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Sunday, September 25, 2016

Kellie Coates Gilbert; The Wonder of Story

I experienced pure joy recently.

My little grandson (I call him“Peanut”) spent the night and I introduced him to Walt Disney’s BAMBI for the first time. The birth of the “little Prince” held Peanut’s eyes riveted to the screen. Together, we laughed at Thumper’s antics on the frozen lake, or at the mommy rabbit’s scoldings. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” We smiled when springtime brought forth a lot of “twitterpating” and when Bambi mistook the little black and white skunk for a flower.

When the scenes turned grave in nature, my concerned grandson glanced over my way. “What’s going to happen, Dammy?” He leaned forward during the meadow scene and worried when “man entered the forest.” His little dimpled hand gripped my arm at the bleakest moment of the story, when shots rang out and Bambi no longer had his mother, his little face sober with concern until the regal buck with the massive antlers showed up on screen and restored safety.

There was a moment or two my good judgment was in question. Was he too young for this taut emotion?

The doubt quickly settled when at the closing credits my little Peanut nodded in satisfaction. “Play it again, Dammy?”

We ended up watching the movie six more times before he finally tired and moved on to playing trains with Papa. (Even then, he gripped the Bambi book I’d bought him in his hand.)

Whether three years of age, thirty-three or eighty-three, stories captivate our souls. It’s why, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, movie revenues in 2013 totaled $10,870,181,084 (yes, that’s nearly $11 BILLION) and why it’s reported that Stephanie Myers’ popular Twilight novels sold over 42 million copies and was translated into 22 languages.

People love stories. Especially those of us who hang here on the Author Sound Relations blog.

Tell us . . . what story is captivating you this week?


(Released in 1942, Bambi is the fifth movie in the Disney Animated Canon. It's based on Bambi, a Life in the Woods, a 1923 novel by Austrian author Felix Salten.)


Kellie Coates Gilbert is the acclaimed author of the Texas Gold contemporary novels, which garnered designations as Barnes and Noble Top Picks and landed on Library Journal Best Book list. Influenced by her former career as a legal investigator where she spent nearly twenty-five years working in courtrooms and behind the scenes of some of the largest and most well-known cases in America, her fast-paced emotional stories have thrilled readers across America. Kellie’s highly anticipated Sun Valley Series, featuring three sisters living in a ski resort in Idaho, is scheduled to release in early 2017. 

Connect with Kellie on:

Facebook: Kellie Coates Gilbert, Author
Twitter: @KCoatesGilbert 

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