I always start with visuals. While traveling Round Ireland with a Duck (the sequel to Round America with a Duck) recently, I took photos right there in a clover field, by the Irish Sea, at Donegal Bay, and near the seat of government in Dublin — where my grandfather had fought for the tricolor flag to fly — with the future cover of this book in mind. Here are my current four cover options. Any faves?
My little duck and I are not giving up — not on America, not on the world. Our journey now includes local bike rides, coffee shops, libraries and nature centers, where I’ll be beating out my heart on my iPad as winter and my Aran hat hug me. And on that 100th anniversary of when my grandmother first set foot on U.S. soil — March 4, 2025 (march forth!), I will have a finished draft of this second book in my bike-bus-train-WWOOF solo female traveler series. (I may even have my dual citizenship by then — stay tuned! That’s already in the works.)
Edits, design, production, promotion, and launch will take me to my 62nd birthday next August — at which point I qualify to go back to college for FREE here in Georgia. I hope to start a post-Baccalareate Bachelors of Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Irish (I already applied) at Georgia Southern University (which has strong ancestrial ties with Ireland, believe it or not). Summer 2026 abroad on a campus in Wexford, Ireland? It’s on the table. Didn’t see that coming two years ago when I started all this WWOOFing stuff.
In the meantime, if you haven’t yet made the opportunity to enjoy Round America with a Duck (the first book in the world about traveling the USA via bike, buses, trains and working on organic farms), click here for your copy (available in both print and digital form on the Kindle app downloadable to any device). I know from all the emails I’ve gotten that this empowering, inspiring quick-read journey story makes a terrific gift, both to yourself or to someone you love. Warning — it may change your life (it changed mine).
As always, trust the journey — Pattie
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