Couple publishes calendar featuring stories and photos of local breast cancer survivors
WARWICK — Warwick residents Kathie Austin, a photographer, and Thomas A. Mattingly II, a writer/publisher who publishes his books under the pen name Matthew S. Field, are publishing a 2015 calendar, Seasons of Hope, featuring 12 Hudson Valley women who have survived breast cancer.
A meaningful portion of the proceeds from the $19.95 calendars will be donated to benefit families, specifically children, of the women who are battling or have battled breast cancer.
The project is close to Mattingly's heart. His wife, Lori, succumbed to complications relating to breast cancer in 2005.
In 2010, he and Austin met at Warwick's Tuscan Café.
"Kathie had just gotten back to New York on a red-eye flight from Los Angeles after attending a family milestone event," said Mattingly. "Having been a single father at the time for almost six years, I was trying to unwind from a difficult parenting weekend by reading a book and enjoying a cup of coffee. She asked me a question about the WIFI and I asked her if I could buy her a cup of coffee. A few days later we started to date."
Three and half years later, Austin and Mattingly are engaged and remodeling a 140 year old home on Grand Street in anticipation of blending their families, no small number since Austin has four children and Mattingly has three.
The couple are engaged and plan to marry on October 4, the anniversary of their meeting.
"We're also creating what we believe is a beautiful and meaningful project, the Seasons of Hope 2015 Calendar, to encourage awareness, foster prevention, and inspire hope for women and their families who are facing a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment," said Mattingly. "Today, one in eight women will face a breast cancer diagnosis in her lifetime. Among our social circles, Kathie and I identified twelve extraordinary women who battled and put their breast cancer into remission to represent a particular month of Seasons of Hope. She consulted with and photographed these survivors, each of whom lives in or near the Hudson Valley region and I've told their stories in moving biographical summaries."
Austin and Mattingly are now working to get the calendar into local stores, like Ye Olde Warwick Book Shoppe and Frazzleberries as well as Costco, with whom they've had preliminary meetings, and online retailers. They will also be available at local and regional events such as Pink Friday.
Additional information
Kathie Austin Photography
Telephone: 973-296-8000
www.KathieAustinPhotography.com
Thomas A. Mattingly II
Matting Leah Publishing Company
Post Office Box 265
Warwick, New York 10990-0265
845-987-2807
Author Profile: Amazon Author Page
Blog: The Single Father's Guide
Books by Matthew Field:
"The Single Father's Guide to Life Cooking and Baseball"
Children's books
"Father Like a Tree," "The Three Pigs," "Business School" and "Wolfe Hash Stew" and "Sometimes, My Dad and I," which won a Mom's Choice Award, and mainstream fiction, "The Dream Seeker. "
Field was named the Times Herald-Record Reader's Choice "Best Author of 2011."