Over East Asia

On occasion I think of a description or passage that existed in one of my early drafts, and I don’t remember if it made the final cut. Then I sprint to my nearest copy and flip through pages until I find the answer. Here…

A Thousand Words

Larger version of the photo here   I have studied many of my photos over and over. This is one. It tells a million stories just in itself. For me anyway. I’ll try to encapsulate a few of them here.   Visually this appeals…

One Off the Cutting Room Floor

Some of my early drafts had stories that I later cut for various reasons. Most were cut because I felt they didn’t add to the story or to anyone’s character. But I forgot that I cut this one. And in retrospect I probably should…

Trash Talk

This is a long one with a moral. Grab a cup of tea and get comfy. A story that didn’t make it into the book: Off the Everest Highway, away from the tourists and the more “primped” towns that are on display for all  (still…

One That Got Away

Not all the stories that I brought home made it into the book. Some were just not complete enough or interesting enough to put in. Some were interesting, like this one, but really didn’t fit in any specific place without disrupting the overall story flow. Others…

Release Redux

Yesterday was the official book release party. It was an emotional, fun, energetic, soulful way to kick off a book. I am pretty sure it was unique as book releases go. You can see the live stream here. Then skip the first 10 minutes. The stream started on…

Reconstruction

There are several stories in the book that were inconsequential when I first heard them in Nepal. Once I was home, I could reflect differently on the experiences and this helped fill out the skeleton of notes in my journals. Much of the time I spent…

Related Tales

I was dropped off at SEA-TAC airport a couple hours early the day we flew out to Nepal. So I had a couple hours to kill after security and bag check. I decided to call my mom (bad decision) and let her know that today was…

Book Release Specifics

We’re getting close! The books are in motion, in a truck, making their way here! I am guessing you’d like to hear one more story before they arrive, but I don’t have a story today, so I’ll spell out my approximate plan for how…