fuonlyknew

Written by Sarah Ambrosia Mulleneaux

Illustrated by Nadiya Lobanova

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

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Winston the pig is not like the other animals where he lives. He has big red glasses and loves eating more than almost anything. He also has a habit of getting into trouble. Join Winston on the first of many adventures as he tries to find his place in the world and learns some valuable lessons along the way.

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How did you decide to become an author?

I always loved to read even as a kid. I would make up stories for my siblings and sometimes would even do plays. I just have always thought it would be neat to write a children’s book. Felt that I needed to.

What is something unique/quirky about you?

I sort of have an obsession with the movie Dirty Dancing. I have different anniversary dvd versions and have gone to see the movie in the theater when they bring it back. I have even been to the resort where most of the movie was filmed. When a song plays from the movie I could tell you what scene that is. I love Patrick Swayze!

What’s something really interesting that has happened to you?

I recently was part of a reality tv show. I went for filming in January. I then got invited back for another season and I go for filming for that in June of this year. It is a reality entrepreneurship docu series. I run a pooper scooper business with my twin boys called The Poop Fairy.

How do you find time to write as a parent?

Luckily my boys are now 22 so that makes it easier to write. Its difficult to find time writing when I work full time as a nurse still and run a business with my sons. I have a rotating day off during the week from nursing and that is when I can sit down surrounded by my dogs and write. I am also a fast typer so makes it easier to write. I am better at expressing myself on paper.

What did you enjoy most about writng this book?

The thing I enjoyed most about writing this book is that it is based on my real life potbelly pig named Winston. Kids get to learn some facts about pigs that they may have not known before. I was a lot like Winston when I was younger. I was really shy and had a hard time making friends. I can relate to Winston because of that and I think kids will also. What helped me make friends was finding something I was good at. First it was tetherball and then it was basketball. I feel that being good at something it was easier to make friends. Winston is really good with his nose. Probably his greatest asset and it helped him to fit in.

Tell a little about Winston. What makes him tick, his love of food and how he uses that to cope with his feelings.

I got Winston from a mutual facebook friend when he was just a couple months old. I always wanted a pig. There is no such thing as a mini pig. If you see one they have probably been starved. For this reason the pig sanctuaries are full because people think they stay little. Pigs are also very smart and very stubborn. They are very routine animals. Winston has his own toddler bed at the foot of my bed that he sleeps in with a bunch of blankets that he likes to root in first. On the mornings that I work and he hears me brushing my teeth he will usually go outside through the dog door and go potty. Then he knows its going to be breakfast time. He usually throws a fit by making noises while I am preparing the food because Im not preparing it fast enough. When I leave for work he stays in his kennel that he gets in once I get some cheerios in my hand. Winston loves music. He will wag his tail when music comes on that he likes. He loves belly rubs and his back being scratched with a back scratcher. He likes to eat anything that I am eating. This is how I know he does not like bell peppers and black olives and more recently limes. He will try anything though.

Have you written anything else that is not published?

I used to write poems so those would be really the only other things i have written that haven’t been published.

What kind of research do you do before writing?

For this book I had researched facts about pigs. I did this research when I first got Winston. Googled everything.

What inspired you to write this book/series?

What inspired me to write this series was that Winston was always getting in trouble for something. Mostly it was tearing his beds up. I could not find a bed that he would not tear up with his nose. He has also put holes in my walls with that nose of his. He was not happy that I was gone at work and that the dogs took over his kennel. I now lock him in his kennel and he has behaved since for the most part. Someone had told me i should start a blog so at first I did. I then met Nadyia the illustrator and we agreed to do a children’s book together. Winston was the perfect character. I plan on writing many more adventures with Winston and introducing my other pets into the books. The next book I was going to introduce my Frenchie Owen and maybe my other three dogs. Owen used to bring me large rocks from out in the dog run. He thought they would make good chew toys. In the next book Owen’s dad is a rock collector and Owen wants to take one of his dad’s best rocks for show and tell but he tells him no. In the book Winston helps Owen and they both learn a lesson along the way.

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Nadiya Lobanova is a medical and scientific illustrator with a surgical nursing background. Due to her wide interest in other fields, she is also keen on creating illustrations for children’s books and thus teamed up with Sarah to visualize a wonderful story in hopes of bringing a bit more kindness to this world through a growing generation.

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