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Editor's Note: This story originally published during the book tour for "Lilian's Last Dance," which included more than 75 readings. Interest in a French version prompts a current trip to Europe. We've also changed websites to eliminate unwanted ads. This is all exciting for "Lilian..." with several leads on our upcoming memoir. Happy reading. ************************************ BOOK TOUR TURNS 30 STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER WE'VE DONE 33  readings and signings since the paperback of "Lilian's Last Dance" came out in February. We've read in barns and bars, bistros and back yards, museums, art galleries, libraries and living rooms. At a Billings, Montana, reading in the city library downtown, we played a couple songs from the musical version we hope to get off the ground down the road. We've read for several hundred people and we've read for less than a dozen folks.  Most of the readings have 25 to 40 people -- a good average number. Our recent reading at the world renowned Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyo., attracted nearly 100.  "Barbecue and Books"? Why not, here Cookie and Keller toast on the streets of Absarokee, Montana, during a recent all-day Cook-off. We've never failed to have an interesting -- and interested -- group. We are happy to read for as many people as show up.  It's difficult to predict! AT A RECENT reading in Powell, Wyoming, we had only a dozen people (we were competing against a football game.)  But we read for an enthusiastic group and answered questions while people munched shortbread cookies.  Another reading -- in my home town of Columbus, Montana -- featured popcorn in a friend's back yard. We made new friends and were happy to see a few people from earlier times. The Cody museum reading was during a luncheon -- with nearly 100 old and new friends. We've read in barns in small, country venues, in restaurants and bars. We go where interest is.  Once this summer, we read a few snippets at a table in a rural restaurant near us in Nye, Montana, when someone asked.  Such an impromptu request is not to be ignored! (The woman said she'd just finished reading "Lilian's Last Dance" and wanted to hear my voice read a passage about the Montana cowboy who sweeps the French title character off her feet.) Red Lodge Books and Tea welcomed book lovers to a recent "Lilian...." reading. WE READ at a fancy cocktail party in Oakland, with a view of the Bay Bridge. We read at a country club in La Jolla, Calif., while well tanned and sleekly toned people munched canapes and planned plastic surgeries. We've read at several patio parties -- one in San Diego hosted by my Jazzercise teacher. We've read at libraries -- including Phoenix, Ariz., and Miles City, Montana -- and at several art galleries and museums, including the beautiful Big Horn County Historical Museum in Hardin. In Red Lodge, we met at Red Lodge Books and Tea, to a small but enthusiastic group who sipped herbal tea and enjoyed homemade muffins. AT THE recent Absarokee Cook-off, we were asked to set up a booth.  We did, and sold a couple dozen books, while people wandered about the food stalls set up on the street, sampling barbecue, sipping beer and  talking about haying and cattle. Sometimes our Yorkies, Nick and Nora, are invited to the readings.  Other times, we find sitters to watch them -- museum ticket takers and librarians have been accommodating. Let us know if we can read for your book club or civic group, by calling us at 406 661-2910, or writing: lilianslastdance@gmail.com

YEARS OF RESEARCH, TRAVEL, PLAYS AND MUSICALS INFORM NOVEL ABOUT EARLY DAYS OF 'THE TALKIES' Editor's note: This story first appeared in The Billings Outpost before the novel went out of print. Plans are underway for a second edition. Please stay tuned and let us know how many copies you'd like. By DAVID CRISP EDITOR, BILLINGS OUTPOST Above, Christene Meyers reads to fellow travelers aboard Celebrity's Millennium, one of a half-dozen readings delivered on ships. The following story first appeared in a respected Rocky Mountain newspaper, The Billings Outpost. It was picked up by the Last Best News, a nationally known on-line publication edited by award-winning writer Ed Kemmick featuring Montana news and interesting personalities. AFTER 40 years in journalism, Christene Meyers decided to start making things up. The result is her first novel, “Lilian’s Last Dance,” which she introduced to readers here as part of Big Read events in Billings. Writing the book was, she said in an interview, the hardest thing she has ever done. Bay Area writer and editor Kathleen Mohn introduces Christene Meyers at a reading in Oakland. Meyers is on an international tour for the novel. She read in Europe this fall and will travel to the Far East for readings in March. More of Meyers' writings at www.whereiscookie.com Meyers’ fluid writing style is well known to longtime Billings residents. A native of Columbus, she got her first byline in a children’s magazine when she was 14 years old. In high school, she contributed to a Billings (Montana) Gazette column that featured voices of area teenagers. That eventually led to a full-time job at the Gazette, where she started as a night police reporter, while going to college -- both Rocky Mountain College and the now Montana State University Billings. “I did all the major beats the paper had at the time,” she said. She gradually worked her way up to movie reviews, then she was for many years the arts and travel writer for the Gazette before retiring in 2004. She interviewed hundreds of internationally known actors, musicians and writers, and was active in many ways in the Billings arts community, spearheading the effort to save the Fox Theater, now the Alberta Bair Theater. For a fourth-generation Montanan from Columbus, the career choice was not as unusual as it might sound. Her parents gave their children music and dance lessons, plus boxing lessons for the boys so they could handle any kidding they got at school about it all. Her mother was an opera fan and musician, and Meyers began singing and tap dancing at age 2 or 3, belting out songs like “The Good Ship Lollipop” and “Oh, You Beautiful Doll.” At last week’s reading, she sat down at a piano to play a medley of original songs for a musical version of “Lilian’s Last Dance,” with Marian Booth Green providing the vocals. In later years, that love of culture translated into an inextinguishable urge to travel, a habit that paid off when it came time to take up fiction. The novel covers settings ranging from France to England, New York to California, with stops at most points in between, including a reference to Corsicana, Texas, a few miles from where this reporter’s ancestors grew up, and, of course, her native Montana. Meyers and William Jones Spent many years researching the novel. “Our research was meticulous,” she said. Meyers visited all those spots with her late husband, William Jones, who was a retired, well known film critic for the Arizona Republic before his death of cancer in 2005. “He went to that great theater in the sky,” she said. But right up until days before he died, sitting with an IV at a computer, he urged Meyers to finish their collaborative novel. They had put in too much work to give it up, he told her. He is listed as co-author of the novel, and Meyers said it was a true collaboration, an extension of ideas both had before meeting. They worked out the characters and plot together, she said, and there really is no way to tell now who gets credit for what parts. Meyers' grandma, Olive Nystul, played for the silent movies and helped inspire the Lilian character. Actually, the book’s roots go back even further. Meyers drew inspiration in part from a great aunt and from her grandmother, who refused to marry her grandfather until he raised $1,500nin 1912 —a huge sum in those days—and bought her a piano. Meyers and her first husband, Bruce Meyers, a poet and professor at Montana State University Billings until his death in 1992, began kicking around the idea of writing a musical about a Western woman sharpshooter, sort of “Annie Get Your Gun” but with a main character who was more worldly, more international and sexier than Annie Oakley. Later, Meyers and Jones took extensive notes on the novel, but she abandoned it for a time after Jones died. It was her second husband’s death and she needed time to heal. She resumed the book after a box of notes and floppy discs literally fell off an attic shelf and hit her current partner, photographer Bruce William Keller, in the head. Christene Meyers and her partner Bruce Keller In the Hollywood Hills during the final days of research for the novel. The finished novel is set around the turn of the last century, extending into World War I. It’s about an ambitious British-born film buff in the silent era, Walter Brown, who travels America showing short films and putting on vaudeville acts, trying to stay a step ahead of goons working for inventor Thomas Edison, who was attempting to squeeze out competitors in the motion picture business. Walter meets the lovely title character, a French woman named Lilian Dumont, and recruits her from Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show as an actress and sharpshooter. With the rest of Walter’s crew, they travel America and Europe, entertaining crowds with shooting and films, and gradually moving toward more ambitious work in early-day Hollywood. Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein are cameo characters in the novel, interacting with the fictional characters. Along the way they encounter bank robbers, gunfighters, journalists, lawmen, a Peruvian artist and dozens of other characters, including 22 cameo appearances by famous personages of the time: Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Bat Masterson, Lillian Gish and Buffalo Bill himself, among others. They bump into a range of disasters, including time on the front lines in World War I. It’s a picaresque tale for most of the way, and the detail may weary some readers, but eventually a love triangle develops—really more of a quadrangle. One of the characters is motivated more by revenge than by affection. From there the story gradually builds toward a rollicking climax, which won’t be revealed here except to note that guns blaze. Meyers' many global readings appear to delight listeners, and it may be that the book works better as a series of anecdotes than as a tightly plotted novel. Besides the book tour and classes, Meyers is taking courses at Sarah Lawrence in poetry and play writing, working on an eventual doctorate in poetry and playwriting. She writes a blog at  www.whereiscookie.com . She is working on the musical version of "Lilian's Last Dance," and splits her time between California and a Montana place near Nye. She still travels the world and attends the theater regularly. And she gives Writer's Voice workshops, inviting students to bring photos of ancestors. Her classes include exercises to encourage participants to trust one another. It’s just, she said, that she has a lot she wants to do "before I’m in my urn.” She even still does a little freelancing, she said, but is finding that she has to cut back. “I’m learning one small thing in my 60s,” she said, “that I can’t do everything.” Writer and editor David Crisp has worked for newspapers since 1979. He has been editor and publisher of the Billings Outpost since 1997. The Outpost is published every Thursday and is available free all over Billings and in nearby communities. The Last Best News is an independent online news site focusing on the culture, people and places of Billings and Eastern Montana. Its founder, Ed Kemmick began his newspaper career in 1980. “The Big Sky, By and By,” is his collection of journalism, essays and a short story. Available on Amazon or by contacting the author direct

Hollywood special effects master Andy Schoneberg and Christene Meyers at the dedication. Schoneberg did the bronze of Bruce Meyers. The three acted in several theatrical productions. Flanked by Andy Schoneberg's bronze of Bruce Kemp Meyers, his widow Christene "Cookie" Meyers welcomes an overflow crowd to the first of 10 "Bruce Bash" festivals honoring the late professor, in May of 1993. POET ALLEN GINSBERG HEADLINED GARDEN DEDICATION TO HONOR HIS ONE-TIME STUDENT Famed poet Allen Ginsberg christened the Bruce Meyers Poets'  Garden in May of 1993, singing, accompanying himself  on several instruments, appearing at Writer's Voice. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS ASSEMBLED, DIGITIZED By BRUCE KELLER ON A BALMY  spring day in May of 1993, poet Allen Ginsberg helped celebrate the life and legacy of Bruce Kemp Meyers. The famous beat poet paid homage to the popular actor and teacher who once took a workshop from him and taught his poetry for a quarter-century.  It was a day I'll never forget, full of talent, emotion and love. When my husband, Bruce Meyers, died suddenly of an aneurysm in February of 1992, I vowed to honor his life and contributions to culture and education in some unusual way. WE WERE in Las Vegas on President's Day weekend, about to interview and photograph Frank Sinatra when he developed chest pains.  He died in Las Vegas at Desert Springs Hospital on Flamingo Road, not far from where we were staying at our favorite Sands Hotel (imploded to make way for the Venetian.) As therapy, for 15 months after Bruce's death, I designed the Bruce Meyers Poets' Garden on the campus of Montana State University-Billings.  Bruce taught creative writing and English there for 25 years, after receiving his MFA at Kent State University and "going West, young man." Architect Ted Wirth, left, and then college president Bruce Carpenter confer as the Poets' Garden took shape. WE MET IN  1967, the same year he began his teaching career, at a dinner party hosted by his colleague and my friend Sue Hart, now also sadly gone.  Sue knew we were both musical and enjoyed acting and theater. She hoped we might hit it off.  She was right.  Our 25 years together included global travel and hundreds of plays. Together we acted and performed in more than Billings 50 productions, from "Cabaret" to "Our Town," "Man of La Mancha," "Play It Again, Sam" "Promises, Promises," "I Do! I Do!," "Annie," "The Pirates of Penzance" and many others at Billings Studio Theatre, der Schwartzwald Dinner Theatre and the old Fox, now the Alberta Bair Theater. Our endeavors helped raise the $6 million to save that building. Poet Allen Ginsberg with, from left, sisters Christene  Meyers, Robbie Townsley, Misha Minesinger. My musical family and our large circle of theater and arts-loving friends adored Bruce, so I had no trouble assembling a stellar cast 15 months after Bruce's death to christen the garden.  