Where Books Meet Boats: It Takes a Team

After three years of research, writing, and photo selection, The Heart of Hound is now in the printer’s hands. My most ambitious book project so far, I can’t quite believe it’s finished.

As the delivery deadline loomed, I lost count of how many updates the designer and I passed back and forth: tweaking both words and photos until all were correct, beautiful, and appropriately credited. Meanwhile, I knew that any delay would mean missing out on a favorite Snipe regatta in Annapolis. This year, the Frigid Digit was scheduled for the weekend just before the final delivery date—timing that couldn’t have been more personally “chilling.” 

Taking the time to drive to Annapolis (and back) at such a critical moment seemed crazy. But thanks to several motivated teammates, I managed to fit in some non-frigid sailing without holding up book progress. First thanks go to designer Lynda Chilton, for all those lightning-fast file turnarounds—as well as many design tweaks that really dress up the book. 

Another key teammate was my “Snipe sista” Kim Couranz. Without any discussion or judgment, she understood how distracted I was when I finally made it to Annapolis—and how much I needed a respite from correcting commas and captions. After two fully focused days of light air sailing, we came within a point of third overall. Then, while I was driving home, she fit in a proofread of the book’s final chapters. Thanks Kim for making both my books and my boats better!

I’m also grateful to Molly Mulhern for taking time out of her own sailing season to look over the manuscript and answer several last-minute questions. Years of producing books at International Marine Publishing sharpened her eye, and she caught several inconsistencies that might otherwise have snuck through. But I’m most appreciative of her big-picture guidance, which helped evolve this book into the best version of itself.

If you would like to be notified when copies are available, email me and I’ll add you to The Heart of Hound mailing list. I can’t wait to finally share my most ambitious book project yet! Meanwhile thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next Thursday.