Teresa Stern, a VAIL staff member who has accomplished her dream of writing and publishing a children’s book, has been chosen as a finalist in the 2017 Literary Classics International Book Award Finalists for her first book, Grocery Store Alphabet Game, published in 2014 by Sarah Book Publishing in Harlingen.
The book finalists were selected from submissions by entrants around the globe. The honorees are “recognized for their contributions to the craft of writing, illustrating and publishing exceptional literature for a youth audience”
Teresa with her book.
Teresa’s dream began when an idea for a children’s book formed in her mind about 20 years ago. So she began writing the story of a little girl who learns her alphabet at the grocery store shopping for food with her mother.
When Teresa attended college, she began to try to publish her book, but for one reason or the other, her writing got set aside for awhile. In 2011 she worked on her manuscript again, and this time made contact with a publisher in Harlingen called Sarah Book Publishing. She also met her graphics illustrator at an event at that time, and it all came together.
She submitted her manuscript in 2013, and in 2014 she published her very first book titled Grocery Store Alphabet Game, taking part in book signing events hosted by the publisher. The book was placed on Amazon.com for sale, and did quite well.
With the success of her first book, she tackled another children’s book titled The Tea Party on Henry’s Island. Although this book was available for awhile on Amazon, she began transitioning to self-publishing, and is in the middle of this venture even now.
Teresa is presently writing a third book, a sequel to The Tea Party on Henry’s Island called Christmas Eve Dinner on Annie’s Island.
As Teresa transitions to self-publishing, her books are not presently available on Amazon, but she hopes to have the first two available for sale this summer on CreateSpace.com, an Amazon self-publishing company.