Season 8 Goals And Dreams Blog 5: The Fractured Book Cover

 The Fractured Book Cover

As I said in my installment, A Writer’s Place, I finished writing my third and fourth books, which are direct sequels to my first book, back in 2023. By the end of Greattastic Adventures 3, my “sister,” Arlo (Kid) Anderson is only 14. As a result of her and my age gap, young Arlo is the least used character in the books despite my best efforts. This became abundantly clear as soon as I started writing the master outline for the series. But because I love the relationship we have always had, I wanted to include her in some way.

When I was about to publish my first book, The Greattastic Adventures: Miracle Child, I asked Kid if she would like to do the cover, and she said yes. For Miracle Child, Kid illustrated a picture of both my parents and her parents' houses. My dad’s employee at Kobolt, Owen, then took those illustrations and created a cover using them. Kid thought Owen would touch up the houses, but he didn’t because I thought they were good! Because of that miscommunication, Kid asked for a little more creative control with the sequels.

Miracle Child was a movie that the Anderson women and I made when we were little. That movie is what started the current iteration of our friendship. This next book is called The Greattastic Adventures 2: Fractured. Kid's illustration was of the Miracle Child CD, in its case, fractured into 6 pieces, with the 6th piece appearing on the back cover. The Subtitle: Fractured was initially written in the space where the 6th piece was missing from.

On Monday, February 24th, I drove to Kobolt after work. I parked around back, said hi to my parents and Kate, Owen’s replacement, and then called Kid to see where she was. There is some construction right outside of Kobolt and a ton of one-ways in that area. So she had gotten lost. After a manic 10 minutes of me running around, I found her and directed her to the studio. After I introduced the Kid and Kate, we got to work.

We used the Miracle Child cover as a template, which made it easy. Kid and Kate discussed how it should look, and I signed off on pretty much everything they said. The most significant change to the cover was Kate suggesting that we move Fractured to the spine of the CD case and put Miracle Child where the missing piece in the disc was. By the time it was time for Kate to get off work, we had figured out everything except for the book's color (Kate and I would choose teal on our own, however).

This season is called Goals and Dreams, as I am trying out a new system to organize my goals. One of the biggest goals that I have for this year is to publish Greattastic Adventures 2 and 3, something that, quite honestly, for a while, I didn't think was going to happen. I am very excited that this is starting to come together.

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Before I end this installment, I want to congratulate my COUSIN Paige and her husband Austin on the birth of their second child! I can't wait to meet her!!!!

Season 8 Goals And Dreams Blog 4: Box Seats + Nimba

 Box Seats + Nimba

In the first blog I ever wrote, I said, “I tell my grandma everything.” I never really had a chance to expand upon that thought, as the first blog was designed to give you an overview of who I am. I told my grandma (Nimba) everything because she has worked as an assistant for Dad’s company, Kobolt, for as long as I can remember. When my brothers and I were in grade school, Nimba would work at my parents' house to help Mom when we got home. And even when we were all old enough to take care of ourselves, Nimba would still come over. I will admit I probably limited her progress on things she needed to get done when I would come home from high school or college every day. Unfortunately, when Covid hit, Nimba started working from home, and eventually, I would only see her at family gatherings.

My family has seen Nimba a little bit more frequently since Papa passed away in late January. The Little Grand is an indoor food market that Dad did some work in. On Saturday, February 15th, 2025, Luke and Josh’s band, Box Seats, had a show. Paige and I left our apartment at about 6:00 pm to head to The Little Grand to meet Mom, Dad, Ryan, and Nimba. We arrived at 6:30, and once we got inside, we found everyone at the table and caught up with them.

Now Ryan, lived in Chicago From the summer of 2022-the summer of 2023. When Ryan moved back to Columbus, he moved in with my parents. In November of 2024, he found an apartment of his own. Nimba, Paige, and I had not been to his new apartment yet, so after dinner, we went to his place.

Box Seats played at Summit Music Hall, a bar/music venue off OSU’s campus. They played with two other bands, one of which had just released a new song. Doors opened at 8:00, and Box Seats was the second set. I had a few favorite parts of the show.

Firstly, I had to go to the bathroom. The way the venue is set up is the stairs to the bathroom are right next to the stage. Box Seats started playing right when I returned from the restroom, and I got some of the closest pictures I’ve ever gotten. Secondly, during one of their songs, the three guitarists aimed their guitars at the crowd and moved them from left to right across the crowd during the bridge. This was cool because it’s an homage to Cousin Simple. After all, they do a very similar thing during Song To Emma. Ryan smiled when Luke called him out.

But the best part had to be my conversation with Nimba at the end of the night. After Box Seats finished playing, I walked up to Nimba, who had found a seat at the bar. “Did you have fun?” She asked.

“Yeah!” I replied. “When was the last time you came to a show?”

Nimba thought about it and then replied, “when Cousin Simple and Box Seats played together!” 

I was a bit surprised because that even (Runs In The Family) happened two years ago this coming fall. Like I said, I have only seen Nimba at family events for a while, but actually looking at the timeline was shocking. As I stood there stunned, I thought back to that first blog I wrote- I tell my grandma everything. “I miss talking to you every day,” I said.

“Aww, honey, I miss talking to you too!” She replied.

"I would love to have lunch with you soon to catch up,” I suggested.

“I would love that,” she said. While the circumstances of Nimba being more available are tragic, I have enjoyed seeing her more in the month or so since Papa died. In my experience, even when something terrible happens, you can still find some good in it.

Have a Greattastic Day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri