Category Archives: Don

Don, Guest Interview, In-Person, Tom, WOWI Session

Interview with PJ Beaven

This past weekend Tom and I had the absolute joy of interviewing an author-friend of ours — PJ Beaven!

PJ has a most remarkable collection of creative ideas an insights combining health, fitness, and conservation. But where do these come from?!?

As a former zookeeper, PJ saw that she and her peers could take better care of the animals by taking better care of themselves. She took to making fitness a fun and enriching game, and connected healthy habits to conservation. This has turned into a number of PJ’s books, videos, and presentations … like the one Tom and I participated in just before recording WOWI podcast #9.

Prior to the recording session, PJ presented her ZooFit approach at the Langley Library on south Whidbey Island. Tom and I got to sit in as PJ shared her ideas on how to make simple shifts in your life that have an impact on the environment and species we share this planet with. She believe that each person can — not necessarily be perfect but — take on at least the things in our lives that we can to have the best impact on the world.

PJ’s presentation style is down-to-earth, fun, and engaging. She rolled right from the library and brought that same attitude directly to the interview Tom and I held with her at The Commons Cafe & Books. Talking with PJ was an absolute ball, and I know you’re going to enjoy our latest podcast!

… uh, when we get it posted soon. (Done.)

~ Don

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) Episode 9
Pattie Beaven – Zoo Fit

 

PJ can be found online at …

Don, Guest Interview, In-Person, Tom, WOWI Session

Dan Pedersen – Final Impulse

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Dan Pedersen author
Dan Pedersen, author

Do you know from his Saturday morning blog, his extensive library of recently written books, or as the guy who goes for walks with Duncan (his dog who is also the cover model for one of the books)? Dan was nice enough to invite us to his house for his interview. Duncan was there, too. You can hear his toenails clicking around the room at the start – before he wondered off to some favorite spot to sleep until we were done.

Final Impulse Whidbey Island mystery thriller book by author Dan Pedersen
Final Impulse by author Dan Pedersen

Dan is the author of several books, and their arc is a study in the progression of a career from professional journalist, to blogger, to writer-for-hire of a non-fiction nature book, to traditional self-publishing in non-fiction, and now to modern self-publishing a somewhat accidental mystery series based on Whidbey Island. His list of productions is enough to cover a table, and represents several perspectives on how, why, and what to write. He also discusses what not to write, which can counter the conventional wisdom of everything being material.

It isn’t always about the money. Blogging is gratifying. Novel writing is fun and an escape. Yet, the mechanics and economics matter there, too, because time is precious and irreplaceable. He describes how he writes, how he advertises, and how he sells – with a bit of a commentary on dealing with publishers, printers, and whatever Amazon has become. Self-publishing provides control, which also requires working every aspect from cover design, page numbering, and how to store a few thousand copies – or paying nothing and only buying what is immediately needed.

Listen in as a gracious man displays a sense of humor as we tried to capture as much of his insights as we could in less than an hour.

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) Episode 8
Dan Pedersen, Final Impulse

 

Don, Guest Interview, In-Person, Tom, Upcoming WOWI Session

‘Final’ Interview with Dan Pedersen

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If you see this man, say “Hey, great books!”

This Wednesday Tom and I will be interviewing south Whidbey author and blogger, Dan Pedersen!

Dan is a former Pacific northwest journalist and magazine manager.  When he broke away from city life and joined us here on Whidbey Island he made the personal discovery of writing — and having fun with it!  He started with the topics of nature and rural living and evolved to writing mysteries.

Dan has an impressive list of titles to his name.  Six of these focus on his Whidbey Island detective character, Shane Lindstrom … who occasionally leaves the island to further fight crime!

Our podcast with Dan should be posted by the end of this week — watch for it!

Find Dan at …

His blog, Amazon, and on Goodreads

Enjoy his books …

Don, In-Person, Tom, Upcoming WOWI Session

Seeing Into The Future …

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The main floor of Kingfisher — the steps to the basement are behind the red velvet rope …

This past Monday afternoon Tom and I previewed the future expanded floor space at Kingerfisher Bookstore.  Proprietor and all-around-awesome-lady, Meg, gave us permission to record our first indoor-off-season at-a-business podcast in the basement of her historic building in Coupeville, WA.

