Publisher-author’s mother inspires line of reader-friendly books

Her 94-year-old mother, Mary, was living at Martin Luther Manor in Bloomington when she came across an illustrated copy of “Little Women” with large type.

“She just loved it,” said Aubitz, who owns Kirk House Publishers in Burnsville with her husband, Brian. “But the problem was there were no other books like that. She would grab one thinking it would be like that one, and it was 10-point type, it was hard for her to read, it was a more complex storyline, and she’d get frustrated.”

Two years later Kirk House is rolling out its own line of reader-friendly books featuring short stories by the publisher’s stable of Minnesota authors, including Aubitz. The stories are in 16-point type and set in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, with full-color illustrations bringing the era to life.

The Reminisce line debuted July 19 with “Reminisce Mysteries: Book One.” A book of romance stories will come out this month, followed by ghost stories in September and science fiction in October.

The books are tailored to readers who may have cognitive impairment, failing eyesight, the effects of stroke or difficulty holding things. But they avoid labels.

“I don’t have ‘dementia’ or ‘Alzheimer’s’ on the book at all,” said Aubitz, of Bloomington. “It’s 16-point type. It’s a larger book (7.5 by 9.75 inches), so it’s better for people who may not have those motor skills.”

Each book will have 10 stories, 1,500 to 3,000 words long, with a beginning, a middle and an end, Aubitz said. Her aim is to reach still-active readers with the capacity to get lost in a good story.

The years in which they’re set were also inspired by her mother, who likes to reminisce about dates in poodle skirts and the colors of the ribbons she wore, Aubitz said.

“She’s kind of in that dimension or that time frame in her head, so she talks about that all the time,” Aubitz said. “So I thought it would be really fun to do ’40s, ’50s and ’60s.”

The Reminisce series has the endorsement of Lori La Bey, founder of Alzheimer’s Speaks, a Minnesota advocacy organization.

“When Ann Aubitz from Kirk House Publishers called me about the new line of books she was publishing for older readers, my ears perked up,” La Bey wrote in a testimonial. “I knew this was an underserved market.”

Many books for older people are hard to read and hold or too complicated to comprehend — “or on the other side, they are overly simplified and child-like,” La Bey wrote. The Reminisce books “were designed to be dignified and intriguing.”

Aubitz is well-represented in the first book of mystery stories, which include selections under her own name and her two pen names — Ava Florian Johns and Addison Frost. The other authors are Lynn Garthwaite, Leandra Logan and Gloria VanDemmeltraadt.

“A lot of them have worked with me for years,” Aubitz said. “Most of them I’ve known for 15 years.”

Aubitz is active in Women of Words, a Minnesota writers group, leading groups in Oakdale and St. Cloud. She and her husband, who both worked for many years in the printing industry, started a self-publishing company in 2009 and bought Kirk House, a former Minneapolis publisher, in 2020. The hybrid company includes a self-publishing arm, Fusion Press.

Kirk House has published a children’s series called “My Friends the Penguins” written by Aubitz’s daughter, Katlyn, who has Down syndrome, with design and illustration by her mother.

“She’s 26 years old, but she has ideas for 50 stories,” Ann Aubitz said. “She’s just so excited about them. The penguins are based off her best friends.”

Kirk House Publishers is at www.kirkhousepublishers.com. The Reminisce line is available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other online retailers.