A Wild Pitch?

Editor and I have finally finished a solid pitch for Alaska on the Go: Exploring the 49th State With Children. Bundled up with more care than a baby, it's ready to travel with me on June 8 to Homer and the Kachemak Bay Writer's Conference, my first-ever formal gathering of writing people. I have an appointment with an agent, with hope that someone will publish my book.

The manuscript itself is coming along. I'm halfway through - after tonight's completion of the cruising section. Next up is Fairbanks and Denali National Park, put on hold while I finished the cruisers.

I spent last weekend in Fairbanks, meeting with the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau and wandering the city and surrounding area, sans child and spouse. Amazing how much ground I can cover this way. But I missed my traveling partners.

Responses from travel industry professionals has been overwhelming, in a positive way. Rarely a day goes by that someone reaches out and expresses their happiness that someone from Alaska is writing a book about visiting the state with kids. I'm happy about that, but even happier to discover their support for the project. I feel incredibly validated that I am doing the right thing, even though some days, it feels so stressful.

To Catch a Cruise

Editor and I have been working hard this month, preparing a pitch, gathering legacy publisher information, and writing, writing, writing.

Since Editor wants me to pitch this book to an agent while down in Homer for the Kachemak Bay Writer's Conference next month, I've had to put a hold on Fairbanks and the Interior sections of Alaska, focusing instead on the subject of cruising.

Cruising, mind you, is how 80% of Alaska visitors arrive in the state, and with almost one million people embarking and/or disembarking via gangplanks, there is subsequently much to write about.
Cruise companies, as a whole, have been quite accommodating, sending me tons of flowery statements describing their features, services, and amenities available to traveling families. All, that is but one.

Disney.

Disney, it seems, is rather reluctant to share their close, personal cruise information with anybody. Everything must be hidden in Mickey and Donald's heads.

I am in "negotiations" with a Disney paralegal to figure out exactly what I am allowed to publish, why, and how. And hell-fire and damnation from with Wicked Stepmother if I don't follow the Happiest Place On Earth's rules.

This is bound to be good drama.

I Know More Than I Think

I love to talk about Alaska, anywhere, any time. Airport gate areas, in line at the zoo, on the ferry, in the Fred Meyer parking lot surrounded by hundreds of transient RV-ers; you name it, I'm on it, and woe to the poor soul who pulls out a map within my earshot and says to his or her companion "What about this place?" I'll tell you about that place, and the next one, too.

Tonight I hit "send" on Section Three (or is it Four) of Alaska On the Go: Exploring the 49th State With Children. Road Trips. Alaska's roads are not complicated in a structural sense, we only have about 12 actual named highways. But they are full of interesting sights and attractions and such, necessitating a lot of knowledge. A whole lot.

Throughout this book-writing process, I am always amazed at the amount of 49th state knowledge crammed inside my brain. One would think there isn't a lot of room up there, given the fact I am parenting one child here in Alaska, one child in Denver, managing a husband and two dogs. Not to mention my own self. But I did remember stuff, and it was good stuff, too.

Stuff like the playground at the Tok School, with steel-piped slides and monkey bars and random local children who follow you around, asking questions. Stuff like excellent customer service aboard the Alaska Ferries, or the taste of Trisha Costello's cinnamon rolls at the Talkeetna Roadhouse. I love remembering where we've been, and I love thinking ahead to where we'll be going.

That's the beauty of writing a guide book, it just never, ever ends with one chapter. There's so many more ahead.

P.S. Anybody want to know about Alaska? I'm waiting.

Where I Write

I am happy to provide you with a snapshot of my favorite writing venues, because some days, a gal's gotta go someplace else to capture the muse.

This is the view from my cozy little office (aka spare bedroom). The Chugach mountains are consistent friends, greeting me with pink in the wintertime and glorious green during the summer months. Right now, however, they look as tired as I feel. But it's okay, spring is here. I think.

On occasion (okay, more than occasionally), I move operations to a trendy coffee shop not far from my son's school, where I hold court. Brew is strong and internet, fast, so that's generally good enough for me. If I really get to writing, I may go through two or three Americanos, after which the world seems to spin a little. But that's not all bad, right?

Lately I've been hanging out at the family table. I have a huge paper trail for this book, and am more organized when I can spread things out where highly visible. Plus, the company is pretty good (see dog, below), the view just as lovely, and I have easy access to the Nutella.

Taking the Legacy Plunge: Yes or No?

As I dilligenty type away here at the dining room table, one aspect of this whole journey sticks to my brain like an unwanted wad of silver duct tape: Legacy publish, or self-publish? Print-on-demand, or no?

I had thought my decision was a solid 'go' for self-publishing in ebook form, then printing out copies here and there as I needed, making sure I didn't end up with boxes of unsold books cluttering up my already-cluttered garage.

But on Sunday, during our monthly meeting at a local coffee shop, Editor cleared her throat, looked at me over her glasses, and said, "What would you think about throwing this out there to a few legacy publishers?" Uh, okay?

"We'll need a proposal," she said, pulling out a long list of publishing houses she had researched on my behalf, god bless her.

Good thing I had already completed one from way back when I was first pondering the whole concept of writing a book to begin with.

And "poof!" Off we go down another fork in the road, a different one, now. Wonder what will happen, next.

Holiday Roads......My Favorite Part, So Far

I've noticed that writing a guide book can be a little tedious <yawn>. Even though Alaska is the most gorgeous, spectacular, interesting place on earth, writing about the same set of facts, albeit in a different location, can cause a lack of motivation.

"Stay at XY Hotel; they offer rates from a million dollars on up...." Try writing that sentence a few hundred times and see how interested you become.

Now that I've finished the first round of southcentral Alaska, my brain needs something else to keep it amused, so I decided yesterday to head in a different direction: ROAD TRIP!

I love road trips, always have. Even as a child, I'd be the first kid to hop aboard the VW Bus for a journey up or down the highway. Even now, I love the thought of tooling Alaska's two or three major arterials with no particular destination in mind. It's the perfect section for a slightly-spring-fevered writer.

As daylight begins to filter through the filmy clouds over the Chugach mountains, this morning, it's terribly difficult not to throw my son, the dogs, and a backpack or two in the car.

Focus, EK, focus!

I Knew I Liked John Muir

My hero is John Muir. Naturalist, conservationist, and pastor, Muir explored our natural world with wisdom and sensitivity. Then he wrote about it.

I guess it wasn't always easy, though.

"Writing is like the life of a glacier - one eternal grind."