How Were Wagon Companies to the Oregon Territory Formed?
I’m writing another book about the emigrants to Oregon in 1847 who traveled in the wagon company I created for Lead Me Home. The protagonists in Lead Me Home came from Boston, Massachusetts, and Arrow Rock, Missouri. And the doctor and his wife were from Illinois. The wagon company was formed in Independence, Missouri—a well-known […]
Hair Salons
I’ve always been uncomfortable in hair salons—or “beauty parlors,” as we called them when I was a little girl. My first recollection of being in a beauty parlor was when I was still a toddler visiting my grandparents in Klamath Falls, Oregon. I don’t remember when it was—whether it was that winter of 1957-58 when […]
How Do You Choose What To Read?
I mentioned in a recent post that I’m a part of Read Local Kansas City. I am also a part of another “read local” organization—Hometown Reads, which lists books by local authors in many cities across the U.S. Go check out this site and see what books have been written by your hometown authors—you might […]
On Strings and Things
I’ve written before about what a picky eater I was. Cooked carrots were my worst nemesis, but I also hated all foods with strings. You’d be surprised how many foods have strings. Bananas, for one. Kids are supposed to like bananas, and I did like the taste. But before a banana was placed on my […]
Where Am I on Social Media? And Where Are You?
Using social media takes a lot of time. Some of it is wasted time, some of it is productive—at least in terms of learning what our friends are doing and thinking. Now that the election is over, I can read most people’s posts without my blood pressure rising. Authors are told to be active on […]
Broadway Tunes and the Game of Life
I grew up listening to Broadway show tunes on my father’s stereo system. Actually, not to all Broadway show tunes, but only to those for which my parents had record albums—My Fair Lady, Camelot, South Pacific, and The Sound of Music. I think it was an easy way for my mother to keep the children […]
The Second Anniversary of Loss
Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of my father’s death, which happened just six months after my mother’s death. I find myself in a much better place than I was on the first anniversary. I wrote a year ago today that I was melancholic—past the immediacy of loss, but still mourning. Now, a year further into […]
My Earliest Memories: What Is Real and What Isn’t?
As we begin the new year, I’ve been looking back at my life. From time to time I try to decide what my earliest memory is. I recently wrote about the first Thanksgiving I remember, in November 1958 when I was two-and-a-half. But I have earlier memories yet. I might remember my brother’s birth when […]
A Christmas Scene in 1849
Here’s a brief Christmas scene from Now I’m Found that takes place on Christmas Day 1849. By this point in the novel, my protagonist Mac owns a store in Sacramento. Two other characters, Consuela and Huntington, live there with him. I’ll let you read the book to find out how all this came to pass. […]
My 500th Post
By WordPress’s calculations, this is my 500th post. I’ve been blogging on this site for just under five years. I really don’t know whether I thought this blog would last five years. It’s seen me through a lot. My mother’s decline into Alzheimer’s and move into assisted living. A daughter’s broken leg and surgery. My […]