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Teresa Sells, Warsaw, knows first-hand what it's like to have bored kids at home.
The mother of two - Juliana, 14, and Jason, 12 - Sells admits her kids have often asked the famous question: 'Mom, we're bored. What can we do?'
"My kids come home and say, 'I'm bored,'" Sells said. "(They) don't have anything to do."
She thought if her kids were bored, then others probably were, too. So Sells set out to solve the problem.
Her solution? She wrote a book titled, "The Ultimate Guide To Kids' Activities."
The book offers 1,001 ideas for children of all ages including cut and paste, watercolor, drawing, games, holiday projects, Bible-oriented activities, educational projects and character-building activities.
Sells wrote the book part-time by hand while her kids were in school. She started in September 1997 and it took her seven months to write.
"I wrote this out by hand because I didn't want to deal with a computer," she said. "People gave me ideas - family, friends ... . My husband gave me quite a few (which he came up with on his own.)"
"A lot of them just popped in my head," she said of her 1,001 ideas. "Sometimes (I would) just look at something like arts and craft books. She would get ideas from these books and magazines for her own activities and projects.
She considers herself "fortunate" in her early success with the book. It was published by an Ohio company, Barbour Publishing Inc., in October 2000.
"I'm a little unusual because this was my first (query) letter and (it was) accepted. I feel pretty fortunate."
Sells said her book caught the publisher's attention because it was 1,001 ideas. It was something "different," she said.
"We've sold 5,500 since October," she said. "I think that's pretty good for a first book."
Sells advises others interested in authoring their own book to "write about what you know about." She also said they would need to send a query letter to a - or several - publishers. "They like to know that you know what you're talking about," she said. "Don't give up."
But Sells isn't stopping after her first success. In the future, she hopes to publish another activities book.
"I have started ideas for '1,001 More' or 'The Ultimate Guide'," she said. "I've started a file of ideas."
Sells will be at the Warsaw Community Library for a book-signing Jan. 27 for craft day from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Three craft stations will be set up for kids. The stations will feature activities from her book. She also does public speaking about her book to women's groups, home-school groups and civic groups. And, her book will be used for fund-raising for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society of northern Indiana.
"I just think that's really cool," Sells said. "People will get a book from me and try to sell it to earn money for (the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society)." Anyone interested in helping should call 424-4549.
Those interested in purchasing her book can call Sells at 877-615-2707.
The book also can be found at several local bookstores including Bibles and Books, Borders, Herald, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, D.C. Haircrafters, Courthouse Coffee and "practically any bookstore." If they don't have it, Sells said, they can order it for you.
