“That is what I meant to say.”

Have you ever caught yourself thinking that after saying a few awkward sentences and then some wise soul speaks up to clarify what you said but twice as nice as you could have yourself?

Because they are a good listener, and articulate, and are able to take your drivel, and say what you actually wanted to say in the first place? 

That’s about the best way I can describe the experience of receiving the illustrations from Ivanka for The Book of Tobit, Retold.

They’re spot on. 

And oh so fun. 

The text is one thing but when you put it together with the illustrations the story really comes alive. It was an absolute pleasure to work with her.

A good many of you have already pre-purchased a copy through my kickstarter: your support means more than you know.

We are very excited to be going to print this week. Your copies will be shipped mid-November. 

If you haven’t read the original Book of Tobit in the Bible, this is the synopsis:

I wrote it for my son Tobias; his namesake is the main character. I chose it for him because the themes are ancient and strong and contain lessons I hope he can take with him. A friend as faithful as the Archangel Raphael, that he would have the courage and faith to chase out demons from this world, and that he'd take care of his parents in our old age, are things that I hope for all my kids.

It’s a book that is dear to me too because it ebbs with my own love story too. Whenever the angel tells Tobias how special Sarah is and that she would be a great fit as a wife, there’s a line that reads: “He could no longer call his heart his own.” I remember reading that while trying to decide whether to propose to Aleisha and the words sort of jumped off the page at me.

“I could no longer call my heart my own”

It became clear to me that my decision was made. Also, just before Sarah and Tobias go to bed on their wedding night, they kneel down together to pray. The prayer is powerful and beautiful; it was one of our wedding

You get the sense that The Book of Tobit, Retold is directed at 8-13 year old boys, but is an enjoyable read for all ages. The Biblical version is a humour-filled book (it starts out by a bird pooping in Tobit’s eye), but we sort of play with that and embellish a bit.

If you haven’t bought a copy and you’d like to; well, that’d be oh so swell. Perhaps there’s a young person or someone young at heart on your  shopping list that could use a story of a grand adventure, a good laugh, with an example of a strong father-son relationship to boot.

You can purchase a copy here.

For a very limited time, we are able to offer free shipping and no taxes and those who order now will receive one of the first 500 copies, signed.