When was the last time you cracked open a book that you really wanted to read? Reading for work or school doesn’t count. I’m talking about that pile accumulating on your nightstand or in an electronic device. I get it. Reading can be hard to fit in. I shared five ways to make time for…
The United States acquired the Panama Canal. The Wright brothers made the first sustained flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The San Francisco earthquake destroyed about four square miles and left 500 people dead. America declared war on Germany, entering World War I. This was the face of the world in the 1900s. With soldiers…
What do the following events have in common? Henry Ford invented the first viable motor car. The Yukon Territory drew 100,000 prospective miners in the Klondike Goldrush. John Muir persuaded Congress to designate Yosemite a national park. The United States annexed Hawaii. The suffragette movement began. So, what do these events have in common? All occurred…
Themes crop up in stories whether or not the author means to include them. I didn’t set out to write about prejudice in Montana Gold, but the topic is hard to avoid when writing about the American West. Hills of Nevermore (Montana Gold, book 1) opens the series in 1863, a time of tremendous upheaval.…
Heroes on horseback, derring-do, and deeds of honor. The Middle Ages appeal to my love of romance. Oh wait—were you thinking I meant the Wild West? The two eras share a lot of similarities. Medieval people lived near castles the same way western settlers made their homes close to forts. You could hardly blame them.…
[Janalyn Voigt] The Irish in America
On St. Patrick’s Day, Americans of Irish descent have something to boast about. A smidgeon of Irish blood is all it takes. How times have changed. Attitudes toward the Irish were quite different in Wild West days.