Three Weeks of Preparation

Home Sweet Minneapolis

Destination Glasgow

We are at T-Minus 20 hours and counting until we board a flight in Minneapolis and take off for Glasgow via Amsterdam. Nervous excitement has sapped me of sleep for the past few nights as I very slowly ticked things off of my to-do list. I am nearly packed but I’m not ready to leave quite yet.

My dining room table is finally emptying of its collection of necessities for our trip, and I our shopping is done. I still have several “business” (aka-writing job) activities to finish and I would love to leave my house at least vacuumed and free of anything sitting in garbage cans that might stink up the place while we’re gone—so that’s still on my list for today before we head out the door!

My ability to procrastinate never ceases to amaze me.

Nonetheless, we usually manage to make it to where we need to go and, fortunately, we don’t have to leave until quite late tonight night, so it’s like having an extra day!

Tami, Pete, Me and Jan

 Despite the crazy schedule this past month, we’ve managed to get in some good training hikes, and there’s no doubt it helps to have fun while you’re doing that. We have awesome hiking buddies in my brother Pete and his girlfriend Tami—two people who are fun and funny and are training for their own upcoming hiking trip in Colorado.

Climbing above Red Wing, MN

In the past several weeks we’ve found some great places to get in hill hiking and long walks to test new back-up shoes. Along the way, Pete and I found ways to scare our partners (walking too close to the edges of drop-offs), disrespect Mother Nature (telling fart jokes in the middle of the beautiful outdoors) and pretty much undo the healthful benefits of miles of walking by finding decadent food to eat after the hikes.

The long straight road to New Prague

New hiking boots--twins with Tami!

My very own hiking pants

Our hiking venues are generally state parks, but Jan and I also got in an 11.5 mile trek along paved county roads from our house in Webster, MN to the relative metropolis of New Prague. The walk seemed endless, but it was satisfying to accomplish, and the biggest thrill of the endeavor was learning that the new arch supports in my ancient hiking boots will work, and my new hiking low top boots will work even better -- all maybe even without blisters -- to carry me along the West Highland Way.

I also checked new hiking pants, a long-sleeved tech shirt, and new hiking poles off my to-buy list. The pants were a special treat for me since last time we distance-trekked, I used hand-me-downs from Jan. True story! I’m a bit smaller in the waist this time around, so I got to get my very own Columbias with actual zip-off legs (technical term: convertible pants). I tell you, it’s the little things.

I got my Scottish pedicure--a very important part of getting ready. And Jan got his hippie hair cut (I love his old guy pony tail!) so I think the grooming is taken care of.

 

The St. Andrew's Cross is on the Scottish national flag

Some of the hillier training we did was at Afton State Park, where I gave the new shoes a good workout on these knee-crusher washout outs! Shoes=successful!

Minnesota is gorgeous, too -- the Mississippi River from Frontenac State Park

There are big decisions yet to come, however. I’ll let you know if I manage to make them without trauma. For example: I have some concerns about a bruised heel, so it’s a huge question of what shoes to bring for non-hiking. Some look good for sightseeing and others are more comfy for potentially sore feets. Stay tuned to see whether I decide on tennis shoes (which are aqua and match nothing) or Clarks walking shoes that I bought for my last big vacation which are leather and pretty comfy but not as comfy as the tennies. Such important stuff.  

Aqua running shoes or cute walkers? What's your vote?

Training in Big Woods and Old Stomping Grounds

Minnesota's Big Woods--a gorgeous place for training--or enjoying.

With just a month to go before our trip, walking continues at a somewhat leisurely pace. I'll have to be pushing the miles alone after this coming week since Jan heads off to his annual week at Boy Scout camp in Wisconsin.

Fortunately, my youngest (of three) brother Pete has ramped up his hiking, too, in preparation for the move his son and daughter-in-law are making to Colorado in a couple of weeks and the visits Pete plans to make to the mountains. And because Pete has been hiking, his beautiful girlfriend Tami has been dragged into the "sport" as well. We even found out the hiking spirit moved her to go shopping for Merrill hiking shoes!! And so we're adopting them as our hiking partners in crime.

Pete, Tami, Me, Jan -- Hiking Partners in Crime

My litle bro and I

Hidden Falls in Nerstrand

Iconic Minnehaha Falls

Last weekend's training distance was about 15 miles. We went for more waterfalls--a hidden little gem in a southern Minnesota state park called Nerstrand Big Woods. And then a Minneapolis treasure--the beautiful Minnehaha Falls.

When I was a kid our gang would walk here to the base of the falls and follow the creek to the Mississippi River. Nostalgia!

