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Rebekah Murray

Rebekah Murray

Quito, Ecuador

Rebekah is a New Zealander living in Ecuador. She teachers English as a Second Language. She has a BSc in Zoology and Physiology and has a love of nature.

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About the author

Rebekah has always enjoyed expressing herself through words and has always had an active imagination. She was born in New Zealand but has travelled a lot and had lived in United States, Australia, and Argentina before finally settling in Ecuador. 

Rebekah believes in learning through adventure and experience. For example, instead of learning Spanish through the normal study classes, she choose to travel through Argentina and volunteer in Patagonia to immerse herself in the language and culture.


She has a BSc in Zoology and Physiology and has previously worked in animal non-profit organisations in both New Zealand and Australia. Her jobs have been based around fundraising, education, training staff members and animals, animal care, and customer service. Once completely settled in Ecuador, she hopes to be able to volunteer her time in research, rescue, rehabilitation, and education of the wildlife in Ecuador. She also hopes to contribute to the advancement of Ecuador in environmental studies, and ecotourism.

Rebekah's first love is wildlife conservation. Her second love is providing equal education whilst entertaining to all which includes environmental education and languages. She is a tutor for English in Ecuador and has written and translated many short stories for her students to study. 

Teaching isn't all about workbooks and grammar. It's about having fun!



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Success! Elroy the Iguana has already sold 103 pre-orders , was pitched to 37 publishers , and will be published by Chacana Editorial .

$5 LAST WEEK DIGITAL PACKAGE

20 readers

Accessible anywhere!

+Digital Copy (PDF, ePUB, MOBI)

Ebook included

$10 Digital Package

7 readers

Accessible anywhere!

+Digital Copy (PDF, ePUB, MOBI)

Ebook included

$25 Print Copy

19 readers

Just the Print!

You will receive:
+1 copy of Print Book
+Digital copy (PDF, ePUB, MOBI)

1 copy + ebook included

$10 shipping

$25 2 FOR 1 LAST WEEK

7 readers

Just the Print!

You will receive:
+2 copy of Print Book
+Digital copy (PDF, ePUB, MOBI)

2 copies + ebook included

$10 shipping

$75 Personalised Print

3 readers

A special thanks!

You will receive:

+ Signed print copy delivered to you
+ Print copy delivered to you
+ Digital copy (PDF, ePUB, MOBI)
+ Thank you inside the book!

2 copies + ebook included

$10 shipping

$150 Discover Ecuador Educate (5)

1 reader

Discover Ecuador, Wildlife, and Language Education all in one!

You will receive:
+5 printed and signed copies
+Digital copy (PDF, ePUB, MOBI)
+Acknowledgement in the book

5 copies + ebook included

$15 shipping

$300 Discover Ecuador LAST WEEK

0 readers

Discover Ecuador, Wildlife, and Language Education all in one!

You will receive:
+20 printed and signed copies
+Digital copy (PDF, ePUB, MOBI)
+Acknowledgement in the book

20 copies + ebook included

$15 shipping

$300 Discover Ecuador Educate (10)

3 readers

Discover Ecuador, Wildlife, and Language Education all in one!

You will receive:
+10 printed and signed copies
+Digital copy (PDF, ePUB, MOBI)
+Acknowledgement in the book

10 copies + ebook included

$15 shipping

Elroy the Iguana

Spanish and English Galapagos Adventure

Elroy the Iguana wants a girlfriend. He seeks the help of other Galapagos species but finds an outcome that he didn't expect.

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Children Fiction Spanish and English Educational
1,000 words
75% complete
8 publishers interested

Synopsis

My book is about Elroy, a land iguana who lives on the Galapagos Islands. He desperately wants a girlfriend and seeks help in the other animals on the islands for "attraction" advice. He eventually gets downcast in his quest and finds by being himself, a gorgeous female iguana comes up to him. Moral of the story: Be Yourself. 

My inspiration of the moral may have to do with my blonde, blue- eyed presence in Ecuador that often attracts the males here. They try all sorts of games and "macho" acts to try and get my attention which isn't very attractive.

It is written both in Spanish and English because I teach ESL and have discovered the value of putting both languages side by side to explain the differences and similarities in a fun and visual way.


Outline

*Each paragraph is written in both English and Spanish.

First Section: Introduces Elroy the Land Iguana

Second Section: Elroy tries to imitate the Blue Footed Boobies with their famous dance.

Third Section: Elroy sees the flamingos and tries to copy them as they march up and down the beach.

Fourth Section: Elroy sees the old Galapagos tortoises and tries to imitate their movements.

Fifth Section: Elroy tries to copy the large sea lions and fails miserably.

Sixth Section: Elroy admits defeat but as he is sat alone. But the girl of his dreams comes to talk to him and tells him that he is perfect just the way he is.


Audience

The target audience would be 12-14 year olds or for those who are learning English or Spanish depending on what level reading they are at in their second language. 

There are 400,000,000 people that speak Spanish as their mother tongue. There are 22 countries with Spanish as the official language. As English is the official international language, these people want their children to learn English. 

