When Brenda Redman found out her daughter, Courtney was pregnant, she was so very, very excited! "From the first day I found out that she was pregnant, I started calling the baby a peanut!" explains Brenda, and when she would call her daughter to talk, she would always ask, "How's peanut?" She found that she was laying awake at night thinking of little story ideas to make a scrapbook for this unborn babe. "One day last September, I woke up and wrote down in one morning this story that I had had in my head for so long," says Brenda.
Above: Brenda and her peanut, (granddaughter), Amelia
How's Peanut? peek inside the book
"I shared it with my family and close friends and they thought it should be more than a scrapbook, that I should see if I could get it published!" She made an appointment with the writer-in-residence, David Gane, at the Regina Public Library, to get an opinion from another writer. He liked the flow and the rhythm of the book and recommended contacting the publisher, Your Nickel's Worth Publishing, of his own 3 books. Brenda sent her manuscript, and within 2 weeks, the publisher had responded that they liked it and wanted to meet. Brenda explains that she decided to go with the "self publishing option" so that she could have total control over the content. She found an illustrator, Wendi Nordell, and together they worked on bringing the book to fruition. "The book, How's Peanut? describes the bond between a mother and her daughter and her unborn baby," tells Brenda, "and how much that baby is loved already." By April 17 of this year, Brenda had the first copy in hand. Brenda shares that she is retiring from her job as the Community Development & Recreation Director in Esterhazy at the end of this month. She will then avidly start promoting her book.
Congratulations Brenda on self-publishing your first children's book!
Copies are available at $14.95 instore at Coles in Yorkton,
online or
if you'd like an autographed copy, email Brenda at: b.redman@sasktel.net.
Follow her on Instagram: howspeanut