2023 was extraordinary year for me, with so much to be thankful for. From the experimental publication of an original audio book (The Levee) in February to the more traditional publication of my newest stand-alone novel The River We Remember this past fall, it’s been a joyride, start to finish. The Levee billboard in Times … Read more
I posted recently on Facebook about my extraordinary time in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota. One thing I didn’t talk about is the devastating threat this pristine wilderness currently faces: sulfide mining. Unlike iron mining, sulfide-ore copper mining generates waste rock full of sulfates, which, when exposed to air and water, becomes sulphuric acid, … Read more
Spring has finally come to Minnesota, or at least my part of it. With sunny days in the 70’s, I’ve taken my bikes—my Trek road bike and my Vado e-bike—out of storage and hit the road again. I took a favorite route yesterday. For those of you who know St. Paul, I followed the Gateway … Read more
Winter was tough in Minnesota this year. But spring may prove to be just as difficult. Most rivers in the state are at or above flood stage, the Mississippi among them. For those of you who’ve read my novel This Tender Land, on the river journey the four Vagabonds undertake in the summer of 1932, they … Read more
A couple of weeks ago, I returned to Minnesota from Galveston, Texas, where I’d enjoyed temperatures in the very pleasant seventies. Last night in the Twin Cities, the mercury plummeted to fourteen degrees below zero with wind chills approaching thirty-five degrees below. It’s easy to enjoy life when you’re strolling along a balmy beach. But … Read more