Mobile author's first book comes out Thursday

Mobile author N.L. Snowden is celebrating the publication of her first book, "In And Out Of Madness."

Counting rewrites and edits, it has taken five years for the story to make it to print. Snowden had set a goal of getting a publisher by August 2009. If she didn't find one, she was going to self-publish.

"I got 77 rejection letters before a publisher said yes," she said. Discouraged, Snowden was cleaning off her desk when she found a months-old printout from Sneakaboard Press and submit ted her book proposal via e-mail.

A few weeks later, Sneakaboard replied, expressing interest in the book, but requesting a better presentation.

"I broke all the rules of query submissions," Snowden said. "I wrote from the heart and told my story with an attached summary and the first chapter of the book. That e-mail said all the things writers are advised not to say in a query letter."

Sneakaboard quickly replied to her second query letter and asked for her manuscript. Snowden signed a contract with Sneakaboard on July 31.

In "In And Out Of Madness," the protagonist is Lee Thames, a fictional character who navigates through some of the anguish and experiences of Snowden's own life.

Thames, a bi-polar woman who additionally suffers from multiple-

personality disorder, es capes from a mental hospital, where she was confined after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. She spends a reflective five hours hiding in her house, plotting to kill her ex-husband.

The book will be released Thursday. It can be ordered at www.Amazon.com or at www.sneakaboardpress.com.

Snowden had her first book signing at the Page &Palette bookstore in Fairhope on Sept. 18. She signed and sold 18 books. There are still some signed copies of "In And Out Of Madness" at Page &Palette.