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March 15, 2020November 16, 2020

The Ghosts of the Palace Grand Theater

Palace Grand Theater, Daswon City, dmshepard, historical fiction research

When the Excelsior pulled into Seattle with a “ton of gold” mined from a small tributary of the Klondike River in 1897, a million people made plans to head north. One hundred thousand people crossed the Canadian border. Forty thousand people passed through Dawson City during the summer of 1898, only to find that most of the claims had already been taken. Tough conditions, disease and back breaking work weeded out the weakest.

Ghosts of the Yukon

It’s not surprising that the Alaska-Yukon Goldfields are riddled with ghostly tales. Spectre dog-teams in the night, towing evanescent passengers. Haunted ships cruising on empty lakes under the midnight sun. But one of the most famous haunted places is Dawson City’s Palace Grand Theater.

The Palace Grand Theater, built in 1899 by Arizona Charlie. One of the Most haunted buildoings in Dawson City.

The Finest Theater in the Paris of the North

Built by showman Arizona Charlie, The Palace Grand Theater didn’t open until 1899. By then, Dawson’s boom was almost over. People were already moving on to the next strikes in Nome and Fairbanks. But the Palace Grand was the finest theater in the “Paris of the North.” When the boom finally faded, Dawson’s historic buildings were abandoned and left to decay. In the 1960’s Parks Canada made an effort to restore the buildings and retain the Gold Rush history.

History of the Palace Grand Theater

https://www.pbs.org/video/klondike-gold-rush-palace-grand-theatre/

The Palace Grand Theater puts on multiple shows a day as part of their historic presentations. Multiple people working in the theater have recounted paranormal tales and activity. I have included a link to this video from Yukon paranormal.

Yukon Paranormal, Episode 3 Ghosts of the Klondike

Some believe the footsteps echoing through the second story belong to Arizona Charlie, the famous showman and friend of Buffalo Bill. Does he come back and visit his box to watch over his theater? Or is it one of the other “Kings of Dawson,” who dug a fortune out of the Yukon and lavished it on the “Goodtime Girls”?

“The poor ginks just gotta’ spend it, they’re scared they’ll die before they get it out of the ground.” –“Diamond Tooth” Gertie Lovejoy on the miner’s spending habits

As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, one of the disappointing aspects about researching is that you can’t include ALL of the fascinating things you find. While writing my series about Dawson City in 1898, I have tried to include as much as I could about the real characters of the Klondike Rush.

Kings of Dawson

Some of the other potential candidates for the male ghosts haunting the Palace grand would be “Big Alex” Mc Donald who dug a fortune in gold out of his claims, but died a pauper in 1909 after spending it all, always assuming there would be more. To his credit, he didn’t spend it all on ladies of the demimonde. He was known for donating money to charity or lending money to people in need. During the Typhoid outbreak in Dawson when the first crudely build hospital burned down, he donated money to fund the building of a new one, earning him a knighthood from the pope.

“Swiftwater Bill” was well known for making a fool of himself with the ladies of the redlight district of Dawson. According to Lael Morgan’s book, Good Time Girls of the Alaska Klondike Gold Rush, he made and lost three fortunes during his stint in Dawson. He frequented the saloons and dance halls, lavishing gold on his wives and mistresses. He even commissioned this gold belt for Rose Blumpkin.

Gold nugget belt made for Rose Blumkin. Image UAF-1964-79

Klondike Kate: “Queen of the Klondike”

“To us she was laughter and beauty and song. She was forgetfulness of hardship and homesickness. But she was more than that, she was our friend—a square shooter.”—The introduction as Klondike Kate was honored at the annual Alaska-Yukon Pioneers Stampede in Oregon in 1931.

*Klondike Kate Rockwell, Queen of the Klondike*
*ASL-P-41-56*
*P. E. Larss Photograph Collection, 1898-1904. ASL-PCA-41*

A Lonely and Queenly Presence

Multiple people have described encountering a presence in the dressing room that once belonged to the most famous and boldest of the “Good Time Girls,” Klondike Kate. Others have seen a lonely red-haired woman on the second floor in the boxes or on stage after the theater closes when they are locking up for the night.

Sweetheart of the Sourdoughs

A woman ahead of her time, she made her way north to seek her fortune, purportedly disguising herself as a man to get around the Mounty’s restrictions around women rafting over the “Five-Finger” Rapids.* She was determined to get to the Klondike, where she was sure fortune awaited. When she got to crowded, muddy Dawson city, she set about making a name for herself. She was known for her famous “Flame dance,” where she would use fans to keep 200 yards of chiffon airborne while she danced in front of red lights. She was also known for roller-skating on stage in a skimpy leotard. While a talented actress, she was well known amongst the miners for her kindness, and quickly became the “Sweetheart of the Sourdoughs.”

