Friends, Family, Angels & Bears

So I’m off to Portland for the weekend. Tonight I’ll be meeting with booksellers from throughout the Northwest. This is a big deal to me because it’s the first time I’ve been invited by Pacific Northwest Bookseller Association to appear at their trade show. While I’ve been to many Southeast book events, this is my debut in the Northwest. And it couldn’t come at a better time because my next book, due to be released in April, 2012, is a Northwest story which we hope will have global impact. More on that to come.

There are a few other newsy tidbits I want to give you heads up about. You may or may not notice that when you login that we have a new url address. This is due to changes at Patheos. This was supposed to go by unnoticed to you the reader but due to some spam problems in the switchover, I have now changed the way in which you comment. It might take some getting used to on your behalf but I hope it doesn’t deter you from leaving your thoughts/stories/laughter/rants. It gets lonely on this side without them.

Here’s some links I want to be sure you see. Billy Coffey on PAPER ANGELS, real one and book ones. Jim Schmotzer makes another appearance in Catapult Magazine. Dave Schechter has thoughts on praying for the president. Normally, Katdish keeps things around her blog classy but this week she strips down.  Our friend Allison has left her job at the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer and accepted a job as chaplain at St. Francis Hospital. We wish Allison all the best but will miss her at the newspaper. She made the religion news at the Ledger one of the best-loved parts of the newspaper. And a wonderful way of looking at stories from the always wonderful Jeanne Damoff.

The Justice Conference is coming around again. It’s been moved to Portland this year because the response was so big to last year’s event they needed a bigger venue. You don’t want to miss this conference. I plan on being there myself!

And lastly, big news as a mama.

The boy has returned to the Northwest after three years in Williamsburg, Va. and a couple of summers in Denali, Alaska.

Stephan has accepted a job as National Historic Campbell House Interpretation Coordinator for the NW Museum of Arts & Culture in Spokane, Washington. This means that Tim & I have two kids in Spokane & two in Bend. And you wonder why I’m on the road all the time.

But before Stephan wrapped up his job in Alaska he debuted in this documentary about Grizzly bears. So y’all have fun & watch out for the lion, tigers & bears: