Wear a sweater.
Most of you reading this will be suffering through the coldest weather in a generation. Be careful outside, and those of us who live in balmier climes might want to lay off the jokes on this one.
Time to hunker down and make some hearty food.
Some of you might notice that this is the first actual letter I've written you in a while. The reason is two words: book tour. It was the most exhausting tour I'd ever done, and I can safely say there will not be another like it.
Sure, when my next book comes out I'll go back on the road, but 72 events in 39 states and 4 Canadian provinces, over 11 months, was simply too much. I was slagged by the time Christmas came around, and it took me a long time to recover.
But here I am. Back in action.
A few things have happened since I last wrote. First, I am now selling my latest two books, Pheasant Quail Cottontail and Buck Buck Moose, directly to you. What's more, every copy is signed! I know a lot of you have these books already, and for that I thank you.
But if you still need one, or would like a signed copy, you can get one here.
Another thing that's going on is that I am working on expanding my collection of videos. I want to put together more how-to videos on the various techniques I use, largely because, well, video is just better at it in many ways.
Stay tuned for these -- they will all be posted on my YouTube Channel.
Mostly I am looking forward to a normal year. A year of learning, a year of more Hanksperiments, a year of more writing and less traveling.
Which leads me to what's next. In short, not one book, but two.
I will be working on two books at once in 2019. I can do this because they will be very different books, occupying different spaces in this feverish brain of mine.
The first is a book of essays about hunting. I am teaming up on this book with my long-time partner in all things, Holly A. Heyser, whom you may know at the person who takes most of the great photos on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook.
Both of us spend a lot of time thinking about the Big Stuff when it comes to hunting. So our plan is to write a book of essays that explain, to the best of our ability, why we do what we do. The goal is for those of you who hunt to pick it up, read it, and say, "Yes! This is what I mean!" And for those of you who do not hunt, our goal would be for you to pick it up,
read it, and say, "I get it now. I understand."
It's a tall order, but one Holly and I feel strongly about, especially as our society gets more urban and more divorced from the wild world.
The second book is a fish and seafood cookbook.
This one has been a long time coming. A lifetime, to be exact. Many of you don't know that I have 25 years more experience with cooking fish and seafood than I do with wild game.
I've been dying to write this ever since I wrote Hunt Gather Cook back in 2011. All I can tell you is that this will be a groundbreaking book, unlike every other fish cookbook out there. It will cover freshwater and saltwater fish, as well as most everything else that you can eat out of the water.
It will be useful no matter if you are from Alaska or California or Iowa or New York or Florida. How am I going to do this? Stay tuned...
Neither book has a name, nor a release date just yet. I'll keep you posted.
