Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2uPd5M-_MM

Bryce and the Blood Ninjas was the brainchild of a father in uncharted territory, trying to process my son's recent diagnosis with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Bryce was only 4 at the time, and we were facing a - best case - three year treatment plan with IV chemo, regular spinal taps, surgical implantation of an access port into his chest, and a lot of pills to swallow every single night. I wanted to explain that to him in a way that would convey the gravity of the situation but not erode his fun-loving, up-for-anything, joie de vivre!

I made this story up in the hospital and, after we got settled into our new routine and adjusted to the circumstances, I decided this story could be a real inspiration to other families, whether or not they were facing a similar situation.

So began my foray into the wild world of publishing. I sought out an old friend for the illustrations. Alvin Harvey II and I met in 1991 at Berkeley High School. He was always drawing, and I knew this project would be more fun and meaningful if a real friend worked with me rather than an artist for hire. This was a complicated decision however as Alvin suffers from a degenerative neurological condition that made his work, while technically brilliant (in my estimation) a lot slower than others may have been. He even, at one point tried to convince me to find someone else for the project because he felt bad at how much time he was taking. I couldn't be happier that I didn't take him up on that offer! We had an awesome shared vision, and we are both so proud of the result!