Blog
As a curious observer of life, I blog on writing, marketing, my prairie - anything that interests me in the moment. I like to have conversations with readers, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment. I'll respond.
‘Be sure to stop and smell the roses’ is a cliché. If an author uses the line, readers may feel the writing is trite, that the author took the easy route instead of working for…
Read MoreMy internal compass is all out of whack. As a Midwestern farm girl, I’m used to having a clear sense of north, south, east and west. If the sun is shining in Iowa, I know…
Read MoreMassa Macinaia, Italy, is no different than Preston, Iowa – at least in one respect. People notice newcomers. Who are they? What are they doing here? How long will they stay? Mary and I stick…
Read MoreA maxim of the public relations business is ‘tell your own story or someone else will tell it for you. And you may not like what they say.’ Anyone who has written a memoir has…
Read MoreAs we drove to the airport, I said to my husband that it felt as though with every step I was leaving my comfort zone, moving steadily into the unknown. This Italian writing retreat would…
Read MoreWhen I wrote my memoir, I discovered the power of place on writing. I hadn’t been on the farm I grew up on in years. Standing in the barnyard, soaking in the familiar sights and…
Read MoreThere are so many ways to tell a life story. I found a new one this week when I drove to Lockridge in southeast Iowa to interview Johnny McLain for The Iowan. McLain could not…
Read MoreI’ve been studying small Iowa towns of late. Trying to decipher what makes some more successful than others. One answer appears to lie in taking a close look at your community and making the most…
Read MoreFrank Buckles, the last of the World War I doughboys, died on Sunday. He was 110. Buckles drove an Army ambulance in France in 1918. Buckles was only 17 when he enlisted, lying about his…
Read MoreMy grandmother grew up on a farm in the early 1900s, the youngest of five children. Though farms – particularly at that time – were known for requiring an abundance of hard physical labor, apparently…
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