There's more than enough hard work ahead this year for every environmentally engaged citizen -- lots of hurdles to jump, lots of town meetings to attend, and many legal challenges to win!

Mary Wood, author of Nature's Trust, recently appeared on Bill Moyers delivering the kind of inspiration we all can use. Explaining how ancient Trust Law can be leveraged to ensure that local, state and federal governments fulfill their responsibility to protect the atmosphere from harm, Wood reminds us that collective engagement by citizens can--and often does--bring about important change. Looking back to the legislative successes of the 1970s, Wood and Moyers agree that renewed social engagement is essential if we are to beat the climate clock in the 21st century.

Last September, the People's Climate March was a testament to the influence individuals can have when they come together from around the world to press their leaders for action. Nearly 400,000 people from 162 countries gathered on the west side of NYC's Central Park to march for our climate, our shared atmosphere and our future. Seeds of energetic hope were sown and I'm hopeful that the movement will accelerate in 2015.

One bright light in my world is the release, this month, of When the Wind Blows, my first renewable energy book for children. In reviewing my notes on the story today, I was reminded that my earliest draft was written twelve years ago. It's changed and evolved dramatically since then, and thanks to the insightful direction from accomplished authors and journalists like Dianna Hutts Aston, Sara London and Eric Pooley, WIND finally made its way through the traditional publishing pipeline.

Thank you Andy Ross for discovering WIND on Inkubate, while we were attending the 2012 San Miguel Writers' Conference. Remarkably, you sold WIND to Holiday House in just three days. Thank you Brad Sneed for breathing life into WIND's sails with your beautiful illustrations. And, finally, thank you, Dylan Clark, for asking so many smart questions as a kid. You kept me on my toes and fueled my desire to write for children!

Incidentally, when Andy Ross viewed WIND on Inkubate--a professional B2B platform that connects writers with traditional agents, editors and publishers--only the BETA version of Inkubate's site was deployed. This spring, Inkubate will re-launch, and as a co-founder of the site, I'm excited for the many other writers that the publishing world will discover and market.

This year, Inkubate is already busy. We're proud to be sponsoring the Woodstock Writers Festival. Executive Director Martha Frankel has kindly agreed to feature WIND at the festival's ever-popular, always-sold-out-early Story Slam. Scheduled for Thursday, March 19th, the Story Slam is the weekend's uproariously fun kick-off event for writers and readers. Those bold enough to share their talent at the mic will incorporate the words "when the wind blows" into their 3 1/2 minute performances. We're excited to be attending this intimate, creative and intellectually progressive weekend in the heart of New York's Catskill Mountains. We're grateful to Frankel, her fabulously hip and lovable entourage, and all the dynamic year-round residents of Woodstock for always welcoming us with open arms.  

Inkubate was hatched by my lifelong friend and environmental colleague, Jay Gale, who was frustrated by the difficulty I was having pitching WIND to traditional agents and publishers. Jay stayed up late one summer evening drafting Inkubate's business plan. Thank you Jay! Inkubate launched me as a traditionally published author and for that I'm eternally grateful. Thank you David Bass for accepting Jay's offer to become Inkubate's Chief Marketing Officer. You're a nationally recognized marketing ninja, so we're honored that you will have us and that you also believe that Inkubate is "The Place to Go for Talent." 

Climate action, like all movements of profound significance, depends on people everywhere sharing their stories freely. Do you have an important story to share? If so, I hope that it, too, will make its way to the bookstore shelf, the library shelf, or an agent or editor's shelf. With every story told, it is a chance to change a mind, or even better, a heart.

WIND can be purchased on Barnes & Noble, IndieBound and Amazon.