CK Van Dam's Blog, page 4
July 23, 2024
A new genre. Stretching my writing muscles.
Proving Her Claim, Lone Tree Claim, and Medicine Creek Claim are part of the Historical Fiction genre with subcategories of Western Romance and Old West History. These books are generally written for adult readers.
The next book, When the Chokecherries Bloom, breaks from this pattern.
It’s still set in Dakota Territory.
Its main character is female.
But this story is written for younger audiences, probably for Middle Grade or Tween readers. Writing in a new genre has been challenging.
For instance:
Is the vocabulary understandable?Are the character’s actions age-appropriate?Are the plot lines believable?Watch for more details about When the Chokecherries Bloom soon, and look for it to be published later this year.
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July 16, 2024
Medicine Creek Claim Research
Before I started writing Medicine Creek Claim, the third book in the series, I did some research – and a lot of reading.
As I wrote in earlier blogs, Medicine Creek Claim was inspired by Edith (Ammons) Kohl’s book Land of the Burnt Thigh. Edith and her sister Ida Mary staked claims in South Dakota in 1907.
That was just the beginning of the pre-writing research. Since Charlotte, one of the main characters, worked as a medic in the Union Army, I learned about the women of the Civil War in She Went to the Field. When I needed to learn about women physicians in the Old West, I read Pioneer Doctor, the story of Dr. Molly Atwater.
Also, I needed to ensure I was using the correct medical terminology, treatments, and tools of the trade. And it needed to be historically precise for the Civil War. For instance, were soldiers shot with a bullet or a ball? (Answer: a ball). And how was that ball extracted? I leaned heavily on Bleed, Blister and Purge for authenticity. (I also asked a healthcare expert to read the manuscript for accuracy.)
Then, I needed to learn more about bushwhackers, specifically William Quantrill and Frank James. For that, I read Bushwackers by Samuel Hildebrand, William Quantrill and Quantrill’s Raiders, and Outlaws of the Legendary West by Bill Markley.
To ensure that I had the Civil War actions, battles, generals, and other background information correct, I used Jerry K. Sweeney’s A Handbook of American Military History. (Dr. Sweeney was also my history advisor in college.)
Medicine Creek Claim also references the 1862 uprising in Minnesota. I used The Dakota War of 1862 and Through Dakota Eyes to ensure I understood the causes and effects of that time in history.
Of course, the books were just part of the research. Internet searches, including several Civil War historical websites, were extremely valuable in verifying historical accuracy.
Doing the research – the homework – is part of the fun of writing historical fiction. When I understand the time period’s history, I can write more believable characters. And that’s really fun.
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July 7, 2024
Questions from readers
I’ve written about how much I enjoy talking with readers at book fairs and signings. Readers ask great questions and have insights about the books I didn’t even consider. For instance:
Q. Do you get ideas while you’re sleeping?
A. The answer is yes and no. I used to get ideas in dreams, but now I practice more conscious brainstorming. I keep a small notebook at home to record ideas, research information, and just for random thoughts. I take a “mini notebook” with me wherever I go. While traveling, I recently pulled out the mini notebook and jotted down an idea. My travel partner said, “Did you just get an idea for your next book?”
Yes. Yes, I did.
Q. Do you have a daily writing schedule?
A. I started writing Proving Her Claim because I enjoyed the break from “work” writing. I’ve continued that “recreational writing” philosophy in retirement. Writing isn’t a job for me – I write when the mood hits me. But I’ve found that I’m “ready to write” around noon or 1 pm after finishing my other tasks, whether it’s writing a blog or doing laundry. Once I get into a rhythm with the story, I write for three or four hours. On a good day, I’ll write 2000 to 2500 words. On other days, I might manage only 900 or 1000 words – probably because I’m also working on the plot lines or doing impromptu research. A good example was the research I did with Godey’s Lady’s Book or what pioneers would pack in their wagons.
Q. How long did it take to write each book?
A. I wrote Proving Her Claim about 25 years ago. Then, my partner and I opened an advertising agency. I tucked away the Proving manuscript to run the business. I published the first book after I retired. Lone Tree Claim took about a year to concept, write, and publish. Medicine Creek Claim was written and published in five months.
Q. How did you decide where the claims would be located?
A. Great question. While doing research, I found a territorial plat map that recorded where townships were surveyed by year. It was a good indicator of when claims were platted. Research is key for details like that.
Q. Do you outline your books before writing?
A. Sort of. There are two schools of thought for plotting a novel. Some writers create a detailed outline for each chapter and closely follow that outline. Not surprisingly, they’re the “outliners.” Other authors use a more organic, free-form method – they’re called “pantsers” (for “seat of their pants”). I use both methods. Each book starts with a sketchy outline that includes some plot points needed to move the story forward. But once I get into writing, I often go “off road,” changing that roadmap as needed. In fact, my characters occasionally surprise me by doing or saying something I didn’t expect.
