Introducing When the Chokecherries Bloom
![Shining Water book](https://ckvandam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Chokecherries-website-image-1024x379.png)
An idea or a concept inspired each of my books — except my newest novel, When the Chokecherries Bloom. Proving Her Claim began with a statistic. While 42% of women (unmarried or widowed) homesteaders proved their claims, only 37% of men (single or married) proved their claims. Lone Tree Claim was inspired by a museum […]
Civil War Reenactment Brings the Era to Life
![Civil War Reenactors](https://ckvandam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Civil-War-Days-.png)
Edit Column
The Civil War came to South Dakota when nearly 150 reenactors spent two days in August on a field near Canton, SD.
Editing is both an art and a science
![](https://ckvandam.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/National-Authors-Day-FB.png)
Before I was a published author, I understood that copyediting is both an art and a science.
Happy National Book Lovers Day
![](https://ckvandam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-12.09.33 PM-1024x578.png)
National Book Lovers Day on August 9th harnesses all the excitement bibliophiles feel about books into one celebration. Enjoy your favorite book all day
A new genre. Stretching my writing muscles.
![book cover](https://ckvandam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/When_the_Chokecherries_Bloom.png)
But this story is written for younger audiences, probably for Middle Grade or Tween readers. Writing in a new genre has been challenging.
Medicine Creek Claim Research
![](https://ckvandam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Medicine-Creek-Research-1024x613.jpg)
Before I started writing Medicine Creek Claim, the third book in the series, I did some research – and a lot of reading.
Questions from readers
![](https://ckvandam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/notebooks-1024x525.jpg)
Readers ask great questions and have insights about the books I didn’t even consider. Here are a few:
Authors talking to authors
![](https://ckvandam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/WDR2024-authors.jpg)
Wild Deadwood Reads is a book fair on steroids. Nearly 100 authors and hundreds of readers got together to shop for books and talk about books.
Inspiration: Land of the Burnt Thigh
![](https://ckvandam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Blog-headers-1-1024x577.png)
Medicine Creek Claim is about two sisters who staked claims in Dakota Territory – much like Edith and Ida Mary Ammons. The Ammons sisters came to South Dakota in 1907, homesteading near the Lower Brule Indian Reservation. I