DAMASCUS- Salem folklore tells of a little girl, 2 years old, who died from iron poisoning after licking clean an iron pot her father had used to make elderberry wine.

A monument, built in Italy and imported at the cost of the family farm, stands in the heart of the historical Hope Cemetery on North Lincoln Avenue.

Goldie Bell Taylor's memorial is a replica of the little girl herself, forever capturing in marble the tragic loss of innocence- and the recipient of mysterious flowers that unknown benefactors place between her nearly clasping hands throughout the year.

Damascus resident Karen Biery, a native of Pennsylvania, has incorporated Goldie Bell's story- as well as other Salem historical tales and businesses- into her own fictional account of a woman seeking answers to her past that leads her to Goldi Bell and the little girl's tragic story, a book entitled "believe."

Published last month by River Road Press in Branson, Mo., the book is steeped in Salem history and features many twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing each step of the way, according to Biery.

Having sold over 100 copies in its first week of release, "believe" has gained national exposure in addition to local acclaim, with book clubs across the country already featuring it at meetings, she noted.

Its success is of even greater surprise in that it is Biery's first novel.

"I hadn't done any writing before," said the intensely creative woman who designed the watercolor drawing and pendant featured on the novel's cover. "Sometimes we struggle with what we want to be when we grow up, and everyone always told me I should write. I just started paying attention to the signs, and everything kind of fell into place."

Sitting in at creative writing classes taught by Craig Paulenich at Kent State University, Biery said the book took about two years to write and another to edit. It includes several Salem stories- based in fact, but embellished for drama- that town historian Dale Shaffer helped her compile.

"I love milling around old cemeteries and have always been fascinated with [Goldi Bell] and her story," Biery said. "It's fun to be able to take stories that people know and love and present them in a new and unique way."

"believe" is the middle book of a trilogy that Biery is still developing. Currently she is working on her second transcript that is unrelated.

Although she is originally from Pennsylvania, Biery has strong ties to the Salem community. She is the former proprietor of the Olde English Garden Company in downtown Salem from 1995 to 2000.

And she said she intends to feature the area in her future novels.

"I think we get missed here," she said. "The town is not huge, but there is so much fabulous architecture, so much history, so many sordid details."

As a rookie writer, Biery offered some advice for other prospective authors- just do it.

"One word after another after another after another, and soon you have a sentence," she said. "If it takes you 10 years, so what. If you have a passion, go for it, whatever it may be."

Biery will host a book signing from dusk until 10 p.m. on Saturday at the Goldi Bell memorial, rain or shine. A reading will be held at 9:05 p.m.

"believe" can be purchased at the Flower Loft at Hope Cemetery, the Salem Historical Society, Barnes and Noble in Boardman and wherever books are sold online.

For information about Biery and her novel visit www.karenbiery.com.

Kevin Howell can be reached at khowell@salemnews.net