There is so much that has happened it truly is hard to keep up with. It's exciting, it's overwhelming, I'm working hard to scale. 

Here are a few updates of what I have brewing for the rest of the year. 

I applied to the Rutgers University One-on-One Conference for Children's Literature. I have no idea if I will be accepted or not, but it looks like an incredible value and I'm taking a chance. That is in October in New Jersey. Keep your fingers crossed for me! 

I am taking part of a few conferences this summer: 
The Vermont College of Fine Arts Summer Residency Writing for Children and Young Adults  and Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Conference in August. Both of these have pitch opportunities to big editors, so I'm excited for the opportunity to pitch my new manuscripts to a panel of editors who will hopefully want to produce the book with me! 

In addition to the conferences, I am flying to Nashville, TN to pitch Island Girls to a big distributor. As some of you many know, one of my biggest struggles has been keeping up with the demand for Island Girls. I have wanted a distributor on my team and this is a very rare and exciting opportunity. Think of this like Shark Tank- I'll have 5 minutes to sell these guys on me and Island Girls which would be such a huge breakthrough for me. Please send me good vibes, this will happen over the weekend of August 18. I am excited and nervous, I could not pass up this opportunity! 

In addition to the conferences and reading camps, I am taking part of a few conferences and working on revisions for two manuscripts for editors at pretty big publishing houses. One for a new picture book I wrote and one for my middle grade novel. 

There are so many exciting things happening and I'm so thankful for your support and encouragement to keep writing and making a difference for our oceans! 

So much more to come! 

All my best,
​Blair

April has been a busy month of many school visits! I absolutely love connecting with kids and hearing their ideas of how we can all work together and make a change. 

I still have a few more schools to visit this week and also the Richmond Book Festival this weekend. 

The BBGB event was a huge success in Richmond, VA! I hosted a live audience in Richmond as well as a crowd cast of aspiring kidlit authors virtually. It was the first of many and I really enjoyed sharing my story and how I published Island Girls. 

I had the incredible opportunity to speak and network at the Palmetto State Literacy Conference as a debut author. This conference was geared towards educators and I was able to speak to a crowd about how they could use Island Girls in the classroom. Mentor texts, environmental segments, creative writing courses, Earth Day, Ocean's Day, and mainly, as a way for kids to use their voices to create major change for our world! Thank you so much to Seafarer friend Kelly Mac and her mom Kaye who helped get me to this stage. What a thrill. I can't wait to return to beautiful Hilton Head Island next year. 

Thank you, SARASOTA! This event was a little unique because I got to surprise the crowd with the real Island Girls! Sadie and Josie each had a chance to share their story and answer questions from the audience. They even got to sign a few books. I am so proud to see them gain confidence when speaking and understand how much this little book is spreading awareness about plastic in our oceans. It was so fun and special to see friends from so many parts of our Florida life come out to support and celebrate with us. Thank you, so much, for the love and support, Florida! I'll be back! 

Ok ok ok. So I'm back from Hawaii and I had the most incredible experience. A lot of people are wondering how it was, what we did, where we went, etc... so the intent of this blog is to help other authors and writers decide if this type of retreat is right for you and to let you know what all we did! 

There was so much anticipation built around going to Hawaii. A total bucket list location for me... and so many thoughts ran through my head:

How can I fly so far away from my family? 
Am I being selfish by going on this trip alone?
Am I crazy?
Am I really worthy of investing in myself?
Am I a good enough writer?
Who will I meet?
Will they be nice?
Will they like my writing? 

...Seriously, the list goes on and on and on of the doubt, Blake can vouch for me, I almost canceled around September / October when I was in the middle of hockey season wondering if I should really go. I was totally chickening out. The questions, the nerves, everything about it was so new and uncomfortable for me... but something just told me I had to do it. (I was also incredibly lucky to have such a supportive husband who all but told me I was going. He said that I deserved this and I will have a blast). So... I went. 

The backstory: 

The Writers Workshop Dallas is the group I have been with on this writing journey since day 1 back in January of 2021. I knew they hosted great online classes like the picture book course I took with Rosie Pova and the mentorship I did with her... so when I saw that they opened applications for a retreat in Hawaii I thought I had to put my hat pool of applicants. 

