They say you can’t go home again. But, you can. You can return to your roots and authenticity even if it’s been a long time!

My roots are in writing communities. From small circles in living rooms and around kitchen tables to medium-size groups at the library, and the occasional large gathering of writers at conferences. This is where I find my tribe. In 2015, I was speaking on memoir writing for a breakout session at the annual Lakefly Writers Conference. Friday night was check-in and dinner. I still had to finish my presentation for the following morning. I decided to take a walk that May evening prior to staying in my hotel with my laptop. I came across this print in a window downtown. It was perfect inspiration. I snapped a picture and used it in my presentation for the next day.

I had self-published “Stress Fracture” a year prior. It was published as both an ebook and a paperback. I had anticipated the ebook sales to be higher, but as it turned out, the paperback was more popular (and still is today).

I recently read that only 6.94% of all books sold in 2022 were ebooks. That is a decline from the peak of ebooks in 2013 when 38% of all fiction books sold were ebooks and 7% of all nonfiction books sold were ebooks. Another fun fact is only 75% of Americans read books of any kind. Of those, 32% said they only read print books, 33% said they read both, and just 9% read ebooks exclusively. (Stats from Publishers Weekly.)

Writing has connected me with the very best friends and has been the one area of my life where I feel I have done the most good. The other area is being a mother. I feel called to write true stories in a way that people want to read. My favorite genres of books to read are historical fiction, memoir/biography, and business development and self-help. I write in all these genres.

I also write devotions. Unlike a sermon, a devotion is a quick lesson or reflection on scripture that is connected to life today. I don’t consider devotions a genre I have read. It is a practice to study the beautifully written texts. I sit with pretty, print books of devotions at my desk most mornings where I contemplate a message and interpretation looking for a bit of spiritual wisdom to guide my day’s effort. I love the physical books where I can circle, underline, and jot dated notes in the margins.

Print is not dead. Today’s readers prefer physical books over e books by a WHOPPING! It is a worthwhile pursuit to publish physical books, magazines, and newspapers. There is something brave about the permanence of ink. I hope to accomplish the feat of releasing more books soon.