I live and write on Lingít Aaní, and gratefully acknowledge the past, present and future caretakers of this beautiful place, the Jilkaat Kwaan and Jilkoot Kwaan.

Well, it has been a big day around here. The advanced reader copies (or ARCs) of my new book, Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs  are out and I’m hearing good things from booksellers across the country. (ARCs are the paperbacks printed just for stores and reviewers that still may have a few mistakes or typos in them.) The real book will be released in hardcover on May 18, which seems a long way from my now snow covered garden. But this does mean the hoopla about the new book has begun, and I have posted the cover, catalog copy and such, with help from my neighbor James. My head is swelling from the advance praise, but my family remains un-moved. My husband who is home with a sore back has refused to call me the goddess of good sense, and no one likes it when I sing except the dogs, and at least one of them is stone deaf. I will have a link as to how you may pre-order a copy, soon. In the meantime, I encourage you to use the Babbling Book if you are in Haines, (or nearby) and your local independent bookstore if not. As a small business person myself (our family has a lumberyard and hardware store) I urge you to patronize a local shop. Shopping locally is to community well-being what eating local food is to your family’s health.