On The Road Again

For those wondering why my blog has been so quiet lately, here's why: I've accepted a faculty position at The University of Memphis, where I'm moving in exactly two weeks (which explains why I've had this great song stuck in my head for months). I'm really excited about the move (the food! the music! the Reverend Al Green! Elvis! the mississippi delta! huge fenced-in backyard for the dogs! kool-aid pickles!?), and about working with such great writers in the MFA program there, where I'll teach creative nonfiction. The plan at this point: Live in Memphis during the academic year, and spend the rest of the year back in NYC and in my native Portland, Oregon.

The hiring process, combined with deadlines, teaching at NYU, and my work with the National Book Critics Circle have left this poor blog a little quiet. That will likely continue through the summer as I settle and get my book ready to go out into the world. But stay tuned for all kinds of interesting Memphis stories ...

New Pets Column Now Live

I'm happy to report that I am now writing a monthly column about Pets for Prevention magazine. An editor at the magazine contacted me after reading this article I wrote about my dog Bonny plus several animal-related posts on this blog -- she suggested I combine my love of animal stories with my decade of experience as a veterinary technician to write a regular series for Prevention (which I thought was a fabulous idea).

My first column just hit stands in their June issue (now available in grocery stores everywhere) -- it's called "Feeding Disorders," and it was inspired by this post about pet obesity, which I wrote when the FDA approved a crazy new diet drug for dogs (interestingly, that is one of my most widely read posts, perhaps in part because of the amazing photograph I posted with it).

Stay tuned for more columns, which I'll post here each month as they run. And feel free to email me any tips or suggestions for future columns.