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This article written by Nicole Plett was published in U.S. 1

Newspaper on April 21, 1999. All rights reserved.

New Parents: Jeanne Murphy

Jeanne Murphy’s book series is growing right along with

her family. Murphy is the mother of two boys, Michael Dean, 5, and

Brandon, 2, and motherhood has made her the author of four popular

parenting books, lighthearted collections of assorted "Baby Tips."

Publisher Fisher Books launched the first books in Murphy’s series

in October, 1998. Now that she is out promoting "Toddlers,"

can "Daycare" be far behind? Certainly not, says Murphy. It’s

next on this working mother’s agenda. She discusses her best-selling

books covering the baby’s first year of life and shares more "Baby

Tips" at a book signing at Barnes & Noble at MarketFair on Saturday,

April 24, at 2 p.m.

Murphy lives in Neshanic Station where, for 15 years, she worked at

her family’s medical supply business, HMA Inc. Motherhood did not

change her employment status. But the success of her entrepreneurial

publishing career did. She now divides her time between the demands

of her kids and her books.

Murphy’s husband, Jan, an inventory planner for Reckitt & Colman in

Belle Mead, inadvertently launched this career when he noticed how

much time his wife was spending giving mothering advice to friends

and family. One day he asked, "Why don’t you write a book about

it?"

Murphy picked up a portable tape recorder and started taking notes

as she went through her daily routine. Within two weeks she had 1,000

tips, most with a humorous tone. Now her publisher, Fisher Books,

is inviting other parents to offer their own tips and compete for

a $5,000 prize.

At Amazon.com, Murphy’s "Baby Tips for New Dads" has outstripped

the sales of "Baby Tips for New Moms, First Four Months" and

"Five to Eight Months." After just five months as a published

author, over 200,000 copies of her books are in print.