The Book Tour UP NORTH

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

One of my favorite corners of Michigan is the area around Traverse City. You'll find the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore nearby along with picturesque lake towns like Northport, Glen Arbor, Empire, Leland, and Petoskey.

Petoskey (home of McLean & Eakin Booksellers)

How lovely, then, to combine and family reunion with my book tour here in late July.

My niece and nephew (Alison and Julian) on the Empire Bluff Trail

Speaking engagement in Alden

Book signing at Horizon Books in Traverse City

Some serious gaming at the lake house

Great indie bookstore in Northport

Northport, Michigan, On the Rise

On my most recent adventure exploring the islands of the Great Lakes, I had time to stop in at Dog Ears Books in Northport, Michigan. 

Pamela Grath, owner of Dog Ears Books tallies my purchases

Dog Ears Books

This is a great indie bookstore with quality used books along with some new titles. Pamela lets me know when she's acquired a book about the 

Great Lakes that might interest me.

This is one of my favorite e-mails to receive: 
"I have a book for you..."

I have built an impressive Great Lakes library with the help of my friends at indie bookstores.

I was surprised by all of the change and construction in the little town of Northport.

Check it out: 

New buildings everywhere in Northport

Construction continues...

New places open...

This little lakeshore town is hopping!

Tales from the BOOK TOUR...part 10

The book tour took me all over the region in July.
The final week of the month had me heading Up North once again.

A big thanks to the bookstores and libraries
who hosted me along the way and to the indie booksellers who recommended
A 1000-MILE WALK ON THE BEACH
to their patrons, and to their patrons who told
friends and family about the book.

July has been a great month for the book, and you are all part of its success!

Tales from the BOOK TOUR...part 1

The Lake Gives Apples

On my way back home from the Grand Traverse Lighthouse, I stopped in at an apple orchard. Christmas Cove Farm grows over 240 varieties of apples on their land near the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula.

There is rich history with many of the varieties grown there. The Zabergau was grown as far back as the 1700s in Germany. Snow has its roots in France even further back into the 1600s.









Rambo was a variety spread through this country by none other than Johnny Appleseed.



And Thomas Jefferson cultivated the Spitzenburg variety at Monticello.















Michigan -- especially the west side of the state -- is known for its rich agricultural tradition. This bountiful harvest is linked directly to Lake Michigan. It is the deep, fresh water of the lake that mediates the weather for this growing zone, and the glaciers that formed the lake also shaped the land for agriculture.

Independent Bookstores Near the Lighthouse

I had the opportunity to visit two independent bookstores during the week I was volunteering at the lighthouse. Brilliant Books, in Suttons Bay, was a store that I had stopped in while on the Lake Trek. This time, I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Peter Makin. We had a nice chat about his store and independent bookstores in general.

Brilliant Books was running a book fair while I was there. A percentage of the proceeds were going to local schools. At a time when Michigan's economy is struggling and school budgets are being slashed to the bone (and beyond), it was encouraging to know that Brilliant Books was pitching in to help local schools.

Peter also invited me back to do a reading and book signing during their Friday Night Series at Brilliant Books. I'm honored to be asked, and will look forward to being part of this series next year after my book has been published.

And then I stopped in at Dog Ears Books in Northport. There I met Pamela and her dog (whom I assume is the 'Dog' in the 'Dog Ears' title). This store has a large collection of used and new books and I found a signed copy of Jerry Dennis' It's Raining Frogs and Fishes.

I'm a big fan of Jerry Dennis' work, so it was great to hold this out-of-print title, then take it home with me.