At 68, after more than 25 years of building a Texas handmade soap and skincare business, Susan Svec decided she needed something new: a reason to get outside, slow down and explore. She began visiting Texas State Parks. She never expected the journey to become a book.
Now 69, Susan has visited 30 parks on her quest to experience all 88 Texas State Parks. Along the way, she sketches, films what she discovers and reflects on the small moments that make each park memorable.
That journey became her first book, Right Here All Along: Finding Quiet Moments in Texas State Parks — a multimedia blend of personal reflection, original sketches, nature, video and music that invites readers to slow down and notice what may have been right here all along.
Susan is available for podcast, television, radio and print interviews, speaking engagements and book-club conversations on later-life reinvention, creativity after 60, finding quiet in a busy world, entrepreneurship, nature and her ongoing journey through all 88 Texas State Parks.
Quick facts
Title: Right Here All Along
Subtitle: Finding Quiet Moments in Texas State Parks
Author: Susan Svec
Publisher / Imprint: Leaf & Ink Press
Format: Signed hardcover · Ebook on Amazon · Softcover forthcoming
Retail Price: $35 hardcover · $9.99 ebook (Amazon)
ISBN: 979-8-9962650-0-8
Publication Date: September 3, 2026
Website: susansoaps.com/right-here-all-along
Includes: Sketches, reflections, music, park videos, QR codes, trail notes, quiet moments
Media Contact
Susan Svec
Author, Right Here All Along
Founder, Susan’s Soaps & More
Leaf & Ink Press
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 972-452-8965
Website: susansoaps.com/right-here-all-along
Right Here All Along
Finding Quiet Moments in Texas State Parks
At 68, Susan Svec decided she needed a reason to get outside more, so she began a personal quest to visit all 88 Texas State Parks.
She started sketching during her visits, filming what she discovered, and reflecting on the small moments that made each park memorable. What she did not expect was for the journey to become a book.
Right Here All Along follows Susan through the first 16 parks with original sketches, personal reflections, park notes, quiet-moment exercises, and QR codes connecting readers to videos and original songs inspired by the journey.
Hardcover | 80 pages | 7 x 10 | $35.00
Published by Leaf & Ink Press
Interview & Story Ideas
- It’s Not Too Late to Begin Again — Starting an entirely new creative chapter at 69.
- Why “Someday” Needs a First Step — Susan began with one nearby park; now she is 30 parks into a quest to visit all 88.
- Finding Quiet in a Noisy World — What nature, sketching and simply noticing have taught Susan about slowing down.
- From Soapmaker to First-Time Author — How 26 years as a creative entrepreneur unexpectedly led to a very different kind of creation.
- You Don’t Have to Be an Adventurer — Susan isn’t conquering mountains or completing difficult hikes; she is showing how accessible nature and discovery can be at almost any age.
- A Book You Can Watch and Hear — How sketches, reflections, park video, QR codes and original music became one multimedia experience.
About Susan Svec
Susan Svec is a Texas artisan, author, and creator based in Kaufman County. For more than 25 years, she has operated Susan’s Soaps & More, creating handcrafted natural soaps and skincare products.
In 2026, she began a personal quest to visit all 88 Texas State Parks, documenting the journey through sketching, writing, video, and music. Her first book, Right Here All Along: Finding Quiet Moments in Texas State Parks, captures the first 16 parks in that continuing journey. (FYI – she is now about 1/3 of the way through, having visited 30 parks so far.)
“I certainly didn’t start visiting state parks thinking I was going to write a book. I simply wanted to get outside more. Somewhere along the way, sitting quietly and sketching what I noticed became something I wanted to share.”
