New Cover Alert - SLED DOG SCHOOL

I'm pleased to finally be sharing the cover for my new dogsledding novel coming out October 3, 2017. The story is about 11-year-old Matt starting his own dogsledding business for school. It somehow combines math and dogsledding - not sure how that happened since I really disliked math as a kid.

The publisher took great care to try and get this cover right - they went through three different versions that were eventually turned down by their sales team, and bookstore reps. Certainly the most involved process I've seen yet. This last version, they decided to hire the cover artist, Jennifer Taylor.


Hope you like the final product.

In stores October 3, 2017, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Dogsled Race Education Programs

Putting the kayaks away is always a sad event. But the good news is - it signals the start of my favourite season...

DOGSLEDDING

Many dogsled race committees are joining the growing trend to include an educational component to their race.

If you are a teacher interested in following a race with your class, or even just a fan wanting to learn more, there are blogs and websites you can follow along with.

• Pick a favourite musher (I'm a loyal fan of Martin Buser, my musher-crush)
• Meet the dogs
• Follow the race via GPS
• Live Chats
• Read news reports from a Canine news team
• Contests, videos for classrooms, games and more!

Here are a few links to get you started

Yukon Quest Education Program

Beargrease site

Iditarod 2014 Teacher on the Trail, Jennifer Reiter

Iditarod Education Links 

Wyoming Stage Stop Race Follow the Lead Teacher

Puppies anyone?

Denali National Park Service has a new litter of cuteness.

They have a You Tube series called Puppy Paws that does a great job showing sled dog pups and describing the daily needs. Even at that age, their training begins.

Check it out!

Tongues and Teeth and stuff



Photo by Alaskaphotography.com

The Iditarod begins tomorrow - March 3. For all your doggie goodness news, check out some of these links

 the Official site here

Race Talk forum
Backstage Iditarod

New Web Cam sites

Iditarod Start
Nome (the finish line)


For more amazing pictures of tongues and teeth check out Alaska Photography

including this short video of a crash. omg. I've so been there.




Enjoy!

Why Do They Run?

It's eighteen days away.

Every year, I sign up for the Iditarod Insider to get the latest news and videos. I pick the free option, but if you are a teacher, or huge fan, you can choose to subscribe to the whole package. It's a fun way to be part of the race, without the travel.

Check out my favourite video so far this year here and click on THE DOGS OF THE IDITAROD for a one-minute clip that will make you smile.

Or, if you just want to know WHY THEY RUN, check out my book, DOGSLED DREAMS.

It's all about love.

Fall training insider

If you like dogsledding, check out the 2011 Iditarod Fall E-runner. It's full of pre-race stories and great pictures of the amazing sled dogs and how they get geared up for the big race.

Amazing dogs - amazing race

Must watch videos of Iditarod dogs in action from the official Iditarod Insider site.

Montage ONE

Montage TWO

Do these videos bring a lump to your throat? For some reason, I get very emotional watching how gorgeous and true the dogs are. And the dramatic music caps it.

An Iditarod story

Several years ago, I handled for a musher in the Iditarod, Stan Zoray. For me, being in Anchorage surrounded by dogs and mushers was a little like going to the red carpet for the Academy Awards. So many famous mushers! Everywhere I turned, OMG - there's Dee Dee Jonrowe! There's Charlie Boulding! I even managed to get a picture of me standing beside my favourite author and musher, Dave Olsen. (except at the exact moment the photographer snapped the picture, Dave's dogs needed his attention, and he bent down to them. So I proudly show my photo of me and Dave Olsen's butt)

Fellow blogger Kim Kircher was lucky enough to be at the ceremonial start of the Iditarod yesterday in Anchorage, Alaska. Check out her awesome post about the sites and stories

To follow the teams, or to read more, go check out the Iditarod Official Website. Or for indepth coverage including the actual start today in Wasilla at 2pm check out Eye on the Trail.

book signing update - Dogsled Races

MARMORA SNOFEST 2011

photo by Peter Hellman

The good news:

 I've survived my first book signing on my book tour!

