I had an absolutely fantastic time on book tour for THE SPELLSHOP!!! Loved meeting so many wonderful readers and amazing booksellers! Thank you all so much! Just wanted to share some of my favorite pics from:

Fable Hollow Coffee & Bookshoppe in Knoxville, TN
Phoenix Books in Essex, VT, with Katherine Arden
Charis Books & More in Decatur, GA, with Kimberly Lemming
The Ripped Bodice in Brooklyn, NY, with Naomi Novik
The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, AZ, with Rebecca Thorne
Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC, with T. Kingfisher

Next up: San Diego Comic Con!

- Scarper; British slang for 'run away'. From Scapa Flow - Go. 

- Grass; as in informant. From Grasshopper - copper (and from there to copper's nark) 

- Dukes; slang for fists, as in 'duking it out'. From Duke of York - Fork. ('Forks' being now-forgotten slang for hands.) 

- Donkey's years; a long time. From Donkey's Ears, rhyming slang for Years... but then the Y crept back in. 

My 25th novel, The Downloaded, is now available for pre-order in both print and ebook editions, and I’ll be touring across Canada starting next month to promote its release. Here are my May 2024 book-launch events: all are free and open to everyone, and books will be for sale (or bring your own copies and get them signed): Calgary Public […]

In the latest episode of their dark and stormy podcast, Ken and Robin talk Gothic F20, Elon Musk's pig brain implants, and a contactless edition of Ken's Bookshelf.

National Geographic’s Maps Division and Center for Sustainable Destinations teamed up to produce the first NG-developed Online Geotourism MapGuide to support sustainable tourism across the Greater Yellowstone region of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

The site, http://www.yellowstonegeotourism.org/, which launched on March 31st, is open to anyone to discover and share information about unique features, tours, and businesses that best represent and sustain the natural and cultural character of the region. Visitors can also request a free print MapGuide.

Geotourism is the kind of travel that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place — its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents. Online Geotourism MapGuides are web versions of the print maps that National Geographic has developed for a number of regions around the world, including Crown of the Continent, Baja California, and Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom to name a few.

In addition to producing print and/or web maps, these projects bring together diverse representatives from the local communities to collectively define what makes their region special and how best to communicate it to the rest of the world. NG Maps is excited to participate in these projects that help travelers and local communities discover and preserve special places around the world. Anyone interested in developing a Geotourism MapGuide for their region, or simply becoming a “Geotraveler” should visit http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/sustainable/.

In honor of Ken Burn's documentary, "The National Parks, America's Best Idea," coming this fall, we're highlighting a few of our nation's topographic treasures.













This week: Yosemite National Park (Courtesy of National Geographic Traveler)
Location:Located in the Sierra Nevada range of California, the park is 195 miles east of San Francisco and 276 miles north of Los Angeles.

Vital Stats
Nearest airports: Fresno-Yosemite International, located 2.5 hours north on Highway 41. The San Francisco International airport is four hours east of Yosemite.

Established: Yosemite National Park was established in October 1890. Prior to the National Park Service (NPS), Yosemite was managed by the state and local congress. After the formation of the NPS, Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove were reinstated in 1906 back to the federal government to be included in the management of the NPS.

Size: 761,266 acres
Park website: http://www.nps.gov/yose/
Snapshot: Recognized as a World Heritage site in 1984, Yosemite National Park covers over 745,000 acres of pristine wilderness filled with staggering cliffs, lakes, rivers, meadows, and a wealth of biological diversity. A haven to nature enthusiasts, artists, and families alike, the park is home to 800 miles of hiking trails, the tallest waterfall in the United States and the renowned giant sequoia groves.

Did You Know?
Towering more than 350 stories above Yosemite Valley, El Capitan is the largest exposed granite monolith in the world. By late August, Yosemite Falls are usually dry because the natural wonder relies solely on snowmelt. The peak flow is in late May and the falls return around October when the snow reappears. The park’s giant sequoia trees can live to be over 3,000 years old.

Scenic Drive
Approximately 48 miles in length, the Tioga Road is the most popular drive in Yosemite National Park. The road is the highest in the region, peaking at 9,945 feet at the Tioga Pass. The route winds through high peeks, meadows and creeks, allowing travelers to get a special view of the abundant wildlife in the park. Detour off of the main road to paths less traveled, including White Wolf, Siesta Lake, and the Red Fir Forest.
Read more...

With the kickoff of Ken Burn's documentary series, "The National Parks, America's Best Idea," we continue our highlight of a few of our nation's topographic treasures.


This week: Grand Canyon National Park (Courtesy of nationalgeographic.com)
The road to the Grand Canyon from the south crosses a gently rising plateau that gives no hint at what is about to unfold. You wonder if you have made a wrong turn. All at once an immense gorge a mile deep and up to 18 miles wide opens up. The scale is so vast that even from the best vantage point only a fraction of the canyon's 277 miles can be seen.

Nearly five million people travel here each year; 90 percent first see the canyon from the South Rim with its dramatic views into the deep inner gorge of the Colorado River. So many feet have stepped cautiously to the edge of major overlooks that in places the rock has been polished smooth. But most of the park's 1,904 square miles are maintained as wilderness. You can avoid crowds by hiking the park's many trails or driving to the cool evergreen forests of the North Rim where people are fewer and viewing is more leisurely.

