At 73, Edie Delp has finally achieved her dream of writing a book.

Her debut children’s book, “The Magic Wishing Rock” tells the story of a little girl, Bella and her dog, Walker, as they find a magic wishing rock and consider all of the possibilities that lie in store thanks to their one wish to be granted by a fairy.

After considering all sorts of outlandish things like a mountain of cupcakes, her very own unicorn and unlimited ice cream, Bella finally wishes for the thing she truly wanted all along, a dress with big pockets to carry things like frogs, tissues and raisins.

At the end of the story Delp reveals the secret of the wishing rock.

“The secret of the wishing rock is that we are not just limited to one wish after all,” she writes. “When we wish for something we really want it becomes a dream, and dreams can come true.”

In the story, Bella’s dream came true much the same way Delp’s has, but it took much longer for Delp to write a book than for Bella to make a wish.

Delp grew up in the mountains of East Tennessee, where books were scarce, so she and her older brother took to telling one another scary stories.

“Growing up in the mountains of east Tennessee, we had to make our own entertainment,” said Delp. “That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. You really have to visualize everything in your head, rather than just looking at a picture. You begin to see the stories in everything.”
Delp eventually found herself in Selma where she lived for 33 years with her husband, a surgeon, and their children.

While in Selma, Delp ran The Calico Cottage, a gourmet kitchen store, Traditions, a women’s boutique, and the internet business yougottahaveit.com.

“I was always active in my community,” she said.

Though she and her husband now split their time between Florida and Tuscaloosa, Delp still considers Selma her home.

Between, her businesses and family, Delp felt she didn’t really have the time to write the book she’d always been pondering.

It wasn’t until she retired and began to spend time with her grandchildren that she began to visit her own story telling ways.

“My children would encourage me to write down the stories I was telling my grandkids,” said Delp. “It was great because they would rather listen to my stories than have me read them a book.”

Delp took inspiration from her granddaughter, Elle, and began to draft the first version of “The Magic Wishing Rock”.

“The final product ended up looking nothing like that first draft,” she said.

For an entire year, Delp persevered, eventually finishing her book.

“You’re never too old to step out and achieve your dreams,” she said.

“Here’s hoping you find many magic wishing rocks and have big pockets to carry them in,” writes Delp at the end of her biography found in the back of the book. “And most of all may you find the determination to realize your dreams.”

“The Magic Wishing Rock” is available at the Sturdivant Hall Gift Shop, Mr. Roy’s Convenience Store on Dallas Avenue and at Gallery 905 on Broad Street.