Tale Of A Tub

Splish, splash--when you're taking a bath, wouldn't it be great to have more fun? That's what Elizabeth O'Dowd, 34, thought. "I have two kids, and every time they take a bath, it's so much more fun for them than it is for an adult," explains the former advertising executive. "They have all these toys, foam and bubbles."

Combine that idea with the growing popularity of aromatherapy bath products, and you have the makings of a business. "I thought it would be wonderful to [combine] aromatherapy with a bath book you could take into the tub," says O'Dowd.

O'Dowd shared her idea with friend Cynthia Good, a journalist, and the partners developed The Floating Bath Books Collection, a line of floating, waterproof books that contain soothing affirmations as well as suggestions for relaxing with aromatherapy. They created four different versions of the bath book--for women, newlyweds, new mothers and people seeking better health--then proposed the idea to Long Street Press.

When Bath Books debuted in March in bookstores, they made an immediate splash--within four months, the partners had sold 20,000 copies.