Hostfest 2015
The best thing about attending the Minot Hostfest is celebrating my Scandinavian heritage with thousands of others from around the world. I love seeing folks wearing the traditional bunads, eating ethnic dishes, and enjoying contact with readers and participants. We always stay with a wonderful host family, and this year we were able to visit […]
Women’s Christmas Tea
Last week I gave a presentation for a Women’s Christmas Tea at Light of the Cross Lutheran Church in Garrison, MN. Several churches join together every year to raise money for the local food shelf. It’s a dress up affair, and they asked me to come wearing hat, gloves and pearls. A first! Thank […]
You Never Know Who You’ll Meet at the Minot Hostfest
You just never know who might walk by at the Minot Hostfest. It mimght be a seven foot troll, a Viking warrior or Norwegians wearing their traditional bunads. This largest of US Scandinavian festivals starts next Tuesday night and lasts through Saturday at the State Fair Grounds. The weather forecast looks wonderful, and people from […]
E Books Avalable through Wolfpack Publishing
The Abercrombie Trail Series hasn’t been available in e-books for about the last year. Don’t ask–it’s sufficient to say that publishing contracts are most complicated! The good news is that Wolfpack Publishing recently picked up the ebook rights and is publishing the entire series. I love the new cover! A big thank you to […]
Western Writers of America Convention 2014
I had a great time reconnecting with old friends and making new ones at this year’s Western Writers of America Convention in Sacramento. The historical tours and lectures were great. I learned about Chinese immigrants in the 19th century, panning for gold at Sutter’s Creek, the history of the Modoc Indians, plus lots of […]
Judging the 2014 Spur Award for Juvenile Fiction
What a privilege to be invited by the Western Writers of America to be part of the judging panel for the 2014 Spur Award in Juvenile Fiction. I’ll admit that reading the huge stack of this year’s submissions was a little daunting. The books started arriving early in the fall and kept coming until the […]
First Stage to Fort Abercrombie
My great grandfather, as a young, Norwegian immigrant,drove the stagecoach to Fort Abercrombie, Dakota Territory . This was back in the 1860s. This bit of family genealogy resulted in my historical novel, Abercrombie Trail. This picture is an actual painting entitled, “First Stage to Fort Abercrombie.” Although the original painting is no longer around, someone wisely […]
D.B. Jackson, Western Writer from Otter Tail County
You can imagine my surprise when I was introduced to another Otter Tail County native who writes western fiction. I met Wrangler Award Winner D.B. Jackson at the Western Writers of America Convention last week. Turns out he is well acquainted with the area where my novels are set. After all, we are both […]
Western Writers of America 2013 Convention at Las Vegas
What fun to attend the 2013 Western Writers of America convention with my publicist, Krista Soukup. We’ve met great writers and discussed books, writing and marketing to our hearts’ content. Yesterday 70 authors participated in a mass book signing event at a Barnes & Noble in Henderson, NV. What fun to see […]
Writing Retreat at Annunciation Monastery, Bismarck, ND
Recently I visited Annunciation Monastery in Bismarck, North Dakota where I spent an entire week in personal writing retreat. Any writer will tell you how hard it is to find blocks of uninterrupted writing time. I am nearing completion of a book of linked short stories and desperately needed time and space to work […]