“The Roving I,” a compilation of 70 essays by author Woody Weingarten, out in paperback

"The Roving I," containing more than 300 pages of Woody Weingarten's favorite essays (his own), has just been published — mere hours before the author's 85th birthday.

Author Woody Weingarten

A paperback version is now available on Amazon; it will be ready for prime time within days on the Apple and Barnes & Noble sites and many others. That will be followed shortly by a hardcover and an ebook.

The new book includes scores of Weingarten’s memories — including his partner earning a slot in his Little Black Book, a woman carrying her sister’s “miracle baby” inside her for nine months, and Robin Williams transforming himself into a talking vagina. 

Many of the 70 first-person newspaper columns are lighthearted; a handful are weighty.

“The Roving I” is Weingarten’s third book. His first, “Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner’s breast cancer,” detailed how he and his wife successfully coped with the life-threatening disease decades ago. 

The author’s second, “Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates,” is a fantasy aimed at 6- to 10-year-olds and was his collaboration with his then 8-year-old granddaughter.

Details on all his books are available on Weingarten’s other website, https://woodyweingarten.com.

Website publishes Woody Weingarten's fake interview with himself and his granddaughter

I was recently surprised — pleasantly — when the Local News Matters website published a make-believe interview about Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates that I conducted with myself and my granddaughter, the fantasy’s co-authors. 

Here’s a link to my shameless promotion, especially for those who enjoy a touch of whimsy or silliness: bit.ly/3pzw0xQ. 

Illustration by Joe Marciniak

In case you've missed my earlier blog items, our kids' book, written by two people 70 years apart in age and aimed at children 6 to 10, features a sorcerer, two fairies, spells, unicorns, and a magic carpet.

Among its highlights are an eight-year-old fairy winning her division of the Unicorn Racing Championships, baby chicks singing jazz instead of cheeping, a wizard making robot movie characters less scary, and two girls wanting to stop thunder-and-lightning storms, floods, earthquakes and tornadoes all over the planet.

More information is available at my new website — woodyweingarten.com. 

Incidentally, if any of you have already bought and read the book, I’d really appreciate your reviewing it on Amazon and Goodreads. 

Not incidentally, even though we’re already a couple of weeks into 2022, I wish you all the happiest new year you’ve ever experienced, one crammed with whimsy (faux and real).

Writer says kids' fantasy will 'become a childhood classic' and calls it 'multigenerational magic'

A story in last week's Pacific Sun and North Bay Bohemian calls Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates “perhaps the sweetest kids’ book of the year-end possibly the decade.” The article by Jane Vick includes a reproduction of the cover, with a caption headlined “Multigenerational Magic,” and predicts that the fantasy “is sure to become a childhood classic.”

The plug by the Marin and Sonoma County weeklies, one traffic jam north of the Golden Gate Bridge, ensures that my co-writing granddaughter, our illustrator and I have a happy new year.

You can check it all out at https://pacificsun.com/literary-roundup-phenomenal-reads-for-2022/ or get more information from my website — woodyweingarten.com. 

My granddaughter and I, close despite a 70-year difference, had oodles of fun collaborating on the whimsical book, which features a sorcerer, two fairies, spells, unicorns and a magic carpet. Highlights include an eight-year-old fairy winning her division of the Unicorn Racing Championships, baby chicks singing jazz instead of cheeping, a wizard making robot movie characters less scary, and two girls wanting to stop thunder-and-lightning storms, floods, earthquakes and tornadoes all over the planet.

Joe Marciniak self-portrait

Not incidentally, the front of Grampy…, created by Joe Marciniak, was recently voted best 2021 children’s book cover design by the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA).

For any of you who’ve already purchased the book and liked it, we’d love you to spread the word — via reviews on Amazon and GoodReads, via personal posts on Facebook or other social media (or sharing), via anything you figure can help the get the fantasy into the hands of more children 6 to 10.

I, Woody Weingarten, have also written a book that can be helpful for patients who are facing a life-threatening disease and their caregivers (male or female) — Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer.

Independent publishers say cover of children's fantasy book by granddad, granddaughter is best

This whimsical cover of Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, created by Joe Marciniak, has just been voted best 2021 children’s book cover design by the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA).

