My next novel will include scenes with Winema Riddle, a Native American woman who lived in Oregon in the 19th century. She served as an interpreter between the Army and the Modoc tribe during the Modoc War in 1872-73. Although best known as Winema Riddle, this Modoc woman took many […]
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2023 Romance Genre Con at Woodneath Library
I’ve written before about the Woodneath Branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library and The Story Center located in this facility. This and the many other libraries in Kansas City are wonderful resources for our community. For the past several years, the Woodneath library has sponsored a Romance Genre Conference (known […]
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Portland, Oregon, Fires in 1872 and 1873: Plot Points for My Next Novel
Some of my novels have followed historical events quite closely, and others are almost entirely fiction. For example, Lead Me Home follows the route of an actual wagon train quite closely, Now I’m Found features a section on the California Constitutional Convention, and Safe Thus Far follows an actual Oregon […]
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Reflections on the 2023 Historical Novel Society Conference
I attended the Historical Novel Society North America conference last week. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend in person in San Antonio. But I listened to many of the virtual presentations, and I downloaded materials from others. I have 90 days to watch the presentations I couldn’t watch live, […]
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WHEN HEART SHALL FAIL Is Published!
It’s finally published! When Heart Shall Fail is now available on Amazon (paperback and ebook) and Barnes & Noble (ebook only). This novel seemed to take forever to edit, but I am really happy about the final product. I hope readers are as well. I am grateful to all my […]
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The New Northwest: A Platform Advocating for Women’s Suffrage
As readers of this blog know, I have included Abigail Scott Duniway, a historical Oregon pioneer, as a character in my last two novels, and I intend to include her in my next novel. She moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1871, in order to start a newspaper, The New Northwest, […]
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Granddaughter Trumps Blog
My granddaughter paid me a visit this past weekend (with her parents), so I haven’t had much chance to write a blog post. And, while I took enough pictures to post a photo blog, her parents have forbidden me to upload any pictures to the internet. So all you get […]
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Update on My Novel (post-beta readers)
The last time I wrote about my work-in-progress, I was just sending it out to beta readers. That was about three months ago. Most of the readers were prompt in their responses, and their feedback was very helpful. I solicited beta readers for this book earlier than I have most […]
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Etymology in Historical Fiction: Suffragists v. Suffragettes
My first exposure to the term “suffragette” was in the song “Sister Suffragette” in the Mary Poppins movie, which I saw when I was eight or nine. I can still see Glynis Johns strutting through her front hall as she sang “Cast off the shackles of yesterday!Shoulder to shoulder into […]
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Can ChatGPT (or Any Other AI System) Write a Novel?
ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) programs are the subject of many media articles and much discussion in the writing community. Some writers see the possibility of AI programs helping them to research and draft. Other writers are appalled that AI programs develop their knowledge base and fluency with language […]
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