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Secrets of a Charmed Life

Meet Susan Meissner! Susan is a multi-published author of seventeen books, including . . . Her book, A Fall of Marigolds, was named to Booklist’s Top Ten Women’s Fiction titles for 2014. Her story, The Shape of Mercy, was named one of the 100 Best Novels in 2008 by Publishers Weekly. She’s a speaker and writing workshop leader with a …

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Tea, Quilts, and Books in Saint Charles

Today, I’m flying into Missouri. Here I come Saint Charles! I’m excited to participate in several Author Events, May 14-18. I hope you’ll join me in St. Charles, the setting for The Quilted Heart, also the launch city for The Boone’s Lick Wagon Train Company in Prairie Song.

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Test Your Oregon Trail Vocabulary

Writing historical fiction brings me delight on many levels. The process of discovery is one of the things I enjoy most about writing fiction. Yes, it can be great fun getting to know a cast of characters and discovering their story. But deepening my knowledge and understanding of history also brings me delight. While doing the research for Prairie Song, Book …

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Doc Susie & Book Giveaway

You never know who you might meet in Cripple Creek, Colorado! While I was in Cripple Creek in August to participate in the Gold Camp Days and Western Literature Festival, I made Wyatt Earp’s acquaintance through a program presented by his grandson, Wyatt Earp. Then during a book signing at the Cripple Creek District Museum, I met Doc Susie, played by Hedy Boyce. …

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Prairie Song Campfire Supper

Boney’s turn to cook supper. A fact that has the Boone’s Lick Wagon Train Company captain, Garrett Cowlishaw, and the other four trail hands sticking close to camp. All the wagons are set in their curved line, the livestock graze hobbled in the meadow, and the company’s children haul buckets of water up from the creek. Men are greasing wheels …

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Wagon Train Overlanders Speak

Since I write women’s historical fiction, it makes sense that I’d want to hear from women and men from the time and period in which I’m setting my stories. For my Hearts Seeking Home Series, I turned to the diaries and journals of folks who had made the trek west by covered wagon. The grammar, spelling, and punctuation remains authentic, as …

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19th Century Mercantiles

19TH CENTURY MERCANTILES Some of my earliest memories involve shopping trips with my mother, back in the . . . well, let’s just say it was a few decades ago. She’d make a list of all the places we had to go—the hardware store for the screws and bolts my dad needed for a project; the paint store for pink …

Me and Carol in Granary

Toasted Ravioli, Fife & Drum Corps, and Daniel Boone

My March 2012 research trip for The Quilted Heart novellas returned me to a setting I first discovered in 1999–a charming riverside city that stirred my imagination and captured my heart. Toured a historical farm that would inspire the farm setting in Dandelions on the Wind. Savored toasted ravioli (twice) at Little Hills Restaurant and Winery. Explored the city and the surrounding areas with …

Women in History: Mary Claver Coleman

March is National Women of History Month. To join in the celebration, I’ve chosen to feature one of the “real life” women from my Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series in today’s post. Mary Claver Coleman was one of those wonderful finds during my research for Two Brides Too Many  My hero was a new doctor coming to Cripple Creek …

Vote for Your Favorite Sinclair Sister

While I’m putting the finishing touches on my next series, I’m still celebrating the completion of my debut series: The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek.  Are you a Sinclair Sisters fan? While each of the sisters and their supporting characters sank deep into my heart, I have a favorite or two. I’m curious. What about you? Do you have a favorite …