Our Story
Here at Maiden Voyage Writing we are the tellers of stories but telling our own can sometimes be the hardest of all stories to tell.
So, we shall have to simply start at the beginning with the one who started it all, Hale.
Hale Maiden has been writing little this and thats since she was a child. She buried herself in books and listened raptly to the yarns told by others from a very early age. The love of stories became much more profound when she discovered that by reading, she could travel to magical lands, history, and even far off into the universe without ever leaving the ground. That love grew into retelling the tales she’d heard and read to others. She quickly discovered that she could draw listeners in and transport them to the worlds only she could see by spinning the tales so well, they felt they were there with her.
Sadly, the small town she grew up in wasn’t well suited to her very Belle of Beauty and the Beast personality. Just like Belle’s small village, many in her hometown thought Hale odd for always having her nose in a book or a pen tucked in her hair from her writing. So, the older she became the more she simply wrote down the worlds she could see and the stories she heard. In a small town where tourism and recreation are the staples and the passions of everyone, an avid reader like Hale didn’t fit in terribly well. She learned to keep mostly to herself, her books, her music, and her writing which she kept in a notebook that would eventually go on all her travels.
Once Hale graduated high school, it was off to a small college on the West Coast. It was there she discovered a whole new world of people. This included her soon to be husband, Josh Maiden. Over the next ten years, Hale would spend plenty of time gathering more stories by reading, listening, and experiencing a world outside of a small town. Josh and Hale got married, had two beautiful children, and finally settled in a home in the lovely Spokane, Wa. She continued to write but still kept it mostly to herself until one fateful day.
Hale’s at the time 3-year-old daughter had been watching an adorable, animated superhero tv show called Miraculous: The Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. In this show the main character’s father is a French baker who is known for his classic French macarons. Being a bit of a foodie, Hale was intrigued. She found a small local modern French bakery named miFLAVOUR that made said macarons and convinced Josh that they should give it a try. It was quite the delightful experience and so of course, Hale felt the need to write a raving review. The owners of the bakery loved her review so much, they asked if they could hire her. She thought they were joking and got quite the laugh out of it. For whom would ever want to pay for her crazy view on things? Turns out they were not joking and very much wanted her unique style of writing. Almost three years later, they were still going strong and had forged a long-term contract and even better, a solid friendship.
In fact, it was the owners of miFLAVOUR that convinced Hale to start writing for other small businesses. Her unusual take on the world was something that no one in Spokane had and with her love for helping small businesses, it just made sense. After some back and forth with her husband on what to name this crazy venture, they settled on Maiden Voyage Writing.
The name came from her passion of old fairytales and lore. Specifically, the lore of the maiden voyage of ships. Back in the day a ship, while filled with cargo, was also a person’s dreams being launched into reality. Often that dream was bringing something new to the place where that person lived, be it spices, cocoa, dyes, or other such exotic items. The maiden voyage often began with smashing a bottle of champagne or other alcohol over the bow of the ship. Lore says if the bottle didn’t break, the expedition was doomed to failure. However, if the bottle shattered, the venture would be a success! With maiden being Hale’s married last name, the name for her new venture rang as true as a ship’s bell. And so, Maiden Voyage Writing was born.
Now, Hale will write for nearly everyone that comes to her proverbial door. She hopes that one day, Maiden Voyage Writing will not only tell the stories of others and their ventures, but also become a place where authors and writers can gather to collaborate and expand their horizons. In the meantime, she will happily welcome aboard those who wish for help launching their dreams into reality.
“May the road rise to meet you. May the winds be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rains fall softly upon your fields.”
— An Irish Blessing