Tall Tales

How many people are familiar with the tales of Paul Bunyan and Babe, the blue ox? I grew up with these stories in the upper Midwest, but it occurs to me that to people in the lower half of the United States (or outside) he might not be as recognizable.

The legend of Paul Bunyan is a tall tale about a giant lumberjack, perhaps more well-known in the north woods. It is said the 10,000 lakes that make Minnesota famous are Paul's footsteps.

On a recent trip to spend time with relatives, we stopped at a "cook shanty" for breakfast, lumberjack style, complete with this lovely statue of Paul and his sidekick, Babe, the blue ox. It brought to mind lumberjack cartoons I used to watch on Saturday mornings when I was a kid.

In the Epitaph series, I've made several references to the Benson brothers as "built like football linemen," but in the upcoming installment, the "new girl in town" envisions Thad Benson as Paul Bunyan (as an avid reader, she has a very active imagination).

I always enjoy revisiting old legends and folklore when I write. What are some of your favorites?

Watch for the next in the Epitaph series, coming this fall.

The first five EPITAPH books

Going on a Troll Hunt

What does an author do when she's between stories? Most often she keeps writing! But those are the moments when I find my best sources of inspiration, when I venture out into the world to discover new things.

I'm getting into the mind frame of my next character, who works with plants and trees and such, so what better place to visit than an arboretum? Actually, there is another place that serves as inspiration for my new setting, and I'm also planning a return trip there, but they don't have trolls.

Yes, trolls.


On a very warm day in the middle of the summer, my dear husband agreed to accompany me on a troll hunt. The arboretum covers 1,700 acres of land filled with trails and activities. To complete the troll hunt, we would have had to find six trolls and cover approximately six miles of trails. Some people abbreviate the miles by driving to parking lots that are close by, but as someone who enjoys hiking through dells and glens and meadows and trails, I opted to hoof it. We didn't cover six miles, and we only unearthed four of the trolls. Guess that means I have to make a return trip!

We found an aggressive troll who threw boulders at cars, a sneaky troll who lays in wait for unsuspecting prey to stumble into his trap, and a troll hiding behind a tree. Our fourth troll was actually the troll hideout, complete with giant toothbrush, cooking pot, basket and a wood-frame teepee. Everything in their camp was oversized.

Troll Trap!

Did I find the inspiration I was looking for? Yes! The hedge maze promises to figure prominently in Epitaph 7. The trolls? Not so much inspiration, but what a fun idea. I loved coming around the corner on a trail and finding a troll hiding in the trees.

Troll stew?

Birth Order

I've read the books, the articles, the psychology. Where you fall in line with your siblings tells a lot about who you are as a person. I subscribe to that - a little bit. But as with any rule, there are exceptions.

I married an "oldest" child, who firmly believes in the idea that the "youngest child" (looks at self, yep, I'm one of those) is always spoiled and gets away with things the oldest never could. I beg to differ. As the youngest child, it was assumed I would follow my older siblings and commit the same or similar transgressions, hence, intervention methods were taken. It took me a long time to figure out how come I was blamed for certain things I never did! Why my parents assumed I would act a certain way.

Don't get me wrong, some of the psychology is spot-on and I'm not here to tell you none of those birth-order traits apply to me. I am here to tell you some of those birth order traits apply to all children, no matter where they fall in the natural order.

So what's the point today? Bryan Benson.

For those of you following my Epitaph series, you might have read my concerns that Bryan was annoying me too much to get his own darn book. I'd committed to writing 7 Epitaph books, but when it came to that final sibling, I had a hard time relating to him, until I considered his birth order.

Bryan is NOT a youngest child. He's technically a middle child, but as I was writing Epitaph 6 (which is with the editor as we speak! YAY!), I figured I should give Bryan a chance to show me he was worthy of his own story, and you know what? He did. He has two older brothers who give him grief and a younger sister with "special talents." Is it any wonder this guy has issues? In each of his siblings' books, he's framed from their perspective. Of course they love their family, but they also don't consider his feelings all the time. He's their brother, after all. In Bryan's case, birth order does matter, and in order to write his story, I had to take him away from the bosom of family to give him a chance to grow and thrive and show the world there's more to him than being Amy's older brother and Thad and Garth's little brother. The more he showed up in Epitaph 6, the more I knew he deserved his chance in Epitaph 7.

