I have discovered one drawback to having my office in the basement of our new home. Make that, “on the lower level,” in the vernacular of modern real estate. Heaven forbid that a house be saddled with such a dreary component as a basement. Particularly when it is a walkout […]
Continue readingCategory Archives: Writing
My Performance Review for 2019 and Writing Goals for 2020
Happy New Year! A year ago, on January 2, 2019, I posted my performance review for 2018 and listed goals for 2019. So how did I do this past year? My 2019 goals were To publish my fourth historical novel. My Hope Secured was published in late October, so I […]
Continue reading
Another Trip to the Nelson-Atkins: California Gold Rush Daguerreotypes
I’ve written before about viewing exhibits at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. I was there again shortly before Christmas, this time to see a temporary exhibit of daguerreotypes taken of miners and locations associated with the California Gold Rush. Since this was the subject of my novel, […]
Continue reading
MERRY CHRISTMAS! . . . Excerpts From My Latest Novel
My latest novel, My Hope Secured, featured scenes of two family Christmases. One Christmas celebration depicted Hannah Bramwell at her brother’s home in Oregon City. The other showed Zeke Pershing at his father’s farmhouse outside of town. Neither character enjoyed their holiday festivities. Here is a description of Hannah’s Christmas: […]
Continue reading
Tips from Yet Another Writing Conference
I wrote last year about attending the writing conference at Johnson County Library. I was there again last month for the 2019 Writing Conference. In somewhat arbitrary categories, here are my favorite tips from the conference this year: ON WRITING: 1: Writing is work. If you show up and spend […]
Continue readingMurders in Oregon Territory: History Is Stranger Than Fiction
I’ve written before that my ancestor, Cyrenus Hooker, was the first person murdered in Polk County, Oregon. His murder took place in February 1852. I recently came across an article about another killing that took place in May 1852, when Nimrod O’Kelly fatally shot Jeremiah Mahoney in Benton County, Oregon, […]
Continue reading
LEAD ME HOME: Missouri Author Project 2019 Adult Fiction Winner
I received an early holiday present this year. In mid-November, I learned that my novel Lead Me Home was selected as the 2019 winner in the Missouri Author Project adult fiction contest. Earlier this year, I came across Jane Friedman’s suggestion that indie authors consider listing their books in SELF-e, […]
Continue reading
Podcasts and Exercise
I do not like to exercise. I recognize the necessity, but I just don’t enjoy it. Several of my family members are work-out fanatics, including my husband and daughter. But they have not convinced me sweating is fun. I used to force myself to exercise by participating in a class. […]
Continue reading
Learning to Dictate, Then and Now
I have a love-hate relationship with dictating. I think best with a pen in my hand, and second-best with my fingers on a keyboard. Far behind comes turning my thoughts into spoken words. As a law student and young attorney, I had to write many memos and legal briefs. Most […]
Continue reading
Back to Beginnings: My Next Writing Project
Perhaps it seems odd that I just announced the publication of my last novel, My Hope Secured, a week ago, and now I’m writing about beginning another novel. But the only way I know to improve as a writer is to keep writing. It’s a very different feeling facing a […]
Continue reading