Welcome to your monthly update from

Watermark Book Company!

Below, you'll find what's new in the store, upcoming events,

book reviews, and more!

Hello to all of my happy readers!!!

It is August, I can NOT believe it. This summer has just flown by. I am normally very chill and laid back in the summer, but this summer has been fun and full of surprises. Last month we went to Lakedale Resort on San Juan Island with our youngest kiddo and our middle kiddo who was home visiting for his summer break. This was our second time staying at Lakedale, and it is so fun. We stayed in a big tent with beds and lake views, and we went to the Lavender Farms. We paddle boarded and rode pedal boats. It was just a lot of fun.

I spent the weekend in Seattle for the Taylor Swift Concert.........I went with Amberly and my daughter, and we made it a whole girls' weekend. My middle kiddo, John, was heading back to Florida the next day—so he even got one day with us. We did the Underground Tour, Ivars for lunch, the Great Wheel, the Space Needle, and the CONCERT!! It was just a really well-done show. We had so much fun, and there was so much laughter had by all. Thanks to the rest of team for holding down the fort. And then I was back for three days, and then we have friends who have a house on Lake Whatcom who do a family gathering every summer for one week. They invited us last year, and again this year. It was so much fun. We rode floats behind boats, there was diving off of docks. There was BBQ food, great breakfasts, and sunshine! AND there were people who wanted to play Cribbage with me!! I was in hog heaven. I came back home to so much laundry from all of our gallivanting.

Last month we launched our new business endeavor, Watermark Writing Company. We are so excited to offer this service to our community. Amberly is a copy editor with a certificate and degree in writing. For those who don't know—copy editing is your line-by-line editing: punctuation and making sure that the correct and consistent tense is being used throughout a whole piece. I could not be happier to be on this journey with her. I will be the developmental editor, and that is making sure that your work is consistent from start to finish. That is making sure that, if your character was 14 years old in your story, she ages appropriately throughout the story. My literal personality and OCD have waited my whole life for this opportunity. And we have Kathleen Kaska, who is our writing coach. She is such a force. She has written nearly a dozen books. If you have a story that you want to tell, but are not quite sure how to get started, she can help with that. If you have a piece that has been written but needs a fair bit of work, she can help with that. We make a great team.

My crocheting is really taking off!! I made a cardigan for the Taylor Swift concert and it has such happy colors. I am working on finishing a couple of blankets, and I am going to make a granny square tank top. I will show you later.

Amberly and me on the way to the Concert...I am wearing the cardigan that I made!

I admit that I did not get to read a ton this month—just too much life happening. I did read Mary: An Awakening of Terror, by Nat Cassidy. This was an older title, and it is super creepy and also a very sad story about women and how we can feel unseen and not respected in a medical setting. Just a wild and horrifying ride. I finished listening to Mortal Follies, by Alexis Hall, and I very much enjoyed it—magical and mythical, with lots of fun and sexiness. I am well into listening to The Seven Year Slip, by Ashley Poston...This book could not be farther from what I thought it was about. I really like it.

I want to to finish my copy of Ann Patchett's Tom Lake, and I have a few more on my list.

My oldest should be coming back for a visit in September. He is turning 21 and wants to spend his birthday with us! I am so excited to see him. My hubby and I are planning a romantic trip to the Dominican Republic during the first week of October. This will be sans kids...YES! I hope he lets me read.

Happy Reading and Stay Safe!

Brandy~

Author Events, Book Signings, and Shop Events

The team has been enjoying this summer so far!

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Diane went to the Bellingham Bells baseball game!

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Jaycee scored a Kate Spade bag for $15.00 at the Shipwreck Festival!

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Brandy, Amberly, and Janet saw the Taylor Swift concert in Seattle!

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We are working on updating our website!

Our website is a work in progress, so thank you for your patience with us while we finish it!

We are already so happy with the changes that we've made,

and we're excited for the fun plans we have.

Check out our progress at watermarkbookcompany.com!

