Crossings: McCullough’s Coastal Bridges continued to dominate my life the first half of the year. I marketed it through day trips up and down the coast and over to Eugene plus a few longer trips. Those longer trips were to places where I had friends to stay with and enjoy a visit.

Right in downtown Astoria, Lucy’s Books is one of the places that now sell Crossings.

I visited the North Coast in January and May, staying with Jim and Diane Forst in Astoria and placing my book in bookstores, museums, gift shops, and libraries between Tillamook and the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington. I knew many of the places where I wanted to stop, but had only a few contact names. Jim, a fellow editor I’d worked with at Oregon Coast magazine was a big help. I still had to make quite a number of cold calls—especially on the Long Beach Peninsula.

The Ashland Public Library bought a copy of Crossings.

I also traveled to southern Oregon in June and stayed with long-time friend Virginia Hall near Ashland and placed books in similar venues in Grants Pass, Medford, and Ashland. On that trip, I really stepped out of my comfort zone. I had one contact in Grants Pass and I’d visited one bookstore in Medford. That was it. So I went online to come up with a list of places to visit and then started calling. I must have made 50 calls to find 15 places. They included colleges, museums, bookstores, gift shops, and libraries. Not all bought books, but several did, and I got the word out about the Florence Festival of Books, the book fair for authors and publishers that I’m involved with. I left flyers everywhere I went.

Here I’m giving my presentation in Oregon City as part of the reopening celebration of the Arch Bridge.

Some trips involved giving PowerPoint presentations about the book and the coastal bridges. I’ve given about 40 since April 2011. When I first started, I was a nervous wreck. Now I feel like an old pro. But I still practice before each event. I add or delete what I’m going to say depending on the audience. Then I set up the equipment and practice out loud with my kitchen timer, so it will fit the time requirements. Only then do I feel confident and look forward to each presentation.

On the “Author’s Forum” Judy responding to Dr. Veronica Esagui’s questions.

In March, I traveled to Oregon City for a half-hour interview for the public access program “Author’s Forum.” That was a little more difficult to prepare for, since I didn’t know what she would be asking. But I was only nervous at the beginning, because the interviewer, Dr. Veronica Esagui, was so easy to talk to. The half-hour interview ran two weeks in the Portland Metro area and can be seen on YouTube (Google-YouTube Judy Fleagle).

This bookstore is larger than it looks and full of fabulous books in downtown McMinnville.

On that trip, I placed the book in venues in numerous towns, including Corvallis, McMinnville, Wilsonville, Lake Oswego, Milwaukee, and Gladstone as well as Oregon City. I again had gone online to find bookstores and libraries and did lots of cold calling. I’ve since been back to Oregon City to do my PowerPoint presentation as part of the reopening of the historic Arch Bridge, which had been closed 22 months for restoration. This McCullough Bridge now looks fabulous as it celebrates its 90th birthday this month..

In May, I had an idea for a new book, and in June I started working on it. It had a number of name changes but ended up––The Crossings Guide to Oregon’s Coastal Spans. By August, I had finished working on the edit. This Guide leads bridge to bridge down the coast through 15 bridges starting in Astoria. Throughout October, I fine-tuned the edit and obtained historic and color photos.

Then I gave the edit to my publisher for editing. A couple of weeks later after obtaining all the photos, I turned them in so he could design the book. In November, I saw the designed version, and we began the back-and-forth final editing process until there were no more changes. It went to the printer November 30 and we’ll have 1,000 copies for sale as of the first of the year. While Crossings is a coffee table book, this new one belongs in the car. So my new mantra is––don’t drive 101 without it!

Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves at the Florence Festival of Books.. Here children’s author, Kurt Cyrus, displays his beautifully illustrated books.

Between May and the first week of October, I was also involved with the Florence Festival of Books (FFOB)—an authors and publishers book fair. In 2011, I was co-chair along with author Connie Bradley and this year became sole-chair because Connie became fulltime caregiver to a very sick husband. Fortunately, he miraculously recovered in September (even his doctors were amazed). The FFOB was held September 29, and Connie was able to participate. The event exceeded expectations with 80 authors and publishers participating and 362 folks attending. Connie plans to be on the committee next year, so we’ll be able to be co-chairs again—much more fun and less stressful.

Next year the FFOB will be September 28, 2013, same time, same place––10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Florence Events Center. So whether as a participant or attendee, mark your calendars.

Looking back over 2012, I can sum it up in six words––two books and a book fair!

TO BUY JUDY’S FIRST BOOK

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Crossings: McCullough’s Coastal Bridges can be yours for $24.95 plus $4.99 shipping. Order from Pacific Publishing at http://www.connectflorence.com or pacpub@oregonfast.net. It is also available on the coast in bookstores, museums, and gift shops; in Eugene at the airport, the historical museum, and several bookstores; in Portland at Powell’s and the Oregon Historical Society; in Made in Oregon stores throughout the state; and more and more bookstores, libraries, and museums in western Oregon. This book makes a good coffee-table book. With the holidays coming up, it would be an excellent gift.

JUDY’S SECOND BOOK DUE EARLY JANUARY

The second book The Crossings Guide to Oregon’s Coastal Spans––covers 15 bridges and has at least one color and one historic photo for each bridge. The cost will be $15 plus shipping. This sturdy guide is also published through Pacific Publishing. When heading for the coast, don’t drive 101 without it.

Current happenings:

The half-hour interview with Dr. Veronica Esagui for the “Author’s Forum” program on public access TV in the Portland Metro area ended it’s two-week run June 1-14, 2012, but can be seen on YouTube in two parts: Google Judy Fleagle YouTube.

Upcoming events:

February 9, 9–5, Bridge Tour, Outward Ventures, Florence campus, Lane Community College––I’ll be the tour guide on this trip that includes 12 bridges with many stops from Depoe Bay to Coos Bay and has a lunch break at Tidal Raves in Depoe Bay. Now that the new catalogs are out, sign up at the Florence campus or online. A fee will be involved. This will be such fun; I can hardly wait!