Works in Progress

After I finished writing Frontier Madam, I decided to delve into the history of my family and the people I had interviewed and began writing short historical fiction stories.  

Now I want to revise a historical fiction story, I’m calling “Back Home”.  I knew it dragged along telling the story from the grandmother’s point of view and I could not seem to bring it to life.

As I talked about this story with friends I was surprised to learn how many people do not have a clear concept of what they might call back home.  Some people don’t even have a ‘back home’ at all. 

My ‘back home’ is based on growing up on the Running Water Ranch in eastern Wyoming.  I know exactly where and what that means to me, as a backdrop to my values, my sense of background and where I come from.  A deep sense of belonging to something, someone, somewhere.

In more recent times, this sense has been called into question as the land changed hands, the house was demolished, and weather made natural changes in the landscape in my absence.  It has been a challenge and pleasure to deal with these issues in this story.

But shifting the story to attract readers was a challenge until one morning I awoke with it all laid out for me.  I was surprised to suddenly ‘know’ exactly what had to be done, with an outline in mind.  It was as though someone had put the outline in my head while I slept – my muse maybe?  So where I am right now is in the revision process.

At the same time that I am revising, I am preparing presentations and schedules for Frontier Madam in two states – NC and WY.  Another challenge – exciting and fulfilling.