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Rimbey author launches new books

Sara Dudenhoeffer, who grew up in Rimbey and Bluffton, is set to launch her second and third publications.

By Adam Eisenbarth

A couple new books will hit the shelves at the Rimbey Municipal Library May 26.

Sara Dudenhoeffer, who grew up in Rimbey and Bluffton, is set to launch her second and third publications.

Junior fiction novel Wild Hooves is the second book in the Pinto Mountain Series. The first novel, Horse on the Loose was released in 2008.

Dudenhoeffer is both an author and illustrator and says the two talents complement one another.

“There are things I can express better through illustration and things I can express better through writing so it really just depends.”

Dudenhoeffer is excited about the new book and says while Horse on the Loose was a good introduction to the series, Wild Hooves is action-packed.

“It’s quite a bit more exciting if you ask me. It’s about some wolves that have been habituated so they’re not afraid of people and (the characters) get into some tight situations with the wolves.”

Dudenhoeffer will also release her picture book, The Night Jayden Saved the Moon. The book was illustrated by Dudenhoeffer but for the story, she had a little help.

“That is a children’s book that my son Jayden and I wrote. He’s only 31/2 now. When he was two he wanted me to make up stories with him at night before he goes to bed and this is one of the stories that we made up together.”

Dudenhoeffer says her son clearly has the ability to follow his mother’s path.

“He sure is a storyteller. He can come up with the most interesting stories. It’s so inspiring to have children because us adults have been raised with all these rules and it’s gotten to a point where we’re just not imaginative as kids. Their minds are completely unbridled.”

One of the biggest challenges facing an author for young readers, is getting into the mindset of a child. It’s something that Dudenhoeffer worked at by reading children’s novels herself.

“So when you’re trying to write for them, you need to really get all your adult issues out of your mind, all the boring stuff.”

A few years ago Dudenhoeffer was exclusively an illustrator but after working on the cover of a book she was inspired to expand her talents.

“After going through the process I was quite inspired to get into writing the books instead of just illustrating and that’s when I started.”

Dudenhoeffer decided to go the self-publishing route with her books. This allowed her to keep her creativity from being changed and while that decision has also created extra work, she is happy with the way it has turned out.

“The biggest difficulty is trying to be found and to get all the copies of your book sold. It’s hard to figure out where to go to sell them and there are so many expenses involved in advertising and making appearances that it really gets to be expensive, but I think it’s really a rewarding process.”

Clearly it has worked out as her first book has been read from Britain to Australia and Germany.

“I have a person in Germany who wants to work on possibly getting it into German.”

The book launch will be at 7 p.m. on May 26 at the library where Dudenhoeffer and her new books will be available. Her books are also available online at lulu.com