Jul 19, 20204 minCrazy Times with Suburban WildlifeWhen my washing machine died two minutes into the wash cycle this morning, I had to laugh (after I ran out of swear words). This is the l...
Jul 6, 20205 minLet's Not Sell Out The Places We LoveBy Todd Wilkinson Editor's Note: We at Free Range Writers are pleased to offer occasional guest posts. We are deeply honored that Todd Wi...
Jun 21, 20203 minWhen Writing Just Feels Wrong: a tribute to my father and his courage.By Gregory Zeigler The Airstream named Winnie parked at our favorite spot on the Warm River near Yellowstone National Park. Recently, my w...
Jun 14, 20203 minOn Walking and WritingBy Dave Butler I’ve returned from a walk with a close friend and as often happens, the walk inspired me to put words on paper. We hiked a...
Jun 6, 20202 minRemembering Hikers Whose Journeys Were Cut Short - by Pamela BeasonIt's June, which means the beginning of summer in the Pacific Northwest. The snow is melting in the rugged Cascades, and my thoughts natu...
May 24, 20203 minFiction in the Time of COVIDBy Dave Butler Following in the footsteps of Pam and Greg, I interviewed myself about what it’s like to be writing fiction at a very stra...
May 18, 20203 minWhat She SaidPam's recent post really resonated with me. Perhaps you can infer that from my rather unhinged comment. Isolation has not been a great ti...
May 9, 20203 minHow the Coronavirus Lockdown Damaged My Creative Writing - by Pamela BeasonSince March 13th, I’ve been in my house with only my two cats for company since returning from the ill-fated Left Coast Crime Conference,...
Apr 18, 20203 minEnvironmental Mysteries and Public Debate: Can One Enhance the Other?By Dave Butler I work in sustainable tourism in Western Canada, and every day, I deal with issues such as climate change, land use confli...
Apr 13, 20203 minNature and MysteryThis snapshot (below) was taken on my way to a skate ski in Grand Teton National Park on a recent stunning April morning. After driving t...
Apr 5, 20204 minMy Vocabulary Can Never Express my Relationship with Nature - by Pamela BeasonI and my partners in crime (writing) here at Free RangeWriters, Gregory Zeigler and Dave Butler, were recently honored to have all three ...
Mar 24, 20203 minDave’s Top 10 Ways that Environmental Mysteries Influence Conservation (and vice versa) Dave Butler For this week’s post, I thought it would be both fun and illuminating to think about how environmental mysteries can influence conservati...
Mar 15, 20204 minLove (of writing) in the Time of CovidWith apologies to Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I'm not going to say much about the pandemic. I promise. But as I write this, I'm missing a cha...
Mar 4, 20203 minTaking the FlackMost authors love to hear from readers, and we are especially grateful for reviews, but sometimes the negative messages we receive are to...
Feb 17, 20203 minThe Goldilocks Rule of Research by Gregory ZeiglerIn this cycle of February posts, Free Range Partner Pam wrote about what she had learned from her travel. Partner Dave wrote about his wr...
Feb 9, 20203 minBalancing ActBy Dave Butler 5 a.m. arrives extremely early. In the summer, when the sun rises at the same time, it’s tolerable. But in the winter mont...
Feb 3, 20202 minThings I've Learned from TravelI’m preparing to go on an international trip soon, so I’ve been thinking about all the things I’ve experienced on my travels. As Rick Ste...
Jan 19, 20203 minWriting Like a Photographer By Dave Butler Imagine that you’re a landscaper photographer, visiting the west slopes of the Rocky Mountains for the first time. If you’...
Jan 13, 20203 minPursuit of the Perfect Scene by Gregory ZeiglerIn my last effort for the Free Rangers posted in the final month of the previous decade (12/15/19) I introduced my scene checker, a legal...
Jan 5, 20202 minWhy I Can't Write Cozy MysteriesCozy mysteries are generally set in a small town with a cast of quirky characters and little violence. Murders are often depicted as a “f...