She has Been Through to get Published

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: KAREY STATIN
Phone: 281-447-6698        

Houston- Everyone will have Been Through if Erica Fowler has anything to say about it. "I have people spreading the word as far north as Alberta, Canada," said the 30 year-old author.

Been Through, to be released October 8, 2000, marks the debut novel for Fowler. She hopes that the story about a 100 year-old woman's journey through the 20th century will be a bestseller. "I think the world needs an occasional break from the who-shot-John stories or who's sleeping with who," said Fowler. She believes that old-fashioned stories about what made people the way they are, have an audience.

"I love reading Ernest Gaines, John Edgar Wideman and Toni Morrison. Their stories remind me of an uncle or aunt, or of a story people used to tell at the cafes. We don't get those stories in modern-day literature," said Fowler.

Been Through is set in Natchitoches, Louisiana and chronicles the story of the fictitious Rosa Dunmore and her family. The story is told from first-person view so that the reader gets an eyewitness account of what the main character has been through and survived with the Lord's help. Fowler said that the story was set in Natchitoches Parish because she grew up listening to the "bayou folks stories" of her grandmother who was born in Natchitoches Parish.

"I used to love to hear about Old River and the cotton picking tales," said Fowler.        

Fowler said that word-of-mouth has been the key to her book's popularity. "Relatives and friends that I didn't even know I had have been calling me and telling me that they heard about the book and have told at least 20 people about it," said Fowler. "My cousin came back from a family reunion in Natchitoches and told me that my relatives there had spread the word all over the Parish. I was excited!" said Fowler.

The book is being published by iUniverse.com. "The Internet has changed the way people are able to do business. I would probably be waiting until the next millennium to get my book published if it weren't for iUniverse," said Fowler. She has also launched a campaign to promote the book from the pulpits of churches from Tacoma, Washington to Miami, Florida. "The clergy in Houston and Louisiana have been very receptive to me," said Fowler.
                                                        
The Detroit native has also written several screenplays and hopes to see her stories make it to the big screen one day. "I want to be a writer the same respect as Maya Angelou. No matter what else I am known for, I definitely want the title of "writer" to be part of the Erica Fowler story." She said that she has wanted to be a writer since her fifth grade teacher told her that she had a gift for telling stories.

Fowler is currently working on her second novel entitled A Good Man Is Hard To Find (because he already belongs to someone else). She hopes to release the novel in Spring, 2001. She also plans to write two follow-up stories to the Dunmore saga. Erica is a graduate of the University of Houston and she resides in Missouri City, Texas.

For more information on Fowler and Been Through go to www.the EFFORT .com

                        
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