Alaskan author Heather Lende writes with transparency, beauty, and a deep sense of truth. Her first book, If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name, is a remarkable tribute to the spirited Alaskan community of Haines. Here, Lende talks about both her first book and her latest venture, a collection of true stories from Haines …
The doorbell rang the other day, just as the sun was sinking into evening. When I answered, I found a UPS truck driving away and a box of books on my doorstep. Inside were shiny new author copies of the sixth edition of Globe Pequot’s OFF THE BEATEN PATH: ALASKA. There’s good reason why this …
Let’s say you’re here in Anchorage and it’s Sunday and you’re trying to be a true-blue All-American by cuddling up to your new TV and dialing in on the football event of the year. Thirty minutes into the game, you’ve had enough. Don’t despair. You’ll still have time to head to the Loussac Library between …
ALASKAN AUTHOR INTERVIEW: JANE HAIGH I met Jane Haigh several years ago through my good friend Claire Rudolf Murphy. She’s a delightful person and an accomplished Alaskan author and historian. With Claire, Jane co-authored Gold Rush Women, Gold Rush Dogs, and Children of the Gold Rush. She’s also the author of King Con: The Story …
All of us trotting around in the polar regions, including you penguins down in Antarctica, should be happy with Monday’s announcement that Geraldine McCaughrean’s WHITE DARKNESS had won the Printz Award for best book for young adults in 2007. I’m among the legions who hadn’t read or even heard of WHITE DARKNESS, but I plunged …
I spent enough time in the business world to understand the benefits of specializing, but I’ve had a hard time subscribing to that message for my writing life. After publishing a couple of young adult novels, I switched to picture books. Novels are fun, but I loved the succinct, lyrical form of the read-aloud. A …
Ohboy and goodygumdrops. It’s my favorite time of year. You might think people like me don’t exist, but I actually like both holiday fruitcake and New Year’s Resolutions. I won’t burden you with sharing either of these pleasures, other than to say that 2007 has been almost all fabulous and I’m eager for what 2008 …
Rule number one for aspiring authors: write for your audience. Along comes the blog phenomenon. Who’s your audience? Big shrug. Don’t know. Don’t care. I’ve got something to say. Now people are going mobile with blogging. They’ve got lots to say, and they can’t wait till they’re home to say it. I have lots to …
I’ve mentioned the un-Alaskan before. We have our standards here, and one of them is snow on the ground before Halloween. We had a little, but it melted. Fall extended itself, and it has been lovely. No leaves on the trees, but nice warm 30-ish weather for hiking and biking and such. Did about 7 …
Birds are coming to my feeder by the droves. I may have jumped the gun on putting it up. I’m still getting used to life in Anchorage, and one of the changes is that you’re not supposed to feed the birds until after the bears go into hibernation. That’s if the bears go into hibernation. …
