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
Godey’s Lady’s Book: Fashion Bible
Medicine Creek Claim includes several mentions of Godey’s Lady’s Book, but I also referenced this 19th-century “fashion bible” for my earlier books.
Godey’s is a treasure trove for historical fiction authors.
Two More (Fictional) Women Who Tamed the Frontier
The third book in the On the Dakota Frontier series, Medicine Creek Claim, is the story of two sisters who lived in Missouri during the Civil War.
Range wars: cattlemen vs sheepherders
Cattlemen vs. sheepherders seemed a logical plot point for Lone Tree Claim: On the Dakota Frontier.