What a year for WOWI! Moreover … this Could be “What a year for WOWI coming from my perspective of a busy Spring/Summer 2023!“. Yeah, too long. Let’s go with the first one.
Let’s get current with some updates on where WOWI’s been, where it’s at, and where it’s going…
(Settle in — this could be a long one …)
As WOWI fans far and wide are aware, there was a significant change to the podcast earlier this year. My friend, Tom Trimbath — the estimable Co-Founder, Co-Host, & Episode Planner — decided to move on from the show due to work commitments*. After nearly four years of producing Writing On Whidbey Island, we met for our last recording at the Coupeville Library in April 2023. As Tom became our first emeritus co-host, we discussed the future for Tom’s literary creations and for WOWI.
(* Whidbey Island is not free of the gossip network — therefore, to be entirely clear … Tom left the show for work commitments only. In the bigger picture I suspect this could be filed under the heading of ‘Personal Life Balance’; I respect this and find challenges with it myself. There was no conflict between Tom and myself. We are still friends and keep in touch. If you hear otherwise, it’s malarkey.)
So what’s that picture of you two about?!?
The WOWI website and domain name have technically been Tom’s property. The site was on his hosting space, and he was paying the annual bill for WritingOnWhidbeyIsland.com (for the record, I’m the one who came up with the clever name). Just in case there ever was any question, Tom felt he needed to ‘sell’ it to me. On record. For at least a dollar. So, in June, Tom and I met again at the Coupeville library (see — everything’s good between us!). “But WHY?!?” Because neither of us wanted to deal with ‘money between friends’, we agreed that I would make and present him with a batch of gluten free cookies. They were Ginger Citrus as I recall. We also sealed-the-deal with a handshake, as gentlemen. One of the librarians was also kind enough to help us with some photo evidence. S0… I am now the ‘sole owner’ of all things Writing On Whidbey Island — the domain name, the website, audio content — everything… ULTIMATE POWER!!!
The Change Came at an Awkward Time
Nothing against Tom — he needed to do what he needed to do — but this hand-over of WOWI came at an awkward time. (Somehow I’m guessing you already knew that…) For the past five years I have been performing seasonal work as a SCUBA diver. These jobs have taken me off island and away from home for weeks at a time. This is also the beginning of my busy season as a Highland bagpiper in the local Scottish community. Busy + Busy = BUSY … I’ve done the math! Typically, Tom would take over all administrative aspects of producing the podcast during these months. Communications, booking, and writing blog posts. All I had bandwidth for was showing up to the scheduled session, recording, and getting the finished podcast to Tom for upload.
Tom’s departure left me with a choice — wrap up WOWI or continue? As the saying goes … The Show Must Go On! While this podcast is still ‘young’, it has proven to be ‘small-but-powerful’. Not only has it been getting known as a local entity, we have heard from folks afar. I feel it is too important to go away — so until I see otherwise, WOWI Must Go On!
Although, considering what would need to happen for this podcast to continue, it was immediately clear to me that WOWI would need to go on a Spring/Summer 2023 hiatus.
What’s Happened Since — and What’s Yet to Come?
Since
To continue Writing On Whidbey Island, I would need to find at least one new co-host. Taking Tom’s suggestion during our last recording session, I felt it would be good to recruit a small team of co-host personalities — and to better balance bringing some women into the lineup. After a short search, contacting past guests I most enjoyed, I got lucky and THREE STELLAR INDIVIDUALS Soon Said YES!
Lauren, Sarah, and Daniel will be coming on the show during the coming months. I met with Sarah and Lauren in June and August and recorded two WOWI sessions. One episodes questions the use of Artificial Intelligence in the creative process, the other about taking the active step of retreating for the sake of writing. Those should be posted within the next few weeks. The ‘official’ re-debut of Writing On Whidbey Island looks to happen with a September or October session — hopefully featuring the four of us!
Also, if you’re reading this blog post after mid-September 2023 — then the website has been moved to my webhost, re-launched, and given numerous updates. One more thing for the future of WOWI is falling into place!
What’s Yet to Come…
During the last three years Tom and I identified improvements we wanted to make to the show — however we never had the time to implement them. I intend to faze these in along with several several others I have seen as being in the best interest and creative direction of Writing On Whidbey Island.
I am in the process of finding a podcast platform for our sessions. This should help reach a wider audience and bring enjoyment to a greater body of listeners. In the meantime, the most recent episodes will be featured directly on the site. And, since I only have so much hosting space, as a new podcast goes up … the oldest will get take down.
In the coming months look for other additions to Writing On Whidbey Island. I plan to get some original music to introduce and close each episode, along with establishing various social media profiles. How about some official WOWI merch to help support the show — travel stickers, T-shirts, travel cups — what would you like to see? Contact us!
Enjoy ~ Don
As 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.)
Not but a moment later a fellow called across the parking lot to me. “Did-ya catch anything?” I quickly cycled through the list of things I might have caught but couldn’t come up with anything. I gave back a confused “… What?”, hoping to find out his intention. “Did-ya catch any FISH?” Then my mind went to “… When and where would I have caught any fish?!?” — quickly followed by “When was the last time I went fishing???” And then it occurred to me what was going on. I held up my tripod boom-mic horizontally and clarified to the man, “Microphone stand.”
I commonly say that I half-grew-up on Whidbey Island. This is the truncated way of expressing that I grew up in what used to be part of north Seattle; my family frequently visited my grandparents, and I was here so often I understood this as my other home*. My last four abodes before moving full-time to Whidbey were apartments in Shoreline. 
