Pondering: Books, Kindness, & Cookies

by Kayce Stevens Hughlett

“Cicadas rise in song. Birds twitter. Roosters crow more. I need something, but I can’t articulate what. I want to walk and I don’t want to. I think about lying down to read, but then it feels like wasting the sunshine. I’m on a threshold. I need to find more ways to put my voice into the world. I don’t want disciples. I don’t want fame, but I do need to be heard. It’s like my voice is playing hide and seek. When I travel, it rises to the surface like incense on the temple altar. It’s there and then it’s not.” excerpt SoulStroller: experiencing the weight, whispers, & wings of the world

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating (if not for you, then definitely for me): It’s not easy being an author/self-promoter. It takes courage, stamina and sometimes cookies. Lots of cookies!

Yesterday I embarked on what I call the Bookstore Cookie & Book Drop Hop. Marketing, my way. An attempt to make a difficult task fun. My body/mind/spirit self-help travel memoir, SoulStroller releases November 1 and things are getting real! With my best pal as chauffeur, twelve dozen designer cookies, and a boxful of Advance Reading Copies, we visited ten bookstores in the Seattle area with the hope of being seen and heard. With something like 5000 new releases every day, getting noticed is not an easy task.

With my bravery buoyed, we walked into the first store where six years ago the clerk held my precious copy of As I Lay Pondering as if it were a dirty diaper. Eat the frog, resonated in my mind (i.e. do the hard thing first). I had skipped visiting this shop all together when Blue came out, but this time I was braver and they were nicer. I mean, who can resist cute cookies? The jury’s still out as to whether they’ll decide to carry SoulStroller.

The Book Shop Hop was an interesting observation in kindness and not-so-kind humanity.

SoulStrollers - Kayce S. Hughlett & Sharon RichardsFive stores in, we encountered the Seattle Freeze. Do you know it? It’s the syndrome where politeness loosely hides derision. It leaves a person wondering why they feel like they’ve been slimed after what on the surface looks like a nice-enough interaction. Yuk! Shame on them! I wanted to snatch back my cookies after leaving, but settled for a nourishing lunch instead. (Deep breaths. You’ve got this, girl!)

And then there were the moments to celebrate.

“Let’s get you in here before Thanksgiving!”

“Oh, what fun!”

“Your book would be perfect for a book signing during November art walk.”

“Cookies! You know the way to a book lover’s heart. Give me a week and check back in.”

“Thank you for making your way in. We could all use more presence and kindness, couldn’t we?” Yes and yes.

And finally, music to my ears. “I’m ordering them right now.”

We ended the day with a beer and cheers for a job well done ... and, of course, one more cookie. 

Pre-order here

Pre-order today!!! SoulStroller: experiencing the weight, whispers, & wings of the worlds 

Seductive, sincere, and at times hysterical and heartbreaking, this memoir follows author and good girl, Kayce Stevens Hughlett out of her carefully constructed comfort zone into the world of international travel, healers, wise winged mentors, and inspiring versions of humankind. 

“Hughlett finds her voice in the most unexpected places—amidst the grief of life’s challenges, in letting go, in strengthening through presence.” Pixie Lighthorse,  Prayers of Honoring Grief