Let’s Write Your Story!
Anna V’s B&B in Lanesboro, MN, was my first solo venture in directing a writing retreat. Since that time in 2015, I have enjoyed teaching the craft of writing in many different places. What wonderful people I have met along the way. About 10% of the population feels they have a story to write. It’s […]
Bagley Friends of the Library Wall Hanging
I was so grateful to be included in this 2016 wall hanging created by the Bagley Friends of the Library. Minnesota authors were asked to autograph a strip of cloth that became the spines of the books on this gorgeous work of art. It was raffled off with the funds used to support library activities. […]
Inspiration Found in a Norwegian Bunad
I’ve attended a lot of Scandinavian festivals promoting my historical novels about Norwegian immigrants. The Norwegian bunads are always interesting. More than traditional dress-up clothes, the bunads are specific to the different regions of Norway, similar to a state flag. One glance tells you which region of Norway the wearer is from. A bunad inspired […]
Museum of Appalachia near Knoxville, Tennessee
We recently visited the Museum of Appalachia near Knoxville, Tennessee. The 60-acre farm and pioneer village set my mind whirling with story possibilities. Try to visit sometime if you’re in Tennessee. It’s a mile off Interstate 75, and worth your time. I loved the frontier buildings–and enjoyed shopping in their gift shop.
Whiskey Creek
The rivers around Fort Abercrombie are beautiful. Known as the “Gateway to the Dakotas,” Fort Abercrombie was built on the Red River of the North. Whiskey Creek emptied into the Red River near the fort. I like to imagine the settlers and soldiers during the U.S. Dakota war. FOLLOW WHISKEY CREEK is the result of […]
Grant County Museum in Elbow Lake, Minnesota
I love all museums, but I have a special place in my heart for the museum at Elbow Lake, Minnesota. Although Fort Pomme de Terre is no longer, a to scale model of the old Fort Pomme de Terre is on display at the museum. Patti Benson, the wonderful manager, steered me toward information about […]
Who writes like Ernie Altbacker?
My final and perhaps most surprising match from my SCORE IT! writing style evaluation is my match with Ernie Altbacker, author of The SHARK WARS SERIES for middle-schoolers, plus a long list of screenwriting credits! EJ Altbacker is an Emmy nominated screenwriter who has written for such shows as Spooksville, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, […]
Who is Tabor Evans?
My Score It! results also matched me with Tabor Evans, a western writer. Tabor Evans’s Longarm series–with its “new slant on the Old West”, remains one of the most popular of all the “adult Westerns” commanding an impressive part of the popular Western marketplace. The series was written by “Tabor Evans”, a house pseudonym used […]
Who writes like David Baldacci?
The Score It! results are in. The literary analysis measured four areas of writing style for comparison: Authorial Vocabulary (voice); Expressive Complexity (choice and distribution of word lengths and expressive style); Grammar (parts of speech chosen including use of prepositional phrases); and Tonal Qualities (use of functional words such as a/an/of). The results are unexpected. […]
Authors similar to Candace Simar: Who writes like me?
Who writes like me? What books in today’s market resemble mine? These questions are crucial to publishing and marketing these days, but leave me stymied. I know I want to write like Kristin Hannah or Anthony Doerr, but my frontier fiction wasn’t exactly in the same category. Sandra Dallas and Jane Kilpatrick write in my […]