Drum roll, please, as it’s time for the big announcement!
As of this week, I have two books available on Amazon:
101 Travel Bits: The Alaska Highway
101 Travel Bits: The Overseas Highway
Back when I started this blog, there were two main themes: travel and Choppy (usually together). Over the years, the blog has sort of evolved away from the travel, but I’ve always retained my love for it. Since beginning the blog, I’ve also written a few books, including one on traveling with Choppy, none of which have been published despite years of looking for an agent or publisher.
While working on getting those books published, I started working on some books about travel. These weren’t really guidebooks, but books of facts about various locations. Here’s how I describe the books on Amazon:
Travel Bits™ are not your typical guidebooks. In fact, they aren’t guidebooks at all!
Each collection of Travel Bits consists of 101 “bits” of information about one of the great places to visit in the world. This could be a “bit” of history, a “bit” of information on a tourist attraction, or a “bit” of something else interesting about the location.
A Travel Bits collection is not intended to be a guidebook to any particular location. You will not find the maps or pictures you would expect in a guidebook in any Travel Bits collection. No Travel Bits collection contains any pictures. Instead, each book gives you information a typical guidebook ignores: history, fun facts and interesting sights along the way.
This isn’t to say that there are no pictures involved in a Travel Bits collection. Each Travel Bits collection is optimized for reading as an e-book. This format makes each Travel Bit interactive, with links to official websites and other information where it is appropriate. Thus, instead of raising the cost of the book to include pictures, we take advantage of the Internet’s enormous wealth of information to take you to where the pictures already exist.
In case it isn’t obvious, because of the interactive nature of e-books, we highly recommend reading the Travel Bits collections using an e-book reader, as the print versions do not have these interactive features.
Thank you, and please enjoy this entry in the Travel Bits series!
That’s the basic summary of the books in this series. Right now, there are just the two books on the Alaska Highway and the Overseas Highway, but there are several more being planned. Next up will be Key West in about two or three months. After that, I have several ideas but have yet to choose the specific location.
Right now, the book is solely available on Kindle, because I’ve enrolled in Kindle Select. This means if you have Kindle Unlimited, you can read the book for free right now. Unfortunately for some of you, this also means that it won’t be available on other e-book platforms until June.
If you don’t use an e-reader, there will be paperback editions coming in the next week or so (the book is optimized for e-reading, so it requires a few changes before it can get published that way – one of my weekend plans is to get the book in paperback format). For both the paperback and other e-reader editions, I will make announcements when the books are available.
If you choose to read one (or both!) of the books, I thank you in advance (with extra special thanks for anyone who leaves a review!). Over the coming weeks, I’ll periodically post some excerpts from the books here on the blog so you can see if it’s something that interests you.
There’s also a website for the series, www.101travelbits.com, where you can poke around and learn a little more about the books.
Below are links excerpts from each of the two books – I hope you enjoy them enough to go out and buy one or both. If you aren’t sure yet, stay tuned to the blog for more excerpts to help you decide that you should definitely buy them!
Well done Sarah, congratulations on the books.
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Thanks! Hopefully I’ll have more in the future, both as part of this series as well as some novels and other travel books. I just need to make the time to get them done!
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I’m in awe that you can sit down and right books. My head gets stuck.
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I’ve been doing it since I was a kid – it’s like second nature. It seems natural to me!
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That is super awesome! You are a very busy and creative and mutitalented woman! (PS: not what I thought “The Announcement” was going to be 😊)
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Ha! Last night when we were driving home, Paul goes, “I think some of your commenters think you’re pregnant.” I totally didn’t even think about that being something people would think until he said that!
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Yup! I thought you were announcing a “little follower.” Having 3 very adult children of my own, & a grand “baby” I know that an “announcement” is needed at some point. 😮
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🙂
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Congratulations! 🙂
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Thanks!
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Congratulations Sarah! This is tremendous news!
