The Sounds of Stories
Superb Owl Sunday, auditory experiences, and recent reads!
Celebrating Superb Owl Sunday!
Football fans here in the United States will be celebrating Super Bowl Sunday this weekend, but if you’re not into football (or if you are, but enjoy doubling up on events) there’s an alternative festivity: Superb Owl Sunday. Yes, that’s a thing!
The phrase started as a typo that turned into a hashtag and a meme. Conservationists and owl enthusiasts pounced on the opportunity to draw attention to owls, and now every year, on the weekend of the Super Bowl, thousands of people share owl pictures and stories online, as well as links to owl information, ways to help owls, and more. (You can read more about this trend on NPR’s recent article: “Don’t Give a Hoot about Sports? The Super Owl Might Be For You”).
I’ll be celebrating owls with some owl-themed posts on Bluesky this weekend and a fun giveaway there. But I’m also amplifying the efforts of groups who are advocating to ban the use of rat poison, specifically SGARs (second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides). When rodents take poison from bait boxes, the poison works its way up the food chain. Wildlife eat the sick rodents, and the poison gets into their own systems, preventing their blood from clotting and impairing their ability to fight off disease. It also causes internal bleeding and outright kills them, as numerous necropsies have shown.
Here in my state of Massachusetts, local advocacy groups have sprouted up. Thanks to their tireless efforts, some towns and cities have now outlawed SGARs on municipal property. Our State Senator and State Representative have recently filed bills to phase out SGARs in Massachusetts.
Owls and other raptors, as well as foxes and coyotes, are natural predators of rodents. They are also at high risk of SGAR poisoning. A great way to help owls is to join initiatives to ban these poisons or help educate others about the risks.
Pets are also at risk, by the way. My own dog, Trevor, recently consumed something that made him quite ill, vomiting blood and a suspicious substance. Our vet, as well as pet poison control, strongly suspect rodenticide. My dog is under near-constant supervision and, as a tripawd, he does not run too far off leash. We do not buy mouse poison in any form. But we do have foxes and coyotes who sometimes cache prey in our yard. So far, our theory is that Trevor could have gotten into bait or contaminated prey dragged in by wildlife. He is doing fine, thank goodness, but he’s on a heavy course of Vitamin K for a month (six pills a day), and then has to have his clotting rate tested again. Fortunately, it seems he consumed relatively little. An owl might not fare as well.
I encourage you to learn about, celebrate, or advocate for owls this weekend or this month! If someone is leading an owl prowl near you, sign up! (This is a great month for prowls!) Read an owl book, maybe with a young person! Some great new owl picture books just came out, including To See an Owl, written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell, and And I Know How to Draw an Owl, by Hilary Horder Hippely, illustrated by Matt James. I also recommend the beautiful Night Owl Night by Susan Edward Richmond, illustrated by Maribel Lechuga, which is all about saw-whet owl banding!
For more information on owls and SGARs, please visit these excellent websites:
Raptors are the Solution (RATS)
The Sound of Stories
I’ve been writing something a little different lately — an audio drama — and that’s got me tuning in more to the role of sound in storytelling. Tuning in to podcasts, audiobooks, and audio dramas has heightened my awareness of the pace of dialogue, the balance of action and interiority, the challenge of saying more with less, and the importance of distinguishing names so they are not easily confused. Listening to audio narratives with soundscapes—music, sound effects, and background noises—I’ve come to appreciate how much sound can set a mood, create a transition, amplify emotions, or help us to visualize (“seeing through our ears.”) I’ve realized sound is a somewhat neglected sensory detail in my early drafts, since I tend to favor visual descriptions. Working with sound feels like exercising new muscles.
By extension, I’m becoming more attuned to sound in the world, even when I simply step outside. Construction vehicles on our street whose beeps and bangs and grinding wheels interrupt morning birdsong. Distant owls hooting at night. A recurring unidentified screech in the woods by my house. The music thumping from my son’s car as he drives home from school. Any of these sounds can fire up the imagination.
What sounds have you paid attention to lately? If you are writing something, how might a layer of sound enhance your story?
Also, looking for a good listen? Here are a few auditory treats I can recommend:
That Sinking Feeling: Adventures in ADHD and Ship Salvage, by Elizabeth Rynecki, is a fascinating dive into two seemingly unrelated but TOTALLY related worlds. Rynecki recounts the experience of parenting her son with ADHD, viewed through the lens of her father’s career in ship salvage. Fellow ADHD parents, grown children, therapists, and Rynecki’s own family members lend their voices and insights to this collage-like narrative. Even if you think you’re not interested in these specific topics, there’s a whole lot to be learned here about creative approaches to problem-solving. And I love how Rynecki brings the world of shipping disasters to life through her words and her compelling narration. New episodes drop weekly. I’m hooked!
Speaking of ADHD, Sarah Werner’s Write Now podcast just celebrated its tenth year of production. It’s about finding a healthy work/life balance as a writer, getting unstuck, and so much more. Sarah Werner’s self-disclosed ADHD weaves through some of the episodes. Warm and relatable, her voice—and content—offer the perfect mix of validation and encouragement. As one podcast reviewer put it, listening to an episode is like “sitting down with a creative friend”; another called her a “writing therapist.” Her episodes drop somewhat unpredictably (see ADHD, above) but there are years of archives to comb through, and many episodes stand up to multiple listens . This week’s episode, “Cynicism about Goals,” hits at the perfect time for those of us coming off January resolutions and facing February reality checks!
