Celebrating milestones with a giveaway
Thank you for joining me here!
Hello everyone—
I’m celebrating a couple of milestones ... one of them related to Sandwich Season and one of them related to another dear part of my writing life.
I’d like to share them both with you!
Milestone 1—500 people
Sandwich Season recently hit 500 subscribers—511 to be exact. I am humbled that each one of you has invited me into your inbox and are reading my experiences of alternately slogging and sailing through middle age, tacking back and forth among the needs of multiple generations.
Thank you for reading, liking, commenting and writing back. I love hearing your experiences and your encouragement—knowing that so many of you “get it” is a comfort.
Milestone 2—5 years
My memoir, The Same Moon (Camphor Press, 2020), is approaching the five-year anniversary of its release—June 18!
Some of you might be thinking, What? Memoir? Yes, before I hit this season of life, my creative writing centered largely on the topic of Japan.
Others of you might be thinking, Wait … didn’t we attend a release party for that book in spring 2019? That’s 6 years ago … Yes, that is true. But later that year, there was drama! Long story short, things did not go as they should have with my first publisher, so I regained my rights to the book and its cover, and left at the end of 2019. (In 2024, the press closed, under significant pressure, and it has been a mess for a lot of authors.)
Almost miraculously, around the same time, Camphor Press stepped in to pick up The Same Moon. We did a fresh edit, and in June 2020 Camphor released a new and improved version, including a bonus epilogue.
Not to overstate it, but after having worked on that book for so many years … seeing it published … and then making the decision to have it unpublished … this felt like a proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes.
What will this celebration of 5’s look like?
I know most of you are here for the sandwich generation focus. But I also know that many of you were referred here by Japan-focused writers, including the amazing , whose Letters from Japan give me my monthly Japan fix with her gorgeous photos and travel stories. (Thank you, Burcu!)
For starters: a book giveaway drawing for paid subscribers!
In May, I will conduct a random drawing for 2 copies of The Same Moon. All paid annual subscribers through May 15, 2025, will be entered (currently there are 20 of you, and I am so thankful!).
If we get to 30 paid subscribers, I’ll draw 3 winners. If we get to 40, I’ll draw 4 winners and so on. 50 subscribers by 5/15/25—5 winners ... These are pretty good odds!
What other perks do paid subscribers receive? Free obituary writing workshops, for starters. (Here’s a description of a past workshop. You can add your name here to be notified when we’re offering the next one.)
Thank you for considering—and for celebrating with me!