Blog

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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.

mystery, love of reading

“Eighth Day” reflects a love of reading

By Carol / 28 February 2022 /

“Let’s be reasonable and add an eighth day to the week that is devoted exclusively to reading.” – Lena Dunham After reading my post on struggling to read and write, my friend Jean Balser shared…

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Have you lost your love of writing? Or reading?

By Carol / 21 February 2022 /

I know when I lost my urge to write. Or at least to write positively. It was shortly after Donald Trump was elected President. All my efforts to blog came out angry or flat or…

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Best book price this year – Growing Up Country & Simple Truth

By Carol / 02 November 2018 /

Both Growing Up Country, Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl and Simple Truth – ebook versions only – are on sale from November 2-9 for $.99. Please help me spread the word about the best…

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Bountiful Monarchs – A very good year in the prairie

By Carol / 14 August 2018 /

When we planted our prairie patch 10 years ago, one goal was to provide butterfly habitat. In the ensuing years, we’ve seen an uptick in pollinators. Bees of many varieties. A wealth of dragonflies. Yet…

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Inspired by bravery – Ireland’s Holocaust Heroine

By Carol / 07 May 2018 /

People who risk it all to help others are inspiration for all of us. Some of these brave souls are well known – Schindler, Tubman, Esther – while others slip quietly into history. Irishwoman Mary…

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Waking up to white privilege

By Carol / 24 April 2018 /

The recent arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks raised again the issue of how people of different races are treated in the United States. It’s highly unlikely two white men sitting in…

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Is “Place” also a character?

By Carol / 10 April 2018 /

Author and blogger M.K. Tod and I met through our mutual interest in historical fiction. This year, she’s exploring the themes of time and place. She invited me to join that discussion, and my post…

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Launch Day Gratitude

By Carol / 21 March 2018 /

My new novel, Simple Truth, launches today, and gratitude tops the list of emotions I’m feeling as I celebrate bringing my third book to readers. A writer doesn’t travel the often rocky road to publication…

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Thank you Oscar Wilde – Simple Truth

By Carol / 14 March 2018 /

“The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.” – Oscar Wilde. Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde spoke with insight and humor on many topics. The fallacy of believing truth to be…

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Women who teach and encourage – International Women’s Day

By Carol / 08 March 2018 /

On International Women’s Day I salute the women who made the greatest impact on me. They were teachers and encouragers. All of them. My mother, Ruby Denter. She was strong and determined. Until she married…

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