Bright Edge tour

Dear globetrotting reader,

I’ve had a few readers ask about my book tour plans, so I wanted to share what I know so far. Hope to see some of you along the trail!

August 2: Book release party for To the Bright Edge of the World, organized by Fireside Books. Palmer Train Depot, Alaska. 6:30 p.m.

August 3: Village Books Reading and Signing, 7pm PT

Village Books (Fairhaven Location, Readings Gallery)1200 11th Street, Bellingham, WA 98225

August 5: Powell’s Books, 7:30pm PT Powell’s at Burnside, 1005 W Burnside St., Portland, OR 97209

August 7: Tattered Cover Bookstore, 2pm MT Tattered Cover Bookstore, 2526 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206

August 8: Vroman’s, 7pm PT, Vroman’s, 695 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91101

August 10: In Conversation with Stuart Nadler and Signing at The Malted Barley, in Collaboration with Savoy Bookshop and Café, 6pm ET, The Malted Barley, 42 High St, Westerly, RI 02891

August 11: Where the Sidewalk Ends Literary Luncheon Series with Stuart Nadler and Anne Korkeakivi, 12:30 pm ET, Wequassett Resort and Golf Club, 2173 Route 28 on Pleasant Bay on the border of Chatham and Harwich, Harwich, MA 02645, (508)432-5400

August 13: East Hampton Library Author’s Night, 5pm ET – 7:30 pm ET, East Hampton Library, 159 Main Street, East Hampton, NY 11937

August 14: Harbor Books Reading and Signing, 11am ET, Harbor Books, 20 Main St, Sag Harbor, NY 11963

August 15: Books Under the Bridge, Hosted by Book Court, 7pm ET, Brooklyn Bridge Park, The Granite Prospect Steps, 334 Furman St., Brooklyn, NY 11201

August 21-28: the United Kingdom, details to come soon.

There will be several events in October as well. I’ll keep you posted.

Cheers!

Eowyn

A window into my favorite bookstore

An author’s dream: You have a new novel coming out and when you drive by your favorite bookstore in the world, they’ve devoted their entire front window to your book. And they’ve also planned a huge book release party.

Sometimes dreams do come true. This morning as I drove through downtown Palmer, Alaska, I saw that the front windows of Fireside Books had been painted with the cover of my new book, To the Bright Edge of the World. (The owner’s niece, Tiffany Cheezem, did the beautiful painting.) The sight of it set off a wave of emotion in me – thrilling excitement, love and gratitude, and also a sense of nostalgia. Fifteen years ago, I used to walk by that window with anticipation and read the sign, “Bookstore Coming Soon.” A few years later, I was hired as a bookseller at Fireside, and the owners, David Cheezem and Melissa Behnke, quickly became dear friends.

David, Melissa and all the staff at Fireside Book were instrumental in welcoming my debut novel, The Snow Child, into the world, and I’m so grateful to once again have their support.

The Bright Edge book release party is at 6:30 p.m. August 2 at the train depot in downtown Palmer, Alaska, just across the street from Fireside Books. Everyone is welcome! Copies can be reserved by contacting Fireside Books at (907) 745 2665 or www.goodbooksbadcoffee.com.

Dear reader,

Summer here in Alaska is passing swiftly by, and I have so much to share with you. As most of you know, my new novel To the Bright Edge of the World will be released August 2 here in the US and in the UK. Here are the beautiful covers:

UK/US

I have other news, too:

• The Bright Edge book release party is August 2 at the Palmer Train Depot in downtown Palmer, Alaska, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Everyone is welcome. Thanks to Fireside Books for coordinating the celebration! (You can contact them to reserve copies.) In addition to my reading and book signing, I’m thrilled that Ruth Hulbert will be there to discuss the amazing map and sketches she did for the book.

• I will be going on tour with the new book in the US and the UK during the month of August, with additional events in September and October. I’ll keep you updated and will post the schedules on my website.

• Finally, while I will continue to blog here about books and events, I will also be sending out Tiny Letters. This is a fun way for me to connect directly with readers and share stories from my adventures both in Alaska and in the world of literature. You can sign up here. Each week or so,  you’ll receive a short letter from me in your email box. This week’s letter is about the moose calf I helped raise when I was a little girl.

Cheers!

Eowyn

To the Bright Edge of the World

The landscape that inspired the imaginary Wolverine River.

Dear steadfast reader,

It’s official — my new novel To The Bright Edge of the World will be out August 2016! (I knew it was official when I saw it listed on the website of my favorite bookstore, Fireside Books in Palmer, AK. It can also be found on other book websites.)

To the Bright Edge of the World is being published by the same wonderful people who published The Snow Child — Little, Brown and Company in the US and Tinder Press in the UK.

