Ruby Peru

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ruby Peru’s, Bits of String Too Small to Save is a witty, classically illustrated fantasy for adults that asks: What’s the difference between animals and people? Magic and technology? A true home and a place to live? In 2021, Bits of String Too Small to Save was a New York City Big Book Award distinguished favorite. In the novel (now a dramatized, full-cast audiobook) innocent ElizabethAnn, her criminal genius Grandma, and their loyal sheepdog Jackson dive out of the postmodern police state of No Oaks, through a hidden portal, into the forested dystopia of Bumblegreen. There, ElizabethAnn must rescue this world from a terrible blight—or be executed as the cause of it. In the process, she investigates the disappearance of an ancient genderless magician, befriends a reluctant teenage queen, and rides a scheming talking monkey … all in order to restore Grandma’s scientific reputation and make this troubled land their new, true home.

The long-awaited release of the audio format for the book won the 2022 Deanna Tulley Multimedia Prize. Narrated by the author herself and voiced by a wide cast, this full-cast recording brings the novel’s colorful, imaginative characters to life in fresh new ways –sure to delight dark fantasy readers of all ages.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A sloppy workaholic and independent operator, Ruby Peru drives a beat-up pickup truck and restores old houses. Named a 2021 “Indie Author to Watch” by Kirkus Reviews, Peru previously won the 1999 Bronx New Writer’s Award for fiction. She has also coauthored Untamed Justice, Business Cards and Shoe Leather, and Money Isn’t Everything–Everything is Money. In addition to her novels, she ghostwrites memoirs and thought leadership books for clients from all walks of life.

TALKING POINTS

• How to create a group of characters who are all wildly different and “wacky” but complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses
• How the theme of “home” appears in Bits of String and why it’s such a strong theme
• Elements added to Bits of String to make it stand out from other classic adventure novels
• The CrowdPricing Everywhere pricing method for audiobooks and ebooks
• Why it was so important for Peru to produce the audiobook for Bits of String, over three years after its initial release

TIMELY TIE-INS

January

• Creativity Month
• Science Fiction Day – 2 
• Peculiar People Day – 10
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