It’s not science fiction, except there are some theories and thought experiments…
It’s not fantasy, though there is world building, whimsy, and a mention of faeries…
It’s not horror, though there are some dark parts…
It is funny as hell, cooking related, and the passion project of a dear friend… about some dear friends!
My full story behind this project is… well one of those contributions mentioned on the cover. But I want to share a little about this journey with folks because I’ve devoted a lot of time and love to Dr. Patti’s latest “baby.”
But first! You should get a copy! (Even if you’re not a parent!)
If you’re new to this page – and since it’s been a while since I posted, you may be! – you may not know that I’ve been a professional editor for some *cough cough* years. I’ve been editing and helping others write (and getting paid for it) since high school. The first book I edited professionally was a non-fiction passion project on business from a well-known speaker.
So it wasn’t terribly out of my wheelhouse to help another highly sought after speaker and doctor with a passion project deeply rooted in her life. Bonus: I was already friends with Dr. Patti, her daughter Katie, and the family!
However, I was in the process of transitioning from editing to writing more, my deepest passion. But when I read Patti’s manuscript, I knew I could turn the project into exactly what she wanted–
And I wanted her message out in this world too.
But for all the years I’ve worked in publishing, be it editing, writing, or project-managing, I very much preferred to work with other publishing houses, small, mid-size, or large. I got to see the work that goes into self-publishing and very firmly did not want to go that route with my writing.
Because it’s a lot of fucking work! I saw it first-hand when I was an acquiring editor for Spencer Hill Press and while I was learning more to help authors as a freelance editor and with The Writer’s Ally. I just wanted to play with the words!
That wasn’t the route Patti or her book needed. I knew it in my heart. So part of my journey with this book–besides my emotional and psychological journey with its message, especially Chapter Twelve!–was learning all the things I didn’t want to learn about self-publishing. As with most things, my ADHD brain had some sense it was going to be hard…but severely underestimated it. With all my experience, all the fantastic seminars, all the workshops, all the classes… I had both too much information and not enough, which is total kryptonite for the ADHD brain.
And Patti is a chiropractor. Not an author. Mind you, among many other amazing things, she and her husband created the largest family practice in the U.S., she is a founder of the League of Chiropractic Women, and she is a multi-award-winning chiropractor and speaker. She’s a fantastic storyteller, but she will tell you herself, she’s not an writer.
So she had none of the background I had. I knew I wanted to be an author since I was single-digits-years-old, and my parents regularly brought me to the library, where I took out the Writer’s Guide and every source I could about publishing. I worked on newspaper and yearbook during my school years. Even when I was working in finance, I was helping write manuals and educational materials. Writing has been my life, always with my eyes to publishing. Most of my clients are also writers looking for some level of a publishing career.
Patti is retired from her practice and isn’t necessarily looking for a new career. There was a lot I took for granted as “common knowledge” when it came to publishing that she had no translation touchstone for. So while this was not the first non-fiction passion project I’d helped bring into this world, there was a lot of new ground for me regardless.
Add into that menopause is hitting me hard (lovely contrast to the birth metaphor of the book!), so my mind and body are adjusting to a new operating system. I had to pull away from a lot of social media and I fell behind on my own writing deadlines. I missed a lot of my friends’ book birthdays and other celebrations, but that’s how life goes sometimes. My love for all my friends and their accomplishments is no less because I couldn’t interact online, and I trust my friends to understand I needed to take care of myself while giving this project, this new book baby, the attention it needed.
If nothing else in life, I’ve learned that whatever path I’m called to take is an opportunity for me to learn how to be a better person and accomplish my own passions.
This is Dr. Patti’s baby, and I’m a midwife. It’s a metaphor she’s lovingly adopted for the process and promotion, and it’s not just a metaphor for her, but me as well. I have a special tie to the author and the content of this book baby; the journey has changed me as a writer, editor, and person for the better.
And I’m excited it’s finally been “born” into this world! Please join us in the love and celebration!
Read all about it in my projects!