Janelle Diller's Blog, page 18
December 7, 2013
Journeys & Destinations
Tuesday we launched Mystery of the Ballerina Ghost. We had a great time partying with the dozens and dozens of kids (and plenty of adults) who showed up. As a nice bonus, we sold a lot of books, too, so I signed my name over and over along with this encouragement: “Enjoy your journeys as much as your destinations.”
It’s fitting.
This journey Lisa Travis, my business partner, and I have been on has been aimed at many destinations. We’re at a wonderful waypoint now with the launch of Ballerina Ghost. We hope for many book sales and lots of follow-on series set on every continent. We dream of our concept coming to life with dolls and bags and play sets. Honestly, though, the journey has been so much fun that it’s been worth it no matter where we end up.
When we started down this path, I never dreamed I’d learn about manufacturing in China, prototyping challenges, designing nuances, and self-publishing craziness. (Sometime I’ll blog about the $5,000 period.) I didn’t even know I needed to learn these things. My brain has been stretched, my eye sharpened, and my adrenaline rushed.
It’s been a pretty cool journey. I hope we get to one of our possible happy destinations, but even if we don’t, the journey has been a real rush.
December 6, 2013
FREE Kindle Download!
This week we’re celebrating the launch of Mystery of the Ballerina Ghost. We know not everyone could make it to the party, so we’re giving away the Kindle edition for FREE for five days!
Download the Kindle edition from www.amazon.com any time between December 7-11. There’s no catch. It really is FREE! We won’t even have your email address to bug you about buying more stuff, so you really are safe.
Of course, if you want a paperback book to hold, you can also order one from Amazon anytime for $5.99. It’s a perfect gift for any little girl.
-Lisa
November 21, 2013
The roots of my traveling passion
Different car, different trip, same family. That’s me in the middle holding a dollar bill. No doubt I’m already saving it for my next trip.
It’s no accident that I’m writing travel books for kids. My earliest memories are of being on the road. We’re in our two-toned white and chocolate brown Ford station wagon headed from Kansas to Florida. Family friends have joined us for the 4,000-mile trip—four adults and five kids aged three to six are packed into the car that seems as big as a boat. As a bonus we take a quick flight to Havana. My only memories of that side trip are of tall, dark haired women with skin the color of roasted peanuts striding past us in stiletto heels and pencil skirts. My mother and her friend wore neither. At the impressionable age of three I already knew people had different ways of living.
Since those early days, I’ve traveled to over 45 countries and have relished the journey as much as the destination no matter where I landed. Even now, though, I’m a little worried I won’t make it to all of them. What if I never get to Turkey or Myanmar? Even missing Tasmania would be a letdown.
I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. I hope you’ll join me for the journey. – Janelle
Launch party!
Join us for an afternoon of fun, food, and games as we celebrate the release of The Mystery of the Ballerina Ghost!
When: December 3, 2013, 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.
Where: Carnegie Reading Room, Penrose Library, 20 N. Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO
What: Meet the author, Janelle Diller and win prizes at 4:15, 4:45, and 5:15
Who knows? Maybe the ghost will join us too!
If you can make it, RSVP to Lisa Travis at lisa@packngogirls.com. We want to make sure we have enough cake and punch for everyone.
- Lisa
Welcome!
Welcome to Pack~n~Go Girls! We’re happy you’ve found your way to our website and to this page. We’re a small startup with big hopes. We want little girls to dream of going to places around the world and not just to the mall. If they dream about it, they’re a lot more likely to pack their bags and go some day.
Lisa Travis founded Pack~n~Go Girls after a miserable cross-country trip with small children and no entertaining travel books and toys to be found. Janelle Diller joined her in this mission, and together we are working to give the best gift we can give a child: curiosity about the world beyond herself.
Right now, we’re in the process of writing and publishing books about young girls traveling to other countries and meeting other girls. In each book, readers will enjoy a fun adventure and learn something about another country. Our first book, Mystery of the Ballerina Ghost, is coming out in early December. We’re celebrating with a launch party December 3 in Colorado Springs. We also will have five days of free downloads December 7-11.
If you love our vision for shrinking the world, we hope you’ll join us for the journey. Sign up for our Twitter (@packngogirls) and blog updates. Don’t worry, though. We won’t inundate you with lots of tweets or posts since we’re going to be busy writing more books—and traveling!
-Lisa and Janelle