Apparently, it was a highly competitive pool of applicants and I was so lucky to have been selected as one of the retreat attendees. When I got the email that I was selected from Blake, I actually couldn't believe it.  In the email, we were notified that the Hawaii Island Retreat where we were staying had two accommodation types: A regular room in the hotel itself or a yurt. When I found out the yurts had a bathroom and running water inside of them, I knew the yurt was for me on this adventure. 

I am so glad I chose to stay in the yurts because I actually think the accommodation in the yurts was nicer than the hotel rooms, even though we paid less. More to come on this later. 

Before the Retreat:
We had to send 7000 word sample of our writing to the group to critique before we got there. We were required to write critique letters to each author in the group answering a specific set of questions and an area to fill in with other feedback. We were not given the names of the people attending the retreat beforehand or any information, so all we had to go on was a name and a manuscript. 

Meeting at the Airport:
When we met at the airport for the shuttle to the retreat location up in Waimea, we all introduced ourselves as... Blair... who wrote X. or Kate... who wrote Y. It was so crazy to match people with their manuscripts, I was shocked at who some people were who had written certain manuscripts. I was "Moon Beach Rising Blair." It was a very great way to meet our fellow attendees. 
 
Location of Retreat: The Hawaii Island Retreat itself was very remote. I would have preferred to be in a location closer to town with way more to do. If you travel so far away to a place like Hawaii, it would be really great to have the ability to experience more of the culture.That being said, the location of the retreat sat upon a grassy hillside overlooking a beautiful Pacific Ocean bay. The week we were there just so happened to be best "whale watching" week as the whales were migrating from Alaska and very active. It was heavenly and SO exciting to see whales breech all day, every day. Total magic. How can anyone complain about that? You kinda cant. There were plenty of hiking trails and it was good for me to "chill" out a little but I also was ITCHING to do more. 

The format of the workshop: 
I was in the fiction writing group and this was our schedule:
8:00 am breakfast 
9:00 am daily lecture by Ying Compestine and or Mark Gottlieb 
10:00 am - 12:00 pm critique break out groups 
1:00 pm Lunch
3:00 pm Afternoon activity (hike, trip to the store, beach, etc) 
6:00 pm Dinner 

The morning lectures by Mark and Ying were very helpful and informative, we workshopped pitches and heard a little bit about query letters from Mark. We learned about making a career from writing and a little about the submission process from both Mark and Ying. The time around that table was invaluable hearing stories and having a bit of a Q&A with top industry experts. 

The critique time was incredibly helpful for the person who had their work being critiqued. IE -- I was first, on the very first day of the workshop, Monday. Lucky for me, I got to spend the rest of the week working on edits that were given to me on that very first day. The rest of the time I was at the workshop, I was in the sessions listening to others critique writing, critiquing it myself, and learning directly from how Ying who would correct or bring the level of writing up to the next level. She would stop us and say, "add a tag line here", "tell me what she looks like, what is she wearing, what does the room look like..." Sitting in and listening to Ying for the week critique like this was very beneficial for me. I learned a lot that will help me on the creative and editorial side of my middle grade novel I am working on. 

OPEN READING NIGHT : 
I loved this part of the retreat where we each had a turn to read a portion of whatever we wanted. Published work, something we were working on, poems, etc... I loved hearing everyone from the non-fiction and fiction side of the workshop along with Mark and Ying's readings. That was a really cool part of the retreat.  

ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS:
​
We each also had one-on-one meeting with Ying and Mark which were very helpful.

Ying: My one-on-one with Ying was a critique of a children's picture book manuscript I had submitted to her. We also took the time to discuss the business plan for me as an author. She helped give me advice and direction and encouragement. The friendship and connection I made with Ying was worth the entire trip itself. She is one incredible lady who I learned so much fun. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to get to know her on a professional level and as a friend / mentor. 

