Small Dog's Big Plea............for reviews.

 

 

We’re a few weeks into 2021 and things are quiet for the most part. Lockdown is having a considerable affect on business, like it is for most. We are back to school, back to home office, driving each other mad and beavering away as best we can.

Our home is barely seen under all the snow

Last week brought us a massive snowstorm. The biggest storm I’ve ever seen with the snow line covering almost half of our kitchen window! The whole valley is covered in that white cold fluffy powdery stuff and while we are stuck indoors most of the time, I’m driving Mummy nuts pawing at the door to go out and in and back out of the house to make pretty yellow patterns in the snow and eat as much of it as I can, avoiding the yellow bits, of course.

With my latest book Zuma and the Jack Pack published just weeks before Christmas, we experienced a busy time promoting the book for Christmas sales, which appeared to have paid off. Our first editions of the book arrived at our home, and Mummy got busy signing them for future competitions planned with the children’s press and our celebrity friends. We still have a long way to go with sales, though it does appear the book has so far been a success. Amazon has sold out a couple of times and replenished stock and we’ve received some very encourage reviews.

Reviews are of the upmost importance to a little unknown pooch like me. They help customers find me in Amazon rankings and help with sales. So, while I beg Mummy to dig out a small patch of snow for me to poop in, and if you’ve already read your copy of Zuma and the Jack Pack, please click on the link (left) and write me a review. It’ll be the best thing you do all day.

More books to accompany Zuma and the Jack Pack are in the pipeline. Zuma and the Mysterious Monster is book two in the series and is ready to submit to publishers. Book three currently untitled is coming soon.

 

More products from my brand Zuma the Dog are coming soon and for licensing opportunities to go with the book, please contact Sarah Ann Camp at Weird Lime. sarah@weirlime.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 116 262 0840

 

Until next time. Stay safe.

 

Much Love

 

Zuma XX

Living La Vida London

The shocking news of London Book Fair2020 being cancelled due to the ongoing situation with the Corona Virus did not stop my hooman Mummy from heading off to the big smoke. She’s a huge believer in adventure and with a couple of more meetings put in place she was going out there to see what the universe will bring.

Whilst I didn’t go with her per se, she never leaves home without little me and by Jove she took him out whenever she could. Obviously protected by a little mask………of course. I'm precious. Right?😉

Here’s a little run down of what Little Stuffed me got up to in the big smoke.

Cute cocktail bar perfect for meetings 

First stop the hooman had a meeting that didn't involve me. Hmmmppff! But this cute bar called The Marylebone on Marylebone High Street made the best place for a meeting. Lovely interior with hops dangling from the ceiling, the staff warm and friendly. They don't serve food, but you can order in your own which is a cool idea. 

 We wandered on through the streets after. Down to Oxford Street and took a peek into the Disney Store and randomly bumped into a fellow PopJammer and You Tuber known as Showbiz Jamie . We were very excited to meet him and after a lovely chat, they may be some collabs coming soon to PopJam.

A red carpet moment

Further on down the street, we crossed a few roads, made a few turns and oooppppss! Huh? Whats that? We're on a red carpet outside the London Palladium on The Princes Trust Awards night. Well of course, I had to have my photo taken. But where are the celebs? Hang on.......I'm the only celeb needed. Aren't I? 

Mummy felt like we were gate crashing, so she didn't let me stay long for photo's. Such a shame, I would have loved to be papped. 😉 One day maybe?

China Town

Such a beautiful evening in London, the walkies continued into China Town and then up into Soho for our final meeting at The Groucho Club. A private members club for those in the publishing, writing and arts world. I could sense Mummy was feeling a little like a fish out of water, but as always she graciously entered the stunning reception area, where we were greeted by a very nice, helpful lady who showed Mummy to her meeting. Our meeting went well and as always I'm sworn to secrecy about what's discussed in these meetings until contracts are signed. 

The Groucho Club 

What I can say is, it was a fantastic meeting and a lovely dinner that followed. It goes to show that when your plans change for unforeseen circumstances, keep adventuring on. The plot twist will bring you to something else and often something better. This positive meeting with one of Britain biggest talents in comedy and writing  has got us excited about the next step for making me the most famous dog in the world. 

Mummy hanging out with Roger Planer 

Much Love

Zuma 

XX

Brand Licensing Europe 2018 - What a show!

