Monday, May 22, 2023

Author Interview: Super Doople by K.A. Cummins



About the Book



Book: Super Doople

Author: K.A. Cummins

Genre: Picture Book

Release date: May 4, 2023

You’ve heard the legend of Humpty Dumpty, but do you know the legend of Super Doople? He’s faster than a chicken. He flies higher than an ostrich. No fall can break his shell! And he was once Little Doople, a small and fragile egg like all the other dooples, until his bad habit of not listening caught up to him.

Engaging text with expressive illustrations, Super Doople is a lighthearted tale about resilience and learning to listen. This funny picture book for ages 3-8 is perfect for reading aloud in the classroom or at home.

Click here to get your copy!


About the Author


K.A. Cummins is an author and an artist. She explores storytelling in a variety of mediums, blending the wonders of science with the possibilities of what if. When not crafting stories, Cummins loves spending time with her family, collecting fun socks, and venturing outside her comfort zone to try new things—at least once!

Connect with her through her website at https://authorkacummins.com, where you can sign up for emails about upcoming releases.


Author Inteview with K.A. Cummins


Q: 
What was the inspiration behind this novel?

K.A.: “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again.” —Humpty Dumpty

This line always struck me as curious. Illustrations commonly portray Humpty Dumpty as an egg and eggs can be hard-boiled, so why couldn’t they put Humpty together again? As a Marvel fan, I started imagining Humpty in his own superhero origin story. Except instead of falling into a vat of radioactive material, he soaked in a tub of hot water.

Then, thinking of an egg boiling reminded me of an analogy from a sermon. If you boil a potato, it softens. If you boil an egg, it hardens. The difference is how each reacts to their circumstances. Hardships are like being put in boiling water. We can either let hardships make us better or bitter. I’m oversimplifying and likely leaving something out, but that was the main point. And that shaped the idea of a hard-boiled hero into a story about resilience, and listening to others.


Q: What do you hope readers take away from Super Doople?

K.A.: Super Doople is a story about resilience and learning to listen, about not giving up on your dreams when things don’t work out. But more than that, I hope readers see the importance of community and have a sense of the love and joy that went into creating this story.


Q: What are you reading now?

K.A.: I’m currently reading advance copies of two picture books: Books aren’t for Bears by Mark Berry and Unicorn NOT Wanted by Fred Blunt. After that, I plan to read Drive-Thru Miracle by Dana Edwards.


Q: How many bookshelves are in your home?

K.A.: Several. Our youngest son and I both enjoy reading. We have a large collection of books that my brothers nicknamed the international library of Cummins. It includes some books from my childhood and even a few from my mother’s childhood. But most of them we’ve picked up in the past decade as we began homeschooling and I started pursuing writing more seriously.


Q: What do you like to do when you aren't writing?

K.A.: Spend time with my family. We might enjoy a nice meal, watch a movie, or get outside and go on an adventure. It really doesn’t matter what we do, I’m grateful to spend time with them.
 

Q: Where can readers find out more about you and your novel?

K.A.: The best places to connect with me and find out more are through my website and newsletter: authorkacummins.com.


More from K.A. Cummins

“Super Doople” started with a comic sketch and the idea of what if a scientist put Humpty Dumpty back together again? At first, it was more for fun and to explore creating comics. In fact, in the first version, he bounced like a ball when he hit the ground.

But the idea stuck! I continued to gravitate back to it, enjoying the exploration of telling a story with words and drawings. Many sketches and several versions later, the character became Little Doople, a hopeful and determined boy with a dream of flying who, through a series of events, transforms into Super Doople.

It’s been so much fun working with Little Doople, especially having our youngest son engaged with the story. Our youngest is sixteen now and has a talented eye for design. He’s one of the first people I ask for art critiques (the other being my husband). He even helped me come up with the name doople, for both the character and the egg-people in the story. We brainstormed in the car on a two-hour drive home.

The joy of creating this story, and from the story itself, has become its own source of inspiration. I haven’t stopped brainstorming more story ideas for Little Doople. I’ve even started plotting some of them, but those are under wraps for now.

However, being a homeschool mom and former educator in other forms, I wanted to share a free educational resource to go along with “Super Doople.” So I’ve put together a few science egg-periments, activities, and coloring pages suitable for younger children that’s available for FREE on my TpT store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Doople-Science-Hands-on-Learning-Activities-9145443.

Hope you and your children enjoy reading “Super Doople.”


Blog Stops


Pause for Tales, May 13

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 14

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 15

Texas Book-aholic, May 16

Blossoms and Blessings, May 17 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, May 17

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, May 18

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, May 19

Lily’s Book Reviews, May 20

Cover Lover Book Review, May 21

Beauty in the Binding, May 22 (Author Interview)

The Life We Build, May 22

debs book review, May 23

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, May 24

A Reader’s Brain, May 25 (Author Interview)

Simple Harvest Reads, May 26


Giveaway



To celebrate her tour, K.A. is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

Link for giveaway: https://promosimple.com/ps/25f5f/super-doople-celebration-tour-giveaway

3 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your interview, bio and book details, I have enjoyed reading about you and your work and I am looking forward to reading Super Doople with my grandchildren

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  2. Thanks for having me on your blog, Jolene! It was fun chatting with you.

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  3. This sounds like a terrific book.

    ReplyDelete