The Story Behind The Saturday Journey Society
Welcome
Every Saturday morning, readers receive a letter from Gabriel inviting them into another world.
“Since I began sharing The Saturday Journey Society, people have asked me…” who Gabriel really is, and what I hope readers discover along the way.
Rather than writing a traditional "About Me" page, I thought I would answer those questions in the form of an interview.
Welcome.
What made you think the world needed The Saturday Journey Society?
The world is full of noise. The Saturday Journey Society is an invitation to step away from it for a little while.
It offers readers a calm, immersive world they can enter on a quiet Saturday morning—before the house is fully awake, before the day begins, and before anyone asks anything of them.
It is more than a story. It is a moment of stillness, imagination, and escape.
Why did you choose to deliver the story as letters rather than as a traditional book or newsletter?
I chose letters because I wanted readers to experience a rhythm—a sense of anticipation and something meaningful to look forward to each week.
I imagine them waking on Saturday morning, finding a new letter from Gabriel, and wondering where he will take them next. A traditional book can be read all at once, but these letters ask the reader to slow down and let the story unfold over time.
That waiting becomes part of the experience. Each Saturday feels like the beginning of a new journey.
Who is Gabriel, and why did you choose him to be the voice guiding readers through these journeys?
Gabriel is an intelligent, gentle soul with a deep love of travel and discovery. He is warm, thoughtful, and naturally inviting—the kind of person who makes you feel safe enough to follow him into an unfamiliar place.
He notices the quiet details others might miss, and he shares those moments in a way that makes the reader feel as though she is traveling beside him.
And, let's be honest... he is also very nice to look at.
When Gabriel writes his letters, who is he speaking to?
Gabriel is speaking directly to you, the reader.
He doesn't simply tell you what happened. He brings you into the journey. He notices things with you, wonders about clues with you, and invites you to experience each place beside him.
The reader is never standing outside the story looking in. Gabriel makes you feel as though the letter was written especially for you.
What do you hope a reader feels after finishing one of Gabriel's letters?
I hope the reader finishes each letter with a renewed sense of joy and wonder.
I want her to feel as though she has stepped away from the noise of everyday life and returned carrying a little more light with her.
And, of course, I hope she closes the final page already wondering where Gabriel will take her next Saturday.
What makes The Saturday Journey Society different from simply reading a good story?
The difference is the slow unfolding of the story.
Instead of receiving everything at once, readers experience one journey at a time. That space between letters creates anticipation, curiosity, and excitement throughout the week.
The waiting isn't separate from the story.
It is part of the magic.
Some people might ask, "Why not just turn this into a book?"
There are thousands of books in the world.
There is only one Saturday Journey Society.
It isn't simply about reading a story from beginning to end. It is about receiving the story slowly, collecting its letters, photographs, journal pages, clues, and keepsakes, and watching the world grow piece by piece.
Over time, the journey becomes something tangible—something you can hold, revisit, and make part of your own world.
It becomes more than a story you've read.
It becomes a place you've belonged.
Why was it important for you to make the experience something readers could physically collect?
I want readers to connect with these journeys in a deeply personal way.
I want them to feel that the journey belongs to them—not simply that they read it, but that they experienced it, collected it, and made it part of their own lives.
As the weeks pass, they gather Gabriel's letters, photographs, journal pages, clues, and keepsakes into a collection that continues to grow.
I imagine readers returning to those pages years later, remembering where the story took them and how it made them feel.
Revisiting a journey should feel like visiting an old friend.
You created The Saturday Journey Society later in life while learning unfamiliar technology and building a business from the ground up. What gave you the desire to begin?
I have always loved reading.
Books were an important part of my childhood, but as an adult I found myself wanting a more immersive way to experience a story—something that felt personal, tangible, and worth looking forward to.
I wanted to create that experience for women like me.
Women who wake early on a Saturday morning while the house is still quiet, pour a cup of coffee, and long for a little time that belongs only to them.
