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By Heather Stalaboin
Life is full of challenges. In Michele
Bredice Craemer's first self-published children's book, Pellie
Runs a Marathon, children and adults alike witness the
challenges of not only running a marathon, but also learning
important life lessons during each mile of the race.
Michele started running during her days in graduate school at
Boston College, and was soon running marathons herself. She
started keeping a journal relating life lessons to running, and
how important it was to keep going and working towards goals.
Then, two years ago, she took out those journal pages, and
transformed her experiences into Pellie Runs a Marathon. I
recently sat down with Michele and we discussed the development of
her book and her decision to self-publish.
"Self-publishing is so much more fulfilling. I really had a
vision of what I wanted it [Pellie] to be." Michele spent a
great deal of time researching self-publishing through books,
on-line resources, and friend Maryellen Killeen, who works in the
publishing industry. "I wanted control over my book, and
self-publishing allowed me to do that." Michele also
discovered through her research that companies and corporations
might sometimes sponsor a writer's publication. She sent a copy of
her manuscript to Saucony, a running shoes and clothing company
located in Peabody, Massachusetts. "They've been supporting
me along the way."
Michele's two boys also helped with the development of her book.
Patrick, three and half, "has a little ducky he has slept
with since he was six months old, so that's why I decided Pellie
would be a duck." Her other son, Will, age two, helped come
up with the name. Finding the right illustrator was very important
to her book as well. She wanted the artwork to portray the bright,
colorful images she and her children had in mind for Pellie.
"At first it was hard," but soon she met Elizabeth Lavin
and the rest is history.
Through hard work and determination, Michele achieved her goals:
she wrote her book, self-published, found an illustrator, and her
book went to the printers. When I asked Michele what is the most
important life lesson in Pellie Runs a Marathon, Michele replied,
"Miles 3 and 4. Hills are okay. Challenges in life are okay.
It's okay to stop or slow down, just don't give up. Go at your own
pace."
Michele sounds a lot like Pellie: "Pellie knows she can do
it. Run, run, run. Run right to it!"
For more information or to buy a copy of Michele's book, visit her
website at www.powerpackpresentations.com, where you will also
find information about book signings and events. You can also
purchase her book on-line at Amazon.com, or visit some local
businesses in Worcester County, such as Applegates and Hair Affair
in Upton, or Kids Cupboard in Uxbridge.
Heather Stalaboin is a
librarian and writer living in Massachusetts. She can be reached
at hjsreg@yahoo.com.
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