Where do you fall in the birth order? How has it shaped the person you've become?

Are selkies really a thing?

Had a reader ask me recently if Selkies are really a thing or if I just made them up, so I thought I'd share my answer with all of you!

When I started the Epitaph series, all those darn McCormicks ended up with red hair (as is somewhat common among the Irish) with one notable exception. Liam's hair was black. I always knew Liam's story was going to involve Selkies -- yes, it's a genuine Irish legend and NOT something I made up.



Her's the official line on selkies (courtesy of Wikipedia):

A typical folk-tale is that of a man who steals a female selkie's skin, finds her naked on the sea shore, and compels her to become his wife.But the wife will spend her time in captivity longing for the sea, her true home, and will often be seen gazing longingly at the ocean. She may bear several children by her human husband, but once she discovers her skin, she will immediately return to the sea and abandon the children she loved.

Male selkies are described as being very handsome in their human form, and having great seductive powers over human women. They typically seek those who are dissatisfied with their lives, such as married women waiting for their fishermen husbands. In one popular tattletale version about a certain "Ursilla" of Orkney (a pseudonym), it was rumored that when she wished to make contact with her male selkie she would shed seven tears into the sea.

I've always been fascinated with fairy tales and folk tales - even the "Grimm" ones. When I set out to write THE SELKIE, I checked deeper into that particular legend, including watching an excellent movie called The Secret of Roan Inish (I would recommend it!). I also read another author's take on the legend, which was kind of fun. Roses bloomed all over the selkie's cottage out of season when the selkie's relative moved in. Naturally, when writing my version, I added my own spin, a little something known as artistic license.

The first five books

Crepuscular rays - Fingerprints of God

Q:  How many times do I hear people asking me what goes on inside an author's mind?
A: More times than I can count!

Today, I share with you some of those thoughts...

When I left the house this morning to take my morning constitutional, the dew point was still high. The sun was still rising. Combine the two and you get a beautiful combination of a natural phenomenon called crepuscular rays. As a woman of faith, this phenomenon presents itself to me as God shining down on me. Well, maybe not me in particular, but on the world, as if the morning fog makes His presence known in a more visible way.

All along the walk, more rays of sunshine, reaching to the sidewalk through the trees, lighting my path. These are the days I feel well and truly blessed. These are the days I know I don't walk alone in this life. With this natural display, God makes himself visible, touching the earth, all-encompassing, raining sun on every inch of the road I walk. Today was particularly impressive in that I had to walk through those rays to get to the sidewalk, through those rays all along my route. What a feeling of peace and comfort.

Goin' to the Chapel...

This past weekend, my one and only favorite son got married! Be prepared for parental gushing.

Proud Momma

You watch them grow from cuddly little children, to stubborn teenagers, to overwhelmed when they have to step into the "grown-up" world. I'm so darn proud of both my kids for having completed these steps, and they've each taken different roads to get there. Now, as I watch them both in the happily ever after phase of their lives, there's a feeling of melancholy that they're not my kids anymore. Of course they are! but they're all grown up and living their own lives now, and that's how it should be. The bonus is that in addition to having two children, now I get to "adopt" two more -- a strong son-in-law who adores my little girl, and a lovely daughter-in-law who is "amazing." Oh, wait. It doesn't end there! I also have two adorable little "Gs" -- the granddaughters, who are bundles of love. No, I haven't lost my children, my family has grown, and very likely, it will grow some more.

With that being said, I'm not going to embarrass my babies in a public forum, although I would love to do nothing more, by relating all the wonderful memories and joys that come from raising two such capable people. Instead, I'll just tell them both how very much I love them, and how very happy I am that they've found their happily ever afters. No, the story doesn't end here, there will still be conflicts to overcome, just like in the story books, but I'm confident they have found partners who will stand by them and who they will stand by.