I've been taking a break from Widow's Tears to work on the book proposal for Laura and Rose, so that Kerry (Kerry Sparks, the project's agent at Levine-Greenberg) can shop it around to potential publishers. Kerry is wonderfully enthusiastic, but there's always more that can be done on any piece of writing--especially on a proposal. The proposal itself is all but finished, and I'm working on the sample chapters.
At some point, I'll post a list of the book's major research materials, but in the meantime, I wanted to share some online resources with you. My favorite is Nancy Cleaveland's wonderful blog, "As a Laura Ingalls Wilder Researcher Thinks." Nancy also maintains an all-things-Laura website called "Pioneer Girl: Fact and Fiction of Laura Ingalls Wilder" and she's on Twitter. Nancy has devoted years of study to the factual Laura, her family, and the places she lived--as well as to their fictional representations in the Little House books. Lots of insight, fascinating facts, and reliable information, fully documented. Both the blog and the website are a treasure trove. If you're just starting your own research into Laura's life, Nancy's work will give you a firm direction (and a wonderful model). If you're filling in the blanks, Nancy's research will help. A recent post, for instance, is called "Starry Papers." It's about the history behind the cut-out shelf paper that Ma Ingalls showed the girls how to cut in By the Shores of Silver Lake. And for a sample of her in-depth research into Rose's life and work, take a look at this post, about one of Rose's early ghost-writing projects. Wonderful!
For those of you who have been following the progress of our new well, Bill reports that we are now getting 10-12 gallons a minute. The water is completely tasteless and odorless (no chlorine, of course--and no sulphur) and crystal clear. He hasn't hooked the well into our water system yet because the current well is still producing about 2-3 gal/min--adequate for household use. The hookup is a job that can wait until the weather is warmer and we need the new well for irrigation. It's also a big job that requires substantial trenching for both water and electric lines and the construction of some kind of well-house. Ah, life in the country. It's always something...
Reading note. Every human should have the idea of taking care of the environment, of nature, of water. So using too much or wasting water should have some kind of feeling or sense of concern. Some sort of responsibility and with that, a sense of discipline.---The 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
