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We have recently finished some interesting book projects. While each of these books is unique, all are exceptional. And all are educational.

From Hardscrabble to Pearl Harbor by Edd Clay. Mr. Clay’s book is a memoir of his early life in Haywood County, North Carolina, his naval service in World War II and afterward. He was actually on a heavy cruiser, the USS Minneapolis, “rounding Diamond Head” during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

For Mr. Clay’s book, we designed the page layout and cover, formatted the images for print, proofread the manuscript and generated a digital file for the printer. All proceeds from sales of the book benefit Barium Springs Home for Children. Mr. Clay sells the books on Amazon.com and at speaking engagements.

Edd Clay was born in 1919 and grew up near Bethel, North Carolina, at that time a remote mountain enclave. Before he should have been driving, he was hauling lumber over his father’s treacherous plank road, the only way out on the first two miles to market. But as he drove, he dreamed of expanding his horizons. At 18, he left home to join the Navy.

Alleghany County North Carolina Abstracts of Deed Books A1 and B2 by Rebecca Moon, to benefit Alleghany Historical Museum. Rebecca’s work on the book is impressive but not surprising given her extensive work on her web site, The Cheek Family of Alleghany County. She researched, transcribed, formatted and indexed the first two deed books for the county and then donated rights to publish the finished work to the Alleghany Historical – Genealogical Society. She has also generously added enough data for several future books.

For the Deed book, we designed the cover and adjusted the pdf to make a print-ready file. ISI is producing the books, “on-demand,” for the Historical Society who uses proceeds to help pay expenses of the Alleghany Historical Museum.

Print-on-demand technology has benefited this fund raising project in several ways. The Society was able to immediately proceed with the project without the outlay of any up-front funds for a traditional press run. And since books are produced on-demand, there is no need for costly storage space. The Blue Ridge Business Development Center currently donates an office to the Society for storage of existing inventory. Books can be ordered in small batches as they are needed or they can be drop-shipped directly to customers who order online. And that’s not all: the Society is making more profit per book than with any book they have ever produced.

Find the Alleghany Deed books  and all AHGS books in our store on Main Street in Sparta or online, at Shop.StarRoute.net.

Healing, My Journey Home by Meachele Mothership Montgomery. Meachele’s book- already a huge success with over 200 copies sold in the first month- is the triumphant story of how she traveled the length of the Appalachian Trail after the tragic death of her husband, Roy.

For Meachele’s book, we performed complete digital prepress services: We worked with Meachele to design page layout in a way that matched her personal style, helping to select and place her photography. We laid out the cover, helped proofread the manuscript and formatted images for print. ISI is producing books, on demand, for Meachele. She orders in batches and sells, primarily, at local signings and appearances but has also developed a web site for marketing outside the region. We’re also proudly retailing these exceptional books in-store and online, at Shop.StarRoute.net.

Born Meachele Ronald in Berlin, Germany to Erika and Floyd Ronald, a 28 year Army Veteran. She became an Army Brat who followed the family around the globe. Before serving in the U.S. Navy, she graduated from the University of Chapel Hill, NC with a degree in Anthropology. After marrying her husband, Ray, in Wales, she resigned her commission in 1986. She became a full time mom and helped with play groups. Once her third son was born, the family was stationed back in Wales. The family enjoyed horses and hiked over the countryside. Meachele’s husband, Ray, retired from the U.S. Navy in 1998, and they built their dream home in the mountains of North Carolina. The family continued exploring the mountains near Mount Rogers, Va. Meachele and Ray had always dreamed of hiking the Appalachian Trail with their younger son, Eric. In March 2011, Meachele decided to hike the trail with her dog, Cianna.

The Anteater That Couldn’t Eat Ants was written and illustrated by Calli Brielle McIntyre, as a part of her Crowning Purpose initiative, which focuses on allergy research and anti-bullying education.

For Calli’s book, we began with her watercolor paintings and story, already divided into page breaks. We scanned the originals and placed them into pages adding bleed and adjusting images wherever necessary. We added page numbers and text over the images in a font selected to complement Calli’s art without overpowering it. We will produce final books for Crowning Purpose to sell and place in appropriate facilities. We will also sell the books in our store and online, at Shop.StarRoute.net.

Calli Brielle McIntyre advocates for children suffering from food allergies and victims of bullying. Through her personal experiences of being bullied because of her food allergies, Calli created her personal platform in 2009 to bring awareness to the growing number of children with food allergies. About one third of children with food allergies report that they have been bullied specifically because of their allergies. Calli has hosted several Be a PAL: Protect A Life events to educate students and teachers on how to recognize anaphylaxis and how to keep peers safe. In 2014 she hosted her first Teal Pumpkin Project to provide allergy safe treats at Halloween. Calli was featured in a FARE publication (formerly FAAN) because of her advocacy work. During Calli’s reign as Miss NC Junior High school, she traveled and promoted B.R.A.V.E (Building Respect and Values For Everyone), the official platform of the Miss High School America Organization.  She has reached over two thousand preschool and elementary students with empowering steps to put an end to bullying. Calli believes that the earlier you equip children with the proper tools to defeat a bully, the more successful they will be in their teen years. Copies of The Anteater That Couldn’t Eat Ants will be donated to school libraries through Crowning Purpose, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, that Calli founded in 2015.  Proceeds from her book sales will go to food allergy research and anti-bullying education. Calli is currently working with her local state representatives to get North Carolina House Bill 520 passed that would require restaurants in North Carolina to complete training on food allergies.

NOTE: The next BookFest will be June 27 in Downtown Sparta. Plan to come and meet regional authors in participating stores that Saturday. BookFest is a great way to shop for books and visit with authors in a relaxed atmosphere. If you’re considering a publishing project, contact ISI for information.