Tahoe Weekly has great, local contributors who not only pen articles for our print and online editions, but many of them are also published fiction and nonfiction authors. Several of them are quite prolific.
Mark McLaughlin has the tenacity and grit of a hardened newspaper writer, with an unwavering commitment to the facts, while weaving interesting stories and characters through his articles and in his many books.
If you’re looking for some great books to enjoy for your summer reading list, I recommend ordering a copy from one of our Tahoe Weekly contributors to support them and their great work.
Kayla Anderson
Kayla is a long-time local writer, author and marketing maven, who has worked with Tahoe Weekly contributing features on local makers, Tahoe’s foodie culture, local profiles and recreation.
I don’t believe Kayla’s ever met a challenge she can’t master and kick some ass while doing it. Check out some of her most memorable challenges she’s done for Tahoe Weekly from “16 Chutes in One Day” on Mt. Rose’s Chutes and “From Tahoe’s Slopes to Big Blue. 5 Sports in One Day” after the epic 2017 winter season to her ongoing series for the last few years on “Tahoe’s Best Burgers.”
She recently released “Northern California Road Trips” guidebook from Moon Books. The book is available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, IndieBound or directly through Moon Books at moon.com. | kaylaanderson.org
Geolyn Carvin
I was first introduced to Geolyn’s work (and immediately became a fan) when I received a preview copy of her book “On the Trail with Boots McFarland-Volume 1,” a collection of humorous and thoughtful outdoor comics interspersed with entries from the artist’s Pacific Crest Trail journal.
After reading through her cartoons and sharing them with my coworkers, I invited Geolyn to share her illustrations in Tahoe Weekly. I’ve enjoyed receiving her cartoons with her humorous look at life in the Sierra Nevada and it always arrives in my inbox just when I need a good laugh. She’s been contributing to Tahoe Weekly since the fall of 2018.
Purchase a copy of her book on Amazon. You can also sign up for her weekly newsletter at bootsmcfarland.com.
Tim Hauserman
I think Tim is the true master of the Tahoe lifestyle with his light-hearted demeanor, zest for enjoying Tahoe’s great outdoors at every possible moment and ability to hike, snowshoe, paddle or cycle for what I can only image is thousands of miles every year (at least).
I can’t really remember when I met Tim because I’ve known him for so long, but I’m sure we were talking about a great local hike when we decided that we needed to work together. Tim’s work has filled hundreds of pages of Tahoe Weekly through the years with hiking, mountain biking, cycling, paddleboard, canoeing, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing articles.
Tim just released the fourth edition of “Tahoe Rim Trail: The Official Guide for Hikers, Mountain Bikers and Equestriansavailable at Word After Word in Truckee, Alpenglow Sports in Tahoe City or wildernesspress.com.
He’s also the author of “Monsters in the Woods: Backpacking With Children,” the children’s book “Gertrude’s Tahoe Adventures in Time” and “Cross-Country Skiing in the Sierra Nevada,” which are available on Amazon.
Barbara Keck
I remember vividly when I met Barbara at a local blind wine-tasting event many moons ago, where we struck up a conversation and became friends over our shared sense of humor and sarcasm at the fact that the event organizers wrapped the bottle of wines in aluminum foil to mask their identity. Many of the bottles looked like the foil had been pulled out of the recycling bin and haphazardly wrapped by 7-year-olds.
After a good laugh and a few glasses of good wine, Barbara proclaimed that we need a good wine column. We sealed the deal over a clink of our wine glasses, and Barbara penned our wine column from 2009 until Lou Phillips took over the column in 2014.
Barbara’s columns eventually led to her 2015 guidebook, “Wineries of the Sierra Foothills: Risk-Takers & Rule-Breakers,” which was produced by Range of Light Media Group aka Tahoe Weekly.
The second edition is available now on Amazon and includes new wineries that have opened in the last five years and an expanded section on the wineries of Butte County. | wineriesofthesierrafoothills.com
Mark McLaughlin
A prolific author, historian and weather guru, Mark has been a fixture at Tahoe Weekly for more than 22 years, penning his column on regional weather, history and interesting characters.
He has the tenacity and grit of a hardened newspaper writer, with an unwavering commitment to the facts, while weaving interesting stories and characters through his work for Tahoe Weekly and in his many books — all traits I’ve long admired in his work.
His books include “Sierra Stories: True Tales of Tahoe” volumes 1 and 2; “Western Train Adventures: Romance, Robberies & Wrecks,” “The Donner Party: Weathering the Storm,” “Longboards to Olympics — A Century of Tahoe Winter Sports,” “Skiing at Lake Tahoe” and “SNOWBOUND! Legendary Winters of the Tahoe Sierra.”
Mark is working on two new books. The first is about the history of vigilantism and extrajudicial violence in California and Nevada in the second half of the 19th Century, which should be out this fall. The content is also currently under consideration for a Netflix or HBO special.
The second book profiles female Western pioneers — African-American, Hispanic, Jewish, Native American and others — whose stories are often missing from the history books. It is slated for release in early summer 2021. | thestormking.com
Lisa Michelle
Lisa is a true Renaissance woman if I’ve met one: writer, paddleboarder, screenwriter, filmmaker, former rodeo cowgirl and farrier and all-around, avid outdoorswoman. She’s penned articles about local makers and outdoor adventures near and far, including her Tahoe Weekly feature “Solo on Big Blue, A Five-Day Paddle on Lake Tahoe.”
She recently released “Mountain Misery: Calaveras Love Stories” available on Amazon. I had a hard time putting down this book to actually do some work. It’s filled with dark twists and turns on every page.
Her next venture is the contemporary Western thriller, “Calaveras,” which will be released this summer. Find her work at lisamichelle2020.com or facebook.com/lisamichellestories.
Kathryn Reed
An award-winning, pull-no-punches journalist, Kathryn and I have long shared a passion for hard-hitting local news coverage, which is how we met. We connected over our commitment to local news and I started writing news stories for her former online news site, laketahoenews.net.
Since closing the site, Kathryn has become a contributor to Tahoe Weekly and has penned three guidebooks on Tahoe: “The Dirt Around Lake Tahoe: Must-Do Scenic Hikes,” “Snowshoeing Around Lake Tahoe: Must-Do Scenic Treks” and “Lake Tahoe Trails For All Seasons: Must-Do Hiking and Snowshoe Treks,” which combines her favorites from her first two books.
All three are available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble, with Tahoe area stores carrying some of her works. Follow her blog at kathrynreed.com. For a signed copy, email kr@kathrynreed.com.
Mike White
I’ve long admired Mike’s work. He’s a prolific guidebook author, covering many trails and adventures in California and Nevada with 17 books currently in print.
I own many of Mike’s guidebooks, but when I received my copy of “50 of the Best Strolls, Walks and Hikes around Reno” and discovered in the author’s bio that he lived in Reno, my heart started racing. I’m serious, I got excited, my heart started pounding and I immediately emailed Tim Hauserman and told him he needed to do a profile on Mike.
I then emailed Mike and asked him if he’d be interested in writing features on local hikes and snowshoe treks for Tahoe Weekly — and he accepted.
His new book “50 of the Best Strolls, Walks, and Hikes Around Carson City” from the University of Nevada Press is now out. He is also working on “Best Backpacking Trips in Washington, Oregon and Idaho,” releasing new editions of several of his guidebooks and is working on a book about his outdoor experiences.
His books are available from University of Nevada Press at unpress.nevada.edu/books, Wilderness Press at wildernesspress.com and Amazon.
