BEDTIME TO BOOK

By CAITLIN HEANEY

ASSOCIATED PRESS

HANOVER, Pa. — What started as a bedtime story for her children has made Gillian Colley a finalist in a book-writing competition that could win her a publishing deal.

The Hanover resident and mother of two grown children is competing in The ABC’s Children’s Picture Book Competition, an online contest pitting Colley against 11 other authors for a royalty-based publishing contract.

Colley, a teaching assistant at Hanover High School, created her story “What’s Wrong with Mud?” when her children Andrew and Tegan were growing up.

The picture book features pigs who love mud, ducks who do not and what happens when they have the opportunity to experience each others’ lives, she said. The animals switch places at night.

“This was one of the stories that my kids kept asking me to repeat and repeat,” Colley said. “And one day I just decided to write it down.”

Colley said she’s always been creative even though she had an aversion to reading while growing up.

“When I was in school that was probably my worst subject,” Colley said. “I just hated reading. It was probably because it was too slow. It just took too much time. I don’t walk slow, I don’t do anything slow. It wasn’t until the kids came along ... and I just started telling stories.”

Getting encouraged

Colley has since refined “What’s Wrong with Mud?” after learning more about writing children’s stories during a noncredit writing class at Harrisburg Area Community College. When she read her story to pupils at Hanover Street Elementary School, where she was working at the time, she was motivated to publish it.

“They were the ones that really gave me that push to go and see if I could get it published,” Colley said.

But Colley soon discovered how difficult it can be to publish a book. According to The ABC’s contest Web site, about three books are published for every 12,000 submitted.

“If you’re not Madonna or Fergie or whomever, it’s almost impossible,” Colley said of the singer and former duchess, who have both published children’s books. “So I thought by doing the contest I would be able to see how good it would be.”

Colley decided to submit her story to The ABC’s after her writing class encouraged her to pursue contests, conferences and critique groups. She came across the ABC contest while looking around online and sent in her story. Readers can vote for their favorites online at http://www.abcbookcompetition.org/. Voting ends today.

After her work was selected as a finalist from more than 100 entries, Colley was paired with illustrator Nikki Shoemaker of Ohio, who developed artwork to accompany the story. Colley said she couldn’t have picked a better illustrator for her work.

“What I had in my mind was exactly what [Shoemaker] put on paper,” Colley said. “Each of the pieces is actually cut out and placed on the paper, so it’s unbelievable what she does. But it’s bright and colorful and playful. And it’s perfect.”

Trying other routes

And “What’s Wrong with Mud?” will have more than one chance at fame. Colley has submitted the story to contests for Writer’s Digest as well as one for Johnson & Johnson. She said she was nervous about submitting the story for contests but knew she had to try at some point. The outcomes of all three contests will be announced in October.

Should her book win, Colley has four or five children’s tales, a how-to book and a murder mystery she would like to publish as well. Now she can’t get enough of writing, she said, and publishing one book could help her with the rest.

“That is a really strong thing to put on your cover letter for when you send your next manuscript out,” Colley said. “Once they know you are published, that gives you a lot of clout.”

To help her pursue her goals, the people who heard the story first are trying to help Colley win.

“They’ve got lists of people that they’re going to contact about the contest,” Colley said. “They’re all helping me.”

Colley has not yet seen the other stories against which her book will be competing, but she said her own work is appealing.

“I just think it’s a really funny story,” Colley said. “It sure has lasted the test of time with my kids.”