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 16 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 his website, darrellhouse.com, 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 travels the world, capturing the spirit of people and places. She paints en Plein air in oil and captures the essence of people in her life drawings and paintings.

Santa’s Big Move evolved on Libby’s bucket list trip to New Zealand. She illustrated the characters while exploring the beautiful home of Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. Every day her breath was taken away by stunning beauty. Those elves were painted by Elizabeth in many countries around the world; they have a lot of miles under their belts! Libby earned her BFA in illustration and graphic design from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA. She studied fine art at the Art Institute of Chicago and The University of Kansas. She is a long time student of Steven Assael in NYC and many contemporary painters. Libby loves teaching—especially teenagers—mentoring them to develop their vision and skills.

Log onto elizabethreed.net to view her portfolio and on Instagram, @elizabethreedstudio for videos of her work.