Category Archives: Online

Don, Guest Interview, Online, Tom, WOWI Session

Pavel Soukenik – Tulip & Hound publishing

Have you hear of Tulip & Hound?  It’s a new and exciting publishing company here on Whidbey Island!  This past Tuesday afternoon, Tom and I had the absolute pleasure of spending time (via e-meeting, because Corona) with owner and visionary Pavel Soukenik.

Pavel and his wife, Angela, have joined us here on Whidbey for a number of years — and Pavel himself has joined us here in The United States originally from the Czech Republic.  Given his background, Pavel supports translation from English into Czech — but what makes Tulip & Hound unique doesn’t stop there!

Small Publishing Companies Fill a Niche

Tulip & Hound is a small and promising publishing company potentially filling a niche here on the island.  Outside of Tulip & Hound, there are no Island publishing companies — or distributors, for that matter.  Pavel’s books are traditionally printed here in the United States using print runs instead of print-on-demand.  Books printed in volume through Tulip & Hound can then be offered at lower prices with better terms for both bookstores and authors.  Pavel also believes in giving back and is donating 10% of profits from all book sales to preservation of the environment.

The debut book being offered by Tulip & Hound is titled “Siren and the Serenade” by Angela Cummings.  She’s a Pacific Northwest author located right here on Whidbey — so local she’s Pavel’s wife.  This is convenient for Pavel because he never has a problem reaching his client.

I found our time with Pavel interesting and thought provoking — and I believe you will too when you listen to the podcast.  He is pleasant, has a great sense of humor, and all around … he’s just a neat guy!  It will be exciting to watch what happens for Tulip & Hound and his company continues to develop.  With any luck, it is my hope Tom and I can visit again with Pavel in a year or so to learn about everything that has transpired with Tulip & Hound!

Links

Don, Guest Interview, Online, Tom, WOWI Session

Children’s Books, Creative Cards, And Coaching – An Interview With Deb Lund

At least on Whidbey Island, creative people tend to create more than one way to express themselves and help others. Yet another reason the island’s writing community has multiple layers that support each other. Deb Lund is probably best known for her children’s books, but she’s also taught writing and coached writers, which inspired her card deck designed to inspire them. But, really, it is hard to ignore and easy to remember someone whose books include dinosaurs that “take to the skies, the rails, and the high seas” as well as monsters on machines (wearing hardhats, of course.)

The conversation started with the dinosaurs because, why not. They may be children’s books, which can be much more complicated to write, produce, and publish than conventional novels. With a conventional novel there may be effectively no limit to the word count, except the thickness of the binding. Deb pointed out that children’s book are much more constrained (imagine editing a story of a few thousand words down to a few hundred), and require the writer to relinquish much of the control to the illustrator. Instead of only one graphic which is limited to the cover, every page can be a graphic from edge to edge. A children’s book is more of a duet, but with the two artists working separately much of the time, and yet the two efforts become one creation. 

Deb also has teacher cred, a natural background for someone writing children’s books, as well as a natural lead to teaching and coaching writers. Along the way, she created a series of inspirational playing cards to give writers fresh perspectives on their works in progress. They became popular enough that her students encouraged her to create and sell the decks. Welcome to yet another publishing accomplishment that was much more than lots of words on blank pages. Concise messages on colorful cards required multiple art forms, again. 

Her accomplishments are impressive, but are better heard about from her. Listen in on the podcast for the stories in her own words, and maybe contact her if you want to benefit from an experienced artist – who also can tell stories about gargantuan dinosailor goofballs.

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 21 – Deb Lund, Childrens’ book author, card creator, and coach

Deb Lund can also be found on:

Her web site: deblund.com

Facebook: (pages for 
Deb Lund, author
The Creativity Cafe
Writing With Kids

Twitter: @deblund

Instagram: deblundauthor

Don, Guest Interview, Online, Tom, WOWI Session

Surfing Writing And Staying Stoked – An Interview with Drew Kampion

“Life is a wave. Your attitude is your surfboard.
Stay stoked & aim for the light!”

Subscribers to drewslist, a much friendlier and more neighborly (and very Whidbey) version of craigslist, can recognize that as the signature at the end of each email from the service that Drew Kampion started years ago. (As Drew put it, “It is like craigslist, but exactly opposite.” paraphrased)

That attitude and philosophy was handy during this wintry recording of the podcast that involved internet glitches and dropped signals. Drew rode those waves with a laugh and a smile. Whew. (And thanks to co-host and audio techie, Don, for stitching it back together.)

For this podcast about Writing On Whidbey Island, we talked less about For Sale ads and more about the books he has written, his time as a journalist, the early era of the now-famous Patagonia company, surfing (the subject of much of his work), how he got to Whidbey, and what he did when he got here. Fake spoiler alert: that signature philosophy isn’t theoretical, it’s practical, and has been steering him through an interesting story.

