In the December Author Spotlight:
elizabeth and elena
Authors of NanaStar

elizabeth and elena are the granddaughters of Nana Star’s creator, Elizabeth Owens. Together, they established eepublishing & productions, inc, a "laugh-friendly" company. Nana Star is the first of many planned book and character doll sets.

ee publishing is truly a family business.The Nana Star characters were created by their grandmother Elizabeth and all the illustrations and character doll creation was done by their mother, Linda. elizabeth and elena created the storylines. All three of elizabeth's children have played a role in the making of Nana Star and her youngest, Julienne, who is three is completely in-love with nana star and gets 'starry-eyed' when you mention her or she see the doll or book! The other two children, Allie (16) and Nicholas (13), gave their thoughts on the artwork and story lines and love the story because they have heard about Nana Star ever since they were younger.

While most people dread working with their family, sisters elizabeth and elena actually prefer to work with each other than other people. " We know each others quirks. We also know when to shut up, speak up, or just walk away," says elena. "We're a good balance," adds elizabeth.

Surprisingly, it took less than a year from the development of the Nana Star concept to the printing of the first book. "It was like the blind leading the blind," says elena. "We now know why people don't do this, but it was worth it." Both sisters feel that this first book was a great learning experience.

elizabeth and elena plan to release a new Nana Star book every year with a total of ten to twelve books and assorted holiday cards and special releases. "The next character to be introduced is 'the moonman' -- he is a wise and benevolent guide for nana star. our plans are to have him as the main figure beside nana star in all our stories giving guidance, teaching lessons and such," says elena. Other planned characters are 'the sandman', byron, the orange-eating dog, mario, the bunny-tail cat, shirley squirrel, sammy snowman, blue wolf, bette bat, mr. peep-peep, ms. butterfly, frannie fish, and orvis owl.

elena and elizabeth are planning to visit hospitals and inner-city school in 14 cities across the nation. They are in the process of coordinating with the hospitals (which is no easy task) and the schools to be able to do this in the early spring. You can also visit with eepublishing at the American International Toy Fair 2005, February 20-23 in New York City.

The creation of the Nana Star Foundation was one of the motivating factors behind the founding of eepublishing. The foundation is dedicated to raising funds for terminally ill children and heightening awareness to the devastating problems facing children attending our inner-city schools.  A portion of the sales from all of the Nana Star books and other Nana Starmerchandising goes directly to this foundation. For more information or to make a donation please send an email to info@eeppinc.com, call 703-988-9866 or write to:

ee publishing & productions, inc.,
P.O. Box 171
Clifton, VA 20124