Think Outside
RMB | Rocky Mountain Books
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Think Outside is a monthly podcast from RMB | Rocky Mountain Books that will dive deeper into the stories behind the stories and inspire adventure through conversation with authors, explorers and experts in their fields.
Available episodes
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Mar 11, 2023
Have dog, will travel with Lesley Choyce
Lesley Choyce is a 70-year-old year-round North Atlantic surfer, the godfather of transcendental wood-splitting, and the award-winning author of over 100 books. His wife, Linda, a former high school principal who has fearlessly commandeered knives from teenage malcontents, usually guides her husband away from quixotic quests, but she is fully on board for this one. As for Kelty, the couple’s West Highland terrier, he’s always ready to give up on chewing shoes and chasing pheasants for something more exciting.
Join the Choyces as they hurtle around the U.K. in search of history (all kinds), good food (mostly Indian), quirky destinations (the smaller and weirder the better), and places for the dog to pee. All while waiting for the imminent arrival of new grandchildren back home in Canada. Ever wondered what a Nova Scotian surfer/wood-splitter/Renaissance man/Westie owner thinks of the U.K.? Now you can find out.
Get your copy of Around England with a Dog!
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Jan 11, 2023
Focal Point with John E. Marriott
In the second episode of our Focal Point mini series, we talk to internationally renowned wildlife photographer, John E. Marriot about his book The Kootenay Wolves: Five Years Following a Wild Wolf Pack.
The Kootenay Wolves chronicles Marriott’s tenacious efforts hiking, snowshoeing, and hiding silently in camouflage for hundreds of days to document these wary wolves and their tenuous hold in a home range rife with danger, including tourist traffic, transport trucks, trophy hunters, and trappers. Marriott not only watched this family thrive against all odds but also saw and photographed some truly astonishing behaviours rarely documented in the wild before.
Join us for an exhilarating look into the daily lives of the Kootenay wolves and some photography tips and tricks from the wildlife photography master himself.
Follow John on Instagram: @johnemarriott
The Kootenay Wolves is now available online and at your local bookstore!
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Oct 24, 2022
Why women are dominating the world of adventure travel
The future of travel is female! Well, technically that future is already here. Rad women are dominating the travel industry more than ever. What's driving thrill-seeking women run with what was in the past a traditionally male-dominated space?
This time on Think Outside we talk to a panel of adventurous female travellers (Meghan J. Ward, Lisa Duncan, and Ella Harvey) to talk about writing their travel memoirs, what's driving thrill-seeking women to seek out grand adventures more and more, and some of the ethical considerations of adventure travel.
Your adventure travel reading list! All three of these amazing books are available wherever books are sold:
Lights to Guide Me Home by Meghan J. Ward
Chasing Africa by Lisa Duncan
A Time of Light and Shadow by Ella Harvey
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Oct 4, 2022
How to get your book published
Writing a book? Mystified about the publishing industry and/or how to get published? How do you find the right publisher? What are they looking for? How does the royalty structure work? Do I need an agent? What's the difference between self-publishing and finding a publisher?
All of these questions and more are answered by our panel in this latest episode. We'll talk about the acquisition process, submissions, the author/publisher relationship and answer your burning questions!
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May 28, 2022
Promoting your book with Bill Arnott
Probably one of the most mystifying things about publishing a book is how to market it. You've put your heart and soul into writing, editing, design, layout...and now you have to get it out into the world.
It's not easy to toot your own horn! In this episode of Think Outside we chat with author and master of authentic self-promotion, Bill Arnott, to answer some common questions and to hear his tips and tricks for getting the word out about your book.
Find Bill's books here: https://rmbooks.com/book-author/bill-arnott/
Boost your productivity with MagicMind and use code RMB20 for 40% off your subscription here: https://magicmind.co/
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Apr 29, 2022
Love Your Local Bookstore!
