TO BED

The Pilgrim's Staff was finally, yesterday, put to bed--at least insofar as my part of the work is concerned.  My book designer, Amy Inouye at Future Studio, was wonderfully patient with my tweaks and changes, and has created what I think will be a fine looking book.  My friend Gregg Chadwick, over at Speed of Life, was generous enough to make a painting for the cover.  And my valued assistant, Maggie, has started work on the building of a dedicated website for the book.  It's still under construction, but the basics are there.

As for the rest--the story itself--I am alone responsible.  I wanted to write an honest book about a subject that has long fascinated me, and hope that I have done that.  In a couple of weeks, it will fly out on its own into the universe, and I trust that it will land, here and there, in places where it will be both meaningful and entertaining.

I will be posting on The Buddha Diaries, of course, when it becomes available.

It has been, looking back on it, a huge amount of work.  I'm no longer exactly sure when I started on it, but it must be at least a year and a half ago.  As usual, I thought it was finished a long time before it actually was.  I sent out pdf.s to several friends, and their responses brought me to the realization that there was much work left to do.  I rewrote, and rewrote, and edited, and rewrote.  I was re-writing until the day before yesterday, when I realized there was a small, but important piece missing in the narrative.  Then came the proof-reading, the editing, the choice of fonts, the wording for the back cover blurb.  The cover design itself went through a dozen or more phases.

But, as Ellie pointed out last night before we put the lights out on the day we put the book to bed, I've had a lot of fun with it.  I had fun with the writing, fun with the rewrites.  I found the whole design process thoroughly engaging.  And I'm sure there's more fun awaiting me when the book becomes... a BOOK!  Much, then, to be grateful for as I look ahead to whatever's coming next...

My gratitude extends, as always, to those who click on The Buddha Diaries and follow this blog!