Hilda and Richie Excerpt on YouTube

 

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 3

 

On this page, I made a change in the text.  I officially added the fact Richie is NOT related to Hilda in any way but she is his legal guardian.

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 2

 Moving onto the next page of "Meet Hilda & Richie"...

Hilda is a very rich woman.  Most of that came from her saving and investing wisely.  In case you didn't figure it out from those money bags, her country uses Swiss francs as their currency.  

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 1 Plus Cover

 A day late but here it is: the free book Meet Hilda & Richie!

That's right - Hilda's last name is revealed here as it is not mentioned in either Hilda & Richie or Hilda & Richie's Wizard.

More pages will be up tomorrow!

Announcing Meet Hilda and Richie!

I've got a special treat for you Hilda & Richie readers.

Starting this Friday (Good Friday) April 15th, I will be serializing a free book both here and on DeviantArt titled "Meet Hilda & Richie".

There's no real story to this book.  But it has two purposes.

First, it is meant to introduce people to Hilda & Richie and get them interested in both existing titles as well as future books.

Second, it is intended to give more information not in the books such as the characters' last names, Hilda's wealth, the country they live in, etc.

Stay tuned for pages from "Meet Hilda & Richie"!

Hilda and Richie's Wizard Official Trailer

 The official trailer for the next book, Hilda & Richie's Wizard, is now up on YouTube!

Get ready for their Kickstarter on January 5, 2022!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOEFrEnwNZk

Wizard First Draft Page 4

 

This is why the pendant is important.  Hilda makes it clear to Richie that he is not to lose it.

While the two have a casual relationship, Hilda does make it clear that she is the one in charge as she is an adult.  She makes rules that Richie has to follow, which should be obvious if you've read the first book.  (If you haven't, go buy it!)

Watch for more pages soon!

Wizard First Draft Page 3

 

First, some news before we get started on the commentary: I got back the first draft of Hilda & Richie's Wizard from my book doctor.  It will be getting a MAJOR rewrite so the final version of the book that will show up on Kickstarter in January will be very different!

In the meantime, I hope this draft about what could have been whets your appetite.

That said, we have the item that is considered this book's MacGuffin; that is, an object that drives the plot.  Hilda has a pendant to give to Richie.  That will figure into the plot that is about to unfold.

Wizard First Draft Page 2

 

I'm using Richie in the extreme foreground here to show that he is closer to the readers than Hilda.

Anyway, one of the other changes here as opposed to the first book is that Hilda doesn't get as much screentime here as she did in the original book.  I do plan to change that in future Hilda & Richie books; scripts and story treatments already exist for that.  But that's a whole other story for another day.

Three Kickstarter Videos Planned Today

 The Hilda & Richie Kickstarter continues!  As I promote the picture book campaign, reach out to backers and get press coverage, I'm turning to YouTube to help pull in traffic and backers!

Here is the first one!

Back Hilda & Richie now!

Hilda and Richie Kickstarter ready to go!

 Yesterday on Sunday, the final check was completed.  

The Hilda & Richie Kickstarter has been reviewed by me, the images are up, the links work right and all the details have been finalized.

We will launch in less than 48 hours.  

Get ready for our launch!

Second Draft Page 28

 

And so we come to the final page of the second draft of Hilda and Richie!  That's all!

Watch for our Kickstarter launch on January 6!

Kickstarter is nearly done!

 I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

While all of you were sitting around the Christmas tree, opening your presents, enjoying your Christmas dinners and indulging in cheer, I was working to get the planned Hilda & Richie picture book Kickstarter finished.

That picture you see is of the core pledge to the campaign.  For a pledge of US$15, you (the backer) get a paperback copy of Hilda & Richie shipped out to you anywhere in the world!  Plus you get a digital PDF copy of the book AND you'll be getting bonus material!  I'll share early drafts, concept sketches and various notes.

Anyway, all that remains (at the time of this writing) is to hammer out the timeline, finish the project image and then submit it for approval to the Kickstarter staff.  I expect to do this by tomorrow but if all goes well, I may even submit it tonight!

Approval shouldn't take long.  While the website claims it takes from 1 to 3 business days to approve, I've had mine only take a few hours at most.

I will discuss more of the Kickstarter rewards later and my plans for funding too.  Stay tuned!

Second Draft Page 27

 

Hilda has to lay down the law as Richie's legal guardian.  But she can be more understanding too than a parent.

Second Draft Page 26

 

I like how this turned out!  I felt with the body language, I genuinely made Richie look sad.

Second Draft page 25

 

It was around here that I was advised by an editor to make some changes to the ending.  You'll find out about those later.

Meet Richie Sutter

 

Richard Sutter, known better as "Richie", is the co-star of my picture book.

He is a red fox, 8 years old and lives with Hilda in her mansion.  Richie is just like any other little boy; he plays sports, goes to school, loves video games and just being rambunctious.

Hilda is Richie's legal guardian.  Because Hilda has so much money, Richie can (theoretically) have anything he wants like all kinds of toys, the latest electronic gadgets, the best clothes, luxury vacations and so on.  Of course, Hilda makes sure he isn't spoiled and will lay down the law if Richie gets too greedy or if he breaks any rules.

Being a fox pup, Richie is the audience surrogate as the 5-8 year old demographic (the target of my picture book).  Young readers are meant to identify with him.

Watch for more posts soon.  I aim to show more of the second draft, talk about the characters' homeland and discuss my Kickstarter more in detail.

Meet Hilda Breckendorf

I think it is time we meet our protagonists.  So without further ado...

This is Hilda Breckendorf, one of our two protagonists.  She is a red fox, 20 years old and resides in a luxurious mansion in Foxburgh, the capital and largest city of the European microstate known as Foxland.

Hilda comes from an old family that can trace their lineage back to the 1500s; they were once a well-respected clan of knights serving Medieval Europe.  While their knight status has largely faded away, their name and money is still very present in the minds of the Foxland populace.

Speaking of money, this is what Hilda is really known for.  Hilda Breckendorf is a very rich woman.  How rich is she?  While I don't know the exact details of her fortune, she has a lot of money!  She has investments in stocks, bonds, and so on, making her independently wealthy and not needing any job.

As you may have noticed, Hilda is Richie's legal guardian.  While she is technically an adult and holds authority over Richie, her youth still gives her a sense of fun and adventure.  Hilda's personality is more like a big sister or even a friend to Richie as opposed to a mother or an aunt.  In spite of this, she will pull rank on Richie and does have to be a disciplinarian sometimes.

Her mansion is big and has all kinds of amenities...but that is a topic for another day.

Stay tuned for tomorrow when I introduce Richie! 

Second Draft Page 23 and 24

 Play it again!  Onto our next pages!  

My, my...Hilda and Richie have to get all cleaned up from that bubble gum mess.

Wonder what'll happen now?  Watch for more pages and updates!

Second Draft Page 22

 

Yikes!  Hilda and Richie got themselves into a quite a mess, didn't they?

Watch for more pages on Thursday!