Odom
"The publisher called and asked me if she could do a signing,” Mollie Flowers said. “She came in and was a real nice lady.
"I felt really good about it; I have signings quite often and it's always good to have more activities for the downtown area to bring people to shop," Flowers said.
The signing will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the store on 212 S. Main Street.
Odom was happy that Flowers agreed to hold the event.
"I think it's wonderful that the manager of the bookstore has graciously allowed me to hold a book signing,” Odom said. “I don't really know a lot about Laurinburg but I'm a relatively unknown author and it gives me the opportunity to get my name out."
"Precious Puddin" is Odom's second children's story. It features a young girl who learns through her nickname, Precious Puddin', the effect love and affection can have on one's life. She then passes this special bond to her little brother.
The story showcases a different type of grandmotherly love than her first story, "Gram's Switch" which was published in 2008. "Gram's Switch" depicts what happens when three disobedient children have to get disciplined by a strict grandmother who does not play when it comes to behavior.
As a mother of four and grandmother of 11, Odom shares family tales through her own life experiences.
"All the stories are based on my dealings with my grandchildren,” she said. “Each book represents one of my four children's family," she said.
Currently, Odom is a professor of Education at Coker College, a small liberal arts college in Hartsville, S.C. She teaches reading methods courses to teacher candidates and supervises their clinical practice.
She earned her B.A. in Elementary Education at the Baptist College of Charleston and holds the distinction of being the first person to complete the teacher education program at that institution. In 1979 she earned her Master's in Elementary Education from Francis Marion College and in 1989 she furthered her studies in education by taking 30 hours of graduate work in reading at the University of South Carolina. In 1993 she earned her Ed.D. from NOVA University.
Her resume includes 27 years in public schools where she taught kindergarten through eighth grade.
She used this first hand knowledge to co-author the professional book "Becoming a Teacher in South Carolina, a Comprehensive Guidebook for Prospective Teachers," which is in publication now.
Now, with the transition to being a children's author, those she once taught have been turned into her critics.
"First of all, I'm a teacher,” she said. “I've always enjoyed interacting with children, and it's exciting to hear children say they like my work. It's like the children are grading me, and I want to get an A," she said.
According to Odom, she has been writing all her life. She has an archive of manuscripts that include fiction works and an adult devotional book in which she hopes to get published in the future.
"I want to write books that are really clean cut and wholesome," she said.
Tate Publishing & Enterprising accepted her Gram Series manuscripts, giving birth to her publishing career and fulfilling a dream of publishing a children's story all in one, she said.
Odom emphasized that the publishing company is hard to get into and she has many rejection letters to prove it. The key, she said, is to just keep trying.
"A colleague told me I would never get published if I didn't continue to send in manuscripts. In my heart I thank him for giving me the advice to keep going. His advice would be what I would tell other aspiring writers," she said.
The author will continue her series with another book in the fall entitled My Lucky Irish Ear.
For information about Odom's work visit her website at saraodom.tatepublishing.net.
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