Why Don't You Write a Book?

This is the first in a series of posts that I’m going to write in answer to the questions I get asked the most.

“Why don’t you write a book?”

Well, I did write a book, finished it back in 1994 and submitted it to a few dozen publishers to no avail. It was about Desert Storm, entitled ‘Til They All Come Home. I based it off of my husband-at-the-time’s experiences and mine as I dealt with a three-week-old baby on my own. He was a weekend warrior, Army National Guard, to help pay for college. The military activated his unit and sent him to the middle of the action on the Saudi Arabia/Iraq border. It was a crazy time. I need to go back through it with fresh eyes, and a lot of edits, I’m sure, and try again to get it published. The Middle East situation is still on our radar 23 years later. Simply amazing.

At some point, I’d also like to write a memoir of sorts about my childhood. It’ll be a juicy little piece with plenty of sex, violence, drugs, incest, lies, and abuse of every kind. Stay tuned for the movie version of that one! LOL

However, I know that you’re really asking, “Why don’t you write a book about your life in Alaska?”

August 4 will mark eight years that I’ve lived in Alaska. There are many stories here, many books, even. In that time, I’ve taught in two extremely different villages, one Yupik and one Inupiat – there are two books right there. I’ve owned and lost a restaurant/bakery – there’s a book. Now, I’m living off grid, subsistence style – definitely a book there. Where to start? I’m hoping that my blog will help me figure that out by helping me to chunk and organize my experiences into manageable chapters which can then be incorporated into some sort of cohesive piece to publish in hardback form. In short, I’m working on it.