SALTY Turning the Tide is my first published book. It’s fictional for kids 9 and up, and an environmental story about what happens when people become careless about the land, water and sky. Salty, the main character, is a crab looking forward to a relaxing day on the beach only to find trash and mayhem every step of the way. Who or what is polluting the bay? I won’t give away the plot, but it is about taking responsibility and why we should care.

I think the most challenging hurdle for Salty was the writing, and conveying my message. Words are powerful. How do you write about pollution and be positive when the solution is not in sight? How does one spin a happy ending? Telling the story from the animals point of view was the way to go. I used rhyme through the whole story to keep it upbeat. The crab’s encounters with the disgruntled sea creatures show the many ways our actions on the land affect the water and the animals that live there. What is the main message? It would be that we need to take care of our environment. We are finding solutions that help clean the water, and at the same time we see policies that hurt the environment. At the end of the book is a list of local organizations focused on the water and land. These organizations are a good resource of information. Some have stewardship opportunities for the local youth.

While working on the words, I struggled with the drawing style. That kind of perfectionism made me procrastinate even more with the writing. Eventually, the words came together and I put it together in zine form. By that time, the illustrations were now secondary, so I ended up with a simple whimsical watercolor style. I showed a black and white copy to my editor and he suggested that I get it formatted and go full color with Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark.

Would Salty make a fun musical? I have a short song at the end, but the whole story rhymes and has a beat, so it could be a ballad. There are puppets for most of the characters. Some have been given away or sold, so I keep making more. What is most fun – writing, illustrating, or making the puppets? Probably illustrating.

Salty is available now via Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark.

https://myaccount.ingramspark.com/Titles/TitleDetails/CSS9464304