Pedersen talks about ‘The Swamp Kids’, reads

The Rotary Club of Crowley met Tuesday for what was its final meeting of 2013 and heard from a new author as the guest speaker.

While being published for the first time recently, Leif Pedersen’s writing history dates back 16 years to when his son was 2 years old.

It was then that Pedersen wanted to leave his son something, knowing well that his son may not want to follow his father’s footsteps into big band music, which Pedersen still performs, or the Marines.

So, some 16 years ago, Pedersen sat down and wrote “The Missing Chord,” a book that harkens back to his mother’s Cajun heritage and his own love of music.

It, however, was only recently that Pedersen found the right publisher that believed in the book as much as he did. So much so, in fact, that “The Missing Chord” is now set to be a part of a book series – “The Adventures of The Swamp Kids.”

The Adventures of the Swamp Kids series details the adventures of the three central characters, Pierre a Le Gator, TuTu the turtle and Mon Cher the pretty raccoon. The books are designed to both impart valuable knowledge and shape a child’s moral sensibilities.

The books not only feature the story’s moral, but a “lagniappe lesson” from a special guest contributor. The first lagniappe lesson comes from Doug Kershaw.

As a singer, Pedersen was used to writing in rhyme, so when he was asked to begin working on more books for the series, he did so and turned out seven more that are waiting to be published if the first book does well. And, so far so good on that front, as in about six weeks time, “The Missing Chord” has seen about 1,000 copies sold in the Lake Charles and Slidell area.

“The Missing Chord,” as well as other books in The Adventures of the Swamp Kids series, also features the illustrations of Tim Banfell.

Pedersen told the Rotarians how in his follow-up books, two more main characters will be introduced.

He then read the first book for the Rotarians, and with time permitting, he gave the first reading of what he plans to be the second book in the series, “Play Ball!”

And, for proof that his stories have already come full circle, “Play Ball!” would come out in the spring, just in time for baseball season. Also, Pedersen’s son, now a senior in high school, plays baseball for Northshore High School in Slidell.

According to the website for the series, http://www.theswampkids.com/, other books in the series will include “A Spectacle to Behold,” “A Dog Named Cat,” “A Recipe for Change” and “The Punk Skunk.”

For more information on the book or the series, visit TheSwampKids.com.