Contact: Butch Daub, Author, 717-647-7507, butchdaub54@yahoo.com; Chris Daub, Wife of Author, 717-647-7507, crustychristy@epix.net

VALLEY VIEW, Penn., April 28 /Standard Newswire/ -- A tragic accident, the nightly news and a supportive wife, all combined to contribute to the publication of a new book The Making of a (Wanna-Be) Dictator by Butch Daub.

Three years ago Lykens resident Butch Daub, the father of two daughters Ginger and Barbie, fell three stories from the scaffolding as he was helping a friend work on his house. He received serious injuries, including a shattered hip, broken ribs and legs and a broken wrist.

After he was released from the hospital, he was confined to a wheel chair then advanced to a walker, until he now can walk without aid.

"While I was recuperating, all I did was watch television," said Daub. "I'd would watch the evening news and complain to Chris (his wife) all the time."

"One day she said, you can draw - why don't you start drawing cartoons about the ridiculous things you see on television."

Daub, a third generation stone mason, used to draw when he was a kid growing up in Campbelltown, Pa. He would make signs, birthday cards and funny cards for his family members.

So with Chris's encouragement and a gift of drawing paper, pencils and markers, Daub began drawing his view of the world.

He would watch the news and make notes while he watched. Afterwards he would head to his drawing room and make raw sketches. Once he had just what he was looking for, he would complete a cartoon that satirized what he had just watched on television.

Daub drew and drew, because as he said in the interview, "there is so much material out there to work with." He worked until he had over 1,000 drawings in a box and then wondered what he would do with them.

Finances were tight because of the accident, but the Daub's sold a treasure they had been holding onto for years, to finance the printing of a book of cartoons with a different view. "We invested in his talent," said Chris.

After tentatively contacting a publisher with the idea of the book, Daub got a phone call the very next day that a company in Charleston, South Carolina was interested in his work.

"The hardest thing was choosing sixty cartoons to send to the publisher," said Daub. "But we picked them, shipped them and the publisher assigned a team to take over design of the book. A publishing consultant and a design team were in contact with me through this period."

The book is a satirical look at events that have caught the interest of Daub. "I am a very political person," said Daub. And the cartoons in the book reflect his interest in politics as he takes an irreverent poke at important happenings in the national political arena.

"I was really excited when I saw the first book," said Daub. "I never had a career, only jobs, so I'm hoping that this will become my new career."

"Depending on how this book does, I have enough material for seven more," he added laughing. In fact, he has the second book sorted, packed, titled and ready to be shipped to the publisher.
The Making of a (Wanna-Be) Dictator selected from the files of gunbarrel ink, Cartoons with a Different View is available for purchase from Amazon.com, Abebooks.com, Alibris.com and Borders.com. It will also be available in the library in Lykens as soon as it has been catalogued in Harrisburg.