Gather 'round as we unfurl a tapestry of holiday magic with Todd Zimmerman, the creative spark behind "Oliver the Christmas Tree Ornament." His tale begins with a simple family tradition, blossoming into a story cherished by children and adults alike. With a mother's gentle push, Todd transformed a spark of inspiration into a series that would find its way into the heart of the White House. Our conversation meanders through the poignant role of ornaments in family traditions, revealing how each character in Todd's stories holds a mirror to the cherished keepsakes that adorn our own holiday trees.
Turn the page to a chapter in your own holiday narrative as we weave through the imaginative "hero chapter" and the enchanting character development that has readers eagerly awaiting each new addition to the ornament family. Todd Zimmerman's visit to our podcast isn't just an author's recount; it's a celebration of the bonds we forge through stories and the memories ensconced within our festive rituals. So, pour yourself some hot cocoa, settle in, and let the spirit of the season percolate through each word as we share this special episode with you.
Open Forum in The Villages, Florida is Produced & Directed by Mike Roth A new episode will be released most Fridays at 9 AM Direct all questions and comments to mike@rothvoice.com
If you know a Villager who should appear on the show, please contact us at: mike@rothvoice.com
Gather 'round as we unfurl a tapestry of holiday magic with Todd Zimmerman, the creative spark behind "Oliver the Christmas Tree Ornament." His tale begins with a simple family tradition, blossoming into a story cherished by children and adults alike. With a mother's gentle push, Todd transformed a spark of inspiration into a series that would find its way into the heart of the White House. Our conversation meanders through the poignant role of ornaments in family traditions, revealing how each character in Todd's stories holds a mirror to the cherished keepsakes that adorn our own holiday trees.
Turn the page to a chapter in your own holiday narrative as we weave through the imaginative "hero chapter" and the enchanting character development that has readers eagerly awaiting each new addition to the ornament family. Todd Zimmerman's visit to our podcast isn't just an author's recount; it's a celebration of the bonds we forge through stories and the memories ensconced within our festive rituals. So, pour yourself some hot cocoa, settle in, and let the spirit of the season percolate through each word as we share this special episode with you.
Open Forum in The Villages, Florida is Produced & Directed by Mike Roth A new episode will be released most Fridays at 9 AM Direct all questions and comments to mike@rothvoice.com
If you know a Villager who should appear on the show, please contact us at: mike@rothvoice.com
Emily:
Welcome to the Open Forum in the Villages Florida podcast. In this show we talk to leaders in the community, leaders of clubs and interesting folks who live here in the villages to give perspectives of what is happening here in the Villages Florida. We are a listener supported podcast. There will be shout outs for supporters and episodes.
Mike Roth:
A note from the heart. Hello, dear listeners, I am thrilled to share our passion project with you Podcast that brings joy, knowledge and inspiration. Creating it is a labor of love, even though it demands more time than I can easily spare. But hey, time isn't something that we can buy back right Now. Here's where you come in, the unsung hero. You can help us keep the podcast alive and thriving Ow by becoming a supporter. You can make a small monthly contribution. Visit our website, open forum in the villagesfloridofcom and click on the supporter box. Even a humble $3-10 a month makes a difference. And guess what? You can cancel anytime, no strings attached, free and priceless. Thank you. Your support means the world to us. Stay curious, stay inspired and keep those headphones on.
Emily:
If you have a book that you would like to turn into an audiobook, let us know via email to micatrawhvoicecom. Hope you enjoy today's show.
Mike Roth:
This is Mike Roth on open forum in the villagesfloridofcom. I'm here today with Todd Zimmerman. Thanks for joining me, todd. Thanks for having me, mike. Todd is an author. He's written a series of books about Oliver, the Christmas Tree ornament and Oliver's friends A lot of his friends. And my first question for you, todd, is how did you come up with the idea of a book about a Christmas ornament named Oliver?
Todd Zimmerman:
That's actually a really good story, mike. I was decorating a Christmas tree 10 years ago as my partner's mother's Christmas tree. We had a tradition every year where we would go to Cincinnati and we would decorate her tree and I was hanging all of the ornaments on the tree. I had hung 199 about of 200 ornaments. I literally had one ornament left to hang.
