News Bulletin: A Book is Born

After writing two books (Somebody Stole My Iron: A Family Memoir of Dementia published 2014 and Maggie: A Journey of Love, Loss and Survival published 2018), I figured I’d exhausted further book-length writing projects. I’d already written two more books than I ever dreamed I’d write. My self, however, soon informed me otherwise.

The stories my dad told and retold me years ago about his parents kept creeping into my consciousness. Basically, they wouldn’t leave me alone and I finally had to admit these tales were simply too compelling not to share. I will also acknowledge that I love to write historical fiction.

Edits completed, Harry and Grace: A Dakota Love Story is presently undergoing its final prep before release. At times it seemed I’d never arrive at this place, though if there’s one thing I’ve learned from writing my first two books, it is that the editing and rewriting process take time. The wait for edits offers the opportunity for the book to “rest” in my mind. The finished copy can’t be rushed, but needs time to simmer and brew, adding or subtracting words or scenes to clarify, elaborate or expand. Bottom line: It takes both time and patience to birth a book.

A sneak preview: This novel begins when my grandpa joins a traveling carnival in the Midwest in 1909, eventually leading him to a tiny town in North Dakota, where he meets my grandmother. The book, set primarily on the Dakota prairie, is a blend of my father’s stories, peppered with enough fiction to fill in the blanks and topped off with a wee bit of magic.