I’ll leave the storytelling to him, but will mention that it is fun to hear about someone who loves something like surfing can take a talent like writing and create a career in a way that wouldn’t make any textbook. Find what you enjoy. Find what you can do well. And if the two can work together, then celebrate that. Listen in for his story of the ride.

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 20 – Drew Kampion, writer, author, editor, journalist, surfer, and founder of drewslist

DrewKampion.com

Drew Kampion on Amazon

drewslist

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Steel Lace Apples And Editing – An Interview With Holly Thomas

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Pluck another apple, Eve, and finish it. Or more appropriately, “Pluck Another Apple, Eve, And Finish It”; or something like that. (What is the right way to capitalize a title?) Maybe we should ask an editor. Actually, we did. Holly Thomas, editor, poet, artist was kind enough to let us interview her. We didn’t ask about this title or her artistry (this is a podcast about writing); but we did ask about life as an editor and her work as a poet. If you haven’t noticed the graphic below in some preview pane, she published a collection of her poems titled, “Pluck Another Apple, Eve, And Finish It“.

Holly’s work is a reminder that while some of us count how many words we write per hour, poets can spend hours per word – and it shows. Easy grace can require effort and introspection. As captured in the book’s description on Amazon, the term “steel lace” comes to mind. (There may also be some poems that touch on nature, emotions, and physics – a wide range that gets tied together.)

Poets have a difficult time paying bills with poems, which is why she is also an editor, earlier with Microsoft and more recently as an editor working with individual authors. Managing the creative spirit internally, in a group, in a corporation, or with fellow creatives is a special talent, possibly a collection of talents as each environment is different. Her insights into how to work with an editor are valuable. Being able to respect another’s creativity while polishing the product is a rare and hopefully appreciated skill.

(Writer’s note: Writing about an editor’s work can make a writer incredibly self-conscious. Oh well, she’s probably edited worse.)

Listen in for a range of perspectives from corporate to consulting to publishing to working on items that are so personal they may never be shared – oh yeah, and laughter. We can all use a good laugh.

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 19 – Holly Thomas, editor, poet, artist

Holly Thomas, main page

Her book on Amazon

Allied Arts Foundation Emerging Poet Award – Holly Thomas reading Burrs

Guest Interview, Online, WOWI Session

A Dark Angel – An Interview With Richard Pelletier

What’s a Dark Angel? Ask Richard. Despite nearly an hour of conversations about what it is like to be a paid writer, a writer paid well enough to pay the bills (hey, it happens!), we forgot to ask about the origin of the name. Richard Pelletier teaches at and helps produce an international series of writing workshops under the name, Dark Angels. He also writes regularly for corporate clients, is an excellent photographer, and is working on a novel. For Richard, writing is major part of his life.

There are overlaps in his activities. Dark Angels helps writers reveal story concisely and clearly, exceeding the standards of most businesses. Helping a business stand out from “most businesses” is valuable. (Creative Writing for Business) Fortunately, some businesses recognize the reality and hire writers like Richard. It is also why Dark Angels is active and traveling (maybe not as much this year. ) There’s a need and they go meet it, wherever it is. (And somehow those events tend to be in locations like Scotland, London, Spain, Seattle, etc. Hmm. Tempting.)

He’s also working on a novel, something that can be hard to prioritize when doing so much intense writing for others.

Writing can be a career, not just a hobby. It can be an art form. Listen as Richard talks about how he approaches writing, art, business, and a bit of balance.

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 16 – Richard Pelletier, writer

Richard is a contributor to several noteworthy books:

  • Established: Lessons from the world’s oldest companies
  • Dark Angels on writing: Changing lives with words
  • Armistice 100 days

His works can also be found at:

Guest Interview, Online, WOWI Session

Our Libraries Our Librarians – An Interview With Vicky Welfare

Say Yay! for our local libraries and the librarians who make them much more than buildings with books. Whidbey Island is fortunate enough to have five branches of the Sno-Isle Library system: Oak Harbor, Coupeville, Freeland, Langley, and Clinton. Some day we may manage to interview someone from each, and we started with Langley Library’s Vicky Welfare.

Langley WA Washington LibraryAs most writers know, librarians do more than sort books on shelves. That’s been especially apparent during the current crisis because they’ve managed to keep the system operating. An impressive accomplishment. Their current restrictions have ironically highlighted some of the things they’ve always done that don’t require visiting the buildings, like research. With a bit of creativity and adaptation, they’ve also found ways for people to access books, movies, educational content, and generally helping people however they can. (They’ve even left the wi-fi on, which is how we’ve managed to record and upload some of these podcasts. The right parking space helps. Just remember to turn off your headlights if you’re there for a while – inside joke.)

