This week I’m super excited to bring you an interview with Sharon Sayler, author of Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters and creator of the world of Addendale. Let’s explore!
As Princess Adeline came rushing along,
By the look on her face, something was wrong . . .“Pinky! Pinky! Where did the colors go?
I’ve been looking high and low!”When all the Color Critters decide to hide their colors, Addendale becomes a very sad place indeed…. Can Pinky Chenille and Princess Adeline bring all the colors back together and make their world a colorful, happy place again?
Just like the classic tale ‘Wizard of Oz’ Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters starts with delightful black and white illustrations and ends in merriment of blazing full color.
In this first book in the series, Sharon Sayler’s Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters is a rhyming picture book for your young adventurers and peacemakers of every age. With engaging, whimsical art and playful rhyming verse, Pinky Chenille and Princess Adeline weave a fantastical tale of inspiration on the importance of friendship, teamwork and getting along.
As a children’s author, Sharon Sayler’s passion is to show through fun and creative story great values and life lessons in a playful and easy to understand way. The characters in Sharon’s worlds come alive in her rhyming picture books! Each book is filled with beautiful illustrations and magical stories designed to entertain and inspire young minds, stimulate their imagination, and even educate. Her stories weave fanciful tales filled with life lessons such as teamwork, getting along, curiosity, empathy, and persistence. Learn more at PinkyChenille.com
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Belle: ‘Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters’ is more than just a book. It’s a whole world! Can you tell us a little bit about Pinky and what inspired you?
Sharon: Thank you, Belle, for the compliment. It is a whole world named Addendale. In an odd twist of fate, Pinky Chenille and the land of Addendale came to me in a dream three months before my first grandchild was born. Bolting awake at 2 a.m. there was Pinky and Princess Adeline, and the Color Critters all in vivid color. I immediately began to write down what I was seeing and hearing. Crazy sounding, I know! It wasn’t in complete rhyme like it is now, but the world, the characters, the story were all there. Then it took me five years to perfect it.
Before Pinky, I was solely a public speaker, trainer and nonfiction author on topics of body language, communications, and leadership, with a perennial favorite book being ‘What Your Body Says and How to Master The Message.’ So it took me a while to get the hang of fiction, especially early-reader rhyming fiction, and find an illustrator, a children’s book editor etc. And now here we are with ‘Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters’ out to the world. I’m pleased that it is making an impact. We made it to a #1 bestseller on Amazon, got a 5-star review from Readers Favorites, have a passionate social media community and sales continue to be strong.
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I love it when inspiration strikes! This is a fun rhyming book, but it’s also a story with a message. What do you hope kids will learn from the world of Pinky Chenille?
For ‘Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters’ the main message is about getting along and how our differences are what make us stronger. With the Rainbow Hunters, I wanted to impart in a playful and easy to understand way values such as compassion, empathy, teamwork and getting along, which I feel are missing these days in many places. Playful and easy to follow were critical factors for me, as the book is for the 3-to-8-year-old crowd and regardless of age, I think we all enjoy playful and easy to follow….
I agree! And we learn more effectively when we are having fun! Pinky Chenille is available in hardcover, e-book and audio and video downloads on your website. But there is, even more, to explore with Pinky! What are some of the other Pinky products you offer?
We’ve tried to make PinkyChenille.com a resource for early learning. We have free coloring and activity sheets available in PDF format so that you can download and print them over and over again. Children love repetition, and in a printable form, you never run out of their favorite activities. We are continually adding more free options; we just added a few mazes and craft projects sheets too. We are committed to Pinky Chenille’s mission to entertain and inspire young minds, stimulate their imagination, enhance creative thinking and share valuable life lessons such as teamwork, getting along, curiosity, empathy and persistence through the sale of kid’s t-shirts, mugs, a memory game, printed activity books, and other fun, educational aids.
Wow, that’s awesome! It sounds like there is something fun for everyone! Is there anything else you’d like us to know about the world of Pinky Chenille? What kind of live and in-person events do you do?
Thank you for asking! First Pinky and I sincerely thank you for this opportunity to share and get the word out about the land of Addendale and Pinky Chenille. We are always open to exploring ways to get the message out to a broader audience. It’s through generous people such as yourself that support Pinky and her message that we can continue to grow and create a kinder, more compassionate world.
We are available for keynotes, readings, story-times, and school assemblies, and I am happy to tailor the presentations to the needs of the venue. We also offer writing workshops for small groups of children or adults, and in addition to day assemblies, we often provide evening events that include parents. We love book readings, book signings and getting to know attendees — that’s probably the funnest part of all of this! Well, besides having the freedom to create new stories in my own world! I’ve even started doing virtual visits thanks to video conferencing technology.
We are always on the lookout for inspiration, cooperation, and new communities to play with; if others would like to join the Pinky Chenille community, join us over at pinkychenille.com and on social media at Pinky’s Facebook Page, Twitter and Instagram are @PinkyChenille as well as we are just getting started over at Pinterest. There’s a lot to do when you start a whole new world!
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That is the truth! Are you planning another book featuring Pinky and Princess Adeline?
A funny story about that — when ‘Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters’ first came to me, I thought it would be a fun little story for my grandchild… something we could share. And yet, Pinky’s message of getting-along has resonated with others. I still wasn’t thinking beyond Rainbow Hunters until a flight home from Calgary last year. About ten minutes into the flight, a complete story, this time in rhyme, came to me, even the title, ‘Pinky Chenille and the Sapphire Slippers!’ In a frantic, crazy moment I start scrambling for a pencil and paper to write it down, it was coming that fast! I’m not sure what the people nearby me on the flight thought though, here was this person quietly crocheting a baby blanket one moment and the next frantically rushing for paper then furiously writing all the way to landing… So, yes, would be the short answer to your question — there is another book featuring Pinky Chenille and Princess Adeline on the way….
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I can totally identify with that story! Here’s wishing you continued success with Pinky Chenille – good luck on the next adventure!
I hope you will check out Pinky’s website for a wide variety of Pinky goodies! You can also find the e-book and hardcover versions on Amazon.com.
Sharon Sayler, MBA, PCC affectionately dubbed “the difficult people whisperer” is an international communications trainer, speaker, best-selling author and CEO of the strategic communications firm Competitive Edge Communications.
She is fascinated by how the beliefs you hold are revealed through your communications, both verbally and nonverbally. She has discovered how to easily change your outcomes with just a few simple communication tweaks. She is devoted to teaching professionals around the world how to be courageous leaders using critical observational, behavioral and communication skills.
As a published author of several books, her latest book is a children’s book “Pinky Chenille and the Rainbow Hunters.” As a children’s author, Sharon’s passion is to show through fun and creative storytelling great values and life lessons in a playful and easy to understand way.