I have always tried to keep a journal when I go on road trips. I’ve gotten better at it over the years, jotting down a few notes here and there about breakdowns, meetups, campsites, animal encounters, the bands we saw, whatever. In the past, I’d get home from the trip, toss the notebook into a corner, and let it gather dust with the rest of the ideas, memories and half-finished writing projects that I’ve accumulated over the years.
When I returned from Louisiana in October 2021, the notes would not allow me to toss them aside. I had just a few more things I wanted to write down, just a few more things to get on paper. So, I started writing those notes. Then I found that I was writing paragraphs.
Three months later, writing on nights and weekends, I had 40,000 words. Three months after that, I had 80,000 words.
Uh…I think I just wrote a book.
After many months of editing, rewriting, cutting, correcting, and everything else, Vanagon to Louisiana is cooling on the window sill and will be ready for consumption on Tuesday, March 7th.
As part of the limited rollout, the Kindle version is .99 and the paperback is $9.99. If this sounds like a shameless way to drum up early sales and hopefully garner a pile of reviews, that’s because it is a shameless way to drum up early sales and hopefully garner a pile of reviews.
I will post an order link Tuesday morning. A sincere thank you to all the friends and family who’ve contributed in so many ways to this thing getting done!
Joseph D Trussell 