Last week I attended my first Historical Novel Society conference. I’ve been to other writing conferences in the past, but this was special, because historical fiction writers are my tribe. The conference was virtual, and the sessions were recorded and will be posted for attendees to review, so I have […]
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William S. Ladd: Tycoon in 1860s Oregon
One of the story lines in the novel I am working on now involves a businessman in 1864 seeking to increase his investments in the burgeoning new state of Oregon. Readers of my earlier novels will remember Caleb (Mac) McDougall. As he explores his business opportunities, it seems that every […]
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Byron Pengra and the Oregon Central Military Road
Once the emigrants to Oregon survived the plains and the Rockies, they still had to traverse Oregon Territory. I’ve written before about some of their choice—raft down the Columbia River, take the Barlow Road around Mount Hood, or take the Applegate Trail to the south then up the Willamette Valley. […]
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An Update on My Work-in-Progress, and a Peek at a Possible Cover Image
In my monthly newsletter, I usually update readers on the status of my work-in-progress, but I haven’t posted about it on this blog in several months. (So subscribe to my newsletter!) My story is progressing, albeit slowly. I drafted the whole story during NaNoWriMo last November, ending the month with […]
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Interview and Book Review: PARIS IN RUINS, by M.K. Tod
I’m always curious about the reasons other historical fiction writers are drawn to the genre. I have friends who write about Kansas City’s past and others who write about places they have traveled (France, Mongolia, and Hong Kong, for example). M.K. Tod’s latest novel, Paris in Ruins, is set in […]
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Abigail Scott Dunaway: First Suffragette in Oregon
In recognition of Women’s History Month, this post is about the beginning of the women’s suffrage movement in Oregon, with a focus on Abigail Scott Dunaway, known as Oregon’s “Mother of Equal Suffrage.” I came across Abigail Dunaway in researching prominent women in early Oregon. Abigail was born in Illinois […]
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Colonel Charles Drew and the 1864 Treaty With the Klamath Indian Tribes
My current work-in-progress is set during the Civil War in Oregon. The Civil War was a factor in Oregon politics, but of more pressing concern to many of the citizens of Oregon were conflicts between whites and Native Americans. As emigrants to Oregon moved from the Willamette Valley into other […]
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Goals for 2021, Weekly Posts, and Hoping for a Better Year Ahead
Despite the awfulness of 2020, I got a lot accomplished. I wrote most of a novel, edited it, published it, and drafted another novel during NaNoWriMo. As the year ends, I’m about a quarter of the way through my first edit of this new work-in-progress—which will be my seventh novel. […]
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My 900th Post: What Should I Do Differently on This Blog?
WordPress tells me this is my 900th post on this blog. At an average of around 500 words/post, that’s 450,000 words, or about four novels. As I wrote in my last post, it takes me 16-20 hours a month to write two posts per week, and I could probably write […]
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Will I Do NaNoWriMo Again?
Forgive me one more post on NaNoWriMo. Now that it’s over, I’ve been asking myself whether I should do it again some year. Although there are some NaNoWriMo groupies who do it every year, I don’t think I’m one of them. In fact, I’m not sure I will ever participate […]
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