About Us

Rivendell Publishing Northwest was created after my first book, The Gentleman from Finland, was accepted by a literary agent who appeared greatly interested in my work. But after nearly a year of waiting with no response to my calls or e-mails, I decided I would take matters into my own hands.

I never intended to start a publishing business. But I decided if that’s what was required to publish my book, then that’s what I would do. If I failed, at least I knew I had tried.

Thus, Rivendell Publishing Northwest, was birthed. Its name honoring the magical sylvan hideaway of the elves in The Lord of the Rings, one of my favorite stories. I registered the name with the Library of Congress and Books in Print, obtained various business licenses (and paid fees and later taxes) and bought International Standard Book Numbers. I declared my upstairs study Rivendell’s world headquarters. I hired a design editor, Liz Kingslien, who has since done brilliant work on all three of my books. Since I've started this endeavor, I have had the privilege of working with several gifted editors. I learned all I could about being a publisher and operating a small business. I bought an accounting system. Yikes!

The goal from the beginning was to produce books of equal or higher quality than far larger and better endowed corporate publishers. After more than a decade of operation, I believe I can say the enterprise has been successful. My books have sold throughout the world, both in print and as e-books. They have received praise from critics, including America’s favorite librarian, Nancy Pearl. I never expected to make money from this endeavor, but sales from both titles have sold in the thousands. Independent bookstores, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, have been critical to my initial success, and I continue to support them as much as possible.

I now have the infrastructure in place in publish books by other authors. It’s tempting but given the slim margins of this business and the inherent risks in the traditional publishing model, I have elected for now to keep the enterprise for my own work. I guess there is only so much financial risk I am willing to take, and yet, I am glad I took the initial dive and invested in myself.