How The Paper Compass Press Got Started

And Why It's Just the Beginning

It started with two nephews, an Easter egg hunt, and a raccoon with a mischievous streak.

Before there was a publishing company, there was just a guy living in Coimbra, Portugal with a story he wanted to tell. I wrote Bandit and the Golden Egg as an Easter present that turned into a special surprise, and what happened next I did not see coming. The book broke into two Amazon Top 100 categories and hit #17 as an Easter holiday publication. My nephews loved it. Strangers bought it. And just like that, I had proof of concept that was sitting right there on the table.

That's how Paper Compass Press was born.

The press now supports everything I'm building, colorful picture books, interesting characters, and a creative universe that keeps growing. Bandit is just the beginning. There are five more books with completed drafts, two with finished illustrations, and a lineup of furry characters with stories that need telling. It's going to be a busy summer.

I also launched The Creator's Studio, whiich is the home of The Picture Book System. The eight How-to-Guides cover everything you need to write, illustrate, assemble, and publish a children's picture book on Amazon KDP. I built these guides because when I was figuring all this out myself, there wasn't much out there that felt honest or practical. So I wrote what I wished I'd had, straight talk, no fluff, just one person talking to another over a cup of coffee.

If you're curious about the Portugal side of this story, the D7 visa maze, the healthy food, and getting purposely lost in nearby cities, that's all over at Chronicles of a Wayward Drifter.

This is just the first post of many detailing all the crazy things I'm working on, so stick around.