History Through Fiction Podcast Interview
Season 6, Episode 5 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast has Candace Simar, the author of Sister Lumberjack. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Simar about how her own family history inspires her stories, what life was like for 19th century lumberjacks, and the history behind the Benedictine Health System. Don’t miss this […]
Candace Simar Interview On Rendezvous With A Writer
Award-winning author CANDACE SIMAR joins hosts Jim and Bobbi Jean Bell for an engaging conversation about her historical fiction novel SISTER LUMBERJACK. We follow a cast of unforgettable characters in a Minnesota logging camp during the winter of 1893. Obstacles abound. Will they survive the harsh and dangerous winter? Read More
Book Review of Sister Lumberjack by Charlie Johnson
SISTER LUMBERJACK By Candace Simar 488 Pages Published by North Star Press of St. Cloud, MN ISBN 168201150X SISTER LUMBERJACK by Candace Simar is one of those books that is unique in every sense of the word. Have you read books about nuns in the Northwoods of Minnesota, or about widows leaving their beloved farm […]
Pencil To Paper: Write Your Way Through Winter Workshop Series
Registration Now OPEN! Pencil to Paper 2024: Write Your Way Through Winter Just as musicians practice scales to improve their overall performance, so writers study the components of writing craft to create dynamic prose. Join this year’s Pencil to Paper zoom classes to study the writing craft and take your writing to the next level. […]
Sister Lumberjack, Finally!
Sister Lumberjack, finally! Sister Lumberjack, my soon-to-be-released historical novel, is set in a Minnesota Logging Camp in 1893 at the height of the white pine harvest. The book began as a fleeting thought while writing Abercrombie Trail (North Star Press 2009). Solveig, the indentured servant, became my favorite minor character. In fact, she tried to […]
The Glory of Ordinary Times (Book Cover)
#Wolfpack Publishing #Frontier Fiction #Minnesota history #Blue Cottage Agency This note from a Minneapolis reader made my day: “I just finished your book of short stories, The Glory of Ordinary Time. Well done! Beautifully crafted. I was very impressed with your research—hard times and hard lives. I wanted to know what happened with every character. […]
Frontier Logging Comes to Life at the Pine River 150th Anniversary Celebration
Photos by Sherrie Lillich #Frontier Logging #Pine River Historical Society #Pine River Camber of Commerce #Blue Cottage Agency It was great fun to venture into the world of skit writing for the Pine River Variety Show on July 7th and 8th. Tamarack Down, Boys takes place in a bunkhouse at a frontier logging camp along […]
Hackensack Arts and Book Festival August 12, 2023
#Northwoods Arts and Book Festival #Hackensack #Hackensack Chambers of Commerce #Minnesota #Art #Books #Festival #Blue Cottage Agency I’ve attended the Hackensack Festival since its beginnings. There’s something for everyone. I enjoy the artwork and pottery. The Lions sell food. Local vendors sell honey, greeting cards, jewelry, and much more. I hope you can make it. […]
Hardtack and Salt pork, the Mainstay of Civil War Soldiering
I grew up on dried beef, and knew very well how it was made and how it tasted. In spite of this, until recently, I thought all salt pork was in a liquid brine. The re-enactors at Fort Abercrombie set me straight. One of the soldier’s wives brought samples of hardtack and salted pork. To […]
Kimball Historical Society Tuesday July 25th Rocky Mountain Locust Plagues of the 1870s
#Rockymountainlocusts #Kimballhistoricalsociety #Stearns County #Grasshopper Chapel I’m speaking at Kimball, Minnesota, on Tuesday, July 25th at 7pm. The topic? The Rocky Mountain Locusts and Frontier Life in Stearns County. The Rocky Mountain Locusts swarmed into Central North America in the 1870s devastating the crops for five years in […]