Laura O. Foster

Laura O. Foster is an author and editor who specializes in writing about one of her great passions: Portland, Oregon. She also writes children's nonfiction books, including the award-winning Boys Who Rocked the World, and works as a freelance book editor. As a teenager, she left the Illinois prairie for the mountains of Wyoming, where she worked in Yellowstone National Park. It was there she discovered the joys of hill walking. After several years hiking and biking in the mountains of Colorado and Tennessee, Laura moved to Portland in 1989, where she found pedestrian nirvana: a city where you can combine a hike, a brewpub, and a bookstore in one afternoon jaunt. As in old European cities, it's possible to do all this in the space of a single afternoon walkabout, and she finds it remarkable to be able to do all three without driving.

Laura loves to watch Portland at work and tells great stories about some of the offbeat, old-time, and surprising businesses operating within the city. She's an expert on all things Portland, like the city's early history manifested in buried and altered landscapes.

Laura has written a guidebook that is also an intriguing read for anyone who is a history buff, a Portlander, or just loves this city. After a decade living in and strolling through Portland's eclectic east side neighborhoods, Laura now lives in the hills of rural Northwest Portland with her husband and their four children.

Laura volunteers as a grant writer for Portland Public Schools and was awarded Regional Arts and Culture Council grants for Portland Hill Walks and for Portland City Walks.

You may also be interested in the author's own Web site, www.PortlandHillWalks.com.