Arrivals - Part 1

This doesn't need a lot of explanation! It doesn't matter how many books you've put together. Receiving that first case is always a rush! 100 copies of The Secret Cellar in my house. 30 sets of the three books are already sold. Is one or more coming to your house? Ten more days to pre-order.



The life of a writer has variables. Today I thought I was going to give myself a break. Instead, when I got home from work I learned that a man who was a good friend to the North Country Trail had died, and I was asked to write his obituary for The North Star (magazine of the North Country Trail Association). I write for them fairly often, but it's all volunteer, of course.

If you want to pre-order (through March 31) the set of the first three Dubios Files books for $24 (no discount after March 31), they will be signed by the cover artist Linda J. Sandow, as well as by me. Signed sets can be pre-ordered at Books Leaving Footprints




Formatting and more

Editing Article for North Star

Not much writing happening today. I'm swamped with work for pay which I sure have to keep doing. (Of course higher pay would mean I could afford more writing time, but these days, I'm just glad to have a job.)

I did do some editing and providing additional material to the magazine editor for the next edition of North Star. It's entitled "Those Irrepressible Girls," and focuses on women who have made significant contributions to the North Country Trail Association.

Article for North Star

One of the things I needed to get done this weekend was an article for the next issue of North Star, the magazine of the North Country Trail Association. I don't get paid for those, but its one of the volunteer things I do for the trail.

I wasn't very enthused about the topic of this one, but that doesn't mean I could worm my way out of it. After all, I did agree to write it. The idea is to call to mind some of the women who have made great contributions to the NCT. I'm not a fan of gender distinctions, I'd rather just recall great people.

Nevertheless, I had fun looking back for some info on candidates for the feature, and in doing so found two additional articles I had written for the magazine.

I did complete this one, and sent it off to the editor.

Two Done for North Star

Better late than never? This has been my motto for life, I think. I finally got the second article done for North Star, the magazine of the North Country Trail Association.

It's about the practice of stealth camping (illegal camping), and why it's a bad idea, even though it may seem like it hurts no one.

Here's an excerpt:

Bragging about stealth camping to our friends should not result in smirks and knowing nods in commiseration of the difficulty, at this point in time, of backpacking along the entire NCT. It should result in worried looks and admonitions. People who are friends of the North Country Trail for the future will not stealth camp, or encourage it in others.

I won't tell you how many other things I'm behind on!

One Done for North Star

I have two articles due tomorrow for North Star, the magazine of the North Country Trail Association. The longest one is about the recent conference in Dayton, Ohio. I have that done, and am starting on the second one.

Finally back to some writing.

Home Again- Lots to Do

I'm home again after being gone for a week, and my top writing priorities are three articles for the North Star, the quarterly publication of the North Country Trail Association. Unfortunately, I don't get any money from any of those. I had anticipated one article for this issue, but the editor is very sick, and they asked me to step in and cover a couple more things this time. I need to get my program schedule listings up to date ASAP too. Lots to keep me busy... more income from it all would be good.

Article for North Star

For almost 15 years I've been a contributor, and sometimes a regular columnist, to the North Star, the quarterly magazine of the North Country Trail Association. This is all for free, just because I love the trail, but it does look good on a resume.

My blog post "Why Stealth Camping is Not a Good Idea" needs to be expanded a bit, and then it will appear as an article in the Fall issue of North Star.

If you have any interest in this, click the "Published Works" tab, and you can see a listing of the articles that have appeared in North Star since 1998.