Finding destiny and salvation: Wynword Press
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April 29, 2014 |
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By Mike Weland
It's hard to imagine finding a bona fide
publishing house in a more remote setting, but
if you travel down Grouse Hill Road in Boundary
County, take the third drive on the right and
wind your way back into the woods about a
quarter of a mile, you'll find the sign, "Wynword
Press."
Founded a year ago in May, Wynword Press, a
royalty paying, full service publishing company
specializing in both print and electronic media,
already has three books out, plus a CD that is a
companion to one of those books. Their fourth is
about two months away from publication.
It's a business that, like the Phoenix, arose
out of the ashes of the personal tragedies of
its owners and founders, Leah Meister (pictured
above) and Lynn Aldridge.
"It was destiny," Leah said. "We both prayed and
meditated, and it was handed to us on a silver
platter. I've been amazed. Everything I've ever
done, everything I've gone through, has been in
preparation ... the spirit goes before us, and
it's turning out in an amazing way. Both Lynn
and I have suffered great loss, and through that
you let go of pretense, your priorities
crystalize. We never thought this was on our
horizon, but the way it's come together has been
serendipity."
Born in Iowa, Leah and her family moved to
California when she was 10, and Leah grew up
there, marrying in 1974. She and her husband had
three children and were building a good life
until he was stricken with cancer. He died in
1995, and seeking a fresh start, she and her
three children moved to Seattle, but Leah found
the pace too hectic and longed for a simpler
life, a quieter place to raise her children.
"It was too hard in Seattle trying to raise
three kids and earn a living," she said.
A single mom, she and the children moved to
Boundary County, a place where, she hoped, her
children would learn the joys of country living,
as she had enjoyed her childhood in Iowa.
It wasn't to be.
In 2001, her eldest son, David, then 19, landed
in trouble, and he was later convicted of murder
in Latah County and sentenced to life in prison,
though he denies his guilt to this day and the
case remains controversial, as another man
confessed to the crime.
Her youngest son, Derrick, at age 21, leapt from
the Moyie River Bridge in February, 2012, taking
his own life. Her daughter is now married, but
still struggles with the trauma and loss.
Throughout her life, Leah worked in positions
that brought her into contact with a number of
authors, and one she'd met years earlier in
California and became friends with, psychologist
and best selling author Dr. Beth Hedva,
www.drbethhedva.com, helped console Leah
after Derrick's death.
She was also looking for a publisher for the
third edition of her book, "Betrayal, Trust and
Forgiveness," and after thinking, praying and
many long talks with Lynn, Leah took the
challenge. Wynword Press was born.
After that first book was published, Leah and
Lynn, who also recently suffered the loss of her
30-year-old son, took on production of
"Forgiveness Meditation," a CD of Dr. Hedva's
lectures and guided meditations that is a
companion piece to the book.
Two more titles soon followed, "The Dream
Weaver," by Imogene Aldridge, and "Battling the
Administration: An Inmate's Guide to a
Successful Lawsuit," a book written in prison by
her son, David.
"Despite what's happened to him and what he's
been through, he hasn't given up," Leah said.
The title of the book, she said, is somewhat of
a misnomer; it's more a treatise on the rights
of prisoners, and instruction on how to ensure
those in the penal system can retain those
rights.
In addition to using his time learning, studying
and writing, David, also a gifted artist, helps
his mother with Wynword Press, designing and
providing art for each publication.
Lynn, Leah said, is a gifted writer and lover of
words, and together the three complement one
another, each possessing the talents to create
an almost perfect whole.
"My gift is that I can do the tedious grunt
work," Leah said, "the indexing, the
proofreading, the charts and tables, the layout,
the marketing. "Every job I've held in my life,
I've learned how to keep shaking the tree, to
get the job done. It all led to here, to a whole
new career in my golden years."
Wynword Press, she said, is not a typical
publishing company, but rather one predicated on
quality, both of words and content.
"Deep literature to inspire and instruct," both
their motto and their philosophy.
"Our goal is to publish those books that are
meant to be," Leah said.
Though they aren't accepting unsolicited
manuscripts, they are kept busy with the books
and projects, she said, that just seem to fall
into their laps at precisely the right time.
More serendipity.
It's hard to imagine that a publishing company,
creating books read world-wide, could find
success in a more remote or serene setting as
Boundary County, but if you take that third
driveway to the right on Grouse Hill Road,
you'll find just that, creating not only books,
but opportunity for people in the community and
a boost to the local economy as well.
To find out more about Wynword Press, visit
their website;
www.wynwordpress.com, or like and follow
them on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/wynword |
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