Cookbook author Joyce Marie Ross says she comes from a long line of good cooks. She credits the culinary guidance of her parents and especially her &uot;Auntie Alberta&uot; for giving her the knack for mixing ingredients.

For years, only friends and family were able to enjoy Ross’ food creations.

Five years ago, Ross received a letter from the publishing company First Books Library inquiring if she was interested in writing a book.

Ross said she didn’t pay much attention to the letter. She just placed it in a chest and forgot about it.

The inspiration finally came a couple of years ago after Ross created her own special batch of cookies she calls Cherry Almond Delight for her now ex-husband.

Ross said it was Wally &uot;Famous&uot; Amos, the founder and creator of &uot;Famous Amos&uot; cookies, whom she met while briefly living in Chicago, who encouraged her to get a patent for her recipes.

Soon afterward, Ross rediscovered the long-lost letter from the publishing company and decided to give it a try. Ross added 10 more completely original recipes to go along with her cookies and &uot;Marie’s Magnificent Recipes: Cooking Well&uot; was published. The cookbook is thin, consisting of about 100 pages, but Ross said she is currently working on creating new recipes for upcoming books.

Ross is in negotiations with Books-A-Million and Barnes and Noble about getting the companies to carry her books.

Until then, Ross says,

&uot;Marie’s Magnificent Recipes&uot; can be purchased through the Internet.