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LAURENCE PRINGLE'S BLOG

A Book Written! Subject: Elephants!

Yesterday I submitted a manuscript of a book--Elephants! Strange and Wonderful--that will be published a long time from now, 2019. I'm excited about it, about the process so far, which includes research on these extraordinary animals, and the writing just ended. The rest of the long process includes comments from my editor and an elephant scientist, both of whom will help make the book better. Then artist Meryl Henderson will devote several months creating her usual wonderful illustrations.

In all writing, and maybe especially in writing nonfiction, a lot has to be left out. That seemed particularly true on this subject. I felt I could write much more about one elephant body part: the trunk. There is no other animal part quite like it. (It can be used to sniff odors, spray water, hug, grab food, and much more.) And so much can be written about the awful reality of wild elephants today, with great loss of their natural habitats, and being killed so that people can have jewelry, trinkets, and other objects carved from the ivory of their tusks. Fortunately, my writing ended on a slightly hopeful note as the Chinese government just vowed to end the whole ivory business in that nation (where more than half of all ivory-made products are sold). Say No to Ivory! Read More 
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Finished writing a book!

On Friday the 8th, I send my editor the manuscript of Dolphins! Strange and Wonderful. And it felt wonderful to do that! When it finally becomes a published book, it will be my 119th. But first, a lot has to happen, and some of it is work for me. For example, I went through the pages and decided what the key illustrations would be. That information will be sent to the great artist, Meryl Henderson. And I'm now I'm making copies of illustrations and photos from various sources that can help Meryl do her work. (That's called "art references.").
As usual, I learned a lot when writing a book. And, as usual, I had to leave out many fascinating details. I could have written a whole book on the subject of dolphin intelligence, and what has been learned about that so far. However, in a fairly short book about dolphins in general, there isn't much space to explore anything in great detail. And, as usual, from now on I will be on the lookout for new research findings about the intelligence of dolphins--and many other creatures that are also smart in a variety of ways. Read More 
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