A few years ago, my mother, Rosemary Kahn, a published author of 14 children’s books, wrote a novel for teenagers. A fellow author in South Africa, recommended that she self-publish via CreateSpace.com My mother had her manuscript typed up but was unsure as to how to go about formatting the book into the PDF document necessary to make available for print. I had never published a book. I had actually written two books that sat on a shelf in manuscript form, due to difficulty in finding a publisher. However, I had not prepared them for publishing.
Being creative and up for such challenges thanks to my background in occupational therapy I set to work. First came researching the structure of a book. Front matter, content, back matter, cover design. There is so much that goes into preparing a manuscript for print.
Of course, one of the jobs was proof reading and editing the text to make sure that there are no typing, spelling or other errors. As a result, I got to read the book at least 10 times. Now, in general I don’t enjoy reading so much and certainly tend to avoid re-reading anything. There was something about this book that was very different though. It is just so well written that it kept me riveted and absorbed from beginning to end even when reading the book for the 10th time. I am so impressed with the book and feel strongly that teenagers should get to hear about this book.
The novel is called “Relationships” and it deals with all kinds of relationships. The reader is taken on a journey through the relationships experienced by the main character. This includes relationships with her family, her teachers, her friends, her first boyfriend and even some challenging relationships. Since the book includes a range of relationships, we decided to use a section of a painting of mine as the front cover. The painting is of two profiles facing each other, indicating relationships, communication and interaction between two people.
“Relationships” teaches good, wholesome values but not in a preechy way. The story flows so beautifully that it encourages a child/teen to read. Reading is so important on so many levels. The book is suitable for 10 – 15 year olds or for English as a second language. Set in South Africa, it might be interesting for either Olim in this age group to remember the country they came from or for the children of SA Olim to gain some insight into life in South Africa.
“Relationships” is available on Amazon and other online bookstores. You can also learn more about my mother on her blog http://rosemarysbookcorner.blogspot.com
This book has opened the door for us to bring a number of our books to print thanks to the ease of self-publishing. To add some other personal facts related to relationships. My mother, a retired teacher and author, has since made Aliyah and is now an Olah Chadashah from South Africa. This helps to strengthen our own relationship. More than this though, last night we enjoyed attending a TelFed event where we had the pleasure of chatting to the son of one of our neighbours from our Rhodesia days. Dave Bloom’s parents used to live right next door to us. I remember clearly playing in their garden with grandchildren (a niece and nephew to Dave Bloom) who came visiting from the US to their grandparents in Rhodesia. What a joy it was to discover that these interesting play mates are both now professors!
Relationships happen on many levels. I do hope you will purchase your copy of the book “Relationships” by R.A. Kahn
This overview has been written by Shoshanah Shear, occupational therapist, healing facilitator, certified infant massage instructor, freelance writer, author of “Healing Your Life Through Activity – An Occupational Therapist’s Story” and co-author of “Tuvia Finds His Freedom“