Travelogue

In response to my many Facebook posts of places I've been lately, a friend of mine asked if I were writing a travelogue. Short answer - no. But...sounds like something I should do. Actually it's something I've been doing all year, going somewhere and then writing about it. I'm always eager to share places and available experiences from here in my neck of the woods.

In the midst of one such experience, I hollered "What were we thinking?" at my co-adventurer. This one was beyond my usual sitting in an easy chair at a local winery, even beyond the tame hikes to mountain peaks. Indeed, what was I thinking!

This time, the adventure was tubing. Rivergirl tubing, to be exact, on the New River, Todd, North Carolina. What a kick in the butt that was! Wait, that sounds negative and this was positive, all three downstream miles of it. The energy kick was from the cold water tickling my low-hanging butt! What a way to spend a hot July day!

Because I was paranoid about dropping my precious cell phone into the murky waters and floating away from it, never to see it again, I purchased a waterproof disposable camera. So did my friend Sara. 

It's a little blurry, our photography skills lacked a lot, but I still wanted to share this image of us preparing to launch. My kind of launch is usually a calm event being surrounded by books and refreshments and well-wishers, not an actual get-in-the-water-and-launch-this-baby-off launch. 

What a delightful, relaxing way to cool off, although it took me a while to get the hang of things. The two of us tried linking together with the hooks they provided, but we found it much smoother to go our own ways and enjoy the moment without dragging each other down...literally.

Two and a half hours later, we docked, if you call it a dock. It was more a slippery slope of mud, sliding two steps down for every one up. But once we both found our land legs, we laughed our way to the top and ventured on to the nearest winery.

Exploring in western North Carolina is so much fun. Give it a try someday.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen

How to Have a Successful Book Launch

It's a done deal, this new book of mine. We launched it last Friday and now it's into the world. The online link to purchase will be coming soon, so hang tight. Or drop by the Red Awning Gallery in Hudson. Speaking of which, that's number one on my list of "How to Have a Successful Book Launch," pick a spot. 

This book is about tying the flies that attract fish, an art of its own, and the stories we've included prove it. So if that's true, what better place to hold a launch than an art gallery! Imagine that!

I was fortunate enough to saturate the room with beautiful creations by the artist members of the Western North Carolina Society of Artisans. If you study the picture above, you'll see artwork somehow connected to fishing in the great outdoors. There's a gentle one of a fisherman on a stream by Zan Thompson. There are bold drawings of bugs, lots of bugs, by Carole Childers. Look closely and you'll even see a trout on a guitar, by Rozzy Smith.

Step two: Send out invitations. We invited the men and women who wrote their chapters. We also included invitations to men and women who were in the previous books about fly fishing. And they came! Not all, but many. And these people drove through heavy rains on Friday evening!

Step three: Advertise. I did that, thanks to the HUB staff, who not only placed ads on their various websites, but also set up the room according to our suggestions.

Step four: Speaking of room arrangement: Decorate. In addition to the artwork, we added something unique. We had planned ahead for people to bring displays of their flies, and as it turned out, that offered plenty of discussion opportunities. Thank you to those who brought a case or two, as in this case from co-compiler, Alen Baker. A friend of his from the West Coast designed this display of original flies dating back to Native American traditions through the nineteenth century. Wow!

Step five: Food. Offer food and hey, they will come! 

Step six: Nametags. When I launched the first of my fly fishing books, Fly Fishers of Caldwell County, I had this bright idea to label each fisher who contributed to the book by having them wear their name, chapter, and page number. That was so successful that I decided to do it again. That way, everyone could open their copies to the correct page to be autographed. That worked! The otherwise shy and modest people were almost forced out of their shells to participate. What fun!

 

Step seven: Speech. Yes, it's a must. You must thank them for coming and in this case for sharing their life stories in the book. 

Step eight: Enjoy the evening. Hard work deserves celebration. 

Step nine: Bask in the afterglow! And when that glow subsides, take time to recover

Step ten: Go back to what comes next. For me that's two nearly finished projects. More on that later.

This launch was accomplished with a great deal of planning and help from others. The artists who created their beautiful works. The HUB staff who had the perfect space and set up for us. Those who brought food for the bountiful table. My friend and critique group member, Sandra Warren, who snapped these photographs that evening. Members of Foothills Writers who supported me through the process of publishing and showed up at the launch. Thank you to everyone. 

Books remain for sale at the Red Awning Gallery or you can order online by clicking the title here: Southern Fly Tyers: Life Stories of Those Who Tie Flies. Or, you can purchase directly from Alen Baker or me. We humbly thank you.

Being an author can be a solitary endeavor, for sure. Sitting in front of the computer for hours. Researching. Revising. Sitting. Typing. Persevering.

But in the end, the final product is a group effort. How wonderful is that!

Catch of the day,

Gretchen

Launching a New Book!

Introducing!!! Now available for your enjoyment...

 Southern Fly Tyers: Life Stories of Those Who Tie Flies

There's a story about the cover. It was suggested by one of the tyers who appears in the book, David Anders. It shows the tying desk that is on display at the Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians in Bryson City, North Carolina. It's on the cover twice, featured front and center, and then again, faded in the background to wrap around to the back cover. The spot a tyer chooses to work magic is almost sacred, as in don't touch my precious stuff. Maybe the chosen spot is the kitchen table, or a bench in the garage, or a desk in a room all its own. Maybe it's on a tossed-aside rickety table in a man cave or a she shed. Wherever the spot, a special place is one key to successful tying, and that's why we chose to feature the spot from the very beginning. 

And yes, that's a rooster! Read the book, and you'll get why it is on display in a fly fishing museum. 

I helped Alen Baker compile our new book. (We've done three together.) He worked for several years to collect these life stories that we present to you. As I was working on them, I was amazed, awed even. Oh, the stories I've read. Oh, the stories you've read! Tying flies is a passion. Tying flies is an art. Tying flies is scientific. The idea is to base the fly on the bug that is hatching at the moment in order to fool the fish.

 

The second blurb on my back cover says it best: 

Anthony Hipps, paying tribute to Jeff Wilkins: Sometimes I feel like the mad scientist in the lab trying to cook up something (the intent here is to sound like the ‘evil’ laugh in a horror movie). And to think that a fish can be duped into thinking some crazy concoction of plastic, metal, glue, fur, hair, feathers and more is something to eat is just pretty incredible when you think about it.  

Today, August 1, we're launching this book into the world with a well-deserved party. Some of these "mad scientists" will be showing flies they've created. We'll be at the HUB here in downtown Hudson, North Carolina. Starts at 5:30. This celebration is sponsored by the Western North Carolina Society of Artisans. You read that right. Artisans, as in artists, as in creative minds. As in fly tyers! How perfect is that!

The walls and halls of the society's Red Awning Gallery are covered with the beauty of members' creations. You might even spot a few fish in the pictures they've painted...a few bugs, too!  Take a book home. (Books make great presents, you know.) Take a work of art home. Or just come and be a part of a pleasant gathering.

Please join us today. 5:30 to 7:30 at the Hudson Uptown Building, 145 Cedar Valley Road, Hudson, NC 28638

We'll have plenty to celebrate. There will be FOOD involved! Do drop in.

Catch of the Day,

Gretchen