First Steps Publishing

Oregon Coast Publishing : For Authors Seeking a Solid Foundation

You are here: Home / Blog

Blog

Mel Smith, Author

by 2 Comments

Mel Smith, AuthorREAD A SAMPLE | SHARE | BUY

Mel Smith was born August 15, 1948 in Helena, Montana. He grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood very similar to the one described in “NAM, The Story of a Generation”, on the edge of town, with dirt streets, no sewer service, and one street light on the corner.

He joined the Naval Reserves in the fall of 1966 and started his active duty in July, 1968. He was assigned to the destroyer U.S.S. Taylor out of Pearl Harbor, just after it was deployed on a six month West Pacific tour. On his tour with the Taylor, he was a member of the deck force, the tough ship maintenance division. He transferred to the U.S.S. DeHaven out of Long Beach, California, which left two months later on its own West Pacific tour. On the DeHaven he had the position of Postal Clerk and took over the ship’s post office, the best enlisted duty on the ship. Like all servicemen, he was given an early out in April of 1970, as Nixon was winding down Vietnam.

He returned to Montana State University and completed a B.S. in Film and Television, graduating in June 1973.

Mel Smith currently lives in Arizona with his wife, Alane. He has three children and three grandchildren. He runs his own advertising company, AdSmith and writes in his free time. [Read more…] about Mel Smith, Author

“Surviving ‘Uncle Hitler'” by Dorothea Wollin Null

by Leave a Comment

Surviving 'Uncle Hitler' by Dorothea Wollin Null
“Surviving ‘Uncle Hitler’ ~ Journey of a German Girl” by Dorothea Wollin Null

READ A SAMPLE | SHARE | BUY

Surviving ‘Uncle Hitler’ ~
Journey of a German Girl

“Many people bury their memories so they don’t have to deal with the pain. For whatever reason, my mother buried hers. I was hard-pressed to get any stories from her. She was not one who shared easily. However, one night was different. It was many years after the war, in 1987, and I was visiting my family in Germany. I felt there were things Mother and I needed to talk about, and I pressed for discussion. I was pleasantly surprised when we stayed up until the wee hours sharing memories.”

When American bombs demolished her German town, Dorothea Wollin and her family found themselves on a journey of survival across Europe.

This is a true story of a little girl’s quest for meaning in a dark world that led to faith in Christ, and to a freedom greater than that of country or politics.

What I want most for my story to convey is that the Lord led me through the trials and tribulations of my life in order that I could find meaning, joy, and peace. Because I am approaching the end of my life, I want to inspire my readers to question their own choices, priorities and values in order to find peace with the Lord and joy in their hearts.  — Dorothea Wollin Null

This is my story:
A Journey of a German girl

September 2017
Paperback, ebook,
ISBN: 978-1-937333-49-2

= = = = =

Available everywhere books are sold.
AMAZON  |  B&N

Leslie Compton Author Interview on JPR, Jefferson Public Radio

by Leave a Comment

Radio Interview with Leslie Compton, Author of “Dearest Minnie, a sailor’s story” on August 10, 2017 on JPR (Jefferson Public Radio, Oregon) by Geoffrey Riley, News Director and Jefferson Exchange Host.

JPR, the Jefferson Exchange: Program
JPR, the Jefferson Exchange: Program

In 1906, Teddy Roosevelt ordered a large fleet of US warships to circumnavigate the globe. The fleet, painted white as a symbol of peace, became known as The White Fleet. Author Leslie Compton recreates this legendary voyage as a historical love story using postcards sent by a White Fleet sailor.

Leslie Compton joins us in the studio. [CLICK TO LISTEN]

 

Src: Jefferson Public Radio:  http://ijpr.org/post/dearest-minnie-sailors-story#stream/0

“Where is Bear? ~ Let’s Play Hide and Seek” by Sumi Fyhrie

by Leave a Comment

Where is Bear?- Let's Play Hide and Seek by Sumi Fyhrie
Where is Bear?- Let’s Play Hide and Seek by Sumi Fyhrie – Available Where books are sold.

CHILDREN’S | AGE: 3-8

Bear loves to play Hide and Seek.
While Adam is counting. Bear says “Don’t peek.”

Adam looks in a forest of tall, green trees.
“Woof, woof,” says Bear. “He can’t see me.”

Adam explores Bear’s cave that is dark and small.
“Woof, woof,” said Bear. “Why are their bats on the wall?”

Help Adam find Bear in this fun, playful adventure. Delightful illustrations and rhyming text engage young readers. Perfect for pre- and emerging readers.

Hidden inside are things in threes. Can you find them all? Look inside and see.

