Another new book deal!

I'm excited to share more news - I have another dogsledding novel coming out next year!

Here's the announcement from Publisher's Weekly:


Ann Rider at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has acquired a middle-grade novel by Terry Lynn Johnson. Sled Dog School tells the story of a lonely 11-year old boy who starts a business teaching dog sledding to fulfill a class assignment, but his lessons don't work out the way he expected. Publication is scheduled for fall 2017; Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.  

I'm also sitting on even bigger news, but can't spill yet. Soon! 

For now, here's a few photos from our latest adventure - kayaking, snorkelling in Baja Mexico

No one knows why Grey Whales bring their babies to meet us, Magdelena Bay.
That's me wearing the Canadian bandana

Humpback whales feeding in La Paz Bay

Grey Whales coming for a scratch, they have fleas that look like white  ticks

spy hopping

snorkelling with juvenile whale sharks!

snorkelling with sea lion pups

Alaska

We're back from an epic adventure in Alaska where my mg novel ICE DOGS is set.

For nearly three weeks we backpacked up mountains and camped, hiked across glowing glaciers, and kayaked our way through spectacular scenery.

One of the best things about travelling is sharing pictures! Here's a few:

note: I missed getting a really cool shot of a humpback whale breaching as well as a sea otter eating an octopus. The octopus was larger than the sea otter! The otter floated on its back while tearing at a rubbery tentacle. It was so cool to watch it smacking its lips while peering over to make sure we weren't trying to steal the prize.

Can't wait to go back!

Grizzly on the Denali Park road

Killer Whales in Kenai Fjords National Park

Having fun on Mat-su Glacier

Hiking the back country of Denali

Sea Lions Kenai Fjords National Park

View of Mt McKinley

Kayaking out of Homer

Denali Park road

Up on the Kesugi Ridge, Denali State Park

great view

Kachemak State Park - the marmots were everywhere on this trail! Standing up and screaming their alarm. 

Wolves and Bears and Contracts, oh my!

Thought it's time to share the story of when I got my offer from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

And when you live in the middle of a wildlife preserve, most everything is a story...

dramatic recreation.

There were two publishers interested in making an offer for my YA novel, ICE DOGS. So we knew the date it was to happen. As you can imagine, I was a bit of a basket case that day.

Hubby was hanging around, not helping with the nerves, so before it all went down, I suggested he take the dog out for a walk.

At the exact moment the offer came in, I glanced out the window to see my dog running for her life down the driveway with a freaking Timber Wolf on her tail. The wolf got right to the bottom of the stairs of the deck before it wheeled around and ran off.

And my man was missing.

So forget about the fact I just had the offer of a lifetime, and all my dreams come true. Instead of celebrating, I had images of my man surrounded by a wolf pack somewhere.

I think my exact words were, "Gotta go... the wolves!"

Turns out, while on their relaxing walk, the dog spotted a bear with two cubs, began a chase that didn't really work out for her, and came running back to my Hubby. All Hubby saw was teeth coming at him.

He scrambled up the closest tree and stayed there to wait it out. The dog continued running home, and somehow picked up a wolf along the way. (I swear, I'm not making this up!)

So the dog got chased by a bear AND a wolf on the same walk!

Leave it to MY DOG to steal my thunder!

Ever wonder where deer sleep in a snowstorm?

... on my snowshoe trail apparently!

We had a mother of a storm here yesterday. When I went snowshoeing today, I found these deer beds on my trail. You can see where they dug down, and then how much snow fell while they were all comfy in bed.



see the frozen indent made by the deer's leg in the middle of the bed?

What cool things have you found on your trail?

Wolf Toy

Had to do a quick post to show you what the wolves have been up to on the lake.

Bite marks on our bouy marker. Size comparison with our dog's toy.

We attached a new bouy this summer marking a log sticking out of the water on our lake. Once the lake froze, the bouy sat on top of the ice. It apparently looked like a new toy. The wolves ripped it off its rope, and played soccer with it across the lake.

We retrieved it this morning on our walk. The number of wolf tracks surrounding it looked like dozens of wolves had played the game , but we've only seen three - a spectacularly large and lush wolf with two smaller ones.

our lake view from the porch.

