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We're constantly amazed by the clever, unique, brilliant and beautiful books and products our customers create. Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharon Sayler. An accomplished author, speaker and expert in courageous, conscious communication skills, Sharon had already written several books about mindfullness, communication and leadership skills when she was inspired to follow her heart and write a children's book. As she continues to work with adults to enrich their lives as business leaders and entrepreneurs, she's enjoying  this new path of life enriching the lives of young readers with the book and fun products she created to go along with it. 

Sharon's story

Q: What inspired you to write a children's book?

Funny you ask, one might call it a brain download more than a brainstorm. Pinky Chenille(tm) and the land of Addendale came to me in a dream three months before my first grandchild was born. I jumped up out of a deep sleep at 2 a.m., and there was Pinky and Princess Adeline, and the Color Critters all in vivid color ‘talking to me’ about the first story ‘Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters’ in the Pinky Chenille series. I immediately began to write down what I was seeing and hearing. Crazy sounding, I know! It wasn’t in early-reader rhyme like it is now, yet the story was all there. It took five years to bring it to ‘life.’

Q: What advice would you give other authors when writing their first book? 

GO FOR YOUR DREAM! I struggled five years to bring 'Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters' to life, even in the face of plenty of people saying “Why?” (And to be transparent, the last four years of the ‘Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters’ saga I was recovering from a severe medical condition.) So, don’t let anything or anyone stop you when you KNOW this is what you are meant to do. With Vervante being a wise and positive team member on the Pinky Chenille team, we made it to a #1 bestseller on Amazon, got a 5-star review from Readers Favorites, 33 very positive reviews on Amazon, and have a passionate social media community – it’s just amazing.  

Q: What do you love most about this book?

Shamelessly, I'm saying everything!  The fun way the story and illustrations go from black and white to full color, the attached audiobook on CD so kids can listen along, the hardcover - all making it a legacy book, one that can go through many grandkids. And for Rainbow Hunters, I wanted to impart in a playful and easy to understand way values such as compassion, empathy, teamwork and especially getting along, that I feel are missing these days in so many places. During the research phase of what is children’s-early-reader-fiction and now reading to my grandchildren, I’ve been shocked at how bad some children’s books are. I've found topics that aren’t appropriate, words that little ones don’t need to hear, illustrations that are scary, etc. ‘Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters’ is a positive, fun message about getting along and how our differences are what make us stronger. Playful and easy to follow were as vital to me as the values because the book is for the 3-to-8-year-old crowd and honestly, I think regardless of age we all enjoy a book that is playful and easy to read.

About Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters

When all the Color Critters decide to hide their color, Addendale becomes a very sad and drab place indeed… Headlines everywhere read: Addendale’s been reduced to monochromatic by Color Critters!

As Princess Adeline came rushing along,
By the look on her face, something was wrong . . .
“Pinky! Pinky! Where did the colors go?
I’ve been looking high and low!”

Can Pinky Chenille and Princess Adeline bring all the colors back together and make their world a colorful, happy place again?

Perfect for reading-together-memories for years to come, Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters is printed in beautiful full-color with a hardcover and audiobook CD. With whimsical art and playful rhyming verse the main characters, Pinky Chenille and Princess Adeline, weave a fantastical tale on the importance of friendship, teamwork and getting along. Just like the classic tale ‘Wizard of Oz’ Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters starts with delightful black and white illustrations and ends in a merriment of blazing full color.

Written by Sharon Sayler, her magical story is designed to entertain and inspire young minds, stimulate their imagination, and encourage a kinder, more compassionate world. Delightfully illustrated by Olivia Cole with black and white and full-color imaginative illustrations that enchant young and old alike.

PinkyChenille.com offers free coloring and activity sheets available in PDF format so that you can download and print them over and over again. Children love repetition, and in a printable form, you never run out of their favorite activities.

Learn more

You can learn more at www.pinkychenille.com (use secret code "Friends" to save 15% if purchasing from website), and join the Pinky Chenille community on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PinkyChenille; and via Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram at @PinkyChenille.

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1. 250-word overview of your product
2. URL link for the landing or sales page for the product
3. High-res image(s) of the product and/or author

Your creativity inspires us and your success deserves to be shared!

