The mice that inspired Nancy Larner’s picture book, “A Mouse in the Rabbi’s Study,” were nothing like her book’s anthropomorphic hero. But she credits a 2004 foothills mouse infestation with fueling her book idea about a rabbi who’s fond of eating meals at his desk explaining Jewish holidays and food customs to a creature happy to have a crumb-y job.
Q: How did you come up with the plot?
A: I was lying in bed one morning, in that wonderful place where you’re a little bit sleepy and a little bit awake, daydreaming, thinking about all the mice — we trapped 100 — and I wondered if there were mice in the synagogue.
Q: Were there?
A: Probably. So, I lay there an hour, and thought through the whole story. Then I got up and wrote it all down in three hours. That was it!
Q: What happened next?
A: I spent a year sending out the manuscript to Jewish publishing houses — 40 of them, to be exact — and got back 40 rejections.
Q: Ouch!
A: So then I thought I would publish it myself. I started looking for an illustrator. Then I found out I had breast cancer, so I put everything aside to go through treatment. I spent all year doing that. When I was done, I found an illustrator, and after that, everything fell into place.
Q: And you didn’t use a self-publishing company?
A: I looked at them but felt discouraged. They have standard packages, and there was always something I didn’t like. If I’m going to put something into the universe with my name on it, I want it to be something I’m proud of.
Q: How did you feel about publishing it on your own?
A: It was a little agonizing. I had to put all the money up front.
Q: What was your biggest expense?
A: The illustrator and then the printer.
Q: How much did it cost?
A: I think about $12,000. I was worried about spending that kind of money, and then a friend of mine said, ‘Hey, people spend that money on golf!’ So I thought, well, this will be my hobby.
Q: Where did you find your printer?
A: In Hong Kong. They print children’s books over there anyway; I just cut out the middleman. We’re doing everything ourselves — the outreach, the marketing, all the mailing. My kitchen looks like a UPS office.
Q: What part of the project was most unexpected?
A: The owner of our local bookstore told me since the books were coming from Hong Kong, where it’s humid, up to altitude, where it’s dry, those covers would start to warp. She suggested taking the books from boxes, and putting them under weights for several weeks till they dried flat. I did that.
Q: What did you use for weights?
A: Other books. Furniture. Old trunks I was going to paint, basically anything that was heavy.
Q: Did it work?
A: Yes!
