Hit the jump for news on my IndieBound selection

Howdy -

So good news! One of the largest independent book selling communities – IndieBound – has selected Double Take for their “Indie Next” list. The selection is a major stamp of approval from independent book stores and means Double Take will be prominently displayed in independent book stores around the country for December. It will also be featured in online newsletters and other press. So if anyone gets sick of seeing my face or book floating around a bit too often, feel free to drop off a disparaging line below – I could probably do for some humbling comments!

For me – small, independent bookstores have always been a good place to find some quiet (and a present or two) while on the road, so it’s a huge honor to be recognized by such a community. If you have some time, actually, you should go check out IndieBound’s website. Here’s what they’re about:

IndieBound is a community-oriented movement begun by the independent bookseller members of American Booksellers Association.

It brings together booksellers, readers, indie retailers, local business alliances, and anyone else with a passionate belief that healthy local economies help communities thrive.

Supporting local, indie businesses means that dollars, jobs, diversity, choice, and taxes stay local, creating strong, unique communities and happy citizens.

I don’t think anyone out there can object to a mission statement like that. So go check them out, whether that’s clicking a link or (gosh) walking into a brick-and-mortar indie book-slinger.

Happy Exhaustion

So its done. Finished. Can’t do no more. I sent off the final galley copy of the manuscript to my editor, Julia at Harper Studio last week. Since then, I’ve been trying to recoup and get my online life/presence back in order. I know that this blog has been stagnant – nay, dead – for the past few months, and for that I apologize. My only excuse for this lack of activity has been the amount of writing and traveling craziness going on in my life over the past year.

I started work on my proposal this time last year with the Agency Group, only a month after graduating from Montana State University. Since then, I’ve had assignments in South Africa, Canada, China, England, and Mexico. I’ve taken thousands of photos; written a 250 page book; been hit by two cars; skated down the Great Wall of China; watched a naked rendition of Beauty and the Beast with Paul McCartney’s older brother; moved my life to New Zealand; and most recently have moved my life back from New Zealand. I’m now back in Montana and looking for a decent stretch of time to rest, regroup, and get this thing running again. Over the next couple of months, I’m going to begin recounting some of the adventures that I dealt with traveling all over the world while trying to learn the in’s and out’s of becoming a professional writer and photographer. Keep checking back for more photos, stories, and even a few book excerpts.