Memories of a Flat Tire
I’ve written before about the odd things that can trigger memory. I had another such experience last week. I drove to a meeting on a foggy morning after a snowstorm past a grove of red cedar trees. They are called red cedars, but they are actually members of the juniper family. But whatever they are, they […]
Research for My Next Historical Novel: Oregon in 1864
One of my goals for 2020 is to research Oregon history for my next historical novel. The characters of the book I’m planning will be the same families as in my earlier Oregon Chronicles novels, though I’m sure new characters will demand to be included as well! Part of the fun of writing is seeing […]
Learning To Ski (the Next Generation)
I’ve written before about my first experience skiing. I hated it, though I later learned to tolerate skiing, and even to enjoy it when the base was deep, the weather above freezing, and the skies clear. By contrast, my daughter couldn’t wait for her first time skiing. I think she was about five. There is […]
On Choices, Priorities, and Consequences
As my children were growing up, I told them frequently, “You have to make choices in life.” When my daughter wanted to play two sports, I told her she had to choose one sport per season, because I didn’t have time to cart her to more than one set of practices. She still blames me […]
My Basement Office in Winter
I have discovered one drawback to having my office in the basement of our new home. Make that, “on the lower level,” in the vernacular of modern real estate. Heaven forbid that a house be saddled with such a dreary component as a basement. Particularly when it is a walkout basement. The drawback to my […]
Thoughts on Entering the Third Decade of the Third Millennium
It boggled my mind when I realized last week ago that this is the third decade of the third millennium CE. I know some people will quibble that the third decade doesn’t really begin until 2021. Twenty years ago, we debated whether the third millennium started in 2000 or 2001. But for me, the new […]
Five Years Without a Sky Above Me
My father died five years ago yesterday, on January 5, 2015. His death was sudden—I’d spoken to him the day before, and I’d had emails from him that morning. My brother talked to him that evening as our dad decided to go to the hospital because of some abdominal pain. Dad arrested in the hospital […]
My Performance Review for 2019 and Writing Goals for 2020
Happy New Year! A year ago, on January 2, 2019, I posted my performance review for 2018 and listed goals for 2019. So how did I do this past year? My 2019 goals were To publish my fourth historical novel. My Hope Secured was published in late October, so I succeeded in this goal, despite […]
Another Trip to the Nelson-Atkins: California Gold Rush Daguerreotypes
I’ve written before about viewing exhibits at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. I was there again shortly before Christmas, this time to see a temporary exhibit of daguerreotypes taken of miners and locations associated with the California Gold Rush. Since this was the subject of my novel, Now I’m Found, I considered […]
MERRY CHRISTMAS! . . . Excerpts From My Latest Novel
My latest novel, My Hope Secured, featured scenes of two family Christmases. One Christmas celebration depicted Hannah Bramwell at her brother’s home in Oregon City. The other showed Zeke Pershing at his father’s farmhouse outside of town. Neither character enjoyed their holiday festivities. Here is a description of Hannah’s Christmas: Christmas dinner in the Bramwell […]