My Secret Weapon: Julie

The biggest factor in being able to chase my dream of being a full-time writer was my secret weapon, my wife Julie.

Now that I’m in year 3 of being a full-time author, it turns out that our two gigs align even better and having her in my corner has really helped me get this “author thing” off the ground.

So with her birthday approaching on April 3rd, I wanted to write this little tribute to my literary partner. 

How do I Love Thee? Let me Count the Ways:

Somewhere in the Canadian Rockies

#1. Cheerleader 

Annie Wilkes, please. My biggest fan doesn’t need me to be a NYT #1 Best Selling Author. From sharing and liking all my posts to shamelessly pitching my books to her clients, Julie has always been supportive.

Early on, she even helped proof my manuscripts. So when I first floated the idea of stepping away from teaching, she took it in stride. Heck, I was even alarmed by my own idea.

Early in my teaching career, a veteran teacher pulled me aside to utter this prophetic warning: pace yourself. By 2013, I taught 5 different preps during an 8 period day, served as the PLC chair and Speech Rep on the MSHSL Region 2A board, and coached Mock Trial, Speech, NHS, and Yearbook. Me? Get bored? Never!

It turns out that Def Leppard was right about burning out, and because of that and many other reasons, my teaching career came to an abrupt end.

My original plan had been to go full-time at 55, so when I needed to enact this plan four years earlier than expected, she embraced the plan. I cut the cord and went all in. It’s been two years now and not a snarky comment has been heard. It’s hard to work a 40 hour week and not a get a paycheck, yet she understands what needs to happen in order to get book projects up and running. Could I have done this at 21? Not likely. Luckily, our kids were graduated and most of our bills (those darn appendixes) had been paid off, so she cheered me on as I turned a hobby into a full-time job.

At the Blue Earth River

#2. Business Planner

As a small business owner (Emerald Travel in Mankato), Julie also provides business advice. When I set up my calendar of events, I annoy her with all the little options: Hopkins vs. Stillwater? Con vs. Arts and Craft Show? Since she’s been good with numbers her whole like (gives me anxiety), she’s also able to do the taxes. So even though I handle all the business transactions for Lura Publications, she’s a great resource as a fellow business owner.

#3. Voracious Reader

She devours books. From year to year, this pace varies, but she can go through a hundred books in a year, so her mental library holds thousands of books from thousands of authors. That’s a great resource for me to have. If I have an idea about a story, she can tell me if it’s a “been there, done that” idea or fresh. It’s also fun to pick up books from local authors. Since I’m constantly being evaluated, it’s fun to have her take a book from a fellow Minnesota author and have her evaluate it. 

#3 World Traveler

Wow, does marrying a travel agent have its perks, but for an author, this is even a greater perk. We’ve always gone on adventures together, but since becoming an author, this has certainly developed more purpose. I think our first trip “with purpose” was an insane trip back in 2011. At the time, I was working on what would become THE DREAMCATCHER CHRONICLES. I’ve always had a fascination with indigenous culture, and as a modern Minnesotan, the story of the Anishinaabe People became important to me for various reasons. So I mentioned it to Julie. 

The next thing I know, she has an itinerary all figured out.  We flew out to Bangor, Maine, rented a car, and drove the entire Seven Fires migration. You know it’s love when your spouse entertains a dozen stops at museums and cultural centers along a 3,000 mile journey. We started in Nova Scotia, and then went to Montreal, Niagara Falls, Detroit, Manitoulin Island, Sault St. Marie, the Apostle Islands, Duluth, and finally to Mille Lacs in Minnesota. While we were in Nova Scotia learning about the Mikmaq people, she even got a private Oak Island tour with Charles Barkhouse of The Curse of Oak Island. Yep, she rocks.

If I’m working on a pirate books…Aruba, Bemini, the Bahamas.

If I’m working on a story following the Goth migration into Transylvania…a Danube Riverboat Cruse.

Three chapters set in the Canadian Rockies? Oh yes, I tip toe around Grizzly Bears to visit the headwaters of the Columbia River.

While Google Earth is great for exploring, having a travel agent for a wife is even better.

Golubac Fortress along the Danube River

#4. Parking

On a more practical level, Julie was born with Moses-like ability to part congested parking lots and miraculously find the closest space. Yes, she abuses this gift on an annoying basis, but when we go to book events, this skill really comes in handy. She rarely will sit with me at a book event, but when the event is over, she comes swooping in, finds that spot, and presto! A prime spot for hauling all my gear.

Driving to an event

#5. Packing

Once again, it’s so helpful to have her at an event when it comes time for tear down. If you’ve seen pictures, I have a very full table with lots of decorations to catch my vibe, so having her around to help can make a 40 minute process take 10 minutes. 

Visiting Cozumel

#6. Travel Agent Discounts

There isn’t a lot of profit in being an author, so I’ll drive 2 hours to a local Minnesota book printer to knock $2 off the cost of the book because that makes a big difference at the end of the year. More recently, I’ve been doing more multi-day shows, but the negative to that is hotel expenses (unless it’s camping :) While Julie’s bread and butter is big excursions to far off lands, she also can get hotels at a very steep discount. Now, I’m fine staying at a motel with bird pictures, holes in the wall, and a door that doesn’t lock, but when she travels with me, she can get suites for cheaper than I can book the Bates Motel. Again, selling 50 books and only having to add $1 of cost per book helps with the finances.

The Dolomites

#7. Criminal Mind

Julie isn’t deviant. But since I’ve known her, she has a concerning level of interest in murder. Whether true crime or classic mystery, she has read about thousands of deviant minds. Unfortunately, my weird stuff doesn’t interest her much, but I’m currently working on a new series that’ll be right up her alley: crime. My Mixed-tape Mystery series should be a project we can collaborate on for years to come. 

Oh Captain, my Captain.