The Hummingbird and The Narwhal received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Annie Higbee.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The Hummingbird and The Narwhal, May 2023 (Spanish version is out now as well)
What’s the book’s first line?
In the sunny southern hemisphere, the Hummingbird hovered above the bright red flower to sip in the sweet nectar it offered.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Two creatures who look alike but come from completely different worlds. It’s about their unlikely meeting and how they help each other out in their journey. It’s about kindness, friendship, finding purpose and connection.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I really wanted to make a difference in the world…I wanted to begin with the small people and those who are lost.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
As one of my readers said, “Do not read this book alone” it’s a family feel-good book. The book connects people in a similar quiet place of commonplace humanity.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
The book plays with what’s real and what’s not real. Some people think that Narwhals don’t exist and are only mythical. The Narwhal’s journey to find his calling with the Hummingbird’s help, is a common theme for all creatures. Basically we can’t do it alone and we are all connected through kin or kindness, (interconnectedness)
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
It would be animated…so I would need to shop for voices of people. I would ask Taylor Swift to be the Hummingbird. I’m going to think about that more. Many people have mentioned that they can see it as a movie.
I have also created a game to go with the book, to bring the interconnectedness theme more clearly into the minds of the readers. I do this with Author Visits.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I started writing in High School, (poems and short stories) then after college I became a journalist. Becoming an author was the pathway to deliver the message of kindness.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Yes.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I’m a real estate broker, landlord.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I spend a few hours a day writing, marketing, and then I think of book ideas all of the time.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
Overcoming my own doubts, putting my self out there, and focusing.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Keep going! One day the opportunity won’t be there and you will have wished you did it!
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Yes I want my message to fly far and wide out to the world.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
The review of my book that Edward Sung so generously wrote, put me alongside EB White and that’s all I could ask for! I think it’s being heard.–Being listened to…Being respected for the gift that I’m giving (that is the theme of the book too) And nspiring people along the way! The message of the book is what keeps me going! The moment I see wonder on their faces I know it’s working!!
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
EB White, Scott O’Dell, Robert Walser, AR Ammons.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Harry the Dirty Dog, The Wizard of Oz