Candace Simar's Blog, page 3

Photos by Sherrie Lillich

#Frontier Logging #Pine River Historical Society #Pine River Camber of Commerce #Blue Cottage Agency

It was great fun to venture into the world of skit writing for the Pine River Variety Show on July 7th and 8th. Tamarack Down, Boys takes place in a bunkhouse at a frontier logging camp along the Pine River.  The actors, of course, make or break a skit, and the cast did an excellent job. At a coffee party to celebrate the performance, Yuma asked me if I recognized any lines from the original script. He admitted to forgetting most of his part. Hey, the improvisions were great. Let’s do it again sometime.

#Northwoods Arts and Book Festival #Hackensack #Hackensack Chambers of Commerce #Minnesota #Art #Books #Festival #Blue Cottage Agency

I’ve attended the Hackensack Festival since its beginnings. There’s something for everyone. I enjoy the artwork and pottery. The Lions sell food. Local vendors sell honey, greeting cards, jewelry, and much more. I hope you can make it. Look for me in the book room at the UC Church.

I grew up on dried beef, and knew very well how it was made
and how it tasted. In spite of this, until recently, I thought all salt pork was
in a liquid brine. The re-enactors at Fort Abercrombie set me straight. One of
the soldier’s wives brought samples of hardtack and salted pork. To my
surprise, the pork was like dried beef, rolled in thick layers of salt, and set
aside to dry. The salt prevented spoilage. To use, the salt was scraped off and
the meat cooked in a soup pot to reconstitute. Brined salt pork was
inconvenient to carry, and so the dried salt pork was used to outfit the
soldiers. It flavored beans, barley, peas, or whatever the soldier found to
eat.

The hardtack was hard as a rock and impossible to eat
without mixing it into a mush in coffee or other liquid. Yum—not! 

I’ll be at Aber Days this coming Saturday, August 5th. I believe the reenactors will be there, also. 

 #Civil War #Re-enactment #Union Soldiers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#Rockymountainlocusts #Kimballhistoricalsociety #Stearns County #Grasshopper Chapel

I’m speaking at Kimball, Minnesota, on Tuesday, July 25th at 7pm. The topic? The Rocky Mountain Locusts and Frontier Life in Stearns County. The Rocky Mountain Locusts swarmed into Central North America in the 1870s devastating the crops for five  years in a row. Minnesota was a young state and the settlers were barely established. Without the safety net of government support, many gave up and returned east.

People often ask what my favorite book is. Just one? Are they kidding? I’ve read LOTS of books in my lifetime and loved most of them. It’s hard to choose one, or even a single genre. Historical novels have been my mainstay throughout my adult life, but I like mysteries and nonfiction, too. Recently I was invited by Shepherd.com to make a list of five recent favorites. World War 2 is a favorite time period, so War of the Rats made the top of my list. Also I’ve been interested in the Dust Bowl days–thus, Laurie Lowenstein’s wonderful series (Death of a Rainmaker and Funeral Train) are new favorites. Elmer Kelton’s The Time it Never Rained left me bleary and teary. If only I could write like him. Marcie Rendon’s Red River Series hit home because it is set in the Viet Name era in the area where I grew up. Having a Native American protagonist gave me a new view of racism where I live in Minnesota. A good thing! The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah is magnificent. Set in Alaska immediately after Viet Nam struck a chord with me, not only for the PTSD theme in Viet Name vets, but also the survival of a young girl caught in the dysfunction of her parents.

Check out more great historical reads at    https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/historical-fiction   Let me know what your favorite books are. I’m always looking for new suggestions.

 

#Stalingrad #Viet Nam PTSD

I’ve been doing a lot of research on frontier logging for SISTER LUMBERJACK, coming out in January of 2024. When Colleen Moser asked me to write a skit for the Variety Show, she allowed me to choose an historical topic pertinent to Pine River’s early days. Of course, I used my logging research to write a skit entitled TAMARACK DOWN. This twenty-minute skit takes place in a bunkhouse at an early logging camp along the Pine River. It was a fun project and I’ll be front and center for the show tonight and tomorrow night, July 7 at 7pm and July 8 at 5pm. I’ve heard the actors are having great fun with it. Thank you, Colleen and the Sesquicentennial committee, for giving me this opportunity. There are many other acts scheduled for the show. I hope to see you at the Pine River High School. Tickets are $8 at the door.

Thank you, Dale, for taking the time to both read and comment on Abercrombie Trail. #Fort Abercrombie #Grankokken Savannah Waterfowl Area  #Minnesota history  #Civil War

 

“Candace, I just wanted to reach out and say how great your books are.  I’ve read two so far, Abercrombie Trail and Blooming Prairie.   I just started Pomme De Terre (a bit out of order).

“My wife and I bought a place a few years ago on the north side of Stowe Lake in between Brandon and Evansville.  We are very close to the Abercrombie trail where it crossed in-between Upper and Lower Hunt lakes.  The signs posted about the trail’s crossing led me to do a little research which in turn led me to your books.  There is so much history in the area.

“I do a lot of hunting and exploring in the area and it fascinates me to think about the pioneers and Indians that walked the same grounds.  This past fall I took a couple of photographs from a vantage point overlooking the

“Grandokken-Savanna Waterfowl production area. The photos were taken just north of the Abercrombie Trail and the first picture is looking east, southeast towards Upper and Lower Hunt lakes with the second picture looking straight south.   I can’t help but think this is how the landscape looked back in the day when Evan Jacobson drove the stage coach through the area.

