For Immediate Release: February 10, 2005

Contact: Sheila Ruth, 888-203-4068, sruth@imaginatorpress.com

BALTIMORE: Because a monarch butterfly plays a prominent role in Nick Ruth's young adult fantasy novel, The Dark Dreamweaver (ISBN 0974560316), his publisher, Imaginator Press, will donate 5 percent of all net income from the book to protect the threatened habitat in Michoacan, Mexico, where millions of monarchs spend the winter. On sales direct from the company (www.darkdreamweaver.com, www.imaginatorpress.com, 888-203-4068), Imaginator will not only donate an extra 10 percent (15 percent all together), but also send a packet of milkweed seeds, so the buyer can create a monarch habitat of his or her own.

Imaginator is partnering with the Michoacan Reforestation Fund, a nonprofit organization that works to rebuild the devastated oyamel forests in the Mexican heartland, and at the same time create an environmentally and economically sustainable resource for the local population. MRF (www.michoacanmonarchs.org) is the designated beneficiary for the funds collected through Imaginator's book sales.

In fact, Ruth was inspired to write his book after raising monarchs with his son. Watching each monarch egg turn to caterpillar, and then to chrysalis, and then to butterfly, Ruth created The Dark Dreamweaver, his richly textured young adult fantasy novel: in Remin, the world of dreams, David, a boy from our own world, does battle with the evil sorcerer Thane, and is aided by an imprisoned wizard battling the dream thief. Houdin, the wizard, is condemned to endless reincarnations through the butterfly life cycle.

Named an American Booksellers Association Book Sense Children's Pick and praised in several national and Maryland publications—including Heartland Review, which thanks Ruth for his "excellent job of incorporating life science...to teach without being obvious about it"—as well as Independent Publisher and others, and illustrated by Sue Concannon, the book also contains a glossary of resources and information about monarchs. Ruth is already hard at work on a sequel.

Journalists: Ruth is available for interviews and the book is available for review.

The Dark Dreamweaver, ISBN 0974560316
Imaginator Press, 2004; clothbound, $16.95

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