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.
Since my granddaughters were born, I’ve taken them to the prairie every time they visit us. As little ones, they were carried in. As they grew older, I led the way. On her last…
Ever wonder how you can help an author friend promote their new book? Chuck Sambuchino offered 11 great ideas in his blog today on Writers In The Storm. His ideas were so good and so…
Line up for a photo. Someone says, “Say cheese!” Everyone grins. It’s automatic, isn’t it? But it wasn’t always so. Until 1900, smiles in photographs were as rare as hen’s teeth. Research into early 20th…
Recently, I blogged about finding and eliminating “crutch” words in my writing. Sharla Rae calls these “Echo” words. In her blog post today at Writers In The Storm, she lists the most common Echo words…
Did farm women wear corsets in 1913? Is there a particular name for the everyday dresses they wore? How many acres could a farmer plant in a day and what was the equipment like? How…
I’m deep into editing my novel this month. Searching for the best words to create people and places readers will see and remember. Eliminating cliches. Working for copy that is fresh and tight. In the…
I did not have an extraordinary childhood. Not in the blow your mind, Angela’s Ashes, bestseller memoir sense. I grew up on a small dairy farm with my mom and dad and two sisters,…
My novel set during WWI has had me digging into how the war affected Americans in their everyday lives. A popular women’s magazine of the era, Ladies Home Journal showed that even before the United…
When I was a kid growing up on the farm in the 1950s, I waited everyday for the mailman to stop at our mailbox. It wasn’t as though anyone was going to write to me,…
Sound the trumpets! Strike up the band! Last month I reached a milestone in writing my novel. I had a draft that was as good as I could make it. The story was complete. The…