Ilona Andrews is one of my favorite authors…or, actually, two of them. This husband/wife duo create the perfect blend of action, fantasy, and romance in their Kate Daniels (straight urban fantasy with a side of shifter), On the Edge (urban fantasy/paranormal romance mixture), Hidden Legacy (straight urban fantasy with a witchy cast), and Innkeeper (sci-fi-ish…
I took a break from writing fictional prehistory so my husband and I could tour a real, live archaeological site this weekend. And, of course, I came away awash in facts and guesses about what made these ancient people tick. The site in question is Hopeton Earthworks, located just across the river from the contemporaneous…
I dropped by Leo petroglyph again Saturday, this time with enough leeway so I could walk the nearby trail. Just below the petroglyph, a stream runs through a stunning gorge full of fascinating rock formations, lichens, mosses, and liverworts. Which got me thinking — are all of our landscapes as breathtaking when left to their…
My husband, my mothers-in-law, and I spent an illuminating afternoon at Fort Ancient yesterday. Unfortunately, our brains grew saturated before we made it halfway through the museum, and we didn’t get to spend nearly enough time walking through the astonishing earthworks either. But I saw enough to get my mind whirring, which will have to…
One of my favorite things about Ohio is the remnants of Adena and Hopewell cultures protected as parks or just waiting to be stumbled across in the woods. Yes, I’m talking about the 10,000 mounds scattered across the state, all dating from one to three thousand years ago. What we mostly don’t see unless the…
Did you enjoy Olivia’s pet raven in Wolf Dreams? Adena was originally meant to be a crow, but my husband talked me into turning her into a raven as a tribute to my Poe-loving father. Then, after writing the book, I discovered that wolves and ravens have an important relationship that likely goes back thousands…
At a pull-out during my recent Yellowstone wolf tour, one of our guides ended up chatting with an expert on Japanese wolves. The story relayed was so fascinating that when I got home I had to fact check and share. The tale begins long ago when wolves were revered in Japan. The dictates of Buddhism had led…
If you’ve been reading along with me all week, you probably have a question — what tour did I sign up for and do I recommend it? Short answers: Yellowstone Wolf Tracker. And, yes, all of those five-star reviews on Trip Advisor are very much deserved. For five days, I completely lost track of the…
A lone wolf, a wolf family, three coyotes, and a grizzly bear taught me an important lesson on the power of pack last week. Perhaps you’d like to share in the excitement? Before I continue, I should warn you that all of the closeup photos in this post are from a different place and time….
Today was our first full day in the park and we were on a mission — finding wolves. On the surface, this sounds utterly impossible. Currently, there are between 80 and 100 wolves living in the 3,741 square mile park. And, okay, so half of the eight packs live in the north range where we…