Bill Thorness

I am a Seattle-based author, editor and freelance writer who currently focuses on travel and lifestyle topics. History is an emerging focus for me, and in my latest book, I cross continents and history to retrace my father’s steps on the battlefields of World War II. My memoir "All Roads Lead to Rome" shows how learning from significant places, revisiting our history and reckoning with memory can restore a lost bond.

Visit my website (search on my full name) and read my newsletter on Substack (also under my full name).

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I am the author of six nonfiction books. I have been a newspaper and magazine writer and editor, newspaper columnist, web content creator and blogger, ghostwriter, corporate and nonprofit communications specialist, and instructor at the University of Washington in their Certificate in Editing program. I am currently a freelance writer on travel and outdoors for The Seattle Times.

Previous books include a memoir for the University of Nebraska Press, two cycling guidebooks for Mountaineers Books, two guides on edible gardening for Skipstone Press, and a business leader’s biography for Fenwick Publishing.

Memoir:

"All Roads Lead to Rome: Searching for the End of My Father's War" takes the reader on a walk with me through the WWII battlefields between Naples and Rome. We scale Monte la Difensa, the site of my commando father's unit's first triumph, and we hike the Anzio plains, where my dad participated in night raids across enemy lines and battles in hill towns in the Allies' final push to free Rome from the Nazi occupation. Delving deeply into memory, history, family and war allows me to better understand the challenging path my father trod after the war and how our family coped. Finally, my rediscovery of him through his war years leads to redemption of a man I realize that I barely knew.

Cycling:

"Cycling the Pacific Coast: The Complete Guide from Canada to Mexico" was a big undertaking for me. Two years of research included thousands of miles of cycling, camping and photographing. Enjoy an incredible adventure from the seat of a bicycle as you travel from Vancouver, B.C. to the Mexico border. I encourage travelers to stop along the way for city tours in all the major cities and side trips to amazing islands, anicient forests and stellar winemaking regions. The book even includes suggested itineraries if you don't have time to do it all at once.

My home area of Seattle offers a plethora of opportunities for regional travel and short trips. I show readers all the highlights in "Biking Puget Sound: 60 Rides from Olympia to the San Juans," now in its Second Edition.

I support Seattle's Cascade Bicycle Club, one of the nation's largest bike clubs, the Adventure Cycling Association and the online route mapping tool RideWithGPS.

Edible Gardening:

I've been growing edibles in Seattle since the mid-1980s. My exploration of new techniques and fresh tastes has led me to become a year-round gardener in our mild maritime Northwest climate, and also to grow a rainbow of heirloom vegetables, which are some of the most flavorful and interesting foods available.

Two books chart my evolution as a gardener in our bountiful region. "Edible Heirlooms: Heritage Vegetables for the Maritime Gardener" explores the heritage of our significant regional foods. "Cool Season Gardener: Extend the Harvest, Plan Ahead, and Grow Food Year Round" delves deeply into the techniques needed to put your own produce on your table all year.

Thanks for visiting my page, and I hope you check out my books. To drop me a note or to read more of my memoir, travel, gardening or other topics, use the contact link on my website.