My story, The Ravages of March: A Far-Flung Family Struck by Floods, appears in the May 2017 issue of Idaho Magazine. This story covers flooding that occurred near Potlatch, Idaho, as well as flooding that affected Bonner and Boundary Counties. Copies of the magazine are usually available from BookPeople of Moscow and if they sell out, you can always buy a copy directly from Idaho Magazine.
Well, I’ve been published again. The Spokesman Review Huckleberries Online Blog ran the cartoon below on Thursday, January 26th. The editor of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News said it was confusing and he didn’t get it, so it did not appear in the local paper.
My story on Idaho’s one room schools appears in the December 2016 edition of IDAHO Magazine. Did you know there are fourteen one room schools still operating in Idaho, including the one in Cavendish?
To entertain myself, and occasionally my children, I create political cartoons. My latest creation ran in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News on November 21, 2016. The cartoon was also offered to the Spokesman Review for the Huckleberries Online Blog, a site which has previously published my work. Unfortunately, they declined this one, stating, “I don’t like the word “racist” used on my blog to label anyone unless someone is a card-carrying, Richard butler-type racist — dfo.” C’est la vie.
My city spotlight on Elk River appears in the October edition of IDAHO Magazine. While completing research and writing this story I had the pleasure of being serenaded by Forrest “Babe” Kreisher. I loved the song and his spunk.
The song is worth of sharing, so here it is:
The Reverse Burglars is featured in this month’s edition of IDAHO Magazine.
This is the first time art work has been commissioned for one of my stories, so I’m pretty excited about that and I’m pleased with what was produced (at left). To read the story, purchase a copy of Idaho Magazine here.
My story “Wild at Heart” won the Judge’s Choice Award in the IDAHO Magazine fiction contest. It’s just a short story and it’s written in three languages. I didn’t figure it would go anywhere, let alone get an award. You’d think that would be cause for celebration, but you’d be wrong.
Americans are hateful and spiteful, and I’m tired of that vitriol being spewed my direction. It’s why I wrote “Wild at Heart.” Authors usually avoid autobiographical characters, but I figured, why not?
Read Wild At Heart here.
So my story, is really an essay that could just as easily be titled, “A Day in the Life of Khaliela.” The only differences being, I work for the Census Bureau, not the Department of the Interior and I want demographic information, not water samples. Unfortunately, the people I meet are the same. I’ve been shot at while working in the field and I get death threats on occasion. The frustrating part of being a federal employee is, you are the target for the nation’s anger. In Idaho, a good many people cannot tolerate anyone who is different from themselves. When that anger is unleashed, it gets directed at me simply because I’m the one standing in front of them at the time.
In the fast paced world of internet instant gratification, less than perfect work gets published all the time. My own work is an example of that. I sent the cartoon below to the Spokesman Review, Huckleberries online blog and it was published within hours of clicking send.
