WWII in the American South: Ruth Francisco’s Camp Sunshine
Ruth Francisco’s WWII novel, Camp Sunshine, entertains and informs with clear, specific storytelling. Already a fan of WWII history and fiction, I greatly enjoyed this novel. Francisco animates a rather unattended war detail, an amphibious…
Mystery, History and Love: You’ll Find Them in the Details
My grandmother, Laura, died in 1997 and yet, she remains clear in my mind. From decades earlier, I feel her cool hands on my feverish forehead. When I was four years old and abruptly relieved…
The Darkwater Liar’s Account as The Next Big Thing
Thanks to Kourtney Heintz for nominating me for The Next Big Thing blog award. She has inspired me to keep standing up when rejections smack me down. Thanks, Coach. I look forward to reading some…
History, Courage & Learning to Remember
In college, I was no history buff. Dr. Lynwood Oyos’ legendary Western Civilization class at Augustana College nearly sank me in terms of my grade point average. He was a brilliant and personable professor who…
Research and Information, the Old, Hard Way
In research for my fiction writing, I use primary sources when available. The internet is a wonderful thing but there are a lot of opinions flashing around, impersonating facts. Because of blatant plagiarism, bias and…
Tragedy on the Great Plains: The 1888 Children’s Blizzard
Weather humbles us and we’ve bowed to it frequently during the last several years. Hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, wind-whipped wildfires, blizzards and floods demolish our attempts to humanize our landscapes and keep ourselves safe. We can’t…
Does World War II Still Matter?
You may or may not know anyone who witnessed or survived World War II. Some who I’ve met are veterans, while others lost friends or family members as a result of that war. There…
An Authentic Place in History: More Thoughts on Writing it Then
Writing (historical) fiction–any fiction that isn’t in the “now” — complicates the attempt to connect with the cultures, land and languages of specific locations. As I currently write about European cities and villages in the…
Writing it Then
I may be the world’s most delinquent blogger, but I have been writing. This new story is requiring a great deal of research. Thanks to the Internet, that process is sometimes too enjoyable. In my…
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