There is a sense of excitement and anticipation when we are almost completed a task, no matter the size. I guess the larger and  longer the process to get to this point makes the excitement build.  This week I received three different cover ideas from my publisher and am now looking at all three with a determination to be made for which one we select. You can tell the book by this cover! Exciting times for sure.

It will be a couple of weeks before the cover is unveiled but suffice to say that this picture will be a key element. Blog followers will be the first to see the cover. HERE WE GOOOO!


The picture captures not only the beauty of Interlaken, between Dotty and Oxbow Lakes, but if one looks closely you can see the very history of the land that has been used by the Anishinaabeg  people, the European settlement process, the Norwegian Air Force, The Kiwanis Club of Toronto and of course of Olympia Sports camp since 1979. The final cover will be an exciting launch, and will act as a key component for the marketing. promoting, and selling process of a book that tells the story of all of the above.

Every published book must include an " About The Book" and "About the Author" section that is written by the publisher based on questions I answered about the process. I'm excited to share their words here.

 

About the Book: 

A Hero’s Journey Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp is a compiled history of the Olympia Sports Camp in Huntsville, Ontario, through the lens of its founder and inspiration, Dave Grace, the hero of the book’s title. The hero’s journey of the title is Dave Grace’s adaptation of the writings and teaching of philosopher Joseph Campbell. The basic tenet of the Dave Grace’s hero’s journey is that heroes all go through a 12-step journey—from their own comfort zone to the unknown and all its challenges—to a new normal where the hero bestows knowledge learned on others in order to help them on their journey. Dave Grace’s foundational belief is that we are all heroes on our own path and who we become on our journey is more important than the accomplishments we achieve.

 

A Hero’s Journey chronicles the people and places that make up the history of the camp, while also serving as an inspirational guidebook for readers to each become the hero of their own journey. This book also examines the history of the land on which the camp has been built, from its Indigenous origins to the European settlement of the 1800s, and to the use of the land by the Norwegian Air Force during World War II. The book takes readers on a journey through the various stages related to the development of the camp, first established in 1974. The book is built on a collection of stories related to mentorship, sports psychology, and community building, as well as interviews of past campers, coaches, and others with a longtime association with Olympia. With this book, author Chris Dooley honours Dave Grace and the many others who have been integral to the history of the camp and its land.


 

About the Author: 

Chris Dooley is a retired teacher and basketball coach with over 30 years of experience at many levels. Chris has coached basketball at the elementary school, high school, university, and club levels. He was also head coach of Ontario’s provincial team for four years and has been actively involved with Canada’s national team. Importantly, Chris has walked the walk and talked the talk of the virtues of Olympia Sports Camp, having coached there for over 30 summers. In this book, Chris captures the message delivered to campers and coaches alike at the camp, sharing it here for past and future Olympia attendees and their families. This is Chris’s second book; his first book, Can’t Miss: The Kevin Pangos Story, was published in 2015. Chris also writes for his own blog, Tuesdays with Dave (https://tuesdayswithdave.blogspot.com/), also about Dave Grace and Olympia Sports Camp. Chris lives in Burlington, Ontario, with his wife, Joy. They have two adult children, Nicole and Daniel.

 

The link to the blog is TuesdayswithDave.blogspot.com

This blog is about the journey of the writing of the book A Hero's Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Camp. The blog will contain excerpts from the book and my personal thoughts on what the place and the people that make up Olympia's journey is all about. The title comes from the great book Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom. The blog's title is recognizing Dave Grace as Camp Director, but all content is my own.

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