Both of these were nostalgia walks for me since I grew up three blocks from Minnehaha Falls park, and my grandparents
regularly chose Nerstrand for extended family picnics. We got in some rolling hills and some flat distance. Mostly it was awesome fun just to be able to add mileage with great company in a beautiful state!

 Check out some more pics from our Fourth of July hiking weekend!

Our gorgeous Nerstrand training camp.

Hills ahead!

The best hiking partner a girl could want!!

Out on a limb with the Mighty Mississippi behind us.

Peter being mean to Tami and rocking the branch.

It looks as if we don't really get much hiking in--we're too busy goofing off. But we figure that's part of the training, too. If we don't get our picture-taking muscles in shape, how will we get gorgeous photos of the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond?

So we empty the rocks from our shoes and go on to the next pre-adventure next week!

Mega Mall and Waterfall--Walk Training Underway

So serious about training.

With exactly six weeks until we leave for Scotland on August 6th, I've determined that it's time to ramp up my walk training in earnest. Jan and I are avid hikers all the time, but our park hikes and neighborhood walks generally run from 3-6 miles, squeezed into weekends when the weather is good and we have no other obligations.

Our planned 95-mile hike through the Highlands will take eight days and consist of three 14-mile days, two 12 mile days, two 10s, and one nine miler.
So--in the next six weeks we'll be taking some longer treks around home just to test boots and get used to uneven terrain and hills.

To that end we started out this past weekend at Minnesota's premier, super difficult hiking Mecca:  The Mall of America.

Tough terrain right in our own backyard.

Yes, cue the laughing emoticon, but the weather didn't cooperate with our desire to walk. When a thunderstorm came rolling through at the time we wanted to leave, we gave up on our outdoor choice and headed for Nickelodeon Universe--the indoor amusement park at MOA. While there are no rocks, hills, roots or lochs at the world's second-largest indoor shopping mall, there is fantastic people watching, literally miles of floor to walk, and lots of really good bad food. We were so proud of ourselves for limiting junk intake to one Tim Horton doughnut each!

My faithful & loved Lowa boots.

I made the indoor trek about testing some new arch support inserts in my old faithful hiking boots. We walked approximately three miles, did stairs at every opportunity (even the escalators), and in the end my biggest takeaway was that I might not need to buy new boots. The next few hikes will tell, but I know the decision has to happen very soon so I'll have more than a month to break in new footwear.

Nickelodeon Universe--it's a jungle.

One corner of MOA always smells like this. Le sigh...

A random Cat Hat (for Miss E?)

After the MOA journey on Saturday, we took a 90-minute drive on Sunday to one of our favorite Minnesota state parks: Minneopa. It's special for a couple of reasons: it's one of the last places we took our beloved Magic The Wonder Border Collie for a long walk before we lost her to old age a couple of years ago;  it's also got a really cool waterfall that was the inspiration for the falls in my first book series' little town Kennison Falls.

Minneopa/Kennison Falls

The weather was much nicer for this walk and we clocked around seven miles. Instead of

Testing the ankles on root steps

smooth flooring and Tim Horton, we had rocks, roots, craggy paths, and 100-calorie almond packs. And instead of people-watching we got Minneopa's wild, no-cattle DNA bison herd and wild flowers. At half the distance of our longest days to come in Scotland--it was good
to get out on some truly uneven ground and start getting the ankles in shape.

More about long, weird training walks to come along with the saga of my right leg--which has this new tendency to fall asleep unexpectedly while I'm walking. I'll let you know...

Jan and his resting rock.

Us!

A New Adventure

The West Highland Way--from Milngavie to Fort William.

It's been a while (a long while) since I've been active here on my blog, but it's time to crack open the Squirrel's Diary and take you on a brand new adventure we're about to write. Just shy of two months from now, Jan and I are flying off for Scotland and yet another long walk. We're hiking the West Highland Way--nearly 100 miles of gorgeous Scottish country along the "bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond" and through the fabled Highlands.

To say we're excited is understatement. In addition to our hike we'll have several days in Edinburgh, a couple in Glasgow, and two in Inverness. We know there will be too little time to see all the sights, but we hope to hit the highlights and perhaps absorb some culture along with some famous Scotch Whisky!

We leave on August 6th, so between then and now I'll track our "training" progress as we prepare for 8 days of walking. Stay tuned for the weird ways we get ready and some fun facts about Scotland as we learn them ourselves.

Check out our old travelogue from our 16-day hike across northern England five years ago. It's the memories of that truly spiritual trek that have spurred us to make another trip to the U.K. Come on along!!

Stunning Loch Lomond--the largest loch (by surface area) in Scotland.