Vicky shared a bit of her story, including a good idea for a bit of musical history; something for us to look forward to. We also talked about what the library can do for writers before, during, and after the writing of a manuscript, then a book, then a product. Click on the links below. Listen in. And, if you have questions and want answers, ask a librarian; that’s something they excel at.

(By the way, Vicky was kind enough to host one of our, Don and Tom presentations about Modern Self-Publishing. This video gives a glimpse of the presentation space we talk about in the podcast.)

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) Episode 15 – Vicky Welfare, librarian

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Invisible Pollution – More Than A Class Project

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Writers don’t have to have grey hair. Some start young, like John Del Prete’s class that recently published “Invisible Pollution”, a book and presentation about ocean acidification and how it is affecting life in and around the Salish Sea. That’s an impressive start to any writer’s career. This was a significant project, partly funded by NOAA and in partnership with Oak Harbor as well as Port Townsend schools. 

Their work was divided among the entire class:, illustrations, writing, and the necessary research to back up their observations about the sources of ocean acidification, the consequences like weakened shells for shellfish and the impacts of the rest of the food chain – a food chain that we are a part of. POLLUTION

It will be interesting watching these students as they progress, seeing what this work inspires in their lives. For now, listen to the podcast to hear six young voices, their teacher and mentor, and of course interruptions by Don and Tom. You might eventually be able to say, “I knew about them back when they were young and just getting started.” POLLUTION

(By the way, keep in mind that these podcasts are live, so don’t be surprised if there’s a factual error or two. Everyone involved is human. Imperfections are part of the reality.)

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) Episode 14
Students from John Del Prete’s 4th Grade Class at Crescent Harbor Elementary School, Invisible Pollution

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The Show Must Go ON!

200314_quarantineCONTRARY to my recent WOWI blog post saying that Tom and I may need to put a hold on the show, we’re devising an idea how we could go forward during the Cornonavirus quarantine!

This past Monday I rigged-up my gear and met Tom in a video chat — our intention being to record a 1-off WOWI episode — both to see how using this medium might work and to discuss how how being in quarantine affects writers.  Frankly, going into this … I didn’t expect much — and yet, what came out of it was an intriguing show running over an hour long!

“How do the adjustments we are making and disruptions we are dealing with make for opportunities, affect work and art later on, what is yet to come for the world of the day-job worker?”

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The “Yellow Jack” or “Lima” signal flag is flown on ships in harbor to indicate that a vessel is under quarantine.

On Wednesday I e-met with Tom again with two purposes in mind.  One was to test an improved set-up with my gear — which produced technological success.  The other was to further discuss continuing the show from QuarantineVille.  Our aim at this point is to try and host 1 to 2 guests each month over video chat — and we each have a few authors in mind to ask.

If you are Whidbey Island writer/author, editor, bookstore owner, graphic artist or illustrator, marketing guru — or whatever as long as your work is part of the publishing industry — and you think you’d be a fit for a WOWI episode … PLEASE CONTACT US!

We’ll talk with you soon! ~ Don

Did You Wash Your Hands EDIT

Don, Online, Tom, WOWI Session

Modern Writing in QuarantineLife

It seems like it was only yesterday that I posted WOWI vs COVID-19.  In it I wrote that Tom and I were pausing to figure out how-maybe to record another episode in the days of physical and social distancing …. and then today we recorded Episode 13!

How did we do it?

Easy! … We agreed on a time and started a Google Hangout session while I ran my Zoom H2n in my office.  Yes, this was our first virtual WOWI session!

Recording today was kind of like this …

We each relaxed, sitting in the comfort of our own homes, talking one-on-one about writing right now from QuarantineVille.  Many of us are home and have the opportunity to work on our books — and for some of us (introverts), this is pretty normal.  How do the adjustments we are making and disruptions we are dealing with make for opportunities, affect work and art later on, what is yet to come for the world of the day-job worker?  All I can say is to listen to this episode, hopefully it will be as thought provoking and topical for you as it was for us.

After the session Tom and I threw some ideas around online — what these amount to…

  • We are going to look into how we might hold a ‘From Inspiration To Publication‘ how to self-publishing workshop — we’ve been wanting to present another, it looks like we might do this online & soon!  This may be a single episode or a short series.  We’ll update you online as this develops.
  • We should be recording our next session … soon after we hear back from our next guest.

All and all, I think today’s session worked out well — the method could use a little refinement, which will come over time, however this online-meet could lead to more episodes…

Keep your eyes and your ears here! ~ Don

…and here it is!

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 13 – Don and Tom Quarantine Interview