The Gypsy in My Soul

Natty's fur grows shaggy over the winter, as he piles on layers to protect him from freezing during Colville's arctic winters. But now that spring is here, Natty headed for the Pooch Parlor for his lamb cut and dapper bandana.

I'm getting shaggy, too...but not quite ready to trim my locks. Instead I need to find a way to trim my gypsy urges to wander. Though I'm just back from London and Paris, and will be at the University of Oxford in July, I couldn't resist booking a few days in St. Louis to participate in a book signing on June 1 for my first co-created anthology, Not Your Mother's Book: On Travel. Though I'd been the copyeditor on the first three in Publishing Syndicate's new series, On Being a Woman, On Being a Stupid Kid, and On Dogs, in On Travel I worked on primary selection and editing of the stories, and then, with Dahlynn McKowen, shaped them into sequence

Four of the contributors to the book live in the St. Louis area, Sheree Nielsen, Linda O'Connell, Sioux Roslawski and Gregory Lamping. So we'll all gather for a signing/reading on June 1 at Barnes and Noble's bookstore, 320 Mid Rivers Mall Dr., St. Peters, a St. Louis suburb, from 1 to 3.

I've dedicated the book to my late friend, Kelly C. Presley, who shared so many travel adventures with me in the '80s and early '90s. Kelly's brother and nieces and their families live in St. Louis, and I've been invited to stay at Elves Manor, which two of the girls operate, the best B&B in town. So once again I get to indulge my itchy feet and the gypsy in my soul. Poor Natty, though. He'll languish at The End of the Trail kennel for a few days once again, where he'll look properly natty for the benefit of his fellow exiled dogs.

Here's more on Not Your Mother's Book...On Travel.
Not Your Mother's Book...On Travel is an anthology filled with true, first-person travel adventure stories. From the jungles of Central America to the highlands of Africa, from the charms of Europe to the mysteries of North America, from the sacred sites of Asia to the high seas of the Caribbean, these stories will delight and entertain you. Whether you are an armchair traveler or an on-the-road-again adventurer, we invite you to vicariously journey around the world with us. But don’t forget to fasten your seat belt, because you’re guaranteed one hell of a great trip! Not Your Mother's Book is a new anthology for a new century. Series creators Dahlynn and Ken McKowen spent 10 years developing titles for the world's bestselling anthology series prior to launching NYMB. But their series is very different: all NYMB titles are modern, fun and even daring! No sad, sappy or death and dying stories--EVER! Not Your Mother's Book...On Travel is the fourth title in the series. The first hilarious title was NYMB...On Being a Woman, followed by NYMB...On Being a Stupid Kid and NYMB...On Dogs.