By By Robbie Byrd
News Editor
Ten thousand dollars and a dozen red roses made Valentine's Day at the Nutcracker Publishing Company extra sweet this year, even without the traditional box of chocolates.
"I'm on a diet anyway," quipped owner and confessed chocoholic Amelia Frahm.
If her sweet tooth prevails, Frahm can buy her own chocolates, thanks in part to a generous donation by Barr Laboratories Incorporated.
The New York based specialty pharmaceutical company applauded Frahm's, self-publishing efforts and awarded her company $10,000 in support of its first title: Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-tankerous Mommy.
Frahm, a native of Walnut Hill and current resident of Hutchinson, Minn., wrote the book after her 1996 bout with Breast cancer.
"Life is short and unpredictable," Frahm said. "If anybody should of learned by now to make the most of it, it's me. I've quit fantasizing about what I'd like to do and I'm doing it."
Without any family history or previous problems, Frahm was suddenly diagnosed.
"I breastfed the kids and then the next thing you know, I have a lump," Frahm said. "I never imagined I would have cancer."
Doctors believed Frahm was also in the clear.
"They told me I didn't have a thing to worry about. I was considered pretty young for breast cancer."
Part of Frahms book and her mission to raise awareness for cancer is to dispel myths such as the one she believed.
And, if her recent success and congratulations haven't said enough, the Publishers Marketing Association recently awarded Frahm a scholarship to attend PMA University, a week long school that introduces publishers and book writers into the marketing and promotion aspect of book sales.
The book's candor and comic reality captured Barr's attention while still a manuscript and even before what Today's Librarian called "eye popping gloriously colored illustrations."
Barr said the book which focuses on the many issues faced by families dealing with cancer was, "humorous and practical and we are proud to be associated with it."
Barr's not the only one impressed by Frahm and her company. Medical, literary and entertainment critics alike have recommended her first book. Talk show host Rosie O Donnell introduced it on national television the same month it was published, October 2001. More recently Frahm was selected to the 2002 National Cancer Survivor's Day Speakers Bureau right along side a few more recognizable names such a Ted Kennedy Jr., and Cokie Roberts. Not bad for a publishing company staffed by one determined woman.
Frahm said she plans to use the money donated in an upcoming marketing campaign.
Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-tankerous Mommy is available on-line at Amazon Books. Information about the book or Amelia Frahm can be obtained at 1-888-842-8484 or on-line at http://www.nutcrackerpublishing.com.