Mark Obmascik was recently interviewed by Michelle Vandepas on Talking Books TV. He talks about how his first book, The Big Year, was turned into a film and how he climbed Colorado’s 14,000 foot mountains in one summer and wrote about it in Halfway to Heaven
He will also be the Friday Breakfast keynote speaker at this year’s Author Fest of the Rockies. Author Fest will be on October 1-2, 2010 at The Cliff House in Manitou Springs, Colorado.
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession is a funny and compelling account of three obsessive birders attempting to set a new record for the number of species seen in North America in 1998. The book effectively blends Mark Obmascik’s captivating reporting and humorous style to keep the readers guessing who will win among the three very different but equally passionate birders–a zany industrial contractor from New Jersey, a newly-retired executive vice president of a multi-million dollar company or a divorced software engineer employed full time at a Maryland power plant.
The grueling year saw these competitors crossing time zones, dealing with rising debt, and surviving extreme weather on their path to glory. Obmascik successfully captures the enthusiasm of these competitors and gives us an in-depth look into the fascinating, if maddening birding world during the year an extraordinary 745 species were spotted.
In the interview, Mark also talks about Halfway to Heaven: My White-knuckled–and Knuckleheaded–Quest for the Rocky Mountain High, winner of the 2009 National Outdoor Book Award for Outdoor Literature. When his son is bitten by the climbing bug, Mark, an admittedly overweight, middle aged father decides that mountain climbing would be a great opportunity for father-son bonding time. Before he knows it, he finds himself on a midlife adventure to scale all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains in less than a year. In this story of family, friendship and fraternity, Mark assembles an eccentric team of old friends and seasoned Rockies junkies to climb with him. He ends up losing fifteen pounds, making new friends and gaining a whole new respect for the history behind the Rocky Mountains. Obmascik’s engaging style and self-deprecating tone add wit and humor to this irreverent and insightful chronicle of his quest to self discovery. In the end, he reminds us that climbing mountains is as much about the mountain as it is about himself and the people he meets along the way.
Mark has been a journalist for two decades. He was the lead writer at the 2000 Pulitzer Prize winning Denver Post team and the 2003 National Press Club Awardee for environmental journalism. As a bestselling author, his first book, The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession received five Best of 2004 citations by major media. His second book, Halfway to Heaven: My White-knuckled–and Knuckleheaded–Quest for the Rocky Mountain High, received the 2009 National Outdoor Book Award for Outdoor Literature.
He currently resides in Denver, Colorado with his wife Merrill Scherwin and their three sons, Cass, Max, and Wesley. Visit his website http://www.markobmascik.com
Michelle Vandepas started Talking Books TV as a site to help authors and their books get more exposure. She teaches authentic marketing for on and offline marketing campaigns and specializes in working with people who want to live their Conscious Livelihood (R). Find out more about how to work with Michelle on her site, MichelleVandepas.com 
3 Comments
8:10 pm
Michael Searles
Sounds like an inspirational book . . . thanks for bringing Mark to my attention via your author interviews.
5:54 am
Michelle Vandepas
Michael it is great to connect with you again. You’ve also got great interviews and I look forward to connecting with you in some future venture…
1:01 am
Dasia
This free sharing of informatoin seems too good to be true. Like communism.