On a different note, Tree.fm is a website featuring random forests recorded throughout the world, recorded by real people — and you’re invited to send a recording and photo of your own forest! A visual accompanies each one. I’ve been working in a different forest every day this week, from Ecuador to Germany to Fiji. Here’s a picture of this newsletter being written in a Slovenian forest.
Hunkering Down: Recommended Reads for Snow Days!
I’m writing this newsletter on a snow day in New England, the first of the season, with more in the forecast. Maybe I’ll get some reading time! Here are some books I’m excited about:
Hot off the press, for nature lovers: I highly recommend this just-published anthology of writing by my friends at Creature Conserve. Creature Needs: Writers Respond to the Science of Animal Conservation (University of Minnesota Press) is a collection of verse, fiction and creative nonfiction in response to scientific research about conservation concerns. By pairing recent scientific articles with literary responses, the book gets at the heart of Creature Conserve’s mission: combining science and the arts to cultivate new pathways for wildlife conservation. You can learn more about Creature Conserve here, including numerous ways to get involved if you’re an artist, writer or scientist looking to collaborate on conservation projects or simply learn more about working in the art + sci + conservation space!
For fans of small town mysteries: My current read needs no publicity boost as it’s front and center in all the bookstores, appearing on all the lists, and was blessed by Oprah’s Book Club. It’s a Big Book. But I’m a big Elizabeth Strout fan, and simply must rave about her latest, Tell Me Everything, which turns out to be a delightfully unexpected crime novel! Although it’s technically part of a series (her cycle of books set in Crosby, Maine) I believe it can be read out of sequence. (I have read all of her books totally out of sequence and I’m never lost). Strout brings her quirky, beloved cast of recurring characters together as they deal with the repercussions of an unfolding murder investigation. It’s also all about human relationships and storytelling. I’m fascinated by how the mystery weaves in with Strout’s ongoing quest to investigate life’s bigger mysteries. It makes me think about how some mysteries draw me in because of the plot, others because of the characters, and others because of thematic resonance, style, or something I can’t quite articulate. Maybe Strout checks off all those boxes for me in this book.
For young (and young at heart) readers, pranksters, and ice cream lovers: Ripple Effect, the new novel by my good friend and writing critique partner Rebecca Caprara, comes out on February 18 from Charlesbridge. I highly recommend it for middle graders (fifth or sixth grade is perfect) or an all-family read. I had the pleasure of reading multiple drafts of this book, beginning way back in 2020 during the dark days of pandemic lockdowns, when this book felt like a breath of fresh air. It’s a special, uplifting story, and I am thrilled to see it in print. Told by alternating characters, it’s about a school prank that goes awry, second chances, and a ripple effect of community good deeds, celebrating kindness — something we could probably use a bit more of in the world right now. Also, ice cream. We could probably use more of that too.
No time for a book? Read Amy Stewart’s incredibly beautiful (and illustrated) “Requiem for a Tree” essay on Substack. If you’ve ever mourned a neighborhood tree (or forest) that was cut down, this essay will surely move you, as will her creative response to the loss.
Book News: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going
New Interview: I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Tracy Blom, host of the Books, Kids, and Creations podcast, which is part of the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network. We talked about The Owl Prowl Mystery, eco fiction, real owls that inspired my book, and inspiring kids to be environmental stewards. Here’s a link to the episode on Apple Podcasts, though you can also find it on Spotify, SoundCloud, Pandora, and YouTube.
Upcoming Event: If you’re in or near Massachusetts, or know families who are, please join me at Zoo New England / The Stone Zoo, in Stoneham MA, on Sunday March 2! From 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, I’ll be featured as a visiting author to help them celebrate National Read Across America Day. Also appearing with me: some actual turtles and ambassador owls who live at the zoo! (I fully expect to be upstaged by animals!) I’ll be giving away some Backyard Rangers goodies (field journals, badges and more), reading aloud periodically, signing copies of Trouble at Turtle Pond and The Owl Prowl Mystery, and answering questions. Books will be provided for sale by the museum’s gift shop. I’m super excited to partner with Zoo New England for another collaboration!
Saw-Whet Owl Banding: A Soundscape
In celebration of owls and of sounds, I’ll close with a recording I made during a saw-whet owl banding excursion in New Hampshire. This outing was part of my research for The Owl Prowl Mystery. In this clip, you’ll see (and hear) a group of us walking into the woods to check mist nets for migrating saw-whet owls. The owls will then be extracted carefully from the net, weighed and measured, affixed with a tracking band, and launched back into the night. (This exact scene launched an entire chapter in my novel). You’ll hear faint piping sounds; that’s an audio lure, the saw-whet owl’s mating call. It is played to lure migrating owls down from the sky and into the mist net so that these tiny owls can be counted, studied, and released. Enjoy the eerie vibe!
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing That Sinking Feeling! Good luck with your own narrative project 😊