Q: What is the meaning of your book/cover? What do you hope readers feel when they read/watch it?
D: The importance of the book is to guide others on how to cook a great meal with fresh, healthy ingredients that you could grow yourself or get from a local market or farm gate. I intentionally designed the cover to capture the attention of gardeners and portray the journey from harvest to plate.
Q: How many books/stories have you written?
L: I have only written a couple of nonfiction short stories, numerous nonfiction articles, both product and book reviews, and a total of 7 published books (one of which is no longer available). We used to have an e-book (Jump Start For Writers), but it doesn’t exist anymore. We currently have a series of 2 books on green living (Trash Talk), 2 poetry books (Towards Understanding; Rhythm & Rhyme), and there’s a recently revised book full of marketing tips for writers (Purple Snowflake Marketing). Our most recent release is a cookbook: From One Small Garden which, as you can tell from the name, focuses on recipes that help people make the most of garden crops and reduce food waste.
Q: How many (book) shelves do you have in your house?
D: We are still bookmakers. We have about 7 or 8 bookshelves throughout the house and the studio. I will never stop reading real books as it has a much more intimate feel than a screen. Many of the books I have are computer software technical manuals, photography technique books, drum and percussion books, and sound or rhythm therapy books.
Q: Why did you feel this book needed to be written?
D: I think the times we live in dictate a shift towards people growing more of their own food in their backyards. With this in mind and the fact that we have been doing exactly that for over 30 years, we feel that our collection of well-refined recipes could be very relevant and well received. We have had people who have shown great interest since we started the project all those years ago. Another twist of the book is that it’s not as meat-heavy as the average North American diet tends to be. As former vegetarians, we realized that a compromise is very possible. Like the Asian style of diet, they have a small portion of protein with lots of vegetables and rice or noodles. The typical North American dish has a large piece of meat with possibly a small portion of vegetables. I always feel less energized after a high-protein meal, unless I’ve been on a long hike or ride and have a need for those kinds of servings to replace what I burned.
Q: What was your path to publication?
L: From One Small Garden started out as a collection of recipes we collected from friends and family or created ourselves, and over the years it grew into 2 folders full of recipes. We decided to go through them systematically to pick the best of the best and organize them ourselves. He helped that at the time (1998), he had been in a car accident and was home to do this homework. After becoming writers and having been on the run for a few years, we decided that this collection should be published. That was about 18 years ago… and since then the manuscript has been worked on sporadically, set aside while we took on various life challenges, business and work projects, publishing another 6 books and renovating and landscaping 2 different houses that we bought/sold. Finally, in 2019, we again took on the task of completing the cookbook project, organizing for readers/beta testers, editing, designing the book cover, etc. and in early 2021 it premiered.
Q: What are the biggest surprises you’ve come across as a writer?
L: The world of writing is constantly changing. People’s desires for certain kinds of books change rapidly. The world at large has changed from one that values buying and reading books to one that wants to download free stuff. So I have to keep learning, keep evolving, keep up with new opportunities and find new ways to show that our products have value. I think that’s what has kept me a bit off guard, the fact that an artist never really relaxes into his role: learning never ends, a new challenge blocks the way at every turn. I often have to let go of things that I would really like to accomplish, just to do that I can take the time to learn the skills to do what needs to be done. The frustration is endless and I am so grateful to have Dave to share all of this.
Q: What is your proudest moment as a writer?
D: I am unabashedly proud every time we publish another book. I wish my parents were still alive to see it.
Check out his new book – From One Small Garden: Over 300 Delicious Nutritious Recipes at:
AMAZON USA:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T7YRHPN
AMAZON CANADA:
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08T7YRHPN