Todd Zimmerman:
And my partner, john, comes in the room, says to me you don't have to hang every ornament on the tree. And I said to him well, what am I going to do with this one? I'm in the attic and he's going to miss out on all the fun this Christmas. And all of a sudden the light goes on in my head A story about an ornament that gets left behind in the attic. So by this time he thinks I'm nuts. Meanwhile I think I have this million dollar idea and my wheels are spinning and spinning for the next three days. I wake up Christmas morning in my parents' house in Wisconsin, four o'clock Christmas morning, and I wrote the story. And so when I wrote this story, I knew it was something the ornament. I knew the name of the series was going to be something the ornament. And I just really love the alliteration of Oliver. So that's how the name came about and that's how the idea came about.
Mike Roth:
Is this the first book that you've written?
Todd Zimmerman:
First book. Never in a million years even imagined writing a book. My background is marketing and advertising, but when I came up with this idea I just thought it was too good of an idea not to execute on.
Mike Roth:
OK. So you found a hard idea and you decided to run with it. What year was that?
Todd Zimmerman:
It was 10 years ago, so that would have been.
Mike Roth:
2013 is when I wrote the first book, and when did the first book get published? First book was published 2015.
Todd Zimmerman:
Ok, ok, and they're still available?
Mike Roth:
Yes, they're still available, and I see it from your bio that you did an interview with First Lady Melania Trump. She selected your book to read at the Children's National Hospital. How did that happen?
Todd Zimmerman:
That really was a pretty amazing story, thanks. First, I'll just tell you a little bit more background of the Oliver the Ornament series. So it's a seven book series about a family's collection of Christmas ornaments. The first book starts Thanksgiving night and then the last book ends Christmas morning. So each book tells how the different ornaments entered the family's collection, while also teaching kids about kindness and friendship, determination. And then every book ends with this really great cliffhanger as well. That gets the kids excited for what's coming next.
Todd Zimmerman:
So my mom as I mentioned earlier, I wrote the story at my mom's house on Christmas morning and my mom was really involved with every aspect of this business. She was involved with the ideation of the characters, the storyline, the illustrations, the business, and she was just, she loved everything about Oliver. So she called me up in January of 2018 and she said, todd, you need to get the book in the hands of the first lady. And I said really, why is that? And she said she has this be best initiative and it's all about fighting bullying, especially cyber bullying. If you could get the book in her hands, you could really change the trajectory of your business. I said, well, that's a great idea, mom, but how am I going to do that? And she just said you're the guy with the marketing degree, you figure that out. So I wrote it down on my list of things to do.
Todd Zimmerman:
So fast forward two months later and my mom passes away very suddenly, which was really hard because she was so involved with my business and August of that year. I'm looking at my Oliver thing list of things to do and I see First Lady outreach and I thought that's mom's idea. So I sent a letter to her chief of staff and didn't ask for anything. Simply said, I admired what they were doing to combat bullying and that I, in a small way, was trying to do something very similar. And that was it. October. Fast forward from August to October and I get an email from the White House, literally from the White.
Mike Roth:
House.
Todd Zimmerman:
And I thought it was a prank or I thought it was spam or something, but I looked too legit and they asked me if I would be available for a phone call the next day and of course, I checked my schedule and I was available. So it was the White House after all. So the next day I had a call with her staff where they indicated to me that the First Lady had evaluated over 200 different Christmas books for the annual gathering at Children's National Hospital and she'd selected Oliver, the ornament, to read that year. So it was really an honor. This is a tradition that best Truman started and a lot of your listeners, I'm sure, have seen it. It's covered nationally, on the news. Internationally it's covered every year, but every First Lady since best Truman has done this in the past.
Todd Zimmerman:
So in 2018, she selected my book. So I met the First Lady. I'm sitting next to her as she's reading my book, all on the inspiration that my mom had provided. In 2019, we were contacted again by the White House saying that this year she had evaluated over 250 different Children's Christmas books and she had selected our second book, which was just released that year. And in 2020, we were contacted not by email that year. But they just called me up and they said the First Lady decided that she wasn't even going to evaluate any books. She loves the story so much, she loves where the story is going, so she wants to read the third book. So three years in a row she read my books, which is the first time in American history that one author has had more than one book read at this event.
Mike Roth:
That's great, so it was really cool, yeah, and you give her an advanced copy of the book.
Todd Zimmerman:
Yes, yes. So she got the first book and she got the second book, and every year, ever since I always send her the newest book.
Mike Roth:
That's great. I had the opportunity to read through what I thought was the seven books. Read this to discover the book seven in the box Wasn't the seventh book. I was a little curious because all the other books said read this book after book three, after book two before, after book three, and this last one didn't have a label on it Three. So I read it. I thought it was a book seven.
Todd Zimmerman:
I thought it was book seven and that was shortly after I released the first book. As I mentioned, all of my books teach kids really important lessons like kindness and friendship and family and determination. As soon as I released my first book I'd start hearing from school teachers. I'd start hearing from parents and grandparents saying they wish that I could write a book that was about that the kids could read throughout the year, not just at Christmas. And I thought the book is about Christmas ornaments. My books are about Christmas ornaments.
Todd Zimmerman:
I don't want to compromise the integrity of my characters so I didn't really give it any thought until the fourth of July, several years after releasing the first book, when I was in my attic and I was getting flags out for the fourth of July to put in our front yard and I see all my ornament boxes and all of a sudden the light goes on in my head again About this story and I came up with a new book called Oliver Doodle Dandy and that's a celebration of American what it is. A little boy and the little girl in the family are helping the family get ready for their own 4th of July party and they go to the attic and they are shocked that they see Oliver and all of his friends Practicing for their own 4th of July parade and they can't understand why this is. And they ask Oliver. They were like what's the big deal about the 4th of July? It's just parades, and it's just fireworks and parades, one by one, all the ornaments.
Todd Zimmerman:
Tell them no, the reason we celebrate the 4th of July is so many things. It's our freedoms, it's the beauty of our country, it's our accomplishments that we've achieved as Americans. It's about great leaders that we've had, inspirational Americans. And by the end of the story the little boy in the family realizes that he can accomplish anything he sets his mind to. The little girl is dreaming about becoming the first person to land on Mars. So it's a really sweet message that hits home. All the great things about this country.
Mike Roth:
So I haven't read book 7 yet. You can save that for the Fourth of July. That's the fourth of July book if I ever saw one. We're gonna take a break now and listen to dr Craig Curtis. Let's talk about the omega 3 and omega 6. How should people get that from their diet?
Dr. Craig Curtis:
Primarily, you should get that through beans and nuts and legumes and fish. Mm-hmm. You can take a supplement of omega 3, omega 6's. However, don't overdo the supplementation of omega 3. Specifically, there was a large study published by the American College of Cardiology a few years back that seemed to show that people that took too much omega 3 might have an increased risk of a heart arrhythmia. So my recommendation is if you buy omega 3 supplements, take it as written.
Warren:
With over 20 years of experience Studying brain health, Dr Curtis's goal is to educate the villages community on how to live a longer, healthier life. T o learn more, visit his website. Craig Curtis MD. Com, or call 352 500 5252 to attend a free seminar.
Mike Roth:
Tell us why you think the story of Oliver and all of his friends the other ornaments Resonates so well with listeners.
Todd Zimmerman:
I think what it is. Every ornament tells a story, and, as I think, as your listeners are hearing this right now, they're probably thinking about ornaments that they have in their own collection. I can't tell you how many times I've had parents and grandparents come up with, come up to me at book signings with tears in their eyes, talking about how special this story is because it hits on the tradition of giving ornaments as gifts, and I think that's something really unique about this is because I'm thinking right now of this favorite ornament that I have on my Tree. It's a Jeep Wrangler ornament that was given to me by a really good friend of mine when I bought my, when I bought my Jeep, and I'm sure your listeners are thinking of the same stories Themselves, and so I think that's why it really resonates.
Mike Roth:
It's got a very strong family feel to it in these books.
Todd Zimmerman:
It's very traditional. It's very family friendly. What's really neat about it, too, is throughout the holiday season I will get emails from parents and get parents and grandparents saying, with the first book starting Thanksgiving night. I'll get hundreds of emails the day after Thanksgiving saying they love reading Oliver the ornament after Thanksgiving dinner and they can't wait to read the second book the next week and then hang that ornament on the tree. So this whole seven book series has now become a Christmas season tradition for these families, which is really exciting for me to be part of.
Mike Roth:
I know you have an Oliver ornament. I think that's sold with the first book. Yes, it is very beautiful packaging. Do you sell the other characters in the books as ornaments?
Todd Zimmerman:
Yes, we do so we saw the first book is sold, as you said, as the gift set, and that has the ornament as well the book and the ornament and the book is. As. I question you, mike, what did you think of the illustrations there? I always back bragging.
Mike Roth:
The illustrations in your book of first class. Yeah, what, every bit of it.
Todd Zimmerman:
When I got the first illustration back from my illustrator I was I just said my gosh, you are brilliant. And so the first book, as I said, is sold as the gift set that has the book and the ornament. All the subsequent books are sold as a standalone book, but then the corresponding ornaments that go with those books are available as well. The seventh book that comes out this Christmas Actually October 12th that's gonna be sold as a gift set again, except the gift set is gonna have an ornament, but it's a surprise ornament. So the little children in the story in the story get a new ornament from Santa Claus on Christmas Day in the story and that's the same ornament that's gonna be in the gift package a gift pack.
Mike Roth:
Okay, but don't tell anyone. I won't tell anyone. Is it okay if I tell our listeners what I really liked about all of the books? We talked about the illustrations a second ago. As I'm reading the books from right to left, left to right, depending on whether or not you're dextlexic it was printed like a conventional children's book very large, beautiful illustrations, heavy weight paper. And I get to this one page in the middle and all of a sudden I've got to turn the book 90 degrees to read the book. How did you come?
Todd Zimmerman:
up with that idea. I can't take credit for that. That was my illustrator's idea. I call that the hero chapter. So a little bit more on Oliver. Oliver has a broken arm in this story and because he has a broken arm he gets bullied by some of the other ornaments and even though that happens, he still has this magic and kindness in his heart and that helps him overcome all odds to save the day in the first book. And that's saving the day takes place in the hero chapter. So what we have in every single book is Oliver, even though he's got his challenges, teaching children that despite the challenges that they're facing, they can accomplish anything they set their mind to. And so in every single book the children have to take the time to turn the book vertically and see and witness Oliver being the hero for the story.
Mike Roth:
Yeah, that was a beautiful move. I don't think I've ever seen that in a book before.
Todd Zimmerman:
I had never seen it before and again I can't take credit for it at all. It was my illustrator's idea entirely.
Mike Roth:
That might be the secret trick we talked about. That could be right, exactly that could be right. And if it was me writing the book by the end of that first book, I was just feeling, man, I got to give this guy, Oliver, some super glue to put glue that back on. We're just killing me.
Todd Zimmerman:
Tom in the story fixes. Mom realizes that Oliver's arm is broken and, as moms and grandmas oftentimes do, she makes everything better for Oliver Good.
Mike Roth:
I'm glad to hear that you have some other characters in the book. You actually have a character that I call a villain, who is like a little donkey. Yes, one of them Is that character turned around in book seven.
Todd Zimmerman:
I can't tell you, but there is a funny story behind Nellie's. We have three villains in the first book Edsel, buck and Crystal. They bully Oliver because he can't do certain things. By the end of the first book they realize the mistake they made by doing so, so they ask for forgiveness and they're given forgiveness and the first book ends really sweet.
Todd Zimmerman:
I wrote the second book and I thought my gosh, this book is actually sweeter than the first book. I didn't send it on to my editor or to my illustrator because there was something knowing at me that was wrong with it, that was missing. There is just something wrong and I didn't know what it was. And all of a sudden I realized there's not a villain in the second book. Every children's story needs a villain, absolutely.
Todd Zimmerman:
So I came up with this idea of a new ornament that gets introduced in the second book. Her name is Nellie, and Nellie is a donkey ornament, as you mentioned. She was left behind in the attic Decades and decades ago and this Christmas she's snapped and Nelly is determined to ruin Christmas for the ornaments, for the family and, ultimately, for everyone in the whole wide world. She does things to her, to family, to the ornaments and to and to all the and to all the world, and it's and. But even though that happens, oliver and his friends, because of his kind heart, is always able to save the day. I can't tell you if she turns around in the seventh book, but you'll have to read that on October 12th.
