At first, the rhymes came to him by accident: little quips and rhythms tumbling through the head of a grandfather and a journalist. “The Day Avery Nose Lost Her Nose” goes the title of author Dan O’Neill’s latest book, which was self-published this year.
Long-time St. Louis natives may recognize O’Neill’s name from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where he worked as a sports writer for 32 years from 1985 to 2017. He wrote about the Cardinals, the Blues, golf and beyond during his tenure.
Since O’Neill stepped away from his full-time role in journalism, his writing has turned into longer forms with several book publications. Among these book publications are “Best of the Blues,” published in 2022, and “Crazy But True St. Louis History,” published in 2023. “The Day Avery Nose Lost Her Nose,” however, was O’Neill’s first venture into the world of children’s books.
“Writing a children’s book, for me, was a totally new thing. I didn’t know what the nuts and bolts of it were, and I didn’t know where it was going,” O’Neill said. “When you write a (journalistic story), you know where it’s going. You know what the story is. You just have to put it together correctly. But writing a children’s book, you’re really not sure where it’s going or where it should go.”
While O’Neill has played around with poetry and fiction in the past, having written for magazines, his pursuit of this book started with his oldest granddaughter, Avery.
“The first (grandchild) was Avery,” O’Neill said. “I was smitten.”
For four to five years, O’Neill worked on this book. The figments of a story began in a Microsoft Word document, though they were more rhymes than a plot. The story finally came together when he decided to focus the narrative around the age-old “got your nose” joke.
“It seems to me that so many children’s books today are based on fantasy, animated toys, talking animals, friendly monsters, etc.,” O’Neill said. “The ‘Avery Rose’ book is about real people and everyday circumstances. I think a dash of honest playfulness is a good thing where children are concerned.”
After O’Neill had the copy down for his book, he began the search for an illustrator. He says this proved more difficult than expected, as some charged upwards of $15,000 or $20,000. In an effort to keep costs affordable, O’Neill took his illustrator search to the popular freelance website, Upwork, where freelance artists can submit “bids” for a project.
O’Neill looked through the portfolios of the artists who bid on the “Avery Rose” project and decided to go with German artist Matea Anic. He says it was an interesting process — he gave her very little creative direction other than sending her the story, and he let her come up with the illustrations on her own.
Now, “The Day Avery Nose Lost Her Nose” is being sold online on O’Neill’s website, danoneill.net. O’Neill has promoted his book at various events at local schools and fairs since September. He has a presentation that he enjoys sharing about the new children’s book, which features an audio recording of Avery reading the book aloud.
O’Neill notes that Avery, herself, wants to be a writer and has been writing books on loose-leaf sheets of paper. She often shows her grandpa what she’s been writing.
“I thought, ‘I’ll make a book,’” O’Neill said about the process. “And it’ll be something Avery will have years from now when I’m long gone, and she’ll have something to remember me. That was really the reason why I did it.”