Apr 28, 2018

Dear Readers:

It has been a while since we’ve updated you, but we’ve been working hard here as we close in on the exciting climax of A Friend for Otter. For the first time in a while, we are on track to meet our publication goal. Given the significant progress over the past few months, we feel pretty confident that Otter will be heading out for final editing in the next few months. Thank you all for your loyalty, patience, and faith as we have worked to bring you the most vibrant and interesting story we have to offer!

One thing we think gets lost in all this waiting is a sense of what our process is like. As you may recall, this story is a collaboration between me and my eldest daughter, Sylvia. We began this project a couple of years ago now, but our process is still largely the same as it was in the beginning: Sylvia teaches me who the characters are, what happens to them, and what the world is like around them, and I put the pen to those ideas. Working full time as a lawyer and having four other children, I don’t have a lot of time for my share, so I have to take time to write when I can. For instance, every day on my way to the office, I am on my phone typing up Otter’s latest adventures, so that I get at least some time every weekday to bring Otter’s world to ours. And I try to set aside time every weekend, too, although life sometimes overtakes our art.

That makes for a process that is steady but slow, which is why Otter has been growing up with us for quite a while as you wait to learn her fate. By all indications, our readers have been supportive of that process, understanding that we aim not only to tell a compelling story, but also to teach Sylvia how to be an author along the way. Authors, like Rome, aren’t made in a day, so your continued patience means the world to us.

Now, with our family on a plane to our ancestral homelands in Florida, I find myself with a bit more time than usual. I think I will use this time to check in on our good friend Otter, and see if we can’t help her out of a bit of—oops! I almost revealed a spoiler. You’ll have to wait just a little bit longer for that. In the meantime, thank you again from both of us, and we’re looking forward to introducing you to the rest of Otter’s world soon.

With gratitude,

Jesse (aka Sylvia’s Dad)