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We lost Ben one year ago today, to cancer. He was a brave, selfless, positive soul. He would write stories, movie scripts and produce, edit and star in his movies. A very creative teenager. Many of his over 40 manuscripts for children's stories are sitting in his binder and will begin to be published soon. Despite his multiple battles with cancer, he found the time to write all these stories and get straight A's at school. We are very proud of him and miss him terribly.  Ben's book is in the process of being distributed in Chapters outlets across BC and possibly Canada. Many of those who bought a copy love the action, suspense and relationships with the characters. He certainly was a talented writer and was only seventeen.
Today, Ben would've been 18 years old. It's normally a happy day but it's certainly sad this time. It's our first birthday without him. Ben's book is on its way from the printers and it should arrive here sometime next week. This would have been such a great present for him to receive. After 4 years of writing his book, he would've been opening the box to see his book in print and in his hands. He worked so hard on it but was not able to see the final product. Maybe he's here, watching us and anticipating seeing book.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEN! WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU SO MUCH!
Ben's book is almost done. I didn't realize how much is involved. Lots of reworking, reviewing, approving, redoing... BUT, we're nearing the end. As of today, the covers for both hard cover and soft cover books are complete. The text and everything that is on the inside is complete. Now, it's just a matter of sending it to the publishing queue and working out the distribution. It should be available online first at the Friesen Press bookstore here. Then in a week or two on Amazon and Barnes & Noble etc., both electronic and the physical book. The hard cover and paperback will be available also in the next few weeks on Ben's website, if you would like an "autographed" copy of the book.
Ben would have been so excited at this stage to see that all his 4 years of work would be finally coming to fruition. Lots of great sections in there and there's always so many funny bits. That's basically how he was. always positive and a sense of humour despite all the hardships he had to endure. His personality really comes through in the book. We tried to keep as many of his original words in the text and only changed some of the spelling and grammar. The format of the book is a little larger than most as he wrote over 358 pages. He worked hard on this project, as he did on anything he undertook. I hope you will order his book. It's full of action, emotion, character and humour. I am presently working with Freisen Press to finalize the cover and the "About the Author" section as well as the forward. So much to do. Meanwhile, I'm reading through to make sure there are no other mistake or things I might want to change, and there are a few. Ben, in his original manuscript had DropCaps so I am doing those for each chapter. He would've been so proud of his work. As I'm reading, I'm finding little fun quotes in there. For example, in chapter 5, Ben writes: "I tossed that thought in my imaginary garbage. But when one of the attendees started to come our way, I puked the thought back out" In chapter 6, Ben writes: "I tried to kick him away, but he was as stiff as a rock. He had an iron grip that was not about to turn to limestone." The current book cover by Hang Le is amazing and we will likely go with this one ...  |
AuthorMichel Obadia is Ben's Dad. He has been a teacher for over 30 years and is an artist and musician. He maintains Ben's websites. Archives
July 2017
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