On Mount Hood — Book blurbs and thanks
With the paperback of On Mount Hood coming out later this month (7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 24 at the downtown Powell’s to be exact), I had to find some solid and willing folks to offer up blurbs for the back of the new cover. Luckily, since the book first came out, I’ve met a few of those folks and they have been kind enough to lend some lines to the paperback.
Many thanks to them all:
Kim Cooper Findling, author of Chance of Sun and Day Trips from Portland.
Jon Tullis, spokesman for Timberline Lodge, vice chair of the Oregon Heritage Commission, and the author and editor behind the book, Timberline Lodge: A Love Story. He’ll also be part of the paperback launch at Powell’s on April 24th!
Jack Nisbet, author of David Douglas, a Naturalist at Work and other books.
A second round of thanks, also, to Bruce Barcott, author of The Measure of a Mountain, who gave me my first blurb ever, which is now on the cover of the On Mount Hood paperback.
On Mount Hood — The paperback
I got a box in the mail today with something inside that reminded me I should probably start spreading the word about an upcoming event at Powell’s on April 24.
The paperback version of On Mount Hood officially comes out the day before the event at Powell’s. More info on that event to come soon. In the meantime, though, I thought I’d share the paperback image as a little peek at the next chapter of On Mount Hood.
Nice surprise
It doesn’t happen all that often, but every now and then we’ll stumble across a copy of the Mount Hood book in an unexpected place. The Zigzag Ranger Station, the museum in Government Camp, even New Seasons.
Today it happened while hiking around and learning about owls at the Owl Fest at Tryon Creek State Park. There in the gift shop, we came across a lone copy on the top shelf. A nice surprise, indeed.
Brave on the Page: A Recap of the Powell’s Debut
Last night’s “Brave on the Page” event at Powell’s Books came off famously thanks in no small part to editor Laura Stanfill and everyone else who helped out.
In addition to several readings from the book, the event featured a panel with myself a few other writers, including Scott Sparling, Yuvi Zalkow, and Kristy Athens, to talk about the creative process and how we research and incorporate our own experiences in our writing. For me, that meant sharing a bit about climbing Mount Hood, researching the mountain’s history, and sitting down for tea with environmental activist Tre Arrow.
Here’s a snippet of Laura’s recap:
A new writer friend, Marcia Riefer Johnston, asked if I was floating after last night’s reading at Powell’s.
Absolutely.
We had an overflow crowd of 150, according to Powell’s staff estimates. We ran out of chairs, so some people sat in between bookshelves or stood around the edges of the gathering. There were people I know, writers and friends and even a row of my neighbors! Tom Spanbauer, a literary god here in Portland for his own work and how he cultivates talent in the writers he teaches, attended our event. There were friends of friends and writers who have studied with writers I have studied with.
But most amazingly, there were writers who came to be inspired, to ask questions about writing what we know (or not) and how we feel about writing groups. There were so many faces in the audience that I didn’t know, and it was so special to share Brave on the Page with them through readings by Kate Gray, Gina Ochsner, Gigi Little, Robert Hill and me. And to share the sense of writerly community and camaraderie through the panel discussion moderated by Joanna Rose and featuring Yuvi Zalkow, Scott Sparling, Jon Bell and Kristy Athens.
Brave on the Page at Powell’s, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7
A homegrown writing reference book, Brave on the Page: Oregon Writers on Craft and the Creative Life (Forest Avenue Press) is a multi-voiced collection of ruminations about authors’ habits, frustrations, and successes. Above all, it’s a celebration of what it means to be a writer in Oregon. Brave on the Page, edited by Laura Stanfill, features work by 42 Oregon authors, including original interviews and flash essays.
Joining Stanfill for this reading and panel discussion will be contributors Kristy Athens, Jon Bell, Kate Gray, Robert Hill, Gigi Little, Gina Ochsner, Joanna Rose, Scott Sparling, and Yuvi Zalkow.
Find out more here.
New Year’s on Mount Hood
Though I’ve not yet celebrated New Year’s on Mount Hood, I’ve always wanted to. The setting, the snow, the festivities, it all just seems very inviting.
We won’t be up on the mountain for the holiday again this year, but for anyone who might be, there’s plenty to choose from.
Timberline Lodge — The mountain’s landmark lodge ushers in the new year with style: two dinner seatings in its Cascade Dining Room, dancing, champagne toasts and more. There’s also late-night skiing and snowboarding on into 2013, and at midnight, a one-of-a-kind fireworks display:
Photo courtesy of Timberline Lodge
Mt. Hood Meadows — The ski area teams up with Widmer Brothers Brewing to ring in the new year with skiing and riding till midnight, a dinner buffet, live music from Keegan Smith and The Fam, and fireworks beginning at 10 p.m.
Mt. Hood Skibowl — For its 25th annual gala, Skibowl will be packing in skiing and riding till 2 a.m., Cosmic Tubing until midnight, two fireworks shows, DJs, live bands, the torchlight parade featuring the Powder Hounds snow bikers and Olympic speed skier Petr Kakes, champagne toasts, a Glow in the Dark Dance Party, and tons more.
Happy New Year!
On MOUNT HOOD 