It’s been SO hard for me to keep quiet about Celeste’s book, but I had to wait to officially anounce it until after the story appeared.

Click here to listen to Celeste’s interview with Anna Sale on WV Public Radio. She sounds a little unsure of herself in this interview, but it didn’t last long. By the time we went over to V100 for the Thursday bit I do there on Ric Cochran’s show, she was a different kid–confident and funny and well-spoken. She put the headset on and pulled down the mic like she’d done it a hundred times before.

She’s going to be on Good Morning West Virginia at 7:40 on Oct. 18, then appear that same day at the Town Center Mall along with a bunch of us from the Gazette and Daily Mail in our “Meet the Press” event from 11:30 to 1:30.

Here’s the story about her that ran in the October 08, 2006 Sunday Gazette-Mail

YOUNG WRITER PUBLISHES FIRST BOOK

By Susan Williams, Staff writer

Although 9-year-old Celeste Vingle stayed calm as she explained her writing career, she said, “I screamed,” when she saw her first book in print.

“When Good Babies Go Bad” tells the story of what can happen when seemingly good babies decide to throw food or feed an older sibling’s homework to the family pet.

Even though she competed with adults, Celeste’s book was selected in a children’s book competition at last year’s book festival. She was a mere 7 when she wrote the book during a family vacation. She won the contest when she was 8, and now she is a published author at age 9.

The name Vingle frequently can be seen in the pages of The Charleston Gazette. Celeste’s father, Mitch, is the Gazette’s sports editor, and her mother, Karin Fuller, writes a column in The Sunday Gazette-Mail. Celeste’s stepfather, Geoff Fuller, is also a writer.

All the writers around her influence her, Celeste said, but she writes about different subjects than they do. She is presently working on three screenplays at the same time. She enjoys seeing plays performed, and currently has a part in a play, the Children’s Theater production of “Hansel and Gretel.” She plays a cookie and a towns-person, and is a member of the chorus.

Two years ago, Celeste was in the car on her way to a family vacation. She was listening, more than her mother realized, to what her mother had learned at a writing retreat taught by children’s author Cheryl Ware. While her stepfather drove, her mother started suggesting ideas for children’s books. Celeste had some ideas of her own, and quickly began jotting them down. By the time they reached their destination, she had the first draft of her book.

For winning the contest, Celeste’s book was professionally edited, and then a professional illustrator did the drawings for it.

The books are available for $9.95 in the Gazette newsroom or online at Amazon.com. Some local bookstores might offer the book soon. Celeste will be signing her books during the West Virginia Book Festival Oct. 21 to 22, where she will be sharing a booth with her stepfather.

With her friend Jordan Holmes, Celeste also won third place in a writing contest sponsored by the West Virginia Writers for a story called “The Cat Lady’s Revenge on the Purple Bean Man.” They split their winnings. ($12.50 each.)

When she is not writing, the Rock Branch Elementary school student likes to hang out with her friends and play with her two dogs and three cats.

In the Gazette, Celeste’s parents wrote about a tragedy that struck their family after Celeste’s baby sister, Camille Gabriella Vingle, was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. The baby girl died in November 2002. Celeste dedicated her book to her sister, and part of the money Celeste will earn from her book will go to research into finding a cure for the disease.

For other budding writers, Avantgarde Publishing Co. of Ashland, Ky., is holding a new Great Kid’s Book II contest with a deadline of Oct. 30. For more information about the contest, visit www.avantgardepublishing.com.

Her mother said she tried to explain to Celeste that she was facing stiff competition in last year’s contest. Having some experience with writing contests herself, Fuller said she tried to prepare Celeste that she might not win. Now that she’s won both a first and a third place in the two contests she’s entered, “She now thinks this writing stuff is easy,” said her mother.

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