|
For Immediate Release
|
Local publisher carves out niche in competitive
industry
By AARON LONDON
Staff Writer
Last update: 10 July 2004
|
|
FLAGLER BEACH -- Frank Gromling didn't grow up
dreaming about running a publishing company.
But a lifelong love of words and reading -- and a
chance to help a friend get a book published -- led
him down a path that ended with the creation of Ocean
Publishing in 2002.
That came after spending years as a corporate
executive with Ryder Truck and then several years
running a security firm in South Florida.
But it was more of a beginning than an end.
"I've always been fascinated by it," Gromling said.
And working with that friend "whetted my appetite," he
said.
In addition, Gromling had his own story to tell.
A
longtime advocate and volunteer for the preservation
of right whales, Gromling's passion for the sea
creatures and his growing interest in publishing
combined to forge a new career path.
"I wanted to tell the story about the plight of the
right whales," he said. "And the good work that local
citizens in St. Johns, Flagler and Volusia counties
were doing."
The result was "Frank's Whales," a firsthand account
of his work in research and protection of the North
Atlantic right whale.
"I found out how to publish it and sure enough, it
worked," Gromling said.
But the Ocean Publishing story doesn't stop there.
With six titles in print, Gromling said there are four
new titles coming out this year and another eight on
contract for 2005.
"I was approached by other people to do their books,"
he said. "Good, talented people wrote good, talented
works so I took a shot at it."
While Ocean Publishing may not be a serious rival for
the major publishing houses, it is every bit as
serious a company as any.
"We are kind of evaluating the different kind of
genres that work for us," Gromling said. "We are
marketing it aggressively, nationally and seeing how
it sells and how our authors perform."
Titles in the Ocean Publishing library include works
on animal training, a children's book, a poetry work
and a biography.
"We have a fiction title coming out," Gromling said.
"It will be our first. It's a sequel to a book
published by Victor DiGenti."
The new book, called "Windrusher and the Cave of
Tho-hoth," is a sequel to DiGenti's first novel "Windrusher."
"It's a novel about a cat named Windrusher that is
connected to a higher world in the cat kingdom,"
Gromling said. "I'm not partial to cats, but this book
fascinated me when I read it a year ago."
Gromling's instincts that the fiction work fit with
the niche Ocean Publishing is carving for itself is
fueled by the passion he brings to the business.
And it is a passion he is willing to share with
others.
"I'm giving a talk at the Florida Council of Teachers
of English in October," he said. "The theme of their
conference is In Love of Words. I couldn't have picked
a better choice. This is the story of my life. I have
always been in love with words, both spoken and
written."
While running a publishing company requires long hours
and lots of sacrifices, Gromling said it has its
advantages.
One was a recent trip to Orlando to participate in the
annual American Library Association conference.
"It was very exciting," Gromling said. "It was a
wonderful opportunity for me to make contacts with
wholesalers and distributors and I had a great
opportunity to talk with other publishers."
Despite the hours and the expense, Gromling said
starting the company has proven to be a good choice.
"It's really kind of a blast, actually," he said.
aaron.london@news-jrnl.com (The Daytona
Beach News-Journal) |
June 17, 2004
Florida
Publisher to Showcase List at American Library Association
Conference
(Flagler Beach,
Florida)--Frank Gromling will head to the American Library
Association Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida June 26
with half a dozen authors in tow. In less than two years,
Gromling founded Ocean Publishing and brought six new
books into print and there are more books on the horizon.
"I'm very excited about our participation in this
conference," he says. "We'll have premiums and special
discounts for book purchasers. Our titles are perfect for
libraries at large, and also those in schools and
colleges."
Several of the titles are already in use for educational
and informational organizations. Sandra Sammons's
biography, John and William Bartram: Travelers in Early
America, has met with enthusiasm from educators.
Gromling's own book, Frank's Whales, provides the only
first-hand layman's account of research and protection for
the North Atlantic Right Whale, one of our most endangered
large mammals. Kay Day's collection, A Poetry Break, is
already being used in high schools that study poetry forms
like the sonnet, and it has received critical praise from
the author of the top poetry handbook in America, Steve
Kowit.
Gromling predicts that Ocean Publishing's newest title,
Whales with Fur by Pete Davey, will become a popular
manual for anyone who trains animals. The book's
introduction is written by Jack Hanna, well-known host of
television's Animal Adventures. Another new title, the
children's book Zachary Cooks Up Some Fun by Jan Bevans,
is proving popular for its attractive format and the moral
message it offers to young readers.
All
Ocean Publishing titles are distributed through Baker and
Taylor and are available in bookstores and at online
retail sites.
Gromling also underwrote the anthology Open Mic
Jacksonville, Vol. I - Poetry, a collection of poetry by
Northeast Florida writers. He donates a percentage of the
profits from that book to literacy programs.
The
publisher hopes ALA Conference attendees will visit Booth
#1048 where Ocean will exhibit from Saturday, June 26
through Tuesday, June 29 at the Orange County Convention
Center in Orlando. "I believe our books will be warmly
welcomed by readers at any library," he says. "My authors
are all accomplished writers and have a passion for their
fields. They'll be on hand to meet people, and they are
already scheduling events in both schools and public
venues. I believe our books will make a definite
difference not only on Florida's literature, but on the
national level as well."
