Currently: February

Currently living/working: Justin joined me in NJ for a few weeks this month! Thank goodness for gig work and our convenient side hustle of virtual library presentations because trying to incorporate the tide of personal responsibilities and work goals into the caregiving seems impossible to me. Also, I sold at least 6 Between Each Step…

2023 Byline Roundup

You’d think my skin was as thick as Kevlar with as much rejection as I’ve endured over the years in my freelance writing career and book publishing journey. But 2023 ended up being deeply soul-sucking in the ratio of my article pitches to published articles. In an attempt to rationalize (to myself) why I have…

Currently: December

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Currently living/working: We’ve spent nearly the whole month in Alaska, and it’s been so incredible to settle into winter routines at home after so much fall travel. I’ll be honest, this month has been less about paying work and more of a mix of life tasks, relaxation and play during this holiday…

Currently: June

Currently living/working: Definitely in a topsy-turvy phase where Justin and I are passing ships. Justin is guiding for Traverse Alaska pretty much 5 days a week, and when he has off, he’s working through ongoing gear reviews, helping clean the yurt, eyeballing our long list of summer projects or trying to fit in a game…

Te Araroa Book Progress: Volume 13 – MY BOOK IS ONE YEAR OLD!

My trail/travel memoir, Between Each Step: A Married Couple’s Thru Hike on New Zealand’s Te Araroa, took a full lap around the sun! It’s a small pebble of a detail, but I’ve sold 293 books directly from my website and 718 from Amazon/Ingram. You guys, that’s almost 1000 books in my first year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cue incredulous…

Currently: August

Currently living/working: It’s been full-on gangbusters still this month, but summer tourists are dwindling down, which means we both SHOULD have more time in September without our seasonal jobs. Plus, I’m putting the finishing touches on the Leave No Trace curriculum project and UCO history book project, wrapping up my biggest freelance projects soon. Maybe…

Happy 43rd to Me!

43 Augusts ago, I came into this world. My parents said I came out screaming and feisty, which is not unlike me at 43. I am spunky and my indoor voice is around 100 decibels. But I digress. I’ve done a lot of reflecting in the past few years. Way more than I ever have.…

Currently: February

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…

Currently: January

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,…

Currently: December

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…

Happy 1 Month to Between Each Step!

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…