{"id":159194,"date":"2025-06-05T03:35:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T03:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/159194\/"},"modified":"2025-06-05T03:35:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T03:35:20","slug":"ella-minnow-p-new-childrens-book-by-local-author","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/159194\/","title":{"rendered":"“Ella Minnow P.,” New Children’s Book by Local Author"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Trisha<\/a>Trisha Fleming Reading Ella Minnow P. Photo from TrishaFleming.com<\/p>\n

Trish Fleming had a common experience when practicing ABCs with her kindergartener. When they reached L-M-N-O-P, her daughter rushed the sequence as ellemenoP! At the pronunciation, an idea was born \u2014 a little girl named Ella Minnow P. \u201cI thought of the name, and then the story came naturally,\u201d Trisha says. \u201cI was able to write it pretty quickly. Once I wrote the story, I then had to get it to rhyme, which required some tweaks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is Ella Minnow P.?<\/p>\n

The children\u2019s book has an overarching theme of kindness set to rhyming. Trisha shares that as a military family, her kids know what it is like to be a new kid, and the kindness that should be shown. \u201cThe book is about kindness and adapting to a new situation on the first day of school. Ella gets made fun of, then she chooses kindness. We are a military family, and we\u2019ve moved so many times. I\u2019ve witnessed kids who can be very kind, and then there are kids who aren\u2019t kind, and it\u2019s hard. Kids who move have to readapt all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Trisha has always had a unique skill set, it never occurred to her to write a book. \u201cI never thought about writing a children\u2019s book. I have always loved making little rhymes and poems. Growing up, watching commercials, I loved the little jingles. Rhyming, to me, is easy, so that\u2019s why I wanted this book to rhyme. Once I thought of the story, I was able to make it rhyme by word-smithing it around.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Publishing Process<\/p>\n

The publishing process is a special kind of beast. Trisha started by hiring an editor who focused solely on the editing. Every word written on the page is Trisha\u2019s. Next, she hired an illustrator, whom she had to part ways with. From there, there was a pause in the process, resulting in a three-year process from idea to a published concept. \u201cWhen we found out we had to move from Coronado, I was like, \u2018Okay, I have to get this book done,\u2019\u201d Trisha says. \u201cI found a new illustrator, and we had been working on it for a year. Then, I asked them to prioritize it. So, we fast-tracked it the last three months. We got it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Trisha makes the writing sound easy, the publishing process is not as straightforward. \u201cThe process is complicated, and it\u2019s interesting. The traditional way used to be that you write a story, and then you get a publisher. Nowadays, there are Amazon and IngramSpark, as well as publishing companies that can help you publish your book.\u201d Trisha explains, \u201cThere are pros and cons to everything. I own all the rights to my book. I have control over it. Whereas, if I had a publisher, I wouldn\u2019t. However, they would help market it more effectively. It\u2019s a catch-22. I\u2019ve been pitching my book a little bit to publishers, and then they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, well, it\u2019s already self-published. We don\u2019t touch those books, but we love your story.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She explains why that feedback is tricky to hear. \u201cIf I didn\u2019t self-publish it, then it wouldn\u2019t have hit number one on Amazon. It\u2019s a total chicken-and-egg situation. I\u2019m really happy that I self-published it, and it did hit number one on Amazon in two categories: New Release in New Experiences Books and New Release in Children\u2019s Short Story Collections.\u201d<\/p>\n

A School Book Tour with Ella Minnow P.\"\"<\/a>Trisha Fleming at the Coronado Library. Photo from @TrishaFelmingAuthor<\/a><\/p>\n

After the writing and the publication comes the marketing, which has spread like wildfire. A special moment was when Trisha was able to return to her hometown of Brawley, California, and read Ella Minnow P. \u201cMy former teacher had me come to her fifth-grade class. She had me read the book, then talk about the book writing process and how to be an entrepreneur.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trisha was intentional about the age range of the book. On Amazon, it lists the ages for kids from one to eight years old. \u201cThe reason why I put eight is because I now have a third-grade daughter, a kindergarten daughter, and a TK son,\u201d Trisha explains. \u201cThe book is perfect for my TK [Transitional Kindergartener], but also my kindergartner because she\u2019s starting to learn to read. Then my third grader reads the book and learns some new vocabulary too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside the Classrooms<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been to 42 classrooms, I think nine schools, and over 900 students now. There\u2019s been a lot of hard work. The book launched at the beginning of April, but I started reading to my son\u2019s and daughters\u2019 classes on March 15, right before spring break. I used a test copy of the book.\u201d<\/p>\n

From her time reading in the classroom, Trisha takes a conversational approach with the children. \u201cThe message that I send home with them is that you can be anything you want when you grow up. You need to learn, study, read, and respect all your teachers, but above all, you need to be a good person. You need to be kind. I don\u2019t say you need to be likable. Everyone doesn\u2019t need to like you. You just need to be a good person and be who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

On how the book is being perceived by the audience, Trisha goes straight to the source. \u201cWhenever I\u2019m done reading the book, I say \u2018The End,\u2019 and then \u2018How did you guys like it?\u2019 \u2018Did you like the book?\u2019 And they always say yes. They\u2019re very enthusiastic about the book. They love the ABC part. They love the character, even the little boy. I think that\u2019s been the most rewarding thing. It\u2019s been well received.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A Thank You from Author Trisha Fleming<\/p>\n

Trisha concludes the interview with gratitude to her incredible illustrator, Emanuela Mannello<\/a>, who brought the vision to life. Trisha also extends her gratitude to Coronado. \u201cI\u2019m grateful for the community, and I hope to come back and read when subsequent books come out. Every class that I go to, I donate a couple of books and read to them. I\u2019ve enjoyed giving back to the community, whether it\u2019s donating a physical book or my time. I love that part of it. It\u2019s fun being with the kids, and the teachers have all been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get your copy of Ella Minnow P. at Bay Books Coronado or the Trisha Fleming website<\/a>. Trisha teases that she has ideas for another book, so follow her on Instagram<\/a> for updates.<\/p>\n