There’s a quiet magic that happens the moment a writer finishes signing a physical book. When I sit at my desk, ink pen in hand, I never scribble a hasty signature. I write a personal message. I choose words that feel like a small blessing intended specifically for the person who will hold those pages. Once it leaves my hands, that book becomes a traveller. It enters the global current, carrying a specific frequency out into the wide world. When I pop it into the letterbox, I send it off with a wish that the reader will enjoy their book.
Today, the Universe sent me a beautiful reminder of just how far those ripples can travel. Out of the blue, a message landed in my Instagram inbox from a traditional Cherokee midwife living in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. She wrote to tell me that her midwife mentor had gifted her a signed copy of one of my books. The Birthkeepers was published years ago, and it had been many years since I’d signed that copy. The book had sat on the midwife’s shelf as a treasured companion; and, it had come into both of their lives thousands of miles away from where it was birthed. Hearing from her, out of nowhere, felt like a beautiful confirmation of my writerly path.
The Soul of the Physical Artifact
In a world that is becoming increasingly digital, fast, and fleeting, we are losing our anchor to the physical. Don’t get me wrong, I love the global reach of digital books. They allow my words to land on screens in every corner of the Earth in seconds. But there is a sacred exchange that only happens through a physical artifact. I am always intrigued that there are so many people who buy one of my books on Kindle, and then later on buy the paperback because, in their words, they want to ‘hold it’.
When a reader buys a paperback directly from my independent publishing house, Starflower Press, they aren’t just downloading data. They are choosing to hold something tangible. The reader is inviting an object into their home that has been handled with care, packaged deliberately, and infused with intention. When you read a physical book, your thumbs wear down the edges of the pages. You leave creases in the spine. You slip a bookmark between the sheets to hold your place. It becomes a living part of your history.
The Bookmark Ritual
This unexpected message from the Appalachians arrived at the most perfect moment. Lately, I have been reflecting on how to honour the people who choose to support my independent work by buying directly from me. As a thank you to everyone who chooses to buy signed copies from my website (Starflower Press), I have designed a beautiful custom bookmark to be professionally printed. In a week or so, every single physical book that leaves my desk will have one of these bookmarks tucked inside its pages as a small token of gratitude (from my creative Universe to yours).
Books have their own destiny. They go where they are needed, whispered along by fate to land in the hands of the person who requires their message the most.
When I write, it may be to educate, entertain, inspire, heal or awaken the imagination. Whether you are reading my words in a quiet room here in the UK, on a Sun-baked beach in Australia or turning the pages on a porch in the misty Appalachian Mountains, thank you for being part of the journey.
With love,
Veronika x
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