The view from the 14th floor of Kim Weiss’s South Florida high-rise is spectacular. “I can see the sun rise and set over the ocean, an intracoastal waterway, a marina with commercial fishing boats coming and going, and all sorts of wildlife: herons, pelicans, and one day, even a manatee.” Weiss, director of communications at HCI, began posting photos taken from her terrace on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for her friends to see, and it wasn’t long before friends told friends and the following for Weiss’s photos grew to several thousand fans. “I didn’t have a plan for the photos—it was simply me being in love with what I saw and being part of the popular culture of capturing everything. The last thing I expected was for this hobby to blossom into a book.”
But blossom it did, and Sunrise, Sunset: 52 Weeks of Awe & Gratitude is due from HCI Books this October. Complementing Weiss’s photographs are meditations, passages, poetry, reflections, and contemplations from more than 52 contributors including Jack Canfield, Marci Shimoff, Judith Orloff, Arielle Ford, Homer Hickam, Rodger Kamenetz, Don Miguel Ruiz Jr., M.J. Rose, Candace Bushnell, and Betsy Chasse. “Having worked in publishing at HCI for over 20 years, I’ve admired and/or made connections with so many gifted and inspirational people. When I asked them to write a small passage for Sunrise, Sunset, they floored me with immediate and almost unanimous responses of ‘yes, I’d love to be a part of your project!’”
Weiss is “in the process of developing an enormous online book launch involving many of the contributors, as well as engaging consumers with their submissions of photography.” A portion of the book’s proceeds will be earmarked for AVDA (Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse), a Boca Raton, Fla., charity. “My boss, Peter Vegso [owner of HCI] and his wife, Anne, are very active with AVDA, and I thought it fitting to give something back to a worthy cause that’s close to home.”
You can connect with Weiss via her Facebook page or meet her at the New Title Showcase booth (3005) near the Downtown Stage today, 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
