TALES FROM MY MUMMY

Book signings

WHO: Author Amannda Maphies WHAT: To sign copies of her book, “Tales from My Mummy” WHEN: Friday, Oct. 7, at the First Friday Artwalk, BookMarx Bookstore, 325 E. Walnut St., Springfield; Saturday, Oct. 15, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at ABC Books in Springfield, 2109 N. Glenstone Ave # J, Springfield; and Saturday, October 22, 2022, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Always Buying Books, 5357 N Main St. Rd. in Joplin

Former Monettan Authors First Book

Amannda Maphies to release Tales from My Mummy

Aformer Monettan has authored her first book, “Tales from My Mummy,” and will be attending a series of book-signing opportunities in Springfield and Joplin this month.

Like many who were quarantined during the COVID 19 pandemic, Maphies found herself seeking to fill the hours of her day with something productive.

“I started doing a lot of writing during Covid when I was working from home,” she said. “I sent in many articles for publication and was surprised when they were accepted. I thought, ‘Wow, this is something I can really do, so I want to do it...and do it big!’

“I entered a writing contest at Her View From Home, a parenting blog I contribute to on a regular basis,” she said. “My pieces were not chosen for the book of motherhood anthologies, but it sparked an idea. This was around the fall of 2021, and I thought, ‘I love fall, I love Halloween, I love spooky stories. Surely, I am not the only mother to love these things.’ So, I reached out to my writing group as well as some personal friends on Facebook to see if they might want to contribute to the story already being written in my mind. The responses were very positive and before I knew it, I had an outline, several contributing authors, and a myriad of stories and poems I could not wait to put into a book format.”

“Tales from My Mummy” is an “anthology of all things Autumn,” Maphies said. “There are spooky Halloween stories, chilling tales and legends of the Ozarks, funny jokes, and even two stories written by my own two sons, Liam, 12, and Waylan, almost 10. There is definitely a story for everyone in this book. Readers can consume it a bit at a time or devour it in one setting like a vampire hungry for her evening snack.”

Inspired by one of her childhood mystery series, “Nancy Drew,” and others such as “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” Maphies said she loves nothing more than to settle in with a good mystery on a chilly fall evening with a cup of warm coffee close at hand.

“I wanted to compile many of the accounts of haunted houses, travel to spooky Ozarks venues, and funny Halloween antics with my children,” she said. “Writing a book seemed the best way to go about it.”

She started compiling stories for the anthology in September 2021, taking nearly 12 months to compile information for the book.

“The book is scheduled to be released on Amazon Kindle beginning Sept. 19,” she said. “My book-signings will be in October, which is plenty of time to get the book in the hands of those that love this mysterious time of year as much as I do.”

Maphies is already pondering ideas and themes for her next book. n