I designed it with the help of celebrated architect Ted Wirth, in consultation with Bruce Carpenter, president of the college and a member of the faculty poker club which met monthly, sometimes at our home. THE GARDEN  took shape, with Ted's creative design incorporating both formal and natural elements -- benches, river rocks, aspen trees, the aspen trees my late husband loved.  I wanted open areas and places for students and faculty to stroll, sit and ponder.  A grassy area would welcome professors and their classes to create art and writing, as Bruce had done with his students in that very spot for many years. The Cosgriffe clan assembled at Corby Skinner's home during a reception for poet Allen Ginsberg, who extended his Billings Writer's Voice stay to be part of the dedication.  I wanted poetry, Bruce's passion when he wasn't acting or teaching. Ted loved my idea of  incorporating engravings of several of the poems on marble and granite.  Sculptor Lyndon Pomeroy would create a metal sculpture of our beloved Airedale, Gandalf. Finally, I wanted a bust of Bruce.  I called our mutual friend, now noted Hollywood special effects wizard Andy Schoneberg to do the bronze. "It was an important way for me to say farewell to Bruce," Schoneberg recalls, explaining how the lifecast he'd made for Bruce was critical to his crafting of the bronze. Schoneberg's lifecast was used by Bruce for 17 performances of the Der Schwartzwald production of "Annie."  Bruce played the role of Daddy Warbucks and Schoneberg made a Corby Skinner and Christene Meyers finalize the introduction of poet Allen Ginsberg at the dedication of the Bruce Meyers Poets' Garden on the MSU-Billings campus, May, 1993. life cast to use in crafting a durable latex bald cap for Bruce’s character. "I used that cast later to take key measurements to sculpt the MSU-B bust," Schoneberg said in an interview. He is proud that the bust is on the Smithsonian Institution's Art Inventory. The Bruce Meyers Poets' Garden  photographed before flower planting this April. Geraniums petunias will follow. --photo courtesy MSU-B Foundation  AS THE DEDICATION  approached, family and friends made plans to fly in from all over the U.S. A wonderful ensemble of actors, poets, playwrights, singers, dancers and instrumentalists performed for a two-day fete, highlighted by Ginsberg's readings and musical presentations. Writer's Voice Billings liason Corby Skinner recalls, "He wanted to spend a couple days in Montana. We took him to a ranch, and had a wonderful reception at the Castle.  When he heard about the Bruce Meyers garden dedication, he immediately wanted to be part of it." On the "Godfather" trail in Savoca, Italy, are Cookie and Keller, aka Christene Meyers and Bruce Keller.  The town is still relatively quiet, but now relies on tourism  as well as farming for its income.  It also honors Coppola in a dramatic sculpture. UP NEXT:   Join us on the trail of "The Godfather," in Savoca, Italy, where  the Sicilian towns of Savoca and Forza d'Agro outside of Taormina were used for many of the scenes in Francis Ford Coppola's award winning film. Coppola is remembered fondly by the locals of this still quiet village, which stood in for Corleone, now much too developed to pass for the quiet little "Godfather" town depicted in the film. We'll visit Bar Vitelli and the church Michael was married in. Remember meanwhile to explore, learn and live, and catch us Fridays for a novel look at travel, the arts, family, health and nature.

Join veteran travel writer Cookie and photographer Keller on Where is Cookie?—a travel blog celebrating cruising, the arts, food, and cultural stories from around the world. 2 Million Views & Counting – Follow the Adventures of The Carpe Diem Kids Award-Winning Global Travel Blog by Cookie & Keller Inspiring Curated Adventures in Culture, Cruising, Theatre, and Nature Welcome to Where Is Cookie? , a globally followed travel and arts blog sharing inspiring journeys across 120+ countries. Follow award-winning writer Christene "Cookie" Meyers and photographer Bruce Keller as they cruise the world, explore hidden gems, attend cultural performances, and review top hotels and destinations. Whether you're a travel lover seeking expert advice or a tourism board looking for curated media exposure, you'll find travel tips, hotel reviews, theater guides, nature escapes, and more — all captured with authenticity, wit, and heart. ADVENTURE TRAVEL STORIES CRUISE REVIEWS & TIPS MUST-SEE MUSEUMS THEATRE, MUSIC & ARTS FAVORITE HOTELS & STAYS SCENIC TRAIN JOURNEYS TOP TRAVEL DESTINATIONS ABOUT US VIEW ALL POSTS As featured in About our Travel Blog Where Is Cookie? is a travel and lifestyle publication with 2+ million views, blending decades of journalism, photography, and global exploration. We share timely, trend-focused