Tia McDonald, a former Florida teen pageant winner, model and star of an MTV music video, is now on the cover of a new book, "Fairy Tale -- Once Upon a Time, Act 1."
EDGEWATER, Fla. -- Local gal Tia McDonald, who has travelled quite a bit in her young modeling career, including a spot in an MTV music video shoot, was recently in Australia, where she took part in the making of a book, "Fairy Tale -- Once Upon a Time, Act 1," by Somsay Toumngeun, including being on the cover and the inspiration for one of the characters.
"I am so excited," said the 19-year-old 2011 New Smyrna Beach High School graduate, now enrolled at the University of Florida, who spoke with Headline Surfer for a story published Oct. 7. "The author is in the process of doing some great things with bookstores and I am really hoping this becomes the next Harry Potter."
Here is what else McDonald said of the book: "This past year I was fortunate enough to call Australia 'home' for three amazing months. I spent New Year’s in breathtaking Sydney, traveled up the coast to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef and even had the opportunity to teach private surf lessons in Melbourne. It was hard to image my trip getting any better. Then it did."
Here is what else Tia McDonald said of the book: "This past year I was fortunate enough to call Australia 'home' for three amazing months. I spent New Year’s in breathtaking Sydney, traveled up the coast to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef and even had the opportunity to teach private surf lessons in Melbourne. It was hard to image my trip getting any better. Then it did."
McDonald said she received an email from an international modeling agency stating she had been selected out of hundreds of girls, to be on the cover of a book: "Not just any book. This story was being compared to the infamous Harry Potter series and I had been cast to portray the main character."
The book with McDonald comes in at No. 98 in the countdown of the top 100 local stories of 2012.