By Alicia Kelso

Dublin resident Nancy Roe Pimm still has the first book she ever wrote – a story about the various breeds of horses penciled in on a 59-cent composition notebook. She was 10 when she finished the masterpiece, which includes cutout pictures and footnotes.

The 50-year-old author hangs on to the book to show kids at her speaking engagements that dreams can and do come true.

“I take it to schools to show the students that this is what I’ve wanted to do since I was little, and that it’s never too early to start dreaming,” Nancy says. “But it took me awhile to achieve my goal, so I also tell them it’s never too late to start dreaming, either.”

Nancy grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. and married racecar driver Ed Pimm when she was 18. A few years later they moved to the Columbus area, after Ed was asked to join Truesports Racing Team (now Rahal Letterman Racing) by late owner Jim Truman.

The couple traveled around the country for Ed’s career, which included a ninth place finish at the Indianapolis 500 in 1985. Nancy spent that time as a crew member on Ed’s team, timing the cars, keeping track of the laps and working in the pit stand. She also worked as a dental hygienist, which she still does part-time, and raised their three children, Allison, Lindsay and Carli.

“I absolutely loved being a part of the action and, more importantly, watching my husband achieve his dream,” she says.

But when Ed retired from racing in 1988, Nancy felt compelled to do something new – something beyond the racetrack and the dental chair.

“All of those years watching Ed do what he had always set out to do which made me realize I can do that, too; I can go after my dreams,” Nancy says. “That was and has always has been writing.”

Nancy dusted off her old composition book and grasped for new ideas. She began writing at night after working at the dental practice all day. Her first story, called Destiny, was about a horse and a girl who wanted to be the first female competitor at the Little Brown Jug held each September during the Delaware County Fair. It was rejected by numerous publishing companies.

“It was frustrating – I was just waiting and waiting and nothing happened,” Nancy says. “I realized I had a lot of work to do, that I couldn’t just sit down and write and have everything fall into place when I’m done.”

She decided to learn about the publishing process and meet as many people as possible. She attended conferences and introduced herself to other authors. After she realized prolific children’s author Margaret Peterson Haddix, writer of the popular “Shadow Children” book series, also lived in Dublin, she looked her up and called her.

“I knew I had nothing really to lose. I just told her my name and told her I wanted to be a writer and asked her to have lunch with me and she did! It’s been 12 years and we still have lunch together once a month,” Nancy says. “She really is a great mentor.”

Haddix’s advice mixed with Nancy’s ambition eventually turned out to be a winning formula. Nancy attended more conferences and freelanced articles for children’s publications such as Highlights for Children and Hopscotch and found a comfortable niche. During one speaking engagement at Deer Run Elementary School’s library, Nancy noticed many of the boys gravitated toward books on car racing.

“These boys could not get enough of these racing books. They circulated well. But I also noticed how outdated all of the books were,” Nancy says. “It was like a light went off. I saw a need for an updated racing book, and I happened to live that life for 10 years.”

Nancy’s first book, The Indy 500: The Inside Track, was published in 2004. The illustrated book is full of stories about Indy car racing, from its history to facts and stories from the drivers themselves. The book also includes a story from her husband, who describes forgetting his earplugs during a race and nearly going deaf.

The book, which initially sold 5,000 copies and has since gone to paperback, is a Junior Library Guild selection and was chosen for the Brodart’s McNaughton program.

Nancy finally got the confidence she had been looking for and began hunting for more subjects.

“I read about how the first gorilla ever born in captivity in the world was born in Columbus (Colo at the Columbus Zoo) and that’s when I had my next idea,” Nancy says. “All of these gorilla experts got together to figure out how to raise this baby gorilla without humanizing her and they all shared these wonderful stories about gorillas from around the world.”

Nancy did her research, spent time with the experts and the gorillas and compiled her eight favorite stories into her second book, The Heart of the Beast: Eight Great Gorillas Stories, which was published in 2007.

The heavily-illustrated book also features facts about gorillas and their stories. These include the story of a 500-pound Silverback gorilla in England, who protected a 5-year-old boy who fell into the enclosure at the zoo, and Koko, a California gorilla who knows sign language.

Nancy has also finished a third book, currently being edited, called The Daytona 500: The Inside Track. It will have a similar layout to her Indy book, but with details about NASCAR.

Although these projects coming to fruition is every bit “dream come true” for the lifelong aspiring writer, Nancy still has many goals left to chase. She would like to have one of her fiction works published. Her original fiction, Destiny, is finally being reviewed by editors for tentative publication. She would also like to develop a Heart of the Beast series, including books about military dogs, horses and elephants.

“I am constantly finding new topics that I’d like to do more research on. The more research you do, the more fascinating the topic becomes,” Nancy says. “It’s like a treasure hunt of information. And talking to these experts and telling their story the right way is so much fun.”

Although Nancy waited “a really long time” to do what she’s always wanted to do, she says it was worth the wait. Now she constantly writes, and in the process has become an expert in her own right.

“My husband followed a straight line and found his dream. It took me a long time to do the same thing just because I didn’t think I could do it,” Nancy says. “But now, when I talk to these kids, I can tell them you don’t need to get to your dream in a straight line like my husband did, you can do it in a curvier line like I did. And as long as you get there eventually, it doesn’t matter how.”

Alicia Kelso is editor of Dublin Life.

For more information on Nancy Roe Pimm’s work, or to book a speaking engagement, visit www.nancyroepimm.com.