ABOUT THE SORCERER’S PRESS
From The Sorcerer’s Press’ founder, Michele Mack:
One fateful night, when I went to bed, I had no idea my life would take an unexpected turn. I was awakened with a sudden vision of Henry Fickle fully formed in my head. It came as a surprise: bam! The mysterious part is that I’ve been a mechanical designer for over twenty years, and knew nothing about writing—but still, the vivid characters with their varied personalities continued to introduce themselves in my mind’s eye.
However clear-sighted my idea, I needed every scrap of will power to bring Henry Fickle into fruition. I worked endlessly on the manuscript, not knowing what I was doing or anything about the proper use of grammar. To make sure I knew the layout of the fictional town I called Willow Creek, I created “a jumble” of notes, drawings and diagrams. Since I envisioned the project as a three volume series, I feverishly plotted out all three novels, building the foundation from the start. It became an obsessive, heart-filled work of passion!
It took me a year to write the first draft, another year to get it edited, and a final year of trying to get published. I must say, the odds of getting published were grim because I was an unknown author with no writing credentials. Henry Fickle and the Secret Laboratory was rejected by over 30 publishers, before I made the difficult decision to self-publish under a company I called The Sorcerer’s Press. Most people would have given up—but I wasn’t like most people. I had to do this because I really wanted to give kids not only something magical and inspiring to read, but also over-flowing with scrumptious entertainment—an artistically crafted book they could display on their shelves, and someday, read to their children, and this was my chance to do something memorable.
I immediately purchased The Self-Publishing Manual by Dan Poynter. I juggled a full-time job, while studying and writing during lunch breaks, nights and weekends. It took a lot of hard work and dedication to fulfill my big dream. When everyone told me it couldn’t be done or it was impossible or I should stick to my “real” job, I had to press on, despite the negative comments. Simply put, when no one believed in me, I had to believe in myself!
One of the wonderful things The Sorcerer’s Press did was to go all-out design-wise to make Henry Fickle a high-quality, educational-but-fun book you wanted to touch and feel and read. This was not just a publishing business, but an inspiring friend to millions of parents, teachers and librarians across America—a portal to like-minded souls by mail.
When we released our very first middle-grade novel, Henry Fickle and the Secret Laboratory, word-of-mouth spread rapidly through our hometown. To our great surprise, the fantasy book has captured the imaginations of kids and adults alike, many of whom have been eager to receive an autographed copy. The hardcover book was even nominated a finalist in ForeWord Magazines juvenile Book-of-the-Year awards. The media is requesting feature stories, parents are scurrying for the popular collection, teachers are booking author visits, libraries are hosting book-signings, and fan letters are arriving in our mailbox. The kids are salivating for more—and The Sorcerer’s Press has to run to keep up!
Then when we released the much-anticipated, second novel, Henry Fickle and the Time Capsule, a suspense-filled, widespread whisper traveled among fans. At that magical moment, we knew we had to share The Magical World of Henry Fickle™ with the rest of the world. Our vision is to bring back the child in us all.
About the Illustrator
For the last ten years, James Browne has been creating images that catch the eye and touch the heart of viewers of all ages. Taking reality and fantasy and molding them together, he's able to create a world of its own, where imagination soars. James is the illustrator of such titles as "The Amazing Snail" and "Into Enchanted Woods." His works continue to be displayed and sold throughout the world. He maintains his studio and residence in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania with his inspirational wife, Nadine. "I have a lifetime to paint, with a subject matter that is endless, with one goal in mind, and that is, to keep the child in all of us." ---J.B.
To see the imaginary world of award-winning artist/illustrator James Browne, visit his web site: www.jamesbrowne.net
