Marybeth Bond and Jeff Greenwald on the Tsunami

The Tsunami reports are shaking everyone. But in the Travelers’ Tales family, it’s been the most difficult for author Marybeth Bond. Marybeth is our best-selling author of Gutsy Women and award-winning editor of A Woman’s World, A Woman’s Passion for Travel, A Woman’s Europe, and the upcoming A Woman’s Asia.

Larry passed word to us over the weekend that she and her family had just checked out of a beachfront hotel in Thailand that was later destroyed. It was an incredibly close call and they are glad to be alive. I just got off the phone with her was happy to hear her voice. It took them 54 hours to get home and she is tired, but well. Catch her story tonight on ABC Channel 7 in the Bay Area at 6pm, or on CNN tomorrow morning at 745am PST.

And yesterday I heard that Jeff Greenwald was on his way to Sri Lanka as a field volunteer with Mercy Corps. He will be a a communications director: shooting film and video, writing stories, and serving as a liaison with the international press. Jeff will be sending reports when possible and they will be available on Ethical Traveler and ThingsAsian. Jeff will also be writing for Salon.com.

“The countries affected by this global disaster have been a second home to me for many years. It is my pleasure and a deep personal need to repay, in tiny part, the kindnesses they have imparted to me. I hope you will share in my reports from the field.”

Meanwhile, Rolf has asked everyone to give 10% of their December earnings and to travel to Thailand. I bet that he is frustrated to be in New Orleans right now, and you can read his post here.

And if you’re wondering if the tsunami will change careers for travel writers, check out the discussion on Travelwriters.com

(I’ll get to doing book links later, folks. Running out of battery.)