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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Kids Moments - It’s This Monkey’s Business by Debra Mares

Description:

Cabana,” a young spider monkey is brought to life to tell her story It’s This Monkey’s Business to help children who are affected by domestic violence and divorce. Cabana, who lives with her parents in a treehouse high up in a rainforest canopy, becomes startled one day from her Mama’s scream, when she is waiting atop a tree branch for her Papa to teach her how to swing. After falling to the forest floor, Cabana frustrated from her parents’ fighting, decides she will search for a new family to be part of. Her persistence is cut short when she braves the river to play with a pink dolphin, unaware she cannot swim. The tragedy brings her parents together to realize they can no longer live together. Cabana reconnects with her Papa, realizing he is the only one that can teach her how to swing.

It’s This Monkey’s Business is an approximately 756 word children’s book targeting ages 4-8, which is set in a rainforest and featuring “Cabana,” a young female Spider Monkey, her parents and rainforest animals. The book is approximately 30 pages long and features full spread color illustrations.

GUEST POST
Using Symbolism to Overcome Writer’s Block
by Debra Máres
As a rule, I don't look for symbols; but when I see them, I don't ignore them. I investigate them. Back in September, while struggling through a phase of writer’s block, I was relaxing on a balcony overlooking Monterey’s magestic coastline. A seagull dropped her feather right in front of me. I had seen a lot of seagulls over my 10-day roadtrip down the California coast, but this was the first time I had been alone and the first time a feather was dropped. So I investigated.

Seagull feathers represent many things, including rising above life's tides and our love for the ocean. The seagull feather wings depict the message of flying high above doubt and believing in yourself. Native American cultures have made the seagull a meaning of a care-free attitude, versatility and freedom. A seagull that settles on a ship's rigging or gunwale is considered an omen for a happy journey. Once used as a "pen," a feather symbolizes communication and thought. Paulo Coehlo, the Brazilian author of The Alchemist, looks for a white feather before starting each new book, which he then uses to touch each page of his first draft with.

Symbols are all around us, but we rarely take the time to notice them. As Angelica in The Mamacita Murders reminds us, "symbols are like angels or gut instincts, everyone has them, but not everyone pays attention to them." After the seagull dropped her feather right in front of me, I began writing; my writer’s block was gone. When I returned home from my trip, I launched the timeline for publishing and marketing It’s This Monkey’s Business. It had been stagnant for eight months. 

It’s This Monkey’s Business has symbols infused within it, that are important to me. For example, the main character Cabana has a flower tucked behind her ear delicately that stays with her through the journey. While some may think it’s just to depict her feminine quality, I intended it as a symbol of her Latina background. Flowers in the hair or behind the ear take me back to childhood growing up dancing Ballet Folklorico. This symbolism is seen in my legal thriller, The Mamacita Murders when main character Gaby Ruiz watches a beautiful salsa dancer in the walled city who has a flower in her hair, reminding her of her childhood love of dancing. Dance has always been such a creative and meditative means of self expression for me and the flower represents joy and love for dance and music.

Another symbol seen in It’s This Monkey’s Business is the pink dolphin that the main character Cabana meets. Pink dolphins are rare to see, but considered good luck when seen, among the people in the Amazon. Cabana comes upon a pink dolphin midway through It’s This Monkey’s Business. The pink dolphin is such a rare site to Cabana, that she throws all caution to the wind to brave the river and play with the dolphin. Those who’ve read the book know what happens next. 

Without giving away the rest of the story, it’s important to take note of the symbolism of the pink dolphin. Sometimes we look so hard to find symbols or we read too much into the ones we find, that we lose sight of their true messages. Appearances and illusions can be dangerous. When we see symbols, it’s important to ask two questions: 1) what is needed of me at this moment, and 2) what is the Universe trying to tell me? Had Cabana asked herself those two questions, the next scene may have been very different. 

After I saw the seagull’s feather rest on my balcony, I asked myself those two question. At that moment, I needed to embrace the Cypress, magestic coastline and wood-burning aroma from a nearby fireplace. I sat and absorbed it. It felt like Christmas and a time of rebirth. I felt revived, strong to fly high above doubt and stay true to myself, and I was reminded of the power of the "pen." What the Universe was telling me was to dream, write and believe. What it was giving me at that moment, was the cure to my writer’s block. And I took it. I was reminded that, "I believe in the concept of 'anima mundi' (soul of the world), where each person, through total dedication to what he does, comes into contact with the inspiration of the universe," Paulo Coehlo.

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About the author:
For Independent Author Debra Mares, violence against women is not only a topic in today’s news, it’s a topic in her crime novels, cases she handled as a county prosecutor, and now it will be the topic in her first children’s book It’s This Monkey’s Business. Debra is a veteran county prosecutor in Riverside currently specializing in community prosecution, juvenile delinquency and truancy. Her office has one of the highest conviction rates in California and is the fifteenth largest in the country. You name it – she’s prosecuted it – homicides, gang murders, domestic violence, sex cases, political corruption, major fraud and parole hearings for convicted murderers. She is a two-time recipient of the County Prosecutor of the Year Award and 2012 recipient of the Community Hero Award.

Debra is the granddaughter of a Mexican migrant farm worker and factory seamstress, was born and raised in Los Angeles, was the first to graduate college in my family, and grew up dancing Ballet Folklorico and Salsa. Her own family story includes struggles with immigration, domestic violence, mental health, substance abuse and teen pregnancy, which she addresses in her novels. She followed a calling at 11 years old to be an attorney and voice for women, and appreciates international travel and culture. Her life’s mission is to break the cycle of victimization and domestic violence.

Debra is also the co-founding Executive Director of Women Wonder Writers, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization implementing creative intervention and mentoring programs for at-risk youth. In 2012, Debra self-published Volume 1 of her debut legal thriller series, The Mamacita Murders featuring Gaby Ruiz, a sex crimes prosecutor haunted by her mother’s death at the hands of an abusive boyfriend. In 2013, Debra released her second crime novel, The Suburban Seduccion, featuring “The White Picket Fence” killer Lloyd Gil, who unleashes his neonatal domestic violence-related trauma on young women around his neighborhood.

To bring to life “Cabana,” Debra partnered with 16-year-old Creative Director Olivia Garcia and Los Angeles based professional illustrator Taylor Christensen.

16-year-old Creative Director Olivia Garcia attends high school in Panorama City, California, is the Los Angeles youth delegate for the Anti-Defamation League’s National Youth Leadership Mission in Washington D.C., an ASB member and AP student and enjoys reading, crafting and knitting.

Taylor Christensen is a Los Angeles-based illustrator holding a BFA from Otis College of Art & Design, focuses on fantastical creatures and surreal imagery, and produces artwork for illustration, character and concept design.

Her latest book is the children’s picture book, It’s This Monkey’s Business.

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