When Angelina Sommer was 10 years old her mom bought her two rabbits for pets.
As Radar and Jupiter settled into their new Capilano neighbourhood home, Angelina quickly learned it was a lot of work to own rabbits, so she looked for information that would help her care for them. But it was difficult to find information written for kids and especially hard to find it all in one source, notes Angelina.
As she did more research and learned more about caring for her pets, her mom suggested she share what she had learned, so she started writing a book in her spare time. It took two years to complete, but in 2014 she self-published A Children’s Guide to Rabbits with Radar and Jupiter.
Angelina says the writing process was “a roller-coaster” but it was worth the effort.
“Definitely it has been worth it because I think that in the end I created something that I’m proud of,” she says, adding she felt “an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and pride” when she saw the finished product for the first time.
“I just felt this joy and I wanted to tell everyone that I wrote a book,” she says.
At the beginning of last year, Angelina re-published her book using CreateSpace. The free online self-publishing tool offered by Amazon is a popular outlet for those with a story to tell, and has helped open the publishing door to a broad range of new authors.
Now 16, Angelina says she wasn’t tempted to change anything in the updated version from what she originally wrote as a 10-year-old.
“I wanted kids to understand it from a kid’s perspective,” she explains.
Already available at Korna Natural Pet Foods, the book went on sale online along with a fictional story Angelina wrote called Radar and Jupiter and Their Capilano Back Yard Adventures.
Recently, after she approached the manager of the Park Royal Indigo location and asked if he would be interested in carrying her book, she was put in contact with the company person who handles such requests and was delighted to receive an email confirming the location would sell her book.
On Saturday, Angelina was on-hand at the store for her first book signing. In an email sent after the event, Angelina says she felt “an overwhelming amount of anticipation” before the book signing.
“It was gratifying to realize that all of this time and effort were going to be appreciated and celebrated in front of one of my personal favourite local book stores,” she notes. “During the event I was so proud to introduce my books to anyone who was interested to listen. Many people were intrigued by the live display of one of my rabbits, Radar.”
She adds that “it was surreal to finally and completely embody this dream of mine.”
Her mother Ulla reports that the response to her book was very positive and the store has asked her to do another signing session.
“Seeing people’s faces light up when they walked away with their signed copy of their book made my heart skip a beat. It was a rush to see your fantasy of having customers gladly paying for your pieces of work and thanking you kindly,” notes Angelina.
She adds that many distant family and close friends visited the display, “which was a very pleasant surprise.”
She notes in her email about the experience: “Knowing all of the support that I have and have gained from the book signing is beyond what I could ask for and I am so grateful.”
Although she is busy now with school and theatre, Angelina says she will continue writing as a hobby and encourages other kids to give it a try, but warns of the writing process: “It takes time, it takes patience.”
One piece of advice she has for young writers is to personalize their writing. She says it’s easier to reach an audience when the story contains a personal connection at its core.
