* * Praising Dwight

ust over a year ago, I was in Rocky Mount doing research on the book that is now Harmonic Highways: Motorcycling Virginia’s Crooked Road.  I met a man named Dwight Hayes.

Dwight owns a photography studio on the edge of town.  When we met, he told me that for a long time he has wanted to write a book about his life experiences.  Dwight was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and as an adult he left the Witnesses and became a more mainstream Christian.  I don’t know what came over me at the time, but I said, “None of us are getting any younger.  If you have a book in your mind, you should get started on it.”

He explained that while he had given it a tremendous amount of thought, he was not a good writer and was not very skilled with grammar.  I said, “Why don’t I help you with?”

Over the next week or two, we exchanged ideas and finally I made a proposal to assist, which he accepted.

During the intervening year, he has routinely sent me new chapters for the book which I have reworked to improve the grammar and flow.  When I was gone to Bolivia, he took that time to run the manuscript passed several of his own advisers who helped him with the technical aspects.  Since I have been back, I have been working to typeset his document to make it ready for printing.  We have recently come to terms that will place his book under the auspices of our new acquisition in Pocahontas Press, making this the first cover we have accepted (other than my own book).

Jane and I hosted a reception the other night in Floyd to announce the release of my new book.  Dwight and his wife, Roselie, attended.  I told him how proud I was of him for devoting himself so fully to this project and to seeing it through.  He will supervise his own print production and then we will begin to work together on marketing the book.  It likely has greater marketability than any of my own books.  I take this opportunity to publicly wish him well with this project, thank him for allowing me to take part, and committing myself to helping his book achieve maximum possible success.

Way to go, Dwight!