The process of writing and publishing a book requires a lot of uninterrupted time. I worked at home at my kitchen table for the first few months, our son’s $5 Alexa from the Exchange playing Lord Huron songs in the background while I sifted through thousands of photos, wrote endless captions, and made countless decisions on the layout.
Then came the process of emailing out hundreds of release forms to the people pictured in the book, along with their photos and captions so they could check my work for accuracy.
The library was starting to open up more, and even though it meant wearing a mask instead of staying home mask-less, I really wanted to go somewhere besides our house. I even realized that their Community Room is reservable until 10 PM, though the main library closes at 6 PM.
This is where I spent the next few months…
How fun it was to return to the library night before last, coming full-circle for my first book release event!
Thank you, Orcas Library and librarians, as I say on one of the final pages of the book, for providing me with a lovely home away from home. Thank you, also, for helping me to celebrate the completion of this book with a long-awaited gathering after these quiet, isolated years!
How fun it was to attend an event and see other humans – on a beautiful evening following a stunning, sunny day after all the months of gray! In every way, it couldn’t have been better.
Thank you, islanders, for coming out to support this endeavor. I so appreciate you all.
Over the months of making this book, thank you library staff, especially Rhett for always greeting me so warmly when I walked in the building, Holly for always looking out for an unreserved room for me to work in, Jenny for checking in with me about family life, Ray for ending my evenings with a kind exchange and locking the doors behind me, and Carol for organizing and attending the book release event on April 7th.
Thanks to Becca McDowell for the photo of the book release above. She took more from the front, but I don’t usually post other people’s faces straight on unless I have their approval.
I am so profoundly proud of you for following your dream of publication. While we haven’t met…I do feel I know you as I’ve followed this blog for quite some time…your joys, accomplishments, family, outings and life here on the Island. And I’ve enjoyed each unique story.
It is yourself who spurred me on to follow my long-held dream of living on Orcas; now celebrating our one year here after 30 years of visiting. Dreams do come true..and I can’t wait to have a copy of your special publication to curl up with along with a good cup of tea. Cheers to you!
Simply….’thank you’ for
Wow – what a message. Thank you immensely, Pamela, for all that you said. I feel so good reading that. I’m so honored to be a link in the chain of your dream! Thank you so much for writing!!
Life is a funny thing, Edee…sometimes the smallest things can make such large, life changing impacts and we would go on not knowing we were happily responsible for these changes if no words were spoken about it. I truly wanted you to know that you have, indeed, made a significant impact on my life choices. Thank you for that. 🙂
Loving life on Orcas at long last!