedy territory, as it featured a man who is willed a telepathic dog.

Both were written while he worked on “PW2” the past four years. The leap from computer programming to writer was an even longer trip. The former computer systems analyst took quite a detour before returning to his first love of writing.

“I used to write when I was a kid on a manual typewriter,” said Miller, now 54. “But then, the Apple IIc came out and it was a revolution in editing and word processing.”

But a funny thing happened on his way to trying to get his stories published in Analog Magazine (which impressed editor Ben Bova enough that he sent a personalized rejection letter saying how impressed he was with his style and encouraged him to not give up trying). Rather than hitting the road with his feet running using his new Apple IIc, Miller’s inquisitive nature kicked in.

“I began tinkering with it,” he said. “My basic, analytical nature, combined with my communication skills, made it natural I’d become fascinated with the computer’s inner workings.”

This combination of skills became invaluable for IBM. Miller found himself thrust away from his first love onto a four-decade tangent into high technology.

IBM moved him from Los Angeles to the Seattle area in 1998. He’s lived in Klahanie for the past five years. Helping him promote his novels is his wife, Debora, who works in sales in her day job. And what does she think of his venture into the unknown territory of writing and publishing?

“She’s the one who encouraged it,” Miller said. “I was blown away by the fact. It’s actually part of the fun.”

Miller is already deep into writing his next novel. Proving again that he writes what interests him, rather than stay mired in one genre, his next novel is geared more toward a young adult audience. With “PW2” getting more attention, he’s got plenty of ideas extrapolated from real life to keep writing well into the future.

Unless, of course, the world does end in 2012.

Issaquah is a stop on book’s state ghost tour

David Hayes — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:00:57 +0000

Ghost investigation shows are saturating the television airwaves, catering to a growing fascination with hauntings.

For those wishing to find locations for the nearly departed in Washington state, a new guide has been published to lead the way — “Washington’s Haunted Hotspots.”

This is author Linda Moffitt’s first foray into writing nonfiction. The stay-at-home mom from the Olympia area researched most of the locations through the Internet, including here in Issaquah.

“Pickering Barn I found off the Internet and learned more through word of mouth,” she said. “I did take several of these trips myself.”

In addition to describing the history of the barn belonging to the Pickering pioneer family, Moffitt included how the structure, rebuilt to match the original, gained its ghostly reputation.

“Abbie and William Castro were killed by a Snohomish Indian attack, and long ago, a young boy drowned in the local creek,” she wrote. “Electronic voice phenomenon (EVPs), orbs and electrical malfunctions have been reported on the property in and near the barn.”

Another local urban legend Moffitt wrote about was a ghostly sighting along Maple Valley Highway 169. A teenage girl can be spotted through a sudden appearance of fog. Reports are she is looking for a locket she lost after a car accident and she needs a ride home.

Moffitt admits she wasn’t able to track down every ghost story, especially if she hadn’t heard of it yet. She was surprised to learn about the successful ghost investigations that were performed in Issaquah’s Ankhasha’s Consignments (now Ankhasha’s Temple of the Western Gate) and the Depot Museum.

But she has mapped out dozens of locations throughout the state to take numerous weekend pilgrimages to reported haunted hot spots.

Moffitt said her fascination with the afterlife began at an early age, when her family used to go camping.

“My dad used to take us camping and tell us horror stories,” she said. “So, ever since I was young, I’d search out haunted locations. I’d stay a while, learn its story and move on to the next.”

Sometimes, she’d drag her father around to locations. Now, she brings her husband.

“He thinks it’s romantic,” she added.

So, has she ever seen any of the ghosts she’s written about? No. But her husband and son had a strange experience in Index.

“We went to the Bush House. The batteries in the camera suddenly all failed and our son began freaking out,” Moffitt recalled. “He was pointing at a second story window, crying. My husband said he heard someone whisper ‘look at me.’”

As soon as they got back in the car and left, their son immediately calmed down.

The lack of any of her own sightings hasn’t slowed her down. In the wake of this book’s success, Moffitt is already working on a follow-up book about haunted locations in the Southwest.

‘Washington’s Haunted Hotspots’

Linda Moffitt

$14.99

Send comments or suggestions to www.lindamoffitt.com.

Author taps into the teen scene with ‘Giving up the V’

Chantelle Lusebrink — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:01:29 +0000

Serena Robar

With a newly released book, “Giving up the V,” author Serena Robar, 40, of Issaquah is hoping to conquer the sticky conversation about teen sex.

