In late August of 1988, a small country convenience store in south Georgia changed ownership. A young mother became the proprietor of the business that had been in operation since the early 1940’s. With little experience, she gradually learned “the ropes” of the business that grew over the course of the years. Sixteen years passed and in 2004, she and her husband sold the business. He entered into the ministry, and this is when Angie Usher’s new journey began.
Angie Usher had been writing poetry,
commentaries and other creative works when she walked into the office of The
Spirit newspaper almost two years ago. After exiting the convenience store business five
years earlier, she began writing and had notebooks filled with her work.
“After leaving the store, I almost didn’t
know what to do…I really enjoy working and I love people, so it was a difficult
transition,” said Angie. “There were aspects of the business that I didn’t
miss, but overall, it was quite an adjustment for me. It was during this time
that God began to ‘pour’ into me, and I would write. Sometimes a poem would
come to me in a matter of minutes. At other times, I would be amazed at
revelations and life applications that God would prompt me to write after
reading Scripture,” she continued.
Notebooks became filled, and a friend
suggested that she share some of her work through publication. “I never really
knew what to do with everything…I guess I was hoping that one day that it would
all be organized into a book and published,” Angie shared. “My friend suggested
that I take some to The Spirit to see if they could use any of it. As it turned
out, Mr. Hartley was looking for someone to write human interest articles, and
although I had no journalism experience, I decided to try it. I can look back
and see how this was something that God has used to help me develop writing
skills…skills that I know have helped and will help me in putting together
books,” she continued.
Just prior to her journalistic efforts,
Angie had submitted a poem to a publishing company. “Online submission
requirements requested a manuscript…which I didn’t have. It was a shot in the
dark, but I decided to send them something from the collection of work that I
had. The next day, I received a phone call from the publishing company. The
woman on the other end of the line asked me what kinds of work I had and asked
me to read something else to her,” Angie explained. “I read a couple of selections, and she
really liked the children’s story. The next thing she said to me was, ‘I’m
sending you a contract’.”
Last summer, Tate Publishing released
Angie’s first book, “Freddie’s Adventures: Firefly Tails, Bright Trails and
Fishy Tales”. By suggestion of the marketing division, a website was developed,
and Angie established a blog site and Facebook account as “Freddie Firefly”.
She ordered some books for book-signing events and began going to some schools
and businesses. In November of last year, she attended the Savannah Children’s
Book Festival and was the guest speaker at Springfield Elementary for the Young
Author’s Awards Day in May.
As part of her contract with the
publishing company, five thousand books must be sold before the company will
publish her next book. “Five thousand is not a lot of books when you think
about it. But then again, there are thousands of children’s books on the market.
It is a matter of becoming known and getting it (the book) out there,” said
Angie, “but I hope to soon get my break!”
About
six months ago, Angie received a message on “Freddie’s” facebook page. It was
the guest coordinator for “The Balancing Act” airing on Lifetime Television. “She was looking for another author. When I
answered her message, I let her know that I was not the person she was looking
for, but that I had written a children’s book. I also let her know that if she
was interested in learning more about me or the book, that she could visit my
website and blog,” she explained. “Within a few hours, I received another
message from her that said, ‘I need to speak with you’. This was God’s
blessing…a window of opportunity.”
On Thursday, August 9th from
7am-8am, “The Balancing Act” on Lifetime Television will air a segment with
Angie as a guest author. “It is exciting for me to know that the television
appearance may help me to sell enough books so that I can move forward into
publishing my next book. I just completed an inspirational book last month…the
manuscript is ready! I also have enough stories about Freddie to put together a
sequel as well,” shared Angie. “I know that God has orchestrated these things
in my life. I had little experience when I entered into business, and I had no
experience in journalism and writing.
Anything that has been accomplished is by God’s grace. I am thankful and
I give Him the glory.”
Angie has two daughters, Amanda and
Alayna. She enjoys women’s ministry and teaching as she serves alongside her
husband Al, who is the pastor of Union Baptist Church in Screven County, Georgia.
Besides writing, she loves photography and shares many of her thoughts, photos
and blessings online in her blog.
Angie is available for speaking
engagements and appreciates the opportunity to share her book with children in
local schools. To learn more about Angie and her book, visit http://lightreading.tateauthor.com/ . She may be contacted via email at
theushers1@windstream.net.
8-1-2012
8-1-2012
Hi! All of this started almost three years ago.There are ten little stories in this book, and more have been written for a sequel. If you are interested in attending a book signing, scheduling a book signing, or purchasing a book, you may contact me at theushers1@windstream.net or visit my website at http://lightreading.tateauthor.com/
Freddie is also on Facebook...request Freddie Firefly to be your friend!
