It Takes A Global Village

Maria and Yana have planted their 20A DSGN agency flag in Athens, Greece. After a bit of sleuthing and a single phone call, I knew they were the perfect choice to build jakedoe.com.

June 1, 2026

Jake Doe may have been written in rural Georgia, USA, but the final package is the product of a global team of people: my Jake Doe village.

Clara, my editor,  lives and works in British Columbia. Damonza, who did my book cover and a lot of my digital marketing assets, is based in New Zealand. 20A DSGN does all my website work out of Athens, Greece. I found a talented illustrator in Bangladesh for my ink-on-fabric designs. Nicky, who took me through the basics of book marketing at warp speed, lives in the UK. And George and Cinthya, a talented couple who designed a beautiful and powerful Instagram ad for my June 8th campaign, work out of the island nation of Cyprus.

How did I find and assemble this team of amazing resources?

Using a couple of the freelance platforms that exist exactly for this purpose, I was able to find some of the very best people on the planet to take on these specific jobs for the publishing and marketing of my novel. Overall it’s been an incredibly fulfilling experience to watch my story and characters come to life beyond just living in my imagination.

Thomas Friedman wrote his classic The World Is Flat twenty-two years ago. I’ve experienced it in the corporate world, hiring or managing teams of people overseas. But so much of that process was centered around managing down costs and tax considerations - not exactly inspiring stuff. This experience - of reaching out into a flat world and plucking the most brilliant and talented person for a specific job - was new to me.

I was shocked and amazed at the quality and speed of work produced by my artists and creatives.

If I went into a job thinking weeks, it often became days. And sometimes days even became hours.  That never happened in the corporate world!

Every member of my village made a huge contribution to the Jake Doe project that will be offered to the world on June 8th. To all of them: a tremendous thank you! 

Oh, and if you’re a print reader, you don’t have to wait until June 8th. The paperback and hardcover both went on sale at midnight last night. Get your early copy of Jake Doe Burning Bright here.