Mark: My meeting with Mark was a lot about the business side of publishing. I was picking his brain about the type of clients he hires, what kind of books he would sell in today's market, how do I fall in comparison to other querying authors. He helped me by telling me I have an impressive platform and very intriguing writing. He asked me to submit my middle grade novel to him that I was very hesitant to do... but I did. Unfortunately, the first day he was back at his desk, I got a one two gut punch of a rejection from him, with an invitation to submit to another agent at Trident. The invitation to submit to another agent in his company was very nice and while I still totally took the rejection personally, I know that it wasn't personal. I know he is very busy and doesn't specialize in picture books at all. ​

The Hotel Itself
Is run by wonderful people. It is outdated and definitely not a four star hotel. I personally was fine with the accommodation because I selected the yurts and I knew what I was going to stay in. More of a "glamping" style type trip for me. It was SUPER fun, exciting, and the night that it rained... well, it sounded like I was inside of a drum. It was a totally magical time for me. Solo time away from being "mom" where I could focus on this new direction life has taken me as an author. One thing I will mention that was a complete let down was the coffee situation. I am a coffee girl and with the time difference (5 hrs from EST) I would wake up around 3-4am and be wide awake, ready to write. After my walk in early morning darkness with my flashlight from yurt village to the main hotel building.. only to find that I couldn't physically even make coffee myself! Bummer man! We were able to get this sorted out mid-week, but, still had some major struggles with the coffee. 

What to look for when searching for a retreat: 

• Location - there are some super amazing locations people go for these types of retreats
• The company you are going with - have they run these types of retreats before?
• Who the faculty will be - do they write in the genre you are writing?
• Is it an application process? Quality of other writer/author attendees will matter.
• Ask for references! 
• *TOP TIP* If you are going somewhere on your bucket list like I did in Hawaii: take my advice and GO EARLY TO EXPLORE BY YOURSELF! I am so thankful I did! Pics below are from my solo excursions... 

HUGE thank you to Blake and Mike for taking us on such a wonderful turning point in my career as an author. You all did such a great job planning and selecting such a great group of writers who I am lucky enough to call friends. HUGE thank you to Ying and Mark for pouring your industry knowledge into us. As the first retreat post-covid... to have the two of you as our faculty was AMAZING. I know I personally learned a lot from you all and I can't wait to update you all with more publishing and/or agenting news... SOON I hope!

Watch out publishing world... I'm a ninja now 💙 😜 

​THANK YOU WRITING WORKSHOPS! 

This update is to notify customers that Island Girls will be temporarily unavailable to order on retailer websites and through ingram for the next week or two. This is a result of a misprint on the original file uploaded. Unfortunately, it was a mistake on the publishers side.  

Please be patient, I'm so sorry about this. It will be back up and ready for ordering before we know it! 

In the meantime, if you would like to order signed copies of Island Girls through me,
please fill out the order form here . 

​Thank you for your continued support! I appreciate it so much!

An ocean of gratitude,
Blair 

It's been one heck of a crazy month. The launch of Island Girls: Free the Sea of Plastic went better than I could have ever imagined. I am not sure what I was expecting but it was crazy, in a good way!

I was hopeful that I would sell about 150 books (which was incredibly optimistic) during the holidays. I was blown away by the interest and positive reviews people were giving me for the book. I had originally ordered 200 copies from the publisher to sell on my own, realizing that I might have some left over, which would have been fine. But, I found out pretty quickly that I needed to order another 200 books. And then another 200 books. And then another 200 books. I ended up selling about 750 books. 750 books! That is 750+ books that are now in the hands of our youngest activists inspiring them to help our oceans and our under-the-sea friends. 

A lot of people have asked me how it feels to have such a successful book? I honestly can only answer that question with a huge sense of relief for the turtles and our under-the-sea friends and motivation that we are doing something to spread awareness about plastic in our oceans. I had plenty of moments in my career as a scuba diving instructor where I would look into the eyes of the turtles, the rays, the barracuda, and the sharks and really feel them talking to me. I told them I would help them and this is my little way of creating awareness about what is happening underneath the sea. I am very proud to have kept my pact with my under-the-sea friends. I am going to share with you all below some of my moments, so that you can understand some perspective... and maybe even a deep calling to help and protect them, too.  Seriously, when a turtle or another under-the-sea friend looks you in the eye, it's very powerful. I know they are all rejoicing underwater and THANKING YOU for the support, for teaching our children the importance of caring for our environment and all the love for this book. I do believe that it WILL make a difference! 

