Oct 5, 2005

by Larry Pena

La Sierra University pre-nursing freshman Joanne Purdy is starting her college experience with something few other freshmen have:  a book contract with a nationwide publisher, Publish America.

"It’s been pretty much my life goal to get published," says 18-year-old Purdy, who has been writing poetry and stories since the age of seven.  Her forthcoming novel, A Day in the Night, which she wrote while in high school in Paradise, California, tells a complex web of stories bound together by the experiences of a fictional girl lost in a museum.

According to Purdy, the creation of A Day in the Night was no small task.  A three-year project, the book required several rewrites.  The manuscript, over 400 pages long, was lost twice.  And once the writing itself was finished, Purdy still faced the almost impossible process of finding a publisher who would even read submissions from an unproven high school student with no agent.

Finally, after trying dozens of publishers, Purdy contacted Publish America. Based in Maryland, Publish America specializes in new, independent authors.  After reading A Day in the Night, the company offered Purdy 24 percent of sales in royalties to publish the book.

At only 18 years old, Purdy has no intention of settling for a single accomplishment as an author. She currently has two books of poetry and another novel, No Other Girl, that are finished but unpublished, and she plans to continue writing.  But for now, she is enjoying the thrill of her first taste of publishing success.  “It’s a really good feeling,” she says.

A Day in the Night will be available soon at most major book retailers, and online at www.publishamerica.com.