Children's book author to make a special appearance at the library

Tuesday, July 15, 2003

Shannon Gepford, the author of "Solomon Isaiah Spreewell: Throw-Up, Pigs & Kisses" will be at the Nevada Public Library at 1 p.m. on Wednesday July 16, to sign copies of his book. The book is about a fifth grade boy, nicknamed "Sis" who gets into all types of mis-adventures in rural Missouri. Gepford, a former schoolteacher and coach, graduated from Central Methodist College in 1992 with a bachelor of arts degree in science education. He has written hundreds of sports columns for a weekly newspaper and has also written a poem which was published in 1997 by the Poetry Guild. He lives in Butler and is working on a sequel to "Solomon Isaiah Spreewell." Gepford has been writing for eight years, but only started the novel five years ago. "It took me five years to write this book," Gepford said. "I didn't work on it all the time, just when I felt inspired to write." He explained how he started writing it. "My wife and I both taught in the same school system. She taught fifth grade. I came into her classroom one day and she was reading a book to the students. She made the comment that the book she was reading wasn't very good and asked my opinion. I just flipped through the pages and jokingly said, 'Yes, it's not very good, I could write one better than this,' and she dared me to do it!" He chuckled. The character's nickname, "Sis" was his starting point. He wanted a unique name that fit the trials of a fifth grade boy. "I didn't want someone to see their name and be embarrassed by that," he said. The characters and situations are drawn from Gepford's own experiences as a boy in rural Missouri. "Some of my friends say they remember the events I've told about," Gepford said, then laughed. "But they say they don't remember them happening exactly like they do in the book. Well, I had to make it more interesting and keep it humorous." Relying on his first hand knowledge of children of that age group, Gepford wrote to his audience. "Kids that age, especially boys, like things that are gross and funny, so I put a lot of gross stuff in it, like falling into pig manure and getting a kiss from his teacher, dealing with girlfriends -- all that "gross" stuff." Written about a boy's adventures, Gepford said girls enjoy the book too. "Well, Sis does have a girlfriend," he teased. "I don't want to give away too much of the story, but girls like that part." Gepford said the book delivers the message he wanted to get across: "No matter how bad it looks, nothing is ever as bad as it seems. Keep striving and don't give up on things you want to do." The book itself is a good example of not giving up. It was submitted to 38 publishers who returned it unread. "The 39th publisher at least read it, but said they didn't publish that type of book," Gepford said. "They did, however, suggest the name of the publisher who finally accepted it." The novel is available in three formats, e-book, paperback, and hard back. "My original contract was e-book and paperback, but I got so many requests for a hardback edition that I added that option as well," Gepford explained. He added that the book is doing well and he expects sales to pick up in the fall. Gepford will be conducting additional book signings across Missouri for the remainder of the year and may be back to Nevada for an appearance at the middle school. He is working on a sequel and the first draft is almost 80 percent complete. "There is still a lot to write, and then all the editing. I hope to have it finished by March and it should be out within 12 months." He isn't certain of the new title yet but it will be "Sis something," he said. He advises his readers to "Find something you want to do, and if you feel you've done something worthy that you want to share, keep searching for a way to accomplish that."

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