As a lifelong learner, my curiosity has been an asset as I developed the Beck Family Saga. Each book has required research into topics that weren’t usually on my radar. Rosie the Riveter is familiar to many people. (She’s even got her own national park in Richmond, California:  (https://www.nps.gov/rori/index.htm). The … Read More

This may seem like an odd topic for an author who promises to inspire, but bear with me. For better or worse, the Christmas holiday, along with Hanukah and Kwanzaa, are tied with the fading of the light in the Northern Hemisphere. I, along with others who need sunlight in … Read More

Wind drove women in the sod houses on the plains mad. Even mad enough to take their own lives. “OOOOk-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain,” per Oscar Hammerstein II. Pilots learn to take off in the wind in Great Falls, MT, the windiest city in America according … Read More

My tagline is Real Life, Real Problems, Real Love. I believe that infusing a love story with more than just the romance is vital for a powerful book. After all, we live in a world that has more than it’s fair share of problems, especially as I write this, the … Read More

I’m sure you’ve been affected by what is going on in this country like everyone else. Covid-19 has been eclipsed by riots on the nightly news, June’s elections were merely a blip. There are days I can ignore it all and write (because it is what I am good at), … Read More

Being single on Valentine’s Day is very difficult. It’s as if the world is mocking you, telling you that you have a missing limb of some kind. You may be alone due to choice or circumstance, but in reality, you are complete just the way you are. Whether you’re single … Read More

One of my ministers once said she could tell what people really valued by looking at their checkbook and their calendar. Of course, that was almost thirty years ago when most of us still felt some sense of control over either one. Is it still true now? I don’t know … Read More

This holiday season I’ve been thinking a lot about the darkness closing in during the month. Here in Montana, we only get about eight and a half hours of daylight on December 22, the shortest day of the year. The darkness and cold definitely increase my desire to hibernate! But … Read More

As did most of you, I grew up with the traditional stories and feast of Thanksgiving: the turkey, the Pilgrims and Indians, giving thanks for the bounty we had, even if we kids were already creating shopping lists for Santa. I raised my kids the same way, joining with my … Read More

As many of you know, I do substitute teaching. I have to admit that I get a tad frustrated by kids who don’t want to learn. The first grade teachers tried to address this by showing the movie, On the Way to School, which is about four students trying to … Read More