Teens talk about it with friends, hear about it at school and see it on TV and in movies. So, why not address it in a book that can help parents and young women talk about virginity together? Robar asked.

Far from her first book — she began writing in 2003 — “Giving up the V” is the first where she’s tackled a really serious issue. But she hasn’t lost the fun, quirky, irony-filled prose she’s known for her from her other teen books.

In her latest book, May Valley High School student Spencer Davis has just turned 16 and as a right of passage, her forward-thinking mother takes her for her first gynecological exam. But Spencer is conflicted about the situation. She repeatedly tells her mother she doesn’t want to have sex, is embarrassed by the prospect of the pill and doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. But one day, Benjamin Hopkins enters her life and her emotions turn upside-down.

In an e-mail question-and-answer interview Robar explained her new book and its importance.

Q: Why is writing important to you?

A: I have stories to tell and writing them down seemed the best way to share them with as many people as I could. And I get to work from home. Big bonus.

Q: Why did you choose teen issues?

A: I watch my 15-year-old daughter and see that things haven’t changed since I was her age. There are still bullies, teen sex, first loves, etc. Writing about teen issues resonates with me most.

Q: How do you keep current on teen issues, trends and speech patterns?

A: I have a teenage daughter and I love listening to her with her friends. Next year, she will be old enough to drive and I won’t be privy to all the gossip anymore. Hmm.

Q: How did you get the idea for your latest book?

A: I heard a gyn doctor tell his receptionist about a teen patient whose mother wanted her on the pill, even though she claimed she wasn’t ready to give up “the V” yet. Loved it!

Q: Did the book cause any controversy? If so, how did you handle it?

A: It’s been well-received. It’s a great book to open dialogue about sex between teens and parents because of the way it’s written. Teens relate to the tone and moms appreciate the candor.

Q: What would you like your readers to walk away with after reading it?

A: Be true to yourself. There’s lots of conflicting information out there, but only you know what’s right for you. Stay true to your beliefs and you can’t go wrong.

Next up for Robar, the rerelease of “Braced2Bite,” “Fangs4Freaks” and “Dating4Demons,” and her sequel to “Giving up the V,” — “So, Was it Good for You?” which tells the story of Spencer’s best friend, Alyssa, after she chooses to give up “the V.”

Chantelle Lusebrink: 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Feast your eyes on this literary cookbook

Chantelle Lusebrink — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:04:54 +0000

Ever wonder what dinner with your favorite author may be like?

Well, you may not dine with them, but you can cook what they’d cook for themselves, thanks to the King County Library Foundation’s new book, “Literary Feast: The Famous Authors Cookbook.”

“The uniqueness of it makes it a wonderful gift for readers, for cooks and for people interested in both,” said Jeanne Thorsen, foundation director. “I think it is something people will really enjoy and at the same time, help support literacy in our community, which people feel very strongly about.”

The book includes nearly 100 drink, food and dessert recipes from authors and includes 92 author profiles with their personal perspectives.

The book includes recipes from the kitchens of famous local authors, like Deb Caletti, who has five fiction novels based in and around Issaquah.

“It was just such an easy thing, because I’m the ultimate library lover. The library, to me, is my sanctuary and the King County Library System is a sanctuary, plus one of the best library systems in the country. How can you not want to support it?” Caletti said. “And I owe them forever for my endless usage. I spend more hours there than anywhere else, besides my home. If I’m lost, my family knows I’m in one of the libraries.”

Caletti included her favorite sugar cookie recipe, handed down from her grandmother, to her mother and to her.

“The recipe has been in my family for a long time,” she said. “It’s one of those that are stained and messy, because it’s always out. It’s also a dangerous recipe, because it has every bit of fat and sugar for those times when you need every bit of fat and sugar.”

The recipe calls for two types of sugar and plenty of butter, making it nearly a shortbread cookie, she added.

But the concoctions you can cook up don’t just come from local authors. See what nationally acclaimed authors, like J.A. Jance, David Baldacci, Peg Kehret and Nancy Leson, are cooking up in their kitchens, as well as local chef Tom Douglas, Dr. Arthur Agatston (author of the “South Beach Diet”) and Greg Atkinson, author of the “Atkinson Diet.”

