White desk with pink notebook, roses, keyboard, and gold paperclips that Francesca Varela uses to write environmental fiction

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  • From Rain to Red Rock

    1–2 minutes

    Making the transition from the rain forests of Oregon to the second driest state in the country has been quite the adventure. Utah is beautiful in a completely different way from the Pacific Northwest. There are the red deserts with ravens high above them; the aspen forests that flutter like wings; the long chains of

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  • The Shadows of Trees

    1–2 minutes

    They stretch long; the wings of birds pulsed up in flight, silhouettes positioned on rust, orange as the backs of deer, sunlight quietly waiting.

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  • All the Waters I Have Seen – Lake Superior

    1–2 minutes

    “Does it have a tide?” I asked. “A very slight one.” “Are there ever any actual waves?” “When you get out far enough.” “Do people swim in it?” “Sometimes. Usually it’s too cold.” “It doesn’t smell like the ocean,” I said, but they were skipping stones and had stopped listening.  Too many questions, I guessed,

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  • All the Waters I Have Seen – The Colorado River

    2–3 minutes

    If I was upset when I was younger I would run to the trees. I would stare up at them and hope that they might know me. I would stare intensely, my whole neck tilted back, and I’d hold my body still so that when the wind came through I would feel like a mountain

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