Introducing When the Chokecherries Bloom
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
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
Before I was a published author, I understood that copyediting is both an art and a science.
Happy National Book Lovers Day
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.
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
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
Readers ask great questions and have insights about the books I didn’t even consider. Here are a few:
Authors talking to authors
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
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