Despite my current preoccupation (see Benign Neglect) I’m giving some thought to the upcoming tourist season. My income depends heavily on sales to tourists who visit Haines in the summer. We see a trickle of orders for my two books, Sacred Coffee: A “Homesteader’s” Paradigm and Shy Ghosts Dancing: Dark Tales from Southeast Alaska, our handmade soaps, sifter plans, and T-shirts throughout the year, but the books, the audiobook CD and soaps sell pretty well at the Sheldon Museum gift shop, The Babbling Book bookstore, and especially Alaska Rod’s in downtown Haines.
As happens every summer, I’m trying to decide how much time to dedicate to book signing at Alaska Rod’s through the season. I enjoy visiting with visitors from all over the world, and hanging out with the store’s owners and staff. I even get to sign and sell a few books each time. Unfortunately, time spent meeting and greeting is time away from the firewood harvest, fishing, gardening, construction projects and all the rest in the middle of the peak season for all of these projects. As so often happens in my life, it represents a true “fish or cut bait” dilemma.
If you haven’t read the details elsewhere in the blog and Website, Sacred Coffee offers a collection of key posts from this blog that provide a concise who, what, and why of our off-the-grid lifestyle and philosophy. Each essay is improved, clarified, and expanded over the online versions. You’ll also find several essays that are exclusive to the book.
Shy Ghosts Dancing offers short “dark fiction”—ghost and horror stories, a bit of real life danger, a touch of speculative fiction—mostly set in or tied to Southeast Alaska in some way.
So, hey, if you’re looking for a decent summer read this year, please consider picking up one or both of my books in the format of your choice! I personally recommend the printed versions, and the audiobook of Sacred Coffee, if only because of the loving and devoted effort I put into making them look and feel as nice as possible, but eBook versions are also available. The time you spend reading might translate directly to me getting more work done around the homestead this summer!
If you’ve already read one of my books, thank you! Please consider writing a short review on your favorite book/reading-related Website.