For English speakers, Spanish is counted as one of the easiest languages to learn and also one of the most profitable for future business.

Galapagos Islands are also a highly sought after destination spot with the truly unique ecosystem and the history of Darwin's adventures on the islands. Therefore for those who love animals but don't particularly wish to learn another language, this book is also for them.

Promotion

1. Social Media- Promotion through social media avenues such as Instagram and Facebook for preorders and orders. This will include updates on illustrations, tidbits and also advertising on relevant Facebook pages.

2. Personal Touch- From a previous job in Ecuador I know a lot of the directors and principals at the Quito schools. I will be contacting them and hoping to participate in school fairs and book fairs.

Competition

Elroy the Iguana is similar to books that are about animals that focus on being true to yourself or not trying to be anyone else such as Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen. However Elroy the Iguana is set in an iconic location with educational references to the other animals that live there. Also my book is bilingual and designed to entertain as well as educate.

There are a few bilingual children's books but in my research, I was only able to find translations of well known stories such as The Princess and the Pea or Cinderella. Elroy the Iguana is an original story.

8 publishers interested
Anaphora Literary Press logo Anaphora Literary Press

250 copies • Partial manuscript.
Anaphora Literary Press was started in 2009 and publishes fiction, short stories, creative and non-fiction books. Anaphora has exhibited its titles at SIBA, ALA, SAMLA, and many other international conventions. Services include book trailers, press releases, merchandise design, book review (free in pdf/epub) submissions, proofreading, formatting, design, LCCN/ISBN assignment, international distribution, art creation, ebook (Kindle, EBSCO, ProQuest)/ softcover/ hardcover editions, and dozens of other components included in the basic package.

Hybrid publisher

Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel

Worldwide

i2i Publishing logo i2i Publishing

250 copies • Completed manuscript.
i2i Publishing was founded by Lionel Ross and asks for a small financial contribution towards costs.

Hybrid publisher

Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Politics & Social Sciences, Society & Culture

Worldwide

Mascot Books logo Mascot Books

Mascot Books is a full-service hybrid publisher dedicated to helping authors at all stages of their publishing journey create a high-quality printed or digital book that matches their vision. With comprehensive editorial, design, marketing, production, and distribution services, our authors have the support of an experienced publishing team while still retaining one of the highest royalty percentages in the business.

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All categories

Authors Unite logo Authors Unite

250 copies • Partial manuscript.
Authors Unite helps you become a profitable author and make an impact. We take care of printing and distribution through major online retailers, developmental editing, and proofreading with unlimited revisions. We take care of the entire process for you from book cover design all the way to set up your backend so all your book royalties go straight to your bank account. We can also help with ghostwriting if you prefer not to have to figure out all the steps on how to write a book yourself.

With our book marketing services, you don’t need to worry about figuring out all the steps on how to market a book or how to become a bestselling author. We’ve helped hundreds of authors become bestselling authors on Amazon, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. We take care of the entire book launch process for you to help you sell thousands of copies of your book and become a bestselling author.


View case studies here: https://authorsunite.com

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Children Fiction, Christian Fiction, Comics & Graphic Novels, Commercial Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBT Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Mind & Body, Mythology & Folk Tales, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Women's Fiction, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Children Non-Fiction, Christian Non-Fiction, Communication Skills, Corporate Culture, Crafts & Hobbies, Creativity, Current Affairs, Economics, Education, Entrepreneurship & Small Business, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Humor & Entertainment, Journalism, LGBT Non-Fiction, Management & Leadership, Marketing & Sales, Mindfulness & Happiness, Money & Investment, Motivation & Inspiration, Nature & Environment, Parenting, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Philosophy, Politics & Social Sciences, Popular Science, Productivity & Time Management, Psychology, Reference, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Sex & Relationships, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel, YA Non-Fiction, Science Fiction & Humour

Worldwide

Bookmobile logo Bookmobile

100 copies • Partial manuscript.
Bookmobile provides book printing, graphic design, and other resources to support book publishers in an ever-changing environment. Superior quality, excellent customer service, flexibility, and timely turnarounds have attracted nearly 1,000 satisfied clients to Bookmobile, including trade houses, university presses, independent publishers, museums, galleries, artists, and more. In addition, we manage eBook conversions and produce galleys, and regularly provide short-run reprints of 750 copies or fewer for major publishers such as Graywolf Press.

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Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel

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Publish Monster logo Publish Monster

Get your ebooks into the biggest stores and keep the 100% of your royalties. Amazon, Apple iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, Nook by Barnes & Noble and more.

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ShieldCrest Publishing logo ShieldCrest Publishing

ShieldCrest are book publishers based in the UK who fill that vital gap for talented authors where mainstream publishers are unwilling to give them that chance. We strive for excellence and invest in our authors and are listed in FreeIndex as the number one independent publisher in the UK for price quality and service rated author satisfaction. We publish books of all genres including; fiction, historical, biographies and children's books.

ShieldCrest publishing continues to grow rapidly with satisfied authors throughout the UK and overseas. Our range of products includes paperbacks, hardbacks and digitised e-books in all formats used globally in the myriad of e-readers.

