Marty Essen's Blog, page 264

Snake calling

Marty’s photo of the day #2722: This is me, practicing my snake calling skills, with a seven-and-a-half foot-long African rock python.

(Photographed in Zimbabwe)

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Fall in the Yukon Territory

Marty’s photo of the day #2721: Fall in the Yukon Territory.

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Two humpbacks are better than one

Marty’s photo of the day #2720: What’s better than one humpback whale coming over to play? Two humpback whales coming over to play!

(Photographed along the coast of Antarctica)

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Big kitty in the sun

Marty’s photo of the day #2719: Even big kitties enjoy sprawling in a patch of sunshine.


 


I wish I could say that I hung out for days in a tree, just waiting for this jaguar to fall asleep under me. But alas this is technically a cheat shot. Although the jaguar is very much alive and would very much like me to join him for dinner, he’s a rescue animal at the Belize Zoo.

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Comb-crested agamid lizard claw

 

Marty’s photo of the day #2718: Here’s a photo from Borneo. It’s either the foot of a comb-crested agamid lizard or aliens have arrived. I’m not sure which.

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Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Marty’s photo of the day #2717: Here’s a scenic shot from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In this photo, I’m facing south, toward the Brooks Range, and the Arctic Ocean is to my back, about thirty miles away. This is way too far north for trees—so there’s nowhere to hide if you have to go to the bathroom.

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Belize howler monkey

Marty’s photo of the day #2716: Previously, I’ve posted howler monkeys that I photographed in Costa Rica. Here’s a howler monkey that I photographed in Belize.

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Ready for winter

Marty’s photo of the day #2715: Here’s another elk photo from the motion-sensing camera in my “front yard.” All ready for winter. She looks so fuzzy and warm!

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Which is better: nonfiction or fiction?

Most book authors either write nonfiction or fiction. I started out with nonfiction, publishing Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents in 2006 and following up with Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico in 2016.

After that I switched to fiction, publishing Time Is Irreverent in 2018 and am following up with Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not Again! in early 2019. What’s after that? I’ve already written the first 5,000 words for Time Is Irreverent 3: Gone for 16 Seconds, planned for 2020.

Which type of book do I like writing the best? I’m not sure. Because my first two books were based on my world travels, they were expensive to produce. On the plus side, because I was writing about events and facts, writer’s block was nonexistent. Although my novels still use facts, the events have to be manufactured by my brain. That can lead to occasional bouts of writer’s block. Fortunately, my two main characters, Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon, are quite real to me, and when I get stuck they take over my fingers and do the typing for me.

And yes, at this moment, I’m suffering from a wee bit of writer’s block and am typing this instead of staring at the manuscript and waiting for Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon to pay me a visit.

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Thorns

Marty’s photo of the day #2714: A little color among the thorns.

(Photographed in Mexico)

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