Why I Self Published

From its inception, this book was the product of my friend’s and family’s encouragement and I hoped that some of these same people and more would lend their support in a financial way.

The idea for Blue Creek Bride came from readers who made the effort to plod through the epic emails I sent out across the world from Canada on return from trips with my husband, Phil, to the back country of Jasper National Park. Phil was a park warden and throughout summer and fall he made two-week patrols on horseback into his district of Blue Creek.

The emails were bursting with anecdotes and impressions of back country life and landscapes in the Rockies and some of my readers suggested I should write a book about my experiences. I wasn’t convinced I was up to the task but during the long winter of 2004 I decided I needed a project and began to turn the daily diaries I’d kept into a book.

By May 2006 I was ready to approach a publisher from Calgary, Alberta who I noted had published the autobiographical accounts of a park warden. I was thrilled to receive a positive reply from my initial inquiry and then, after my full manuscript had been sent off at their request, even more thrilled and not a little stunned to hear that they wanted to publish it.

However, 2006 was the year we had decided to move to New Zealand and once they knew that, their offer was rescinded. I was devastated at the time but having since taken a writing class at Canterbury University with Owen Marshall, one of New Zealand’s foremost authors, I feel that my book is of higher quality than it would have been if published earlier.

Two years ago I approached the only other Canadian publisher I could find who specializes in books set in the Rockies but they turned down my submission, as have New Zealand publishers. 

With the only option seeming to be self-publishing, I hoped and prayed that people would join me in the project to raise the money to make Blue Creek Bride a reality.

They did, and in a more generous way than I'd ever thought possible. Within three months I had been given the $2000 I needed to self-publish Blue Creek Bride - thank you so very much to all who contributed to make this dream come true! I trust your enjoyment of the book is sufficient reward for your generosity.