By Steve Dunkelberger and Kara Klotz

Oct. 31, 2005 - German inventor Johann Gutenberg revolutionized communication when he developed the first printing press in the mid-1400s, thus enabling books to be mass produced, rather than handwritten by scribes and monks around Europe.

Although similar printing methods had been used in China and Korea dating back to 1040, Gutenberg's methods of printing using individual block letters sent into wooden frames was the backbone of book- and print-making for the next 500 years because his machines were able to be mass produced well. Gutenberg's presses are now largely silent, drowned out by the age of the computers and inkjet and laser printers.

Desktop publishing has brought printing to the masses, not only with the rise of newsletters and reports, but with innovations that make book making easier and less expensive than the German could have ever expected.

A handful of South Sound business persons have found themselves authors on the side with the publication of their own books on a variety of subjects.

Fran Gieseke, a banker at Lakewood's Horizon Bank branch, has a handful of books to her credit and a publishing company under her management to track their sales.

"The idea came to me one of those nights when I couldn¹t sleep, and these little creatures popped in my head - the hibble gibbles - and where would they live, the Bar Roo forest," she says of her first children's book. That was more than 20 years ago. Then Mount St. Helens erupted near her former home of Castle Rock. Dozens of books came out shortly thereafter, but there was nothing for kids. Her daughter and nephew were fascinated by the natural phenomena, so Gieseke decided to set the book she was working on in the fictional Bar Roo Forest at the real Mount St. Helens.

The storyline took shape from there. She kept a notebook nearby as she went about her day to make notes. Then she would write the story at night on a borrowed typewriter. Home computers were still things largely of the future.

"I didn't know if it was going to take two years or 20 years, but I wouldn¹t stop until I got it published," she said. "It ended up taking more than 20 years."

Gieseke got her first copy of the book a year ago. She now does the marketing and promotion of it herself and has sold around 500 copies so far of ³Mount St. Helens and the Secret of the Bar-Roo Forest,² a junior novel for 8- to 12-year-olds.

Her second book will be about the eruption and the third will deal with the aftermath. Those books won't be on shelves for a few years, however. Gieske started Pageturner Books, a corporation she uses to keep track of how many books she sells and created www.hibgib.com to sell the book.

"I don't think I could have self-published this until just recently," she says. ³Publishing has changed so much in the past two years. There were publishers out there, but in order to do the color work that I needed to have done and to do it at a price that was affordable, I needed to wait until the past couple of years. It¹s worth the ride to see your dream come true.

Aura Mae, owner of Azarra Salon in downtown Tacoma has also recently released a book, "Get Some Hairapy: A hairdresser's prescription for happiness."

The whimsical book takes a look - and a few shots - at society and social norms as it views the world and the universal troubles people have with relationships through the experiences of hairdresser with more than 15 years of work blown through her hairdryer.

Mae describes her book as a read for people who want to find happiness in their lives through the act of owning their own destiny, rather than seeking people to blame when their dreams haven¹t become realities.

"The popular belief is that people tell all of their stories to bartenders and that it's the bartenders who have all the great stories," Mae says. "That's not true. It is hairdressers people really unload all their stuff on. There's something about sitting down and having their hair wet that makes people feel vulnerable. It's in that vulnerable moment, people share."

Some guy named Steve Dunkelberger, who just happens to be the editor of the Business Examiner, recently teamed up with Comcast marketing manager and Lakewood City Councilman Walter Neary to write a history book on the City of Lakewood. The book came out this month, just in time for the community's 10th anniversary as an incorporated city this winter.

The book, published through Arcadia, is meant to boost interest in Lakewood history, in hopes of one day having the means to operate a museum.