“Melinda Heads West” is the first novel published by Robyn Corum. She is also a contributor in a poetry anthology entitled “Pieces of Her Mind."

Robyn Corum is about to see her name on the cover of a nationally published novel, but you might have to look hard to find it.

“You know, it’s not the size of John Grisham’s name on the cover of the book,” Corum laughed about her author title on her new book cover. “It’s really small, but I at least have a book of my own.

“My hope is that one day my name will be that big on the cover of my books.”

The Hartselle resident had her book “Melinda Heads West” published by Crimson Romance. The book will be available in paperback in the near future by mail order, but you can download her book today at Amazon.com for $3.99.

“It’s just exciting that someone actually thinks my book is good enough to be published,” Corum said.

Corum said she has been writing for many years without having much success on getting them published. She’s sent in numerous other projects, but never hearing another word about it.

“The worst part was not getting any feedback,” Corum said. “You never knew if they liked it, or even if they read it. After so long of getting rejected, I just kept going and kept trying.”

That hard work has paid off.

Not only does she have her own book coming out this month, she’s also a contributor to a poetry anthology entitled “Pieces of Her Mind.” Corum said this book is a collection of poems and essays written entirely by women. She’s one of the 18 women to contribute to the book.

The book uses three types of Japanese poetic forms including senryu, kyoka and haiga.

“What makes it so unique is that it’s written entirely by women,” Corum said. “These types of poetry have mostly been male dominated. So it shows that women can do it too, and it gives a unique perspective.”

In addition to the poetry book, she is also writing a children’s book, which will be illustrated by local artist Heather Woodard. And she has also started her second novel.

Corum said “Melinda Heads West” was written as part of an online contest. The book was supposed to be written in three months, was less than 50,000 words and was set as a western.

Set in the 1880s, Melinda McCorkle heads west to pick up a family deed. While on the trip, her coach breaks down and her caravan is forced to walk the final 35 miles. Along the trip, she befriends two men, Lucas and Boone, who try to help her get through the rest of the trip.

“Just about anything that can go wrong does for my characters,” Corum said. “I asked myself, ‘what’s the worst thing that could happen? And that’s what happened to my characters.”

However, she is forced to make a decision on who will win her affection.

“Boone is just the perfect person,” Corum said. “Lucas is attractive, Melinda feels like she might have to settle for him. In her mind, she’s thinking ‘what if he’s my last chance?’ So it’s all how she makes that decision.”

For Hartselle readers, Corum said you can expect some surprises. She decided to drop in a few names of local residents in the book.

“I felt like it was my way of honoring these people who have meant so much to us,” Corum said. “There’s going to be some surprises in there for Hartselle folks. We hope that people will like that part of it.”

Corum doesn’t know how her book will be received.

“I hope people will like it, but I’m just excited to get a book published.,” Corum said. “It’s just a surreal experience.”