It’s been a busy two weeks since A Whale of the Wild splashed down in bookstores on Sept 1st. Wildfires have occupied most of my attention this last week but I prefer to focus on much happier news. For example, there is a new baby orca in the Salish Sea! You can read all about it on the Center for Whale Research website. The photo below is by Katie Jones who helped me vet A Whale of the Wild.

Last Thursday I got to spend an evening with one of my favorite writers Janet Fox on the Books in Common NW writers series. We had a lovely chat about my book and hers, The Artifact Hunters. It was great fun and you can catch the whole conversation here. It starts a little slow because we are waiting for folks to join the zoom, so skip ahead a minute if you like.

I had hoped to create some science videos in my backyard here in Oregon this month as a supplement to school visits, but at the moment my back yard has the most unhealthy air in the entire world because of wildfire smoke, so I’ll be postponing that for now. Fortunately I haven’t had to evacuate yet and I’m grateful for all the help and prayers that people are sending.

If you are looking for a way to support people in my state, the Oregon Food Bank is going to have 40,000 extra folks to feed this month, so a donation there would be very welcome. If you are looking for more literature-specific aid, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (BINC) gives direct aid to displaced booksellers and burned or shuttered book shops.

Thank you!