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"The Tails of Abbygail"

Cute Terrier Goes Hollywood

By: Terri L. Link

Terri Link’s passion for animals and desire to have more children led her on an adventure to create “The Tails of Abbygail” live-action video series for children. She’s hitting Toy Fair 2008 with the first DVD under her belt, is aiming to sell 1 million copies all by herself, and is in the running for a spot in TDmonthly Magazine’s Toy Frenzy! documentary. Read her story below:

The idea for "The Tails of Abbygail" was invented one afternoon while entertaining friends. Abbygail, our little Jack Russell Terrier, is quite an entertainer! People of all ages love to watch her.

JUST AN ORDINARY DAY

My husband and I decided it would be fun to film her in some of her daily activities on just "one ordinary day." That's how the story starts out:

"One ordinary day, a cute and very curious Jack Russell Terrier named Abbygail has dreams of going on an adventure …”

Both of my children are grown (20s) and I have always wanted more. My husband, Al, 49, being seven years older than I am, unfortunately doesn't share that dream. Over the past 12 years, I have tried and tried to change his mind about my love of having more children. Not happening.

MAKING CHILDREN HAPPY

I have always been a business owner, mentor and leader in everything I do. So on that day, mentioned above, I came up with a plan to "achieve" my dream of more children in my life.

I started writing the first story in a planned series of five, "The Tails of Abbygail," for the children to to fall in love with. It would be a story about a little dog's dream that would eventually transform into mine.

Now that the first story of "The Tails of Abbygail: Dreams Come True,” is complete, I see my dream coming to reality! When children watch and listen to the story, they are so happy and ready to become Abbygail's friends … and mine.

I get to see their smiling faces and listen and share with them their take on the movie. They ask me questions and give me their ideas about adventures for Abbygail and her friends.

The movie is full of safety pointers, manners and just good morals, as well as being very "G" rated. As much as children are enjoying it, so do the elderly, whom I love, too.

Animal lovers find it lovable, and I get to meet more people that share my love of animals! My dream is coming true.

SELLING A MILLION … AND MORE

I hope to promote this series of stories worldwide in schools, daycares, hospitals, nursing homes, dog shows, fairs, etc. Besides having a distributor, I want to "hands on" a lot of this.

My dream is to personally sell 1 million copies to children and people around the world — that’s in addition to what my distributors sell!

The movie is also dedicated to my 90-year-old grandmother, Catherine, that I spent a great deal of time with. She took me on "outdoor adventures," like Abbygail's! My dog and I have a lot in common: We love making people happy!

I have about $85,000 invested in the project to date. And I have a large inventory of "ready-to-sell" DVDs and Favorite Movie Character Posters paid for already. I own other businesses that have financed this "DREAMS COME TRUE" project, as have family and friends who believe in me.

VISION TO GROW

At Toy Fair 2008, I hope to meet other people who share my vision and want to help contribute good, clean entertainment to children. I hope to meet distributors that will want to get my message in the movie out to the public. I am also looking for some contacts to license products for "The Tails of Abbygail"!

I hope to have a whole line of fun, including two more movies and a children's sing-along CD by next Christmas in stores everywhere! Our website will also be interactive with children. They will be able to vote for their favorite character, as well as to tell us their ideas about the next adventure.

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