Sunday, December 30, 2012

Holidays for Kids by Charles Pascalar

Now that the excitement of the holidays is almost over and the kids are beginning to get bored with their new toys and their Christmas vacation feels like it is endless, there's a new book in town to help with the after Christmas holiday letdown.  Holidays for Kids helps to keep the excitement going all year long.  The best part is that they are easy to do.  None of that endless Christmas shopping in crowded stores.  Here are holidays we don't usually celebrate such as National Popcorn Day, Cloud Day and even Slurpee Day.

Holidays for Kids might just be the answer to the age of cry of children everywhere "Mom, I'm bored!"

So who is it that came of with this novel idea?  His name is Charles Pascalar and you can get to know him in this interview:

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future? This is a great question…would I go back in time knowing the winning lottery numbers and then play them…that seems like a good thing. But seriously, I would go into the future. How have we progressed as a society? What new inventions can people not live without? How did my kids and their kids turn out? Will cars fly at some point? Will my favorite sports teams ever win something?
If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would you choose? Since this is so wide open  with no limits, the people would be Jesus (would explain a lot of things) Leonardo da Vinci (how did one person have that level of imagination and intelligence) Abraham Lincoln (how did he really steer the United States and keep it together) , and my Mom and Dad (just to see them one last time)
If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you?  One of those GPS phones that can call anywhere in the world (solves the problem), $10 million in cash (makes it easy to have someone pick you up) and my wife (great island vacation)
If you could have any superpower what would you choose? Ability to bestow happiness on anyone
What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Chocolate…because doesn’t everyone love Chuck-A-Lot (get it…Chuck is short for Charles)
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Leftover Pizza
Night owl, or early bird? I am probably my best between mid-morning and mid-afternoon
Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book. It’s a way for parents to connect with their kids while doing fun, unique holidays together with both learning new things to create memories to last their lifetimes.
Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects? I have another book that the topic is fascinating. It’s entitled Table #3. I have a few chapters in my head on what to write about, but need a few more plus some unique, insider information.
What inspired you to want to become a writer? We had recently moved to a new state and my children’s new friends were over the house one day and were listening to many of the “holidays” written about in the book and were amazed at how fun they were. They had commented about wishing they could have done those things and what a great Dad I was. I started thinking then about just sharing my ideas and writing the book  Four weeks later I had written 90% of it.
Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published. Someone in California posted a YouTube video about things to do for the Christmas holidays and having traditions with her children. She held up a copy of my book and talked about traditions in it with kids ALL year long. I found out about the video and showed it to my family that night and my wife cried and told me how proud she was of me.
A friend sent me two books to be autographed for friends of hers, who were going to become new Moms. I signed them and wrote a short note telling the new Mom she was already on her way to becoming a great parent. My friend called me a week later and told both her friends had called her, crying, that the book was the greatest present anyone had ever given to them. My kids told me they were proud of me.
What is your dream cast for your book? Every Mother and Father plus THEIR children. This is not a book that would be made into a movie, but a book that would be made into a memory.
What was your favorite book when you were a child/teen? I was an avid comic book reader. In fact, I still have all those comics from the 60’s and 70s. Over 4000. I read them so many times I can still look at the front cover of those books and remember the story lines.
What’s one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors? Write the book! So many people talk about having this great novel inside them, but never take the initiative to do anything other than say it. Write down an outline. Or write your thoughts down. They don’t have to be in any order. After you re-read them, you will begin to develop a story line and what you need. Just do it!
When you were little, what did you want to be when you “grew up?” Not when I was little, but in my 30’s one of my bosses asked me this question during a performance review with the philosophy about finding out my career plans over the next 5-10 years. I really didn’t have a good answer for him then, but after many more years of thinking about it, I finally know what I want to be when I grow up. Younger, Smarter, and Better Looking!
What do you do in your free time? Most of this interview really deals with my being an author. Actually that is what I try to do in my free time. My real job is Vice President of Marketing for Payless ShoeSource, one of the largest and best footwear retailers in the world. So I think about how to get women and families to buy more shoes from us. Then at night I love social media and write several comments on Facebook or Twitter etc with friends and just enjoy making them laugh.
If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be? Ripley Wouldn’t Believe This Guy!
Finish the sentence- one book I wish I had written is…. The Firm, by John Grisham…I had an idea for a book 20 years ago called The Office, just featuring all the craziness that went on at a former employer of mine…who hasn’t thought about that? His was exceptionally better than mine would have been…but mine would have been much funnier!
Favorite places to travel? In my imagination
In your wildest dreams, which author would you love to co-author a book with? William Shakespeare…would be like a He said…He really said…where I could take his brilliance and translate it into a totally similar, but different reality.
Holidays for Kids is available at Amazon
You can follow Charles Pascalar on Twitter and Holidays for Kids on Twitter

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