content that enriches and educates, making travel more accessible, fun, and meaningful. We’ve been featured in SD Voyager, Big Sky Journal, and more. All Posts (810) 810 posts Adventure (461) 461 posts Buses (5) 5 posts Culture (17) 17 posts Cruising (137) 137 posts Destinations (96) 96 posts Family (6) 6 posts Food (194) 194 posts Holidays (3) 3 posts Hotels (77) 77 posts Museums (31) 31 posts Music (15) 15 posts Personal History (7) 7 posts Theater (171) 171 posts Trains (16) 16 posts Travel (423) 423 posts Tours (27) 27 posts Cookie's latest Lillian (0) 0 posts Guy Fawkes Day Guy Fawkes Day celebrates a plot's failure with bonfires, fireworks, Adventure Christene Meyers 3 days ago 3 min read Halloween, sacred days abroad blend religious traditions, pagan fun, new and old customs A pumpkin carving contest on Queen Mary 2, offered a mix of spooky and amusing results, some irreverent, some ghoulish. Travelers find Halloween displays along with Day of the Dead and All Saints Day decor in hotels in Europe, Mexico, and other countries around the world as autumn holidays and celebrations merge and overlap. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER "The Carpe Diem Kids" ALL THE WORLD seems to enjoy a celebration, be it pagan inspired or religious bas Culture Keller Keller Oct 30 3 min read Autumn in New York: colors, sunshine, fewer crowds -- time to relish the city's fall splendor Autumn in New York with Cookie Culture Keller Keller Oct 23 2 min read VANCOUVER'S BIG BUS HAS LARGE PERSONALITY, FUN TOUR OPTIONS Lovely Vancouver is best seen by Big Bus if you're there only briefly. It's a great option for an entertaining overview and if you have a bit more leisure time, it's a great way to get a taste and overview of a city. Editor's Note: Today, we debut our new website. It makes it easier for you, our cherished readers, to find information on cities, tours, activities, cruises, trains, performance, special events in your area, parks, nature preserves and the lively mix of stories Tours Keller Keller Oct 16 3 min read 1 2 3 4 5 "Lilian's Last Dance" (14) 14 posts Adventure (437) 437 posts Airlines (17) 17 posts Alaska (1) 1 post Animals (10) 10 posts Aquariums (4) 4 posts Architecture (213) 213 posts Art (340) 340 posts Australia (2) 2 posts Birds (7) 7 posts Boats (7) 7 posts Books and Poetry (2) 2 posts Breaking News (17) 17 posts Bus Tours (1) 1 post California (130) 130 posts California's Best (82) 82 posts Caribbean (3) 3 posts Comedy (1) 1 post Concerts (42) 42 posts Cooking (2) 2 posts Cruising (148) 148 posts Culture (76) 76 posts Dance (12) 12 posts Desert (1) 1 post Dining (15) 15 posts Dogs (1) 1 post Down Syndrome (12) 12 posts Drama (1) 1 post Education (2) 2 posts Environment (1) 1 post Europe (22) 22 posts Family (86) 86 posts Famous Cities and Towns (389) 389 posts Festivals (4) 4 posts Film (1) 1 post Fireworks (1) 1 post Fitness (84) 84 posts Florida (5) 5 posts Food Tours (1) 1 post Food and Drink (218) 218 posts Fourth of July (1) 1 post France (1) 1 post Friends (1) 1 post Friendship (1) 1 post Gambling (17) 17 posts Gardens (5) 5 posts Globe Trotting (16) 16 posts Grand Hotels (2) 2 posts Hawaii (24) 24 posts Health (19) 19 posts Heritage (10) 10 posts History (87) 87 posts Holidays and Celebrations (114) 114 posts Hollywood (1) 1 post Hotels (75) 75 posts Illness and Accidents (22) 22 posts Interlude (5) 5 posts Islands (2) 2 posts Landmarks (1) 1 post Landscape (2) 2 posts Literature (1) 1 post Loved Ones (56) 56 posts Marine Life (2) 2 posts Media (2) 2 posts Memorials (1) 1 post Mental Health (110) 110 posts Montana (153) 153 posts Movies (33) 33 posts Museums (18) 18 posts Music (114) 114 posts Native People (1) 1 post Natural World (264) 264 posts Nature (67) 67 posts New York (8) 8 posts Oceans (2) 2 posts On the Road (6) 6 posts Opera (1) 1 post Parks (13) 13 posts Performance (27) 27 posts Personal History (279) 279 posts Personalities (4) 4 posts Pets (45) 45 posts Politics (1) 1 post Pop Culture (2) 2 posts Restaurants (2) 2 posts River Life (2) 2 posts Road Tripping (312) 312 posts Romance (114) 114 posts Rome (1) 1 post Sailing (59) 59 posts San Diego (138) 138 posts Sea (1) 1 post Ships (1) 1 post Show Business (31) 31 posts Special Needs Child (12) 12 posts Sports (1) 1 post Technology (1) 1 post The Arts (4) 4 posts Theater (185) 185 posts Touring (17) 17 posts Tourism (1) 1 post Tragedy (1) 1 post Trains (9) 9 posts Transplantation (2) 2 posts Transportation (6) 6 posts Travel (577) 577 posts Volunteers (1) 1 post Walking Tours (1) 1 post Water Adventure (2) 2 posts Water Sports (1) 1 post Western History (3) 3 posts Whale Watching (1) 1 post Wildlife (146) 146 posts Winter (1) 1 post Youth (1) 1 post Work With Us Want to Feature Your Destination or Hotel? 