So, anyway, I am just so happy with how this has all gone. I'm blown away and very humbled. Thank you. The launch of Island Girls has been so much fun and I'm really looking forward to everything that is coming up in the future. I cannot thank everyone enough for their support. Below are some photos of all that transpired over the past 6 weeks. I am thrilled the book sales have hit 800 and counting. I am looking forward to: 

• Going on a writers retreat to Hawaii in a week from Friday.
• School Visits at Collegiate, St. Mary's for Earth Day
• Speaking at the Palmetto State Literary Association conference in Hilton Head, SC 
• Book signing in Sarasota, FL 
• Book signing at the Plastic Ocean Project Gala in Wrightsville Beach, NC  
• Maybe writing the next book in the Island Girls series(?!) 

I appreciate you following along and the continued support! 

The time is finally here. The book is starting to post on websites(!!) I cannot thank you all enough for the excitement. It is contagious and I really feel the love and support from so many family and friends. 

A lot of you have asked how you can help me. Here are a few ways: 

1. Buy the book and gift it this holiday season. To anyone and everyone who works with children or has children. This is a true investment in ocean's future and I really do hope and pray it makes a big impact.
2. Please read the book and then... 
3. Please, leave honest reviews! This is so helpful because without reviews, the book won't get much traction on amazon, B&N, etc. 
4. If you are at a library or bookstore, ask them to please carry Island Girls! This will take a village to get my little book in your local stores and libraries. Give them these ISBN numbers that they can search by, this will help. ​Island Girls, 9781662932472, Hardcover (LL)
   Island Girls, 9781662932489, Paperback
   
   
5. Gift a copy of the book to your child's teacher for their classroom. There are activities and suggestions in the back-matter for activities to do together to get involved and make a difference. 
6. Talk about the book, maybe a news outlet will pick up the story! 
7. Ask your school if they'd like me to come for an author visit. Many schools host these virtually as well.
8. Know anyone in the news? PR? or anyone who has a big following on social channels and they'd like to do a post on the book? Send them my way, the farther we can reach, the better.
9. If you see a post of mine that you like, share it, like it, comment on it, or, post about the book yourself! I appreciate it. 
10. Corporate gifting: if your company wants to place a bulk order and donate the books to a children's hospital or a charity, I'd love to talk to you, please email me. OR if you'd like to order copies to give to your business buddies for the holidays, we have enough time to place those orders and get them to you this year! 
    
    Where can I buy the book today?  
    At this minute on November 20, the book is up on a few websites, one site has hardback, two have paperback. It just takes time for the big retailers to upload all of the information to their sites. The book will be available in hardback, paperback, ebook, and audiobook. I'm hoping by Tuesday at the latest they will be up everywhere. Right now both versions of the book can be found on the following website:
    
    Gatekeeper Press
    
    Due to high demand, I am ordering more books to sign for the holidays(!!)
    IF YOU ARE LOCAL IN RICHMOND ONLY, I am taking pre-orders for signed copies for the holiday. I will be placing one more bulk order before Thanksgiving to have the books in time for the signings. You can reserve your books by sending a Venmo payment to @blairnwilliamson and you can pick them up at a signing event. 
    These signed, first edition copies are $25 each.  
    Otherwise, you can buy the books on the above sites and bring the book with you to a signing, I'll sign it there for you.
    
    I appreciate the love and support so much and I'm stretching my hand... getting ready to sign all the books for you all!
    
    It really will take a village but together, I do believe we can FREE THE SEA OF PLASTIC! 
    
    THANK YOU ALL.
    
    Here is one more sneak peek image of the gorgeous illustrations by Svitlana Holovchenko. We can't wait for you to enjoy her original watercolor illustrations. She is so incredibly talented! 
    ​