He is here! I am so happy to share with you my second children's book Elias and the Tree Stairs- marbles, marbles and yes marbles! If you remember Naming Renick, I also went with Blurb for the self publishing and the talented Kylie did my illustrations. I don't want to bore you with a repeat of my inspiration for the this book, but in a nutshell it stems from me finding marbles in and near trees since I was little. This is a magical story that tells the story of how marbles were invented thanks to a crafty little elf named Elias. He has to travel deep within the earth to make the marbles and as he makes his journey back up a stray marble or two get dropped in the tree- hence an imaginative little girl finding them to this day!
So I don't want to give it all away, but I enjoyed doing some research on marble history- just fascinating. In fact the name Elias, his grandfather Greiner, and the fire Salamander Septimius all historically figure into the history of the first German glass marbles that were made with the aid of the invention of the glass scissors that they used.
I hope that you enjoy this new book- I unveiled it with my local friends right before Christmas and am so thrilled to release it now also. You can purchase copies in the shop along with made to order figures, or you can also order it directly from Blurb.
One exciting thing I found a couple weeks ago were some salvaged marbles that came from the actual Elias Greiner marble factory in Germany- I could not type quick enough to order some that day- I am rapidly becoming a marble collector! It was so amazing to hold up to the light some actual antique marbles that were part of my books history! I also found this marble show in my somewhat neck of the woods this March- sounds like a family trip!
I am thinking about hosting a marble swap, though I have never done that before- any pointers from the swap experts?
Hope you enjoy and if you are local- watch around trees next time you are out and about- I am taking on the guise of Elias and hiding some marbles near trees these days!
Let me know what you think about a marble swap- marble love to all of you!
