I've been lucky to live an adventurous life, visiting sites from Alaska to Ecuador, California to China, Florida to France, doing research for my books. When I've had personal expedience with the subjects I write about, I'm able to write more vividly, with more detail and feeling, than if I've only read what other people have to say and what other people have learned. Certainly, I spend time in the library and online, studying what the experts have to say, but the favorite part of my research is up close and personal experience.

My Adventures with Wolves over Twenty Years and Four Books
Wolves have fascinated me ever since I read Jack London's books, "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" when I was a child. I saw my first wild wolf in Denali National Park while my photographer, Bill Munoz and I, were watching and photographing grizzly bears. Just a glance of the powerful, big wolf running along the road and disappearing into the forest was all it took--we were both hooked, and we knew our next book had to be about wolves. The resulting book is called, "Gray Wolf, Red Wolf," and covers the lives of those two wolf species that live in North America.

Luckily, Bill found a woman who was raising a litter of wolf pups in captivity, and she was delighted that we wanted to follow her pack as the pups grew into adulthood. We visited frequently, helping bottle feed the pups when they were little and giving them a chance to know us so they wouldn't be afraid of us. It may seem strange, but wolves are naturally very shy of people, and it takes a lot of effort and contact with humans for them the get over this fear. My favorite memory from this time is the smell of the pups. It's a sweet, wild, earthy aroma unlike that of a dog.

Indians and Horses

I'm now working on my next book, about Indians and horses, and I've had lots of adventures. In August, I attended Crow Fair, a wonderful celebration that happens every year on the Crow Reservation in southeastern Montana. There, I saw young people gallop bareback through camp on their beautiful horses, often mares with their cute foals galloping along behind. Every morning, I watched the parade, in which horses and riders alike wore beautiful examples of Indian handiwork such as shirts adorned with elk teeth and intricately beaded decorations. Adults and children, men and women, all participated.