Please do not judge this book by its cover.
First time authors are nervous wrecks. Just the idea of having perfect strangers read their work is enough to shut down the enterprise. As a rookie, I decided to go forward but faced the added dilemma of selecting a title. I became intrigued with the phrase . . . in a Nutshell because it promised truth and brevity.
However, I was not pleased with the idea of having just a picture of a nut on the cover. Instead, I provided a photo of myself taken when I was around five or six years old. The challenge was to link this photo with the words and sentiments inside the book. Not an easy task. The photo does show a kid who knew that the old pony was never going to move, not even one step. It also tells everyone that I had better things to do with my time, such as running around and bruising my other knee. The message was one of rebellion, a contrarian-in-training. While this symbolism may be a stretch, it does attempt to provide insight as to the content that awaits in the book itself, which can occasionally be unruly. We will be spending time together engaged in essays that go to the heart of matters. We also will be together with short stories concerning our family’s adventures with home restorations as well as the author’s experiences with restaurant ownership.
Please excuse the omission of traditional offerings that may appear on the back cover of publications. Something called an “About the Author” mini biography would be redundant. The book itself contains an abundance of such information. Maybe even too much. Similarly, there will be no reviews by critics, at least not in this edition which is limited to you. Our little secret.
