CROFTON NEWS-CRIER

Crofton Girl Scouts discover...
There's more to a book than it cover

By Roxanne Powell
Managing Editor

PHOTO CAPTION: Crofton author John Snyder helps Junior Girl Scout Troop 1591 with a Book Badge requirement.

Members of Junior Girl Scout Troop 1591 of Crofton took a big leap forward toward earning their Book badge last week. The 9 and 10-year old girls spent a meeting talking with local author John Snyder and setting up a troop library. Faced with the requirement to meet with an author or book publisher, troop merit badge coordinator Virginia Pounds acted on an article she read in the News-Crier about Mr. Snyder.

Mr. Snyder was signing copies of his Christmas novella, The Golden Ring at Borders Books in Bowie. Ms. Pounds approached the author to get her book signed and arranged to have him address the scout troop after the holidays. Mr. Snyder, the parent of two children, was delighted to talk to the troop about his book.

"He was just a perfect fit," said Ms. Pounds.

"The girls needed to meet with an author or publisher and he's both," she explained. "With his previous experience in sales and marketing and then with getting his book written and published, he could talk about it all."

According to Ms. Pounds, Mr. Snyder talked with the troop about the entire book publishing process. "He started them out with articulating the concepts, then moved through writing the story, editing it, getting it published and marketing the product," she said. "Our future writers were very receptive."

One of those future writers is Erin Smedecor, 9. "I think it's pretty fun to write books," said the young lady. "It's really cool that an author came to out Girl Scout troop."

A Nancy Drew addict, Erin is in the process of writing her own novel. "It's a mix of mystery and magic," she says. "Sort of a Nancy Drew meets Harry Potter. Its about these twins who solve mysteries and one has telekinetic powers."

"I've been writing my book for about a year," Erin said. "Mr. Snyder said it took him three years to get his book written and in stores. I didn't think it would take that long but it's really cool that he got the idea from his grandmother."

The Golden Ring was inspired by a story Mr. Snyder's grandmother told him about one of her childhood Christmas memories in 1918. More than 24,000 copies of The Golden Ring were sold nationally this November and December. The book was featured in an article in Family Circle magazine in December.