It's #RIAuthor Month! Meet Mark Perry

As a former journalist whose life has taken many turns, and changes in career paths, I never thought in a million years (or even as little as a decade ago) that I would be writing for children. Like many aspirations, this venture started out with a small idea that grew bigger, and eventually evolved into becoming one of Santa’s elves.Having worked for Santa since 2010, and visiting schools across the country, particularly in my now home state of Rhode Island, it was pointed out to me that many elementary teachers across the state like teaching their students about Rhode Island, but the number of books for this age group is extremely limited. After doing some research, I discovered there was a hole in this market. That, along with the encouragement from librarians and school teachers across the Ocean State, inspired me to write ‘Post’ Mark—The North Pole Postman Visits Rhode Island to follow up my original title ‘Post’ Mark—Santa’s Misfit Postman.In researching for this book, which involves the North Pole Postman learning about the state’s history, while traveling the entire state from Woonsocket to Westerly to collect letters, and deliver them to the North Pole, I discovered that for a small state, there are many unique gems, and many notable things Rhode Island can take pride in being first to achieve.Rhode Island has both the first Baptist church and the first Jewish synagogue in America. We can also claim the first and oldest tavern in America, the White Horse Tavern in Newport. The town of Bristol gave us the first and longest-running Fourth of July parade. Pawtucket boasts the first operating mill in the United States, Slater Mill, as well as having the first diner on the National Register of Historic Places, Modern Diner. In addition to the first Baptist church, Providence also has the first and oldest indoor shopping mall in America, the Arcade, and the first automated post office in the world.Lastly, the oldest carousel in the United States is in Watch Hill. So, as you can see, Rhode Island is a rather impressive place for being so small. But as the old cliche goes, especially around the holidays, “Good things come in small packages.”Please visit my website if you are interested in purchasing ‘Post’ Mark—The North Pole Postman Visits Rhode Island, or ‘Post’ Mark—Santa’s Misfit Postman.Meet over 100 local authors on Saturday, December 2! The Fifth Annual RI Authors Expo