Seems like weeks ago now that we visited BLE, but we are still excited from the buzz and opportunities that are following. Another day where everyone gets to talk about me all day and we really did have a lot of fun. Yay! The weeks after BLE are always busy with follow up meeting and talks with our agent and marketing team and it’s not until November that everyone will be back in the office full time to get on with the next phase.

Some highlights from the show and look.....there's a Pikachu
on Mummy's head.

It’s the third time we’ve attended BLE and this time we had some wonderful meetings and met some great people and we would like to thank those who took the time to meet with us and talk about licensing opportunities with Zuma the Dog going forward.

We’d like to tell you all about these meeting but unfortunately, bound by secrecy until contracts are signed. At least I can give you some highlights and thank those who met with us personally.

HIGHLIGHTS

We won! Yes, that’s correct. We won a prize from the Twitter competition leading up to BLE. It was very exciting going to pick up our personalised ‘Love Island’ water bottle from ITV Studio. The fact we’ve never seen an episode of Love Island didn’t deter us.

Dragging the boy around a big show like BLE, did make us stand out and it can be a little monotonous at time for him, but when we passed by the Sega stand (the boy being a big Sonic the Hedgehog fan besides me of course), we were delighted when Toby Rayfield handed the boy a Sega goodie bag. Totally made his day.

The characters are always the best part of BLE for us. Meeting them, hugging them and having our photos taken. I'm hoping that next year Rainbow Productions will have seen the light and realise they need my in their line up too.

THANK YOU

Martin Lowe from Roy Lowe &Sons Ltd. Always a pleasure to meet with Martin. Socks are a fun necessity and we love his ‘Keep it British’ philosophy.

Marcie Kubik from Emoji One. So friendly and fun to meet. Thank you for allowing us to show you our ideas for Zuma the Dog emoji’s and hope to see you again at future events.

Brain Smith from Popagami. We love your enthusiasm and working with you is always a pleasure.

Ruth Leonard and Johnathan Rose from Hello Communications. We loved meeting you………. finally. Your energy and ideas really bring live to Zuma the Dog’s brand philosophy.

Stephen Gomez from Ty Toys. What an absolute pleasure. We loved your passion for TY and positivity for Zuma the Dog. Thank you for your time and energy.

And finally……………….

Sarah Camp from Weird Lime. She worked tirelessly the whole time. Meeting with licensors, publishers, toy manufacturers, talking all things Zuma the Dog. Hustling, wheeling and do deals all for our benefit.

What a star you are!

We are already looking forward to next year and who knows, we might even have a stand of our own.

 Much Love

Zuma XX

What's out there?

“Zuma! It’s bed time. Do you want wee wees?”

The front door to our log cabin opened as it did every night, ready to let me out for my evening wee before I snuggled with my family in our beanbag for the night. I was met with the usually deep darkness that comes with living in the middle of nowhere. The winter was tough and the cooling spring air was fresh as a night lay still. The blackened forest opposite was quiet, until…..

“Shhhh. Can you here that?” My human breathed gently.

My senses kicked in as my tails stood to attention, twitching in the dark. I couldn’t see a thing in the black, though my nose picked up a smell as my ears pricked up and turned my head to its side to make sense of what I was hearing. Out of the blackness I could hear it. Behind the felled tress and piled up logs cut down by the woodsman, not 10 meters from our secluded home was the start of the forest and a deep thump of a heavy footstep as it cracked sticks and logs in its wake. Something was out there. Something big. We had seen many deer come close to our home before and we had heard of various creatures living out there in the dark, but this, this was nothing we would expect. It was a deep, booming footstep from something large, something heavy, something unusual, something scary. 

What's out there? 

First snow fall in October made for pretty photo's of our forest

-16 degrees in the Swiss Alps. Everything Froze

Zuma has never known it so cold.

The snow didn't stop him from enjoying his walks. 

All Change Ahead for Zuma

It seems like forever since the last time I put paws to keyboard to update you on life as the muse of a kid’s brand, so much has happened, including moving countries. Yes, that’s right, I left the beach of my precious Guincho Beach in Portugal and swapped it for the mountains of Switzerland. Mummy said it was a good move for everyone and I get to meet new doggy friends and learn another language. Language is important for a multi-traveling dog like me, so now I find myself learning to woof German and living on top of a hill with fields and trees all around. The view across to a mountain is breath taking and I have funny four-legged neighbours that eat a lot of grass, who wear these large bells around their necks, ding-donging all day and make a kind of Moo sound. I’ve never seen such a funny looking creature, but they keep themselves to themselves and I’m happy to watch them all do their thing.

