Finding destiny and salvation: Wynword Press
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 .