Available from: Barnes & Noble, Amazon

UPDATED Release Date:  September 2017
ISBN: 978-1-937333-34-8
Published by: White Parrot Press (imprint of First Steps Publishing)

 

“Two Ghostly Tails” A brother and sister adventure by Sumi Fyhrie

by Leave a Comment

"Two Ghostly Tails" A Brother and Sister Adventure by Sumi Fyhrie
“Two Ghostly Tails” A Brother and Sister Adventure by Sumi Fyhrie

CHILDREN’S | AGE: 3+

Brother and Sister do not get along. Brother likes to dig holes in the yard and drool; Sister likes to preen herself on a pink pillow and sleep. When a midnight intruder disrupts their life, the unlikely duo must put aside their differences and protect home and family from the unwelcome thief.

– – –

It’s Halloween night, on Simple Town Lane,
Brother’s a hot dog, Sister’s a princess, again.

The street is buzzing with kids looking for treats,
Brother wags his tail at every costume he greets.

And after a long day filled with kids, candy and fun,
It’s time for some sleep . . . but not for every one.

A strange shadow appears at the window outside.
Brother and Sister are scared.
Should we run? Should we hide?

“No!” cries Brother, he has plan.
And whispers to his Sister
how they’ll get rid of the man.

A Simple Town story
that is sure to delight,
and perhaps the real reason
for those bumps in the night!

Available from: First Steps Publishing, Barnes & Noble, Amazon

ISBN: 978-1-937333-45-4
Published by: White Parrot Press (imprint of First Steps Publishing)

PRESS RELEASE: Dearest Minnie, A Sailor’s Story

by Leave a Comment

Collectible Postcards Sail Around the World Aboard Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet ~ New Historical Narrative by Leslie Compton

TALENT, OREGON (PRWEB) JULY 31, 2017

Leslie Compton’s newly released book, “Dearest Minnie, a Sailor’s Story,” is a wonderfully accurate portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt’s 43,000-mile, 14-month good will tour seldom told in depth in history books. Extrapolated from and including over 200 actual (collectible) postcards sent home to “Dearest Minnie,” this book is an engaging narrative as seen through the eyes of an enlisted sailor aboard the USS Virginia.

12 December 1907. One hundred ten years ago, Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet sailed into the history books. Comprised of sixteen battleships and manned by 14,000 sailors and marines under the command of Rear Admiral Robley “Fighting Bob” Evans, the American fleet set out from Hampton Roads, Virginia on 12 December 1907, to visit 20 ports on six continents before returning to Hampton Roads, Virginia on 22 February 1909.

“Dearest Minnie, a Sailor’s Story” is an engaging written and pictorial narrative about the battleships, the political climate, the animals aboard ship, the various cultures, the entertainment, the unexpected mishaps as well as the budding romance between a Virginia sailor and his “Dearest Minnie.” The full-color collectible postcard images follow the fleet as it sails to each port. Included in the book is a detailed description of each card and photo.

Considered as one of the greatest peacetime achievements in US Navy history, Dearest Minnie, a sailor’s story offers something for everyone: postcard collectors, history enthusiasts, and romantics. You only need a love for history and a desire to learn something new.

About the Author:

Retired professional musician, music teacher, elementary teacher and childbirth educator and has taught several courses on memoir writing. While researching the Great White Fleet, Compton wrote an article for the Post Card Collector. She is an instructor for a six-week course through OLLI about the Great White Fleet. Compton is currently working on her fourth book, living in Talent, Oregon.

LeslieCompton.com |    Facebook: @leslie.momyer

For further information, interviews, media kit or proofs please contact:

Suzanne Parrott at First Steps Publishing
541-961-7641 or contact(at)firststepspublishing(dot)com
Book sale date: August 1, 2017

“NAM, The Story of a Generation” a novel by Mel Smith

by 2 Comments

It was war… not the kind waged in the 21st century, with terrorists; but war with armies and uniforms and borders and national interests. It’s all encompassing, conscripted, waged, politicized, and lied about. It’s cruel, bloody, noisy, messy, rife with mistakes, deadly, gross, inhuman, and unfair. It is never played on an even plain, righteous, warranted, or clear-minded. Every war is mankind’s biggest mistake and what makes it worse is that the men caught up in it are the innocents; the losers, in this case, sold an unrealistic ideal, a patriotic slogan, a vision of greatness in sacrifice they eventually found wanting.

War has a face that’s different depending on your vantage point. Who wins and who loses may not be right, or virtuous, and those who fight are always on the losing side.

In the Vietnam War two ideologies met with predictable results.

The Vietnamese fought not for communism, but for nationalistic goals. Vietnam had been occupied by foreigners for a thousand years, since before Ghangis Kahn. The latest to occupy were the French, then the Japanese, then the French again. The Vietnamese national who led Vietnam’s rebel forces in dispatching the Japanese, also fought the French and the Americans. He was a true Vietnamese patriot; and he was a communist.

Through the Americans, readers will see the conflict of serving and going to war with little understanding of the consequences their commitment would have. Most of these young kids served without a clear vision of America’s interest in Vietnam or a strident reason for putting their lives on the line. Of course, the draft made service mandatory, but our American characters joined the service of their own accord.

NAM (a novel), The Story of a Generation deals with the fallout that happens to both sides of the war and asks questions that never can be truly understood: Why did we fight and what was gained and lost from the war?