• 30 copies of DOGSLED DREAMS were snatched up!
• I made a pack of new friends. (Waves at 11-year-old Martina the avid reader, eloquent speaker, and sled dog enthusiast.)
• And I learned a ton about how to move your book at an event. Namely - you actually have to talk about yourself. Unabashadly. The natural (Canadian?) tendency toward modesty must be left at the door. How else are people going to know your book was selected as a Recommended Read by the Iditarod Education Department, unless you tell them?

Photo Peter Hellman



Photo Peter Hellman

 I LOVED being around all the amazing mushers and sled dogs! 100 howling dogs outside my motel door each evening and morning. Too beautiful for words. I choke up just remembering what that sounded like.

photo by Glen Milligan

The bad news:

I really really wanted to get videos of the start of the races. I wanted to share the absolute joy of the dogs before they run. I taped amazing shots of crazed dogs running past, full teams screaming and lunging on the ganglines. Mushers slipping and wrestling to the start line. It was all so AWESOME!

Then I came home to watch and edit for you and ... AND ...

photo Glen Milligan

I had the recorder off when I thought it was on and on when I thought it was off.

I've got brilliant shots of my feet running in the slushy snow with insane barking in the background.

I didn't get even one photo! (luckily, some did, thank you Peter and Glen)

I'M SO HEARTBROKEN!!!

Photo Charmaine Collins

But - I'll be doing all this again on my next stop in CANNINGTON, Ontario in a couple of weeks. My man will be coming this time. He has graciously volunteered his skills to do the video taping.

Photos are nice - but to really feel the energy and buzz, there's nothing like actually hearing 200 + dogs screaming to RUN!

Thank you to all who purchased my book!

Junior musher inspirational video

I had to share this video by The FilmDailies about 15-year-old Krista Halnses and her sled dog racing career. It's longer than I usually post - five minutes, but just watching her with her dogs for a few seconds will mesmerize you.

To Gee or to Haw, that is the question

Bark River Racing team photo

Find out how tuned in mushers are with their leaders in the latest FUN FACT #3 on the website HERE.

Meet the Mushers

Iditarod.com photo credit

The official list of mushers signed up to race the 2011 Iditarod is up on the website. Check out the site HERE to see full biographies and photos of the racers. My secret crush, Martin Buser is running again this year! Good luck to all and happy training!

Winterdance Training Run

Fourteen seconds of passion.




Thought I'd post this quick, fun video to remind everyone we've got SNOW coming soon! Let's get excited!!!

Winterdance Dogsled Tours is a large kennel of 150 huskies, in my hometown of Haliburton, Ontario. They plan to run the Yukon Quest this year! Also, their e-book Iditarod Dreamer is available to purchase on their site. Hop over and check out their other fun videos!

Website for upcoming book DOGSLED DREAMS

My new website is up and ready for viewing.
Check out DOGSLED DREAMS here.

This site is dedicated to all things SLED DOG. It will be updated once a month after the book comes out. I plan to follow Jr. Mushers on the race circuit, have dogsledding videos, giveaways, fun facts and lots of other cool stuff.

Summer Sled Dogs article published

This month on the Dogs in Canada Magazine website, they are featuring an article I wrote on keeping sled dogs in the summer.

check it out here.

Super-short Dogsledding Essay

With the temperature soaring, it seems a perfect time to infuse a little sparkly winter fun. I've been wanting to share this for a while, but thought I'd try to get it published first. It seems it's not the right length for magazines.

This placed as a finalist last year in the Writers' Union of Canada post card competition.

