In addition to our 35th wedding anniversary, I have another 35th this year – thirty-five years of wearing contacts. I began wearing glasses as a child, and switched to contacts in the summer of 1977. My opthamologist that summer first tried me in soft lenses. They were easy to wear, […]
Continue readingAfter South Pass, the Parting of the Ways
By the middle of July, the Oregon emigrants in the 1840s hoped to have crossed the Continental Divide. Most of them crossed through South Pass. Native Americans had known of this route through the Rocky Mountains for centuries, but it was “discovered” by John Jacob Astor’s fur traders in 1812. […]
Continue readingThe Dailiness of Writing
When I first decided to spend my time writing, I read everything I could on writing. Five years later, I still try every few months to read a book on some writing technique or on what other writers say about life as a writer. Most recently, I read Making a […]
Continue readingWriter’s Block, Mrs. Tuller, and Real Life
I’ve been stuck a few times while writing my historical novels. My characters got into situations and I didn’t know how to get them out. When that happened, I brought in Mrs. Tuller. Mrs. Tuller is one of the main characters in my Oregon Trail books. She is the wife […]
Continue readingWriter’s Block, Mrs. Tuller, and Real Life
I’ve been stuck a few times while writing my historical novels. My characters got into situations and I didn’t know how to get them out. When that happened, I brought in Mrs. Tuller. Mrs. Tuller is one of the main characters in my Oregon Trail books. She is the wife […]
Continue readingPie Week, Pi Day, and Gooseberry Pie
Last week was Pie Week, I learned on National Public Radio. Why Pie Week in the U.S. is in July, I have no idea – I didn’t catch that on NPR. The British celebrated Pie Week March 5-11 this year, which at least is closer to Pi Day (March 14). […]
Continue readingIndependence Day at Independence Rock
Emigrants to Oregon in the 1840s knew that if they reached Independence Rock (located in what is now central Wyoming) by Independence Day, they had a good chance of beating the snows in the Western mountains. Independence Rock, 800 miles from the Missouri River, was a huge landmark along the […]
Continue readingI have another post up on Write Brain Trust, listing all the books that this wonderful writing group has published in the past year, including my own Family Recipe. Check out these books by Kansas City area writers.
Continue readingFred Geary Woodcuts: A Window Into History Feeds Today’s Imagination
I happened upon an exhibit of Fred Geary’s woodcuts at the Kansas City Public Library’s Central Branch earlier this week. It was another example of how writing historical fiction has changed my perspective on the world. (See my earlier post on reading a newspaper article about modern gold panning.) Geary’s woodcuts […]
Continue readingArachnophobia and Love Revisited
The spiders are back already. After a mild winter and a hot spring and start to summer in the Midwest, they are creeping out of the attic earlier this year and bigger than ever. So I thought I would post my essay, Arachnophobia and Love, from my Family Recipe book. I hope […]
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