People who know I’ve written a historical novel set during the 1918 pandemic always comment that my timing is brilliant. I (very coincidently) finished revisions to my manuscript and began querying agents in 2020, when our own pandemic struck and our world shut down. Whether my timing is ... Read More about When the Past Becomes the Present
Haskell County Kansas | Origin of 1918 Influenza Outbreak
Haskell County, Kansas is a place of plowed up prairie, violent storms, and stunning sunsets. Scientists hypothesize this remote, isolated place is where the 1918 influenza outbreak began. This sparsely populated corner of southwest Kansas experienced a boom in the 1880s. Farmers and ranchers ... Read More about Haskell County Kansas | Origin of 1918 Influenza Outbreak
Why Vaccines Matter: A Vital Legacy We Must Not Forget
In writing my novel The Fevered World, I spent years immersed in the history of infectious disease and vaccine development. One of my protagonists, Dr. Lorne Miller, is a physician on the front lines of the 1918 influenza pandemic. Faced with rapid, unexplained deaths around him, he resolves to ... Read More about Why Vaccines Matter: A Vital Legacy We Must Not Forget
Bottle Cove, Newfoundland
From Ferry to Lark Harbour and Bottle Cove, Day 18 The photo of us, standing sturdy on the rocks of Bottle Cove, wind tangling my hair and glasses, sun squinting into our eyes captures our first day on Newfoundland. Around us, both Appalachian Mountains and rocks of ocean crust reach for ... Read More about Bottle Cove, Newfoundland
A Novel Soundtrack about a Ramblin’ Man
Music holds a profound place in storytelling, weaving emotions and atmosphere into every narrative thread, whether it’s the tension of a suspenseful beat or the serenity of a gentle melody. When I started writing this novel, On the Rails, my brother, who inspired the protagonist Cowboy, told me to ... Read More about A Novel Soundtrack about a Ramblin’ Man
Newfoundland Road Trip
Colorado to Cape Breton, Days 1-16 With time (and a nod to Annie Ernaux), the memories will fade. —the excitement planning our Newfoundland road trip: plotting the 8,000 miles, packing the van, curating my little library, buying snacks, whittling my shoes down to five pairs (Blundstone ... Read More about Newfoundland Road Trip
On the Rails with Narrator Sam Elliott
Imagine listening to On the Rails with narrator Sam Elliott, his gravelly voice, with its rugged cadence and timeless charm, telling the story of my protagonist Cowboy, who, in his twenties, full of agitation and wanderlust, begins riding freight trains, seeking freedom and adventure but mostly ... Read More about On the Rails with Narrator Sam Elliott
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