Interview with Author Marc Severson
Our publisher, Sean Buvala, sat down with author Marc Severson to talk shop about his new book “Don’t Throw Me in the Cholla Patch!” recently published by us. A transcript is included below. It’s a transcript, not a polished, printed document. Enjoy the “flavor” of it all.
Sean Buvala: Hey. This is Sean Buvala with Small Tooth Dog Publishing Group. I’m talking today to one of our new authors. You’ve been around the block for a while.
Marc Severson: Thirty years or so.
Sean Buvala: This is Mark Severson. He has just released with us, Don’t Throw Me in the Choya Patch. The wood rat and coyote story. The first of the woodrat stories.
Marc Severson: Absolutely.
Sean Buvala: Mark, how are ya?
Marc Severson: I’m doing great. I like to say that over the last 30 years, I’ve become an overnight sensation.
Sean Buvala: Yes, that’s right. That’s all it takes is 30 years. Hey, so we are really pleased to see this book come out with you.
Marc Severson: Not as pleased as I was.
Sean Buvala: That’s good. Look, even your name is on it.
Marc Severson: I know.
Sean Buvala: Where does the story come from? What is the history?
Marc Severson: That’s a great question. When I was an archeologist, I used to be out in the Sonoran desert and I’d find these piles of brush and such. They were surrounded by cholla. I always wondered about them. The fellow that I was doing the survey with said they were woodrat nests. I just thought, “Wow, what a fascinating creature.” They can bring cholla to its nest to protect it from all the other animals.
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New Catalog for Independent Bookstores!
#IndiesFirst! We are, as they say, delighted to be a featured publisher in the latest catalog for independent bookstores via the IBPA. You’ll find our titles on page 24. This season, we’re featuring: “From Audience to Zeal: The ABCs of Finding, Crafting, and Telling a Great Story” by Laura Packer; “Don’t Throw Me in the Cholla Patch” by Marc Severson; “The Fox and the Crow: Art and Stories Inspired by Aesop with Michelle and Sean Buvala; (and soon to be released) “The Kid’s Ultimate Guide to Creating Fun and Fantastic Stories for Writing and Telling” also by Sean Buvala.
Use the links above to order your copy of any of the books. TRADE/Industry ACCOUNTS: please see our page at this link now in order to create an account for your ordering with trade terms. Point-of-Sale materials are available for most titles we offer.
New Spring 2019 Releases from Small Tooth Dog Publishing (Press Release)
Press Release
Use Date March 30-December 30, 2019
Synopsis- The Small-Tooth-Dog Publishing Group released three new books for the spring of 2019, including two children’s titles and one reference book for the art of oral storytelling. These books feature the work of three authors and illustrators from Avondale, Wayzata, Minnesota, and Tucson, Arizona. The books are available at most independent bookstores and online retailers. For more information, please visit smalltoothdog.com .
Avondale, Arizona-The Small-Tooth-Dog Publishing Group of Avondale, Arizona has released three new books for Spring of 2019. A mischievous packrat and his coyote foe share in a battle of wits deep in the moonlit Sonoran Desert. The time-tested fables of Aesop come alive in contemporary retellings accompanied by vibrant, hand-cut art. The ethics, crafting, and techniques of using oral storytelling for public presentations get an in-depth examination in an intriguing reference book of 194 pages. All books are available for order or via ordering by your local bookstore. See the website at smalltoothdog.com for more information.
The new books are:
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Public Speaking for the Terrified
If you’d choose paper cuts over public speaking, this workshop is for you.
Every business owner, artist, author and entrepreneur MUST network, connect, speak and communicate with other people, no matter how you might feel about public speaking. Let’s make it easier. Join us for our next “lunch and learn” session to help you become more comfortable in public speaking.
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See Us at the Texas Storytelling Festival 2019!
We’re on the road once more! We’ll see you at the Texas Storytelling Festival 2019! We’ve got a workshop, books for sale (duh!) and Sean will be offering private coaching at a great price.
Where and When to Find Us:
WORKSHOP Saturday, March 9, 9-1030AM.
Sean Buvala leads:
Contemporary Marketing for Experienced Performers
Get focused on your purpose. Marketing is still essential to the experienced working artist. There are so many more media voices that now serve as paths for the working artist, but you need to know which parts of your many tales each one wants to promote. We’ll explore changes in marketing over the last decades and you’ll create two immediately useful promotional outlines. Bring your smartphone! Please note: this is an intensive workshop on marketing for working artists and is not intended for those who are very new to the art form.
Presenter: Sean Buvala was one of the first to introduce storytelling into the online world via podcasts, audio stories, and professional directories. He’s been teaching artists over the last 30+ years to embrace the full spectrum of marketing while staying true to their art form.
Seantells.com or seantells@gmail.com
COACHING!
Do you need experienced, no-nonsense coaching in marketing, communication, book development, repertoire growth, career guidance or the like? Sean will be offering affordable, private coaching sessions at the conference. Sessions will be available Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and late-night, most of Sunday, and through noon on Monday. Set up a session with Sean, who brings more than 30 years of national experience to your discussion. Each private 45-minute conversation (and a 15 minutes follow-up phone/video call!) is just $80. Due to the nature of the location, these are probably not the best time slots for coaching on performances. To set up a time: first, purchase a slot on the website- see link in box at bottom of this post! Be sure you include your phone number for calls/texts. Sean or one of our staff members will contact you to set up the time and possible location, such as the lobby of the meeting location or at the lobby of the official hotel for the event. Purchase your time slot now! Really, the number of times is very limited.
