Historical Snippets

Train Schedule 1900
The Good Earth series fictionalizes the railroad war of 1908-1912 through the Central Oregon desert. In the first book, Bethrina Granger is sent from Seattle, Wa to Hillman, Oregon. Along the way she encounters a variety of characters who will help her in her journey to become a confident self-assured woman of God.

One segment of her journey takes place on the Columbia Southern Railway from Biggs to Shaniko. During the first decade of the twentieth century Shaniko was the "wool capital of the world." By 1911, a flood in Hay canyon and the completion of the new line from the Dalles to Bend left the Columbia Southern Railway to the history books.

Bethrina settles in a small town known as Hillman. The town is named for two railroad barons, Hill and Harriman, who dream of connecting Washington and California by rail. The ensuing rail war will challenge Bethrina's faith and determination in ways she never imagined possible.

The Writer's Spouse....

So how do you lovingly tell your wife that her new chapter really stinks?

Don't know?

Neither do I...

Thankfully, she hasn't written a stinker yet. I don't anticipate this issue arising, but the military man in me likes being prepared.

So far, my duties regarding this book have been simple: tell her she's doing great and help her edit her work.

The first one's really easy. The second...not so much.

The work continues.

When you DO read this book, you may notice that the author has skillfully portrayed male mannerisms and speech despite her lack of a Y chromosome. I think she'll give a nod to at least a couple guys in her life....

Mary Higgins Clark: No Place Like Home

My first love may be historical fiction, but every now and then I enjoy a good psychological thriller. Nothing too twisted, but a book with a lot of suspense. There's something decadent about vicariously experiencing danger through the pages of a good novel.

Mary Higgins Clark's No Place Like Home delivers a good pace, plenty of clues and a solution that satisfies.

The pacing is good. She reveals enough clues, strategically placed, to keep up the tension and keep the reader engaged. However, this is not a book that compels you to read it straight through the night.

Clark's ability to drop clues is once again superbly demonstrated in this story. She weaves a tale that is believable, and lulls the reader into a false sense of security before springing the climactic surprise.

The solution is believable, but the epilogue throws in a twist that sounds a bit like an afterthought. This is a very good read. However, if you are looking for an edge of the seat thriller try one of her earlier novels such as: Where are the Children?, The Cradle Will Fall, or Loves Music Loves to Dance.

Send in the Clowns

My grandmother has fallen victim to a vicious predator of the aged. Is it Alzheimer's? Dementia? We may never know. For more than a decade, she's been afraid that her doctor is conspiring against her. Sometimes she thinks he is trying to steal her land, at other times she believes he is trying to kill her by prescribing "rat poison." (It was actually coumadin--a blood thinner.) She refuses to go to the doctor anymore.

The problem is, her deteriorating memory is leading to a myriad of dilemmas. She is becoming more and more unstable.

She puts Metamucil in the coffee pot. She questions who the "old man" in her bed is (Poppo, her husband of 45 years). She puts dirty dishes away instead of washing them. She is convinced the government took her driver's license away because she turned eleven.

This is a woman whose memory was longer than the Willamette River. She worked as hard as any draft horse. And she cooked well enough to--well, she cooked well enough. She plowed, and hoed, and raised a field of roses.

Soon my dad and uncle will have to place her in a care facility. What a terrible decision to have to make! The good news; Poppo has finally realized it is time, and he is ready to go with her. Even through all the pain...through the lapses in her memories...through the hateful things she says and does in her diminished state, he loves her.

In an earlier post ("Marriage First--Part III," published March 15, 2007) I asked the following question:

"If a husband is not meant to be our strength, if he will never love and accept us perfectly, what is he good for?"

Poppo is a wonderful example...

The Writer's Life: Finishing the First Draft

Who would have thought it would be so time consuming to finish the first draft? Actually, my struggle is the temptation to edit and rewrite as I go. Of course, I argue, doesn't that mean I will have less to do at the end?

Not necessarily.

The story evolves. (Can I use that word in a Christian setting?) Anyway. As I write the story changes, reshapes, refines, transforms...The novel I am working on this year, is one I began almost seventeen years ago. My worldview has been refined. The story I want to tell has changed.

But I need to finish. No one else will ever read this story if I keep writing and rewriting. My story isn't meant to be the best story ever written. I do hope it is an engaging story that may have some touching or funny moments, but most of all, I want my readers to remember my characters, to glean from their stories.

Then of course, to finish book two and three.

DET @ SJ Game 4 - Tomas Holmstrom

It's playoff season. When I am not writing and chasing children I am watching the Red Wings. This goal by Tomas Holmstrom is simply awesome. Look for another BIG quiet Swede in the first book of my Good Earth series.

The Month of May

Time is slipping by so quickly! May is such a busy time for our family. I have a birthday, my husband has a birthday, and thanks to Uncle Sam our wedding anniversary is this month as well. The sun is up so long it is nigh impossible to get the kids to bed at a reasonable time.

We have already been to Washington once (come to think of it, my hubby's been twice) this month. We have oodles of family arriving at various intervals during the next six weeks.

The good news is, I have outlined the rest of my novel. The writing is progressing.

I should be back in a routine soon, and will begin publishing posts every few days again.