People sometimes describe starting something new later in life as courageous.
It never felt that way to me.
It simply began with a desire to share something I believed others might need as much as I did.
Was The Saturday Journey Society created primarily as a business, or did its purpose begin somewhere more personal?
Oh... it's very personal to me.
I want every woman to experience this.
The Saturday Journey Society may be a business, but it didn't begin that way. It began with the desire to create something meaningful—a quiet place a woman could visit, even if only for a little while.
Now, when I wake up on Saturday morning, I find myself wondering who opened her journey that day.
I picture her with a cup of coffee, the house still quiet, stepping into Gabriel's world.
That is the part that matters most to me.
What would success look like to you—not in numbers, but in the life of one reader?
A real win for me would be opening my inbox and finding one message that simply says,
"Thank you for the journey. I can't imagine my Saturday morning without Gabriel and my coffee."
That would tell me I had created more than a story.
It would mean the journey had become part of someone's life.
To me...
that is success.
What do you think women are missing today that The Saturday Journey Society gives back to them?
I think many women are missing a moment that belongs entirely to them.
The Saturday Journey Society gives them a chance to travel somewhere new, meet people they have never known, and step outside the worries and responsibilities of everyday life.
For a little while, they can slow down, forget the stress waiting beyond the page, and lose themselves in another world.
A small place where nothing is being asked of them.
If Gabriel were a real person, what do you think he would want people to remember about him?
I hope people remember that Gabriel truly loved life.
He cared deeply about people, had a special place in his heart for animals, and believed every place has a story worth discovering.
More than anything, he wanted to share the beauty of the world with others and leave people a little better than he found them.
If readers remember Gabriel as someone who made their world feel a little kinder, a little more hopeful, and a little more beautiful...
I think he would be happy.
What do you hope readers discover about themselves while following Gabriel?
I hope readers discover that it is okay to give themselves permission to escape for a little while.
Life is busy.
There is always another responsibility, another chore, another person who needs something.
I want them to realize that taking an hour for themselves isn't selfish.
It is something they deserve.
Why is travel so important in your stories?
Travel is something I have always wanted to do.
But life gets in the way.
Children.
Jobs.
Bills.
Responsibilities.
I created The Saturday Journey Society as another way for women to travel.
Through Gabriel's eyes and his letters they can walk unfamiliar streets, meet new people, uncover mysteries, and experience places they may never have the opportunity to visit themselves.
They may still be sitting at home with their morning coffee...
but for a little while...
they have gone somewhere.
If someone remembers only one sentence about The Saturday Journey Society, what do you hope it is?
Before the world asks anything of you, escape to Gabriel's world.
Twenty years from now, what do you hope people say about The Saturday Journey Society?
Twenty years from now, I hope someone picks up a collection of journals from her travels with Gabriel, dusts them off, and begins reading them again.
I hope those pages bring back the places she visited, the mysteries she followed, and the quiet Saturday mornings when those journeys first became part of her life.
More than anything...
I hope they still feel like visiting an old friend.
What do you hope Gabriel never becomes?
Forgotten.
I hope Gabriel never becomes forgotten.
I hope he remains someone readers remember with affection—a familiar voice, an old friend, and a reminder of the quiet worlds they once entered together.
Stories end.
I hope Gabriel stays with them.
If a woman is reading this and wondering whether The Saturday Journey Society is for her, what would you say?
I understand that The Saturday Journey Society may not be for every woman.
It is for the woman who wants a slower kind of journey on a Saturday morning.
The woman who enjoys a little mystery...
a great deal of nostalgia...
and the pleasure of collecting memories along the way.
It is for the woman who can curl up on a cozy couch with a cup of coffee, take an hour for herself, and allow the rest of the world to wait.
If that sounds like you...
Gabriel has been writing to you all along.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know me and The Saturday Journey Society.
I hope someday you'll join Gabriel and me for a quiet Saturday morning.
— Annette