The Last Light Keeper

Eleven year old, Rachel Halmrast, has published her debut novel with our three-month-old publishing department, University Book Store Press. The Last Light Keeper swarms with dragons, pixies, clever young witches, and a notorious Black Sorcerer. There is a Crystal of Light that must be preserved at all costs, and a gifted young witch, Melissa, who has to do the job whether she likes it or not.

"She walked up to the front door and looked up at the huge knocker on it. It was shaped like a pine tree with the trunk for a handle. She fidgeted for a moment, twisting her necklace around her finger. Her mother had given it to her, right before she had disappeared. It was a small piece of crystal, which seemed always to have light in it, even now in the rain. It had wire wrapped around the middle, connecting it to the string. Melissa loved it. It made her feel like she always had a bit of her mother with her."

Congratulations to Rachel for publishing her first novel way ahead of the curve, and stay tuned for more publishing projects from Homer, our Espresso Book Machine.

Preschoolers -- The Wave of the Future

One of our latest publishing jobs on the Espresso Book Machine is a school project commemorating a special year at the Alki Co-op Preschool, continuing our trend of debuting young writers and illustrators (just wait till you hear about 11 year old Rachel!). But if you flip open to the dedication page of "To School, To School To Have Lots of Fun" by the Alki 4s, you'll find something cutting edge:


A color interior! How did that happen? Well it took some extra work from the woman who put it all together, Jennifer S. When she came in I duly informed her that none of the 25 Espresso Book Machines across the world (China, Egypt, North Dakota) could print anything but black and white interiors. However...


We can bind preprinted pages. We were able to put together a full color book dedicated to "Teacher Sara" when Jennifer brought in color pages ready to be glued and bound with a Homer-generated cover. We'd like to get the process streamlined in the future--but for now if you want a splashy illustrated work, shoot us an email at ubs_publish@earthlink.net and we'll see what we can do for you.

- Tera