Bummer news today… I’ve been looking forward to local poet extraordinaire, Daniel Edward Moore, joining the WOWI Team with the official re-debut of the podcast. Daniel politely messaged me and said he had to decline.
Sadly, this also means we never got to find out what his favourite beverage is to list on his host profile page. Oh well!
But Why?!?
Daniel his thoroughly involved in his writing and the local poetry scene. Previously (and currently?) he has hosted a regular poetry workshop at the Oak Harbor Library. He informed me that he has teamed up with another gentleman with the intention to start a monthly Whidbey Island poetry reading event. Who knows — once it has some legs on it, that could be a great subject for a WOWI interview. In any case, CONGRATULATIONS GUYS, with your involvement I’m sure it will go great — and I’d like to know about when it’s going to happen, too!
So what does this do for the WOWI Team?
This could be you
When co-founder co-host Tom Trimbath moved on from Writing On Whidbey Island, he made a few suggestions for the future of the show — adding to my own ideas. While I thought to recruit a small team of co-hosts, he suggested balancing the show between male and female personalities. In a way, this seemed kind of odd to me, however it also made sense. So …
Writing On Whidbey Island will be looking for a new co-host to add to the team. So far, all of my new recruits have been past guests. While this takes a lot of work out of the ‘talent search’, I don’t view this as an absolute requirement. I have added a page to the WOWI site detailing what I look for in co-hosts. To be entirely frank — with Lauren and Sarah already on board — I will be looking for another gent to join us, and (this may also seem odd) preferably one who lives on the northern half of Whidbey Island*. This may be conducted as a ‘lazy search’, taking time to find the right guy — and at the same time, if a fellow contacts us and something goes together soon… all the better.
* If you get the position, this will be explained later.
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 …)
Don playing Scottish smallpipes before Tom presented his book “Walking, Thinking, Drinking Across Scotland” at the Langley Library.
As WOWI fans far and wide are aware, there was a significant change to the podcast earlier this year. My friend, Tom Trimbath — the estimableCo-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?!?
12June2023 – Tom and Don at the Coupeville WA library, holding intense business negotiations for the value of the WOWI website with gluten free cookies — Mmmm …. COOKIES!
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
Dive work! I’m in the back, my boss in the foreground … er, forewater
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.
Don AKA BiscottiDon AKA BagpiperDon
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
Sarah
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
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…
Daniel
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!
