Today I have a guest post from Rich Wheeler, author of Ronald Roundworm is Incompoberate. Blending a love of words with politics, Ronald Roundworm has the added bonus of a word going viral. It also has an amazing appendix at the back of the book for the word-nerds out there (which I am). Rich is a family friend, so I am thrilled to have him on The Book Wheel! Loosely based on a true story and filled with illustrations by the author’s father, this family endeavor is well worth the read. You can learn more about the story behind the book (and the book itself) below. If you’re interested in purchasing the book, scroll to the bottom and click the links!
“Ronald Roundworm Is Incompoberate” is a fun-to- read book geared toward the Young Adult audience; however, anybody with a love of words will enjoy reading it. This is my first book and my dad (aka “Grandpa”) has provided an illustration at the beginning of each comically-named chapter. The main character, Ronald Roundworm, loves words and his love of words is seen throughout the book. Words are fun; words are amusing; misuse of words can be comical. This book was inspired by my brother, Ron. In the 1960s, he invented the word “incompoberate” and began using it around the house. It became popular around the Wheeler household, but unbeknownst to any of us the word had escaped the confines of our home. One day, while at school, Ron heard somebody (who he did not know) use the word. When Ron stopped and said, “hey, I made up that word” their skeptical response was “sure you did”. The word did not go viral as it does in “Ronald Roundworm Is Incompoberate”, but this incident has lain dormant in my mind since the 1960s and now, as a tribute to my brother, “incompoberate” lives again. For those who never met Ronald Wheeler, you missed out. Ron was introverted, but he had a very dry sense of humor and a quick wit. He was a wonderful human being. Everybody who took the time to know him loved him and is better for the experience. He succumbed to cancer at the age of 46. We think about him often. I am very lucky to have known and loved him. For the way that he lived his life, he is indeed my hero.
As a professional civil engineer I have used my the left side of my brain on a daily basis (and I may have overused it during the past 37 years), so it was a refreshing escape for me to open up the creative right side of my brain and to write this work of fiction. I will be sending you a copy of the book within the next couple of days. I hope that you enjoy it. If there is anything that you can do to help me promote it I would be appreciative.
As the back of the book indicates: “Ronald Roundworm loves words; all types of words; words of all lengths, sounds, shapes, and sizes. Ronald is fascinated with a myriad of English language subjects, including etymology, semantics, slang, dialect, colloquial phrases, oxymorons, puns, pleonasms, palindromes, paraprosdokians, similes, metaphors, clichés, word derivations, and words with multiple meanings. He is obsessed and can not understand why everyone does not share his obsession. In “Ronald Roundworm Is Incompoberate” (pronounced in-come-pob-er-et), the reader will enter into Ronald’s world and you will enjoy the English language along with Ronald. The fun really begins when Ronald invents “incompoberate” and the word goes viral. People everywhere are using the word, a song is written about the word, and politicians use the word in their debates. The quest begins to discover who invented the word.”
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