It’s Book Signing Week, it’s Book Signing Week!!!! I’m so excited to have two signing events in the same week! Have I ever had a better excuse to go Up North? I think not. (Does anyone ever need an excuse to go Up North? I think not…)

Last year at this time, I was sitting by the lake struggling to finish the final Final FINAL draft of “The Ripple of Stones.” (P.S. – it wasn’t the final draft…) I knew I needed an editor, didn’t know how to find one, and felt the pandemic wrapping its dark, icy arms around me. School was starting soon and we had no idea what that would look like. The kids were stressed, I was stressed, it felt like every part of life was pulling at me, interrupting me, refusing to let me finish my novel. And also, what right did I have trying to do this anyway? I had a job I loved, I had kids, and no one gave me permission to call myself an author. Would I ever get this done? Would anyone ever stop talking to me long enough for me to think? Would I get COVID and have a cardiac complications without ever holding my published book? Would I get COVID and lay dying thinking about how I yelled at my loved ones to stop interrupting me while I worked on my book which I didn’t even manage to get published? Winter was coming and the question was – would I keep spinning worries and excuses until my time was up and I had failed?

We lost my grandfather after the New Year, 2020. As January 2021 dawned, I thought of the man who taught me the names of the trees, the man who taught me to sail, the man who quietly read poetry in an armchair while I sat at his feet and built cottages out of Lincoln Logs. He would never read my novel.

Another birthday passed. Thirty-seven years on this Earth and what had I done for the thirteen-year-old girl who dreamed big dreams? Did hard work count if you never held the results in your hand? A lyric from Hamilton wove through the air: “Legacy, what is a legacy?/It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.” It’s a beautiful idea, and it always makes me cry when I hear it in the song. I think of this lyric every year I send a group of fifth graders off into the world, hoping that something we did in Music Class will stay with them.

But with my book?

I wanted to smell the damn flowers.

One of my favorite parts of these book signing events is meeting people who love Up North as much as I do. Up North is not so much of a place as an idea. Everyone’s Up North is different, and everyone’s is infused with magic. I almost don’t want to describe it because it would trivialize your experience. You know what “your” place smells like when you walk in after the long drive and weary work week. You know the particular sparkle of “your” lake. You know where you go for a donut, a good book, an ice cream, a meal, a drink. You know what the fields smell like in the spring as you drive down the country roads with the windows open.

Allow me to share a bit of my Up North with you this week. And please come say hi – even if you’ve already bought a book or if I’ve already signed it. Let’s take a moment to remember that we’re still here under the late summer sunshine, and there’s still time to dream our dreams.

Book Signing, Word Love Goods

Wednesday, August 11th, 6:00 – 9:00 pm

Part of the Evening on River Street Series

As you are strolling down River St enjoying live music, local cuisine, and the soft Lake Michigan breeze, come down to Word Love Goods, the sweetest little book and home goods shop in adorable Elk Rapids, MI! I will be outside signing books – bring your copy or buy one today. Our gorgeous Word Love Goods store owner decorated her doorway with succulents and moss so you just know this store is one you can’t miss!

Book Signing, Yard & Lake

Friday, August 13th, 2021

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

From the proprietors of Enjoy Michigan and Porcupine Cabin, the best new outdoor store in Leelanau County is coming in hot in early August! I’m so thrilled that the owner has asked me to be a part of the store’s opening events! Y’all, I have been eagerly watching all of her marketing on Instagram and there is SAILBOAT merch!! You can pop by for a book and head on down for some fresh produce and local goods from the Farmers Market!

Yard & Lake

215 N. Mill St @ W. Third St.

Northport, MI 49670

I can’t wait to see you Up North. Tell me about yours.