For Blind Midlands Counselor, Perseverance Pays Off in Launch of First Book

March 13, 2009 - PRLog -- Irmo SC - Professional counselor Carmella Broome, who has lived in Columbia since 1997, is celebrating the launch of her  first book. Carmella’s Quest: Taking on College Sight Unseen, is published by Red Letter Press.  It chronicles the author's first year at North Greenville University (formerly North Greenville College) in upstate South Carolina. The launch party will be held on March 21 at the Irmo offices of Crossroads Counseling Center, which has served Lexington  and surrounding communities for  over ten years.

Carmella’s Quest describes the author’s experiences navigating the usual social and academic aspects of college life with the added complication of not being able to see. “I’ve been legally blind since birth,” Carmella says. “The book talks about   how, even though I   did some things differently,  I  went after the same things every college freshman wants, like dates and friends and good grades,.”

Carmella says this book has been a work in progress since 1995. “I began working on it right after I finished that first year,” she says. “But for the next ten years, there were a lot of other academic and professional goals that were bigger priorities.” These included earning degrees from Columbia International University and USC before  being hired by Crossroads in 2005. Once her counseling career was on solid footing, Carmella turned her attention back to the book that would eventually become Carmella’s Quest.

In early 2007, Carmella heard about a local publishing company called Red Letter Press. "I contacted Bob Lamb, who runs RLP, and he said he’d like to publish my book," Carmella says. “We began preparing the final draft and celebrated the beginning of 2009 by submitting it to the printer.” She says that finally getting from manuscript to published book was worth all the years of hard work. “I knew it would happen when the time was right,” she says.

The launch party will be hosted by Crossroads’ Executive Director Larue Bettis and will be held at the center’s Irmo offices. “I’ve seen Carmella achieve several important professional goals during the past four years,” Mrs. Bettis says. “We want to help her celebrate becoming a published book author, as well.”

Carmella is looking forward to readings, book signings, and other Carmella’s Quest related events. She is passionate about making sure the book is available to other blind readers and is collaborating with the SC State Library’s Talking Book Service (here in Columbia) to record Carmella’s Quest in their studios. “I’m excited about   sharing something I’m proud of with readers who will hopefully appreciate and enjoy it,” Carmella says.

Wherever she goes to promote Carmella’s Quest, her guide dog, a yellow Labrador Retriever named Maggie, will be by Carmella's side.  "She's very cute," Carmella says, "I'm sure she'll convince a few people to buy a book."

Red Letter Press titles are available on Amazon.com, and directly from the publisher. To keep up with what Carmella is  doing to promote  her book,  those interested can visit her blog at http://carmellasquest.livejournal.com/

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About Red Letter Press:
Founded by USC writing instructor and author Bob Lamb, RLP publishes a diverse assortment of quality fiction, memoirs, and childrens' books by local authors.