I blogged about the aurora borealis (northern lights) last winter, but I have a follow up! Because this year, they’ve stepped it up a few notches. Here’s the scientific recap of what the auroras are: the sun sends electrons & protons zooming into space creating “solar wind.” The solar wind’s magnetic field is lined up…
If you look at a relief map of Alaska, it’s clear it’s a massive land full of glaciers and mountains. In fact, there are 30 different mountain ranges and 100,000 glaciers (only 616 are officially named)! Justin and I are lucky enough to live outside of Denali National Park with the Alaska Range in our…
Currently living/working: It’s still been quieter work-wise around these parts with a long lead out for deadlines, but it’s been an adequate balance of paying work and fun! Current mood: Now that the bright orb is back in the sky for more than fleeting moments and we’ve enjoyed more much-needed snowfall, how could I not…
Dear Dad, How can 2 years seem like forever and nothing at the same time? It’s been a full year of the blandemic, and I think of how it would have impacted you. Particularly your last months of your life when you were hospitalized and in a nursing home. Had Covid-19 been a thing between…
***Fair warning. Our neighbor’s house burned down recently, so this could be sensitive material for someone to read.*** Crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle. “What’s that noise?” Justin says. We were watching a movie on our iPad in bed, but that semi-distant crackling noise was too much to ignore for my alarmist husband. “Do you think our…
Currently living/working: It was a quieter month, but I appreciated the balance of it. We have several projects underway, but we had zero deadlines all of January, which made it more relaxed (but it also means I tend to procrastinate more). And shouldn’t be surprising, we are still at our cabin in Healy; in fact,…
Most of you all know we are cat people. But in Alaska, it’s all about the dogs. Alaskan Husky is the unofficial breed of “sled dogs” here (Siberian Husky might be the other breed you’ve heard of), and there are plenty of dog teams all around the area. Dog sledding, also known a “mushing,” is…
Let’s talk about money! Well, kind of. There just isn’t enough transparency in publishing, so I figured I’d blog about my own experience, which again, is minimal, but nonetheless, hopefully helpful to any dreaming authors out there. I’ve talked previously in one of my book blog posts about how everyone’s publishing journey is unique with…
I wrote a “Gear Testing 101” blog post back in 2018 about how we penetrated the world of gear writing back in 2013, and the ins and outs of the business, but I thought it’d be fun to revisit some details. As Justin & I wrapped up 2020, I realized about 70% of our workload…
Currently living/working: The grind of our multiple income streams continued in December with intense deadlines and edits back and forth for both Backpacker and The Voice (the trade magazine for SNEWS). These quieted down and wrapped up right before Christmas, and we were determined to recharge our batteries for a solid reset, which included 2…
Today is winter solstice, the first “official” day of winter. (Although, it’s very much been Jack Frost here for months, as evidenced by the snow cover since mid-October and several days of below zero temps already. But I digress.) Solstice in Alaska also distinguishes the extreme variance of seasonal daylight. Winter solstice marks the shortest…
My trail memoir, Between Each Step, released 11/15/20, which means today it turns 1 month old! And because my book is now our bootstrapped side business, we’ve been busy bees during this first month. Justin has been a serious rock star partner—he has played the simultaneous role of secretary, office manager, sales manager, accountant, shipping…
Currently living/working: We are still wintering in Alaska, and November was a freakin busy month with writing deadlines, book madness and finishing up Leave No Trace. So we spent a lot of time hibernating in our cabin hunched over our laptops. Backpacker Magazine: We submitted just about 100 items for the holiday gift guides, all…
My publisher was very clear on a few pieces of advices, one being: “Do not try to figure out the Amazon algorithm. You will go down a rabbit hole within a rabbit hole within a rabbit hole.” You all know Internet rabbit holes. One minute you are searching for “marketing tips for new authors” and…
Update: I’m still not comfortable with self marketing. I still can’t get my elevator pitch down. Justin is still a hammer making one suggestion after another for marketing my book. And my book is ranked above Obama’s memoir released this week. KIDDING ABOUT THAT LAST PART! (Can you tell I’m feeling punchy because Between Each…
Let me tell you something you probably didn’t know. Publishing does not equal a feeling of relief, nor is it a “get rich quick” scheme. Publishing actually equals insomnia & eczema. Being a writer might involve the hard work of writing. But being an author is a different beast altogether. I’ve written Between Each Step,…
Currently living/working in: We are happily in Alaska, where winter is in full swing. Work is busy! And by work, I mean the multiple projects/jobs we are juggling. In fact, I feel like this deserves a list-type snapshot with some of the bigger, more pressing deadlines (actually helps me see the big picture too!) Backpacker…
Remember a few days ago when I announced I am a PUBLISHED AUTHOR?? Here’s the thing. Between Each Step has been SEVERAL years in the making, from the time we hiked, to the time I started writing the manuscript, to the time it hit your bookshelf (that’s me happily assuming you’ve pre-ordered it …). Bottom…
On Feb. 5, 2016, I announced on the blog that I was getting serious about book writing. The post was part-reflective, part-goal-making, but I fully recognized that the process would be glacially slow and I ended the post by saying: “Wish me luck. Maybe I’ll have a book written by 2020.” Oddly enough, we are…
I believe most people think we have a view of Denali from our cabin. Sadly, no. We have a view of beautiful mountains that are part of the Alaska Range, but not “The Great One” or “The High One” (the Athabascan translations of Denali) As a comparison, our surrounding mountains in Healy reach between 4,000-6,000…