Author Archives: Jill Zeller

About Jill Zeller

The author of numerous short stories and novels, Jill Zeller lives near Seattle, Washington, with her patient and adoring husband, two English mastiffs, and one self-centered tuxedo cat. Her works explore the boundaries of reality. Some may call it fantasy, but there are rarely swords and never elves. More to the point, she prefers to write as if myth, imagination and hallucination were as real as the chair she is sitting on as she writes this. Maybe it is because she was raised as a Christian Scientist. Jill Zeller also writes under the pseudonym Hunter Morrison

The Reluctant Traveler at home — Cats and Writers

Posted on June 18, 2017 by

About cats And writers. We have cats. I think most of us do, anyway. Every writer I know personally has one or more cats—oh there are a few of us who dare to own dogs AND cats. Or dogs only. … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Animals, cats, Writing life | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Not-so-reluctant Traveler: Closer to Home

Posted on June 11, 2017 by

I have confessed that I love all things West. So I may as well write about this some more, and today I go back to a July, 2007 trip to Eastern Oregon. My husband was born in Pendleton, Oregon, and … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Eastern Oregon, Hell's Canyon, Nez Perce horses, Travel | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Not-so-reluctant Traveler: Butch

Posted on June 4, 2017 by

As I do very little researching before I visit a place—it’s not because I want to arrive “tabula rasa”, but it comes down to my innate laziness—when I got to southern Utah I knew where we were going to stay … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Butch Cassidy, horses, The West, Travel, Utah | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The not-so-reluctant Traveler: Utah

Posted on May 28, 2017 by

From our little cabin at Sevier River Ranch we can look down into the Sevier (pronounced “Severe”, the locals informed us) Valley at Hatch Station, a town split in two by Utah scenic highway State 89. 20 miles east lies … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in The West, Travel, Utah | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Reluctant Traveler Travels Back in Time

Posted on May 7, 2017 by

After today, for the next two Sundays, I will be traveling. First I go to Utah to visit Bryce and Zion National Parks, two of the many Southwest locations I have not yet seen, then to Washington D.C. for work. … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Scotland, Travel | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Reluctant Traveler comes home and there are dogs

Posted on April 30, 2017 by

English Mastiff breeders share a common anecdote: by the end of the second World War, the English Mastiff all but vanished from Britain. American breeders helped to revive the breed in England. This intrigued me. Plans for a historical novel … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in dogs, History | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

The Reluctant Traveler, Part 6: Soweto

Posted on April 23, 2017 by

On June 16, 1976, I was waiting to hear if I had gotten into the University of Pittsburgh nursing school. Sharing a house with a PhD aspirant, two medical students, and a dental student, I had recently broken up with … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in South Africa, Travel | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Reluctant Traveler, Part 5: Cape Town, Where I Went and Where I Didn’t

Posted on April 16, 2017 by

WHERE I WENT On a tour organized for those of us who arrived to the city a day early, our first stop was at one of the local clinics who participant in HIV vaccine trials. It was a bright, welcoming … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Botanical Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa, Travel | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Reluctant Traveler, Part 4: Cape Town – getting there
avatar

Posted on April 9, 2017 by

South Africa’s 2nd largest city is very likely its most beautiful. Everyone loves Cape Town—iKapa to the Xhosa—and like all South African cities, it’s a mixture of light and darkness. Shanty townships ring the town in which tourists sample posh … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Dubai, Travel | 1 Comment

The Reluctant Traveler Part 3: Explaining the Inexplicable: Mozambique.

Posted on April 2, 2017 by

It is March, 2017. I am in Mozambique—Maputo, the capital city to be precise—at a fancy hotel on the beach. Beyond this deck the Indian Ocean laps the shore like a contented cat at a bowl of milk. My colleagues … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 3 Comments