“I was really pleased, one, with the number of authors who wanted to participate — in fact, we’re starting a file for volume No. 2 — but also that other than a cookbook with someone’s name and their favorite recipe, the book talks about the authors themselves and their recipes, which really personalizes it,” Thorsen said.

It’s an easy book to cook your way through, which is what one of the library’s employees is doing now, she said.

“I would have never imagined that a cookbook about top writers would be so illuminating and entertaining,” Terry LaBrue, project author and local writer, said in a press release. It “gave me a chance to peer over their shoulders and into their lives.”

The book costs $22.95, plus tax and shipping, but proceeds benefit programs sponsored by the library foundation, like an eight-week Spanish literature seminar series, Study Zone tutoring help, Global Reading Challenge and Summer Reading programs for students.

Get the book

Order ‘Literary Feast: The Famous Authors Cookbook’ through the King County Library System Foundation link at www.thrifbooks.com/kclsf or call 369-3448 to reserve a copy that you can pick up at the library’s service center, 960 Newport Way N.W.

Grandma-Mom’s Sugar Cookies

By Issaquah author Deb Caletti

Cream together:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup butter

Add:

1 cup oil

2 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

5 cups flour

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Roll into small balls. Press with cookie press or glass bottom dipped in sugar.

Bake in a

350-degree oven

for 10-12 minutes.

Serves 1-12.

Get the book

Reach Reporter Chantelle Lusebrink at 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.issaquahpress.com.

Find a new Harry Potter adventure with locally penned book

Chantelle Lusebrink — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:01:03 +0000

If walking through walls in a London train station or battling an evil wizard wasn’t enough for you, then you might be interested in traveling through J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series again — but this time, with some help.

Local first-time author Nancy Solon Villaluz is hoping you’ll let her be your guide through your next read with “Does Harry Potter Tickle Sleeping Dragons?”

In three new books, designed as a literary commentary on the “Harry Potter” series, Villaluz explores the depths of Rowling’s series and hidden critical elements she thinks “Harry Potter” fans should know.

“This ‘Harry Potter’ commentary is meant, like Harry, to challenge the reader to walk through what appears to be a wall into belief in what they can’t see and to walk in love when things get hard,” she said, of Rowling’s deeper plot. “That message is always relevant and necessary in society, and Rowling tackles it in spades.”

Villaluz said she couldn’t be happier to see more than five years of researching and writing come to fruition.

Local author Nancy Solon Villaluz wrote a companion guide to the popular ‘Harry Potter’ series. By Greg Farrar

“To me, this is a pursuit of passion,” she said. “My journey of discovery delighted me and my book is written as a journey of delight for readers who want to know more about J.K. Rowling and Harry.”

Like some people, Villaluz admitted she was a “Harry Potter” avoider when the books took the world by storm, partly because she was a busy mother of two and partly because she believed the book series was filled with dark messages, she said.By chance, a friend loaned her the first book and she said she soon discovered they were more than children’s books and that they were full of moral lessons.

That is precisely what her book explores, the qualities of morality in the series and the symbolism of certain events, and provides connections between the series and other famous books, like the Bible and C.S. Lewis’ series, “The Chronicles of Narnia.” The book also strives to look at the foundations of the book from the author’s eyes, through examination of interviews with Rowling and what she has said about it.

“All of us look at ‘Harry Potter’ through our own eyes, as we should,” Villaluz said. “But I asked, ‘How interesting would it be to get as close as I can to looking at it through Rowling’s eyes?’”

But the road to publication wasn’t without its share of bumps.

During a pre-sale for the book in late 2007, Villaluz said she received a cease and desist letter from Rowling’s attorneys. After voluntarily changing the first title and sending detailed excerpts from the manuscript, she said she was able to proceed.

The letter “to me was horrifying, because this book seeks to honor and respect her work and the fact that it was so greatly misunderstood at first was beyond me,” she said.

Since the book was listed for sale on Amazon in November, Villaluz said she hasn’t had any other communication with the attorneys.

Asked if she ever had the opportunity to speak with Rowling for the book, Villaluz said she hadn’t, but added, “Shy of my husband and child, in this world nothing would make my heart dance more than a chance to have tea with Rowling.”

You can find the book at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com or order from your local bookstore via Ingram, the book’s distributor.

Villaluz’s next book, “Does Harry Potter Tickle Waking Dragons?” is due out in late 2010. The title for the third book will be available then, but it will not be released until late 2011 or early 2012.

On the Web

www.harrypotterdragons.com