Over 30 years ago, San Mateo resident Scott Sollers wrote and illustrated storybooks to read to his daughter Stephanie at night. Stephanie is now 35, and Sollers is publishing her bedtime stories for the first time to make them accessible to a new generation.
Growing up in Spokane, Washington, Sollers often spent his summers as a child reading and playing outside. An active reader, Sollers said that reading book series such as “Nancy Drew” and “Horiatio Hornblower” gave him the vivid imagination that allowed him to write unique stories for his children. Over the years, he has written over 10 children’s books.
The first story published is “A Tall Tale: How Ostriches Got Their Long Necks and Legs,” a fable about two rival communities: the Haves, who live on fertile land with their pet Squatz, and the Have-Nots, who inhabit a desolate valley. Driven by jealousy, the Have-Nots steal the Squatz from the other village, leading to a tug-of-war that puts the Squatz in the crossfire. The story “teaches young readers the pitfalls of envy and the virtues of compromise and cooperation.”
“All of my stories revolve around family, and there is a challenge or conflict that needs to be addressed,” Sollers said.
When Stephanie was five years old, Sollers would sit in bed with his daughter at night and use his creativity and imagination to make up stories. Occasionally he would jot down plot lines, but often he would tell her stories spontaneously. After so many stories, he bought a blank book and started writing them all down, including simple illustrations to accompany the text.
All of Sollers’ books are dedicated to his daughter. In the upper right corner of each book there is a label with the text “Stephanie’s Stories” and a thank you to her.
As a mother, Stephanie Sollers can read her father’s books to her own three-year-old son, who also loves bedtime stories. She and her husband read him between three and nine books a night, she says.
“As a mother today, I am more than impressed by these stories. Thirty years later, my father continues to champion them and bring them back to life,” she said.
Scott Sollers said he has more books in the publishing pipeline, including Stephanie’s favorite story, titled “Lake Omigosh.” “A Tall Tale” has already won a Gold Mom’s Choice Award and a Literary Titan Award.
Sollers said parents and grandparents have told him their child will ask them to read the book three or four times. “How often does that happen!” Sollers said.
For other aspiring children’s authors, persistence and organization are key, Sollers said. “You can’t dawdle. You have to focus on it, you have to be disciplined. It’s work, but it’s not work; it’s fun,” he explained.
Proceeds from the sale of his book will also be donated to the Leanne B. Roberts African Savanna Habitat at the San Francisco Zoo. “A Tall Tale” will also be available for purchase in the zoo’s gift shop.
Sollers’ book was released on August 6 and is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. He will also be holding a reading and book signing on August 24 from noon to 2 p.m. at the San Francisco Zoo and on September 8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Barnes & Noble in Burlingame.
For more information about Sollers and his books, visit scottsollersauthor.com.