The upcoming additional space is going to double the display space for Meg and Kingfisher — and as a fellow book-lover I couldn’t be more EXCITED!  Meg also has vision of using this space for author readings.  There is a giant door that opens to the cove on the back wall of the basement, and Meg has even imagined these readings to include audience members listening in on the bows of their boats.

So why were Tom and I spending time in the basement?  To record the latest podcast, of course!

lulu.com donald scoby make your own darn good cookies paperback recipe book coffee main course comfort food
Available on LuLu, Amazon, and Smashwords

This past Monday Tom and I returned to our roots — just as with our first two WOWI episodes it was a discussion between Tom and myself.  Our focus was around my experiences now being one year into being a self-published author.  I’ve learned much — largely based on Tom’s knowledgeable coaching — and this is a topic that could easily supply a number of episodes …. which might explain why this turned out to be our longest recording to date (oops).  Maybe it wouldn’t have been as long had I been operating on a full night’s sleep and didn’t keep repeating myself …

Looking further into the future … it appears that Tom and I will be interviewing author and blogger Dan Pedersen.  With a new book soon to be released, talking with Dan promises to be interesting indeed!  Location TBA, recording on November 20th.

~ Don

Writing On Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 7 – Don Scoby Bake Your Own Darn Good Cookies – first anniversary

Don, Guest Interview, In-Person, Tom, WOWI Session

Maribeth Crandell – Hiking Close to Home

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Listen to songbirds, turkeys, a few cars, and a babbling stream as the background to our interview with Maribeth Crandell, author of Hiking Close to Home, a hiking guide for dozens of trails on Whidbey Island. Our setting was the Outdoor Classroom in the Maxwelton Valley, a facility provided by the Whidbey Watershed Stewards, as well as one of the trails mentioned in her book.

Maribeth’s hiking and writing history includes Flip Flop, her story of traveling the Appalachian Trail. Such epic hikes are engaging, but she also recognized the benefit of hiking closer to home, especially when the mountains are inhospitable. She noticed the simple fact that no one had written a book that covered dozens of trails on Whidbey Island, including the ones that accommodate (or at least attempt to accommodate) wheelchairs and such. Over 120 pages and six months later, she and Jack Hartt completed the book, ordered up a few hundred copies, began the rounds of presentations and signings, and now have to order more books.

As with most authors, she also has a day job, working for Island Transit, a free bus service that deserves a book, too. Rather than separate the hiking and the day job, she’s found ways to incorporate the two, including bus-related hikes, and conducting bus tours to various trails. Her experience is a good one for writers and authors to witness how book projects can be inspired, and can inspire other projects. Just don’t be surprised if we’re distracted by sounds from the woods, or digressions about whales and squirrels. Bring your binoculars – to the hikes, not the podcast.

Writing On Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 6 – Maribeth Crandell, Hiking Close to Home

Don, In-Person, Tom, WOWI Session

Writing On Whidbey Island (WOWI) Episode 2 – Self-Publishing and E-books

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Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies recipe book Don Scoby
Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies recipe book by Don Scoby

Now that the introductions are done (see episode 1), time to get into some details. Co-host Don Scoby recently self-published his inaugural cookbook, “Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies“. That’s a story and worth a celebration as authors know; but his experience was particularly educational because it happened as CreateSpace and Kindle became one. Yet again, the self-publishing industry changes.

Thanks to Don’s experience as a musician and an entrepreneurial baker, he understands the practical aspects of production, presentation, sales, and basically running a business based on a creative product. The transition from writer to author is also the transition from introvert to extrovert, which he describes and balances well. Within the publishing world, he also describes why and how not to rely solely on Amazon, and the value of making personal contacts. “You’re an artist” also becomes “You’re a small business.” (And remember to keep that day job.)

Amidst the rest, we also talked about coffee rings, jets again, writers groups gathering around intersections, and if you closely you’ll hear sea gulls making dinner by dropping clams onto rocks. It’s Whidbey!

Writing On Whidbey Island (WOWI) Episode 2
Self-Publishing and E-books