Nomad Publisher

Wow. It’s been a long crazy journey. Who would of ever thought thought back in 2019 we would have lived through a global pandemic. It seems like a lifetime ago I was country hopping through Asia, living the dream. And now it’s April 2022 and I have not left the country in sooooo long. I had high hopes, big dreams back in 2109. I wanted to give up my all my personal belongings for a backpack and my laptop. I learned so much about myself those four months living in Vietnam, Thailand, Japan & Singapore. It was an absolutely amazing experience. I do believe it actually prepared me to live in the pandemic world a much more well adjusted person in a weird way.

Before I left America to go live in Asia, I was the busiest I had ever been in my life. My publishing house was at full steam. I had an office in downtown Clearwater full of employees and interns. We had so many manuscript submissions, we couldn’t even keep up with them. 2019 was the highest grossing year of the business. I was so stressed out I never knew if I was coming or going. I never had time for myself just work 247 pass-out, eat bad food, sleep, repeat. I had gained a lot of weight from no time to eat healthy or work out or even think about it. Each year I hosted a large author awards ceremony & book gala for my authors which costs me around $10,000 and is the stress level of organizing a wedding for about 15 brides. That year I was going to try to save money and utilize my new office space with a lovely outdoor area with what should be gorgeous weather in November in FL. Instead while we were trying to setup outdoors, a freak tornado ripped through Clearwater tossing tables, chairs, signs and almost one of my interns down the street. To say I was on the verge of a mental break down, is an understatement. I knew I needed a vacation, but I had no idea how bad. Then my full-time admin gave me her two week notice. To say I was pissed is being polite.

About a month or so prior, I started looking at new office spaces to expand as we were growing out of our very small 10 feet x 10 feet space. I still managed to fit 4 people in there somehow. But we were constantly bumping our chairs into one another. So I was toying with the idea of getting a much bigger space and a storefront so we could open up a bookstore. When I floated the idea by my admin she loved it. And was super excited about it. Now having a bookstore is totally different than just an office space because you would have to be open more hours. At that time we were only open Monday – Friday 9-4ish. This would mean nights and weekends. So who is going to staff that? So there was a place across the street that was empty and I was starting to look and do lease negotiations. Thank goodness I didn’t sign because those are long commitments. And not then shortly after, my admin gave me notice that she was leaving and moving out of state. While I understand and everyone has their own life to live. Making a big decision like singing a years lease on another property is a big deal when you think you have staff to help you, when in reality you do not. And someone shouldn’t convince you to move forward with making big changes when they are not coming along for the ride. But I have learned this lesson in business and in life, you can only depend upon yourself 100%.

Thankfully I did not sign a lease and I dodged that bullet. And when she left, and the interns semester was over and I was left alone in my office starring at the walls, thinking why am I here? Everyone is gone. Why do I need to be here? I don’t.

That’s when I started researching and planning my getaway. At first it was a week, then two. Then I’m like no I need longer. This isn’t a retreat. I need more. My soul was aching for more. I just needed change. I was on the verge of a mental break down. I just keep looking until I knew what felt right and four months felt like that was it.

Excerpt from my new book coming soon! “Work & Live Anywhere in a Post-Pandemic World.”