Summers Family Helps Maggie Shine in Sabetha, Kansas
An awesome Kansas sports family with a passion for pole-vaulting has helped Maggie make headlines in their hometown newspaper.
It all started when Sabetha native, Marcus Summers, who coaches Garden City Western Express, introduced Maggie Vaults Over the Moon to his athletes, presenting the young adult novel to them as end-of-season "Maggie Awards."Marcus then introduced Maggie to parents, Jon and Janet, who live in Sabetha, located in the northeast corner of the state.Janet then wrote to author Grant Overstake, asking permission to approach the local newspaper: "My husband and I have both read your book and loved it," she wrote. "We're recommending it to anyone wanting a great, inspiring read, set in rural Kansas."With a big thumbs-up from the author, Janet shared the story with Patty Locher, Staff Writer at the Sabetha Herald. She, too, emailed the author: "I read the book last night and loved it! You have a treasure here, a "can't-put-it-down" book!"Maggie Vaults Over the Moon tells the story of Maggie Steele, a gutsy farm girl from fictional Grain Valley, Kan., who overcomes tragedy and soars to new heights as a pole-vaulter.
In the novel, a fictional pole-vaulter from Sabetha High School competes with Maggie at the Kansas State Track and Field Championships, the largest track meet in the nation.The editor asked, "Out of all the schools in Kansas that send teams to state track, how did you come up with Sabetha?"The author answered, "Sabetha is one of the iconic track and field names you always hear on the loudspeaker at the State Meet, and it's in the same classification size as Grain Valley, so it fit. Sabetha is one of those one-of-a-kind names that sounds like Kansas to me."
The author added, "I had no idea using Sabetha in the story would earn Maggie a big story in The Sabetha Herald. How cool is that? Thanks, Patty, for taking the time from your busy schedule to visit the good people of Grain Valley; which is made up of people just like the real folks you cover in Sabetha, I'm sure."Janet says she isn't finished promoting her new favorite novel. "I've also talked with our local school librarians, our SHS track coaches and others, and am getting a favorable response." she says.The author thinks this is awesome, of course."This is a great example of how an enthusiastic personal recommendation can lead to something very special," Overstake said. "It's the best possible way to see Maggie reach more and more readers, and the exciting thing is, it's happening everywhere now."Read the full article (click to enlarge):
Maggie Vaults Over the Moon is now available in paperback or eBook and can be purchased through Amazon.com in the United States, Canada, China, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, and Italy. Maggie also is available at Australia’s premier online bookseller, Angus & Robertson, and at hundreds of local independent US booksellers near you.
