Whether or not you like your vegetables, chances are you will love Bellingham author Barbara Jean Hicks‘ new children’s book, “Once Upon a Parsnip.” Barbara teamed up with co-author Kevin R. Wood and Bellingham illustrator Benn Mann to provide a deliciously one-of-a-kind fairy tale.
Most people know Barbara from her work on the Disney Frozen books. Both books, “A Sister More Like Me” and “An Amazing Snowman,” still garner the local author quite a bit of attention, especially since Barbara continues to attend book signings and author readings, which are typically accompanied by the two Frozen sisters, Ana and Elsa. “It’s really hard to make a name for yourself as a children’s book author,” Barbara explains. “So many more people know my name because it’s associated with this movie, so I feel really, really lucky.”
These Frozen books, written by Barbara for Disney, gave a bigger name to the previously lesser-known author. Though her prior works, which include children’s books and a small collection of romance novels, are not to be dismissed, a critical review of her romance work is what led her to begin her career as a children’s book author.
“I ended up writing 13 romance novels and novellas,” Barbara says. “And then I read a really snarky review online. But really, that was my inspiration. You know, I don’t like somebody telling me that I don’t do something well. It is hurtful, but I took it as a challenge because [writing children’s books] was something I always want to do.”
Barbara has had several of her children’s books published, and her 2005 publication of “Jitterbug Jam” earned her The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book Award.
Now, with more notoriety to her name, “Once Upon a Parsnip,” which tells the story of Mr. Wolf and Little Red’s encounter at the Fairytale Market, is Barbara’s first venture into independent publishing.
By choosing to publish her book independently, Barbara realized she had a lot more creative freedom to exercise than she did with her previous tales, so she decided to team up with co-author Kevin R. Wood to share in the creative process together.
“Kevin is just crazy creative,” Barbara says. Next, she reached out to Ben Mann to bring her and Kevin’s story to life. Barbara had met Ben prior and — loving his expressive illustrations — Barbara gave Ben her text and the creative license to create the artwork.
“I gave Ben a lot of room to interpret the words the way he wanted to,” Barbara says. She even teamed up with her chef friend Suzanne Butler to help her come up with a base for an original apple and parsnip soup recipe that appears at the end of the book.
Though Independent publishing provides a lot more freedom for authors to work out the concept and design of a book, marketing becomes a big job for the author. This aspect of independent publishing is an entirely new journey for Barbara, but it’s one that has become a positive journey for her.
Part of marketing her own book means Barbara has had the opportunity to interact with a lot of local businesses and other organizations. Working with non-profits, however, has been her favorite part of the process. “This is one of the really cool things about publishing independently,” Barbara says. “We can work with non-profits and do a little bit of giving back. If I was working with a traditional publisher, that just wouldn’t happen.”
Currently, 15% of presales for the book go toward promoting the Washington Sustainable Food and Farming Network’s Farm to School program. “It’s good for the farmers,” Barbara says, “and it’s good for the kids.” She also plans on teaming up with Pizza’zza to host a children’s theater reading of “Once Upon a Parsnip” paired with slices of Pizza’zzas parsnip pizza.
As Barbara awaits the release of “Once Upon a Parsnip,” which is set to hit shelves in late May, she’s keeping busy doing book readings at local charity events. Her most recent reading of “The Secret Life of Walter Kitty” took place at the South Fork Showcase in Deming where several local authors presented their books. Proceeds from the event went toward maintenance of the Van Zandt Community Hall.
With yet another book under her belt, Barbara says she is already looking forward to her next book and has strong hopes of teaming up with another local illustrator.
For more information about Barbara Jean Hicks, to preorder a copy of “Once Upon a Parsnip,” or to find out when the Story Queen herself will be reading next, visit Barabra Jean Hicks’ website.
