Isn’t one of the steps in the 12-step program acknowledging that you have a problem? I am now climbing stairs. I’m Alys and I have a problem. I am a book hoarder. I have more books on my shelves than I will ever read, and I keep acquiring more.

Tonight, I sorted through the three cardboard boxes of books that I brought home with me from the recycling center. I am happy to say they are all on shelves or in piles, the piles destined for specific readers. And next week, when I sort, I am going to limit the number of books that I bring home to two.

I wish right now that I might just kick back and read, read, read. The weather is conducive to this. Today it again rained on and off. Pete and I took Tinni and Hrimmi for a walk on the lower trails this afternoon, we all returned home wet.

Today I got a call from Sharon Aubrey who owns Relevant Publishers – she assists writers in marketing and distributing books. She liked the proposal I wrote for the manuscript entitled “If You Come to a Fork in the Road, Pick it Up,” and she had good things to say about my writing.

Alys's Study

I kept thinking, she’s being so complementary, there must be a catch. There was no catch. Sharon is an honest to dog genuinely nice person whose areas of expertise are marketing and promotion.

In talking with her, I decided to switch gears, and rather than send my manuscript to The University of Alaska Press, I’ll instead self-publish. Sharon thought this was a good idea, and just confirmed what I was thinking.

It helped that she had a vendor booth at the Alaska State Fair and that my book is about the same. And she easily made the recycling/fair connection.

So, I am going to send her my manuscript and have her read it and let me know what she thinks. I volunteered to pay for her time – we agreed to a reading fee. And I am going to give her an assist with her vendor booth come fair time.

I also told Sharon about Raudi’s Story, and she had some insightful suggestions about it – one of which is to get it made into an audio book. Apparently, there is a fellow in town who has a recording studio and his prices are more than reasonable.

I told Sharon I’m not adept at marketing. But after talking with her, I realized that I’ll learn a great deal in self-publishing this book. There is also yet another tangential connection, and this is related to what I’m now doing at VCRS. This book will be a form of promotion for the recycling center, as will my getting the recycled book literacy program off the ground.

First things first – I must first continue to put time and energy into my EMT endeavors. Of course, I just want to abandon ship and forget about the class. But I will be disciplined and stick this out. Grrumph.

Next: November 2, 2019: My Horse, My Teacher