I hope you'll take a few minutes and drop by my website at: http://www.grace4books.com

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Boomer Babe Grace Reddick Visits Boomer Chick!
I have a special guest today! Boomer babe Grace Reddick, author of the delightful children’s book, ASHLEY’S UNFORGETTABLE SUMMER, joins us at Boomer Chick in her final days of her virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion! I asked Grace to stop by and tell my fellow boomers what it was like being an author from a boomer’s standpoint. If you’d like to find out more about this talented author, visit her website at www.grace4books.com. Enjoy and take it away, Grace!

It was during my early married years that I began to journal. I had a strong desire as well as a need to release the emotions that were bottled up inside me, waiting to be set free. If you could step inside my heart, you would feel the emotional roller coaster ride that thrust me forward making me the person that I have become.

Every story is unique, but what makes mine so different is that it was happening to me.

My journaling, my lifeline, was all I had to keep me in touch with reality.

Journaling was also most gratifying. I soon realized that the more I wrote, the more I desired to write.

The words seemed to flow from my heart and leap onto the paper before me. What an awesome experience this turned out to be. I began to write poetry, and here again, this was another expression from my heart. My poetry was published in the weekly local paper. Soon people began asking me to write special things for them. This was truly an honor.

As I began to write in my journal each day, I found it to be increasingly intriguing. I believe, looking back on it now, that this was the beginning of my desire to write beyond myself.

A story began to buzz around in my head as I pondered the thought of writing a novel. I was a stay at home mom, so I had plenty of time to write. I wrote fifteen chapters and put it aside, never to be picked up again.

I submitted an essay for children once, just for the fun of it. However, after recieving great reviews, I decided I could write a complete story for children. And I did just that, then I wrote another.

I did not have any experience in writing, no training, no direction and had no clue what I was doing.

I did go to the library and look up publishers, and began sending one of my stories out, just as it was.

Oh my goodness, if you could only see how terrible it was, I'm sure that you would die laughing.

I was so naive. I pressed forward on my excitement. And yes, as you might know, I did receive many rejections, although I couldn't understand why. I did not have an editor, who needs them, did not have an agent, what was that? I had a good story, wasn't that good enough?

Unfortunately for the writing world, I put all of my writing aside. I honestly don't know why. I do know that timing is very important in your life, and perhaps this was not my time.

After completing the children's book that I am currently rewriting, I will be writing on personal experiences. But I will always write children's books. I have a lot to say, and no, I do not think that my time is running out. I'm just getting started.

I resumed my writing about two years ago. Boy did I have a lot to learn. Here I am, a grandmother, a young one I might add. Venturing out to achieve fame and fortune, I began to rewrite one of my original stories. Much to my surprise, I did not know anything about the writing industry. I searched online for anything or anyone that could offer any suggestions. I continued to write while doing this, and needless to say, I had to once again, rewrite. I did this a lot because I had to learn as I went along. I found all of this to be very frustrating. It seemed that I needed people, like an editor, and an illustrator.

I joined writing groups to get info, went to several authors websites. I found out they put lots of good information there.

Finally, I was ready to publish. I chose a paid vanity publisher because I wanted desperately to get my book out there. After all, I have another one on the way. Xlibris was my choice, and yes it was expensive. In my opinion, too expensive. Each additional thing I felt I needed, just seemingly decreased my wallet. Golly, is this what publishing is all about? I should have compared publishers and possibly taken a few different steps toward stardom. But hey, I'll get there non the less.

A classic book for young people and those young at heart. Reddick’s writing style fuses beautifully with Charr Floyd’s illustrations to bring to life the wild adventures of Ashley and her little pal Tina.
Sure to be a mainstay for bedtime storytellers everywhere.
Ross Blair: Reporter:
Bryan County News
Pembroke, GA

I enjoyed this book, but I took it in to school and read it to my 7 and 8 year old students. They LOVED it! Most children are animal lovers and they fell in love with Tina the baby chimpanzee. The children could relate to all of the trouble Tina got into. They said things like, “Tina reminds me of my brother, whenever he is quiet for a long time he is usually into something - just like Tina.” “The monkey reminds me of my little sister when she is sleeping - I love to watch her sleep.” “Ashley reminds me of myself - I like to dress up my dog like she likes to dress up Tina.” The children loved the book, they thought it was funny. They became interested in knowing more about Africa (where Tina came from). We loved the illustrations. Charr Floyd did a fabulous job capturing the silly monkey, Tina in all of her antics.

Each time I brought the book out to read to the children, they became excited. They were engaged throughout and had questions and comments. This is a great book for 9-12 year old children to read independently, but I would also highly recommend it as a read aloud to younger children - even as young as five or six years old.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 12:00 am

The Friendly Book Nook

http://thefriendlybooknook.com/2008/06/05/ashleys-unforgettable-summer-by-grace-reddick/

Ashley's Unforgettable Summer Makes for Great Summertime Read

Dorothy Thompson
June 16, 2008

Dr. Edith W. Anderson, Freelance Writer of the Bryan County Now, Savannah Morning News and Hinesville Coastal Courier says ASHLEY'S UNFORGETTABLE SUMMER is an excellent book for school libraries. "...it's an excellent children's book. Ashley, the main character, captures your attention with her unpredictable chimpanzee, Tina. The colorful illustrations blend in well with the story that is being told. This author is to be commended and I strongly recomment it for readers of all ages."

Grace Reddick was born and grew up in Savannah, GA and moved to Ellabell, GA in 1970. She is a born again child of God, and has been a member of Faulkville Baptist Church since 1995.

She is a member of the International Society of Poets, a member of The Christian Pen and a member of Authors Den. Grace has donated books to all the school's and libraries she has been invited to. She wants children to have access to the book, and believes that reading is a vital part of learning.

Grace has always loved to write for her own pleasure. She began to journal many years ago, and found it to bring healing for her mind and spirit. It also enabled her to seek and express her inner self.

Grace has written poetry for the local paper, as well as articles and poetry upon request. She had always admired writers, and hoped that one day she would be able to achieve that same prestige . After a short period she put her writings aside for several years. She wasn't quite sure why, maybe the timing wasn't right. Last year Grace realized that she should pursue the talent that God had given her. She once again began to create a story, populate it with characters, and act out the ideas that were buzzing around in her head.

You can visit her website at www.grace4books.com

Dorothy Thompson is CEO/Founder of Pump Up Your Book Promotion, a full service public relations firm specializing in online book tours. She is also the author of A COMPLETE GUIDE TO PROMOTING & SELLING YOUR SELF-PUBLISHED EBOOK and 101 INTERNET RADIO SHOWS TO PROMOTE YOUR BOOKS. You can visit her website at www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com