Arctic Dinosaurs of Alaska is about to come to life. After a three year wait at UA Press and an attempt at my prehistoric fiction publisher, Arctic Dinosaurs sat. I realize I run a business, and the book needed to move. I had image issues. A new publisher is just what the book and I needed!
In less than a day after I pulled Arctic Dinosaurs, I found a new publisher. Connie Taylor at Fathom Publishing Company and I both saw Arctic Dinosaurs the same way. It was astonishing to me. Right away Connie recognized the problem and suggested getting an artist to redo the more than 50 images so they would be the best they could be. I jumped at the chance.
Things were different. Poring over proofs and copies didn’t happen. I dragged my feet initially, but we used Zoom—often. Things occurred instantly as we prepared the artist for cretaceous life. What a time saver! I love Zoom! We could put things together for the artist drawings on Zoom in seconds. Essentially, the finished images would become plug ins when all were finished. There was time to add some new things such as now-and-then maps for the Introduction and games in the Appendix. Connie had great ideas to increase the fun factor and expand my multidisciplinary approach.
What have I discovered about Fathom Publishing? Connie has an eagle eye for details in images I can barely see. That’s likely an understatement. She is smart and on top of her profession. Everything is reasoned thoroughly. She pushes hard to make things the best they can be, accepting no less from the writers she publishes, if I’m a typical example. I feel blessed and grateful to have this effort for Arctic Dinosaurs. Here is a link to the Arctic Dinosaurs site on Fathom Publishing website, where there is a current coloring contest for children 14 and under (prizes are paperback copies of Arctic Dinosaurs of Alaska): https://www.fathompublishing.com/kids&teens/arcticdinosaurs/
