A Russian commander, Druzhinin, is credited for having discovered Dutch Harbor in the early 1700’s. He envisioned the natural port as a haven for ships seeking refuge from the winds of the Bering Sea. Russian fur traders followed and established a community on Unalaska in 1798. Efforts to evangelize the Aleutian people ensued and a small, Russian Orthodox chapel […]
General
The Countdown Is On
The story behind the story, Part 2 All laborers in and around Dutch Harbor in Unalaska, Alaska have a home base. For some, visiting their original jump-off point is low on their priorities. Many live on the fishing boats they serve and rarely see the lower forty-eight. For others, leaving the ice, snow, and the constant […]
The Countdown Begins
August 1, my debut novel, An Anchor on Her Heart, releases for distribution. For the next several weeks I’ll be offering insights into what prompted the story and why I wrote what I did. The story behind the story— When my college graduate son landed a job as an observer biologist with the National Marine […]
Abba Father
This week I attended a memorial service for a young man who died too soon. He had once been a six-year-old in the Bible club where I was a leader. I remembered him as ambitious, who always tried to have his Bible verses ready to recite each week. Now thirteen years later, he was gone. […]
Summer Anyone?
As I stood at my kitchen window this week and watched rain pelt my patio and the wind whip the trees, I struggled to remember that the summer solstice is a mere eleven days away. Dubbed the wettest Oregon spring in one hundred years, I marveled at how this season differed from last year. The […]
Another Generation Waits
From the street the building appears to be little more than a warehouse: concrete block structure, flat roof, a patched parking lot that has stood the test of time. The only indication life happens inside is the diner-style sign perched on top telling passersby of its contents—Skate World Roller Rink. Inside the magic begins. For […]
Good Summer Reading
When someone mentions Amish fiction to you, how do you react? Do you yearn for a simpler lifestyle, where farm animals factor into your life, and a slower pace fills your days? Or does the word evoke something else in you, an overdone retelling of a life that most […]
Mother’s Day Beginnings
Mother’s Day means many things to different people. Most of us view the date as a way to show honor to our mothers, often bestowing gifts and sentiments to them. But, originally, the day began for a very different reason. The observance grew out of a movement known as the Mothers’ Day Work Clubs, designed […]
Launching A Book–Part 3
Edits. Track Changes. Copy Edits. Proofreading copy. More edits. Deadlines. Deadlines. Deadlines. Launching a book is not the process I thought it would be when I first signed my contract. These past few weeks I put the finishing touches on the final proofread of book one before […]
Novel Releases Today
Today The Road to Paradise, a novel by Author Karen Barnett releases to the public. The story is part of a series on Vintage National Parks which bring to life President Theodore Roosevelt’s vision for protected lands. He is quoted as saying, “There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant […]