Prairie Song – In Search of a Promised Land

  What would drive people from the familiar into the unknown? What would cause men to venture into a harsh wilderness, leaving their families behind? Or uprooting them? For the Israelites, it was captivity in Egypt and the hope of freedom in a Promised Land that drove them from the prison they’d known for generations. In the early 1840s, emigrants …

Essential Handbook for Victorian Etiquette

Sinclair Sisters Fun and Yum for Book Clubs

Do the members of your book club or reading group enjoy reading series and spending time with an ensemble cast? If so, the four Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series might be a great fit. And I’m happy to say the 1890s Colorado mining camp series lends itself well to having fun with Victorian, Old West, Mining Camp flair. Your group might want a …

Donkey Derby Sign

Donkey Derby Days

During my first research trip to Cripple Creek, Colorado, I met a couple of the town’s beloved residents–two donkeys that are a part of a herd of about a dozen that roam the city’s streets. When miners had to leave the area, often their donkeys were let loose. The several donkeys that roam the streets are believed to be descendants of those used …

Dandelion on the Wind Pic

Castes of Yellow

Where do novelists find a title for a work of fiction? Anywhere, and everywhere. For Maren Jensen’s story, I drew inspiration for my book title from a favorite poem, Castes of Yellow by Viola Jacobson Berg. Mrs. Berg’s two books on poetic forms–Pathways for the Poet and Poet’s Treasury: Second Book of All New Patterns have served as resources I used to teach myself how to …

Cripple Creek Church History Cook Book

Writing Historical Fiction by the Cookbook

You’re not likely to find me flipping channels looking for the Food Network. Fact is, my hubby does most of the cooking and baking at our house. But don’t ask me to write about a new setting without a cookbook from the time period and location. For The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series, I pored over the Church History Cook Book from …

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 …

Me in Arch

Research Trip for The Quilted Heart: 1st Stop, Gateway Arch

In March 2012, after thirteen years, I returned to St. Louis and St. Charles, Missouri. This time, as a historical novelist writing for WaterBrook Multnomah, to do research for my new series, The Quilted Heart. The post Civil War mid-1860s provides the historical backdrop for my three Quilted Heart eBook novellas. First stop: The Gateway Arch and the Museum of Westward Expansion in St. Louis. Everything …

Bob’s Corner: No E-Reader, No Problem

Howdy from Bob’s corner! TODAY is Release Day for Dandelions on the Wind, the first novella in Mona’s new series, The Quilted Heart. The three mid-1860s stories are available this spring exlusively in e-Book format, but you don’t need a fancy schmancy handheld e-Reader to read Dandelions on the Wind. Since you’re reading this post, I’m guessing you already have a computer, iPod/iPad/iPhone, Android …

Miss Hattie Reminisces About Saint Charles

I suppose some folks might assume I’ve always lived in Cripple Creek, Colorado. Why, they might even figure I haven’t done anything but run Miss Hattie’s Boardinghouse on Golden Avenue. Truth is, I was once the age of our dear Sinclair Sisters. And younger. My hair might have grayed on me, but you can be certain my Cripple Creek adventures won’t be my last. Nor were they my …