I love when someone writes the heck out of a sentence. On Thursdays, I try to post some of my favorites.
“I’ve been thinking about history a good deal in the past few weeks, and I believe it fails when it offers only a tepid recitation of events and dates. … Read More
On Wednesdays, I vow to inconsistently list some good books I’ve recently read.
The Light Fantastic by Sarah Combs is a YA novel that looks hard at what it’s like to be a teen in the US. We are all hurting; we are all struggling to find the light. It’s … Read More
Who are your writing heroes?
I spent the summer re-reading a lot of my favorite books and thinking about who my writing heroes are and what it is I admire about them. One of the reasons for this is that a few months ago I won something in an online … Read More
Last weekend, I signed copies of my books at the lovely Books by the Bank festival. And one lucky visitor at my table is the winner of a free audiobook today.
<Drumroll please>
Paige Wilson! Paige, I’ll be in touch to get your mailing info. Thanks to everyone who … Read More
Franklin Graves sold his Illinois cabin and land before setting off west with his family in 1846. He was paid in a collection of coins from various countries. (This was common then; the United States was still a young country and not a lot of minted money to go around.) … Read More
Not a lot in the way of controversy is often said about Patrick Breen. His claim to fame is that he maintained the only diary we have of the Donner Party’s time at the lake. I’ve never heard anyone really categorize him as a villain or a hero. But … Read More
Next up in our Heroes & Villains series: James Reed.
More often than not, Reed is painted as a villain. There are some justifiable reasons for this. I’m going to list some of them below. But as you’ll see—I think he’s another complicated character. We just can’t put … Read More
When we stayed at Donner Lake, we rented a cabin, just off Eddy Avenue.
The next day at the state park, I got to geek out a little with a really kind volunteer named Greg about the gun they have on display.
This is supposedly the … Read More
Need a Donner Party film fix? How about either of these:
Want to read more about the Donner Party? Here are a few titles you can peruse:
