Tamela Rich's Blog

Since my last post, I spent a month on the road traveling roughly 4400 miles round trip between North Carolina and Arizona—with at least as 4400 smiles in between.

I’m writing a travel memoir about my experience called “Buckskin Rides Again.” Stay tuned for the serialization on my Substack for:
– road magic and gas station philosophers
– family reckonings and long-forgotten flashbacks
– the discipline of riding long and staying present
– and a working theory on what it means to grow down instead of grow up.

Roswell, NMDuncan, AZHot Springs, ARGlobe, AZCordell, OK

And now, the big reveal: I’ve signed a contract with University of Illinois Press for my book about the Ohio River as the country’s longest slavery border. I’m approaching the project from a traveler’s perspective, of course, telling stories from our ancestors on both sides of the 981-mile border.

We have a working title, but I’m sure it will change. I’ll keep you updated with publication details as I have them.

Godspeed!

If you’ve been missing me on “the socials,” most of my online activity is at my two free email newsletters. I narrate every newsletter, so you can listen in the Substack app or in your favorite podcatcher.

I’ll be honest with you. I’ve spent way too much of my precious life paying attention to things I have no control over.

I’m finding that simple pleasures are the key to my happiness. I’m writing—though most of it stays in the “draft” folder. I’m also knitting, working out with my trainer twice a week, and binge listening to the Thursday Murder Club series.

I resisted Thursday because I tend to be skeptical of runaway bestsellers—my taste doesn’t tend to run in the same direction. While I love a cozy mystery, there’s a fine line between cozy and fluffy, and I worried Thursday might cross it. Finally, after five years, I gave in—and they’ve been an absolute joy, with intricate plots, nuanced characters, and loads of humor. Sure, there’s blood, but never excessive or gratuitous—the Brits are much better at that than the Americans. The movie adaptation is coming out on Netflix this year.

I’ve been collaborating with Joan Lunden on her legacy memoir, which will be published in March of 2026. Joan was the longest-running female host ever on early morning television, and her post-Good Morning America career has been equally fascinating and full.

I’ll let you know when she settles on a title and cover design. It’s been a deeply satisfying project—not just because Joan is as delightful in person as she is on TV, but because distilling her life and accomplishments into 100,000 words was a rewarding creative challenge.

Without giving anything away about the book, approaching her life as a story—even a novel—helped us pinpoint the defining moments that best capture her remarkable journey. Just as novels have key themes, so do life stories. If you’re writing a memoir, thinking of yourself as the protagonist in a novel can give you the emotional distance needed to focus on the most essential moments and themes of your life’s journey.

I wrote about this in my recent newsletter with an example of how to do this using The Wizard of Oz as an example.

Traveling to Arizona via Roswell, New Mexico

After finishing Joan’s memoir I’ll head out to Arizona on my motorcycle to spend time with family. It’s been six years since I crossed the Mississippi River on my bike and that’s much too long. This time of year I plan to take the southern route and I’m thinking of stopping in Roswell, New Mexico. Why? Because I am a connoisseur of roadside kitsch and conspiracy theories.

Speaking of the latter, If you’re unfamiliar with what happened at Roswell in 1947, near what was then Roswell Army Air Field (later Walker Air Force Base), here’s the recap. A rancher named Mac Brazel discovered strange debris on his property and brought it to local authorities. The Army Air Forces briefly announced they had recovered a ‘flying disc’ but retracted that statement within a day, explaining that the debris was from a military weather balloon. Flash forward to the 1970s, and Roswell became ground zero for claims that the government was covering up evidence of an alien spacecraft—and possibly even alien bodies.

Here’s an interview with Garrett Graff, who wrote about Roswell and the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence in, UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government’s Search for Alien Life Here — and Out There. According to the author, Roswell conspiracy theories contributed to the rise of the so-called “deep state” in American politics. “The foundation of our modern conspiratorial age in our politics begins in the wake of Watergate with UFOs…You don’t get January 6th and the big lie in the 2020 election without the foundation of those UFO conspiracies in the ’80s and ’90s.”

Whatcha Watching?

Staying with conspiracy theories, here’s an Apple TV show steeped in them, Prime Target.

Edward Brooks is on the verge of a major mathematical breakthrough. If he succeeds in finding a pattern in prime numbers, he will hold the key to every computer in the world. Soon, he begins to realize an unseen enemy is trying to destroy his idea before it’s even born, which throws him into the orbit of an NSA agent who’s been tasked with watching and reporting on mathematicians’ behavior.

If you appreciate the Coen brothers’ dark humor and storytelling, and the quirky art direction of Wes Anderson, I have a show for you. Tree on a Hill (original Welsh title ren ar y Bryn) combines dark humor and complex character interactions with a stylized portrayal of community life. I watched it on Brit Box, and if you don’t have a subscription, you can get a free trial. It’s also on Amazon Prime and Roku.

The pacing is much slower than we Americans seem to crave, but I couldn’t stop watching and was rewarded with a literal “bang” in the last ten seconds.

Until my next update, I hope you’ll find something crafty to do with your hands that will keep them from doomscrolling.

Godspeed!

If you’ve been missing me on “the socials,” most of my online activity is at my two free email newsletters. I narrate every newsletter, so you can listen in the Substack app or in your favorite podcatcher.

In my last update I mentioned having a book on peer review with a major university press. Here are some of the reviewers’ comments (after all, it’s not bragging if you’re quoting someone else):

Tamela Rich’s proposed book, Along the Ohio: Traveling America’s Dividing Line, seeks to understand the racial history of the lower Midwest by chronicling the author’s tour along the Ohio River, which Rich calls “America’s first and longest slavery borderland.” A mix of history and travelogue, and structured along thirteen stops along the river, the book plans to investigate “the lower Midwest’s and upper South’s true racial history” by touring the region, visiting historic sites, and interviewing modern-day residents.

Rich’s writing is both clear and compelling. The style is appropriate for the intended audience and the author’s voice is appealing. Rich’s personality also shines through. I think the book will grab readers and will hold their attention. 

If you’re a writer wondering why I decided to publish with a university press or the advantages of peer review, feel free to email me and I’ll answer your questions. You might first check out my archive of newsletters on writing and publishing. Finally, this book was a valuable resource.

If you’ve been missing me on “the socials,” most of my online activity is at my two free email newsletters. I narrate every newsletter, so you can listen in the Substack app or in your favorite podcatcher.

Heavy Lifting

For the past six months I’ve been working with a personal trainer to build my strength and overall functional fitness. No one has been more shocked than yours truly how much I’ve enjoyed it.

I walk to the community fitness center with my neighbor, Lauren, and we share a 45-minute session with our trainer. If you’re considering getting into shape (or better shape) I heartily recommend doing it with a friend—for both accountability and positive reinforcement.

Get a load of that bicep!

Traveling to New England

I rode my motorcycle from home (North Carolina) to Maine around the Labor Day holiday to attend a national BMW Motorcycle Rally in Fryeburg, making the most of the late summer temps and gorgeous scenery. For those keeping track, I ride a 2022 BMW F 900 XR and love everything about it.

Benton’s Sugar Shack (NH)Grades of maple syrup at Benton’sThis is how maple syrup is made!I deserve itMotorcyclists are special Yacht in Belfast, MaineA home away from homeStephen King’s Bangor home

After the rally, I spent several days in Bangor with one of my dearest friends, Jill, who is also an avid motorcyclist. Watching the sun set from her rooftop living area (right) we relived some of our favorite moto-moments from North America and Europe, then realized it had been ten years since our first Maine tour. Ten!

Seize the day, friends! They soon become years.

In New Hampshire, Jill and stopped for dinner at Covered Bridge Farm Table in Campton on trivia night. We named our little team of two “Ramblin’ Roses” before sweeping the field of regulars. I was especially proud to answer this question correctly: If a group of horses is a herd and a group of owls is a parliament, what animals form a group known as a “bloat?”

Covered Bridge had excellent food and an even more excellent Trivia Master, Matt AlbeeTrivia master Matt Albee, Jill, and me after winning trivia

Speaking of trivia, if you enjoy learning something new, check out my 981 Project newsletter. I feature monthly trivia on all things related to the 981 miles of the Ohio River.

Whatcha Watching?

I’ve been gobbling up documentaries lately. This weekend I watched Ken Burns’s Benjamin Franklin while crocheting with some yarn I bought in Maine.

Do you enjoy British dramas, mysteries, and crime shows? You’ll love The Inheritance, in which three siblings are left reeling after their father’s unexpected death. After learning they are left out of the will, they embark on a journey to figure out whether this death was truly a tragic accident, or whether it was murder. So many secrets!

I have a BritBox subscription but you can also watch it through Amazon Prime Video.

I hope your winter holidays are filled with joy and lots of downtime. You deserve it. I’ll be back in 2025.

I have great news! My book about the Ohio River’s racial legacy is in peer review at a major university press. This means experts in history, sociology, and public policy will give me advice how to improve it, including suggested topics and interviews, before it goes to press (likely 2026). Can’t say more than that at this time, but hope to have a full report for my fourth quarterly update. Thanks for your good wishes and notes of encouragement.

Here I am, reading from “Along the Ohio” Traveling America’s Dividing Line” at the 47th Appalachian Writer’s Workshop. I was fortunate to spend the week studying with the inimitable Jennifer Haigh, and to meet NYT Columnist and author Margaret Renkl in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. As a result, I’ve got an idea for a new historical novel.

When I write my Q4 update, I’ll have just returned from a motorcycle trip to Maine for the BMW Riders Association National Rally. Maine in late summer! I occasionally post my travels on Instagram, if you’re interested. Meanwhile, here are some book and podcast recommendations.

Me reading the Author’s Note of “Along the Ohio: Traveling America’s Dividing Line”

If you’ve been missing me on “the socials,” most of my online activity is at my two free email newsletters. I narrate every newsletter, so you can listen in the Substack app or in your favorite podcatcher.

So Much Reading

I’ve been writing more than reading this quarter, after all, books don’t write themselves. Here are a few new titles I’ve picked up for research. You can link through to read about them and purchase (non-affiliate link).

“If you haven’t read this book, it’s new to you.” ~ Ann Patchett

I have just discovered Patricia Highsmith, whose work may be more familiar to you as movies than as books. Highsmith drives you deep into the heads of sociopaths and has an ineffable talent for plot and pacing. I’m taking careful notes. Reading stories set in the 1950s shows how much has changed about our daily lives with technologies that watch, listen, and tell on us. We know this intellectually, but being immersed in that era really brings it home.

Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley have repeatedly been adapted for the screen, and the latter is now a Netflix series starring one of my favorite villain actors, Andrew Scott (Professor Moriarity in the Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock series). If you’ve only seen these movies, buckle up for the books, and if you haven’t seen the movies, read the books first!

Coincidentally, the NYT Books podcast just featured Tom Ripley in the July Book Club.

Podcasts I Love

Most of my listening choices fall into the cultural, social, and economic, and racial history categories. I’ve always been more interested in the downtrodden themselves than the people who stepped on them during their climb to “the top” or were “of the manner born.” Here are three shows to consider.

As a product of the seventies, I love this podcast by history teacher and “seventies-ologist” Amy Lively. For The Record: The 70s, examines the intersection of a wide variety of musical genres—pop, rock, country, country-pop, disco, punk, soul—with the historic events and decisions that helped shape our modern world. This one on Southern Rock is terrific.

Shameless plug for my own podcast, where I narrate my 981 Project newsletter. I publish twice a month. The first edition is focused on culture, history, trivia, book reviews, and roadside kitsch from all 981 miles of the Ohio River. The second edition is a trivia quiz from the region (and tons of fun).

The Reckoning is a nine-part series about Kentucky’s history with slavery and how that history connects to issues we face today. Loads of experts and thoughtful topics. It offers a searchable database of over 100 oral histories of formerly enslaved Kentuckians, as well as inquiry materials aligned to the Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies. Learn more

The Rest is History, with hosts with Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook is pure perfection. Reputedly the most popular history podcast in the world, its British hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook have an irresistible chemistry. Both are trained historians who can address any subject in depth, with levity. Here’s one of my favorite culture episodes, Disco: Sex and Race in Seventies America, and another on Napoleon (first episode of a series).

Hello readers! Here’s my quarterly round up of where I’ve been traveling, and what I’ve been reading, listening to, writing, and thinking about.

Public Service Announcement: A couple of years ago, my Facebook account was hacked and subsequently deleted. I took the opportunity to improve my mental health by walking away. If you’re not enjoying your online life, shut it down. Life’s too short.

If you’d like to find a drama-free zone, please check out my two free email newsletters. I narrate each one, so you can listen with the Substack app or in your favorite pod catcher.

Book Research

I’m pleased to be working with a publisher on my book about the racial legacy of the Ohio River as the country’s longest slavery border (slavery-free north of it, and slave-states south). For now, that’s all I can say about the project, but I have plenty to say about my recent research trip to Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. Here’s a gallery of photos from the trip, starting with the Filson Historical Society’s Northwest & Indigenous Revolution Tour.

The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, KentuckyFort Chartres, four miles outside Prairie du Rocher, IllinoisSt. Genevieve, MissouriThe Lewis & Clark ExpeditionYork, the first Black man to cross North America (part of Lewis & Clark’s Expedition)Me with Daniel Boone, St. Charles, MissouriThe largest of Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, IllinoisMe inside the George Rogers Clark Memorial, Vincennes, Indiana

After the Filson’s bus tour, I rode my motorcycle to Evansville, Indiana, and Paducah, Kentucky:

Me with my tour guide Miss Janice, Evansville, IndianaFrom the collections at the African-American Museum, Evansville, IndianaExhibit at the African-American MuseumEvansville, IndianaHospitality extraordinaire at the Hampton Inn, PaducahMe with research librarian Nathan Lynn in Paducah, KentuckyBetty Dobson, ED of the historic Metropolitan Hotel, Paducah, Kentucky

Here are some of the new books I’ve been reading for research, in addition to the those I highlighted in my last quarterly update.

Moving through the photo from top left to bottom right.

Since it’s Triple Crown season, I couldn’t resist the Hidden History of Horse Racing in Kentucky. It’s full of photographs and factoids. Many of the early jockeys were Black, and fled to Europe to continue their professions during the Jim Crow era.

In The Geography of Hate: The Great Migration through Small-Town America, Jennifer Sdunzik explores many conscious and unconscious white actions that all but erased Black Americans from Indiana, and why we think of the Midwest as racially white. She doesn’t ignore other Midwestern states, but her data-driven focus is Indiana. Not surprisingly, Indiana was the epicenter of the KKK’s second wave in the 1920s. For a riveting account of that, read Timothy Egan’s book, A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them.

The book pictured furthest right is a compilation of articles originally published in the Illinois Catholic Historical Review between 1918 and 1925 about the Jesuit priest Pierre Gibault, also known as “the patriotic priest” and Illinois’ first citizen. I’m reading it to more fully understand the unique role that France and the Catholic Church played in North American history, especially during the American Revolution.

A History of Hate in Ohio: Then and Now is presented in two parts, historical and current. Part One is by Michael E. Brooks, a professor at Bowling Green State University. It begins with the Revolutionary War and ends in 1970, disputing a lot of things I thought I knew about my home state’s origins as a slavery-free state dominated by big-hearted Underground Railroad conductors. Part Two is written by Bob Fitrakis, a professor of Political Science at Columbus State Community College and editor/publisher of the Free Press. He carries the narrative from 1970 to the present day, including a reminder that it was an Ohio man, James Alex Fields Jr., who drove his car into a crowd of counter-protestors at the “Unite the Right Rally” in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing one woman and injuring dozens in 2017.

Finally, we have a facsimile of the 1940 edition of The Negro Motorist Green Book. I picked this up when visiting the Evansville African-American Museum gift shop. In the 1930s, during the era of Jim Crow laws, a Black postal carrier from Harlem named Victor Green published the annual guidebook to help African Americans safely navigate the roads of a segregated country. It lists businesses that were relatively friendly to African Americans for lodging, restaurants, and gas stations. I visited one of the book’s listings in Paducah, Kentucky, The Hotel Metropolitan, which recently won a $1.34 grant for historical preservation.

The book’s title might be familiar if you watched the 2018 movie of the same name.

Movie poster from Green BookPleasure Reading

The best novel I’ve read so far this year is Metropolis, by B.A. Shapiro. I listened to the audio book, narrated by a cast of excellent voice actors. As a writer and editor, I realize how difficult it is to invest readers in more than one main character, and Ms. Shapiro weaves six characters’ stories into one. This book has everything I love: plot, characters, suspense, and a lot to ruminate over when the last page is finished.

Overview: “Six people, six secrets, six different backgrounds. They would never have met if not for their connection to the Metropolis Storage Warehouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When someone falls down an elevator shaft at the facility, each of the six becomes caught up in an intensifying chain of events.”

This year’s book club reads through September:

(January) Eastbound, “In this gripping tale, a Russian conscript and a French woman cross paths on the Trans-Siberian railroad, each fleeing to the east for their own reasons.” For me, three stars.(February) Tom Lake, “…a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart.” For me, three stars.(March) Where’d You Go, Bernadette (much better than the film). “It all began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette’s intensifying allergy to Seattle—and people in general—has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic. Then Bernadette vanishes… For me, four stars.(April) The Fraud is a historical novel set in Victorian England. “Based on real historical events, The Fraud is a dazzling novel about truth and fiction, Jamaica and Britain, fraudulence and authenticity and the mystery of ‘other people.'” For me, three stars.(May) North Woods “A sweeping novel about a single house in the woods of New England, told through the lives of those who inhabit it across the centuries—’a time-spanning, genre-blurring work of storytelling magic.'” I haven’t finished it, but so far, four stars.(September) The Covenant of Water “Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere…” I haven’t started it yet.

Stay tuned for my next quarterly update, when I hope to reveal my publishing plans. Thanks for stopping by!

Hello readers!

If you’ve been missing me on “the socials” most of my online activity is at my two free email newsletters. I narrate every newsletter, so you can listen in the Substack app or in your favorite podcatcher.

What I’ve been Reading

I’ve been immersed in all things related to the Ohio River as I pitch a book on the racial legacy of the country’s longest slavery border (north of the Ohio River was slavery-free per the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, all 981 miles of it).

If you follow my 981 Project, you’ll get book recommendations like these:

Creating a Confederate Kentucky, explains why Kentucky behaves like a former Confederate state up to the present day, although it never seceded. This identity didn’t begin to form until the war was over. I’m being simplistic here, but in a nutshell, white Kentuckians had expected to be rewarded for their loyalty to the Union by being permitted to remain a slave state. They are still wrestling with that today.

Beyond the River brings to life the stories of men and women, both Black and white, who fought against slavery along the Ohio River through the Ripley line of the Underground Railroad, one of the busiest in the region. Virginia’s ownership of the area around Ripley, known as the the Virginia Military District, was set aside for veterans of the Revolutionary War. When the Northwest Territory was established as slavery-free, several Virginia slaveholders freed them, then paid them in food, clothing, shelter and money for their work. Some of the formerly enslaved made their homes there with the white settlers and others set up colonies of their own.

His Promised Land is a slave narrative from John P. Parker, who may be the most interesting American ever born. Born to an enslaved mother and a white Virginian that Mr. Parker described as an “aristocrat,” he was sold at the age of eight and eventually bought his freedom after many harrowing runaway attempts detailed in the book. When he made it to Ohio, he literally worked day and night; by day as an inventor and business owner, and by night as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. He was issued US patents for an improved tobacco press, a portable tobacco press, and soil pulverizer, and used his earnings to send his sons to university. Someone should make a biopic of him.

Podcasts I Love

The Road To Now is not focused on a particular era, region, or theme, but it always holds my attention and makes me reconsider something I thought was settled fact. Hosted by Dr. Benjamin Sawyer, a history professor (and stand-up comedian!) and Bob Crawford, a founding member of The Avett Brothers band, their banter is intelligent and well informed.

In light of my newsletter on Tecumseh, I was buzzy listening to an interview with author Peter Stark, with a new book about Tecumseh and Harrison. 

The Rest is History is worth listening to for the repartee alone! Historian and author Dominic Sandbrook and popular historian Tom Holland (both Brits) are serious scholars with a jocular chemistry. I love them. You’ll find a diverse range of subjects and eras. Here’s one about the American Revolution from an English perspective that includes ground I’ve previously covered about the French and Indian War (featuring George Washington).

“Point of View” in Pittsburgh, PA.
Left is the Seneca leader Guyasuta, right is George Washington when a British officer.

That’s it for me this quarter. Next time I write here I’ll be tanned and rested from a sojourn in Barbados. Until then…Tamela

This is the first time I’ve touched my blog in five years. I blame myself for neglecting it in favor of social media addiction. Now, instead of feeding social media companies with content that they profit from, I write two free newsletters. My life is so much better now.

I just want to you know that there’s a free and sane place to follow my travels and the things that interest me. The Substack company powers my newsletters and are like blog posts. Unlike a blog, you get to decide whether to read them in your email, or on the Substack app. I always narrate my posts/newsletters, so if you’re an audiophile, listen to them like a podcast.

If you want to use the Substack app to comment and interact with other subscribers, go for it. Most of my subscribers just hit “reply” to the email and we talk there in private. Isn’t that nice?

My personal newsletter covers a wide range of subjects, including travel, motorcycles, personal updates and musings. Here are a couple of newsletters about topics very dear to me now: living a long life and the practice of Memento Mori.

My 981 Project newsletter is tightly focused on any and everything related to the Ohio River Valley.

Introducing The 981 Project

I grew up in Ohio but it wasn’t until my fifties that I realized the importance of the Ohio River in American history or my own. Since there are 981 miles in the river from its headwaters in Pittsburgh to its mouth at the Mississippi, I named my newsletter after them. Here are a couple of topics that were a big hit with newsletter subscribers.

Where a river separates two states, the legal boundary line is usually in the middle of the river. But not when it comes to the Ohio. Why is this?

The short answer is “Virginia.” Get the full story here.

Sadly, whatever money and labor had built and maintained New Vrindaban to its height in the 1980s no longer flowed. Why couldn’t they keep it up?

What happened to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram?

Thanks to a hacker I lost my personal Facebook account. For about 30 seconds I felt violated; a sense of dread clutched my windpipe as I thought about rebuilding 13 years of work there. Starting at 31 seconds, a feeling of relief started welling up, surprising me with the promise of a better life. Thanks to a bandaid fix I can see Facebook and I can manage my official author page, but I’m not interested in that madness any longer. Don’t look for me there. I don’t accept friend requests and am not tempted to surf the stream.

Twitter is now X, but I am more interested in its competitor, Threads, although I’m mostly a lurker. It’s a nice space for the time being, but we’ve already seen the pattern of where it will likely lead.

Instagram was never my jam, but thanks to its built-in limits on outgoing links, it’s a saner place to interact. Still, I can’t be bothered trying to build followers by keeping pace with changing algorithms and features. Not only that, once you have an audience, Meta limits your posts in the free stream, so you need to buy ads to reach the people you worked to attract.

In short, these platforms exist because people are willing to do the hard work of providing content for free, and are contorting themselves/brands to feed an insatiable and fickle media maw.

No thanks.

I hope to continue our conversation through one of my newsletters. I will post quarterly updates here on my blog to feature the newsletter stories that have gained the most traction with readers. Thanks for reading.

I wrote Hit The Road, A Woman’s Guide To Solo Motorcycle Touring to help readers experience the joy that a solo road trip gives me. It includes practical tips that anyone can use—whether traveling alone or with others, and regardless of sex.

Solo-wanderlust or solo-curious?

Group riding is great, and so is solo! Yet, my research shows that two-thirds of women riders have limited or no experience traveling alone by motorcycle.

Whether you have solo-wanderlust or are solo-curious, Hit the Road includes my stories from the road as well as checklists, tips, and resources for anyone who wants to get the best out of a two-wheeled adventure.

Lacking in courage or mechanical skills?

I belong to several women rider groups on Facebook where members confide that the men in their lives discourage solo travel, but that’s not the only reason they tend to tour with companions. Fear and lack of confidence in their mechanical skills are also reasons that hold some women back.

I have faced these obstacles myself, and share my experiences, advice, and encouragement in the book. Hit the Road discusses travel safety head-on, including how to deal with the travel dangers that women fear most.

Hit The Road helps readers:

1. Identify their Traveler Type

2. Learn to plan the perfect itinerary for their Traveler Type

3. Understand their fears and how to overcome them

4. Choose personal safety devices and strategies best suited to them

5. Learn money-saving tips—to spend more time on the road

6. Prepare for travel by downloading checklists for packing, mechanical inspections, tools, and emergencies

7. Understand what to do if something unwelcome happens on a trip

8. Experience the joy of traveling solo without feeling lonely

And much more…

You can buy the book directly from me—including my inscription, shipping, and handling, by clicking the “Buy Now” button below. If you prefer Amazon, here’s the link.

Trade Paperback

Retail: $19.99

ISBN: 978-0-9840473-2-1

Digital:

Retail: $5.99

ISBN: 978-0-9840473-3-8

Quantity discounts available beginning at 50 copies.

 

The post Hit The Road: A Woman’s Guide To Solo Motorcycle Touring appeared first on Tamela Rich.

Four Octobers ago, in the mountains of West Virginia, my friend Jill took this photo of me. It remains one of my favorite shots—as a photo, and as a memento of a gorgeous day with a dear friend.