The
American Library Association is the oldest and largest
library association in the world, with more than 64,000
members.
June 9, 2004
First book for Marineland dolphin training expert Pete
Davey
(Flagler Beach, FL) –
Whales with Fur, How to train any animal using dolphin
training techniques, has been released by Ocean
Publishing. Written by Pete Davey, Director of Training at
Marineland of Florida near St. Augustine, this book is a
unique guide for pet owners who want to train their pets
to be healthier and happier companions. It also shows how
to reverse those irritating animal behaviors, like digging
and furniture scratching, without resorting to punishment
or other negative methods.
Davey says all pet owners
have to do is to think of their pets as little “whales
with fur” and then use his step-by-step methods to train
them just as he would train a dolphin or whale.
Jack Hanna, noted animal
expert and host of television’s “Animal Adventures,” said
in the book’s Foreword that, “Pete Davey has trained
whales and dolphins for several years, and used the same
training approach for tigers, otters, and other animals.
And now you can learn how to use it, as well!” He
continues by saying, “Pete discusses training in a fun way
that will make your relationship with your pet much
happier and healthier.”
Davey said, "Over the
years, folks have always asked how come they can't train
their animals like we train dolphins? My answer is always
that you can! You just need to know how, and that is what
Whales with Fur is all about."
Pete Davey’s prior
professional animal training background includes
experience at Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, Shedd
Aquarium in Chicago, and Ocean Journey in Denver. He is
working on his second book, A Dolphin in Front of You,
which is a handbook for those wishing to become
professional dolphin trainers.
Ocean Publishing, Flagler
Beach, FL, specializes in interesting biographies,
nature/environment, poetry collections, and fiction. Among
the publisher’s other titles is Open Mic Jacksonville,
Vol. I-Poetry, which won a 2003 Golden Palm Award for
Poetry from the Florida Writers Association. Also, it won
for Ocean the Business Supporter Award at the First Coast
Literacy Awards in Jacksonville.
Other Ocean titles include
A Poetry Break (Kay Day), Frank’s Whales (Frank Gromling),
John and William Bartram: Travelers in Early America
(Sandra Wallus Sammons), and Zachary Cooks Up Some Fun
(Jan Atchley Bevan).
America’s
first botanists come to life in new book
(Flagler Beach, FL) – In her newest book, John and William
Bartram: Travelers in Early America, Sandra Wallus Sammons
puts the reader alongside two of America’s first botanists
as they traveled in search of plants and flowers two
hundred years ago.
Noted
Bartram expert Joel T. Fry, Curator at Historic Bartram’s
Garden in Philadelphia, PA, says "Sandy Sammons’ book
fills a real need, a book to interest young readers in the
lives of John and William Bartram." In the book’s
Foreword, Fry continues, "The Bartram story is complex,
but Sammons has managed to tell the story in a compelling
fashion."
Edward J, Cashin, Director, Center for the Study of
Georgia History, adds that this book "…captures William’s
blithe spirit."
"I
wanted everyone to be able to appreciate the special
accomplishments of these two remarkable men," said
Sammons. "I also wanted young adults to find it enjoyable
to read about the Bartrams, even though the action took
place so long ago." Sammons takes the reader from John
Bartram’s start near Philadelphia, through his trips to
Canada and Florida, and to the development of his son
William’s abilities as a writer and artist. This is a book
about adventure, commitment, and courage. It is also a
story of life in early America, when traveling such great
distances was full of difficulty, hardship, and danger.
Sammons is an award-winning author of four historical
biographies, each of which has a Florida relationship. Her
previous books about Henry Flagler, Marjorie Kinnan
Rawlings, Jacqueline Cochran, and Marjory Stoneman
Douglas, provided her with the skills and experience to
write her best book, yet.
Frank
Gromling, publisher, says that John and William Bartram:
Travelers in Early America is a classic book because it is
easy to read, contains historic illustrations, including
two of William’s famous drawings, and is carefully
documented with references and footnotes.
Ocean
Publishing, Flagler Beach, FL, specializes in interesting
biographies, nature/environment, poetry collections, and
fiction. Among the publisher’s other titles is Open Mic
Jacksonville, Vol. I-Poetry, which won a 2003 Golden Palm
Award for Poetry from the Florida Writers Association.
Also, it won for Ocean the Business Supporter Award at the
first Coast Literacy Awards Luncheon in Jacksonville.
Other
Ocean titles include a collection of superb poetry, A
Poetry Break, (Kay Day), Frank’s Whales (Frank Gromling),
a firsthand account of a citizen-based research program to
save endangered North Atlantic right whales, and Zachary
Cooks Up Some Fun (Jan Atchley Bevan, Writer in Residence
at The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, FL),
a children’s picture book. Whales with Fur, an amusing and
effective animal training book by Pete Davey, with
Foreword by Jack Hanna of "Animal Adventures," was
released in May 2004. |
