My Novel, Lead Me Home, Is Now Published!
Ever since this blog’s inception, I have posted that I was writing a historical novel about travel along the Oregon Trail. My novel is finally published! Lead Me Home: Hardship and hope on the Oregon Trail is now available on Amazon in either paperback or Kindle formats and on Barnes & Noble in the Nook format. I […]
A Summary of Haunting Books for 2015
In past years, each October I have used this blog to review books that I’ve found “haunting” during the year. But this month I have other things I want to write about, so this will be the only post on haunting books this year. I’ve read a bunch of them. I reviewed Go Set a […]
My Grandfather’s Clock, My Memory, and the Passing of Generations
I’ve written before about my grandfather’s clock. It is now ticking away in my house, after two service calls from a local firm that repairs antique clocks. The clock worked after the first service call, but just a few days later my husband and I left town for two weeks. When I got back, I […]
Time for Lentil Soup
As autumn approaches each year, I think about soup. I will eat soup any time of year, but on cool evenings, it is sustaining and comforting. Add bread and salad, and you’re ready to eat. I make most of my soups in a crock pot, so it’s a quick and easy dinner (though does require […]
A Question I Will Never Answer: Who Was My Mother?
In the fifteen months since my mother’s death, I’ve spent a lot of time wondering who she was. Actually, I wondered this for years before she died as well. I know the basic facts of her life, but who was this woman in her heart and soul? I think my sister and I both wonder […]
The Sites Gun Shop in Arrow Rock, Missouri
I had the pleasure of spending a weekend in Arrow Rock, Missouri, earlier this month at a writing workshop sponsored by Friends of Arrow Rock. Arrow Rock is where my forthcoming novel, Lead Me Home, begins. Arrow Rock has preserved many of its original buildings from the mid-19th century, and I enjoyed the opportunity to […]
Top Tips For Students and Parents Attending College Fairs
Last week I represented Middlebury College at the Kansas City Private High School’s College Fair. I’ve done this event several times in recent years. I enjoy getting to talk about one of my favorite places and times of my life—my college experience at Middlebury (see here and here). I am an alum, not a professional […]
True Confessions: My Sister Peeled Her Peas
My sister is now eligible for AARP membership and is an accomplished professional, but I often remember her as a child. She was born when I was eight-and-a-half, and I left home when she turned nine, so our common experiences were limited to those few years. We were both picky eaters. I’ve written before about […]
Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee: A Writer's Perspective
Go Set a Watchman is not a sequel to Lee Harper’s To Kill a Mockingbird. I say that as a writer. As both a writer and a reader, I believe that we do a disservice to both books if we think of the later published book as a sequel to Mockingbird. I’ve been surprised by the […]
On Homes and Stability
This coming Sunday, September 13, is Grandparents Day. I was searching for a topic involving grandparents to write about, and I came across a post I wrote about my maternal grandparents’ house. I said in that post that these grandparents lived in that house from 1937 until 1962—twenty-five years. I thought their length of residency […]