April 30 is Canadian Independent Bookstore Day! A day to celebrate indie bookstores and to recognize the vital role that they play in the Canadian publishing ecosystem. We spoke with some indie bookstores last year and then caught up with them again this year to find out how they've been navigating the Covid 19 pandemic and some of their successes and challenges over the past couple years. Thanks to Chris Hall (McNally Robinson), Jessica Walker (Munro's Books), and Zoe Grams (Upstart & Crow) for sharing with us! munrosbooks.com
mcnallyrobinson.com
upstartandcrow.com
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Mar 31, 2022
Focal Point with George Webber
This is the first episode in our "Focal Point" mini series featuring RMB photographers!
George Webber is a renowned documentary photographer and has been featured in high profile magazines like Canadian Geographic, the New York Times, American Photo, and more. His latest book, Borrowed Time: Calgary 1976 – 2019 is a look at the complexities and dichotomies of the city of Calgary as it’s grown over the past 45 years.
We sat down with George to talk a bit about his approach to documentary photography, his inspiration, and what it means to preserve these pieces of Calgary history through the lens.
Get your copy of Borrowed Time here.
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Nov 18, 2021
Tracking Lions with Jon Turk
Jon Turk is easily one of North America’s most accomplished adventurers. Jon has kayaked around Cape Horn and across the North Pacific from Japan to Alaska. He’s mountain biked across the northern Gobi in Mongolia, made first climbing ascents of big walls on Baffin Island and in 2011 circumnavigated Ellesmere Island. He’s no stranger to adventure and lucky for us, he likes to write about his adventures. Especially lucky for us, he sat down with us to chat about his new book Tracking Lions, Myth, and Wilderness in Samburu!
Buy the book here
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Apr 15, 2021
Shop Talk: RMB Publishing Panel
In this episode we’re going to zoom out a bit and take a look at Rocky Mountain Books as a whole! Take a peek behind the curtain, meet the team and learn about how a book goes from manuscript to the shelf!
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Feb 24, 2021
Bonus Episode - A Story of Karma with Michael Schauch
Let's turn to some armchair travel in this bonus episode of Think Outside! This episode is a recording on the launch of Michael Schauch's book A Story of Karma as part of the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival's Fall Series.
In A Story of Karma, Mike dreams of climbing an unknown mountain in the Himalaya of northern Nepal. What unfolded in the mountains forced him to question his values, his own identity and and eventually resulted in meeting a little girl named Karma, which was the most profound encounter of his life. Little did either of them know that from that moment they would completely change the trajectory of each other's lives.
Buy A Story of Karma online or at your local bookstore!
https://rmbooks.com/book/a-story-of-karma/
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Dec 17, 2020
Gone Viking with Bill Arnott
With a small pack and his weatherproof journal Bill Arnott followed the viking footsteps from Europe to Asia, the Mediterranean to the British Isles, Through Scandinavia to Iceland and beyond!
We sat down with Bill for a little armchair travel, to debunk some common myths about viking culture, and to chat about his his epic present-day viking quest.
Buy Gone Viking online now or at your local bookstore!
https://rmbooks.com/book/gone-viking/
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Oct 21, 2020
The Life and Legacy of Takaya with Cheryl Alexander
When Cheryl Alexander heard there were several sightings of a wolf in downtown Victoria, she knew right away it was Takaya.
Takaya lived on the Discovery Islands just off the coast of Victoria. He was a lone wolf. No pack. No mate. And it seemed he liked it that way. He’d chosen a life of solitude. And Cheryl was captivated by him.
In March, Takaya’s life came to a tragic end when he was shot by a trophy hunter.
We spoke with Cheryl about her new bestselling book Takaya: Lone Wolf, Takaya’s life, his legacy and her special connection with this unique wild animal.
Buy Takaya: Lone Wolf: https://rmbooks.com/book/takaya/
Takaya Lone Wolf International Arts Festival: https://takayalonewolf.com/
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Sep 18, 2020
Protecting Paradise with Elizabeth May
Elizabeth May is one of the hardest working people in politics. She is the Green Party MP for the Saanich-Gulf Islands and served as leader of the Green Party of Canada from 2006-2019. She also has a long record as a dedicated advocate for social justice, the environment, and human rights.
