Well, what’s a bear to do? There was no sign up in the park re: this particular activity.
Is that a .22 in your hand, KJ, or are you just happy to be researching?
To me, one of the best things about being a writer is that it gives you license to be interested in just about anything. And more often than not, people are happy to help … to share the little idiosyncracies of their professions or fields of interest.
Another good thing about the Writing Life? Friends. Fellow writers who ‘get’ you like no one else can. Like KJ Howe above. Who else but a fellow writer of suspense would drop everything and fly out west to muck around in the B.C. bush and play with guns and knives? And who better to rehash the rather interesting trip with?
Thanks Kim, for slumming it with me. Shan’t forget this one 
“So, this is a compass, ladies … and this is how you use it not to get lost …”
Honestly, I’m not sure I’m any the wiser. Navigation is a complex art. But at least I will now know how to mantrack my prints back to where I started
And I did learn how to use sticks and the sun to find north.
A young Harris Hawk named Duck, made us … well, duck, during a falconry demonstration on our ‘research’ weekend at the ‘Becoming an Outdoorswoman’ camp at Lake Cowichan, Vancouver Island.
I’m going to have to write Duck’s handler into a romance novel one day — she’s pure heroine inspiration — beautiful, vivacious, handles a crowd with charm, wit and ease, and has a fierce passion for her birds. She also clearly marches to her own drum. And in that bag strapped around her hips are handfuls of soft, fluffy day-old chicks — the reason young Duck keeps swooping back on demand. He’d eaten about three at this point.
Duck, however, still has trouble hunting rabbit. Below, we are shown how he is trained. By a fake lure dragged over the grass. He swooped down out the evening sky, and … stopped just short. A little afraid, still. In no time, he’ll apparently be chasing down hare on his own.
Guess everyone has to start somewhere …
No cover yet, but MANHUNTER is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com!
And below is me doing a spot of manhunting myself, along the shores of Lake Cowichan with my tracking partner.
Using tracking poles that we marked with small bands to indicate footprint length, and stride — once we’d established it — we managed to track 3-hour old sign that our instructor had left on a windblown (freezing cold) pebbly beach that was already contaminated with hundreds of other tracks.
Inch by inch we moved along the sand, identifying the sign left by his Vibram soles, and flagging the prints with bits of tape (you can see the lime green pieces under my pole) as we went. It felt like CSI wild style.
We managed to track our quarry over that beach, up to the forest fringe, and into the woods, making our way through fern and grass and loam and other forest detritus, reading the story a man left as he went. I don’t think I’ll ever look at my surroundings in the same way now. I have learned to see the message in the slight weep from broken grass, the damp ‘cat’s eyes’ from freshly-broken twigs, the scrape of bark from a branch. And beyond research, I’d like to learn a lot more about this art. There is something almost mystical in being able to read the wilderness in this way, to find someone lost.
We had an awesome instructor, too, who brought the trace to life for us. In addition to being a Sign Cutter and Search and Rescue volunteer, Mike Neeland (of the Vibram soles) is a teacher for Universal Tracking Services which provides provide sign cutting (tracking) education for Law Enforcement, Search and Rescue, Military, Industrial Security and other governmental and ‘lawful organizations’ across North America. He was aided by local Search and Rescue tracker, Tanya (Sorry Tanya, I never caught your last name).
I learned a ton getting that ‘dirt time’ on hands and knees, and I will find a way to get back for more. This I like. A lot.
The firearms safety course was held the first night. BOW volunteers Richard and Bob showed us a range of rifles and shotguns, from break action, to bolt action, to pump, lever and semi-automatic. We practiced handling, ensuring the weapons were safe, and loading with blank ammo. Bob and Richard are pretty rugged no-nonsense backcountry-style dudes — and at that point I felt as though Kim and I had signed up with some renegade merc army 
Once we got to the range the next day, Richard put ol’ Ma Baker here through her paces, showing me how to snug up to that 12-gauge real tight, and hit a flying target. When I finally got the hang of it and started shattering my clay pigeons, it was on a total high. Awesome feeling. That’s a shooting vest I’m wearing, with pockets for the shells in front, except I had to wear it inside out so that the padded shoulder bit was on my left. I have new respect for the idiosyncrasies faced by left-handed folk.
This was fabulous experience for me because Silver, my heroine in MANHUNTER (coming November from SRS) carries both hunting rifle and 12-gauge shotgun. She’s also a mantracker, and mantracking was one of the courses we did.
I’ll post more pics tomorrow ….
Welcome to my slice of life in B.C.’s wild and wet coast mountains. This ’running commentary’ is less about writing than it is a small window – often visual — into the life of a romance writer, on the run.
I hope to get to know my readers this way, and I hope you get to know me … just a little better.
From Romantic Times BOOKreview
After Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Gabe Caruso can’t save his fiancee from a sadistic serial killer, he has trouble dealing with the guilt. His only consolation is that he put the man in jail. Cutting himself off, Gabe takes a post in Black Arrow Falls, a small town in the Yukon. There, he meets tracker Silver Karvonen, a woman with secrets of her own. Both are stunned to feel the pull of attraction. Then the killer escapes, and Gabe knows that trouble is on the way. Loreth Anne White serves up some creepy chills in Manhunter (4), as a serial killer wages both psychological and physical warfare. This compelling tale, part of the Wild Country series, features two emotionally scarred people who discover that being together makes them stronger.
—Sandra Garcia-Myers
From The Romance Reader:
“THE HEART OF A RENEGADE is a skillfully crafted novel, packed with complex characters involved in a well-used plot line; however, it is innovatively done. Loreth Anne White’s pacing is superb, maintaining ever mounting intensity as the story plays out. This story is rich with detail, and a plot that could be expanded to a 450 page hardcover. That said, it does not feel as if it were condensed but evolves in the expected manner only to twist and turn a bit adding interest and suspense. The dynamics between Jessica and Luke are extraordinarily well handled.
White is a very gifted author and whose future novels will be sought out by this reviewer.”
–Thea Davis
A TOP PICK from Romantic Times BOOKreview for THE HEART OF A RENEGADE
“Luke Stone is just like a stone. After his pregnant wife is murdered, he closes up emotionally, until his employer asks him to protect Jessica Chan, who’s a target of the Chinese Triad Dragons for attempting to expose their atrocities. Luke doesn’t want to be responsible for anyone, and he’s surprised to find a kindred spirit in Jessica. When they’re on the run with only each other to lean on, their emotional barriers crumble. The Heart of a Renegade (4.5) is an action ride full of thrills and surprises and a love story that will make your heart beat faster.
Loreth Anne White has expanded her Shadow Soldiers series, and intriguing and dynamic characters continue to make it compelling.
—Sandra Garcia-Myers
And a five-star review from CataRomance.com:
From the instance THE HEART OF A RENEGADE starts, one will take an indrawn breath and continue to gasp until the explosive ending. The danger is believably suspenseful with heart-pounding threats, and how they are carried out is terrifying realistic. Just when one thinks all is going smoothly for the hero and heroine, more peril crops up and they must once again fight for their lives.
Luke and Jessica are one of the most endearing couples about whom I have had the pleasure to read, and their compelling story profoundly touched me. Whether they are fleeing from the enemy or expressing exactly how they feel on a subject, their actions are authentic and make them seem very true-to-life. Ms. White had me caring for this couple and what the future holds for them, causing numerous tension-filled moments during the story. THE HEART OF A RENEGADE masterfully evokes images and feelings to create an enthralling plus emotional story which never disappoints.
–Amelia Richard
SEDUCING THE MERCENRY earns Cata award
I am thrilled to learn SEDUCING THE MERCENARY has been named a CataRomance Reviewers Choice award winner for 2007. Thank you to the Cata team!
