For years, Katie Tomaszewski wanted to produce a children’s book from scratch.
This desire and focus became a reality this weekend, when her somewhat-biographical “HoneyBelle” debuted on Amazon through Kindle direct publishing.
Through the critique of her three children — ages 3, 5, and 12 — and the digital coaching from her husband, Nick, the Marshall Countian spent the last year writing, illustrating and paginating a work about the frustrating, yet natural, behavior of honey bees.
It’s in direct correlation to their business, Barkley & Bee Company, which started selling natural honey from their hives last year.
On Monday, “HoneyBelle” was No. 67 in Amazon’s new releases.
On Tuesday, it was the No. 1 “Top New Release” in Amazon’s Children’s Farming and Agriculture, and No. 6 “Best Seller” in the same category.
The Tomaszewski’s moved from Hopkinsville to Cadiz and Trigg County in January 2020, and among many of their focuses was to eventually create, and sell, one of the world’s only non-spoiling ingredients.
As busy as the subjects she wrote about, Tomaszewski combined her skills of Adobe Photoshop, watercolor and Canva for the product.
This is how much desktop publishing has changed in the last decade, and it allowed her and husband to pursue a passion on the side while the hives took hold.
She also hints that HoneyBelle’s story is not finished.
According to Amazon.com, “this charming story takes readers on a colorful journey through the meadow as brave scout bee, HoneyBelle, searches for the next perfect home.”
Also available in paperback for $13, the 51-page effort is age-appropriate for 1-to-6-year-olds.
