The Tiniest Vampire (and other silly things) – An illustrated book of children’s poetry with over 150 pages of ghouls, goblins, ghosts and giggles!

Hi!  I’m Jason, and I’d like to tell you about my book… The Tiniest Vampire (and other silly things) is a collection of poems that takes both kids and adults on a magical roller coaster ride of the merry and the macabre.  The book features over 150 pages of original poems, complete with illustrations, that range from “The Tiniest Vampire” (who might just be living in your shoe) to poor ol’ “Prince Charming” (who’s having some trouble finding himself a date) to “The Big-Bellied Ghost” (who’s maybe been haunting the refrigerator for a bit too long)! 

This book is the culmination of over a decade of writing and other projects I’ve done that were geared towards young audiences, but always had a whimsical and playfully eerie side. When I was younger, I was definitely influenced by works like Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends or the Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark series. I was drawn to how fun and accessible the works were, but also to the darker elements, the way they dealt with very real fears or dilemmas that we can all relate to. I’ve always tried to include that in my writing.  My hope is to create works that not only entertain, but also teach and inspire.

I love the idea of taking characters that are inherently scary and finding the humor in a situation or interaction. I feel like that’s the best quality of The Tiniest Vampire. It’s very rewarding to take a familiar monster and find some humor in it, or turn a classic horror archetype on its head, or explore questions like “what DO witches do before the witching hour?”

Coupled with the illustrations, the book has a spontaneous air of simplicity and creativity that we would associate with something like telling scary stories around the campfire. Sure, it’s exciting and kind of spooky, but it’s also fun and entertaining!  

To see more of my poems and drawings, check out my Facebook page Witterworks.  I’ll be posting poems and drawings throughout the Kickstarter campaign!

My name is Jason L. Witter, and I love writing and drawing silly and scary things!  I grew up in the small town of Crownpoint, New Mexico. My parents always encouraged the creative endeavors of my brothers and I, so we were constantly writing stories, drawing pictures, making silly movies, etc.  This desire to create and entertain led to an MFA in Theatre from the University of New Mexico. Over the past decade, I have written, produced and directed numerous plays, but I have found particular enjoyment in creating shows for young audiences. My play “Cap’n Hook” (which is a comical retelling of Peter Pan from the villain’s point of view) was published by Playscripts, NY and has been produced at over 30 schools in the US, UK and Canada.  I self-published my first book “The Things That Live in Your House” in 2014, and it was ranked # 2 in the “Best Self-Published Picture Books for Geeky Kids” byGeeksRaisingGeeks.com.  My goal is to teach and to inspire and to always entertain.  Head over to Witterworks to see some samples of my work!

The Tiniest Vampire (and other silly things) is a carefully curated collection of over 150 pages featuring more than 50 original poems. The book measures 6″ by 9″ and will be professionally printed with an awesome glossy cover!  It is packed with poems and beautiful black and white illustrations that are cute, adorable and, every now and then, just a little bit scary!  

Making this book has been such an amazing and enjoyable process, and I am beyond excited about it!  I hope you’ll have as much fun reading it as I have had creating it!

Here are some of the sweet rewards you will get for helping The Tiniest Vampire hit the big time!!!  Check out the Reward Tiers to see the full list!

AND if total backing exceeds the $2000 goal, there will be even more awesome rewards!!! See “Stretch Goals” for more info about that!

 At 100% funded, this is where your money will go!

Any amount beyond the $2000 goal will go toward the costs of promoting The Tiniest Vampire on a book store / writers’ conference tour.  This includes the cost of publishing more books and promotional materials as well as the travel costs and conference fees of doing such a tour.  The more money we raise, the more we get to share the excitement of The Tiniest Vampire!  If we do go over the $2000 goal, there are some extra awesome backer rewards as well!

Special thanks to Scott and Jess for all of their help putting together this Kickstarter campaign, and huge thanks to everyone who liked and supported my work on Facebook as I was developing this book!

Source: ICNW