A New Frontier and a FREE Download

Communication has taken many forms throughout history. Ancient people left messages by drawing art and chiseling petroglyphs on rock. Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of movable press type around 1440 replaced the only means of duplicating print, copying with pen on paper. Movable lead type was used for printing into the 20th century. For the past half century, my work has been deeply involved in writing and publishing, and I’ve seen a few changes. In college while…

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Tattered Cover – the author’s friend

In the Denver area, we are fortunate to enjoy the services of the Tattered Cover. It is not only a remarkable independent bookstore, but is easily one of the finest bookstores in the United States. Speaking at the Tattered Cover when a book is published is an honored passage relished by authors near and far from all levels of experience. When you present at the Tattered Cover, you are treated like literary royalty as you…

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Scenic Views from a Desk Chair

When I was young, one of my favorite toys was a ViewMaster. When you held the device up to your face and looked into the eye holes, a vast array of scenic views in a quasi-3D format unfolded. This was my first exposure to treasures such as the Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns, Garden of the Gods, and Old Faithful Geyser. As I pressed the lever down, the reels transferred the beautiful images before my eyes,…

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What Happens in the Salon …

Midway through February, I will revisit the Denver Woman’s Press Club for some more historic journalism magic. My second visit within a month is part of their salon series. The program is entitled, Almost Famous: Crafting Characters from Colorado’s Past, which will feature myself and fellow DWPC journalist, Kimberly Field. In this program we will discuss several aspects of crafting characters from historical data into biographies. One of the inspirations for the program is my…

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The Walls Inspire

For the life of me, I can’t figure out how a building can lend so much inspiration and ambiance to a program. This was the case this past weekend when Filter Press publisher Doris Baker and I presented our program at the Denver Woman’s Press Club in Denver. The topic, Kid Lit: Tools, Trends, and Markets, was challenging and could have taken off down any number of paths. As it was, it became a magical…

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Back to the Basics

When I was in Chicago last June, we stopped in at Tribune Tower. My hub and I both graduated from journalism school at Northern Illinois University, and Tribune Tower is a bit of a shrine to us. My feelings were mixed. Always proud of my journalism background, I am so thankful for the tools it has given me, and the liberties it afforded me, but also, deeply saddened by the current struggles of newspapers and…

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Old Faces and New Places

In the early stages of writing a biography, ideas sometimes percolate on the back burner and germinate slowly through the seasons. Ideas grow as the creative cells divide. Sometimes I find myself in a locale that calls to me while I decide my next move. Usually, the place I seek is a cemetery. When I see the final destination of a person’s journey, I can visualize and speculate about the life which brought them there.…

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When you lose a friend

The sky was sad and dark the day I learned my friend Gwyn Ramsey died. In fact, the sky made me think her time had come, and sent me to check her Facebook. After all, that is how we often learn personal news these days. I wasn’t surprised, since she was struggling during her eighth round of battle with breast cancer. While I mourned when she entered hospice the week before, I wrote down some…

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Baby Doe is on a Roll!

This week, Women Writing the West announced winners and finalists of the 2012 WILLA Literary awards. Lo and behold, Baby Doe Tabor: Matchless Silver Queen is a finalist in the Scholarly Nonfiction category, its second award this year after winning Best Biography from CIPA. What an honor! WILLA awards will be presented October 19-21 in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Annual WWW Conference. Baby Doe, who loved jewels, now has gold and silver emblems for…

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A Bittersweet Homecoming

When we left Pikes Peak behind for opportunities in Denver in 1992, a piece of my heart stayed behind. Fortunately, I have been able to maintain many strong connections with Colorado Springs, and have enjoyed new associations through my work as a writer and historian, in my role as a biographer, and in preserving stories of the west. My work has allowed me to enjoy Colorado Springs on many new levels. This week, I returned…

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