By old friend, I mean an old manuscript. (What exactly did you think I meant?) I’ve mentioned before the “Story” behind my first real manuscript. I’ve taken this story out, dusted it off and I’m going to give it another go. Now, I’ve taken this story out and re-written it about four times already. (Complete re-writes, not including the endless stream of edits.) Why is this time going to be any different? I’m giving the plot a facelift. Okay, not just a lift – reconstructive surgery. (How did there end up being so many medical references in this post?) I’ll be working on this for NaNoWriMo…so I’ll let you know...
Happy 95th Birthday, National Park Service
I couldn’t resist wishing a Happy Birthday to the National Park Service, which was started on this day in 1916. Preserving more than 400 parks, historical sites and more, the NPS sees more than 275 million visitors a year. (http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/index.htm) I was fortunate to work for the National Park Service for two summers at Fort Vancouver, a fascinating historical site that served as one of the key posts in the settlement of the West Coast. Thousands of pioneers set out to Oregon Country and would stop at the Fort to trade and replenish supplies. The “Father of Oregon,” John McLoughlin (for the record, it is pronounced mac-LOCK-lin) served as Chief...
Research Notes: the Vancouver Barracks, 1940s
Photos all from the Clark County Museum’s Research Library. Spent three hours with a notepad and my iPad camera. In. Heaven. More tidbits and photos in future posts – I promise! The barracks were home to the Vancouver District of Civilian Conservation Corps – part of FDR’s New Deal. More than 40,000 men from across the country passed through the Vancouver District during the life of the CCC. Below is an image of the CCC working on National Parks –
Two Years of Blogging: My favorite posts
What got me into journalism and history at the same time? Hint – An old friend of my grandfather’s and his crazy stories. What legendary horse inspired my first “real” novel? What WWII author tucked me under her wing and answered all my annoying questions via Facebook and email? Two years later, she’s still my idol! 🙂 What book changed my outlook on writing, characters and the meaning of book clubs? Hint – it’s not my typical genre. And the movie comes out March 23, 2012. (Yes, I’m counting down the days.) Finally – what blog series did I start in 2010 that I’m still continuing to this day? Hint...
Movie Review: Captain America
What? A movie review? I don’t even have a category for that! It’s true—I don’t do movie reviews. That’s not what my blog is about. But when the movie involves a classic comic hero and the story is set during World War II, I simply cannot resist! Captain America: A little background on the actual Captain America comics – He first burst onto the scene in March of 1941 and was mostly portrayed as fighting the Nazis. After the war, interest waned in the comic, but it was revived on and off throughout the decades. This latest revival certainly caught my attention. But then, how can you resist such beautiful...