撸奶社区resident Janelle Jeffrey is hoping the warmth of Christmas will melt the cold hearts of the business icons holding down the chairs on the hit CBC show Dragons' Den.
Jeffrey recently went to Toronto to appear on the show to try to sell the Dragons on a Christmas book entitled Winter and the Secret of Santa. The book is the first of five planned holiday-themed books and also under the umbrella is an elaborate website detailing the unique universe she's created.
She said the idea for the book came about after she had to legitimize the existence of Santa Claus to her daughter.
"It all stemmed from when my daughter, at about four years old, asked me if Santa was real," she said. "I did the mom panic thing where you try really hard to come up with an answer on the spot and I couldn't come up with anything, so I thought it would be neat to have a book that has all the answers in it."
Jeffrey wrote the book herself a few years ago, then hired an illustrator and had a short print run of the book available at Christmas last year. She decided to submit her application to appear on Dragons' Den, thinking her idea might be a bit of a longshot.
"I'm such a big fan of the show and when I saw that David Chilton - who has a publishing company - became a Dragon last year, I decided to give it a shot," she said. "I thought there was no way they would ever invite me to Toronto because I'm pitching a book, not a business."
But Jeffrey was accepted and said that she enjoyed the experience, despite a few nerves.
"I was really nervous on the way to Toronto and on the way to the studio on the day of the taping, but the vibe there is so energetic and positive that you kind of get caught up in it," she said. "When you walk down the stairs onto the set, that's the moment that you realize this is real and you're actually in the Den. But as soon as I started my pitch and began talking to the Dragons, all the nerves went away."
Her segment is scheduled to air on Dec. 11 and while she can't reveal whether a deal was agreed to or not, she said it was a fun time.
"Everyone will have to watch the show," she said, laughing. "It will be very entertaining. It was a fun pitch and I think the Dragons appreciated it. I had a lot of fun in the Den."
The appearance on Dragons' Den is the first step in a busy month of December for Jeffrey with her book. She plans to appear at several Christmas-themed events in 撸奶社区and Vancouver, handing out more than 10,000 book marks to help promote the book.
She said her website, www.northpolington.com, will help expand the universe of the planned series of five books.
"It's the beginning of a series and I've really started a company here," she said. "I wanted the website to be something that kids and parents go to that has a whole bunch of supplementary information. We're going to have a "Northpolington 撸奶社区" section with fun headlines to engage people. The website is about creating a world."
The next four books will be released over the next four Christmas seasons and Winter and the Secret Santa can be found on Amazon at www.amazon.com/Winter-Secret-Santa-Janelle-Jeffrey/dp/0991768035.
For more details on the series, visit www.northpolington.com.