Downloadable Images
Right Here All Along Cover
Cedar Hill Park Sketch
Susan Svec at Lake Bob Sandlin SP
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Susan Svec
Leaf & Ink Press / Susan’s Soaps & More
972-452-8965
[email protected]
Right Here All Along Landing Page
At 69, Texas Artisan Sets Out to Visit All 88 State Parks — and the Journey Becomes a Book
New book Right Here All Along: Finding Quiet Moments in Texas State Parks documents the first 16 stops in a personal journey through Texas nature, art, reflection, video, and original music.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, TEXAS — Earlier this year, Susan Svec made a simple decision: she wanted to get outside more.
At 68, she set herself a goal to visit all 88 Texas State Parks, one at a time. She was not trying to become a travel expert or complete the parks as quickly as possible. She simply wanted a reason to keep exploring, slow down, and spend more time in nature.
Eight months later, that personal journey has unexpectedly become her first book.
Right Here All Along: Finding Quiet Moments in Texas State Parks documents the first 16 parks Svec visited through sketches made on location, personal reflections, brief park stories, quiet-moment exercises, and QR codes connecting readers to videos and original songs inspired by several of the parks.
“I started this journey because I wanted to get outside more,” Svec says. “What surprised me was how much I began looking forward to sitting quietly, sketching something I noticed, and simply being present for a little while. The book grew out of wanting to share some of that peace and joy with other people.”
Rather than serving as a traditional travel guide, Right Here All Along focuses on the experience of slowing down enough to notice what might otherwise be missed — a small flower along a trail, light on the water, the quiet beneath tall pine trees, or the feeling of simply sitting still for a few minutes.
Each park became part of a larger creative project. Svec began filming her visits for YouTube, sketching while in the parks, and developing original songs inspired by some of the experiences. Those elements eventually came together in a book that is part personal journey, part art book, and part invitation for readers to find quiet moments of their own.
The project also represents a new creative chapter for Svec, who has spent more than 25 years running Susan’s Soaps & More, her Texas-based handcrafted soap and skincare company.
“I certainly didn’t start visiting state parks thinking I was going to write a book,” she says. “That may be one of the things I love most about this journey. I started with one small decision, and it kept leading somewhere I never expected.”
State Fair of Texas Launch
Right Here All Along autographed hardback copies are now available online and will be featured during the 2026 State Fair of Texas inside the GO TEXAN Pavilion.
An E-book version is also available through Amazon.
Svec will also appear on the GO TEXAN Stage on Saturday, October 3, 2026, for a 30-minute multimedia presentation sharing the story behind the project, including park footage, sketches, original music, and what she has learned while making her way through Texas State Parks. She will be presenting 4 different times that morning at 10:15, 11:15, 12:15 and 1:15.
The 2026 State Fair of Texas runs September 25 through October 18.
About Right Here All Along
Right Here All Along: Finding Quiet Moments in Texas State Parks features the first 16 parks in Svec’s ongoing effort to visit all 88 Texas State Parks.
Each park section combines original artwork, reflection, park information, a simple quiet-moment practice, and links to additional video and music content.
The book is published by Svec’s independent imprint, Leaf & Ink Press.
About Susan Svec
Susan Sexton Svec is a Texas artisan, author, and creator based in Kaufman County. For more than 25 years, she has owned Susan’s Soaps & More, where she handcrafts natural soaps and skincare products.
In 2026, she began a personal journey to visit all 88 Texas State Parks, documenting the experience through sketching, writing, video, and music. Right Here All Along is her first book.
For interviews, review copies, photographs, or additional information, contact Susan Sexton Svec at [email protected] or 972-452-8965.
Press Materials
Download Retail / Library Sell Sheet
View Right Here All Along
Watch Susan’s Texas State Parks Videos
Meet Susan at the State Fair of Texas
Right Here All Along will be featured inside the GO TEXAN Pavilion during the 2026 State Fair of Texas, September 25–October 18.
Susan will also present the story behind her Texas State Parks journey on the GO TEXAN Stage on Saturday, October 3, sharing park footage, sketches, and music from the project.
Media interviews can be arranged before or during the Fair.