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Thanks! It’s something that’s been brewing a long time. The writing part was easy – the editing and getting it ready to publish took a LONG time!
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I think it’s terrific.
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Congratulations Sarah – how cool is this. I look forward to seeing more about this soon. And just a side note, I thought the big announcement was something else – you know – a little one is on the way. LOL, this is just as exciting – well done! 🙂
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Thanks!!
You and Alice thought the same thing! Paul said he thought people were thinking we were having a baby and that’s the announcement that was expected. I may have pooh-poohed him a little, so I guess I’ll have to admit he was right on this one!
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You got to give Paul some credit – right? 🙂
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When it is due, most certainly!
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😹😊😮🙃☺️😍 Perfect!
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PS…no pun intended….”when it’s due 😍”
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Ha! None intended! Just a bad choice of words!
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Excellent!! I’m so excited for you!!
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Thank you!
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You’re welcome!
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I looked at your free sample! Wow! It looks amazing! So much information! I didn’t even know there was such a road through Alaska/ Canada. Can’t wait to see what I learn!
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I’m so glad you enjoyed it – it’s a great road. Choppy and I drove it in the summer of 2013 and enjoyed almost every minute of it (I make an exception for the portion of the trip where I broke my finger and had to go to the emergency room, though in retrospect that is one of the more memorable parts of the trip!).
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Youch!!! Injured finger aside, sounds like an amazing place to drive. I love being on the road. Gypsy soul ❤️
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I feel the same way – I would rather be on the road than at home any time!
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Sounds exciting! I marvel at you finding time to do all the many things you do PLUS create a book or two!
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Sometimes I wonder where I find the time – and then I realize our lack of kids probably make a huge difference in that!
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Kudos & bravo! This is truly truly exciting news. Continued success in your “copious” spare time. 🙂
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I always wonder where other people find time to do things like watch television. I’m like, “I have no spare time!” I think I just fill up every moment I have with something.
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How exciting. I love it when things work out for the best. And I’m sure these books will be the best.
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Thank you! So far, so good with these – they were a lot of fun to write!
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That is Fantastic! Congratulations!
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Thank you!
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Congrats!!
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Thanks!!
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YAY! More book babies!! Congratulations :-)!! So happy for you.
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Thank you!! It has taken a long time to get here (probably longer than it should), but I am so happy to be here!
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Reblogged this on Dana Ellington, MAPW and commented:
More Book Babies! Please welcome the new releases for Sarah Ferguson, the wonderful author of Travels With Choppy here on WordPress.
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CONGRATULATIONS!!! This is exciting news! One of the places I have been wanting to go is to Key West. I’ll definitely have to look that one up when it comes out. I too have no idea how you find time to do all that you do. I barely have time to read a few blog posts and try to write one every week.
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Thanks! I’m working through the Key West one now – it’s coming along nicely. If you’re going down there, you should really take the drive down. It’s amazing and well worth the extra time.
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Yes. If I go, I am going to drive and take Tippy with me.
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Oh, that’s fantastic! There’s a great little dog beach in Key West, remind me when you make the trip and I will let you know where it is (otherwise, you’ll probably end up at the dog park, which is also at a beach but isn’t the dog beach – very confusing).
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Sounds confusing. I will try to remember and ask you before I go. It probably won’t be this year.
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It is quite confusing!
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Excellent news! Well done on persevering and getting your books out there (Tho I secretly still hope for a Choppy one!) 🙂
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Thanks! There are Choppy ones in the works – I sort of figured if this works well, I’ll seriously consider self-publishing them. This isn’t really a trial run, but it sort of lets me get through the process and figure out how it works with something that is a little easier for me (read: doesn’t require me to figure out how to put pictures in a book).
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That’s awesome! 🙂 And I still don’t know how you find the time for all this! 😀
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Wow! Sarah, that is fantastic !!! Huge congratulations on your books 🙂 What a wonderful accomplishment. I must say, just looking briefly, they look amazing and such an interesting read. I look forward to reading them.