Soho, Nitro and I - winter 1995

The Orange Bib

By Terry Lynn Johnson


The cacophony of hundreds of crazed sled dogs clipped to their drop-lines sets me on edge. Odours of urine-soaked straw and thawing ground chicken hang in the air. Like a tongue poking a sore tooth, my mind stubbornly returns to the fear file. Lose the team; dog fight; entangle with another competitor…

When I stood on the shore of this lake years ago, I saw an image that has been with me ever since. In the hazy light of dawn, I watched the orange bib of a musher slowly vanish in the ice-fog. His team silently took him to a magic land. It was the most beautiful thing I had seen. I wanted to be him. Now I’m back to run my first race.

I visit with each of my six dogs and hide the jitters. They take on my emotions. Apollo, my gangly black leader, shoves the top of his head into my stomach. His habit reminds me of a photo I saw of a couple with their foreheads pressed together – a stolen, intimate moment.

Denali is hiding under the truck. I kneel in the dirty slush. “You’re gonna make people talk.” He looks out at me with soft brown eyes then crawls forward. I get a wet kiss.

Dainty Soho is shooting coy glances at Nitro. Tarzan is grinning at me with all his teeth showing. And Blaze is shamelessly on her back, legs spread.

I look at my team and realize I’ve already found the magic land.

Few links

Some websites I think are worth your time:

1. The Elevensies!

I'm sure you've heard of the Tenners? Debut authors whose books will be coming out in 2010? I'll soon be posting about some of their books. Since my book debut is in 2011, I've joined this wonderful group. Please check us out here.

2. Inkwell!

This is an online social networking site full of authors and soon to be authors with interesting chat groups such as how to market your book, how to write a great query, resources, lists of publishers and agents, young adult, middle grade, it's all there! Anyone can join. Go here.

3. SCBWI Michigan conference!

Yeah, I'm going to a conference! May first in Lansing Michigan. Lots of great workshops and guest speakers including the wonderful Beth Fleisher - super agent. I can't wait! Check it out here.

4. Paul Greci!

My awesome critique partner from Alaska has a great blog here.

5. Sled Dog Central!

This is my favorite website. Lots of links to dogsled races, super photos (this photo is the current one up on the site) and information. Fun stuff. Go here.

6. Lisa and Laura!

Go check out their blog right now - they're featuring Book Sniper, an editor that has agreed to answer your writing questions. One more day so go here now

Mink screams and dogsled teams

A neat little story to share...

While on our morning hike, my dog found a mink. This is not unusual, but this one found itself trapped at the base of an aspen. I thought Tanzer was chasing a squirrel until I heard it scream. Like a shrill MEEEH!

The dog wanted nothing to do with a squirrel that sounds like that, so backed out of there with her hackles up. I could smell it before I got close - a distinctly musky odour like a mild skunk. Then it popped its head up from the brush, MEEH'ed at me and scrambled up the smooth trunk of the tree! I'm just sharing this since that's the first time I've ever seen them climb trees. Good info to tuck away for a scene in a book.

I've put it in my IDEAS file.

Also,

Karen of North Wapiti kennel has just left Rainy Pass - a checkpoint in the Iditarod race. Read about how one of her dogs slipped his collar, came looking for her in the musher's tent, and told her it was time to get on the trail. Too funny.

photo from flickrcc and NorthWapiti blog.

Dog Care

Photo from Sled Dog Central.

The following are a few great organizations that promote the responsible care of sled dogs and the special relationship between musher and dogs.

Mush with P.R.I.D.E (Providing responsible information on a dog's environment)

Sled Dog Central

Fourteen angel's foundation

Minnesota Responsible Animal Owners Alliance

5 days until Iditarod

You can find lots of great photos on the Official Iditarod site. The Junior Iditarod is off and running right now. Awesome.

Fun Fact:

Despite common usage in annoying commericals or movies, mushers do not say "Mush" to their dogs. One theory as to how this term came to be, is that the French trappers were overheard saying "marche" to their dogs. The term to mush and musher stuck though, and are used to describe someone who runs sled dogs.

Mushers will say, Hike! or All Right! to get the dogs to pull, however, it's not generally needed. The dogs pretty much ALWAYS want to pull. I said, "Ready? All right!" to get my dogs attention and to start in unison.

google images