BIOGRAPHY
Author Biography
Born and raised in San Francisco, Stephen Garvey has spent a good portion of his adult life working with children. Through a program called Kidstock, Inc., he has taught kids to sing and dance and act for over 35 years. At St. Brigid Academy, formerly a San Francisco grammar school, he directed their last three drama productions- 'Alice in Wonderland', 'Cinderella', and a Christmas pageant featuring 'A Christmas Carol', and the cutest version of 'T'was the Night Before Christmas' anyone has ever seen in the history of the world… a fact noted and verified by the parents of the kindergarteners who performed it.
The pen name 'Khalo Stephen' comes from his close relationship with his Sister, Brother-in-law and two Nephews. 'Khalo' is an Arabic term meaning 'Mother's Brother', a role that traditionally holds a greater significance and responsibility in the family, and a role that Stephen has embraced whole-heartedly and has strived to live up to from the moment he found out he was going to be an Uncle. Wanting to honor his Nephews and their Palestinian ancestry, but also out of respect for the fact that they, and they alone, call him 'Khalo', he settled on 'Khalo Stephen' as the name to write under.
In addition to his Sister and Nephews, Stephen has a very large extended family. Many Cousins, Aunts and Uncles- some of whom departed at a ripe old age, and some far too early- have helped shape him into the person he is, and each of whom hold their own special place in his heart. But having come from loving, caring parents was the greatest gift he could have received. His late Father, Paul, and his Mother Helen (to whom 'The Quiet Man' is dedicated), raised him and Sister Amanda to be kind, thoughtful and caring people, and both children have taken those lessons to heart and tried to incorporate those ideals into their daily lives.
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While Stephen Garvey is a man of long and varied experience, Khalo Stephen is just getting started. There are more stories to come, some of the The Quiet Man, and others of a different ilk.
MY MISSION
To create stories that both parents and children love; to leave the audience with warmth and hope; to raise the linguistic bar for young readers; and to promote the ideals of being a good person and a positive force in the world. The following are some of the core beliefs that guide these stories:
* The earlier a child learns that there is more than one way to say something, the better their vocabulary will be
*Human beings are inherently good, but that goodness must be nurtured, protected and encouraged
*Moving the world in the right direction starts with raising children to be happy, healthy, open, honest , tollerant and inclusive of everyone
*Not race nor skin color, nor sex or gender, nor the family that one is born into has any bearing whatsoever on the potential of a human mind
*Every child deservse the chance to find and live up to their potential
About Self-Publishing
The journey to put this book out into the world has been quite an adventure. Instead of approaching book agents and trying to get this book published by a publishing house, the choice was made to go the direct route of self-publishing- the differences of which are laid out below. After several rounds of trial and error, a printing and distributing partner called Bookbaby was found that was accessible, helpful, and fair.
Being published by an established publishing company is the traditional way an author gets their book out into the world. It requires first getting the manuscript in front of the eyes of an Acquisitions Editor (which usually first requires finding a literary agent), and then going through a long internal selection process. Once a book and author have been selected, the publisher then takes care of almost everything else; from the editing, to the marketing, to printing and distribution, to the distribution and payment of the profits. There is status and prestige that comes with being published, the main bennefit being the book being available in bookstores. But it comes at a price. The author gives up most of the control over their work, is subject to whatever personal appearances the marketing team chooses for them, and is expensed a small percentage of the sales price (typically 20-25% for first-time authors) as a royalty.
Self-publishing is a newer and more accessible way for authors to get their book out to the public. There are several companies that will guide authors through the editing and fabrication process, help with obtaining the copyright, provide illustrations if required, put the author together with online bookselling platforms, and even provide additional services for marketing and advertising (for additional fees). The book is then only available online. the author must find a printing and distributing partner that will take online orders, print each book as ordered and then ship it to the customer. The book does not appear in bookstores (unless deals are struck by the author with individual and independent book shops), and the advertising and marketing of the book is entirely up to the author. This provides a higher percentage of the profits to the author, but it also makes the price of each copy more expensive.
'The Quiet Man', and all future books by Khalo Stephen will only ever be available as a hardback book. The experience of reading a children's book with a soft cover or as an ebook just isn't the same, and below the standard of the author. This does raise the cost of the book (which price is set by the printer). Therefore, discounts will be available from time to time, the codes offered right next to the link to the sales page.
As a human being, I have everyone I have ever met to thank for being a part of the person I am now- especially my family and friends. Yet I believe that every encounter plays a part in a person's life, the good and the bad, and helps, in varying degrees, shape who a person is at any given time. But no two people have changed my life more than my Nephews, Faisal and Laith. Being their Khalo has not only been an honor and a joy, but has pushed me to be a better person, and instilled a greater sense of responsibility.
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As a writer, I want to thank my Mother, Helen. She is the true writer of the family, as the dedication of my first book bear's witness. She has inspired me to write since I was seven years old and pecked out a three-paragraph story on the family's typewriter. Her life-long love of reading, and her own writings inspired me to take small ideas and put them on paper, and then develope them into a story that was worth sharing.
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As an author, self-publisher and self-promoter (and a green and clueless one at that), I want to thank my Uncle, Louis Nuyens, for being willing to stretch into a facet of artwork that is not his usual milieu; thank you to friend and educator Steve Morris for help with getting my book into preschools; thank you to my Sister, Amanda, and my Mother, Helen (again), for helping me through the process of creating this website; thanks to my Nephew Faisal, for technical help with the most confusing aspects of social media (which is every aspect); and thanks to my Cousin, Shannon, for being an invaluable help, with both technical issues in the editing process, and for her moral support all the way through.