When the first copies of my book arrived, Valerie, the matriarch of my bear collection, gathered some of the little bears around her to read to them. Sitting on piles of books, the stuffed animals were my first devoted fans, along with Walter, of course.

My book, Finding Splendid Shelter, started out as a simple poetry book to get my collection between two covers. When I realized my poems, song lyrics, and short stories were sparked by life experiences, I decided to weave my creative works between those events. With the help of others, it became a memoir.

I began by dividing my poems and stories into three sections according to the places I lived: my childhood in Wisconsin, my college and adult life in Oklahoma, and my retirement life in Virginia. Once I had an organized list, I dropped the entire project for months, until I read an article in Poets & Writers magazine about combining genres such as poetry and prose into one story. That’s when the idea of a memoir came to me. I started writing short stories about my family, friends, and adventures and added poems relating to those people and events.

It took a year to write my book, and then after a few of my friends read my first draft and gave me great suggestions, I rewrote sections of it and sent it to an editor. After corrections and ideas from her, I practically rewrote the book again. It certainly became a better manuscript, but I wasn’t finished yet. I decided to add black-and-white photographs to the book.

I dug out the family photo albums going back to the 1940s when my mom and dad were dating. Flipping pages until my fingers ached, I searched through the years of their marriage and raising my sister and me in Wisconsin and on to my college days and work life in Oklahoma. My sister even mailed me photos she had that would complement the poetry I’d written about our childhood. Then it was time to go through hundreds of pictures stored on my cell phone and on camera memory cards to find photos from life in Oklahoma and my move to Virginia.

Back at the computer, I dropped two hundred pictures into my manuscript and moved words around to make them fit. When I completed that task, my book was formatted the way I wanted it. I didn’t have to hire anyone to format it for me.

Next, I needed a cover for the book. Walter chose my photo entitled “Lone Dogwood” representing the state of Virginia with one little dogwood tree surrounded by tall pines providing the serenity and comfort I needed as I traveled to a new chapter in my life.

I chose to self-publish my book on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. I converted my manuscript to a pdf file, dropped it into KDP’s self-publishing program, and used their Cover Creator. Voilà! I published my first book.

This week, when the book was released on Amazon.com, my vision came alive. Now, it’s up to my readers to relive the joys, adventures, disappointments, grief, and discoveries in my life. Enjoy!

AND, it’s time for me to close up the laptop except for blogging, clean the house, catch up on laundry, send out Christmas cards, and remember what it’s like to live a normal life without writing a book. Walter has been cooking every meal for the past year, and he deserves a break and a purple heart for putting up with me during my obsession. 

I look forward to the days of winter, my favorite season. I can’t wait for the first snow when Walter takes me for a harrowing drive through the mountains with camera in hand.