As I write this, I am visiting family in Washington State, not too far from the end point of the Oregon Trail. I left my home in Kansas City, Missouri, very near Independence – one of several jumping off points for the early emigrants. The rainy spring weather in the […]
Continue reading“Family Recipe” anthology now available!
My book Family Recipe: Sweet and saucy stories, essays and poems about family life has now been published by Rickover Publishing. The paperback is available through CreateSpace Amazon And the ebook is available in two formats: Kindle (MOBI) Nook (EPUB) This book would make a wonderful accompaniment to an Easter basket […]
Continue readingAchieving our Dreams by Telling Our Stories . . . to Ourselves and Our Loved Ones
I’ve recently read two articles that made me think about the importance of telling our stories to ourselves and to our close family members. If we don’t talk about our dreams, how can our loved ones support us? The first article I saw was a blogpost by Mary Jo Asmus of […]
Continue readingFour Tips for Writing Scenes with Many Characters
On a LinkedIn writing group board recently, someone asked how to write a scene in a novel with many characters arguing about an emotional business decision. I’ve been in meetings like that, so I understood the problem both as a participant and as a writer. It is difficult to write […]
Continue readingTools for Writing Historical Fiction
Writing descriptions is not something that comes naturally to me. I much prefer writing dialogue. But when writing historical fiction, writing about place is critical. In my historical novels, I have to recreate a world that disappeared long before the lifetimes of my readers. How have I found information about […]
Continue readingStories Are the Heart and Soul of Communication
Heidi Cohen writes a good blog offering Practical Marketing Advice. Her February 13 post, 13 Ways Stories Support Social Media Marketing, contains good information for writers. Heidi says that stories are the heart and soul of social media, but I would argue stories are the heart and soul of any […]
Continue readingMy “Family Recipe” anthology coming soon!
My anthology of short stories, essays and poems will be published and available soon. Here is a sample essay, “Normally Dysfunctional,” which was first published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: All in the Family. I hope you enjoy it. Normally Dysfunctional “At least you’re not my real mother!” My daughter’s […]
Continue readingTwo Ends of the Trail
I’ve lived at both ends of the Oregon Trail. I grew up in eastern Washington State, near the site of the Whitman Mission. The story of the Whitman Massacre was part of my childhood. I now live in Kansas City, Missouri, near Independence — one of the main jumping off […]
Continue readingWhat is Story?
This blog is about story and history — my story, the stories in my historical and contemporary writing, and the stories of the world as it was and is. The French word “histoire” can be used to mean both fictional story and factual history. What does it say about the writer […]
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