An Accidental Rescue

Things just keep happening as a result of the book I wrote and self-published. It has been three years since Jessie: the story of a genteel lady in frontier Alaska came off the press, and I am still finding adventure as a result of Jessie's story. However, the latest turn of events came about because I volunteered to type my friend, Jeanne Stinson’s, memoirs. In May 2008, she entrusted with me her 285 (handwritten) pages. The typing was completed by Christmas, then came the “work.”

She and I met almost every week for 2 hours to read the manuscript watching for errors and clarity. It was my intention to read a few paragraphs and then trade off, but Jeanne read every word out loud to me. I WISH there had been at least a tape recorder or video camera to share those precious hours with others.

When it came time to print I Dream of Jeanne: A Memoir by Jeanne Stinson, she had decided to not purchase an IBSN (every book with this set of numbers supposedly can be found in Books in Print). This way she could control who read her story. However, after her initial 25 copies went like hotcakes, she decided to get an ISBN. As soon as her number was published, she ordered another 25 books.

When that order came, there were three boxes. When opened, the first two boxes contained her books. However, the third box had 16 copies of a book titled Water in My Veins: The Pauper Who Helped Save A President by LCDR Ted Robinson, USNR. I immediately notified the printer of the mistake. They issued me a case number while they researched how to handle my complaint. As a matter of fact, before the saga ended, they would issue me four numbers.

Meanwhile, I decided there must be a way to reach the author. So with a minute amount of research, I found what city and state the author resides in and also four phone numbers for that region. There was no answer for the first three numbers, but a lady answered the phone for the fourth. I inquired if she knew of anyone with that name who authored a book.

Silence.

Long story; short. Somehow, I had managed to reach the wife of the book’s author. Since Jeanne was the keeper of the surplus books, I gave Mrs. Robinson Jeanne’s phone number. The next morning, Ted Robinson called me briefly and then called Jeanne. After several days of waiting for instructions from the printer, Ted arranged for Fed Ex to pick up the erred books. Soon, Jeanne and I had exchanged our books for his.

And, before I knew it, I was reading a 455-page book about growing up in the days of the Depression and World War II. Meanwhile, Jeanne and I have finished reading this fascinating story. Finding they had much in common, she has talked to him several times on the phone. John just finished reading my autographed copy and found the story to be enthralling. It could use some grammatical cleanup; other than that, it is a great read.

Just a quick PS – the printer folks finally got around to reading my plight and wrote to tell me to destroy the books. Too little…too late…the books were long gone.