Anticipation
As I wait for my first three boxes of books to arrive on Friday, June 17, I am wondering what it will feel like to actually hold one of those books in my hands—the product of eight years of writing that has been an emotional roller-coaster ride. It's been an amazing process.My developmental editor, Jo Ellen Green Kaiser, who was referred to me by good friend and author Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, introduced me to Ramsey Kanaan a couple years ago when we were just figuring out the structure of my book. Ramsey had recently started up a publishing company called PM Press (PM = Printed Matter) and Jo Ellen thought he might be interested in publishing my book. This did finally happen, but not before my book was rejected by 33 other publishers. Ours was an atypical agreement in which I gave PM an advance rather than vice versa. This was because I insisted on a lengthy book with 112 photos, 536 endnotes, and a complete index. I am incredibly happy with the professional level of service provided by PM in terms of editing, formatting, cover design, indexing, and so forth. Throughout this process I often felt stressed out about all the details, and PM Press was always good about solving whatever issues arose.
Now that the book is in the printer's hands, I am stressing out about details of my book tour. The tour I am planning is unusual in that my first leg will be done primarily on my three-wheeled, arm-powered handcycle, cycling from Portland, Oregon to San Francisco, California at the rate of about 40 miles a day. Tomorrow evening, June 11, I give my first "sneak preview" talk (sans books)—a fundraiser for my local Veterans For Peace chapter. The official book tour launch takes place in Portland on June 24 and my cycling partner Joel Finkelstein and I leave town the next morning. Many dates have been set, excitement is building, and I look forward to meeting many old friends and making new ones along the way. For complete tour info, check out my personal book tour blog: bloodonthetracks.info.
