By By MARCIA STEFFENS / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Sometimes the most excitement comes before a present is opened.
Cheri L. Hallwood of Niles puts herself into the imagination of a child, anticipating what might be inside a special present from her grandmother, in her second book, "The Curious Polka~Dot Present."
For her first book, "Winter's First Snowflake," Hallwood was inspired by her four granddaughters, age 13 to almost two. She recently became the grandmother to two more girls – twins, giving her even more inspiration.
"They encouraged me to do this. I loved pretending to be five years old," she said. When she was watching them, she saw them "waiting at the window for the first snowflake to come," she added.
After she had her initial idea, she did a lot of research and learned facts about snowflakes
Her learning didn't stop there as she went through the process of producing a book, from the idea to the first published copy.
For the story, she uses writing which is called lyrical rhyming. "It's challenging and fun," she said.
The entire process for her first endeavor took 14 months before a book was in her hand. There was editing, correcting mistakes and many things to decide, such as whether the book would be a hard cover, size and the weight of the paper.
"I wanted the words to be white, like snowflakes and dance all over the pages," she said.
For the illustrations, Hallwood choose artist Patricia M. Rose, also of Niles. Since working together on the first book, they have also become friends.
Rose takes the ideas and using pastels brings Hallwood's ideas to life.
"Winter's First Snowflake," published through Hallwood's company, Forever Young Publishers, will be going into a second printing this fall.
Hallwood is already working on a third book for the two- to eight-age group, "One Wish for Winifred," which is expected to be published in the fall of 2008.
The women will be signing first edition copies during the "Arts in Motion" event in Niles, today from 2 to 4 p.m. inside the Fisher Art Gallery located at 306 E. Main St., Niles.
The Curious Polka~Dot Present and Winter's First Snowflake are currently available at independent bookstores in Michiana, as well as on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and bordersbookstores.com.
For more information, Forever Young Publishers at (574) 276-1805, or visit www.foreveryoungpublishers.com.