*The Five Finger Rapids was one of the more treacherous parts of the “weeding-out” process. Especially considering many of the rafts were home-made. So many of the boats wrecked going through the canyon that the RCMP started inspecting the rafts before they launched. They felt that women should not shoot through the rapids and forced them to hike around.

The Wrong Man

Unfortunately, she fell for the wrong man. Head-over-heels for bartender Alexander Pantages, he fleeced her for thousands of dollars then dumped her for a younger woman. Heartbroken, she tried to recover the money by suing him (they were business partners). But after a year she was only able to recover a few thousand dollars. A few years later he was accused of raping an underage girl and was sentenced to 50 years in San Quentin. He served 2 years before being later acquitted, he died five years later never recovering from the ordeal. Some accounts speculate that the entire crime was a set up by some of the miners who loved Kate and had a spite at Pantages for the heartbreak he had caused her.

“I was the flower of the north, but the petals are falling awfully fast honey.” Klondike Kate at 71, in an interview she gave before her death in 1956.

She lived life to the fullest, marrying 3 times. Now when the lights go low in the Palace Grand Theater, her ghost walks the stage and the boxes. People smell roses or rosewater in her dressing room. Perhaps this summer when we visit Dawson again as part of my research, I’ll get the chance to say hello to the spirit of this amazing pioneer woman.

A picture of me at one of our favorite surprise stops in Dawson, the Sternwheel Graveyard

The Dark Land, horror novella by DM Shepard — The Dark Land, Available on Amazon

Lured by her high peaks and vast forests, adventurers swarm to the siren call of Alaska’s backcountry. Her harsh bite scars many. Some never return

The legend of the Headless Ravine is steeped in blood. Its hunger for human flesh never sleeps, even in the deepest cold of winter.

Thanks for reading. If you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll get a sneak peak of the sequel to the Dark Land.

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March 2, 2020

Preparing for the 1st Chicken Trip of 2020

Writing Inspiration, part 3

We’ve had one of the coldest Januaries on record here in Anchorage. Now that it is February, Ray and I are deep in the planning logistics for our first Chicken trip of 2020, scheduled for March. It takes a lot to travel out to the cabin under normal conditions, but when you’re going out there at a time of year when the road is barely open, and there’s no one for miles, safety is of the utmost concern.

Taylor Highway Closed Sign. Road closes from October 15 and “officially” reopens April 30. We typically can get out to our place by mid-March depending on snow conditions.

I am pretty excited, considering all of the changes 2020 has in store. I am getting laid off from my job (not completely a bad thing), I am self-publishing a novella (the Dark Land, coming in May), and I am staring the second round of my newest MS treatment in a week.

Things are pretty frantic at the moment, and I have to admit, I can’t wait to get out to the cabin, and get away.

Moonrise from the cabin in the late fall of 2019

One of the great things about being away from distractions like the internet and the cellphone (yes, we have neither out at the cabin) is the time to savor the small things. For those of you who follow me on a regular basis, you’ll notice we take a lot of pictures of the view from our cabin.

It is amazing to watch the light change over the course of the year. I can take a photo from the same spot, at the same time, just at different times of year, and the difference is astounding with Alaska’s dramatic shift in light.

Next week I will be releasing the cover of my horror novella The Dark Land, designed by Avery Kingston. You’ll notice that the background of the cover is the featured image of this blog post. I took that from the porch of the cabin in April of 2018 on one of our first trips out. At that time of year, the Taylor Highway is still closed. It doesn’t officially open until May. Only 5 people reside in Chicken per the last census. When we look north toward “town” we can sometimes see one light at night. That light belongs to the caretaker of the “Old Town” of Chicken. Other than him and the Chicken Postmistress, there are no other people for 70 miles in any direction.

The epic views and the amount of quiet time make for fantastic inspiration for writing. Someday I hope more of my writing friends could join me out there. Thanks for reading! I plan on previewing the cover of The Dark Land soon. Next week’s blog will be more on my battery study and our preparations for the first Chicken Run of 2020!

March 1, 2020April 24, 2020

The Lonely Miner of the 60-Mile

Even as the snow continues to fall, the days are getting longer and we feel spring is right around the corner. Ray and I are planning for not only the 1^st Chicken Run of 2020 (tentatively the last weekend in April), but placing orders for our summer projects. We have a lot of plans for this summer and we can’t wait to get started.

Travelling the Taylor and Top of the World Highways

But as some of you who follow me regularly know, Ray and I have a passion for Historic Ghost Towns. We’re planning on getting out this summer and visiting a few more in the region. We are going up the Taylor and Top of the World Highways toward Eagle and Boundary to obtain large chunks of quartz and granite for landscaping and sculptures. We are also going to drive to Dawson, the setting for my Historical Fiction/Paranormal Romance, A Drink of Darkness.

