Meet Pam Portland

Please tell us about your current line of work and how you got started in it. Please include any awards or upcoming projects.

After working for the Walt Disney Company while raising my children and starting my blog, I took a leap of faith knowing I wanted to see more of the United States. I decided to work as an over-the-road truck driver and fill my free time writing about the places I would see. The experience turned out to be nothing like I expected, so I left the occupation, but continued writing in earnest. I've worked in marketing, as an interpretive park ranger, and at an animal sanctuary as I travel, and currently I volunteer with non-profits seeking web design and content support. Someday, I'll figure out what I want to be when I grow up, but writing weaves through all of it.

Do you have any mentors or sources of inspiration?

I wouldn’t say I have any long-term mentors, but I do admire many people I knew during my time at Disney. When it comes to writing, I am enamored by the writing of John Muir. He described the beauty of our natural surroundings as if they were akin to the cathedrals of Europe in their majesty and spiritual inspiration. While I may never achieve that level of writing, I attempt to find ways to see nature more deeply than just its tranquil beauty.

What parts of your work do you enjoy most? Why?

Whether writing a novel for pleasure or developing content for a non-profit website, I really thrive on story telling. I expect that stems from how my brain works to connect dots for myself and others. Oddly, it’s the analytical side of my brain that translates into the creative work I enjoy.

What are your favorite things to do when you have free time?

Even when my professional life requires a hefty quantity of writing, I enjoy writing in my free time. Because one is obligatory and the other is for my enjoyment, they fuel different passions. Much of my writing for joy connects to the travel I’ve enjoyed throughout my adulthood. Yes, I've visited all fifty states (and a smattering of countries). Have tent, will camp.

Are there any dream projects you'd like to pursue?

Oh yes, my dream project connects to many of the points we’ve already covered. I have an epic that I started writing in 2013, and both my work in the public lands and places to where I have traveled stemmed from my interest in [spoiler alert] about which I started to write. I desperately want the prose of my dream project to have the inspirational quality of writers like John Muir, so I have spent that past decade writing four other novels that take place on public lands to strengthen my skills as a novelist. Having finished that series, and now that I am moving to the region of the country where my dream project will take place, 2025 will begin an entirely new era for me as a novelist.

How can we learn more about you?

I started my blog in 2011 as a way to share highlights of my travels. I’ve since moved to my own WordPress website (PamPortland.org) where I not only publish posts about my travels through all fifty states, but also objects that have emotional meaning to me, the love story of how I met my husband, the daily oddities of my dogs, and all of my copyrighted novels posted as serials (pamportland.org/ontheforest/). Hey, that’s the modern-day version of how Charles Dickens got started, right?

I also co-host the #WriteStuff chat that began on Twitter and has since migrated to Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/pamportlandwriter.bsky.social).