ON HIATUS FOR JULY
I have been blogging regularly since early 2012. In over six years, I think I have only taken one short Christmas break. But this month I have too many obligations to post regularly. Therefore, I am putting the blog on hiatus until August. I am taking my own Independence Day (well, call it an “independence […]
Early Roads and Railroads in Oregon in the 1850s
As I write my fourth historical novel about the West, I’m finding more and more things I need to research. Researching travel along the Oregon Trail itself was easy by comparison—all I needed to do was to decide on a route, describe the landmarks and the difficulties of daily life, and let my characters react […]
A Not So Random Photo: My Parents’ 20th Anniversary
On June 25, 1975, for my parents’ twentieth anniversary, I gave them a photographer’s sitting to have a family portrait made. It was the first time we had had a formal family picture taken, and, except for later weddings, the only formal portrait I can recall. The sitting cost me twenty dollars. I remember going […]
Always Go to the Funeral
I was reminded recently of something my daughter taught me. It’s nice to have children who are mature enough to teach their parents life lessons. Both my children came home for their uncle’s funeral in May. Actually, my daughter had been visiting, and merely had to extend her visit by a day to attend the […]
Random Photo of My Dad Fishing
I’ve mentioned before that my father was usually the photographer in our family. That means there aren’t too many pictures of him taken on his camera. Occasionally, someone would snap a photo of him, but many of the pictures we have of him were taken by rank amateurs and are blurry or poorly framed or […]
Another Treasure: Photo of My Husband’s Relatives, 1950
Last summer when I cleaned out a cupboard, I found some treasures. One treasure was a picture of my husband’s parents, paternal grandparents, aunt and uncle from the Marshall Democrat-News. The picture was republished in the January 24, 1989, edition of that local newspaper. I found it in an envelope from my husband’s great-aunt, so […]
My Thanks to Joan Stewart (The Publicity Hound)
In May 2017, I attended the Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. conference in Oklahoma City. I’ve attended the conference several times, and always get something good out of it. My needs as a writer have changed over the last ten years since I first attended, but there’s enough at the OWFI conference for raw beginners, developing […]
The Best Book Club Ever
I am one of the moderators for a Facebook page called Read Local Kansas City, which aims to build a relationship between authors and readers in the Kansas City area. Recently, the page posted a spotlight on book clubs, linking to an article that offered tips for facilitating book club discussions. As I read that […]
A Poll: What Do Readers Want to Read in My Newsletter?
I started a monthly newsletter a year ago, sending out my first email on June 1, 2017. I’ve published a newsletter issue on the first of each month since then. Many readers of this blog also subscribe to my newsletter. I’m currently taking a brief survey of readers to see how I can improve my […]
The Santa Fe Trail at Stanhope, Missouri: Historical and Family Significance
A few weeks ago, my husband and I were driving through Saline County in the farmland around Marshall, Missouri. His family owns land in the county, and although they have lived in town for a couple of generations now, they still speak of “going to the country” when they drive out to inspect how their […]