Pequot Lakes author Candace Simar was recognized as a Laura Literary Award finalist for her short fiction titled “Taking the Bull by the Horns.” The Laura Award, named in honor of Laura Ingalls Wilder, is sponsored by Women Writing the West, an organization that supports authors and other professionals in promoting the contributions made by women to the history, culture and growth of the American West. Membership is open to all interested persons worldwide. Simar’s story was recently recognized at the 25th annual virtual convention.
“Ada is fully alive in these pages, a fallible, peevish, middle-aged woman who is ‘too old to learn something new’ but whose open heart and compassion are visible in all the contours of her story. I believe in her, never more than when circumstances challenge her family, and she discovers the courage to chart a new path for herself,” commented the literary judge on Simar’s story.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE:
https://www.womenwritingthewest.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Story_-TAKING-THE-BULL-BY-THE-HORNS-Candace-Simar-3.pdf
Simar is an award-winning author of eight books, including the “Abercrombie Trail Series”, “Shelterbelts”, “Dear Homefolks” and her most recent book, “Escape to Fort Abercrombie”.
3 Responses
Wow Candace I was just “blown away” by your story. Your vivid and detailed writing transports the reader right into a realistic setting with Ada, Myron and other characters. You certainly are deserving of the win.
Congratulations!
Kudos to you for your ability to write and your imagination. However, you don’t know from up about Lutheran. It spoiled my being able to enjoy your writing. There is no such thing as a Lutheran priest or Lutheran novenas to the Virgin Mary. These are just two examples. You needed a Lutheran to read your novels before they were published. But, for all your accolades, apparently this didn’t bother anyone else.
Hi Nancy Boyle, thank you for taking the time to comment. I was surprised to discover on a trip to Norway that Lutheran ministers are called priests. I verified this both at the church we visited and with my 3rd cousins who live in Norway. I love using tidbits of that type of research in my fiction. I was also very surprised (I was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church and spent a lot of time in Luther’s Small Catechism) to discover that Norway was very Catholic prior to Martin Luther. In fact, Norway was Catholic for about 500 years and has been Lutheran for about 500 years. I had never considered that Norway had any Catholic history–but we visited Stikkelstad Kirke and I have extensively studied the history of the reformation in Norway. I have ancestors buried there–before and after the reformation. As one relative pointed out–“we didn’t care much to become Catholic and later we didn’t ask to become Lutheran.” figure if it is of interest to me, it will also interest others. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I”m sorry my research bothered your reading. 19th Century Norway still had a few vestages of Catholic piety–Luther’s Large Catechism has great devotion to the Virgin Mary and many other Catholic practices that were most surprising to discover. My husband and I are Catholic now but I treasure my Lutheran heritage. Thank you! Stay safe and healthy.