Escaping a wildfire, reading and viewing recommendations, events, and Bumpy the orphan hippo

Be the worst wildfire, not the 2nd worst...

In our new normal, the western half of the US is again on fire this summer -- and not only the US, but countries around the world. The one near us last month started with an alert for a two-acre fire that spread under red-flag conditions (high heat, low humidity, high winds) to over 20,000 acres by the end of the day. We had to evacuate ourselves, our giant dogs, and our two horses. Day two, the state fire incident team took charge. Day three, a national Critical Incident Management Team #1 began showing up, and they officially took over on day four. These guys handle the “worst of the worst.” They have clout, and this fire was ranked the worst in the nation and already had disaster status -- what they asked for, they got. By the end of their first week here, we went from the initial 150 or so firefighters to nearly 2000 personnel, plus multiple air tankers and helicopters. So yeah, if it's going to be bad anyway, it might be better to be the worst than the second worst.

PRO TIP: Have a go-bag with a list of what to pack by time priority and if you're in the US, get the free fire disaster app Watch Duty

We were evacuated for eleven days but were one of the lucky families whose house was untouched by the fire, though it came alarmingly close. No burns, no smoke damage, just the fridge and freezer to clean out after more than a week of no power, National Guard roadblocks, re-entry cards, curfews, poor air-quality days, and now, post-evacuation, water shortages and flash flooding. Much gratitude, though, to all the firefighters, both local and out of state, who did an amazing job saving structures and putting their lives on the line to fight this enormous wildfire in difficult conditions and terrain. It's hard to overstate the appreciation for what they did and continue to do as the fire perimeter is 71% contained and the interior may burn until winter .

That would have been enough summer excitement for us, but we've had other life stuff too, like in May, when I had a wreck with my bad ankle and ended up tearing ligaments and cracking a couple of bones, so I hobbled around during evacuation in a walking boot. Or my husband's position at work getting eliminated the same day the fire started. Again, we were very lucky, where many here weren't. However, if you've ever debated buying one of my books (100% AI-free -- drafting to covers to audiobooks, in case you haven't already seen my stance on this), well, know that it would be especially appreciated now. If you can't buy one, requesting it at your library, checking it out through Libby, or signal boosting any of the books would also all be very much appreciated.

(I keep my buy links as up to date as possible on my website, but some went wonky with the buyout of the Rebellion catalogue by Profile Books in July. All five of my novels are published wide, but you may have to search by title or author at your favorite market if a link doesn't work.)

Reading Recommendation:

The Ministry of Time is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Gorgeous writing in this mash up of humor, drama, love, and commentary on the immigrant experience, plus a unique "what-if." (What if Lt. Graham Gore of the 1845 expedition to find the Northwest Passage found himself in our time instead of starving with the rest of the crew.)

From the publisher: "An exquisitely original and feverishly fun fusion of genres and ideas, The Ministry of Time asks: What does it mean to defy history, when history is living in your house? Kaliane Bradley’s answer is a blazing, unforgettable testament to what we owe each other in a changing world."

Viewing recommendation:

If you didn't watch Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell when it was first run in 2015, it's back now on Prime (and possibly other places as I've seen Tubi, Freevee, and Netflix listed on streaming search sites). It feels compressed in places compared to the book (especially the end as there's no epilogue), but is a well-acted and visually stunning incarnation. It was a joy to watch it again after so long.

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Events Coming Up

Yet again, I'd hoped to perhaps make it to WorldCon and/or World Fantasy this year, and yet again will not. However, I WILL be at the following:

Friday Sept 4th, Noon (EDT)

Strong Women -- Strange Worlds: Quick Reads

I'll be doing a reading from my book When the Winds Sing alongside five other authors, each of us doing an 8-minute reading. Sign up now at https://strongwomenstrangeworlds.weebly.com/ to join the event and discover new authors and stories for your TBR!

Flights of Foundry Virtual Con, Sept 18-20, 2026

I'll also be teaching at Flights of Foundry next month with Trad Pub 101 as well as hosting an AMA Chill-n-Chat. (Schedule to be announced soon.) If you aren't familiar with Dream Foundry or their conference, Flights of Foundry, check out the links below. They're an amazing, supportive, and inclusive group with a great lineup of presenters and guests of honor each year. They're also an organization well worth supporting.

The convention: https://flights-of-foundry.org/​

About the foundation: https://dreamfoundry.org/​

To wrap up, as usual, a cute animal video

Another organization well worth supporting is Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. In continuous operation since 1977 and based in Kenya, they not only work to save elephants (the original mission of the foundation) but have expanded to work with and re-wild orphans from many keystone species there, in addition to their wildlife veterinary intervention in the field, nature conservancy, and 30 anti-poaching teams. I definitely suggest following them across any social media. (YouTube Bluesky IG FB TikTok and more.)

Most of their videos are documentary style (uplifting, not traumatic), going about their daily work, veterinary intervention in the bush, anti-poaching wins, or videos of specific elephants and other orphans at the reserve, like the bonded orphan pair of a baby zebra and rhino -- but below is a unique montage, set to music, introducing their recent little hippo orphan, Bumpy.

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(It was hard to decide btwn that and the one of him sleeping next to his keeper on his first night, so here's a bonus video more like the usual ones:)

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Until next time, happy reading!

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L. D. Colter has farmed with draft horses and worked as a paramedic, Outward Bound instructor, athletic trainer, roller-skating waitress, and concrete dispatcher, among other curious choices. She’s an author of contemporary, epic, and dark fantasy novels, a WSFA Small Press Award finalist, and a two-time winner of the Colorado Book Award for science fiction and fantasy. Her website can be found at ldcolter.com​

Other links: https://linktr.ee/L.D.Colter​

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