You seriously are a busy lady, where on earth do you find the time? I don’t know about there, but here to get a book published and on the shelf is a mammoth task. Well done. Congratulations again, I am really happy for you. 🙂
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Thank you!! I really just enjoy writing. It’s been a part of every day for me, for pretty much as long as I can remember (as a kid, I spent hours typing away on our word processor in the basement – to say nothing of what I wrote by hand). It’s such an ingrained habit, I just write no matter what, so these sort of came out of that. I have several other books here, unrelated to these, that will hopefully see the light at some point!
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When you’re a natural, you are a natural 🙂 Well done !
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Thanks!
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Congrats huge!!
I’m so happy to see a fellow blogger pop out some great books! It sure lights a fire under my butt now to get on to writing something in book form!
I’m starting with Alaska. We’ve been wanting to drag the camper up there for awhile, however we clearly want to go in summer! A bit difficult now that we kinda gotta work… whatever!
I’m a gonna reblog this to get cha a bit more exposure 😉 That’s how fellow bloggers roll!
I’m so excited to check it out! Squeeeeeee! 🤓
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You are awesome for the reblog!
As for Alaska, you definitely need to do it. It was an amazing drive up there, and it would have been doubly nice with a camper instead of having to tent it all over (especially when the “helpful” campground host tells you about the mountain lion who ate his dog in said campground). It’s also super dog friendly, because of all the sled dogs and people who bring dogs up there. They may well be hoping that the lions eat the tourists’ dogs and not their own.
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Reblogged this on Midwestern Plants and commented:
Not only does Sarah travel, pun and dress Choppy and Schooner… She writes books also!
If you haven’t checked out her blog yet… what the heck are your waiting for?! Every day the Anipals have something humorous going on and that is the way to start the day.
However! The big news today is Sarah has written two travel tidbit books for your reading pleasure. If you’re planning a trip to either of these places, you need her book now!
Thanks Sarah!
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Brilliant! Will save to have a good, proper look later.
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I hope you enjoy when you get a chance to take a look!
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Congrats!
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Thank you!
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Sarah,
I can see this comment,.
Thanks,
Pit
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Wow, Sarah, congratulations!
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Thanks! I’ve enjoyed doing them, but it’s nice to be done as well and let other people see them.
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Yes! Site looks grand from a real laptop also !!! =-)
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Excellent! Good to know it’s good looking on a laptop other than my own!
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Cool stuff! The books look great I read a bit of the Alaskan highway that was available so they are interesting too. I love road trips, and the Alaska highway is on my wish list now.
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Oh, you should definitely do it – I loved taking it with Choppy. It’s one of those bucket list type items for people who know about it. I remember my dad talking about it when I was a kid, and that put a bug in my ear that didn’t leave until I set out myself!
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I recently wrote a blog on TIME. Between your family, career and blog writing, I take my hat off to you for creating time for this challenging feat as well. Bravo!!
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Thank you! I think I posted on that post about my favorite time quotation. I’ve really worked at creating the time for what I want to do (although it’s not really “creating” time so much as prioritizing the important things in my life and de-prioritizing that which isn’t important).
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Congratulations and so excited for you, Sarah! I am not often one to purchase books but admire authors! Usually I fill out Library Requisition forms! They then, of committee choose books I wrote request for purchases will put me in first reader position. After requesting over 25 books, only one was purchased. (Sadly true.) You go, girls! Choppy and Sarah, yay!
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Thank you!
And hey, one is better than none!
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of = if committee chooses books, I get to read first one!
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Sarah, congrats on Travel Bits! Very cool concept indeed. Let me add my “like” to the new web site look as well!
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Thanks on both counts!
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So cool! Congrats!
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Thank you!
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Superb.
Great post!
http://sagrikajhamb.com/2017/06/18/to-travel-is-to-live/
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Thanks!
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This is awesome! Congrats!!
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Thank you!
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