"Often the tip is something I already know; often it’s about a feature that I don’t think I’d ever use, and sometimes—like today—it provides a solution to a problems that’s been vexing me for weeks."
On Writing
On Writing: Narrative History Requires More Than Getting the Facts Right
It's my job to present old stories for today's readers. I want people to read straight through my stuff and say: "That's interesting."
Narrative History or Historical Fiction 3: A Moonlit Night In Yellowstone Park, August 23, 1877.
"Emma couldn’t have known that Yellow Wolf and his band of Nez Perce scouts had seen the bonfire and were planning to attack the camp the next morning."
Montana Book Award Honors Goodbye Wifes and Daughters by Susan Kushner Resnick
Goodbye Wifes and Daughters tells an archetypical story, one that Montanans know all too well. Some men cut corners to maximize profit; others willingly work in dangerous places to support their families, and many men die. It might have been hard rock miners in Butte or asbestos processors in Libby, but Susan Kushner Resnick chose … Continue reading Montana Book Award Honors Goodbye Wifes and Daughters by Susan Kushner Resnick
Montana Book Award Honors Everything: A Novel by Kevin Canty
"Ganty's characters and their problems that make the book stick in the reader's mind like a well set fishhook."
Guest Blog: Reading Hemingway in Yellowstone by Craig Lancaster
How does he do that? When you pick up one of Craig Lancaster's books, he grabs you by the throat and drags you kicking and screaming into the story. You've got no choice.You just turn the pages until you get to the end. Then you say, "that was good." Craig's writing is invisible like a … Continue reading Guest Blog: Reading Hemingway in Yellowstone by Craig Lancaster
News: Bound Like Grass: A Montana Memoir Masterpiece
"McLaughlin writes with the blazing clarity of prairie sun on a cloudless day. She uses writing techniques like a master novelist to turn what might seem the most ordinary of lives into a compelling story."
News: Memoir About Growing Up on High Plains Wins 2010 Montana Book Award
Bound Like Grass: A Memoir from the Western High Plains is an honest, beautifully written memoir of McLaughlin’s own and her family's struggle to survive on their isolated wheat and cattle farm.
News: A Peak Experience — A Whole Day With Book Lovers and Great Books
And in the evening—dinner in the wine cellar of Chico five-star restaurant. Great food and great conversation with avid readers who love books. Life just doesn’t get any better!
What’s a story? It helps to know what you’re looking for:
" ... a story is a description of what happens when a person encounters a situation that demands a response."
M. Mark Miller, Author 