“I thought you might enjoy the pics.”

Dale

 

 

*Letter and images shared with Dale Lhotka’s permission.

AS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON VOYAGEMINNESOTA.COM

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Candace Simar.

Candace, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve always been a history buff. Quite by accident, I stumbled across a bit of family genealogy that I couldn’t wait to share with my college-aged kids. They were going to be home for the 4th of July in 2000, and I planned a Hallmark moment. I could imagine them wide-eyed and excited as I told them about their great-great-grandfather who drove the stagecoach to Fort Abercrombie during the final days of the Civil War. To my chagrin, they were not interested in their ancestors, Minnesota history, the Sioux Uprising, or the Civil War. My son challenged me to “write a book about it if I cared so much.”

My first book, Abercrombie Trail, was loosely inspired by my great-grandfather’s story. I wrote it as historical fiction to reach people who had never been interested, like my kids, in history. The writing was harder than I expected. I had already been writing poems, magazine articles, and short anthology pieces, but had worked as an RN all my life, a novel proved to be daunting.

I googled and attended my first Iowa Summer Writing Program in 2001. My instructor for the historical novel class was Diana Ossana, Larry McMurtry’s writing partner. Little did I know that she had shown my sample pages to Mr. McMurtry (Pulitzer Prize Winner for Lonesome Dove) and received his advice concerning my project. She challenged me to revise and complete the story. Looking back, her generosity and encouragement helped me to write Abercrombie Trail, Pomme de Terre, Birdie (Spur Award Winner), and Blooming Prairie (Spur Award Finalist).

The Abercrombie Trail Series carries the readers through the actual history of the U.S. Dakota War of 1862, the Civil War, those first difficult years as Scandinavian immigrants coming to America, and the Rocky Mountain Locust Plagues of the 1870s. It was great fun researching and writing about actual events in regional history using fictitious characters.

My next novel, Shelterbelts (Willa Award and Midwest Book Awards finalist) was about Scandinavians in rural Minnesota at the end of World War 2. Escape to Fort Abercrombie returned to the U.S. Dakota War. It received a Will Rogers Gold Medallion and the Peacemaker Award. In between novels, I have published two short story books and a poetry book with my sister, My next novel, Sister Lumberjack, is with the publisher and scheduled to be released in early 2024.

Sometimes when I’m feeling like I’m not accomplishing much, I look at my wall of book covers. It’s satisfying to see how far I’ve come. Yes, I’m working on my next novel scheduled to be released in 2025. Needless to say, I’m never bored.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There is a lot to learn about writing novels. No one would expect someone to perform in Carnegie Hall after her first piano lesson, and yet most people think writing is different. I attended multiple writing workshops and have learned the writing craft bit by bit. There is much more to learn. I continue to attend at least one master-level writing workshop every year to keep improving my craft.

I was shocked to learn that a writer spends as much time marketing the final product as he did writing the novel. Self-promotion is distasteful even on a good day. I was blessed to connect with Krista Soukup at Blue Cottage Agency for assistance with marketing.

I like to think that my best writing lies ahead of me. For sure, the stories keep perking in my brain.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I write historical fiction about Scandinavian immigrants in frontier Minnesota and North Dakota. Being of Danish/Norwegian descent, I was raised in the Scandinavian culture of rural Minnesota. Readers connect with the frontier experience and the history of the region.

I have received a Spur Award and was a finalist Spur Award winner, a Will Rogers Gold Medallion, a Peacemaker Award from the Western Fictioneers, was a finalist for the Willa Literary Awards in Historical Fiction, a finalist in the Midwest Book Awards, and numerous regional awards.

I have shared my research and writing with schools, churches, Scandinavian groups, historical societies, and other civic groups. I have met great people at book clubs, library events, and as a vendor at book festivals. I feel blessed to have had this unexpected adventure at this time of my life.

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Writing is like putting a baby in a beauty contest. The mother does not want to hear any criticism of her darling and can become defensive when it occurs.

It’s risky to put something written out into the world for others to read. Some people might complain or criticize. Some might think of my characters as autobiographical when they are not. Reviewers may give it a thumbs up or thumbs down. It’s all risky.

Writing creates a deep connection with readers all over the world. Readers feel like they know me after reading my work. I feel the same about my favorite authors. This connection with readers makes the risk worthwhile, but writing still requires a lot of courage.

Contact Info:

Website: www.candacesimar.comFacebook: Author Candace SimarOther: Author Candace Simar on Instagram

 

Image Credits
Krista Soukup, Blue Cottage Agency

Anna V’s B&B in Lanesboro, MN, was my first solo venture in directing a writing retreat. Since that time in 2015, I have enjoyed teaching the craft of writing in many different places. What wonderful people I have met along the way. About 10% of the population feels they have a story to write. It’s rewarding to help an aspiring writer find the words and get them on the page. Perhaps your group is looking for a presenter. Let’s talk about it. www.candacesimar.com

I was so grateful to be included in this 2016 wall hanging created by the Bagley Friends of the Library. Minnesota authors were asked to autograph a strip of cloth that became the spines of the books on this gorgeous work of art. It was raffled off with the funds used to support library activities. Thank you Bagley Library and all the libraries who work hard to promote literary arts.