I’ve written before about the Great Migration of 1843—the first large wagon train along the Oregon Trail. This was the first organized company to take wagons to Oregon from Missouri. That year, over 700 people set out for Oregon, transported in more than 100 wagons. Men like Jesse Applegate, Peter […]
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A Visit to the National World War I Museum and Memorial
Kansas City is home to the National World War I Museum and Memorial, which is, according to its website, “America’s only museum dedicated to sharing the stories of the Great War through the eyes of those who lived it.” My husband and I have visited the museum several times, and […]
Continue readingThe Great-Grandmother I Know the Most About: Cecelia Ryan Strachan
I never knew my great-grandmother Cecelia Ryan Strachan, my maternal grandmother’s mother. In fact, Cecelia died before my mother was born, so my mother never knew this grandmother either. But I can piece together some facts about Cecelia’s life, from family stories and from Sacramento newspaper articles and histories. That’s […]
Continue readingInsomnia and Train Whistles
A few nights ago I was awake in the middle of the night, one of those nights when I could not sleep. About 1:38 am, I heard a train whistle cry mournfully through the dark. And I got to thinking about all the train whistles I’ve heard through the years. […]
Continue readingThe Oregon Donation Land Claim Act and Marriage
I wrote back in October 2015 about the Oregon land laws in the 1840s, and in that post I mentioned the Oregon Donation Land Claim Act (known as the Donation Land Law), which was passed by Congress on September 27, 1850. My current work-in-progress takes place in late 1850 and […]
Continue readingWhat Happened in Oregon City in 1850-52? Researching My Work-in-Progress
My current work-in-progress takes place mostly in the Oregon City area, beginning in October 1850. I think the novel’s timeline will take me into 1852, but I don’t know for sure yet. When I did the research for Now I’m Found, which was set in Oregon and California between 1848 […]
Continue readingA Chat About Frontier Travel With Gar LaSalle, Author of the WIDOW WALK Saga
Last summer I had the opportunity to chat with Gar LaSalle, who, like me, writes historical fiction about the West. Scott James of Solipsis Publishing moderated our conversation, and the audio and transcript are now available on Gar’s blog. The audio will give you the flavor of our conversation more […]
Continue readingUpdates to LEAD ME HOME: The Fremont Expeditions and Pheasants
In addition to putting the finishing touches on Forever Mine this month, I have also made a few updates in Lead Me Home, the first novel I wrote about travel along the Oregon Trail. These two novels both involve characters traveling in the same wagon company in 1847, so part […]
Continue readingDarkest Hour: Reflections on Leadership and Words
I love going to the movies, but I don’t do it much these days. I feel like I should spend the time with the characters in my head, rather than with someone else’s characters on a screen. But this past weekend, friends and I went to see Darkest Hour about […]
Continue readingThe Charles Preuss Maps of the Oregon Trail
In Lead Me Home, and again in my about-to-be-published novel Forever Mine, I make frequent mention of what my characters call “the Frémont maps.” In fact, these maps were created by Charles Preuss, a German cartographer who accompanied John Frémont on his explorations of the West in 1842 and 1843. […]
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