The Beginnings Books aren’t always crafted in a linear fashion. In fact, my own personal experience shows that this is rarely the case for me. This year I am planning to launch the first part of my fantasy trilogy, the Sitka Saga, a story that has evolved and changed through the ten years I’ve spent … Continue reading The world needs your magic: Why I’m writing the Sitka Saga
Life on Minnesota's North Shore in February means cold, creativity, and plenty of hygge.
Like the rest of the Midwest, the North Shore has been thrown into deep, subzero temperatures, the likes of which we haven't seen in years. The schools have been closed, the winds have been howling, and we've been quickly going through the firewood and hot cocoa.
Since moving to Minnesota’s North Shore I’ve had people ask what it’s really like to live here year-round. In this month-by-month journal, I take you through the full year to give you a glimpse of What it’s Really Like.
October has come and gone like a whirlwind, bringing some of the loveliest afternoons, brilliant gold colors, and crashing waves. It also took with it the last of the leaves and warm days, and sent us into chilly November as it should. October is the last hurrah of the busy season on the North Shore. … Continue reading North Shore Life: What’s it Really Like? | October
There's a time to hang on. And finally, there's a time for change. Just as we get used to the slow hum of summer, September comes along to shake things up. At least in northeast Minnesota, it's the wild card of the year.
Since moving to Minnesota’s North Shore I’ve had people ask what it’s really like to live here year-round. In this month-by-month journal, I take you through the full year to give you a glimpse of What it’s Really Like. Natalie Babbitt wrote in Tuck Everlasting that the first week of August "hangs at the very top of … Continue reading North Shore Life: What’s it Really Like? | August
Since moving to Minnesota's North Shore I've had people ask what it's really like to live here year-round. In this month-by-month journal, I take you through the full year to give you a glimpse of What it's Really Like. Oh, July. Sweet midsummer. That time when the earth hums with activity: with bumblebee parties in … Continue reading North Shore Life: What’s it Really Like? | July
So ever since making the move to Grand Marais, the question that keeps coming my way is: What's it really like? You know, to dwell in this wilderness-y, picturesque, remote town not for a weekend every year, but all year long? Am I lying on a beach for half the year and narrowly avoiding frostbite for the other half of the year? Is the Lake Superior backdrop as dreamy at it would seem or do you just kind of get used to it? And how the heck do you survive all those mosquitoes?
It's been a long winter. Our first snowfall came just in time for Halloween, and has stuck around until spring. Throw in some -40 windchills around Christmas and a few 8-foot blizzards in February and we had ourselves a good old-fashioned winter, the kind I remember as a little girl, with no 50 degree weeks … Continue reading Winter, illness, and positivity