Welcome to my world, or at least this web notebook version of it. I usually look a little messier than the lovely portrait local Haines photographer Matt Davis took for the jacket of Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs, but figured I'd clean up for publication. (My girls have posted more photos on my facebook fan page. There's even a few in the garden with a large, wet, dog.)
The new memoir is doing well, and has made the Pacific Northwest Bestseller list, as well as had great reviews. My tour is mostly done, but I'll be in Anchorage for school July 11-22, and have two more readings scheduled for up there. Check out the Events & Tour page to see when and where. Garden and Dogs has been chosen by independent booksellers across the country as a Next Indie Pick for June. (Click on the cover image to read reviews. I do my best to add new ones or links to them. You may also purchase a copy there.) Please shop for it first at your local bookstore (or any of the links to stores provided on my tour page.) The Babbling Book store in Haines will also mail you a personalized, signed copy, email them at babblingbook@aptalaska.net and all the stores I've already visited should s have some signed copies left. (Garden and Dogs just went to the second printing, so those first editions may be going fast.)
I still write obituaries for the Chilkat Valley News, editor Tom Morphet wrote a nice feature about the new book, but I am taking a summer break from my Alaska Dispatch column. (They published an in depth Q&A May 16.)
Algonquin Books has teamed up with Raven's Brew Coffee in Ketchikan and they are the official coffee for the Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs book tour. (See the Events & Tour page for details.) You may read one of the chapters on their website.
There is a page of school work and book reviews that I've done for the University of Alaska Anchorage where I am working on an MFA in creative writing. It is for readers, writers, and would be writers. (I'll be there for the residency July 11-22.) And a bunch of Haines and Chilkat Valley links as well.
My family are all home for the summer, the garden is growing, the dogs are as well as old dogs can be, and the salmon are running. I am not at my desk the way I am in the winter, so the blogs are less frequent. My daughters do their best to keep my facebook fan page up, but I'm afraid I'm terrible at it. I prefer talking face-to-face.
The biggest good news is still that I'm a grandmother. Caroline is almost six months old now and thriving here in Haines. (You can read all about the wait for her on my blog.)
One more thing, I am happy to meet with book clubs or class rooms via speakerphone or Skype, or answer email questions. Contact me to figure that out.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you'll check in often. I'll do my best to make it worth your time. Enjoy the summer.
Heather, July 2, 2010
