Restaurant marketer takes on new side hustle: Children’s book author

Kevin Rooney’s core memory? Meeting children’s book author Robert Munsch when he was in elementary school. He and the author of children’s classics such as “Love You Forever” and “The Paper Bag Princess” were from the same Canadian town, and Rooney still has the autographed book he received at the meet-and-greet. .

Decades later, Rooney is now the voice of words that may inspire a whole new generation of kids. His first book, Mr. Tootsee McGootsee, humorously imparts etiquette tips on specific body functions that often get kids laughing, and he’s already working on some follow-up ideas.

Reading and writing have always been a part of Rooney’s life, so it’s not at all surprising that he ended up here. After contributing to his high school newspaper, he majored in journalism in college and has since worked in sports marketing and sales for over 20 years. The Fort Myers resident currently serves as vice president of marketing and advertising for Phelan Family Brands, where he spreads the word about the company’s Florida restaurants, including Pincher’s and Deep Lagoon Seafood.

Rooney, 50, says he and his wife read to their daughters Erin, 11, and Ciara, 8, every night, and it rekindled his “creative fire.” . As he read the same story over and over again to his daughters, he began to say, We change the situation and insert into the action a fictional character named Johnny (more on him later).

Tootsie McGoosey was born during a family dinner. “when [the girls] Toot to the table and we said, ‘This is Tootsie McGoosey,”’ Rooney says. “It was a playful description that we used instead of using another language. One of her daughters said why don’t you write a story about it in passing, and I took it literally.”

Writing the story was the easy part. “I’ve learned from reading to children that things that are humorous, that rhyme, and that predict the next word resonate with children,” he says. “And that’s the style I’ve embraced.”

He headed online to find an illustrator who could bring his vision to life. He contacted several people whose portfolios showed promise, but Joe Huffman proved to be the clear winner. “He brought Tootsie McGoothy to life with very little editing,” Rooney says. “When I shared her first draft with her older daughter, she said, ‘It’s exactly how I envisioned it!'” (Rooney is already in talks with Huffman about future projects. ).

Rooney made a significant investment in self-publishing the book, with a paperback version available on Amazon and his website tootworthybooks.com in late 2023. He is working on the various steps needed to make the book available in more places. (He declined to say how much he invested in bringing the book to market.)

“We’ve considered publishers, but sometimes we want them to use their own printers and illustrators,” he says. “It wasn’t that I wanted to have complete autonomy, but as a creative person, I wanted to be a little more involved in the process. And even if it meant it took a little longer to get to market, I wanted to I accepted it.”

Thanks to his day job, Rooney knows how to spread the word about his new endeavors, but he has to do it little by little. “Self-publishing requires more hard work,” he says.

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But for now, he’s not necessarily driven by sales. “He didn’t do it because he wanted to sell a million books,” he says. “I did this because I wanted to show kids that there’s nothing they can’t do.”

My older daughter asked me to write a book with her, so mission accomplished. They are currently working on a chapter about a fourth grade detective who has a mystery to solve. And that’s just one of his many ideas he has in mind. I also have a book coming out soon called “There’s a Johnny in My Story.” “There aren’t enough hours in the day to take them all out,” he laughs.

But once you do, you’ll have a better idea of ​​what to expect from the process. “There was a learning curve to bring our first product to market,” he says. “But it will be a lot easier for the next couple, because we’re already on that path.”

Balancing a full-time career with a side hustle or passion project isn’t always easy. But after the pandemic showed everyone how fleeting time is, Rooney didn’t want to wait.

“There’s no better time than now because I’m not getting any younger,” he says. “Find the moment while you can. It’s never too late to pursue your passion or what you’ve always wanted to do.”

And for Rooney, it brings a little joy to his family’s day. “Given everything that’s going on in the world today, I strongly believe that the world needs a little more levity and laughter,” he says. “There’s nothing better than reading to a child and hearing them laugh.”