An author from central Iowa will be doing her first book-signing event tonight after a very long road to see the novel in print. Milissa Bailey, of Webster City, says her debut book is called “Gracier,” named after the small, fictional Iowa farm town where the story is set.
The book was two decades in the making. Bailey started working on the book some 21 years ago after her first son was born. She’d get up at 5 A.M. and write until he woke up for a feeding, then she’d head off to work. Ten years ago, she wrapped up the story and five years ago, Bailey started the chore of trying to get it published.
It didn’t take long to realize that publishers were all looking for the next “Harry Potter” and weren’t interested in authors who weren’t already published. Bailey says she eventually chose to publish the book herself. “With Amazon and Facebook, the playing field has been leveled because you can make things happen,” she says.
“We can do everything a publishing firm can do except we need to get the books printed, so we partnered with a printer in Minnesota and here we are.” Bailey says the book is a mystery, full of suspense and romance. “There’s twists and turns that I hope people find unexpected,” she says.
“People who’ve read it so far feel good about it because they recognize things in their own lives. They say, ‘Wow, that’s Iowa,’ ‘Wow, that sounds like the place I grew up in,’ ‘Wow, that sounds like the farm I knew in my childhood.’ That’s what I hoped to accomplish.” Bailey is working on the second book now in what she hopes will be a series.
“Gracier” is on sale at Amazon.com and tonight at the Kendall Young Library in Webster City. The signing is from 6:30 to 8 PM. Learn more at: www.milissarbailey.com.
By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City