Now I want to tie more balls to the dock to watch the wolves come and play with them. I wonder if they like squeaky toys.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Scat messaging

This is the message I received this morning from our new neighbours

click to view in all its glory

 Right at the end of our driveway - an impressive pile of wolf poop. And I mean a PILE. This can't be from just one animal, therefore this required a community effort. What does this message mean?

• We're big so don't mess with us.
• This is the line into our territory. You own the driveway, we own the rest.
• Hello there, dear neighbours, here's our card. Call us.
• We know you are dogsitting a tasty little morsel of a Chihuahua right now.

The past few days we've had lots of wolf excitement. One evening I looked out the window in time to see the dog running for her life onto the deck with a huge brown timber wolf on her tail. The wolf came right to the bottom of the stairs before he noticed me standing there, and then wheeled around and took off down the driveway.

Two nights ago the dogs and I were walking in the dark and found ourselves in the middle of the pack taking down a deer. We didn't see anything, but the noises surrounding us had me hustling home with my feeble little headlamp frantically scanning around behind us. In the morning we found the evidence of a fight to the finish. The tracks told the story of how the wolves went around downwind, and then launched the attack. The deer went down, got up, went down again. We have many, many deer in our area, so it must be a good spot for the wolves to hang for a while.

flickerCC

In the evenings, the pack sings. They sometimes wake us in the middle of the night. They obviously have some pups who can't sing yet, but try to make up for it by being the loudest. Sled dog pups do this too. It's hilarious to listen to.

Any wolf stories out there? Anyone care to decipher to scat code?

Beavers

Busy writing!

To entertain you while I'm away, here's a very cool vid of a couple of animals in Alberta that know what it's like to be busy.

Little known fact:
I'm not sure I would have noticed if it had not been pointed out to me, that all three of my manuscripts have beavers in them. Hmmm...

Best part of being an author, and a challenge

First, I have to show you what I watched this morning while having breakfast:

My dog watched for a while, then shrugged her shoulders and went back to her squeaky toy. She's seen this show before.



Now, allow me to share with you what I think is the best part of being an author. Here are a few awesome emails I've been receiving from young readers of DOGSLED DREAMS.
note: some are editted to take out spoilers and I've replaced the name with the first initial


Dear Ms Johnson,

I really liked your book "Dogsled Dreams" and really liked how you described the characters. My favourite dog would be Apollo, because I think Apollo is a good dog.
I thought the book was REALLY FUNNY, interesting, and sometimes surprising. Sincerely J (gr. 5/6)



Dear Ms. Johnson,
I loved your book Dogsled Dreams. the dogs love running and stuff like that. I would love to try dogsledding. It sounds fun.
It was funny when the teacher slipped and landed on the pups’ pee. And I’m just like Rebeca I do those things and say those words !
Sincerely,
B


Dear Ms. Johnson,
I love your book "Dogsled Dreams". I thought your characters were fun and adventurous.
My favourite characters in "Dogsled Dreams" are Rebecca, Apollo, Rebecca’s dog team and Rebecca’s dad. But my favourite character would have to be Rebecca. She was exiting!
I probably like her so much because I am a girl too!
I liked it because of the thrill. It made me nervous exited and worried.
From,
K Grade 6



Dear Ms. Johnson,
I loved your book Dogsled Dreams sooooo much. I think it is the best book our teacher has read so far. I am going to read all your books.
My favourite dog is Doppler it is also Rebecca’s favourite dog. The book is so funny, I really liked the part when Rebecca and her dad went to the school to show the dogs to little kids and the dogs ran outside the classroom and to the hallway and one of the dog peed in the hallway and made the teacher slip, that was hilarious.
I think you write awesome books and I cant wait to read them all.
Sincerely, Y Grade 5



Dear Ms. Johnson,
I loved your book, Dog Sled Dreams. My favourite part was when the teacher slipped on the pile of pee. It was so funny. Your book was so cool. I loved it so much because it also had humor. One thing is that I hate Robin, she is so bad.
Sincerely,
S Grade 5



