I’ll be reading from my recently released book, Under the Influence of Tall Trees, on Tuesday, November 18, 7 p.m., at Broadway Books, 1714 N.E. Broadway, Portland, Oregon, For more information: www.broadwaybooks.net.

Under the Influence of Tall Trees: Humorous Tales from a Pacific Northwest Writer, is a collection of quirky personal essays on the challenges of finding my true work, family and home in the Pacific Northwest

Sometimes tender, sometimes cranky, Under the Influence of Tall Trees presents my take on everything from the miracle of birth to my failure as a gardener. Along the way, I reveal myself as a bit of a curmudgeon.

As I say in the book, “I enjoy being funny. It just feels so good to let it all out—like a sneeze, only less wet.”

Whether arguing with The Other Phone Company, seeking out the perfect dancing dress for my young daughter (it’s “one-quarter Cinderella and three-quarters Mardi Gras”), or collecting yet another rejection slip as I start my freelance writing career, I use humor to describe the longings and labors of someone more than a little out of step with the rest of the world. When it all becomes too much, I retreat to the beauty of the Columbia River Gorge or duck into an antique shop, for relief from “life’s trendy newness.”

I also take up spinning, become an oyster chef groupie and visit Fort Clatsop to uncover the real cause of Lewis and Clark’s problems (“too much communal living combined with dense undergrowth”).

Original photographs, line drawings and cartoons round out Under the Influence of Tall Trees.

For additional information about Under the Influence of Tall Trees, contact me by email at wordpics@aracnet.com or via my website, www.nancy-woods.com. Copies of Under the Influence of Tall Trees: Humorous Tales from a Pacific Northwest Writer (ISBN 978–1-312–25642–2) are available in paperback at Broadway Books and lulu.com for $19.99.