You know a reader is in trouble when the only book she read in the month of July was a cookbook!
The Scottish Cookbook: Hebridean Baker, by Coinneach MacLeod
The Hebridean Baker, by Coinneach MacLeod
This was a fun read. I doubt I’ll try any of the recipes, but the recipes are interspersed with stories about the islands in the Outer Hebrides. They were interesting and the photographs brought back memories of my visit to Lewis and Harris.
Some of the recipes sounded interesting, but I was primarily drawn into the stories MacLeod shared. The photographs were beautiful and took me back to my wonderful trips to the Outer Hebrides and my dear friends on the Isle of Lewis.
More than a reading slump
Those of you who have followed my blog over the years have, no doubt, noticed that I have read very few books this year. In one or more blog posts I have blamed my slump on the current threats to our American democracy. That was not an idle excuse. It is very much the reason I have read almost no fiction in 2025. In conjunction with that same reason, I have spent an inordinate amount of time writing blog posts up to six times a week instead of my former usual of once a week.
However, this summer there has been a third reason for my lack of reading novels. If you subscribe to my newsletter, you know what I’m talking about.
I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter
A couple of years ago, I started writing a devotional book. Imposter Syndrome set in, and I put it away.
Imposter Syndrome tells a person that they aren’t good enough. It says to a writer, “Who do you think you are? You can’t write a book!” It says to the writer of a devotional book, “You’ve got to be kidding! You have no formal religious training! You have no degrees in theology!”
Late this spring, I decided to publish my devotional book anyway. Due to the nature of the subject matter, I needed to get it out before winter set in.
Self-publishing a book requires one to jump out of the boat and into the water at the deep end of the pool without knowing how to swim.
I’ve done that before. I self-published two local history books, two historical short stories, and a cookbook through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). However, KDP being part of Amazon, I soon learned that bookstores are not interested in selling your books. Amazon is seen as a bookstore’s enemy.
You live and learn. It just takes some of us longer to learn than it takes others.
In the spring I started researching IngramSpark. A book self-published through IngramSpark can be ordered by bookstores and libraries!
Those of you who know me well, know that I am not computer literate. Those of you who know me very well know that I have memory problems that make it incredibly difficult to learn new things. Having to learn a new computer program, for instance, is just about my worst nightmare.
It was with more than a little apprehension that I created an account with IngramSpark and jumped into the deep end of a new pool.
My summer has been a whirlwind of learning new things, editing words I wrote a while back, and adding contemporary examples. I learned new marketing techniques and have tried my best to implement them.
In my July newsletter, I offered Advanced Review Copies (ARCs) for the first time in my life. There was a learning curve there as I had to create a special ARC book cover. I also learned who in my small circle were willing to accept a free ARC and who were not. The timing wasn’t right for some people. It is all part of the process. Writers are required to have thick skin.
I anticipate the release in early September of I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter.
Be on the lookout for more specific announcements!
Hurricane Helene Update
As of Friday, of the 1,457 roads that were closed in western North Carolina last September due to Hurricane Helene, 34 remain closed, which is the same number reported for the last three weeks. The NC Department of Transportation reports 40 roads have just partial access, which is a decrease of two roads since the previous Friday.
In case you missed my weekly update on July 26, here’s a link to that blog post in which I gave the National Park Service’s three-phase plan for reopening the Blue Ridge Parkway: Books Banned at U.S. Department of Defense Schools.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Alert!
In a related story, on Saturday, US-441/Newfound Gap Road – the only road that crosses the entire Great Smoky Mountains National Park from Cherokee, North Carolina to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, was closed due to heavy rainfall causing the undercutting of a section of the road in Tennessee by Walker Prong Camp Creek between Mile Marker 12 and Mile Marker 13.
The entire road was closed for evaluation, but part of it in the North Carolina part of the park has reopened. There is no estimate of when the Tennessee portion of the road will reopen. The stated detour route is I-40, which is still just two lanes and 35 mph due to the massive damage done last September by Hurricane Helene.
Until my next blog post
I hope you have time and are in the mood to read a good book – fiction or nonfiction.
Remember the people of Ukraine, the starving children in Gaza, and the people of western North Carolina still reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene last September.
Janet
Janet's Writing Blog 