Dear Ms. Johnson,.
I thought your book was interesting, EXTREMELY funny, and sometimes surprising.
My favourite part is when Rebecca and her dad brought the puppies to school and they went to the bathroom on the floor. Then the teacher slipped and landed in the puddle the puppy made.
My favourite dogs are Tarzan, Doppler, Apollo, and Blaze.
Do you actually have a dog named Apollo? And do you race dogs yourself?
Your #1 fan
E. Grade 5




LOVE ALL OF THESE! And yes, Emma, Apollo was my leader for many years. Here he is:

And finally, I know I've already posted a cell phone pict, but please indulge me again. And to make it worth your while - here's a challenge -

if you find my book in your own bookstore, send me a photo and I'll send you a YA or MG book. Simple as that!


And so -  a few pictures that I can't stop looking at and grinning:

 Cole's bookstore. bottom left - that's me!

Chapters bookstore - holy crap!!!

Don't forget to enter my Insanely Mega giveaway. Nine winners! Nine fabulous books up for grabs.

Let sleeping deer lie

Little story of adventure today.

It's a testiment to how silent snowshoeing is that I could sneak up on a deer at all.

The soft "whoomp whoomp" on new snow doesn't make much of a sound, but my wheezy breath should have given some advanced warning of my approach. (yes, little out of shape lately)

Okay. so NORMALLY I do try to be very aware of my surroundings. The whole point to snowshoeing is being in the moment and drinking in the peace of nature. But in this instance, I was hurried, absent, mind racing ahead to everything I had to do when I got back.

And that's how I nearly tripped over a deer curled up asleep in the snow. I saw her just before I stepped on her. It startled me into a very awkward crash to the ground beside her. And when I say beside, I mean practically in her lap. The lap with long legs unfolding with wicked sharp hooves at the ends.

photo credit FlickerCC. I did not have time to take out my camera

What happened next I'm sure would have won a funniest home video contest. Neither of us could get away fast enough. I flailed and rolled in the deep snow like a turtle flipped over on its back, frantically trying to get up, she flailed trying to get her cold, stiff legs underneath her. It is a wonder I survived unscathed.

this is about how close I was. photo credit FlickerCC

The whole event reminds me of the day I nearly died by moose. (In fact - that story is being published by Wild Washington in the near future.) Or the sleeping bear I surprised during a rainstorm.

I'm thinking perhaps the deer might have been chased by wolves - they become exhausted and don't like to move once they've bedded down. Or maybe she had slipped on the ice and injured herself. I'm going again today to check on her.

Life Lesson #214 - Look up from your snowshoes.

Put your hands up in the air

This has nothing to do with adventure, or dogs, or outdoor adventure, or writing. And I don't ususally do this here - but seriously, just watch.


jokeroo.com

Don't forget to enter my book giveaway! Closes on Monday, November 15!

Wildlife shots

Haven't been around the blogger sphere lately. But here's a photo essay of what I've been doing.

What's shakin' Baby?

Gray Tree Frog on the deck. Look at the toes!

Forest fire on our lake. Water Bomber in action.

Gorgeous new neighbour moved in to the shed.

leave me alone, can't you see I'm trying to sleep.

Barrred Owl! Look at that face!

Fox tracks - kayak trip with friend. Photo by Karen Mikoliew

Sunset - kayak trip with friend. photo by K. Mikoliew

Heading out to work on our hiking trails. My man's stunning smile.

wild lily's on kayak trip with friend. photo by K.Mikoliew

Me on a kayak trip. photo by K.Mikoliew

On our hike today...

Hiking adventures continued today when we came upon this cute little creature.

flickerCC

With his brown fur, round ears and sweet facial expression, there was no doubt what he was. Plus he climbed a Red Pine and sat on a branch and "whirred" at us. He sounded like a grocery cart with a squeaky wheel. Give up?

This is a Pine Marten! I don't know if they are prevalent in the States.They have semi-retractable claws to help them climb better, and thick foot pads to lift them out of the snow. Mature conifer forest is their preferred habitat.They are normally very shy and hang out alone. I haven't seen very many, so I was thrilled to be given this opportunity to exchange greetings. I'm pretty sure I understood what he was saying too.