Help USC Mother Win eBooks for Local Elementary School

Kelly Ehasz, an Upper St. Clair mother of two, has the chance to win a publishing contract, a $1,500 cash prize, and an entire library of MeeGenius! ebooks donated to , but she needs your help!

Ehasz has always wanted to write children's book and jumped at the chance to take a children's book writing class at through CCAC. Through her professor, she learned of the MeeGenius! Author Challenge 2011 and entered a manuscript.

MeeGenius!—a New York City-based digital publisher—selected Ehasz's work from hundreds of entries to represent Upper St. Clair in the national competition. However, to get to the finals, Ehasz needs your votes. Authors who get into the finalists round will have their book professionally edited, illustrated and produced for the final round of voting. Click here to read Ehasz' manuscript and vote for her.

Ehasz' story is called, Anna Abel Takes a Tumble. It's about a two-year-old looking to establish her independence. A fall at the playground sets her back, but not for long.

The idea was inspired by Ehasz' two-year-old daughter, Anna, whom she calls "Miss Independent."

"My daughter always says, 'Anna do it,'" Ehasz said.

This summer, Anna fell and broke her leg.

"She impressed the heck out of me a the hospital. She was so brave. I wanted to depict a little girl like that for the book," Ehasz said. "Even at the age of two, it's important to support confidence."

In addition to Anna Abel Takes a Tumble, Ehasz is working on a series of books based on her oldest child, Zachary, who is a first grader at Baker Elementary. The books highlight fun things about his personality, such as his hypersensitivity to things.

Ehasz said finds time to write after the lunches are made and the children go to sleep at night. She's also a senior writer of marketing communications at CACI in Mt. Lebanon.

"It's been really fun. I've been working on my idea for the series for four years, and I finally got the motivation to do it," Ehasz said.

Wish good luck to Kelly! Tell her in the comments.