October was….interesting. I got some things done which was important but even more so I had some pretty substantial conversations that got me thinking about how to get even more things done. What I have to do in November and December is a wee bit daunting but not really. I just have to keep my eye on the prize and I’m going to be just fine. This is a pretty exciting time for me, and I hope that I keep feeling this way well into 2016.
1. Reviews submitted to Booklist for lots of books: Fast Into the Night (memoir by woman dog musher in AK), We Are All Stardust (collection of interviews with scientists around the world), Last Volcano (biography of one of the first volcanologists), Lust & Wonder (new memoir by Augusten Burroughs) and Drawing Blood (memoir by Molly Crabapple).
2. Reviewed An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet for Locus.
3. Had one article run in ADN, submitted two others that will hopefully run this month.
4. Attended the Pacific NW Booksellers Association tradeshow for four days in Portland. Spent a ton of time with good friends from AK, talked about books with all kinds of folks. Picked up a couple of ARCs I’m very excited about from Matt Ruff (Lovecraft Country) and Samantha Hunt (Mr. Splitfoot). Also delighted to see Jim Lynch’s new book (Before the Wind) is due next spring and look forward to reading that as well.
5. Reviewed final edits (and thus finished this one up!) on an essay in the upcoming Alaskan book Ed Ricketts From Cannery Row to Sitka, Alaska.
6. Sent out several emails to archives across the country on the mountain book. Still waiting to hear back from Columbia University, Princeton and Washington University in MO, but so far what I’ve gotten back is quite heartening. So many people are helping me pull information together on this book; it’s so much appreciated.
7. Drafted pitch letter to go out to national magazines for an article on Alaska aviation and the dangerous power of myth. I would have had this done but there is one last statistic I need to get and with Halloween, I set it aside. It was finished up last night though, so will go out today/tomorrow to Men’s Journal, Outside, etc.
8. Spoke for over an hour to my agent on the first chapter of the book. I need to change the narrative voice a bit and put myself more into it, but this is all manageable and honestly, I was pretty pleased with her critique. It was helpful advice and I’m set now for what to do on the Introduction and second chapter as well. The next two months are all writing — SO MUCH WRITING – but writing that I am very excited about and capable of doing.
2015 is just the year that keeps on surprising me in the most delightful ways. 
I have been deep in research for my book on a 1930s expedition on Denali and while all the conventional sources (newspaper articles, family letters, etc.) have given me a lot of information, I’ve been struck more than once by how dumb luck can come through. This journal from 1933 came my way after I did a random search on amazon and found it listed. The seller had fortunately listed all of the article authors in the title and so it came up when I typed in one of my mountain climber’s names. I have not found any other reference to this article by him anywhere else and it has provided a wealth of information.
That luck thing can really come through sometimes!
(I can’t begin to tell you how impressive the condition is on this journal – it’s hard to believe it is 80+ years old.)
1. I am trying to understand how my life has been complete without the “Gilmore Guys” podcast in it. I can not explain why I love The Gilmore Girls so much (I’m sure many people would go on about the writing or acting which is true); I just know that I do. I have written many things while this tv show in playing in the background. Now I must listen to the podcast and embrace the love in a whole new way.
2. I just added Sarah McCarry’s About a Girl to my wishlist based on this bit from the School Library Journal review:
This edgy, smart, and challenging title combines mythology, punk rock, science, a quest, feminism, art, dreams, and the power of stories and storytelling with unforgettable results. The well-developed cast of characters is racially and sexually diverse. The emphasis on the importance of female relationships—as family, as lovers, and as friends—is a welcome exploration of the many levels of intimacy.
3. My article just ran on the investigation into the June multiple fatality plane crash in the Misty Fjords National Monument near Ketchikan. It’s going to be a long involved investigation which is likely not a surprise to anyone but in light of all the breathless demands for what went wrong that so many news reports ran, I felt like I needed to write this. Partly based on my own thoughts about this crash, I’m putting together a series of articles about different types of pressure on pilots that I hope to have run next month.
4. I think you can understand that why my day job involves writing about plane crashes, watching The Gilmore Girls becomes all the more critical to my well being.
5. I just finished reading The Lost City of Z and I’m very glad I am not an obsessed explorer.
6. On yesterday’s agenda was contacting Columbia University to inquire about a possible graduate from the 1920s. Of these small research questions, a whole book is created.
7. I wish I could convey the degree to which Field Notes have become integral to my writing life. I have a general “To Do” notebook for everything in my life. I have a “Research Notes” book for the work-in-progress. I have a “Genealogy Notes” book for mysteries to follow-up on associated with my long-running family history project. I’ve got one for random notes/things I’ve heard that interest me/things I’ve seen I don’t want to forget/things that might be something but I’m not sure what just yet. I’ve got one for Shorefast Editions. I’ve got one for Resolutions to improve my life. And I’ve got the pocket calendar to tell me where I need to be and when and what I’ve accomplished.
I love them all.
8. Now reading The River of Doubt about Teddy Roosevelt in South America, plus the second in the Twinmaker series by Sean Williams as I prepare for the upcoming release of the 3rd book and my review of them all for Locus and….a book for Booklist. Also a lot of stuff about mountain climbing in Alaska. I am writing so hard on this book. I am really trying to make something great.
