A local teacher is looking to break into the children’s book market.
Marian A. Mattice, who lives in the town of Oneonta, debuted last year with “The Spooky Haunted House” through AuthorHouse, a self-publishing company.
Mattice said Wednesday, July 8 that she is aiming to have drafts of her next two children’s books ready in about August.
“I’m just really excited about getting into this,” Mattice said. She added that the work has given a her a feeling of purpose.
A retired longtime teacher for the Downsville Central School District who now tutors, Mattice said her first book was geared towards emerging readers.
The story follows a haunted house that gains a new element every page in Part 1, using repetition of all the prior pieces. Part two follows a group of jack-o’-lanterns turned into zombies by a potion.
Mattice said the repetition helps young readers learn the sentences while slowly adding more information.
The book was dedicated to a student of Mattice’s, listed as Collin J.A., who she said inspired Part 1 and came up with some ideas for Part 2.
She said the student’s family saw and asked why she doesn’t become a children’s book author.
“Because I’m not rich enough, I found out,” she said.
Mattice said getting started as a first-time author and moving from developing ideas to putting books on shelves was a difficult process.
“I got the services” from the publisher, Mattice said, “but they were astronomically priced” compared to other places, “which I didn’t know, because I’m learning as I’m doing this.”
Mattice said she submits sketches and photos to ChatGPT to turn into illustrations for her work.
“So basically I’m the photographer, so therefore I’m the illustrator, and then ChatGPT takes my illustrations and makes them into AI generations,” she said.
Her next two planned books are “Brownie Barn Chicken” and “The Cozy Country Cottage.”
Mattice said her book can be purchased via Amazon, AuthorHouse.com, Barnes and Noble and ahead of Halloween at Green Toad Bookstore in Oneonta.