In my hands

The first print run of my first book is now in my hands!

~ cover photos by Belinda White, and cover and book design by Jan Westendorp

The day has finally come. A couple of unexpected challenges slowed things down long past my hoped-for 1 October release date. Also, I got COVID and couldn’t be at that day’s author reading after all; DK Eve kindly read from the proof copy for me. But yesterday I finally got the email I have been trying to wait patiently for: the first print run of i, nemophile was ready to be picked up.

I briefly debated waiting until what would have been my next necessary trip into town during business hours, but that would have been next Tuesday. By this point, I was not feeling that patient!

So I drove in to the printer’s in the city as early as I could today, after some morning work, and it felt pretty surreal to have that heavy box of books in my trunk at last. Before I drove away from the parking lot I slit open the tape holding the box closed, to admire them. The physical manifestation of so much emotional and practical work. I stopped in the woods on the way home to say thank you, because after all, most of these poems came from the forest.

Right now I’m particularly thrilled about the paper, which is so creamy and lovely and, of course, 100% recycled (thank you, Island Blue!). And the fonts, which my incredible designer did wonders with helping me select.

Last Friday someone asked me what my elevator pitch for the book was. What’s it ‘about’? Whom will it appeal to? &c. And I had to admit I hadn’t put together a quick pitch yet. I dislike marketing, but I know it has to be done; people need to know my book exists if they’re to buy it, and they need to know what it’s ‘about’ if they’re to know whether they want to buy it or not.

So I thought as I talked, and this is essentially what I came to: I guess it’s mostly ‘about’ nature. I tried to give it a very strong flavour of the local ecology, of this island biome, and the poems in the book are organized by season. But that overarching theme ties together threads of music, of Earth-care (what some might call ‘activism’), of escape from toxic religion, of relationships, of family and family lines, of chronic health struggles, of birth and death.

That’s all I’ll say for now, except for please buy the book if you want to. Or if you know a poetry-lover and/or local islander and/or nemophile it would appeal to, it might make a great gift!

Thanks for reading.