2 Utahns write books for military children

After watching the two boys who live around the corner say good-bye to their father as he left for a tour of duty in Iraq, Stephanie Skolmoski felt inspired.

Thinking of her own experience sending two of her sons to serve in Iraq, the Salt Lake City resident felt it would be even harder to send a parent. She sat down and spent half an hour writing, and "A Paper Hug" was born.

The book tells the story of a little boy helping his father prepare for a deployment. The boy decides to make his daddy a special gift to see him through the long months he will be away: a paper hug — cutouts of the boy's two hands attached with a string.

"I just thought how awful it would be to say good-bye to your father," Skolmoski said. "I'd already sent two boys to Iraq so I knew how hard it would be. A child doesn't have the same idea to do something for someone going away as an adult does, (and) that inspired me. This is something a child could think up on their own."

However, Skolmoski's journey to publishing her book was far from over, despite the ease of writing the story. Her daughter, Anneliese Bennion, did the illustrations for the book, which took four months to complete, and then the two had to find a publisher to print the book as they decided to self-publish.

"As far as publishing and getting a copyright, that was such a journey," Skolmoski said. "It took us a whole year to pull it off. We felt like we got a bachelor's degree in submitting a manuscript and getting it published from start to finish."

In June 2006, Skolmoski's hard work paid off and "A Paper Hug" hit the shelves. Thus far, Skolmoski feels the book has been well received. To date, it has sold over 900 copies. Getting in touch with family readiness at several military bases has helped publicize the book as well as being associated with the Military Writers Society of America.

Despite the challenges, publishing the book has had its rewarding moments.

"It was really fun to get the proof (of the book) in print and stapled," Bennion said.

Skolmoski cited three things she enjoyed the most.

"(I loved) opening the box (and) getting a review on Amazon from somebody I didn't know," she said. "The first thing I did after I got the book was to take it to the little boys who inspired the story, and they loved it. That was a big moment."

Skolmoski and Bennion said the process of publishing their second book, "Operation: Celebration," which is ready to be released, was considerably faster because they already knew the ropes. They are currently working on a third and, possibly, fourth military-related book. Skolmoski hopes one day to branch out from military books and just write children's stories.

"It's hard to find your niche," she said.

"A Paper Hug" is currently for purchase online at apaperhug.com, design-ability.com, amazon.com and a few local bookstores. For more information, visit apaperhug.com or call 801-913-0517.

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E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com