A few weeks ago I released my two newest Rutherford the Unicorn Sheep stories: Rutherford the Unicorn Sheep at the Walnut Skunk Thanksgiving, and Rutherford the Unicorn Sheep and the Christmas Surprise.
WOOOO!
Fun Fact: There is a secret bit of foreshadowing in the Thanksgiving book that leads to the Christmas book.
As we're moving into the holiday season, I thought I'd give a little background on both books, told through a series of fun facts. Because what is more fun than fun facts? Not much, that is for sure.
Fun Fact #1: The Cats Were A Surprise.
When I initially started creating the books, I wasn't planning to have the cats in the story, HOWEVER, cats have minds of their own and kept photo bombing us. Take this picture for example, a version of which appears in the Christmas Surprise:
Fun Fact: Wilfred can be an annoying little brat sometimes, but he's cute so he gets away with it.
Fun Fact: At just over one year old, Wilfred now weighs 12 pounds and I'm not convinced he's done growing yet.
I had nothing to do with it. There was a fly and, well, he needed it.
Since Rowan and Wilfred decided they wanted to be in the books, I thought it would be fun to feature all three of them, but unfortunately Goblin was... uncooperative.
Fun Fact: although Goblin is a beautiful cat, she has always been uncooperative for photo shoots.
Fun Fact: Goblin is old for a cat, so her belly is super baggy. It would be fun to grab if she didn't go after me with her claws every time I tried.
So only Rowan and Wilfred featured in the books. We'll get Goblin some other time. You can find their bios in the back with mine in the stories that they are in.
Fun Fact #2: Both Stories Happen at My House.
Originally I intended to do the Christmas story at a variety of different people's houses, but given tight deadlines, I ended up taking the photos in different places around my house--the cat tree, the closet, the radiator corner, the front yard, the deck-- you get it.
It was fine for the Thanksgiving book. Walnut Skunks celebrate their Thanksgiving in early October (a fact which appears in the glossary of the book), so I had no issues. But for the Christmas book, I had a problem: I was taking pictures for a winter scene during the summer. As a result, some of my outdoor pictures turned out seasonally inappropriate. Now, I don't mind a little grass, as it does stay greenish even in the winter, or dead leaves. But marigolds...?
Fun Fact: For this photo shoot, I kept having to pick Rowan up and drop her on the deck, where she would sit for about two minutes before wandering either off the deck or over to me to be petted.
Luckily, my wonderful mother pointed this out to me when she read the rough draft, so I had to re-take some photos with snow. Where did I get snow? you ask.
You tell me...
Fun fact: Rutherford has a cute butt.
Fun Fact #3: The Worms Really Did Jump.
Now I don't want to go into to much detail so I don't spoil any of the story, but the worms did jump. I don't really know why, but it was very surprising and kind of hilarious. We'll leave it at that--a fun fact for those who have read the books to understand, and those who haven't to find out.
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Well I'll leave it there for now. I've sold out of the Christmas book once already, so if you're interested, grab your copy today. It's a unique Christmas gift, and it's awesome to boot (biased opinion, here).
If you're looking for more fun Rutherford stories, check out the new, FREE story I posted over on the unicorn sheep blog!
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