Little did I know how fun this would be (and how busy it would make me!). [View all]

I got the first copy of my book on Dec 4 - it was a surreal experience holding it in my hands. My publicist set upon charting activities for promotion. The book came out on December 30.

And here I am on April 26 - between Storey and those identified by me locally, it ended up being nearly 50 events between January and the end of this year. It was front-loaded - I am now through 34 of them, with a few biggies (Seed Savers Exchange in Iowa, Monticello in Charlottesville VA) coming in a few months. It has been so....much....fun! The parts I was most anxious about - the talks, the book signings, the (gasp!) reviews - have all gone smoothly. And I just heard that it is going to a second printing....

As all of you who write books know, it isn't really about the money (I will end up getting around 1.00 per book sold, and the advance - not a large one - has to get paid back before I see a penny). But I am learning lots, meeting great people, getting around - and book 2 comes out in December. And I have so many ideas for book 3.

So a major career shift - chemist/corporate pharma dude to writer - can happen. And I feel like it will carry me happily through the rest of my life.