That’s fun. And that’s why I’ve continued to write about the surprising, strong women On the Dakota Frontier.
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June 21, 2024
Authors talking to authors
2024 authors at Wild Deadwood Reads pose for “class photo” before the fun begins.
Avid readers often ask other readers, “What are you reading right now?” Writers, on the other hand, ask each other, “What are you writing right now?”
I heard that a lot at Wild Deadwood Reads last week. It’s a book fair on steroids. Nearly 100 authors and hundreds of readers got together to shop for books and talk about books.
I shared a table with a fellow writer. Johny Weber writes in a similar genre and is also a South Dakotan through and through. She and I met at last year’s SD Festival of Books and agreed to be tablemates. It was fun to catch up with Johny, her family, and, of course, her horse.
But I talked with dozens of other authors, too. Each of them has a story (or two or three) in their heads for their next book. It’s fascinating to talk to and listen to authors who have been publishing for years. The first question is always, “What do you write?” Then, “What are you writing right now?” I’ve learned a lot from authors at these book fairs.
This was my second year at the event—I even had a couple of repeat customers who bought my two newest novels. To paraphrase Sally Field, “You read me. Right now. You read me!” There is no greater compliment than having a reader like an author’s stories so much that they can’t wait to read the next one(s).
Wow.
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June 5, 2024
Inspiration: Land of the Burnt Thigh
The On the Dakota Frontier books were inspired by historical statistics, pioneer truisms, and actual accounts from women homesteaders. As readers have noted, I conducted significant historical research to provide accurate narratives for each story.
Proving Her Claim was based on the statistic that while 12% of homesteaders were women, 42% of women homesteaders (who were single, widowed, or divorced) proved their claims, while 37% of men (single or married) proved their claims. Hmmm. There was a story there!
Lone Tree Claim was inspired by the agricultural adage “Sheep were for the cash. Cattle were for the prestige.”
Medicine Creek Claim is about two sisters who staked claims in Dakota Territory – much like Edith and Ida Mary Ammons. The Ammons sisters came to South Dakota in 1907, homesteading near the Lower Brule Indian Reservation. In 1938, Edith published Land of the Burnt Thigh, chronicling the sisters’ adventures on the frontier.
But the Ammons sisters did more than simply stake and work their claims. Within a few weeks to arriving in South Dakota, Edith was running a newspaper and Ida Mary was teaching school. Land of the Burnt Thigh is their story. The book details their battles with prairie fires, rattlesnakes, and blizzards — in addition to proving their claims.
I wanted to write a story about sisters in Medicine Creek Claim. As the oldest of three sisters, I understand their interactions and unique bonds. Our sisters are often our first friends—and our first foes.
(Author’s note: I found Land of the Burnt Thigh when I was doing my initial research for Proving Her Claim. Recently, a friend gave me a first-edition copy of Land of the Burnt Thigh. It is among my treasured possessions.)
All the books in the series tell stories about the strong women who helped build our nation. It was the women like the Ammons sisters who tamed the prairies. They built the church congregations. They were the school teachers, the midwives, and the mothers who tended the children.
Here’s to the strong women who went before us. We’re standing on their shoulders.
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May 25, 2024
Godey’s Lady’s Book: Fashion Bible
Medicine Creek Claim includes several mentions of Godey’s Lady’s Book, but I also referenced this 19th-century “fashion bible” for my earlier books.
Godey’s is a treasure trove for historical fiction authors. From 1830 to 1898, Godey’s was the premier women’s magazine of its time. Louis Godey, a publisher in Philadelphia, PA, established the magazine.
I purchased a digital issue of Godey’s in order to “paint a picture” of the dresses that Charlotte and Lizzy wore. Shopkeeper Isabell Vaughn also subscribed to Godey’s. She pulled out the latest issue to help Charlotte select a dress and then sold Charlotte the fabric to sew that dress.
While Godey’s is remembered today for its “fashion plates” – the magazine also published works by some of the most celebrated authors of its time. Readers enjoyed poetry, fiction, and essays by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Harriet Beecher Stowe and more.
The magazine gained prominence when Louis Godey purchased the Boston publication Ladies’ Magazine in 1837. Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of Ladies’ Magazine, joined Godey’s staff. Hale bought a commitment to publishing materials that would appeal to its female readership. With Hale as editor and a predominantly female workforce, Godey’s Lady’s Book became the premier women’s magazine of the 1800s.
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May 9, 2024
Two More (Fictional) Women Who Tamed the Frontier
This month I released the third book in my On the Dakota Frontier series. Medicine Creek Claim is the story of two sisters who lived in Missouri during the Civil War.
