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Where did you grow up?
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The place I grew up is not far from where I live today, a small town called Paw Paw, in north central Illinois. I used to ride the bus to school, sit in the back with my knees pressed to the seat in front of me as we bounced down bumpy roads. By the fifth grade my family moved to town. My graduation class had 24 kids. We rarely dated each other - it felt like dating your cousin. In summer we ambled down the tracks to the tin bridge and inched our way across the cat walk under the train trestle and some fifty feet above the creek. We went swimming at the local pond til some kid got sick and I never got to go back. In winter we ice skated on the streets til we reached the sewer plant and skated on the smooth paths the city officials had cleared on the pond for us with their jeep-like snow plow. Our greatest rivals were the Earlville Red Raiders, my husband's, as well as my kids almamater.
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Do you have another job besides writing?
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I've had several jobs besides writing. Currently, you can find me at the Earl Township Public Library where I'm the children's librarian. I have lots of fun running programs. Our chess club is in its third year, as well as our kids book club. The "Duck On In" preschool story time and Fantastic Fridays are for my younger friends. Being a librarian helps to keep books in my hands and folks sharing their likes or dislikes on what they've read. As a writer, I appreciate their honesty.
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Do you have any kids?
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As I've mentioned before, I have three children, all grown now, well, at least taller than I am. They are my inspiration to keep trying, keep plodding along even when I don't want to. They have been a joy to raise. Even those bad days seem more humorous now than sad, and I thank the Almighty for that perspective. I don't regret for a moment putting my children first and letting my writing stack up in my head as easily as the laundry mounted before the washer. I've always known when the time was right - I'd become a published author.
Another joy of mine is my twin granddaughters. Talk about joy in stereo - it doesn't get much better than that. If I need a pick-me-up, I just walk across the road and hug a grandchild.
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Do you help your husband farm?
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I could write a book about being the wife of a farmer. I'd call it, Barnyard Bloopers. I'd start with the day our new minister came to visit and my honey was sorting hogs. It was a sunny day with just enough of a breeze to carry your voice, my husband's especially. And after the wind died down and my ears were still ringing from the unsavory message we had just received from the pig pen, the minister turned to me and asked who that might be out there.
So, yes, I help with the farming, but my best help is accomplished in the kitchen. I'm better at hauling food than wagons. It's not that I can't drive a tractor, but my son surpassed my capabilities by the time he was ten, so I figured it was a sign that we all had our jobs to do and I became the gofer girl, which means I go for this, go for that, usually parts for some machine. After thirty years, I've become fairly competent at my farming duties. And most of all, I still love riding a round or two on the combine with my husband and letting him tell me how the harvest is going.
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Do you like to travel?
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Kurt and I have always said that when we get old, we'll sell the house, buy a camper and stay one state ahead of the mail. In the meantime, we travel when we can, usually someplace warm and sunny where the main language is Spanish. For a special anniversary our children gave us a trip to Ireland. For nine fun filled days we traversed the hillsides, climbed every castle we could, gazed at innumerable majestic landscapes and spent time with some of the friendliest folks on earth. We returned happy, worn to a frazzle, and craving a beer.
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Can you tell your identical granddaughters apart?
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Of course! They are as alike as two siblings can be with personalities as different as any other sisters. They're great pals with each other, but also need their own space.
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What do you read?
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I love action, intrigue and emotional depth. Right now, I'm reading Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls. I never read it when I was young and have decided to correct that error. I'm also reading Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo, a science fiction tale that has captured my attention. And I adore Janet Evanovich's series with Stephanie Plum, the bounty hunter. I personally boosted her sales by giving several of her books away. I wanted everyone to get caught up in the antics of this character. Book Eleven can't come fast enough! Then there's Nicholas Sparks. My goodness, I like what I read when I open one of his books.
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Did you do a lot of research on your book, Memories Trail?
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The research regarding the Shawnee, as well as the Pawnee Indians I found fascinating and sometimes difficult to grasp. I worked on this book before personal computers and the world-wide-web were household items. I scrambled and dug through numerous texts, trying to decipher boundaries, treaties, and the way of life for folks in the early 1800's. I chose not to talk to any Shawnee while doing my research, not because of what they might tell me, but because I wanted my characters to find out about the conflict Tecumseh faced on their own. I wanted my readers to learn as my characters did, through the actions that took place as they happened.
I didn't have a notion to write anything against the United States government, I just wanted to know what it must have been like for a frontiersman in the midst of such conflict. The book wrote itself in that respect. My character Will, had firmly set beliefs on how an honest man lived. He respected the land and the people who had lived on it for generations. Tecumseh was one of those men. If you want to know more about the Shawnee warrior, there is plenty written about him. My character, Elizabeth became his friend as an adult and learned to form her own opinions on Indian life.
The fact that Tecumseh had visions sounds unbelievable to some people. I, on the other hand, found it inspiring that one man listened so well to nature and God that he could predict what was to come. His ideals were a dream that many nations today strive for. He wanted an allied Indian Nation where all natives stood united and yet had the freedom to live as they chose. And as I've mentioned before, my story is fiction, but the life of Tecumseh was very real. I searched for ways to make him not only a figure in history that we should and do respect, but as a man with conflict on every level of life.
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What do you do in your spare time?
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In our more nimble years, our family boated on the Illinois River nearly every weekend during summer and fall. Now the boat sits in the shed unless one of our kids decides to go for a ride. I do enjoy family time, eating and laughing with those who appreciate my quirky humor. I garden, thanks to the help of my good friend Marge who ran a greenhouse flower shop for nearly twenty years. I do flowers better than vegetables, but haven't given up yet. I have dreams of huge pumpkins bigger than my grandkids.
Weekend get-aways are high on my To Do list. I love meandering through little shops whether they be a soap shop or antique, then relaxing later to watch a sunset. I also like to entertain in my home. We Larsons seem to have a reason to party for nearly every occasion. It's what makes my photo albums look as if they need to diet.
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What's your favorite music? Movie?
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Old time rock 'n roll pipes through my house on a regular basis, but a close second is country western. We've been going to concerts lately; saw Alabama, Toby Keith, Allan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Trace Atkins, and I loved each and every one of them. I'm looking forward to Kenny Rogers this winter, and my goal is to see the Moody Blues again sometime soon.
As for movies... Bruce Almighty is one of my favorites, along with Overboard, A Knight's Tale, Shakespeare in Love, and The Last of the Mohicans. I don't go for the gory (weird heh?) Or the stupid. We recently saw The Forgotten - very powerful and wonderfully executed film. If a movie is based after a book, I always try to read the book before I see the movie, and often wonder why they changed the plot when it obviously worked well enough in the book.
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What are you going to write next? |
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The family saga of Will and Elizabeth merely wait to become published. I've written three generations of stories about this family. I've explored the expansion of the west, family problems with gambling and abuse, plus the agony of the southern rebellion.
Another series I hope to publish is in the science-fiction genre where the werewolf is the good guy and his soldiers work diligently to clean the universe of evil. They are the most powerful creature the Lord has ever made, except on Earth they have a small problem, they are forgetful and have to rely on instinct to keep them on the right track. Things don't always go how they planned.
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