I had dreamed about going to Italy for years. I went there, in part, to do research for Seeking Sara Summers because some of the novel takes place in Italy. I love doing research that involves travel! The novel I’m working on now is set in the Georgia low country, near Savannah, which is a little closer to home. I feel a road trip coming on!

A lynx crosses the finish area during the first training run for the men’s downhill race of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, B.C.

Here is a list of 100 things I’m grateful for. Creating a gratitude list can help return you to a sense of power and possibility. What would be on your list?

Norbert Rosing’s striking images of a wild polar bear coming upon tethered sled dogs in the wilds of Canada’s Hudson Bay.

National Geographic’s BEST photographs of the year.

School is about to start again, which marks the end of summer for a lot of us, but I wanted to offer up one more taste of summer before we say goodbye to another year. Do you remember catching lightning bugs? Can you still hear the sound of cicadas where you live? What is your favorite summertime memory?

The snow-capped Rocky Mountains surround me like ancient grandparents who want to tell me their stories and pass their wisdom on to me. There are no fresh words to describe this level of jaw-dropping beauty. Majestic, timeless, awesome, are overused. Yet every time I sit and witness this scene, I feel refreshed, renewed.

When something as magical as this happens between man and animal, Native Americans say: “We have walked together in the shadow of a rainbow.”

An elk-a-holic tries to understand her addiction

It is the beginning of elk rut season in the Rocky Mountains. During the September-October mating season, bull elk stage their own passion play of sorts. The characteristic rutting call of bulls can be heard from just before dusk to dawn.