The Grand Canyon boasts some of the nation's cleanest air, with visibility averaging 90 to 110 miles. Increasingly, though, air pollution blurs vistas that once were sharp and rich hued. Hazy days have become more common, with visibility dropping as low as 40 miles. Haze from forest fires and pollen has always been present, but the recent increase is traced to sources outside the park, like copper smelters and urban areas in Arizona, southern California, and even Mexico.

Five new National Geographic maps complete coverage of Washington Cascades

Published: Tuesday, September 07, 2010, 3:15 AM
Terry Richard, The Oregonian
Washington's Cacades are covered.

With the release of five new maps this summer by National Geographic, the rugged mountains of Washington are covered from the British Columbia border to Oregon.

The maps are sold under the Trails Illustrated brand.

New titles this year area Mount St. Helens/Mount Adams, Goat Rocks/Norse Peak/William O. Douglas Wilderness Areas, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Glacier Peak Wilderness and Mount Baker/Boulder River Wilderness Areas.

They go along with several other titles already in print to complete the coverage: North Cascades National Park, Mount Rainier National Park and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

The full-color maps are printed on hefty water-proof, tear resistant paper. National Geographic is one of the best mapmakers in the business, so the maps meet the highest standards.

The maps are topographical, but they cover such a large area that the contour interval is 50 feet. This is a little too big for serious off-trail mountain navigation, but National Geographic also sells state map series on CD Roms under the Topo brand with 20-foot contour intervals.

The new printed maps maps are excellent for hiking and driving. They show most of the trails and most of the roadside amenities, in easy-to-read formats.

Your map files may already contain U.S. Forest Service maps of the areas, but these maps often go 15 years or more between updates. The new Nat Geo maps are the best new maps at this time for the areas they cover.

Look for them at stores that sell maps, though getting this many new titles in any particular store may be difficult.

One place that does have them all is the Nature of the Northwest in Portland, at 800 N.E. Oregon St., Suite 965. Phone number is 971-673-2331.

You can also order them from National Geographic. Cover price is $11.95. For more information visit Trails Illustrated Washington maps.

-- Terry Richard

As a result of the devastating earthquake in Japan early this morning, National Geographic has received requests for maps that show the impacted region. Below is a complete list of titles that are currently available:

1. Japan and Korea Wall Map

2. World Ocean Floor Wall Map

3. Hawaii State Wall Map

4. Alaska State Wall Map

4. World Classic Pacific Centered

5. Oregon State Wall Map

6. California State Wall Map

7. Washington State Wall Map

As this event further unfolds, we shall update the map resources list accordingly.

1. North Melbourne announces three-year Western Australia agreement  North Melbourne Football Club
2. Roos end 14-year relationship amid bold new location for AFL games  Fox Sports
3. North Melbourne takes 'home' AFL matches to Western Australia  ABC News
4. Eagles set for extra WA game  West Coast Eagles

1. Cindy Crossthwaite's estranged husband faces Supreme Court murder trial over mother of three's death  ABC News
2. 'Deep-seated hatred' for estranged wife led to killing, jury told  9News
3. 'Deep-seated hatred' for estranged wife led to killing, court hears  9News

Excellent fundraisers, as well as average ones often find themselves reaching a plateau when it comes to their fundraising abilities and the dollar amounts that they raise.  On a plateau, it is just as easy to move upward as it is to slip backwards; losing progress. Fundraisers are only interested in moving in one direction; upward.

pla•teau (plæˈtoʊ; esp. Brit. ˈplæt oʊ) 
n., pl. -teaus, -teaux (-ˈtoʊz, -toʊz) 
v. -teaued, -teau•ing. n.1. a land area having a relatively level surface considerably raised above adjoining land on at least one side.
2. a period or state of little or no growth or decline, esp. one in which increase or progress ceases: to reach a plateau in one's career.v.i.3. to reach a state or level of little or no growth or decline; stabilize

1. Go back to basics. Find something in your fundraising routine that can be improved and work on it. Can your greeting be made more friendly? Can your donation requests be tightened up? What ever it is, work on it. Working on any one issue has the added benefit of providing new perspectives on other issues.
2. Ask the donor. Ask donors, whether, they give or not, what they thought of your performance. Most will provide at least one useful bit of information. Some donors will provide so much valuable criticism that you may find yourself reexamining your entire fundraising strategy.
3. Ask another fundraiser. Sometimes we let shyness, pride or professional competition get in the way of improving our skills. Every fundraiser, at every stage, goes through the plateau problem. Reach out to your fellow fundraisers and get their advice.
4. Become an expert. Often after fundraising for a certain cause for a long time, fundraisers began to feel like experts on the issue. There is always more to learn. Find books magazine articles and any other materials that you can. The more you know about your issue, the better you can fund raise for it.
5. Remember, Plateaus aren't permanent. Keep slugging away, doing the best job that you possibly can. Eventually, you will begin to see some progress.

Exploring Europa and defending Earth.

Cameras on spacecraft are our eyes into the Cosmos. Sometimes they teach us things, sometimes they reveal gaps in our knowledge.

NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft launched today aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Perseverance faces a hard climb, but New Horizons proves it’s worth going the distance.

The Wolf Hour



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When you hate your friend rsquo s new friend



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