Amanda Woods publishes first book and announces plans for foundation

YORK, Maine - June 20, 2017 - PRLog -- A MOM FROM MAINE WRITES HER FIRST CHILDREN'S BOOK AND SETS A GOAL TO CREATE A FOUNDATION FOR YOUNG SCHOLARS

York, Maine - June 21, 2017 - Amanda Marie Woods, a young mother of two small children and an active member in the beautiful seacoast town of York, has published her first children's book, The Robot & The Ballerina.

With full-time jobs as head of marketing for Wiggly Bridge Distillery (where she works alongside her husband and father-in-law) and helping to run other family businesses, including Burnette's Campground, Ms. Woods has a busy schedule juggling it all but she managed to carve out time for writing four years ago. Inspired by the imaginations of her children and nephews and nieces, she wrote and illustrated stories for them, which she would upload to Shutterfly to create an "instant' book every Christmas.

The feedback from family and friends was tremendous and Ms. Woods felt encouraged to share her stories with a larger audience. With her various jobs and community work (she is also Vice President of the York Region Chamber of Commerce), Ms. Woods was lacking for spare time but not for passion. "Life is so busy but when you have a dream and a passion, you can find a way to make time," says Ms. Woods.

Even so, the idea of publishing a book was daunting but when Ms. Woods discovered how self- publishing could make it easier, she went for it. The hardest decision in the process was decid- ing if she should use her own illustrations. Ms. Woods ultimately opted to use an illustrator that could create computer drawings that promised a better on-demand print quality, but Ms. Woods already has plans for future books and she hopes to use her own illustrations next time.

The Robot & The Ballerina went live on Amazon on June 8th, 2017 and almost immediately hit the Amazon #1 New Release in Children's Dance Books and Robot Books. Ms. Woods has used her marketing chops to share updates on the book via Facebook and it's fun to follow the

behind the scenes the making of the book: https://www.facebook.com/TheRobotandTheBalleri- na/

Ms. Woods wrote The Robot & The Ballerina in one evening and it just flowed out. It happened on election night 2016, which offered the unique opportunity for Ms. Woods to stay up late and she used the time to put pen to paper. The child, Belle is inspired by the personalities of her own children — she is a bright and fun girl with a bold imagination. The tired yet caring mother is modeled after herself.

The ultimate go-getter, Ms. Woods says she has only just begun — not only does she hope to turn The Robot & The Ballerina into an ongoing book series, she dreams of starting a not-for- profit that aims to promote reading for school children, while supporting local authors. This not-

for-profit already has a name, Stories for Students but does not exist yet as Ms. Woods does not yet have the funds she'll need to get it off the ground. All proceeds from The Robot & The Ballerina are going towards funding Stories for Students. The idea for the program is that every grade would receive a book each year, written by a local author. Not only would this pro- mote reading but it would expose children to authors in their own area and encourage them to believe they could one day publish a book.

About The Robot & Ballerina:

The Robot & The Ballerina by Amanda Marie Woods is an adventurous and playful story about a little girl named Belle. Belle is a bright, fun, and bold girl. She loves to dress as a ballerina who pirouettes and chassés her way through her everyday life and adventures. One morning when she wakes up early and wanders around the house to see what fun she can stumble upon, she finds a box and her imagination runs wild. The Robot & The Ballerina is available on Amazon where it is currently ranked as the #1 New Release in Children's Dance Books and Robot Books.

About Amanda Marie Woods:

Amanda Marie Woods lives and works in the beautiful seacoast town of York, Maine with her husband and two lively and imaginative, young children. When she's not chasing the kids around the house, she works side by side with her husband in the family business, and addi- tionally volunteers in the community as an active member of the board for The York Region Chamber of Commerce. During her children's nap times or after they were asleep in the evening, she managed to write her first published children's book, The Robot & The Ballerina.

Follow The Robot & The Ballerina and Amanda Marie Woods:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheRobotandTheBallerina Website - https://www.amandamariewoods.com/

Buy the Book - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998697591/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_25jqzb- DYQ0H5Z