Book Review: The Winter King

The Winter King, a novel by Christine Cohen
Available from Amazon for $16.99 (Hardcover)

A Delightful Winter Read

I picked up an autographed copy of this book at an author signing event at BookPeople of Moscow.  It can be a little frightening to try a new author, but Christine Cohen did not disappoint.  Being a person who also dislikes having other people’s winter holidays thrust upon me, I found the main character’s resistance to winter festivities not only relatable, but a delightfully refreshing character trait.

Being an impoverished fifteen-year-old kitchen maid is tough.  Survival is even more difficult when the entire village believes your family has been cursed.  Yet, this is Cora Nikolson’s lot in life.  And she knows exactly where the blame lays, with the Winter King.  The God cursed her family, took her father’s life, and brought them to the brink of starvation.  Cora has no love for God, King, or country.  She despises religion and the Aldormany who carry out the Winter King’s cruel edicts.

After her mother loses her position as head cook, Cora takes on additional work as a housemaid, hoping the extra wages will keep her family from starving.  While dusting shelves in the library, she overhears a conversation between the Master House Steward and the High Aldorman.  They are discussing a book containing secrets regarding the Winter King.  Despite repeated attempts, they have been unable to destroy the book and it is imperative that no one in the village learns about its existence. Continue reading


Camp Grizzly History

My article, “History of the Camp Grizzly Area, 1900 to 1942” appears in the December 2019 edition of the Latah Legacy.

Did you know that before Camp Grizzly was a Boy Scout camp it was used by the Camp Fire Girls? 

And before that it was the site of a mining camp? 

And, despite the rumors you may have heard, it was not a logging camp?  Even though the property was owned by Potlatch Lumber Company for many years, managers William Deary and Allison Laird refused to log the property owing to its natural beauty.

Hard copies of this issue can be purchased for $5 from the Latah County Historical Society, in Moscow, Idaho.  Online versions of both of Camp Grizzly articles are accessible below: Continue reading