Mike Roth:
Okay, that's a good cliffhanger to beyond the Oliver series. Are you thinking of doing any other books I've got?
Todd Zimmerman:
a few other books in mind. Actually, I've got a World War II one that I'm working on. I've got a faith based book that I'm looking into doing. There also may be a prequel. We talked just briefly about Nelly and we might be doing a prequel on where Nelly came from. That sounds like a really good idea. I can see the illustrations for that one already. It would take place probably in the early 40s. That would fit.
Mike Roth:
If someone wants to get a whole of a copy of the Oliver series. Do you have a package where you sell all of the books in one fell swoop?
Todd Zimmerman:
Yes, we do. In fact, we have a really great package where you can buy all 14. You don't have to buy them as a package, you can buy them individually. But when you buy all seven books together, you get seven books, 14 ornaments, two puzzles, a snow globe and then electronic versions, so the little ones can scan a QR code and they can have the book on any devi ce. That is normally $520. That we're doing. We have a special offer for $349 and that's at olivertheornament. com.
Mike Roth:
Oliver's got his own website. There's a QR code, so if the children have an iPhone or an Android or a tablet, they just scan the QR code.
Todd Zimmerman:
They get any device and they're studio produced and they're actually what we call narrated ebooks. It's a cross between an ebook and an audiobook. Rather than the children just listening to it or just looking at it, they're being read to. It's like story time on their device. They're all professionally done and there's seven books. They're about 15 minutes each, so you're looking at about an hour and 45 minutes of good entertainment on a device, as opposed to them playing a game or doing whatever they're doing on the device.
Mike Roth:
That's a good idea, and if someone wanted just to buy the first book in the gift box for this Christmas, is that available on Amazon now?
Todd Zimmerman:
It's available on Amazon. It's also available on olivertheornamentcom and for any listener from The Villages. If you put in the discount code villages when you're checking out, you'll get another 10% off your order.
Mike Roth:
Okay, that's a really good thing. If they put in the word villages, does it have to be capitalized or anything it can be.
Todd Zimmerman:
It can do all caps, all lowercase, and you know what we'll do, mike, for the first 100 people that buy a copy of the book. There's an area on my checkout also that has notes, and I know so many grandparents love having books autographed and personalized for their grandchildren. Right For the first 100 people that buy, I will personalize each of the books to each of the grandchildren or their great grandchildren or their children.
Mike Roth:
You'll write the grandchildren's name.
Todd Zimmerman:
It'll say to Riley and Dominic Merry Christmas. Todd Zimmerman Wow.
Mike Roth:
That's a really good offer and I bet those books are worth more on eBay at 100 years.
Todd Zimmerman:
I have one signed by Melania Trump. When she did the event, she asked me if I want to sign copy of my book, which I thought was a little bit strange, but I'm like sure I'll take it, and I thought maybe I should put this on eBay for $10,000 or something.
Mike Roth:
Yeah, you'd be surprised when people will buy. And he based the marketplace Yep, mm-hmm Good. So if someone wants to reach out and ask you a question, how do they do that?
Todd Zimmerman:
They can contact me at TMZ Oliver the ornament. com, and that's tea like Todd M Michael Z Zimmerman. . Also if they want to go to my website. There's a place on my website where you can say contact the. Contact us.
Mike Roth:
When you say your website does that? Mean Oliver the ornament.
Todd Zimmerman:
Yes, no, no, good, okay, thanks for being with us today, Todd, it's my pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Mike Roth:
Great, I enjoyed reading the books.
Todd Zimmerman:
Thanks so much.
Emily:
Remember our next episode will be released next Friday at 9 am. Should you want to become a major supporter of the show or have questions, please contact us at Mike at Roth voice comm. This is a shout out for supporters Tweet Coleman, ed Williams and major supporter Dr Craig Curtis at K2 in the villages. We will be hearing more from Dr Curtis with short Alzheimer's tips each week. If you know someone who should be on the show, contact us at Mike at Roth voice comm. We thank everyone for listening to the show. The content of the show is copyrighted by Roth voice 2024. All rights reserved.