Why Missouri, when the other books are set in Dakota Territory?
Missouri was a key battleground state during the War Between the States. The state saw more than 1,200 battles and skirmishes. Only Virginia and Tennessee exceeded this level of combat.
Missouri was deeply divided into pro-slavery and anti-slavery camps. Claimed by both the Union and the Confederacy, Missouri held a unique position and was the site of both conventional battles and guerrilla warfare. In addition to conflicts between Union and Confederate forces, “private armies” of Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers fought in the state. These citizen militia groups did not abide by the rules of war, often attacking non-combatants.
Medicine Creek Claim follows Charlotte and Lizzy Ward as they face the challenges of war, family losses, and (spoiler) bushwhackers. And that’s before they come to the Dakota frontier. It’s a story about the grit and determination these sisters summoned to survive the horrors of the Civil War and then to create new lives in Dakota Territory.
I’ve told readers that these sisters have been “living in my head” for a year as I wrote Medicine Creek Claim. Now, I’m sharing their story.
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April 27, 2024
Range wars: cattlemen vs sheepherders
Spoiler alert: One of the recurring themes in Lone Tree Claim is the conflict between cattlemen and sheepherders.
As farmers, ranchers, and sheepherders moved into the open range of the western frontier, this conflict was not just inevitable, but also a significant part of American history. While there were millions of acres of open-range grassland for grazing, cattlemen saw sheep as invaders. Cattlemen had myriad slurs for sheep and sheepherders, such as “hooved locusts.” This clash between two factions shaped the landscape of the American West.
So, cattlemen vs. sheepherders seemed a logical plot point for this story. Katie Rose Kelly is a (pardon the pun) dyed-in-the-wool sheepherder. Her love interest, Jake Riley, is a cowboy on one of the territory’s most prominent cattle ranchers. That’s conflict #1.
Conflict #2 is the competition for grazing land between cattle and sheep. Cattle graze on tender grasses of the prairie, while sheep are less particular about their forage and will graze on grass, as well as weeds and scrub vegetable, leaving less vegetable to hold down the top soil. Less top soil meant new-growth grass will have a tougher time emerging.
According to Wikipedia, between 1870 and 1920, approximately 120 engagements occurred in eight states or territories. At least 54 men were killed, and some 50,000 to over 100,000 sheep were slaughtered. Most of those fatalities occurred in Texas, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado and Idaho.
The book does take some literary license with the range war theme, which actually heated up in the 1880s rather than the 1860s, which is the setting for Lone Tree Claim. Nevertheless, range wars were a reality on the open plains in the 1800s.
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April 19, 2024
Forces of Nature
Without a doubt, the forces of nature were the most challenging adversaries that confronted homesteaders.
In Lone Tree Claim, Katie Rose Kelly comes up against Mother Nature time and time again. Spoiler alert: she wins.
From floods and fires to tornados and blizzards, pioneers were constantly watching – and battling – the weather. Most of these natural disasters were unexpected, compounding the danger.
Yes, blizzards are expected in the winter, but homesteaders didn’t have the luxury of round-the-clock weather forecasts that might allow them to prepare for winter storms. The Great Blizzard of 1888 struck on a January a day that started out so mild that many children didn’t even wear winter coats to school. In the aftermath, 235 people perished on the plains.
Prairie Fire: A Great Plains History chronicles the stories of pioneers who fought fast-moving blazes. The book details how farmers and ranchers fought the fires that raced through tinder-dry prairie grasses. I relied on those stories when writing about Katie’s battle against the prairie fire in Lone Tree Claim.
While grasshoppers and locusts were much more frequent and devasting in the 1930s, there were instances in the 1860s and 1870s when grasshoppers passed through, eating everything in their path. One article described how ‘hoppers ate the fabric off a covered wagon on a military post. Other articles explained how farmers fought the flying critters. That information found its way into Katie’s story, too.
These and other challenges were just some of the reasons that less than half of homesteaders were able to successfully prove their claims: 42% of unmarried women and 37% of men, married or single.
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April 7, 2024
Support your local library
National Library Week is April 7 – 13. This year’s theme is “Ready, Set, Library!”
I prefer the title of this column: Support your local library.
Why? Because local libraries support our communities. Libraries are more than a place to check out a book or access free internet service. Libraries have expanded their services in order to stay relevant with today’s audiences.
Here’s a list of some of the items or services that your local library may be offering for checkout:
Garden seed exchangeLocal and national newspapersMagazines on all types of subjectsMusic and moviesState park one-day passesOriginal artworkToys and board gamesLanguage classesTax preparation adviceThis week might be the time to “check out” your local library.
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