The fantasy book aimed at 6- to 10-year-olds was co-authored by me, Woody Weingarten, and my granddaughter, Hannah Schifrin, who are chums despite a 70-year age difference. We had fun writing it — and are certain that youngsters will have just as much fun reading our story about a sorcerer, two fairies, spells, unicorns and a magic carpet.

Highlights include an eight-year-old winning her division of the Unicorn Racing Championships, baby chicks singing jazz instead of cheeping, a wizard who makes robot movie characters less scary, and two girls who can stop thunder-and-lightning storms, floods, earthquakes, and tornadoes all over the planet.

For more information, just click on this link to my website: woodyweingarten.com.

New site to spotlight 'Grampy' kids' fantasy

Refreshed website to coincide with publication of children's fantasy by grandfather and granddaughter

'Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates,' a children's fantasy co-authored by me (Woody Weingarten) and my granddaughter, Hannah Schifrin, is definitely ready for prime time.

To embellish the VitalityPress book's publication (tentatively slated for New Year's Day 2021), I'm developing a new, modernized website that will allow readers to more readily access more information more quickly and more visually. 

The exact date of the refreshed site's launch has yet to be determined but, as the cliche goes, you'll be the first to know. Meanwhile, just keep on checking here.

'Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates,' five years in the making, is aimed at readers between the ages of 6 and 10. It's a four-part story of how a sorcerer, Grandpa Graybeard, repeatedly gets his granddaughter, Lily, and her best friend, Penny, out of trouble after they mess up their magic spells. It also shows how the girls learn from their misadventures.

Hannah Schifrin was only eight years old when she collaborated on the book, which is illustrated by Joe Marciniak in full color.

While you're waiting for 'Grampy' to be published, if you want to make sure I can put one word after another, check out your local bookstore or Amazon and get a copy of "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress volume I aimed at male caregivers. 

And look for, somewhere in mid-2021, for "The Roving I," a compilation of columns I'd written for a group of weekly newspapers over an 11-year period.

Children's four-part tale of wizard, fairies due

Publication date set for kids' book, 'Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates' 

Hooray! A tentative publication date, Jan. 1, has been established for 'Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates.'

The 50-page children's book, a true collaboration of me, Woody Weingarten, and my granddaughter, Hannah Schifrin, has been — as Hollywood publicists often shout — "five years in the making."

Surprisingly, perhaps, recent delays weren't caused by Covid-19 but by our desire to make the book the best possible available for readers between the ages of 6 and 10. 

A four-part fantasy, 'Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates' focuses on how a sorcerer, Grandpa Graybeard, repeatedly gets his granddaughter, Lily, and her best friend, Penny, out of trouble after they mess up their magic spells. It also shows how the girls learn from their misadventures.

Hannah was only eight years old when she co-wrote the book, which is colorfully illustrated by Joe Marciniak.

While you're waiting, for anybody who wants to see first-hand that I can put one word after another, why not check out your local bookstore or Amazon and get a copy of "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress volume I aimed at male caregivers (one, admittedly, that I'm considering updating). 

And look, probably in mid-2021, for "The Roving I," a compilation of columns I'd written for a group of weekly newspapers over an 11-year period.

Finishing touches being done on kids' book about misadventures of sorcerer and young fairies

Last-minute enhancements are being added to the front and back covers of "Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates."

When they're completed, the text and illustrations of the children's book, co-authored by me, Woody Weingarten, and my granddaughter, Hannah Schifrin, will be done except for a few technical details. Can publication of the fantasy be far behind?

Enchanting, full-color illustrations by Joe Marciniak greatly enrich the storyline, which features a sorcerer, Grandpa Graybeard, who frequently has to get his granddaughter, Lily, and her best friend, Penny, out of trouble when the two eight-year-old fairies mess up their magic spells. Their misadventures become great fun for all three and for young readers who love to let their imaginations run wild.

While "Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates" is being finalized, I'm also editing "The Roving I," a book that will contain a compilation of columns I'd penned over an 11-year period. By deleting some hyper-local references, I expect the book's appeal to be more universal.

Meanwhile, for those who want to see first-hand that I can put one word after another, check out through your local bookstore or Amazon "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress volume I aimed at male caregivers (one, indeed, that I'm thinking about updating).