NEWSLETTER – ALICE HENDERSON

AUGUST 2023

Photo from my travels: Arctic tundra, Yukon, Canada

Photo by Alice Henderson

LATEST PUBLISHING NEWS

PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH SIMPLY WRITE

My author interview with Polly Campbell’s Simply Write podcast is live! Polly is so much fun, and we talk about wildlife, daily writing schedules, following your writing passion, and building a career as an author. You can listen to it wherever you get your podcasts, or at this link.

FIRESIDE CHAT WITH MARGARET PINARD

I had an absolute blast as a guest on Margaret Pinard’s Fireside Chat. We did a Q&A followed by fun writing exercises that the audience could join in on. Our goal was to take a fact and incorporate it into a very short piece of fiction, making that fact relatable and fun. Margaret is a wonderful writer and fabulous host, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

You can watch the event here.

INTERVIEW WITH DEB KEISER WRITES AGAIN

I had a blast being interviewed by Deb Keiser on her great blog Deb Keiser Writes Again. We talk about my latest novel, A Ghost of Caribou, wildlife research, and caring for the environment. You can check it out here!

You can order A Ghost of Caribou from a variety of sites:

CHILLY READS TO TRY TO BEAT THE HEAT

I was absolutely delighted to have my novel A Solitude of Wolverines included in this list of Chilly Reads to Try and Beat the Heat in The Buzz Magazines.

You can read the article here.

A SOLITUDE OF WOLVERINES RELEASED IN ITALIAN

I’m thrilled to announce that the Italian translation of A Solitude of Wolverines, La solitudine del predatore, is now available as an ebook or hardcover. A Solitude of Wolverines has now been published in English, Spanish, German, and Italian.

NEW PUBLICATION DATE FOR FOURTH ALEX CARTER NOVEL

The fourth Alex Carter novel, which is set in New Mexico and is about jaguars, has a new publication date! It will be released in March 2025. I’m really excited for this fourth book to come out. I very much enjoyed writing it, and U.S. jaguars have been in the news quite a bit lately, with the Center for Biological Diversity petitioning for their reintroduction to part of their historical range in New Mexico. (See the Wildlife in the News section from my April 2023 newsletter to read about this petition!)

Photo by Mike van den Bos on Unsplash

WILDLIFE IN THE NEWS

31 SPECIES GET A LITTLE CLOSER TO ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT DECISIONS

As a result of a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has agreed to decide whether 31 species should be listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These particular decisions are long overdue, which unfortunately is typical. In fact, almost fifty species have gone extinct while waiting upon such decisions. Many other species in addition to these 31 are under delayed consideration, as well.

Some of the species included in the lawsuit are the eastern spotted skunk, Georgia blind salamander, the Pecos pupfish, Texas kangaroo rat, Miami cave crayfish, and several freshwater mussel species, and more. Mussel species are often overlooked and yet are vital to ecosystems.

These species are threatened by a number of factors including coal ash, mining, agriculture, oil and gas development, livestock grazing, and cave destruction.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

JAGUARUNDI

The jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi) is a species of elusive feline with a long tail and almost weasel-like appearance. They live in Central and South America and used to extend into Texas. But one hasn’t been spotted in that state since 1986.

Researchers at Texas A&M University have set up a vast network of hundreds of remote cameras, but as yet have not photographed a single jaguarundi in Texas. However, members of the public sometimes report seeing them in the state.

Jaguarundi have vanished from the U.S. due to development, highway mortality, and loss of habitat to agriculture. While the jaguarundi has been listed under the Endangered Species Act since 1976, little has been done to restore their population, and in fact it took more than thirty years to finalize a federal recovery plan, which was accomplished in 2013.

More needs to be learned about this elusive creature to know how best to help them. You can read more about the jaguarundi here.

Photo by Axel Blanchard on Unsplash

INTERESTING WILDLIFE FACT

AMAZING ELEPHANT FEET

Elephant feet aren’t just great for navigating vast areas of tough terrain. They also have nerves that allow them to sense vibrations. If another elephant trumpets out of ear-shot, these nerves will actually pick up the vibration from the sound, even from as far away as nine miles! Not only that, but the elephant can then determine the direction of the trumpeting and even which individual is calling out!

An elephant can even press down harder on the ground to better pick up the vibration.

Photo by Leon Buter on Unsplash

GREEN TIP

CUT DOWN ON LIGHT POLLUTION

Light pollution has become an increasingly difficult problem, even though its solution is an easy one. Artificial light interrupts sleep and drowns out the stars, preventing people from seeing the magnificent expanse of the Milky Way. In fact, most people are only able to see a handful of stars on a given night.

But light pollution is a threat to a wide range of wildlife, too. It interrupts circadian rhythms. Migratory birds who navigate by the stars become disoriented and lost. Light pollution on beaches causes sea turtle hatchlings to crawl toward resorts on land rather than out to sea. Fireflies are unable to communicate with each other, drastically reducing their ability to mate and maintain healthy populations. The natural cycles of frogs and toads are disrupted.

But you can help. Assess your own lighting situation. Close your curtains at night. If you have dusk-to-dawn lights or other exterior lights that are left on well into the evening, consider installing a motion-activated light instead. This is not only better for the environment, but it is a better security alert than a constantly burning light.

Talk to your workplace if lights are needlessly left on in your office building all night.

DarkSky International has fabulous tips to help cut down on light pollution.

Photo by Max Gotts on Unsplash

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

BRING BACK DARK SKIES!

To tie in with this newsletter’s green tip about light pollution, consider taking action in your own yard and even talking to neighbors and your workplace about reducing light pollution.

DarkSky International has fabulous resources for becoming an advocate to help you start a conversation with people about the importance of dark night skies.

If talking to people isn’t quite your scene, consider contributing to community science via the Globe At Night project. Simply observe the stars in your area and record data about how many stars you can see in specific constellations.

Learn more about The Globe at Night here.

Photo by Denis Degioanni on Unsplash

EXPLORE THE WORLD

Nature gives us many clues as to what is going on in forests, meadows, beaches, and more.

Cloud formations and wind direction can tell you what kind of weather to expect. Brilliantly green wolf lichen growing on a tree lets you know that the air there is particularly clean. A dirt path that is wet on one side and dry on the other can help you determine direction if you’re lost. Wildlife tracks and other spoor can let you know what species of animal has passed by, and a sudden burst of movement by birds (called a “plow”) can let you know where another big animal is moving through the area, be it bear or human.

I’ve long loved the books of Tristan Gooley, which teach many of these tricks. One of my favorites is The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs: Use Outdoor Clues to Find Your Way, Predict the Weather, Locate Water, Track Animals–And Other Forgotten Skills.

If you learn to read these signs, then even a short walk can take on deeper meaning as you learn how to interpret what’s going on around you. It’s like reading nature’s newspaper.

Even better, bring along a notebook or sketchbook and jot down what you see so that you can revisit that area later and see what has changed and what has stayed the same.

Photo by Irina Iriser on Unsplash

Thank you for subscribing and reading, and I will see you next time!

If you would like to subscribe, unsubscribe, or change the address where you receive notification of Alice’s newsletter, please send an email to newsletter [AT] alicehenderson [DOT] com.