For those of you who have been following its path, this is the novel formerly known as Shadows on the Wolverine. Through journals, letters and documents, it tells the story of an 1885 expedition into the heart of Alaska.

Here’s the publisher’s description:

 

“In the winter of 1885, Lieutenant Colonel Allen Forrester sets out with his men on an expedition into the newly acquired territory of Alaska. Their objective: to travel up the ferocious Wolverine River, mapping the interior and gathering information on the region’s potentially dangerous native tribes. With a young and newly pregnant wife at home, Forrester is anxious to complete the journey with all possible speed and return to her. But once the crew passes beyond the edge of the known world, there’s no telling what awaits them.

 

With gorgeous descriptions of the Alaskan wilds and a vivid cast of characters — including Forrester, his wife Sophie, a mysterious Eyak guide, and a Native American woman who joins the expedition – TO THE BRIGHT EDGE OF THE WORLD is an epic tale of one of America’s last frontiers, combining myth, history, romance, and adventure.”

I hope you enjoy it!

Cheers,

Eowyn

Hello old friend

Dear long lost reader,

I just looked out the window of my office (yes, I have upgraded from my bare-lightbulb, closet-sized “cloffice” to a room with a view), and saw our little skating rink. It made me think of you, dear reader. I don’t know if you recall years ago I wrote to you about trying to build a skating rink in our yard. We did not have a well at the time, and so we were hauling our water — one of several impediments.  Well this year, at last, success! It’s not official NHL dimensions, but it’s big enough to do a few twirls and play miniature hockey with our youngest daughter. Here’s a photo  …

I’m also sending you a photo of my new office. Thanks to my husband, Sam, for all his hard work. He literally built it, walls, wiring, sheet-rock, pine trim, and even helped me reconnect my computer when I moved in. On the corkboard above my computer you can catch a glimpse of where my head has been these past months — a fantastical, wild 1885 Alaska.

I wanted you to know that although I have been mostly absent from Twitter and Facebook, and remiss in my letter writing, you have never been far from my thoughts as I work on my new novel. I have a complete manuscript and am now shaping it and polishing it. It is a story told in journals, letters and documents about a military expedition into the heart of Alaska in 1885. Along the way, my Colonel and his men are encountering a mythological world they did not expect. I can’t wait to share it with you!

Cheers!

Eowyn

Postcard from Rochester, NY

Rochester, New York — Home to the incomparable Writers & Books program. What a whirlwind adventure I’ve had! Over three days, I spoke at universities, a school of the arts, a retirement community and numerous libraries — everywhere I turned, so many insightful, literary readers! And the staff of Writers & Books? Incredibly welcoming, fun, creative, and passionate about books. They set the bar high for what a community can do to support the arts and literacy. You can visit their website here to be inspired and learn more about their programs.

My only regret? I should have brought my mittens — it’s kind of chilly in Rochester this time of year.

Cheers!

Eowyn

Where I’ve been, and where I’m going

Floating the Copper River the summer of 2011 as I began research for my next novel, Shadows on the Wolverine.

Dear kind reader,

I’m afraid it’s been too long since I last wrote. Thanks to all of you who continue to follow my blog and check in regularly. I have stepped back from some of my online presence because I am deep into writing my next novel, Shadows on the Wolverine.

Some of you have asked about my new story: it is set on the same Wolverine River I invented for The Snow Child, but it takes place 35 years earlier, in 1885. It is inspired in part by a true-life military expedition that many have called the Lewis and Clark of Alaska. Along the way, however, my fictional characters encounter fantastical, mythological surprises. Part of the fun for me as a writer is that I’ve chosen to tell the story through diaries, reports, letters and other documents.

For those of you who have kindly asked when Shadows on the Wolverine will be available, I’m hoping to get it to my agent and editor this summer, and we will proceed from there. As soon as I have any firm dates, I will let you all know.

Even as I work on this new novel, however, The Snow Child is never far away. In fact, it is taking me from Alaska to Rochester, NY, later this month! The wonderful people at Writers & Books have chosen The Snow Child for this year’s “If All of Rochester Read the Same Book.”

March 19-21 I will be doing a series of events, including book signings and talks, around the Rochester area. You can view my schedule here at the Writers & Books website. Their website also includes an interview with me and other information. I hope to see some of you there.

In the meantime, I will continue my adventure along the Wolverine River.

Cheers!

Eowyn

P.S. I’ll be doing an online chat tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET on the HerRochester Facebook page. Feel free to join the discussion!

Postcard from Ninilchik & Homer

Dear fair-weather reader,

Over the weekend, we headed south to the Alaska seaside in a blustery rainstorm, and at the end of the road found sunshine and the warmest of welcomes from fellow Alaskans.

Immense gratitude to Argent Kvasnikoff, the Ninilchik Traditional Council, and Ninilchik Community library — they set the plans in motion by inviting me to come speak in their community. My family and I were so touched by their hospitality and kindness. We felt instantly as if we were among friends.

