Today is both, my favorite, and my most dreaded part of the writing process.
Publication day.
It’s done. The book is out of my hands. There is nothing else I can do to it.
Now I just have to wait for people to read it.
I have been working of Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival for almost three years and now it’s finally ready to greet readers.
“So,” you ask, “what is this book about?”
The great thing about art is that it can be interpreted so many ways. Each person processes everything differently and comes to their own conclusions. And even us creators may subconsciously be planting messages that we didn’t intend. However, if you see this as a thinly disguised Bendy and the Ink Machine fan fiction, [stuffs unhealthy obsession with BATIM into the closet.] you’re reading too much into this.
The truth is, it’s more of a rebuttal to the Bendy franchise. If you know what that is, great. If not, the next paragraph is for you.
Bendy is a video game series that take place at an animation studio where the employees have been turned into horrific versions of the cartoon characters created there. It’s a story about greed and corruption. A legacy in ruins.
Daisy Dunlap is not like that. In my story, the characters are actually alive. They weren’t people first. They have their own souls. If anything inspired this book, it was the idea that an idea can take on a life beyond its creator. Just look at how far removed Mickey Mouse has become from the man, Walt Disney, who created and voiced him.
My novel is an exploration of legacy. As I’ve grown older, I’ve often wondered what I’ll leave behind. The obvious answer is my books. There is a reason that authors refer to their published works as their book babies. In the same way that Daisy’s mom in the story, left her daughter as a legacy, Daisy is kind of my legacy too.
Find the truth. Save the family legacy. Don’t get eaten by the giant cartoon spider.
Reeling from the loss of her mother, twelve-year-old Daisy comforts herself with the cartoons and carnival run by her family’s animation studio.
When an anonymous source accuses Grandpa of stealing his most famous character, the impish Tom Greenthumb, their family’s reputation, and business, are on the line. The only thing that can clear their name? A mysterious sketch book hidden somewhere within the Cartoon Carnival.
Sneaking into the theme park at night, Daisy uncovers her family’s greatest secret. Their cartoon creations are alive—and some of them are deadly.
Pre-order link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D53VV77X
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213817547-daisy-dunlap-and-the-cartoon-carnival
C.O. Bonham is the pen name for a commonly misspelled first name. She loves stories of all kinds, but really likes the ones that are weird, and outside the norm. A certified book geek, when she isn’t writing stories of her own she is busy reading stories by others. A homeschool graduate with a degree in creative writing, her goal is to create stories that make people think, feel, and have fun.
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Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18245479.C_O_Bonham
On Instagram as: C.O.Bonham
C. O. Bonham 