People often compare writing and publishing a book to childbirth.
And they’re right.
“This is like giving birth!” Mort Meisner exclaimed recently while tending to the final details of his memoir, Enough to be Dangerous, to be released on October 1, 2020.
After years of thinking about sharing his story in print, Mort is still reeling at the idea that the long gestation period is nearing its end and the finished book will soon be in his hands.
A Chance Encounter
Stephanie Ruopp
Any act of creation involves a process. Sometimes the process is a struggle, while other times it just seems to flow. Enough to Be Dangerous was just a thought only two years ago when Mort happened upon writer Stephanie Ruopp one day at a coffeeshop.
They got to talking and when she revealed she was a writer, he took a chance and asked if she’d be willing to write his memoir. Up for the challenge, she didn’t see any reason not to do it. Just like with birthing a baby, the idea was conceived.
Soon they were scheduling regular meetings to start talking about the key events that formed Mort’s fascinating and action-packed life. Over the course of about 20 months, the book continued to grow and get nourished until it became a fully developed draft.
Mort and Steph knew the time had come to start building the birthing team.
Call the Midwife
Photo by Clarence Tabb, Jr.
“Yes I have been called a ‘literary midwife,’” laughed Elizabeth Ann Atkins, co-creator of Two Sisters Writing & Publishing, during a recent chat with Mort.
Elizabeth and Catherine M. Greenspan are the two-woman force behind Two Sisters Writing & Publishing. They were excited to join the birthing team and wielded their amazing writing, editing, and publishing prowess to keep the ball rolling and move the “delivery” along.
They have been crucial in the final phases of truly bringing the book to life.
A Family Affair
Throughout the book, Mort talks about the importance of family. Upon trying to start a family of their own, he and his wife Leslie were not immediately blessed. They had the good fortune to adopt. From the memoir:
When the baby was born, we chose to name her Nicole because we loved the name and wished to honor her birth mother. We went immediately to court and they granted us temporary custody. We flew home the next day with our beautiful 2-day-old daughter. We thought everything was done at that point. We had only to return 30 days later to finalize the adoption in court.
Leslie, Mark, and Nicole
Of course, Nicole’s adoption wouldn’t go as smoothly as they planned. Not even remotely. (But you can read more about that in the book.) In the end, they were overjoyed to be blessed with their wonderful daughter.
What’s more, just two weeks after they brought Nicole home, Leslie found out she was finally pregnant. Nine months later, Nicole’s brother Mark was born.
So it’s no surprise that Leslie, Mark, and Nicole have also been important members of the team. Leslie was the graphic designer, Mark was responsible for title and subtitle creation, and Nicole took the helm as the social media master.
The Big Day Is Fast Approaching
The whole team worked together to bring Enough to Be Dangerous into the world. And now, the delivery date of October 1st is looming. Just like when one is expecting a baby, there’s a lot of excitement!
If you’d like to get to know the book yourself and share in the intimate experience of connecting with Mort’s innermost thoughts and ideas, pre-order your autographed copy today by clicking here.
And it’s not too late to subscribe to our blog to get all the news about the launch party on October 28th, as well as other events surrounding “the birth”!