Her book Paradise Won: The Struggle to Create Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve details the epic 12-year struggle to stop logging this unique global ecosystem.
Coming up on the park’s 30 year anniversary, we spoke with Elizabeth May about Paradise Won, bringing back into focus this remarkable story of the power and importance of Indigenous rights, and to talk about how activism can spur average citizens to action in order to fight climate change and protect fragile ecosystems everywhere.
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Aug 13, 2020
Art and Adventures with Jocey Asnong
Award-winning children’s book author, Jocey Asnong, has created many beautiful books over the years, and plenty more colourful books taking shape in her creative brain!
Jocey writes and illustrates from her art cave at home in Canmore, Alberta dreaming up new adventures for adventurous cats, Nuptse and Lhotse, and creating colourful board books that teach kids about the outdoors as well as their ABCs and 123s.
Here’s a look at Jocey’s whimsical and adventurous world through her children’s books.
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Jun 8, 2020
Feel the Wild with Daniel Fox
Daniel Fox is an artist, adventurer, photographer, philosopher, entrepreneur and explorer...what can't he do! We sit down with Daniel to talk about his photography, our connection with nature, and his WildECO project, a non-profit youth organization that he founded in 2015 which seeks to mentor disadvantaged students and fund tuition costs for a month-long wilderness immersion camp.
His book Feel the Wild is available now in bookstores and online.
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May 7, 2020
Taking a Break from Saving the World with Stephen Legault
What a strange world we are living in! We hope you are all taking care of yourselves. It feels especially important right now with health care workers, grocery stores and others working around the clock to help keep our world running and keep us safe during a global pandemic.
Stephen Legault knows burnout. He’s lived it in his work in conservation activism – and now he’s written a book about it! Taking a Break from Saving the World: A Conservation Activist’s Journey from Burnout to Balance takes a look at the culture of self-sacrifice that permeates the work done by volunteers and paid staff in the environmental conservation movement and beyond.
We spoke with Stephen about his new book, his own experience with burnout, and some tips on how we can take care of ourselves and each other when we’re all running on fumes.
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Apr 2, 2020
Adventure, Travel, and Storytelling with Frank Wolf
While we're all stuck inside, wishing we could be outside, doesn't a good adventure story sound pretty good right now?
Well, Frank Wolf has no shortage of stories. In fact, his book Lines on a Map: Unparalleled Adventures in Modern Exploration brings together a whole two decades of adventure writing in an entertaining and inspiring collection of travel journalism.
We sat down with Frank to talk about his book, aging and adventure, and some his most harrowing and memorable expeditions to date.
Get your copy of Lines on a Map: Unparalleled Adventures in Modern Exploration
Shortlisted for the 2019 Banff Mountain Book Award for Adventure Travel!
Audio production by Lauren Bridle
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Mar 8, 2020
Stories from the Magic Canoe of Wa'xaid
Wet’so’weten Protests, blockades, and calls for meaningful reconciliation continue to make headlines and it’s hard to ignore the feeling that we are being pushed and pulled into an increasingly divided Canada.
What are the next steps? What is missing as we try to move towards reconciliation for a post-colonial Canada?
Briony Penn is an award-winning author and worked most recently with respected First Nations elder, orator and activist Cecil Paul - Wa’xaid by his traditional name - to write his book Stories from the Magic Canoe of Wa’xaid. They also are collaborating on Cecil’s biography, Following the Good River, which will be published this May.
Cecelia Reekie is Wa’xaid’s eldest daughter and is a Cultural Presenter with the Langley School District working with students from Grades 2-12 in bringing awareness to the true history of Canada.
We sat down with Briony and Cecelia to talk about Cecil’s life, his legacy and, in these turbulent times, how we can learn fr…
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