StoryTime By Design Newsletter

We loved reading Loukoumi's Good Deeds during our Story Hours. What inspired you to create the Loukoumi Series?
As long as I can remember I have loved writing. The name Loukoumi is a Greek word meaning "sweet" and it is also a type of Greek candy, so one day I was in the kitchen and I asked my wife to please hand me the box of Loukoumi, Loukoumi - I called her Loukoumi. It just came out of my mouth. And then I thought wouldn't that make a cute name for a children's book character. So I thought Loukoumi candy is white, we have the "L" sound, how about a lamb? And Loukoumi the Lamb was born. Then when my son Dean was born in 2004 I knew that I had to follow through on this project not only for me, but also for him. Now I read the books at school and bookstores and it gives me such pleasure to spread the messages in these books to kids.

The idea for Loukoumi's Good Deeds and Loukoumi's Gift came to me from a very fond memory when someone did something very nice for me. It was about 15 years ago and I was working as a law clerk for a federal judge. My appointment was for a two year term and at the end of the two years I came into work on the last day and there was a pair of beautiful gold cufflinks. About an hour later Daisy the cleaning lady came into my office and said, "Did you like my present?" and I couldn't believe it. Here was a sweet wonderful woman who didn't have a lot of money, yet she bought me a pair of gold cufflinks. I said to her, "Daisy, you didn't have to do this, why did you buy me this present?" and she responded, "Because you said 'Good Morning' to me everyday! That was the nicest thing that anyone ever did for me."

This book is dedicated to Daisy for teaching me at a young age that the perfect gift comes straight from the heart. This book is also dedicated to the celebrities who donated their time to help make a difference in the lives of others.

Speaking of Celebrities, what was it like working with Jennifer Aniston and her father, John Aniston? How did you get celebrities such as Olympia Dukakis and Gloria Gaynor involved?
It was really a thrill for me. Jennifer came into the studio and asked me how I would like her to record the narration and I said to her, "You are the Emmy winner. You do it any way you'd like!" Jennifer and her dad John as well as all the celebrities including Olympia Dukakis, Gloria Gaynor, American Idol's Constantine Maroulis, Guiding Light star Frank Dicopoulos, CBS News Anchor Alexis Christoforous were such a pleasure to work with. And they also enjoyed working in the studio together - it was a very comfortable, enjoyable, and rewarding experience and they did the ultimate good deed for this book by donating their time to this project so that we could raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as $2 from each book is donated to St. Jude.

I came to know the celebrities involved through my affiliation as President of the Hellenic Times Scholarship Fund. I have run the organization for 18 years and each of these celebrities have been involved in the Hellenic Times and the Gala in some way and when I asked them to be part of the Loukoumi project the all graciously agreed and I am so grateful.

How has being a father influenced your writing?
It has made me so conscious that we need to instill on our kids good values and lessons to live by. That is why I try to have a lesson in each book that I write. With Loukoumi's Good Deeds the lesson is to teach kids to do something nice for others, no matter how great or small that good deed is, it can make a big difference in someone's life and it now gives me pleasure to have kids and parents telling me about all the good deeds their kids are doing after reading this book. At the storytime events I do, we have designed a craft for the kids where they can draw a picture for someone they love doing what it is they enjoy doing with that person, and then they are encouraged to give that drawing to the person they love. This gets them to think about doing nice things for others and like in the book it also shows kids that the perfect gift need not cost a lot of money but can be something from the heart like a drawing that they create. The craft page is on our website at www.Loukoumi.com.

Your promotions and programs have been inspirational in helping children realize their dreams, what other promotions do you have planned?
We are sponsoring our second annual Dream Day Contest. This contest is based on my last book, Growing Up With Loukoumi, which teaches kids they can be anything when they grow up if they believe in themselves. Children can enter the contest by drawing a picture of themselves in their future dream career accompanied by the statement: "I Want to be a __________ because...". Dream Day events will take place at libraries, schools, and bookstores nationwide from April 1st through December 31st 2009, with top winners living their dream career for a day. Last year's winners included witnessing a Mars landing from NASA, playing soccer with the New York Red Bulls, cooking on CBS News with chef Tony Tantillo and meeting with TV chef Rachel Ray. Contest forms for this year's Dream Day contest are on our website at www.Loukoumi.com.

What lies in the future for Loukoumi?
Well, we are now illustrating the fourth Loukoumi book in the series titled Loukoumi's Gift. The story is narrated by John Aniston and Jennifer Aniston plays the role of Daisy the Giraffe on the CD that comes with the current Loukoumi's Good Deed book. We have just completed a line of Loukoumi baby products as well which include blankets, towels, bibs, a plush toy and other items. They are listed on our webiste at www.Loukoumi.com as well as www.amazon.com. And we are also speaking with retailers now to carry the products. In addition, we are in discussions with several companies to turn the Loukoumi series into a cartoon series. I will enjoy taking Loukoumi on many more adventures.