*James’ most recent travel piece, a feature on the historic French town of Dunkirk, is published in the new issue of World War II Magazine, now available at Barnes & Noble and other major bookstores. The issue includes an exclusive interview with director Christopher Nolan on his epic new movie about the battle, fittingly called Dunkirk, starring Kenneth Branagh and Tom Hardy. Check it out!
*James will be teaching his European travel skills class, “Seeing the Best of Europe on a Budget” at the Woodinville, WA public library on Saturday, January 21 at 2:00PM
*James is back from his trip to Europe! Completed the research for the articles he’s writing and will be uploading several videos and photos in the coming days. Stay tuned!
*Happy to announce that I’m collaborating with a very cool company that produces audio tours of historic places to enrich visitors’ experience. They’re only in the US at the moment so I’ll be helping them try to expand into Europe. I’ll be meeting with several tourism boards in various cities while on my in Europe this October to pitch the idea to them and hopefully get them to pay us to create the content, which I’ll write. Interesting projects ahead.
*Off to Europe on October 11 for three weeks of research and writing for several articles I’ve been commissioned to write for magazines. It’ll be a whirlwind of busy researching and exploring to find new places and tips to share with my readers!
2016 Upcoming Classes and Appearances:
*James will be teaching his European travel skills seminar on Saturday, December 10 at the Burien, WA library just outside of Seattle. Begins at 1:00pm.
*The story for which James won a 2015 Solas Award for, “Alsace’s (France) Unique Character, Through the Eyes of a Local,” will appear as the Editors’ Choice Monday, September 5th, on TravelersTales.com as well as the feature story on BestTravelWriting.com.
* James will be teaching teaching his popular travel skills seminar, “Best Travel Tips For Your European Trip” at the Lake Forest Park, WA Library just outside of Seattle on Sunday August 13th, from 11am-12:30 pm.
* Explore England, a gorgeously produced magazine highlighting the best of England’s historic and cultural attractions, has just published a piece James did on one of Europe’s greatest historic aircraft museums, RAF Duxford, part of the Imperial War Museum collection of sites. The magazine is available around England and by special order.
*Thanks to all who came out to the “Seeing the Best of Europe Independently on a Budget” travel seminar last week in Covington, WA. Hope you found the information useful in planning your trips to Europe!
*James is teaching his travel seminar, “Seeing the Best of Europe Independently on a Budget” at the Lake Forest Park, WA Library on Saturday May 22nd, 11am-12:30 pm
*My latest piece, written while on the road tour guiding in Europe, is on the historic city of Rothenburg for World War II. Our tour groups loved this city for its historic medieval ambiance, but the town has an interesting wartime history as well. The issue is in Barnes&Noble now!
2015 News and Appearances:
*James will be teaching his travel class, “Seeing the Best of Europe Independently on a Budget” at the famous Savvy Traveler store in Edmonds, WA on September 12 at 1pm
*James will be teaching his travel class, “Seeing the Best of Europe Independently on a Budget” at the Maple Valley, WA Library on Saturday May 16th, 1-2:30 PM
*James will be teaching his travel class, “Seeing the Best of Europe Independently on a Budget” at the Covington, WA Library on Tuesday May 12th, 7-9 PM
Come out and enjoy this info-packed 90 minute class with travel writer and tour guide James. He dishes the low-down on experiencing Europe’s best destinations in ways that maximize your time and money. He’ll share his hard-won tips on packing light, connecting to the culture, planning smart, spending wisely and getting around easily. You’ll leave ready to plan your own European adventure on your own terms and within your budget.
*James will be teaching his travel class, “Seeing the Best of Europe Independently on a Budget” at the Issaquah, WA Library on Tuesday March 10th, 7-9 PM
*James will be teaching his travel class, “Seeing the Best of Europe Independently on a Budget” at the Sammamish, WA Library on Wednesday February 18th, 7-9 PM
2015 News and Appearances:
*The May/June ’14 issue of Business Jet Traveler for which James wrote an article just won the 2014 Folio Award for Best Full Issue of a Travel or Transportation Consumer Magazine!!
*New blog post up, on the soul-warming traditions of Christmas in Europe and its subtle variations across three countries. Click here.
October ’14 News:
*James just returned from the road after guiding a 21-day “Best of Europe” for Rick Steves Europe. He’ll be back overseas leading tours for the company in the spring.
*James’ latest travel article, about the picturesque villages of Alsace, France, is published in the new issue of Renaissance Magazine.
August ’14 News:
*James will be back on the road guiding tours in Europe for Rick Steves Europe this fall.
*Brand new blog post is up. It’s about the challenges and rewards of finding a fresh perspective on a familiar location. Check it out here.
*James is back home after weeks of tour guiding in Europe for Rick Steves Europe. Info on the tours offered by the company can be found HERE. He’ll be heading back overseas for more touring in the autumn.
*James’ last pre-tour blog post is up on Vagablogging! Click here.
*James’ next blog post–the first since returning from tour–will be up on Vagablogging next week.
April ’14 news:
*James will have 2 restaurant articles published in Business Jet Traveler this spring.
Feb ’14 News:
*James will be giving a talk, “Seeing the Best of Europe Independently and On a Budget” at The Richmond Public Library in the Seattle suburb of Shoreline, WA on Saturday Feb 1 at 11am
*Happy 2014! Lots of great stuff brewing. In the meantime, check out the blog for the latest posts on how Christmas is done in various cultures in Europe.
*James will be giving a talk, “Seeing the Best of Europe Independently and On a Budget” at the following Seattle-area locations next spring:
Saturday, February 22: Duvall Library, 2:00 PM
Saturday, March 1: Federal Way Library, 2:00 PM
Wednesday, March 5: Sammamish Library, 7:00 PM
Saturday, March 8: Snoqualmie Library, 1:00 PM
*James has been featured in Writers Weekly’s “Success Stories” feature this month. He gives his story and lots of good advice for aspiring travel writers and novelists.
*No new novel yet (sorry) but lots of other stuff coming out: James will be doing 5 stories for Renaissance Magazine: City of Beaune, Abbey of Vezalay, Abbey of Fontenay (all in beautiful Burgundy, France) and a piece on the post-card pretty medieval villages of Alsace’s Wine Route and the historic Unterlinden Museum of Colmar. They will be published early next year in successive issues.
He’ll also be writing a piece for Military History Monthly about the Nazi’s Operation Nordwind in Alsace’s Vosges Mountains, and then to Germany for a World War II Magazine piece.
*James’ newest travel article will be published in the September issue of Renaissance Magazine. The issue will be available in bookstores around the United States.
*Writers Weekly will be publishing an article from James containing how-to advice for aspiring travel writers in August!
*The August installment of Travel Post Monthly will publish James’ article on historical plays (think Richard III) being performed on the original English battlefields where they are set.
*Brand-new blog post is up on the travel site Vagablogging.