The last few months have been a blur on this end.
A good blur filled with gratitude, but a beehive of activity nonetheless, including giving keynote speeches and writing opinion pieces, to shooting campaigns and judging competitions for TEDxStockholm and Abuja Photo Festival.
I’ve also been expanding my virtual team behind Geotraveler Media and plan on bringing more people I can trust onboard.
So, it was important for me to take a step back to breathe, assess what I’ve been putting out into the world, and give thanks.
Incredible Book News
I have a couple writer friends struggling with rejections right now.
At what point do we give up?
Especially when our patience and resolve gets tested and tried time and time again. When the umpteenth rejection (in my case, 70th!) makes us begin to doubt our own voices.
I never did.
Give up, that is. The rejections were painful, but I never doubted my voice, because I had taken years to develop that voice. I wasn’t going to let a stranger’s fleeting opinion derail what I already knew was uniquely mine.
I’ve already detailed the emotionally-fraught journey to publication of my upcoming novel, In Every Mirror She’s Black (IEMSB) here. And that challenging journey has turned into an incredible testimony which I can only attribute to God’s divine intervention at this point.
Because what is meant for you will never pass you by.
So, what’s next?
- IEMSB is a LEAD hardcover release from three publishers so far! In addition to our US publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark (Sept 7), we have also signed with Head of Zeus (which just got bought by Bloomsbury, wow!) for the UK/Commonwealth (Oct 21) and Parresia Publishers (Nigeria), also publishing in October.
- There will be an audio version of the book coming soon too!
- The upcoming marketing plans from these publishers are incredible. I’ll also be speaking at several festivals, on podcasts, and more.
- Goodreads is running a giveaway of 50 advanced reader copies here.
- Bookreporter is also running a giveaway of 25 advanced reader copies, PLUS you can read an Excerpt (Chapter 1) from the book here.
Needless to say, August to October are going to be some of the busiest months of my career to date.
For upcoming book news and more, please follow IEMSB’s own social media accounts @ineverymirror on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Don’t forget to pre-order your copy here!
Photography
Lots going on on the photography front, including participating as a mentor in Photoshelter‘s Mentor Program, and shooting a campaign for a well-known Swedish brand. I will share more on social media once it launches this week.
Next year, I will start leading travel photography tours, so I’m excited about that. Right now, it’s looking like Sri Lanka and Georgia to start with. I will keep you posted.
I am also one of the judges for the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Photography Competition. Enter by July 4.
If you’re interested in fine art photography, Edition Vulfovitch is my art dealer and they sell limited edition prints to various galleries as well as exhibitions around the Nordics, and the world really. My prints are also up on Barneby’s.
Local Purse
The startup of my heart!
I am so in love with our mission and vision, and I hope you continue to support us too. We have onboarded several destinations including Morocco, Nigeria, Slovenia, Argentina, and Costa Rica. We are currently onboarding Peru and Lebanon.
We are moving slower than we would like because we’re still bootstrapping, but we’re also moving the right and most sustainable way, because this is a long term endeavor for us.
You can check out what we have and follow us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Local Purse is essentially a physical manifestation of my why.
Teaching summer course – DIS Abroad
I’ve partnered with the amazing DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia to teach a three-week travel writing course this summer, including taking my college students on a field trip around West Sweden, to experience what it’s like to be on assignment!
I was actually supposed to teach this course last summer and take them to Croatia, but the pandemic was raging.
I’m thrilled to be able to start this summer, teach my style of storytelling, and bring them into my world as a visual storyteller.
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So, that was the quick update from my end as I surface for air before diving back down.
Stay blessed and hope you’re gearing up for a fabulous summer.