NORTH MYRTLE BEACH RALLIES BEHIND LOCAL AUTHOR, SHERRY BALDWIN

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH RALLIES BEHIND LOCAL AUTHOR, SHERRY BALDWIN
by Michele Chastain

It's hard to believe it when you first meet this pretty & petite person; but she's a dynamo mom to 5 kids ranging from Elementary to High School, owns a cleaning company that bulldozes behind thousands of teenagers who visit North Myrtle Beach for Spring Break and Graduation Weeks, and is a loving & devoted wife, daughter, sister, and trusted friend to many.
A few years back, Sherry was a full-time stay at home mom, who'd given up her role as a schoolteacher to be there round the clock for her growing family.  She took to it like a duck to water, naturally nurturing and playful.  Her writing really began to take off during these times.  She realized how happy her kids were when being read to, and the bonds that were being forged amongst the giggles! Then the economy hit her husband's business, and her husband fell ill with cancer, and Sherry being the "take charge" kind of woman she is, did not wait around for things to get better, but instead jumped in to help run thw company that had been feeding, clothing and housing them all for so long.  She formed a cleaning company that cleans behind the thousands of teenagers her husband's company caters to.  It's telling that she did not just form a company and hire people to do the dirty work, it began with her, in all her 5'2" glory on her hands and knees scrubbing toilets and mopping floors. 
But her love of writing continued...
Having written several children's books, she recently finished up a concept and the poetry for a collection she's entitled, "There's A Lobster In My Lunchbox."  It's a collection of poems designed to entertain and get some good giggle time in with your loved ones. This book is a 120 page hardback, and includes 50 poems and 50 line drawings.  The illustrations are simple and creative, and still leave something to the child's imagination.

"Ideas for poems are everywhere" says Sherry.

"The poems were inspired by my everyday interaction with kids." she continues. "Yard Sale was inspired by our family's yard sale when the question came up as to what the kids were, and were not, allowed to sell."

Sample Poems from This Project:

"Yard Sale"

Billie had a yard sale
to sell her parent's junk and such.
She wanted to make money
for something she needed very much.
She set up a folding table.
Then she opened her store.
The sign read, "Billie's Yard Sale"
"Get junk, great stuff, and more"
First she sold the cars,
then the forks and spoons.
Next she sold the piano,
though slightly out of tune.
She sold the recycling bottles,
and Mom's and Dad's king bed.
She almost sold the tennis rackets,
but she sold Dad's golf clubs instead.
She sold a collection of coins
that looked worn out and old.
Then she sold the refrigerator,
and the food was still cold.
Billie sold some bikes,
some fishing rods, and such.
Then she sold the lawnmower,
which they didn't use very much.
She sold the computer,
the mailbox, and brother Junior's mouse.   
She sold the last few bits of stuff,
and then she sold the house.

*

"There's a bee on the bus was inspired by a day when I was driving the kids home from school and there was a bee in my van.  It created panic, so I stopped on the side of the road, removed the bee, and jotted down the poem idea in my journal."

*

(Partial poem, "There's A Bee On The Bus")

There's a bee on the bus,
and it's buzzing all around.
There's a bee on the bus.
It's quite a frightening sound.
The bee flew to the front.
The kids scrambled to the back.
It's buzzing here and there.
I think it's on the attack..... (continued)

Sherry is turning to our community for help in funding this latest project.  Mass media publishers are more tight fisted than ever, so more and more authors turn to self-publishing, but as Sherry and her family climb back from the downturned economy, this is not an option for her.  Imagine her excitement to find a place like Kickstarter.com - where authors can pitch their projects and ask for help getting it published, which is exactly what Sherry is doing now.
Let's rally behind our local friend, neighbor, and businesswoman, and show the world how much talent we have coming out of our little town!

Visit Sherry Balwin's project page here: 
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/106824246/theres-a-lobster-in-my-lun...

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