We also made our way to Homer, with much thanks to poet Erin Hollowell, the Homer Public Library and Homer Bookstore. Again we were welcomed with such warmth and graciousness. It was an honor to get to visit with so many fellow Alaskan writers at the event:

• Erin Hollowell has recently published a beautiful book of poetry, Pause, Traveler.

• Ann Dixon, who has a wonderful collection of Alaska children’s books. Our family favorite is Blueberry Shoe.

• Eva Saulitis, author most recently of the critically acclaimed Into Great Silence: A Memoir of Discovery and Loss Among Vanishing Orcas.

• Nancy Lord, former Alaska State Writer Laureate, a writer who does it all — fiction & essays, including Rock, Water, Wild: An Alaskan Life.

• Tom Kizzia, author of the bestselling Pilgrim’s Wilderness. I recently read this nonfiction book and found it incredibly compelling, heartbreaking, and haunting.

I have no doubt there were other writers there that day, published or soon-to-be, and I’m grateful for the supportive atmosphere that is helping Alaska literature to thrive.

Cheers from the coast,

Eowyn

Headed south to the seaside

Dear long-lost reader,

Where has the time gone? Someone recently pointed out that it has been more than two months since I last wrote.

Gardening, fishing, picking berries, visiting with friends and family, working on house projects — like most Alaskans, we find there isn’t enough time in the summer. Strange, when you consider the sun stays in the sky nearly 20 hours each day. We often find ourselves out in the yard, filleting salmon or watering the tomato plants in the greenhouse, at 10 at night. We have to force ourselves to come inside and slow down.

In the middle of this Alaskan summer mania, I am also hard at work on my new novel, Shadows on the Wolverine. It is a thrilling process, as I gather stories, ideas and images and let them roll around in my imagination.

And although I am doing fewer than last year, I am also squeezing in a few Snow Child events.

This weekend, I head south to the Alaska seaside communities of Ninilchik and Homer .

Saturday at noon I’ll be at the Homer Public Library to read from The Snow Child. Books will be available at the library, and I’ll be happy to sign copies after the reading.

Homer is on the shore of Kachemak Bay on the southwest side of the Kenai Peninsula, about 200 road miles southwest of Anchorage. It is known for its halibut fishing and its diverse, artistic community of about 5,000 people.

Then, at 3 p.m. on Saturday, I’ll be in Ninilchik for a question-and-answer session and book signing at the Ninilchik Community Library. The event is sponsored by the Ninilchik Traditional Council. A limited number of copies of the book will be available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting the Ninilchik Community Library.

Ninilchik is also located on the Kenai Peninsula, just north of Homer, and has about 1,000 residents. The village was originally a Dena’ina Athabaskan lodging area used for hunting and fishing. Russian colonists moved there from Kodiak Island in 1847 before the Alaska Purchase.

I’m so looking forward to this roadtrip to the sea. In the meantime, I’ll be soaking up every last little bit of summer in Alaska.

Wishing you long, happy days,

Eowyn

Postcard from Juneau, Alaska

Hello from Alaska’s state capital – Juneau! I so enjoyed my short stay here, seeing old friends, making new ones, visiting with fellow authors, and soaking up some of the amazing history and culture here. A highlight of the trip was a whale watch cruise, organized by the delightful owners of Hearthside Books. As several of us Alaska writers shared our current projects and books, we sipped wine and watched as humpback whales rolled and leapt beside us.

I also had a morning on my own, so I explored the marble halls of the capitol building, strolled past the governor’s mansion, and walked around historic downtown with its totem poles and Gold Rush buildings. And then I rode the tram up the mountain. It was foggy and rainy, but beautiful all the same.

One of my favorite things about these Southeastern Alaskans is the way they embrace their weather. It’s one way you can separate the tourists from the locals – you might catch a visitor grumbling about the cool, rainy days. But locals respond: “Rainy? It’s just the way we like it!” You don’t see them huddling under umbrellas, and half the time they don’t even wear rain coats. It’s as if rain is as natural to them as air.

So I head back north with a newfound affection for this place and its artistic, hardy, welcoming people. I got some photos and, of course, a suitcase full of books that I picked up along the way.  And most unexpectedly, I’ve gathered some fantastic material here, from the habits of rufous hummingbirds to the mapping of Alaska, as I continue work on my next novel, Shadows on the Wolverine. Thank you to naturalist Bob Armstrong ( www.naturebob.com) and Dee Longenbaugh of The Observatory.)

Most of all, thanks to Deb and Susan at Hearthside Books, everyone at Juneau Public Library, Maggie, Frank & Liz, MJ & Mike, and all the wonderful writers and readers I met on this visit. It was wonderful fun!

Cheers!

Eowyn