I wish I could say with absolute certainty the exact moment that I knew I loved books.

I know it was before I started school, because Peggy Jane the Mom read to me and Scott the Brother every night after bath time. We had this hardbound book with a yellow cloth cover that contained a collection of illustrated children's stories, most of which I thought were ridiculously childish.

Not too long after that, I found Peggy Jane the Mom's paperback version of "Peyton Place," in the bookshelves, a big no-no.

By the time I was in early elementary school, all I did was read. I read in the house, I read in bed after the lights were supposed to be out, I read outside when she forced me to get some fresh air.

I took books camping with a high-powered flashlight. I took multiple books on every single car trip because I was terrified I'd run out of reading material.

She bought Fritz the Dad the hardbound mammoth edition of "Godfather," with that legendary cover, and I took it and read every word before he had a chance. When Mom read it after I did, she was absolutely mortified that I had done so.

So when Rob Hurless and then Nathan Bekke, Star-Tribune publishers, mentioned a cookbook, I was absolutely thrilled.

Marketing director Shannon Hitchcock and miracle designer Dustin Neal got involved, and the dream began to unfold.

Never in my wildest dreams did I realize that our Wyoming cookbook, with recipes from readers in Thayne and Savageton and Kinnear and Kaycee and many other places, and stunning artwork and photography from Wyoming as well, would contain an ISBN.

An ISBN is the International Standard Book Number, a 10 or 13-digit number unique to a specific book. It's kind of like a Social Security number, only for a book, and it's on the title or copyright page of every "real" book.

So when Dustin told me our book had an ISBN, I was overwhelmed.

I had to have a new picture taken for the back cover. I think it's awful, but it does look just like me. Somehow, I expected a cross between Reba and Rachael Ray to be looking back at me and all I saw was -- me.

Then Dustin "made" a cover so I had something to look at other than gigantic pieces of white paper with black type.

The pre-sale effort began and people were paying for stuff they hadn't seen, which also totally blew me away.

People I don't even know ask if there will be a "gala" when it's released. And I tell them that Nathan has been extremely generous already, and that there will be opportunities to purchase at two wonderful events, the Parade of Homes, Aug. 22-23, and the Wyoming Women's Expo, Oct. 3-4.

Then on the last day I worked before vacation, Nathan and Shannon and Dustin and other culprits surprised me and made me cry by handing me the first copy of "Eatin' with Sal -- A Wyoming Cookbook."

It really happened -- and I'm really, really thrilled.



Reach Community News editor Sally Ann Shurmur at (307) 266-0520, sallyann.shurmur@trib.com or see her profile and blog at my.trib.com/Sal/blog