Nearly four years ago, Tom and I took action on a somewhat thought out semi-crazy idea. We met at a park in Coupeville, WA, and hiked down a winding dirt path to the beach below. We sat down on some rocks, and I fired up my recording unit. What followed — in addition to the sounds of waves, seagulls, and local jets — was our first two Writing On Whidbey Island podcast episodes.
(Episodes One & Two)
Our recording sessions have taken us all over our beloved island, and we’ve had the pleasure of spending time with several magnificent people from our local writing community. During this time our show has grown in meaning and listeners — even gaining recognition beyond the greater literary community here on the island.
A little over a week ago, Tom and I met at the Coupeville Library for a special show — moreover, one that was bittersweet for me. For personal reasons, Tom announced his departure from Writing On Whidbey Island — chiefly, it’s because he’s a busy guy!
It was great to spend time with Tom, discussing our earlier episodes, what the show has developed into and contributed to the community, and getting to talk about the future of Writing On Whidbey Island. I couldn’t have started this podcast without Tom, and as a founding member of WOWI he has set the show on its unique path. With any luck, Tom will rejoin the show as a future guest with one of his next book releases.
Tom, my friend, Thank You and Good Journeys!
~ Don
Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 45 – Tom Trimbath, – Author, WOWI co-founder emeritus
Links:
Amazon Author Page (non-fiction and sci-fi)
Blurb (for photo essays)
Lulu (books for fundraisers)
We also talked about the value of talking to other members of our writing community. Writing does not have to be a solo venture. Fellow writers can provide insights into how readers perceive a book. The author may have one intent, but readers may find something else that is not obvious to someone who wrote, edited, and repeatedly read the book before it was published. Bicycling books may appeal to RV owners. Travel books may appeal to people from countries that weren’t visited or even mentioned. 
This podcast has become an unplanned, informal, yet possibly useful resource built from the contributions and interviews of dozens of members of Whidbey Island’s writing community. Book store owners can bring some reality to expectations. Librarians can point to overlooked resources for research or even funding. Writers from your genre undoubtedly have encountered surprises, the good ones the bad ones and the weird ones. Successful and failed campaigns are useful as long as we learn from them. And, of course, writers can support writers simply by listening to frustrations or understanding otherwise obscure celebrations. (You finally found the right font!)
Nature photographer, author, and presenter Amy Gulick kindly took a recent afternoon for a WOWI interview with Tom and myself. Having spent time in Alaska studying the ecology and wildlife, she has made sense of the heavy sciencey-stuff and presents it in her books, such-as “Salmon In The Trees”.
Writing On Whidbey Island 