Mark your calendars and get ready - Amazon Prime Day (July 15 and 16) is just around the corner! If you have a book or product on Amazon (or for sale anywhere else!), this is a great opportunity to add some sizzle to your sales. Here's how:

Offer a special "prime" deal for your audience
Shoppers are excited and anticipating epic deals as Prime Day gets closer. You can take advantage of their attention by offering special deals directly to your audience if they purchase from your website (not Amazon!). The best way to do this is to reach out directly to your loyal customers and fans. This means sending emails to your list and posting updates to your social media.

Want to stand out from the crowd? Creating special offers and promotions will get their interest - and provide real value your customers will appreciate. This is your chance to get creative by offering value-boosting extras and irresistible promotions such as:

• "Free plus shipping" offers where for a limited time only customers can get your book/product for free and only need to pay shipping. (This is a great one to use on social media and will also help add emails to your list).
• Special "prime day" packages where for a limited time several products are bundled for one low price.
• If your clients love packages, take it a step further by creating a subscription service and launch it on Prime Day with free extras or a special reduced rate that will catch people's attention.
• Record a special audio podcast or video tutorial as an extra for one of your books or products and offer it as a special bonus on Prime Day.
• Offer a special personal coaching session, or limited-time memberships to your masterminds or coaching groups, with any Prime Day purchase.

The key here is to be creative - and add value. You don't need to reduce your prices, just give more in a way that will excited your customers and make them feel like they got the best prime deal out there!

Build anticipation with sneak peeks
Here's one more tip to give your Prime Day deals some extra oomph: Be sure to share "sneak peeks" of the specials you'll be offering in your newsletters, social media and emails. It's a great way to spread the word, build anticipation and join in all of the Prime Day fun everyone is having.

Happy (Author) Independence Day!

As we celebrate here in the U.S. the blessings and benefits that independence brings to our lives, we can't help but think about how this affects authors too.

The world of self-publishing has opened so many doors for passionate, creative people with dreams and ideas that need to be shared with the world, and it's given them the freedom they need to write, design and share their book ideas in exactly the way the want - without holding back or changing to fit someone's ideas of what's "right."

For more than 30 years, we've dedicated ourselves to providing the resources, support and guidance authors need to turn their book and product ideas into viable, thriving businesses that give them the independence they deserve.

With Vervante, you have the freedom to:

• Be in the driver's seat for all design and content decisions, so you can create exactly what you want, and what your customers will love
• Create additional products that add value to your book and can create additional revenue streams
• List your book for sale where ever you want: We can help you list on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Baker & Taylor, Vervante Bookstore and eBook venues including Kindle and Nook. PLUS we can also list your book through the Vervante Bookstore and personal websites
• Use a shopping cart solution that works best for you (we can work with ANY)
• Have access to a Free online storefront solution if you don't want to mess with shopping carts
• Be in complete control of your listing prices, discounts, special offers, etc.
• Gather customer emails and create a database that allows you to stay connected to your loyal fans and be free of the whims of social media for marketing and connecting with your audience
• Choose shipping options that work for you - and not worry about bogus additional frees
• Not be restricted by unnecessary contracts or high-priced publishing "package" requirements
• Retain all rights as sole owner of your book with our unique non-exclusive agreements
• Publish when you want, not when you're told to: If you are writing a book that cites current events or has a topic that is timely, bringing the book quickly to market is critical. Once you send your print-ready files to Vervante, your book can be ready to print and listed for sale in a matter of days.
• Sell to a global audience: We ship anywhere in the world
• Get all the expert help you need. We know how important it is for authors to have access to resources and guides that they trust. That's why we created a FREE Expert Guide Resource Library on our website filled with a wide range of free ebooks to inspire, educate and support your journey creating, sharing and selling books and other printed products with Vervante.

If you've been thinking about writing and publishing a book, but something's held you back, we hope that this holiday inspires you to finally take the leap to assert your own independence and become the author you were meant to be.

Because nothing's worse than having a dream inside you and keeping it hidden where the world can't see or benefit from it.

Happy Independence Day, authors. We're excited to watch you shine!