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Arcadia's Danielle Lao Writes Book that Hits No. 3 in Amazon's Kindle Store

Rick Limpert, Neighbor
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The Invaluable Experience Hits as High as No. 3 on Amazon

Former College Player and Arcadia Resident Lao Among Greats of Tennis when it comes to Kindle Downloads

Following a successful college tennis career, Danielle Lao, a two-time All-American at USC had something to say.

Less than a year ago, Lao started putting her thoughts about college, tennis, and life down in an online Tumblr blog that started attracting more and more readers. Basically, Lao answered questions many student-athletes might have.

Lao decided to turn her writings into a Kindle book, “The Invaluable Experience” with the help of tennis and sports technology writer Rick Limpert.

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Many internet surfers read blogs because they are short bursts of information and for the most part, they are free.

The question was, would anyone buy a book based on Lao’s Tumblr posts?

Lao said it didn’t matter.

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“Turning my blog posts in a book was a great way to organize my scattered thoughts that I was slowly collecting since the end of my collegiate career,” explained Lao. “College tennis was such a pivotal part in my development as a player as well as a person and my hope is to share with as many people as I can, how college is such an invaluable experience.”

While Lao’s college stories and advice make for a great fodder, an equally good story is how well the book has done after just 30 days.

In its first week, “The Invaluable Experience” was the No. 3 Kindle tennis book on Amazon.com; ahead of such titles as Rafa", by Rafael Nadal,  “Serve to Win” by Novak Djokovic, Brad Gilbert's "Winning Ugly", "Facing Federer", and other books written by tennis heavyweights like John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.

“I was ecstatic (with) the news. I am so humbled to be in such great company. A lot of these authors have decorated profiles and some are grand slam champions.”

Lao’s nickname is “The Little Giant” and while you have to read the book to find out how she secured that unique moniker, the it has proven to be prophetic as even after 30 days the book still regularly makes the top-10 in the Kindle Store ahead of books by Peter Bodo, Monica Seles, and Allen Fox.

“The Invaluable Experience” is loaded with great advice for current and future student athletes, parents, and fans of college sports.  It is available as a Kindle download on Amazon.com and through the book’s website at http://laod38.wix.com/thelittlegiant

"Danielle is what college sports are all about,” added Limpert. “This book is bigger than just the sport of tennis, as it has crossover appeal for anyone looking to play sports in college."

About Danielle Lao:

Danielle Lao was a member of the USC Women's Tennis Team (2009-2013). During her time there, she lead the Trojans to back to back PAC 12 Team championships and was team captain her senior year. She wraps up her collegiate career as a two time singles All-American, 3 time ITA title holder, and a recipient of both the Southwest Region Rookie and Senior of the Year. Danielle is currently pursuing a professional career.
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