The truth is, I've wanted to write a book for many years. The idea for my anthology A Gelato a Day: True Stories of Family Travel really came together in 2019. The title is inspired by a strategy I used during our family travels over the years; using the promise of ‘a gelato a day’ or sweet treat to motivate everyone on a long travel day. As it turns out, the strategy works well for kids of all ages.
I attended a book proposal seminar at Historic Joy Kogawa House in Vancouver in late 2019, then researched, wrote and submitted my own book proposal. It was quickly accepted by Michael Mirolla of Guernica Editions and I signed my contract in January 2020.
I started emailing fellow writers to submit stories, and placed notices in many different writers' groups. My submission requests coincided with the dawn of the Covid-19 pandemic in spring 2020. Everyone quickly realized that nobody was going anywhere—we were all grounded. The timing of the story submission requests was serendipitous; colleagues had more time on their hands than they would have otherwise had to write and submit stories for the anthology.
I’m a passionate traveller and family traveller. I have been travelling with my family since I was a baby, now over 50+ years. For me, family travel has helped to establish and maintain family connections, created lasting memories, and given me a sense of self and a greater appreciation for the world I live in. Family travel is important for all of those reasons, but most of all, it grants us the ability to focus on spending time and having adventures with the people we love best in the world. This is a priceless gift.
The 20 stories in A Gelato a Day go beyond holidays-gone-wrong and toddlers-gone-wild to dive thoughtfully into the deeper parental and family connections that can occur when we take ourselves (or are taken out of) our daily routines and comfort zones.
I had the pleasure of attending several Guernica Editions book launch events, and hosted two of my own. One at Historic Joy Kogawa House in Vancouver where everything began, as well as a virtual cocktail book party where eight contributing writers read from their stories to an appreciative audience of more than 50 people from across North America. The launches were wonderful events and made the entire book publishing process an added pleasure.
A Gelato a Day is for everyone, whether you have travelled with kids or have traveled as one yourself on memorable, or infamous, family journeys. You will recognize yourself or someone you know, knew, love or loved. I hope that everyone enjoys reading A Gelato a Day.
Click here to purchase your copy of A Gelato a Day.
