I’m happy to announce that I’ll be at the 26th annual Get Lit! Festival organized by Eastern Washington University and hosted in Spokane, Washington. Get Lit! runs from Thursday, April 11 to Sunday, April 14, full information here.
Many are not aware that there is literary mojo out there on the Washington-Idaho border, from resident authors like Jess Walters (whom I picked up at an airport once, true story) to literary hubs like the independent Auntie’s Bookstore. What’s not to love about a book scene with tumbleweeds?
As you can see thanks to the graphic, my publisher MilSpeak Books will be exhibiting at the public book fair on Saturday, April 13. I’ll be there so drop on by! You can grab a signed copy of my book in addition to other MilSpeak Books titles. Fellow award winning MilSpeak memoirist Lauren Kay Johnson will also be there with her book The Fine Art of Camouflage. The newest MilSpeak Books titles include The Waiting World by Andria Williams, Changelings: Insurgence by Liam Corley, Kurtz by John Lawson III, and Hills Hide Mountains by Travis Klempan also beckon.
Lauren will also be participating on a Thursday morning panel, The Things She Carried: Women Writing War. Full details here.
If you are not out that way, which is understandable, your good vibes are appreciated. Maybe it has something to do with the eclipse, but I’ve been approached organically by those who’ve read, and thankfully enjoyed, Salmon in the Seine a few times over the last couple of weeks. Naturally, it’s rewarding to know that your wee book is not languishing in a vacuum.
Brief Note on Canada
I received an email last weekend from a Canadian source telling me a “cheque” is in the mail for book sales. Confused, I looked into it and was reminded that Salmon in the Seine is for sale in Canada via the Op Media Group (publisher of Pacific Yachting magazine, to which I have contributed to) online store. You can see for yourself right here.
If you are in Canada, I encourage you to buy my book from this source if you are on the market. They showed me classic Canadian hospitality when I was just getting started by stocking my title on their digital shelves. Pacific Yachting even went so far to recommend the book for Christmas shopping in 2022. Every book of mine they sell is a real-world reward for their faith in me. Thanks, Canada!
Norris Reads: Systematic Reviews to Answer Health Care Question by MY MOM!!!
Today I am a proud son! My mom, Dr Heidi Nelson, published the textbook on systematic reviews for public health. She’s devoted her entire epic career to evidence based medicine, a form of truthseeking needed now more than ever.
I’ll be honest, life for our family would’ve been far cushier if mom “played the game”. Took lunches with pharma reps. Massaged the data for “desireable” results. Scratched backs. Yielded to emotive appeals and silver tongued sophistry.
But not once has she bent. Not before Congress or in academia or when grilled on NPR. She has inspired me to believe that truth is the ultimate form of compassion and righteousness—even if it doesn’t feel like it short term. Even if finding truth is difficult or upsetting or surprising… it is the only way.
I read this with the mindset to apply these critical thinking skills to all aspects of life. Power to the truthseekers! Thanks for these lessons, cool mom.
Consider buying my book, Salmon in the Seine: Alaskan Memories of Life, Death, & Everything In-Between! Available wherever books are sold, including Amazon, Powell’s City of Books, and Third Place Books. If you’re in Canada, I recommend this source. It’s won eight notable independent/small press book awards, so hey, it can’t be that bad, amirite?