(In)frequently asked questions regarding The Cactus Eaters

The Cactus Eaters frequently asked questions First of all, I thank you for being curious enough about TCE to take a look at this.I’m putting this up there because I’m just about finished with updating this blog as i contemplate a website supporting my new book. So I might as well let this just linger up here on the blog for a while because new people keep checking up on this. This has been updated slightly. I should tell you right now that this contains some spoilers so stop reading right here if you haven’t finished the book. Every once in a while, I go in here and change the wording when I notice something clunky, unfinished, inflammatory, etc. Anyway, this wraps up my work on this blog. Thank you all for keeping the first book in print; I really appreciate that! What are you working on now? My book is…

Under the Stars camping book coming your way in June 2016

Just found out about the pub. date. Will be reading a brief section from the book as part of the Reed Magazine event at October 17, 715 p.m. to 815 p.m. at The Balm at  788 Valencia Street, San Francisco, along with authors Daniel Arnold, Andrew Lam, Tommy Mouton, Julia Reynolds, Alan Soldovsky and Cathleen Miller. Here are all the details. Keep in camping on. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The Cactuseaters interview with Alice Waters

 Here is our candid conversation about everything from GMOs to Big Mac Attacks. She’s coming to Santa Cruz, by the way.  Alice Waters is a tireless advocate for sustainable foods—and she has never been shy about voicing strong opinions and taking principled stances, whether the subject is GMOs, dietary trends, or companies she believes are co-opting the language of the Slow Food movement but without the passion and commitment. During an informal Skype session, Waters spoke candidly about everything from affordable high-quality food to the essential role of young people in America’s “Delicious Revolution” and the need for vigilance when checking food labels at grocery stores.  Waters was in Rome at the time of the interview, working on a food-related project at the American Academy, a foundation for arts and scholars started at the turn of the last century. Waters will receive the Foundation Medal at the UC Santa Cruz’s Founders…

Giving my first-ever reading for my new book-in-progress, Under the Stars, a journey through the history of American camping

Next Friday (June 5) I will be reading for the first time from my book in progress, Under the Stars, which will come to you courtesy of Henry Holt & Co next summer. The reading will be part of a wonderful party with wine and small plates (the whole bit) to mark the release of Catamaran Literary Reader’s summer magazine, which contains a piece of writing that I am adapting into a chapter of my book.  The event takes place at the Radius Gallery in Santa Cruz. The chapter I will be reading is called “Wild Victorian Ladies” about wild women adventurers who wrote wilderness memoirs more than a century before Cheryl Strayed’s Wild became a hit. The chapter has a beginning and a middle but it still needs an ending — so if you come to the reading and have suggestions for an ending, I will be in your…

My upcoming book, Under The Stars, featured in Publishers Weekly and Huffington Post

My latest news is that Publisher’s Weekly ran a great review of Under The Stars that summed up the book far better than I could, being much too close to the material to sum it up in such an elegant way. And I just found out that the Huffington Post included Under The Stars in its list of six books that make Earth Day every day. And this just in: I found out that my Under The Stars book tour launch is going to take place at Bookshop Santa Cruz, right here in my hometown, on June 20. And please stay tuned for more updates. The official release date of the book is June 20. It will be available as a hardcover book (with my own illustrations) and also as an audiobook. It will, of course, also be available as an ebook.

Seeking suggestions for the title of my next book

hi everyone — here is the Facebook link to an ongoing ‘live” discussion about the pending title of my next book, which involves my camping adventures through history. Many of your suggestions are absolutely hilarious and I appreciate all of them.  Anyhow, all of you are giving me hope that I will — eventually — come up with a really good title for this book. I am also relieved — no, thrilled — to report that I have returned safely for the very last camping adventure associated with this book. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default