When I wrote my new book, Hit The Road: A Woman’s Guide to Solo Motorcycle Touring, I knew I wanted to use that photo on the cover if possible. For a number of reasons it just didn’t work, and there was no good workaround that would make it look right by professional standards.

Inspiration for “Hit The Road” book coverCollaborating with illustrator Rich Barrett

Andy Ciordia, my friend and designer said, “Tam, if only you had an illustrator who could take this picture as inspiration and make it work…”

I instantly replied, “I do! Rich Barrett.“

It started with a clear creative brief from me and a conversation with Rich about the “spirit” I wanted the cover to convey. I told him I wanted a lighthearted feel because solo motorcycle touring fills me with such joy.

Also, my research told me that many women are hesitant or downright afraid to hit the road solo, and I wanted a cheerful cover to reflect the encouraging messages and tips in the book.

The biggest problem with the photo is that it was framed horizontal, while a book cover is vertical. Besides that I told Rich, I wanted to changes:

First,  the helmet dominates. I’d like the reflection in the mirror and the hand to be more dominant than the helmet.

Second, I’d like to see a curvy road heading in the direction of my gaze.

I told him something simple like the book cover for Lois Pryce’s book, Revolutionary Road would be ideal.

“Hit The Road: A Woman’s Guide to Solo Motorcycle Touring”

Available January 2, 2018, in print and digital editions, Hit The Road: A Woman’s Guide to Solo Motorcycle Touring includes stories from my motorcycle travels, plus checklists, tips, and resources for anyone who wants to get the best out of a two-wheeled adventure.

The book helps readers:

Identify their Traveler TypeLearn to plan the perfect itinerary for their Traveler TypeUnderstand their fears and how to overcome themChoose personal safety devices and strategies best suited to themLearn money-saving tips that will let them spend more time on the roadPrepare for travel by downloading checklists for packing, mechanical inspections, tools, and emergenciesUnderstand what to do if something unwelcomed happens on a tripExperience the joy of traveling solo without feeling lonely

And much more…

Inspiration for “Hit The Road” book cover

Four Octobers ago, in the mountains of West Virginia, my friend Jill took this photo of me. It remains one of my favorite shots—as a photo, and as a memento of a gorgeous day with a dear friend.

When I wrote my new book, Hit The Road: A Woman’s Guide to Solo Motorcycle Touring, I knew I wanted to use that photo on the cover if possible. For a number of reasons it just didn’t work, and there was no good workaround that would make it look right by professional standards.

Collaborating with illustrator Rich Barrett

Andy Ciordia, my friend and designer said, “Tam, if only you had an illustrator who could take this picture as inspiration and make it work…”

I instantly replied, “I do! Rich Barrett.”

Watch this Facebook Live interview with Rich, where he takes you into his process of turning my photo concept into a super book cover.

It started with a clear creative brief from me and a conversation with Rich about the “spirit” I wanted the cover to convey. I told him I wanted a lighthearted feel because solo motorcycle touring fills me with such joy.

Also, my research told me that many women are hesitant or downright afraid to hit the road solo, and I wanted a cheerful cover to reflect the encouraging messages and tips in the book.

The biggest problem with the photo is that it was framed horizontal, while a book cover is vertical. Besides that I told Rich, I wanted to changes:

First,  the helmet dominates. I’d like the reflection in the mirror and the hand to be more dominant than the helmet.

Second, I’d like to see a curvy road heading in the direction of my gaze.

I told him something simple like the book cover for Lois Pryce’s book, Revolutionary Road would be ideal.

“Hit The Road: A Woman’s Guide to Solo Motorcycle Touring”

Available January 2, 2018, in print and digital editions, Hit The Road: A Woman’s Guide to Solo Motorcycle Touring includes stories from my motorcycle travels, plus checklists, tips, and resources for anyone who wants to get the best out of a two-wheeled adventure.

The book helps readers:

1. Identify their Traveler Type

2. Learn to plan the perfect itinerary for their Traveler Type

3. Understand their fears and how to overcome them

4. Choose personal safety devices and strategies best suited to them

5. Learn money-saving tips that will let them spend more time on the road

6. Prepare for travel by downloading checklists for packing, mechanical inspections, tools, and emergencies

7. Understand what to do if something unwelcomed happens on a trip

8. Experience the joy of traveling solo without feeling lonely

And much more…

The post How to Turn a Picture into a Book Cover (How I did) appeared first on Tamela Rich.