I’ve taken my time to settle in. It’s been a big change. I’m enjoying the long walks through the forest and there’s always something that catches my interest. New sounds, new smells and lots of new people. I had a little run in with an electric fence while on a bog walk down a mountain, but I'm ok. Something new to learn about. I think I’m going to like it here.

With all the changes with our home, Mummy seems to have still found time to work and she tells me she now has a sales agent who will be working alongside her and the licensing agent to sell our clothing range into retailers within the UK. She seems to be very happy about that. She’s busy working on the Winter 2018 collection, creating fun styles for you and these items will be in stores and online next winter to buy.

Can you imagine how exciting it is to see your own face on the T-shirt in the front window of a shop?

Until next time

Much Love

Zuma xx

Small Dog in Best 90 List

Award winning brand gets listed

Brand owner Samantha Morgan-Bertish is celebrating today when she discovered her latest book Zuma the Dog: The Dinosaur Guy was listed in The Best Children’s Books of 2017 compiled by Tutora.

Zuma the Dog: The Dinosaur Guy available now to buy on Amazon

The list was compiled by tutora.co.uk to encourage parents and children to explore new opportunities for reading. They reached out to 100s of book reviewers, authors, illustrators and independent book stores for recommendations on what to include.

 “I was stunned to receive the news my book had been nominated.” Says Bertish. “And I am honoured my book is being so well received. It’s amazing to be included on this list with such acclaimed authors such as Julia Donaldson and Philip Pullman.”

While the book continues to sell on Amazon, fans of Zuma the Dog will be happy to know this particular story will soon be available to watch as a part of Zuma the Dog’s animated series on the children’s entertainment platform Kidscast TV. Dates for its release are yet to be confirmed.

Little Dog Digs Up Another Award.

Glastonbury based children’s brand Zuma the Dog announced as a finalist in Book Awards.

Brand owner Samantha Morgan-Bertish is celebrating this week after receiving the news that her book Zuma the Dog: The Dinosaur Guy, has been announced as a finalist in The Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards. This exciting news coincides with the launch of her digital on demand series, Zuma the Dog and Friends, based on the character from her books, which is to be broadcast on the new children’s entertainment platform Kidscast TV.

 Books for the award were read and judged by children in 8 UK primary and secondary schools, a book award that is judged by the people that matter with honest opinions and feedback.

“I am honoured that we have been chosen as a finalist for this award. It has been the second year one of my books has reached the final stage in this awards and our fingers are crossed for a win this year. I am delighted that my work and dog character, Zuma is enjoyed by so many children.”

Zuma the Dog kids brand was created in Somerset in 2009 inspired by the family pet and has been gaining strength in recent months.

The winners will be announced on 1^st April.

Search Samantha Bertish on Amazon to find all Zuma the Dog book releases.

SMALL DOG PROUD TO WHERE NEW MEDAL

If Mummy says it's official then it must be. I will proudly wear my badge of honour on the front cover of my book. Here's what the press release had to say.

Award winning children’s brand Zuma the Dog announced as a finalist in Book Awards.

Brand owner Samantha Morgan-Bertish is celebrating this week after receiving the news that her book Zuma Likes to Dig, the first picture book in the pre-school series The Adventures of Zuma the Dog has been named a finalist in The Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards.

 Books for the award were read and judged by children in 8 UK primary and secondary schools, a book award that is judged by the people that matter with honest opinions and feedback.

“It’s official and I am delighted and honoured that we have been chosen as a finalist for this award. It means so much to me that my work and dog character, Zuma is enjoyed by so many children.”

Zuma the Dog kids brand was created in Somerset in 2009 inspired by the family pet and has been gaining strength in recent months with licensing deals including a clothing range and an online TV show.

All new editions of Zuma Likes to Dig will now bear its finalist medal on the front cover and Samantha continues to work on her new book in the latest series.

Search Samantha Bertish on Amazon to find all Zuma the Dog book releases. The Adventures of Zuma the Dog series is available to buy at all good book retailers.

Proudly showing our medal of honour from

The Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards

The bilingual range all show our medal too

Did you know that our books were also available as bilingual stories? These special editions are only available direct from Diverze Publishing and can be ordered through them. Order today and get your child on the road to language learning.

Much Love

Zuma XX