Mike Carrier, co-founder and president of Alistair Rapids Publishing, Inc., never intended to get into publishing. While he had worked part time in publishing as an undergrad, his literary interests over the past 40 years has been as a writer.  In 2007, Mike and Evie (his wife of over 40 years) began writing a series of books (“TRAX Adventures”) that delved into the mysteries of memory—namely, “comparative mnemonics.” They found the whole phenomenon so intriguing that they decided he should write a manual explaining what comparative mnemonics was, and how easy it was to practice that art. (For a more thorough explanation of comparative mnemonics visit http://www.comparativemnemonics.com.) As Mike neared completion of the manual, he began to scout out various avenues for publishing his book. That’s when he began to see just how treacherous was the path through the publishing process. He found that unless a writer is well known, or has a list of successful titles behind him, it is virtually impossible to get a book published through traditional means. Mike also discovered that an author needed an agent if he is going to publish through a major publishing house; and agents were not anxious to gamble on an unknown author. Mike was convinced that he had produced a very good product, but that the odds were against his efforts to line up a quality agent to get it published. Rather than giving up, Mike decided to start his own publishing company. He researched it thoroughly, and was amazed to find that with the advent of such things as Amazon, and other "print on demand" companies, the task of starting a new publishing company was not insurmountable. One of the unique characteristics of this new company (Alistair Rapids Publishing Inc.) is its commitment to provide a quality publishing alternative for those participating in one of Mike and Evie's TRAX Adventures. While he was convinced that it was possible for TRAX adventurers to follow his path through self-publishing, Mike knew that most people did not want to spend the time and money learning a whole new vocation just to get their TRAX Adventure published. Mike asked himself, "Why not provide for them a viable alternative to both traditional and self-publishing?" So, that's how Alistair Rapids Publishing Inc. came about. As more and more TRAX adventurers complete their stories, Alistair Rapids Publishing Inc. will help those writers get their work through the publishing process, and make their books available to the public through outlets such as Amazon. And do so at a very reasonable price. (If you wish to find out more about starting your own TRAX Adventure, visit www.traxofthemind.com.) Alistair Rapids Publishing, Inc. has ten books coming out within the next twelve months, with at least another ten planned for 2011.