If you haven't read Part I, you may want to do that first here: https://www.susannormanauthor.com/post/sisters-by-water-part-1-the-canoe-safari Finishing up breakfast on day four, Gary announced, "Everyone, gather up, we have an important decision to make."          Rising from my camp chair, I hurried over to hear what pearls of wisdom our guide had to offer today.        So far, Gary's expertise in navigating us through wild animals on both land and water during our 5-day c

There is a well-known phrase used in the writing process called "throwing out your darlings”. This is writing advice to ruthlessly cut beloved but unnecessary chapters, scenes, characters, or beautiful sentences that don't serve the story. This ultimately makes your writing stronger, tighter, and more focused for the reader, and is the most difficult and essential work between an author and their editor(s).   When I first submitted my manuscript for developmental editing

I belong to two book clubs (Truckee AND South Lake Tahoe) and, on average, read about three books a month. I usually like the club selections and always love talking about them, even if I found the book challenging.  My book clubs stimulate conversations unlike those I have in other settings and are an essential part of my social fabric.   But the two books that impacted me the most this year, I read outside of book club. These books uniquely resonated with me in these tim

Well, the summer of 2025 was filled with Northern California author talks to promote my memoir RISK, podcast interviews, engaging in various acts of resistance to the assault on public lands, speaking on author panels at my first literary festivals, along with many blissful days of Tahoe stay-cation What I learned from author talks is that no matter how small the audience, there was always at least one person—or a few—who made me feel my effort was worth it.  I may not have s

The Missouri River Wild (Montana) As the assault continues, I am once again drawn to devote this month’s blog to public lands advocacy....

Standing on the side of the Klamath River in sight of its confluence with the Pacific Ocean, I strained to see paddlers emerge from the thick rolling fog. I had come specifically for this moment, to bear witness to two dozen young team members of Paddle Tribal Waters, as they completed their first descent of 310 miles of the recently undammed Klamath River.   For some time, I have been vicariously following this historic endeavor to restore the Klamath River through the remov

Outdoor adventure sports involve risk; it's part of the package, and for many, the allure of 'good risk' is part of the attraction in the...

Inspecting the Upper Truckee River Restoration Project behind my home in Lake Tahoe. My blog this month is taking a sharp swerve because,...

There was a time when I thought it would be cool to embark on a long, multi-week, or months-long exploration of a large river system....

While finishing up the final edits for my memoir  RISK  before going to print, I was unsure how to refer to my Mom in the dedication. Was...

Without a doubt, my life would have been just as fulfilling had I never become my nephew's mom. Fulfilled with my intentionally childless...

Several times throughout my life, I have admittedly, felt like a badass. These moments of vanity emerged through achieving several...

In September 2024, the greatest women's paddling race on earth resumed after a four-year hiatus, the Na Wahine O’ Ke Kai, Molokai to Oahu...

During my 27-year career as a hydrologist, I participated in numerous efforts to restore ecological function to watersheds and rivers. As...

My memoir RISK includes many exciting stories about the adventure sport of whitewater paddling. But the theme of my memoir is just as...

Well, it is that time again for those of us who are passionate about—maybe you could even say obsessed with—the Olympics. For two whole...

I will always be proud of being part of a strong group of women who pushed the boundaries of what women could do in the sport of...

Over the past year I have been advised repeatedly that I am unlikely to sell many copies of my memoir, RISK, unless I develop a PLATFORM...