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Introducing Watermark Writing Company

At the July 7th Art Walk, we introduced Watermark Writing Company:

our new coaching and editing company!

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Right now, we offer coaching, developmental editing, and copy editing for your writing projects. If you want to learn more, visit our new website here:

watermarkwritingcompany.com.

Join Our Team

We are looking for the perfect person to round out our team!

We need someone who is available to work on weekdays.

We're looking for someone hardworking and dependable,

who is a self starter and a good team member.

If this sounds like you or someone you know, resumes can be sent to

watermarkbookcompany@gmail.com.

This Just In

New Watercolor Paper Pads and Watercolor Pencils

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New Coloring Books

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Beautiful new card decks with shiny edges

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Calendars!

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This Just In for Kids

New from the Makers of the Popular Paint by Sticker Books: Learn by Sticker!

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Super cute new picture books and board books!

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The newest book in the Dragon Masters series is out!!!

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📙 New in Paperback📙

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📗 New in Hardcover📗

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📘 New from Local Authors📘

We've had so many new books from local authors,

we thought we'd showcase some of them!

Jan Wright brought copies of Whidbey Landmarks,

a collection of stories and poems by members of Whidbey Writers' Group.

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Tele Aadsen is the author of What Water Holds.

Check out our Upcoming Events section to read more about her book signing event!

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Marlene Anderson brought us copies of her new book,

Learning to Live Again in a New World.

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Kami Bratten is a school teacher and the author of the new children's book, Rooster!

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Upcoming Events

August

Friday, August 4th-Sunday, August 6th

Anacortes Arts Festival

We will be open our regular hours during the Anacortes Arts Festival.

We are excited to have a featured author AND a featured artist joining us...

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Saturday, August 5th 12pm-3pm

Local Author Essea White &

Local Artist Heidi Brewer-Peters

Essea White will be here signing copies of her picture book, I Wonder!

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Heidi Brewer-Peters makes hand-bound journals,

and she will be here to answer any of your questions!

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Saturday, August 12th 12-3pm

Author Meet-and-Greet Event with Tele Aadsen

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Tele Aadsen will join us on Saturday, August 12th for an event with her new book,

What Water Holds. Come in any time between 12-3pm to chat with Tele

and get a signed copy of her book!

Sunday, August 27th–11:00am-3:00pm

Open Streets–Open!

Every year, Anacortes closes downtown Commercial Ave. to automobile traffic

so that we can walk, cycle, roller blade, and enjoy the streets!

This year, Open Streets will take place on Sunday, August 26th from 11:00am-3:00pm.

We will be open during the event, so feel free to come on in if you're downtown!

September

Monday, September 4th

Labor Day–Open!

We will be open our regular hours on Labor Day! Conme see us!

Saturday, September 16th at 7:00pm

Author Event at the Anacortes Public Library with John Szwed

We are teaming up with the Anacortes Public Library for an author event!

On Saturday, September 16th at 7:00pm,

join author John Szwed in conversation with local author Bret Lunsford.

They will discuss Szwed's newest biography,

Cosmic Scholar: The Life and Times of Harry Smith.

Watermark will be at the event selling copies of his book! We'll see you there!

Sunday, September 24th

Oyster Run

Yes, Oyster Run is back on for this year!

We will be open our regular Sunday hours, 11:00am-4:00pm. Come see us!

Watermark Book Club

Watermark Book Club is on hiatus!

In the meantime, we'd like to feature some of the books the team members are reading!

Brandy and Amberly both read Yellowface, by R. F. Kuang.

Here's what Amberly has to say...

"This was such a wild book! The story is about a white writer named June, and a Chinese-American writer named Athena, who have been friends since University.

When June watches Athena die in a freak accident in her own apartment, she steals the manuscript that Athena has been working on, edits it,

and publishes it as her own.

I think that this book will make SUCH a good book club read.

The story is so well thought out, and it really makes the reader think..."