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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Advice for Beginning Writers
I’m preparing to give a presentation for The Story Center, which is part of the Mid-Continent Public Library in the Kansas City area. The Story Center offers a storytelling certification program for both writers and oral storytellers. One of the requirements of the certification program is to attend a session […]
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Home-Schooling with Historical Fiction
I’ve learned most of my history through historical fiction. Not all, but most of it. Even back in grade-school days, I read a lot of historical fiction—the Little House series, Caddie Woodlawn, What Katy Did, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Anne of Green […]
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Writing Historical Fiction: My Odd Research Topics, Including Murder
Many authors these days have very strange browsing histories. Writers of thrillers have to research espionage, weapons, and clandestine operations. Fantasy writers delve deeply into the legends of wizards and dragons and vampires (not my cup of tea). As for me, in addition to the basic timelines and geography of […]
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First Methodist Church in Oregon City—A Setting in My Novels
In my about-to-be-published novel, My Hope Secured, several scenes take place in or around the Methodist Church in Oregon City. This church was also a setting in one of my earlier novels, Now I’m Found. I imagine my characters in worship services, hearing marriage banns read (though the reading of banns […]
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An Interview About My Writing and Books
One of the things writers have to do is market their books. This blog is one form of marketing, though I also post to preserve my memories for succeeding generations and to reflect on the world around me. But, from time to time, I have to focus on marketing. Recently, […]
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Haunting Book: The Orchardist, by Amanda Coplin
Not everyone will be haunted by The Orchardist, by Amanda Coplin, but I was. I was first haunted by the setting. This novel takes place on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, in the fruit-growing region of the state around Wenatchee. I’ve driven through the Wenatchee […]
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Houses in Oregon in the 1840s and 1850s
I keep finding new topics that I need to research as I write my historical novels. While I am finishing my current work-in-progress, I am also starting to think about my next book. That next book will begin in 1850, but I don’t yet know how long its timeline will […]
Continue readingI Have Another Guest Post on “A Writer of History”
M.K. Tod offered me another opportunity last week to have a guest post on her blog, A Writer of History. I wrote about the lessons I’ve learned in the last ten years on writing a novel. These were the lessons I presented during my session at the Arrow Rock Writing […]
Continue readingBlack History: Hidden Figures and The Underground Railroad
In recognition of Black History Month, this last post in February is about two experiences I’ve had this month related to African-American history. At the start of the month, I saw the movie, Hidden Figures, based on the non-fiction book, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of […]
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