In Time of Transition (aka The Sloggy Book Launch)

Somewhere in the past few months I launched a book. You wouldn’t have known it unless you were paying close attention because there wasn’t much fanfare, no virtual or physical launch parties (not yet, anyway), and only a small amount of wordz as the day passed. Life, yes, life…

I love the cover, though. And it reminded me that it takes a village to build a book (and a book launch). And so I’d like to thank the following people for their hard work and support:

Tod McCoy
fearless indie publisher at Hydra House

Julie Fain
 lovely fantasy artist (who has done all my covers)

Jennifer D. Munro
the best copy editor an author could have
(and a fantastic author to boot)

Early and Beta Readers
Tony Ollivier, Karyn and Kelly Hoskins, Sam Fink-Jensen,
Jona Mani, Heidi and Nerissa Griffith, Iris Cameron
(did I miss anyone?)

and a special thanks to Lynn-Dell at
School House Teaching Supplies
for being the biggest champion an author could have
on my last book tour

It’s strange to think that there is only one book left in the series. I’ve been immersed in this imaginary world for 15 years. I feel like it has a lot more life to breathe and more young readers to entertain, but things are transitioning for me, and I’m not sure where I’m going to land.

I think much of this transition has to do with age & experience, but also what’s happening in our world on a grand scale (politically / environmentally / socially). This space I’ve carved out for myself isn’t really the space from which I feel called to create and communicate any longer. Don’t worry… there will always be a place in my heart for both fantasy and children’s literature. I’m just not hurtling towards it like I previously was.

I’m “in the question” (as my husband says) about where I’m going and how I’m being in the world. Feeling a pull back to poetry, a call to ecology and environmental justice, a craving (almost mourning) to BE more in this place I live (namely the Cascadia bioregion), and a need to engage a spiritual practice that connects it all.

A few tangential notes:

ONE
My website went down for about a month and had to be moved to a new server. In this process I lost all of my subscribers. How not upset I got about this shows something about where I am.

I’m adding back the subscribers I know for sure, but I’m not happy with my new subscription widget. Sign up again if you’d like and this time I’ll capture all the subscribers in case I change it.

TWO
I was arrested for protesting the Kinder Morgan pipeline / tank farm expansion through British Columbia. I won’t go into it here; I have other outlets for that. If you’re interested, I explain more about it on my PATREON page, where I’m raising money for the expense of the arrest (and beyond). It’s also a place to experiment in other directions of my creative life.

THREE
If you’d like ebook review copies of White Forest Book 5 (Voyage from Foraglenn), contact me HERE.

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Writing workout?

Sit still in your yard or park or beach or other natural place. It need not be big. It could be a rooftop garden if you live in the city or beneath a single tree in the park. When you feel moved to do so, write.