Welcome Fall! It’s hard to believe we’re now in the final season of another year. A season of cool breezes, the aroma of pumpkin spice and apple cider in the air, enjoying the mountains arrayed in color, then leaves falling and days raking. And of course, hikes in the beautiful woods (I usually backpack severalContinue Reading
To Honor the Finish
One hears a great deal about creating, envisioning, working, but one cannot overlook the importance of the finish. Fifteen years ago, I planned for a trip that began when I was a teenager. That is, hiking the entire Appalachian Trail from end to end. Our family would venture to Shenandoah National Park and join someContinue Reading
A Day Never Forgotten
(Reposted) One terrible, nightmarish journey. September 11, 2001. A day wrought in tragedy and death. Can anything good come of it? September 11, 2001, a little after 9 AM. It had become a usual routine for me to do some work before turning on the TODAY show and eating my breakfast around 9 AM. TodayContinue Reading
Jan Hagel Cookies
As part of the online Facebook gathering for the release of Escape from Amsterdam, the author made a Dutch Christmas butter cookie in the shape of diamonds. The delightful cinnamon flavor and pretty decoration with sliced almonds and an egg wash gleam will look great for any occasion. Dutch cookies like this are favorites duringContinue Reading
Birth of a Book – Heroes and Heroines
For the final blog in this series, I honor a hero and heroine of my book, Escape from Amsterdam. As a fiction writer, the main hero and heroine are often working madly to overcome obstacles and trials in their lives while also cultivating their relationship. So it is in Escape from Amsterdam with Helen andContinue Reading
Birth of a Book – the Final Product
For the last few weeks, you’ve been following a series of blogs on the creation of a historical novel set in the turbulent times of World War II. Now we see a book arrive by mail, the completed book that took many months to research and write. As you can tell from the blogs, theContinue Reading
Birth of a Book – The Netherlands in WWII
To better understand the storyline of Escape from Amsterdam, the author shares a very brief history of the German invasion of the Netherlands and its aftermath. The Netherlands managed to stay out of World War I by claiming neutrality. At the outbreak of World War II when Germany began invading other countries, the Dutch believedContinue Reading
Birth of a Book – The Research
When writing a historical novel, research is paramount. Of course, one usually flocks to Wikipedia to do research, but that can be a vague starting point. It’s vital to find good sources and confirm the information you receive (I was told by a good writing friend to confirm with at least three sources). Hence itContinue Reading
Birth of a Book – Symbols of a Culture
In this blog, I explore some of the symbols of the novel which I enjoyed on my trip to the Netherlands. When an author sets a novel in a foreign country as I did, it requires a good deal of research, not only in the setting and the language arts but also in the culturalContinue Reading
The Birth of a Book…How It Came Into Being
Welcome to a series of blogs as I count down the days to the release of “Escape from Amsterdam”. Wherever I travel, I think about my writing. And I wonder in the travel if there’s a way I can write a book about what I experience. So it was when my husband earned a tripContinue Reading
Planning for the Unexpected – When Trip Plans Go Awry
In my last blog, I talked about the excitement of my summer trip and preparing for it. But who knows that even when one prepares, it may not go off as planned. That’s exactly what happened to me. I traveled as far as Missouri to see my son and then I found out about theContinue Reading
Planning for an Adventure
One of the great things about being a writer and a hiker is the adventure. I’ve planned multiple hiking excursions that have taken me over 10,000 miles (yeah that’s a lot!) along trails in the east from Florida to Maine and, as of this writing, as far west as Colorado. But I also like toContinue Reading