Book about sorcerer, fairies set for prime time

Fantasy, Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, and related website approach their launch dates

The pandemic, believe it or not, has had some positive impact.

For instance, it's given me — Woody Weingarten — plenty of time to tweak my new website, which is nearing completion and which will promote the fantasy book I co-authored with my then eight-year-old granddaughter, Hannah Schifrin.

It's also given me plenty of time to tweak the magical book itself, probably ensuring that Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates will meet its hoped-for publication date next month.

Bottom line: Both the volume itself, which is aimed at 6- to 10-year-olds, and the related website are both almost ready for prime time.

The VitalityPress book, which is illustrated in full color by Joe Marciniak, a longtime artistic pro, tells the four-part tale of a sorcerer, Grandpa Graybeard, who often 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 terrific fun for all three characters — and for young readers who enjoy letting their imaginations run wild.

While proofs of Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates are on the way to me for approval, and the finishing touches are being put on the website that can be found at woodyweingarten.com after it's launched, I'm also editing The Roving I, a book that will embrace newspaper columns I'd written over an 11-year period.

This interested in caregiving might check out, through your local bookstore or Amazon, my earlier book, Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress volume I aimed at male caregivers but one that can also aid female patients and caregivers through factual information and anecdotes. It's a comprehensive memoir-chronicle and guide to scientific research, meds and where to get help.

Though I became an expert reluctantly, I at last can unflinchingly share what I've gleaned from personal experience (including a weekly support group I've run for more than 25 years). 

And that's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth — no fantasy.

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.

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).