In addition to the above, ShieldCrest provides a complete range of services including book design and layout, illustrations, proof reading and editing. For marketing we offer author web page, press releases, social media marketing packages and many other support services to help both first time and experienced authors get their books into the market quickly and maximise on the opportunities available.

These services enable us to guide our authors through the process as we transform their manuscript into a professional book, which can take its place with pride next to any famous author's book of the same genre.

The staff at ShieldCrest have many years experience in the book industry and this wealth of experience is put at the disposal of our authors.

Our clients include established authors such as Diane Marshall who has been acclaimed as the best writing talent to come from Scotland for years by The Scotsman newspaper, and Prof Donald Longmore OBE, who performed the first heart transplant in the UK and has sold thousands of medical books used by students throughout the world. We also recently released "Martin Foran-The Forgotten Man" by J.R. Stephenson, which features fraud within the police, abuse within the prison service and injustices in the courts and has been featured in the press and on TV.

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Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel

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Xlibris logo Xlibris

At Xlibris, we provide authors with a supported self-publishing solution from our comprehensive range of publishing packages and associated services. Publish and distribute your book to a global audience in classic black & white, dazzling full-color, paperback, hardback, or custom leather bound formats, plus all digital formats.

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Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel

Worldwide

Off the coast of Ecuador on the Galapagos Islands lives Elroy the Iguana. Elroy has plenty of food, water and the perfect spot to sunbathe but he wasn’t happy. What Elroy wanted most in the world was a girl friend.

Cerca de la costa de Ecuador, en las islas Galápagos vive Elroy, la iguana. Elroy tiene suficiente comida y agua y el lugar perfecto para solear. Sin embargo, no estaba contento. Lo que más quería en el mundo era una novia.

One day he saw the elegant blue footed boobies dancing with their feet flashing brilliant blue all around. “Surely that would attract a female.” Elroy thought to himself.But as hard as he tried, his feet wouldn’t do the dances of the blue footed boobies or perhaps it was because they weren’t blue at all. 

Un día vio los piqueros de patas azules elegantes bailando con sus patas azules brillando por todos lados. “Seguramente eso atraería a una chica.” Elroy pensaba adentro de sí. Pero por más que lo intentaba, sus patas no podrían hacer los bailes de los piqueros de patas azules o tal vez era porque sus patas no eran nada azules. 

  • Update #2 - Getting there! Jan. 9, 2018

    I hope you all had happy holidays! The process of finding a publisher has been very slow especially since I require a truly international one ...

  • Update #1 - TWO Pre-Orders! Oct. 17, 2017

    This is just to say a very big thank you for being one of my very first supporters! 

    This book is hopefully going to be ...

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  • Karin Kelleher
    on Oct. 19, 2017, 3:19 a.m.

    Good job Pog I am so proud of you. Let me know if you need anything. Love Karin, Katelyn, Dylan Kelleher

  • Lyn Leigh
    on Oct. 19, 2017, 8:11 p.m.

    Hi Rebekah, Exciting can't wait to receive my copy of Elroy the Iguana. Wish you all the best with future books and a voice to help our world. Thanks for sharing Lyn and Graeme Leigh xx

  • Mary MacAdams
    on Oct. 21, 2017, 1:59 p.m.

    Way to go Rebekah! So proud of this achievement!

  • John Good
    on Oct. 26, 2017, 9:44 a.m.

    Hi, our Grand Kids should enjoy.

  • Charles Bunger
    on Oct. 26, 2017, 12:10 p.m.

    Hi Rebekah, your dad forwarded the info on your new book......we wish you the best. We have enjoyed having Marsha Kiser in Texas this year, she spent a couple of nights in our home while she helped out in the Houston field for about a month, take care and come and see us any time, love, Chuck & Teresa

  • Lauren Frost
    on Oct. 27, 2017, 4:50 a.m.

    Hi Rebekah, looks like you're having a lot of fun over there. Congrats on a cool book, will be great for our kids. Lauren Frost

  • Lauren Pearson
    on Nov. 6, 2017, 10:09 a.m.

    Hey Bekah! Our fingers and toes are crossed! Hope it goes well. xx

  • Sophie Palmer
    on Nov. 6, 2017, 8:56 p.m.

    Looking forward to reading it to Deegan :)
    Thanks Rebekah

  • Gail Kloosterman
    on Nov. 10, 2017, 2:11 a.m.

    For many years I have desired to fully grasp the complexities of the iguana community. This seems like the next logical step in that process. Perhaps some of my questions will be answered as I interface with this bilingual representation of the relationships that we readily observe in nature.

  • Linda Murray
    on Nov. 16, 2017, 12:34 a.m.

    Whoop Whoop! Sooooooo proud of you Bekah.

  • Geoff Murray
    on Nov. 16, 2017, 1:15 a.m.

    Way to go kiddo! J K Rowling watch out! BTW, the other Elroy suggested you do an audio in Spanish and English so that the student is able to get the pronunciation spot on.

  • Merise Seko
    on Nov. 16, 2017, 4:16 a.m.

    All done Rebekah xx wishing you success over there xx Minnie