something new // i'm writing a book!

I've been trying to figure out how to write this post for several weeks now, but every time I try I have to stop and remind myself that this is all real -- it still feels so unbelievable.

I am writing a book about knitting hats and giving them away. That photo above? That's the screen shot from the Asymmetrical Press "authors page". That's my mug, wearing a handmade hat of course, there on the right!

The guys behind Asymmetrical Press -- Colin Wright, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus -- are friends of mine thanks to the Hats On People project. Colin was one of the first hat recipients and recommended JFM and Ryan to me (who actually thought I was just a prank being pulled on them ... long story) as possible guys to get to know and give hats to.

Several hats later (these boys sure do like their hand knits!) and a few random e-mails, and somehow I was on a Skype call with JFM, talking about the book I should write.

 And so this summer I will put fingers to keyboard and write out my stories. The hats I've given, the people I've given them to, the projects I've completed and the things I've learned along the way. From the littlest hats I've made to the boxes I've mailed off, for every hat that's come off my needles there is a story to be told. And while I may not be able to tell every single story, I'll be attempting to tell many of them.

Much of the process is still undecided -- there is no release date for the book (sometime in October, maybe) and there is still just a tentative title. Much of what will be written is still locked away in my brain, in fact. Which makes the whole thing still seem unreal to me. But real it is, and a book shall be written.

As I sort through all the stories in my head, I'd love to hear from you all -- what stories would you like me to tell? Are there hats you've fallen in love with and would love to hear the back story for, or projects I've completed that you'd love to know more about? Specifics on how to donate you'd love to hear me go on for pages about, humorous anecdotes I've left unsaid? Let me know in the comments, and I'll do my best to include them somehow as the stories are told!

I'd also love to answer any questions you have about the process -- how do the guys at Asymmetrical pick authors (my best guess involves a drinking game somehow), how will I actually write the book .... you ask it, I'll answer it. Guys, I'm writing a book!!!

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For those who love to read as much as I do, you have to check out The Flute Player, by Shawn Mihalik (a fellow Asymm author). The young adult fiction novella tells the tale of Oliver, who plays the flute every morning and every evening for his village. It's books like this that will keep the written word alive folks -- it's that good.