Mar 26, 2020 | Uncategorized
I know, I know. I have neglected this poor blog. (I update more often on my personal hiking blog.) but this is a big one! I just signed a contract with the Oregon State University Press to publish my new memoir. The Last Layer of the Ocean. It is a memoir of kayaking...
Jan 26, 2020 | Uncategorized
I press send on an email. Please, please like my stories! What people don’t tell you is that agents and publishers often don’t respond to your queries. They can’t. They get too many. Sending your work out is a shot in the dark, and you can assume if...
Dec 24, 2019 | Uncategorized
I lugged a full cubitainer of water up the porch steps. It felt heavy, too heavy. “Remember, you used to carry those on the fireline,” J said. I contemplated this. The cubitainers–plastic jugs encased in a cardboard outer layer, were our sources of...
Nov 17, 2019 | Uncategorized
Everyone I’ve talked to seemed to love THE GEOGRAPHY OF WATER (order today!). If they didn’t, they wisely kept their own counsel. Because what author wants to hear, years later, what they could have done differently? Nobody, that’s who! However, I...
Oct 12, 2019 | Uncategorized
I’m leading a workshop! When I thought about what I really cared about, it was weaving in landscape and character, and how setting influences personality and actions. Having lived in many states and environments, it has been a fascinating social study. In my...
Sep 16, 2019 | Uncategorized
I just wrote my first book proposal in years. Guys, this is hard. But necessary. Actually, writing the proposal–and the awful, awful chapter synopsis, really helps you think about your book and what it is about. Also, if you don’t have an elevator speech,...