BOOKS!
Yes, our books are for sale in the on-site story store. We’ll have 10 titles in the store for you to choose from. If the store runs out, you can purchase more here on our site. https://smalltoothdog.com/our-books.
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PURCHASE Coaching!
Unboxing “The Fox and the Crow: Art and Stories Inspired by Aesop”
Illustrator Michelle Buvala from “Mesquite Tree Studio” unboxes the first shipment of copies of The Fox and the Crow: Art and Stories Inspired by Aesop.” This book is a cooperative project with Sean Buvala. Sean, by the way, is responsible for the shaky camera. :-). Come take a look 3 minutes. Visit stealingthecheese.com to learn more.
Video: Pick the Brain of a Storytelling Expert.
Sean Buvala talks about how Laura Packer’s New book is like taking part in one of those “pick my brain” sessions with an expert in the field of oral storytelling and public speaking. Short video:
Arizona Spring 2020 Author’s Mindset Conference & Other Training Sessions!
Lots of Training in the first quarter of 2020! Learn More about our upcoming Indie Author’s Mindset Conference, training held in spring 2020, in Avondale Arizona. Visit the page at this link now. Learn more about the FREE “So, You Want to Publish Your Book?” training-sessions at this link now.
Praise for “From Audience to Zeal” by Laura S. Packer
“In ‘From Audience to Zeal,’ Laura Packer has created a ‘cabinet of curiosities’ that is a remarkable combination of good advice and wonder about the length and breadth of storytelling… time and time again as I read it has set me to thinking about how delicious and right her words are.”
-Loren Niemi, Storyteller
“Whether telling stories for fun or for one’s livelihood, this reference guide will be a useful addition to one’s storytelling library. Beginning storytellers will find that it easily breaks down the nuts and bolts of storytelling from ‘A to Z’. Seasoned storytellers will appreciate Laura’s experiences and anecdotes to hone their own practices. What I valued most about Laura’s approach is that she provides a blending of storytelling pragmatic, theory and skills while using her own stories and sense of humor to guide the reader along.”
-Aimee DuBois, Storytelling Instructor, Normandale Community College
“Wow! Yes, that’s one of the entries in this amazing book, along with Love and Vulnerability, Tenderness and Truth. Although I am not a professional storyteller and reading a book – even one as good as this – isn’t going to make me one, I can say that I came to have even greater regard for this profession, and for author Laura Packer, a very special storyteller, as well. Like many A-to-Z books, this one is intended to be dipped into as the need arises, but it was equally interesting and informative read in linear fashion. Indeed, the lessons reinforced each other and the writing is engaging and lyrical. This book promises to enlighten and delight, to demonstrate and show, and yes, to cause the reader to say, more than once, ‘Wow!'”
-Susan Dray
We’re at the Tucson Festival of Books 2019
We’re celebrating! Yep, we have a special online-store discount code, too. Valid until March 5. The code is at the end of this article.
We have three authors and illustrators at this event, show-special pricing on all the books. We’ll have some freebie book swag like buttons, bookmarks, and posters until we run out. Our staff will be signing it all if you wish.
We want to see you at TFOB. Hashtag it: #tfob #tucsonfestivalofbooks #smalltoothdog. Follow our Instagram at smalltoothdog and Twitter at @smalltoothdog .
There is a lot of info on this page. Scroll down!
Who’s going and where they’ll be?
Here’s a quick look at the schedule of our authors and illustrators.
You can catch:
Saturday
Marc Severson, author of “Don’t Throw Me in the Cholla Patch,” telling stories at the Children’s Entertainment and Storytelling Stage from 3:00pm to 3:40pm. Marc has a long history of great storytelling in Tucson and we’re glad you’ll get to experience him this way. We’ll be giving away posters and bookmarks (until we run out) afterward and we’ll have the Woodrat book available for sale.
Sean Buvala (and Michelle Buvala) will be signing copies of their book. “Apples for the Princess” at 10:00am-12:00pm at the Indie Author Pavillion- Children’s Books. Book swag for free (while supplies last) and the book on sale for a show price. Come and talk “publishing shop” with us, too, if you’d like.
too,
From 2:30pm-4:30PM, Michelle Buvala (and Sean Buvala) will be signing copies of her hot-off-the-press book, “The Fox and the Crow: Art and Stories Inspired by Aesop” in the same Indie Pavillion- Children’s Books. The same deal on free swag and for-sale books as above. However, we have very few of the “Fox and the Crow” books at the moment. If you want one in Tucson, feel free to drop us a line to pre-purchase one and have us hold it for you at the TFOB. -AND- Marc Severson will ALSO be signing his book (listed above) at the same time in the same tent. It’s a Small-Tooth-Dog-apalooza.
From TFOB:
The Tucson Festival of Books will be held on Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3, 2019, on the beautiful University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Arizona. The Festival enters its eleventh year as one of the premier literary events in the country. All proceeds from the Festival are donated to local non-profit organizations that support improved literacy in Southern Arizona. More than $1,850,000 has been donated since the Festival began in 2009.
Let’s party! Save in our online store!
Use the code TFOB2019 to save 10% on every product in our store. That is ON TOP of our “spend $20 or more and get 10%.” Valid online only. Expires on March 5, 2019.