I write when my house is dirty and the garden needs care, when I could be spending time with my family, and when the laundry pile begins to slide off the top of the dryer. My husband does the grocery shopping, mows the lawn, and a whole lot more. He even spent hours last winter on a treadmill at the gym to give me precious alone time to write at the end of the day. In this light, writing seems kind of selfish.

I wrote a book and thought; what do I do now? Articles and books about getting published must be profitable, since there are so many of them. It boils down to a rejection-filled, time-consuming process. I didn’t want to do that. I thought, isn't there a way to do this that would be more local and personal, that would not require energy-consuming book tours and expensive advertising, that could give something back to the community?

From that idea Singing Dog Press emerged. People with great generosity of spirit helped to get this book published. If I sell one-thousand books, I will be able to give the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society far more than I could as an individual. If I can put some money back into the Press, I'll be able to publish more books by authors seeking readers and wanting to do something for their communities.

Who We Are

I am Lee Wicks, a writer living in Montague, MA. I have written for the Daily Hampshire Gazette, the Amherst Bulletin, and the Boston Globe and some of my essays are archived on Salon.com. under Lee Uttmark Wicks. I have also been a commentator on NPR affiliates, WFCR and WAMC.

Robert Moorhead, who designed the book, is an artist and Chair of the Art Department at Deerfield Academy. He donated his time and talent to this endeavor.

 James Whitbeck is an artist living in Greenfield, and he offered his wonderful painting for the cover at no charge.

Jessica Day and Janet MacFadyen were inspired proofreaders and editors. 

Jim Gipe of Pivot Media was ready to let me use one of his photographs on the cover. The painting worked better, but I'm sure Singing Dog Press will use one of Jim's images in the future.