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Meet Cookie & Keller — award-winning travel writer and photographer duo sharing global travel stories, cruise reviews, arts coverage, and cultural insights. ABOUT US Meet Cookie & Keller – Travel Writers, Photographers, and Global Explorers “Cookie and Keller” are the creative duo behind WhereIsCookie.com — a global travel and arts blog sharing curated adventures, cultural stories, cruise reviews, and travel tips from around the world. Christene “Cookie” Meyers is an award-winning travel writer who has explored 119 countries and been passionate about travel since her first transatlantic crossing as a child. Bruce Keller, a lifelong explorer and talented photographer, grew up traveling Europe with his military family and began capturing the world through a lens while teaching scuba diving in the Red Sea. Together, they created this blog to showcase their work and inspire others to explore with purpose, passion, and perspective. Our Focus: Travel with Purpose and Perspective We believe that travel and the arts inform every aspect of our lives — shaping how we think, connect, and grow. This shared passion inspires us to explore and write about destinations across Europe, South America, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Antarctica, and the U.S. Through our blog, we celebrate the transformative power of travel, cultural storytelling, live performance, visual art, nature, and meaningful global encounters. What We Do At Where Is Cookie?, we bring the world of travel, culture, and the arts to life through engaging stories, interviews, and photography. Our work includes: Interviews & Features – Conversations with actors, playwrights, directors, pilots, ship captains, artists, musicians, museum curators, composers, dancers, and street performers. Photography & Storytelling – Insightful photos paired with lively critiques and recommendations drawn from our lifelong passion for theater, music, and cultural history. Iconic Venues & Museums – Coverage of world-class destinations such as the Prado, Louvre, Van Gogh Museum, and MoMA, alongside intimate galleries and regional cultural treasures. Performing Arts Coverage – From opera houses and jazz clubs to ballet, flamenco, classical, rock, and ragtime performances, we showcase both world-renowned and emerging talent. Spotlighting Artists Worldwide – Highlighting everything from internationally celebrated performers at the Metropolitan Opera to gifted musicians and creators at Montana’s Tippet Rise Art Center. Through these experiences, we share the stories that make travel richer — blending the arts, culture, and authentic local encounters in every journey. Our Experience We cover everything from cruising and train travel to performance venues, cultural events, nature escapes, and boutique properties. Our lively stories and photo essays often include: 20+ cruise lines and boat tour offerings (and counting) More than 150 cities across 119 countries Travel by plane, train, ship, and car — always with an eye for cultural discovery Each destination is approached with artistic insight, emphasizing unique local experiences, meaningful encounters, and practical travel advice for seasoned and first-time travelers alike. Our Background Christene “Cookie” Meyers is an award-winning journalist and accomplished musician, novelist, poet, and musical arranger with a lifelong passion for the arts and cultural storytelling. Her partner, Bruce Keller, is an award-winning photographer, sailor, and deep-sea diver who draws on a long career in engineering and building to create striking, artfully composed images that bring their stories to life. Together, Cookie and Keller form a creative team — both professionally and personally — whose work blends vivid travel writing, cultural insight, and world-class photography. Their features spotlight theater, parks, gardens, nature preserves, adventure destinations, and family-friendly attractions across the globe. They have traveled to 111 countries, and toured 11 U.S. states and 9 countries with their historical novel, Lilian’s Last Dance , available on Kindle and Amazon. A memoir chronicling a life of travel, learning, and surprise is currently in progress. When not traveling, Cookie and Keller split their time between Southern California and Montana’s Beartooth Mountains — finding inspiration both at home and abroad. Kudos Cookie and Keller have been internationally published as travel and arts journalists for decades. Their bylines appear in: San Francisco Examiner Chicago Tribune Big Sky Journal Western Art and Architecture Airline magazines Museum and gallery publications Many leading travel guides They have also been recognized as featured speakers, writing coaches, and cultural ambassadors — known for blending their storytelling with humor, history, and heart. Want to collaborate, feature your destination, or hire us as travel consultants? Contact us at whereiscookienow@gmail.com or click here to reach out.

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