The Next Big Thing

Happy Week After Christmas--I hope your celebrations were wonderful!  And - - happy "Welcome Back to The Squirrel(!) Blog Day!  I've been letting this site languish and be no more than an archive for the online diary of my trip to England this past summer. It's always been my intention to start blogging again in the new year -- and a nudge from one of my best writing buddies has given me just the launch topic.  I was invited to take part in an ongoing hop from blog to blog of writers talking about their own "next big things."  So I'm back here to update you on the story that's almost finished and ready to send off to my agent and editor.  

At the end of the post you'll find some links to other authors telling you about their works in progress (aka WIPs). I hope you'll click through and circle around to see what's coming.  And check back during this week to see who might be blogging their next big thing next week.

So--drum roll--here are ten questions I was given to answer about Liz Selvig's "Next Big Thing."  
 

1. What is your working title of your book?

The original title of this manuscript was “Angelwings.” But I already know that won’t be the final title. I’m currently calling it “The Horsewoman’s Hero.”

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

This is a very, very old idea—and an old book actually. It’s a revision of my very first manuscript and really just grew over a long time as I got to know the characters.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

This is definitely a contemporary romance. The story takes place in the fictitious town of Kennison Falls, MN – the place I created for my first novel, “The Rancher and the Rock Star.”

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters  in a movie rendition?

I have photos of the two people who I’d love to play Chase and Jill. Do you remember the gorgeous old Diet Coke commercial where all the women in the office ran to window at break time to watch a construction worker remove his shirt and drink a Diet Coke? The construction worker was Lucky Vanous and he’s the perfect Chase. As forJill, she’s a beautiful ex-Miss World Sweden. Nobody would know her, nobody would recognize her. Trust me that she’s a beautiful, doe-eyed, dark blonde!

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A woman with Olympic hopes, a man with a heart-breaking secret, a magical dog, a teen with purple hair, and a cranky farmer with a giant horse and the surprising key to everyone’s happiness, form an unlikely bond during a summer that flips dreams upside down and nourishes the unlikeliest of loves.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I have a wonderful agent, Elizabeth Winick Rubinstein from the McIntosh & Otis agency. She’s patiently awaiting this manuscript, as is my editor at Avon, Tessa Woodward. I don’t have a contract for the book yet, but I was promised that they want it—so I’m excited!

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Oh, the answer to this is almost embarrassing now—I worked on this story for years when my children were little and when I was toying with the idea of being a romance writer. Once I finished “Angelwings” in 2005, I marketed it and actually found an agent to represent it. But, truth to tell, it was a first draft, really. I consider the “real” book to have been written in the past six months – and I’m so thrilled with how it’s turned out.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I think people who enjoy books by some of my biggest inspirations will like “Horsewoman’s Hero.” Robyn Carr, Katherine Anderson, Susan Anderson, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jennifer Bernard.  I think I have my own style—and I love rich, layered stories—but these wonderful writers are who I strive to be like.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

This book is purely and simply a work that’s grown out of years of daydreaming and favorite movies, and ways I always imagined a hero of mine would act. I feel like I’ve been living with Chase and Jill for a very long time. I love them dearly!

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

This book  has a very special dog in it--Angel, the black and white mutt with the batwing-shaped ears. Angel shows up just when she's needed most, and has an uncanny knack for getting her new people to exactly the spots they need to be in, precisely when they need to be in them! Is she magic? Is she just a smart puppy? Or, is she even more special than that?

I’ve also brought back a few of my favorite secondary characters from “Rancher,” so anyone who’s read that will be glad to know Gray and Abby each make cameos, as do the wonderful cockatiels Lester and Cotton. And, of course, it wouldn’t be Kennison Falls if The Sisters (Gladdie and Claudia) weren’t there to save the day in their own inimitable ways!

Plus, there are some really fun new characters, like the irascible old farmer Robert McCormick. And—if you love horses, I have several beauties for you:  Dragon, Jill’s talented black thoroughbred, Belle a beautiful golden Belgian, and Gypsy, the gorgeous Clydesdale who gives birth to the funniest foal this side of Black Beauty: T.N.Tatters. 

And, as usual, there'll be the four things I always put in my stories:  horses, a British accent, a Beatles reference, and an elderly person. You'll have to read it when it finally comes out and search out each reference!

So--there's my WIP for you. I plan to turn it into my "bosses" by mid-January, and I'll definitely let you know what the plans are for it after that.

Now for a couple of other  Big Things -- please check out these awesome blogs from some cool writers: Jennifer Bernard,  Morgan Q. O'Reilly, Boone Brux.  

Ans thanks for checking out my blog today. I promise more random fun in the New Year. (Maybe I'll do "Diary of a Wimpy Writer.")

Happy New Year everyone!