The Pacific Coast, with its hundreds of miles of unspoiled forests, cliffs, fields, and beaches from Mexico to British Columbia, attracts nature lovers from around the world. Naturalist Susan Tweit pays a very special homage to this diverse region in this handsome volume. Forty informative, evocative essays, each illustrated with a color drawing, capture the Coast's vibrant plant and animal life, from sea otters and monarch butterflies to giant bladder kelp and gray whales. Her subjects, both on and off-shore, also include octopus, sturgeon, abalone, redwoods, cobra lilies, and the eccentric sand dollar. The author begins with field notes and then offers delightful observations and commentary. Whether you are sitting in the sand or reading in your favorite armchair, this book is an inspiring companion to the natural world.
My training is in field ecology, the study of the natural communities that make Earth a living planet. I once spent weeks in wild places studying grizzly bear habitat, wildfire patterns and sagebrush communities. I turned to writing when I realized I loved telling the stories behind the data more than collecting those data.
I'm the author of twelve books that explore the interrelationships that form what Aldo Leopold called the "community of the land." My work has appeared in magazines and newspapers from Audubon and Popular Mechanics to High Country News and the Los Angeles Times - and has been heard on the Martha Stewart Living Radio Network.
I've taught workshops at colleges, universities, and writing festivals from University of California-Riverside and Miami University of Ohio to Wofford College in South Carolina, as well as at home and online. Audiences as diverse as the International Xeriscape Conference, Collegiate Peaks Forum, Monte Vista Crane Festival, and the Walking Words Writing Festival have called my talks "inspiring" and "insightful." I coach individual writers, review manuscripts for university presses, and contribute to "The Perch," the blog of Audubon magazine, and Story Circle Network's "HerStories" as well as my own blog. My current teaching and speaking schedule is on my web site (susanjtweit.com).
I'm a Quaker, a step-mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a mentor & mentee, and a friend. I belong to an informal network of writers and artists who speak for the land, and to Story Circle Network, Women Writing the West, ASLE, and Colorado Author's League.
I'm a passionate gardener: I grow my own vegetables, fruits and herbs, and also enjoy the challenge of native plant restoration and "wildscape" design. My designs have been featured in the Rocky Mountain News, Zone 4, and on garden blogs. Take a look at the slide shows on my web site (susanjtweit.com).
I live with my husband, sculptor Richard Cabe, in a house heated by the sun--the sun generates our electricity, too!--on a reclaimed industrial parcel in a high-desert valley tucked in the shadow of the tallest stretch of the Rocky Mountains.
