My main adventure this year is publishing my first novel, “Second Rising.” It has strong environmental themes and is set here in Whatcom County. It combines a mystery, a love story, and a fight against injustice, and—unusual for this genre—a fairly hopeful ending.
The book comes out in February (2020) from Cairn Shadow Press. I ended up going the self-publishing route after it had been with a national publisher and our agreement fell apart when production problems arose. So it’s been great, and challenging, to learn the tasks beyond writing and editing—like creating a business, designing the book’s cover and interior, and working with the printer and distributor. And then comes the marketing. More information about the book is available at: www.carolyndale.com
I’m still pursuing journalism by working with a local group that plans to start a public, nonprofit, online news site. Though our area is not quite in a “news desert,” local media are facing tough times, and I’m intrigued by the approaches other communities are taking around the country.
The other big adventure this year was a 4,000-mile drive in May that my husband Tim and I called our Great American West Road Trip. Highlights included impressive places we hadn’t visited before in Utah, from Snow Canyon near St. George, to Capitol Reef National Park farther north, with Zion and Bryce canyons in between.
I continue to enjoy gardening, cooking, and hiking, and we took our snowshoes up to Mount Baker a few times, too.
