A story of women’s friendships
A key storyline in Lone Tree Claim is the women’s friendships on the frontier. Throughout the book, there’s a recurring theme about the importance of women’s friendships.
What I learned that helped me write book #2
This time around, I had a better idea of how to structure the plot, how to develop the characters, and how to manage that pesky Point of View issue.
Literature connects us
The Outlander series describes a period of time that is foreign to most of us. It’s the literature that connects us to the events of that time.
Happy (?) Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week sheds light on this unwarranted censorship. It’s an opportunity for readers to voice censorship concerns and to celebrate freedom of expression.
SD Festival of Books 2023
What a difference a year makes. Last year, I attended the SD Festival of Books as a wanna-be author. This year, I’m attending the Festival in Deadwood as a published author with two Western romance novels to my name. Last year, I attended panel discussions and presentations by authors from all over the country. I connected with two authors […]
“On the Dakota Frontier” series continues
I wrote Proving Her Claim: On the Dakota Frontier 20 years before it was finally published. But my second book took only (only!) a year to research, write, polish, and bring to readers. I write “only” because more prolific writers publish three, six, or nine books a year. I can’t imagine the pressure, but I’m […]
September is National Literacy Month
During National Literacy Month, I’d like to thank the teachers and mentors dedicated to helping children and adults learn to read. Reading has always been one of my “favorite things.” As a child, my mother and father would read to my sister and me before bedtime. While my mother “stuck to the script,” my father would […]
Naming characters
A reader asked me, “How do you name your characters?” That’s a great question.
Writing (and Riding) the Dakotas
At this year’s Western Writers of America convention I was asked to participate and provide a South Dakotan’s take on Writing Dakota