Mission City Record
Webster starts new adventure

By Jason Roessle - Mission City RecordPublished: November 19, 2008 6:00 PM

A duo of Mission women have released their second book chronicling the adventures of Webster, the bookstore cat.
Heather Neufeld, author, and Carmen Braun, illustrator, were recently at Mission Save On Foods signing copies of the new book, titled Webster’s Christmas Miracle.
Half the profits from the original book, Webster, were donated to the Seeds of Hope charity, and this time around, the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation, specifically the Jaida Kooy Fund, will be the recipient of the donated funds.
The money, Neufeld explained, will go towards helping with family travelling expenses, for those who have to travel a great distance to be with their children at the Vancouver-based hospital.
In this book, Webster is settling well into his new home until something happens that upsets his world, said Neufeld, who didn’t want to give more of the story away.
The children just love the story, she said, as the Mission women weren’t planning on releasing a second book.
“But there was such a demand from the school children, especially those from Christine Morrison,” said Neufeld.
Braun and Neufeld would see the kids’ eyes light up whenever they did a signing, and they knew they had to pen another.
The book is available online at roselainepublications.com.

New Webster Release!

The second installment in the Webster cat series, "Webster's Christmas Miracle," will be released on November 1st! The book will be available for purchase through this site, either the author or illustrator or at the Mission Arts Council Annual Craft Market on November 15th and 16th. The book launch will also include readings at local elementary schools and book signings.

"Webster's Christmas Miracle" will sell for $8.95 (plus shipping if applicable) or $15.00 for both books. Order online and pay easily through Paypal using the button at the right.

Roselaine Publications will again be raising funds for the Jaida Kooy Tribute Fund, which you can read about here Jaida Kooy using the ID "Kooy" and password Jaida02.

Look for more information coming soon!

Local Newspaper Article

Get Aquainted with Webster
By Jason Roessle - Mission City Record - November 08, 2007

The story of a mischevious little book store cat has been brought to life through the talents of a pair of Mission women.

Author Heather Neufeld has been telling stories to her grandchildren for years, and decided to write some of them down about five years ago. This simple act planted a seed in her mind that eventually blossomed into a new children's book.

"Webster is a cat who lives a pretty good life", said Neufeld. "He spends his time in a book store, but feels something is missing in his life and he starts getting into trouble - so much so, the store owners begin looking for a new home for Webster."

Neufeld was inspired to write the book after returning from a vacation in Oregon where she spotted a cat napping in a book store. "He was an adopted stray," she explained. Excitement gripped her, and as soon as she got home on a Friday, said a quick prayer asking God to help her see the story through, and put pen to paper. Come Monday, the book was complete.

Friend Carmen Braun has drawn throughout her life, but had never illustrated a book before. She and Neufeld collaborated on a few short stories, ones Neufeld wrote for her grandchildren, and to which Braun enhanced with artwork.

"Within one week I did the drawings," noted Braun.

When the pair began shopping around for a publisher, they decided to join forces and start their own company, RoseLaine Publications. The short book is suitable for kids between five and ten.

The book will be available for sale for $6.95, including taxes. (See sidebar for order information)

Webster update

Cherry Hill Elementary has ordered more Webster books, which is very exciting.
Emails have been sent to all HPSS staff about Jaida's Tribute Fund and Webster. The entire school district will also be sent the information and we hope for big sales.

Meet the Author and Illustrator of RoseLaine Publications

Heather Neufeld, a mother of 3, has always had the desire to write. She recently starting testing out her active imagination on a very captivated audience... her 7 grandchildren. Starting by simply telling them stories, she eventually moved into writing the stories down and searching out an illustrator to bring her characters to life. Heather now has one children's book published with more on the way!

Carmen Braun is very creative and has always been involved in the arts, from basic drawing and music, to fashion and home design. Carmen was very excited to team up with Heather and not only use her talents for the book's illustrations, but also benefit some excellent charities.

Heather and Carmen found that they worked so well together as a writer/illustrator team, they decided to put their combined talents into the publishing business. RoseLaine Publiations was established in September 2007 and in November of the same year, "Webster" was published. A second book is currently in the works and is set for publication in 2008.

RoseLaine Publications will always focus on children's charities, with a portion of all proceeds going to a selected charity.

About our first book, Webster

Webster is a book that was meant to be.

The desire to write a children's book was never far from my thoughts, but I couldn't seem to find a topic that I could follow through on. Then one day, while on holidays, I happened to come across a cat that lived in a bookstore. From that moment on, it seemed everything fell into place.

Back home, I started writing. The story seemed to write itself, and within three days was done.
After the story was illustrated and edited, I couldn't stop thinking that it should be published, and sold, as a way to make money for children's charities.

That dream came true, and now Webster is being used to raise funds for children in need!