Local author surprised by sudden success

    GRUNDY CENTER — Grundy Center author Sandy Noble never knew the treasure that she had written. She might never have if not for the urging of others. Yet her first(and, to date, only) published book “The Fat Woman Mystery” has become a favorite far beyond the scope of people whom she expected would read it.
    “I didn’t expect to sell any (books),” she said. “I was shocked.”
    The history of “The Fat Woman Mystery” goes back far beyond early October, when Noble first put the book on Amazon.com. She wrote initially wrote it seven years ago before life circumstances drew her attention other directions. Even then it was not the first book she had written. That book ended up going out with the recyclables.
    “I’m not saying (the first book) was terrible, but I didn’t think it was worthy of being published,” she said. “And I learned a lot of things (writing it).”
    “The Fat Woman Mystery” was better. Set in Grundy Center (though she refers to the community as Alta Grove), it is a cozy mystery about a woman slightly younger than Sandy herself. The book was almost complete when, in a short timespan, Noble lost both her mother and husband and had a battle with cancer. That was enough to make her lose interest not only in “The Fat Woman Mystery,” but also in writing as a whole.

    For more of this story see the Jan. 2 Grundy Register.