My Journey with Maddie

Mar 13

As the author of A Smack of Jellyfish: Fish, Fear and Finding Yourself in Alaska, I've run out of low-hanging marketing fruit—and still no one wants to turn my book into a movie or even publish it mainstream.

It seems as good a time as any to take inventory.

I earned several thousand dollars from book sales and spent thousands more on classes, editing, traveling and promotion.

Not exactly a financial windfall but I have no regrets.

I accomplished what I set out to do—write a novel.

That the manuscript wasn’t snapped up by a gung-ho agent or the book published by a major publishing house and sent on tour with its author was a major blow to my ego. But so it goes.

After accepting that disappointment, my goal became to forget about the Pulitzer Prize and the Academy Award for Best Movie and just have fun with Maddie.

And so I did.

I developed a book talk which I’ve delighted in giving to friendly audiences in Alaska, Oregon and even Kansas. It’s been a joy to talk about books and writing with people who enjoy both.

Please contact me if you’d like me to give a free talk at a book club or bookstore near you—or discuss future book rights or negotiate a movie deal.

In the meantime, I'm working on a creative non-fiction memoir about my life in Alaska. Its working title is...

wait for it...

My Life in Alaska.

I’ll let you in on a secret. It’s much more fun to write than to market!