Hi! I am Ken Marc; although, I am frequently called a lot worse, especially by my friends. My great accomplishment and contribution to this wonderful book is my introduction of Jack Gillig to Darrell House.

I’ve known Jack for 10 years. We owned and operated a restaurant together in Sunrise, Florida. Jack hails from Massachusetts and grew up in the restaurant industry. In the 1980s, Jack competed in the Long Drivers Association for golf, winning prizes for hitting the longest drives. He then became a golf pro at many South Florida golf courses.

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The idea of Santa’s Big Move came to Jack while watching a documentary about climate change. An advertisement about Christmas shopping came on, and it got Jack thinking: what would Santa do if the North Pole melted? He decided to combine the threat of climate change and global warming with a humorous story about the trials and tribulations Santa faced moving from the North Pole to his new home.

He told me the story. I loved it, but neither of us were book writers. My wife reminded me about an old friend who I had not seen in years, Darrell House.

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Darrell is an author, poet, musician, singer-songwriter. He grew up in SW Ohio where he started playing guitar in the coffee houses in the early 1960s. He spent many years as a radio DJ in Kentucky. In the mid 1970's, he migrated to warm, sunny South Florida and has since been a regular entertainer in restaurants, schools, and libraries.

As an owner and operator of a couple of restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, our paths crossed frequently. However, as we aged, got married, had children, we drifted apart. The next time I saw Darrell, my children were 6 years old. He was in the nearby library singing songs he had written and telling stories to the children, including mine!

That was 19 years ago. My wife said “call him”... I did!

Darrell is an award-winning children’s book author. Notable works, which you can purchase through Amazon, include:

• Miller the Green Caterpillar, an inspiration story of setting goals.

• The King of Fish, the FWA 2012 Royal Palm Literary Award as Best Published Children’s Book

• Bennie & Bonnie, a third-place winner in the FWA Royal Palm Literary Award

• The Magic Pillow, recipient of Mom’s Choice Silver award

Darrell, Jack, and I collaborated to write this story you should read with your children. Me, as a college professor, I also edited the story and generally got in the way 😊. 

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By the way, I was lucky enough to find Elizabeth Reed, who is an illustrator and painter.

Libby loves to travel, capturing the beauty and spirit of the people and places in her drawings and paintings. The Images for Santa’s Big Move evolved on her trip to New Zealand. While exploring the beautiful homes of Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, she designed the images you see in our story. 

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Log onto www.elizabethreed.net to view her portfolio.