Life Experiences Inspire Canton Native to Publish E-Books for Children

Melissa Marsted could tell you a story or two. She’s mountain biked at Zion National Park, kayaked around the Channel Islands and hiked in Patagonia. She also lost a home in the infamous 2008 California “Tea Fire.”

You can also read her story “Pablito and the Speckled Bear,” inspired both by a visit with Spectacled bears in Peru and the classic “Paddington Bear” story.

It’s a story the Canton native wrote on the plane ride home from Peru. At the time of the fire, she was in the midst of self-publishing the book, a feat she later accomplished with the help of illustrator Ben Ciacciti, who also lost his home in the fire.

And after the fire, Marsted, who had worked as a grant writer and fundraiser for non-profits, began a project that's become her passion. With the help of insurance money, and the advent of the iPad, she started a children's books e-publishing company dubbed Lucky Penny Press, named in part for after two piggy banks that survived the fire and her belief "that every penny matters."

Experiences need not be dramatic to make good stories and Marsted has turned school papers, projects and other stories into the low-cost children’s picture e-books. A portion of the sales helps raise money for schools or non-profit groups.  

“I try to create opportunities for students, teachers and writers,” she said. “It’s fun.”

For example, Marsted said, Canton Intermediate School’s participation in the initiative would make a great story.  

She is especially interested in stories with adventure, cultural, loss and renewal, and nature themes and hopes to load a book a week on to the site.

As the company grows, Marsted is working on various options and will continue to fine-tune the process of accepting and distributing stories.

She’s now working on a plan to distribute through iTunes and hopes major online book retailers follow. Already, many titles are available in other languages and Marsted is working on other exciting options, such as adding audio for each book and even music for certain titles.

Marsted attended Canton schools through 7th grade before going on to The Renbrook School. She said she was inspired by many of her teachers and places like .

Living in Santa Barbara, CA, she and her two boys have been back in the state numerous times in recent years, including several trips in the fall of 2010 after her mother Marcia Reid Marsted, an artist and writer, was seriously injured in a car accident on Avon Mountain.

Since then she has taken trips to the East Coast for more positive reasons including visiting her parents. During one of those trips she was able to reconnect with the community, including a visit with Nature Center Director Jay Kaplan.

“It was definitely a big influence in my life,” she said. “It was fun to reconnect,”

She also paid a visit to Cherry Brook Primary School, where she was able to donate a print copy of Pablito and the Speckled Bear.

But it’s just one story. Marsted has many. See more at her Web site or read about her Tea Fire experiences. 

To keep up with the titles or get information on submitting a story idea, log on to Luck Penny Press' Web site.