Coming soon: a book!
I can’t remember with certainty the first time that I had the daydream of releasing a book of my writing into the world but it’s been recurring for well over a decade.
I began writing in earnest soon after graduating from college in 2006, when a group of Bates Fishing Club alumni and members started a blog. We had a fun, ten-year run on that platform. When I left on my extended trip to New Zealand in 2009, I started a personal travel-blog called Seek the Freed, which had a life of similar length and contained my writing from NZ, Colorado, and my (first) move to the Pacific Northwest. At some point after arriving in Washington state, I decided to submit an essay to The Drake Magazine and, by some stroke of luck, it was accepted.
That experience led to another story, and another, and eventually stories in The Flyfish Journal and other great fly fishing magazines. During the pandemic, I began a more-formal foray into book-writing by compiling, organizing, and editing my existing pieces, and adding new ones to the pile. The book dream started to take a rough shape at that point and even seemed possible… at least the writing part of it.
When I moved to the Pacific Northwest for the second time, two-and-a-half years ago, I decided to dedicate some time specifically to the endeavor. I researched traditional and self-publishing processes, spoke with creatives, authors, and editors, attended writing workshops, and went on a self-directed writing residency. Eventually I had a rough manuscript. I circulated this among a small collection of trusted readers, received feedback, and set to editing the thing.
At some point during that process, I realized that I could edit forever if I let myself, so I fired off a round of submissions to a list of publishers and agents. The majority came back as polite rejections, but I had a few more conversations and even came close a few times (I think). I worked on the manuscript some more and worked on the pitch. Another year passed.
Last fall I prepared for, and began another round of submissions to publishers and agents. As before, the majority were returned kindly. But one publisher seemed interested and we started talking. As requested, I sent them more writing, and waited. Talks resumed.
And now, I’m both excited and nervous to share that a collection of my short stories and essays will be released in early-2026! This new page on my website has more information and I’ll share updates on the book there, in my newsletter, and on my social media as appropriate. Eventually, there will be a link to pre-order it. For now, there’s more editing and writing to do.
I have many, many Thank Yous to extend and will, but for now I’ll just say THANK YOU ALL for your unwavering support. Onward!