Yukon River, looking north from Midnight Dome

Ghost Town of 60-Mile and the Lonely Spectre

One of our stops along the way will be the Ghost Town of 60-Mile. On the Canadian side of the border, people were mining in this area more than ten years before the discovery of gold on the Klondike. During its heyday, almost 2000 people lived in this remote area. Before the highway was built, it was the direct route between the mining towns of the 40-Mile district of Alaska and the Klondike goldfields. Most people packed up and headed for Dawson when they heard of the big strike. But a few stayed and continued to mine (there are still some small mining operations to this day).

From the Ghost Town of Chicken, AK; a the former residence of a hermit miner featured in some of my blogs, Toad

Hermit Miners

According to resources, one character in particular was a hermit miner named John Stockton. One of the interesting things about the miners who come to the region, and really people who come to Alaska in general, they are true loners. Many really want to just work their claims and be alone. They might come into town on once or twice in a summer, pick up their supplies, and head back out only giving the occasional greeting. From all accounts John was one of these. Not hostile, but not social.

The Ghost’s Background

John was born in Oregon circa 1866* and was found deceased by the Northwest Mounted Police near his claim in 1944. He filed 6 mining claims with the government. He was buried on top of the hill in a spot he had pre-selected, overlooking the 60-mile valley. According to numerous stories and legends, his ghost still haunts the hill, and can be seen from time to time watching the new mining operations in the distance. He apparently doesn’t like anyone mining on the claim on which his grave rests. Anyone who tries experiences unexplainable equipment problems and bad weather.

Greeting the Ghost

We plan on checking out the ruins of the old town of 60-Mile. Most of this Ghost Town has succumbed to the elements. We’ll also say hi to John. According to legend, he’s amicable to people saying hi and visiting his grave, he just doesn’t like it if they disturb things, linger long, or try to find out anything about him. Mediums and other people trying to reach out to him purportedly have gotten a stern, “Leave me alone,” in response to their well-meaning efforts.

After having our cabin out in Chicken, I could understand wanting to live my eternity undisturbed out in such a beautiful, peaceful region. It sounds like the “Lonely Miner of the 60-Mile” is content with his afterlife.

Who wouldn’t love to enjoy this view forever?

Much of my information on this story, I got from the book, Ghosts of the Klondike Gold Rush by Shirley Jonas.

https://www.yukonbooks.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=2343

Thanks for reading. My horror novella set in the Alaska backcountry, The Dark Land, is coming to Amazon May 4th. (pre-sale starts April 16th). If you sing up for my newsletter, you’ll get a sneak preview of a scene from the Dark Land.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

In my next blog post, I will talk about one of the most famous ghosts and hauntings of the Klondike Rush, and Dawson City’s Palace Grand Theatre.

Ancient evil stalks the frozen trails of Alaska’ boreal forests. The legend of the Headless Ravine is steeped in blood. The Dark Land’s hunger for flesh never sleeps, even in the deepest cold of winter

*I did notice a minor typo in her book about John’s DOB, which is why I note the year of his birth as approximately 1866. It is listed in her book as 1886, which doesn’t add up to his death in 1944 at the age of 79. According to her notes, he filed his first claim in 1909 at age 44.

February 14, 2020

My Review of Rowena Tisdale’s The Heart Could Forget

SPOILER ALERT!!!!

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS ABOUT THE BOOK’S PLOT. I USE THESE TO EXPLORE THE SOCIAL THEMES AND DOUBLE STANDARDS IN OUR SOCIETY. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK/DON’T WANT SPOILERS…READ NO FURTHER. YOU WERE WARNED!!!!

“Women are supposed to be very calm generally; but women feel just as men feel, they need exercise for their faculties, a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.” Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

http://rowenatisdale.com/books/

Conversation between me and Rowena Tisdale, the Sultry Scribe, when she approached me to review the Heart Could Forget:

RO: Are you sure you want to review this? It may not be the genre you typically read.

DM: I’ll give it a shot.

I do like to read outside of what may be my normal comfort zone. Much like my review of Ryen Leslie’s River, this was not a book I would have normally picked up in the book store on my own.

So why did I choose to read it?

I follow Rowena’s blog and I am intrigued by her sensual writing and characters and I wondered how that would translate into the genre of “Chick Lit.”

Unlike traditional romance, with it’s happily ever after ending, “Chick Lit” is a more fluid and less-defined category. The story revolves around a female protagonist and her evolution as a character. While it can have a happy ending, it doesn’t have to.

Themes

Chick Lit usually has deeper themes than traditional romance which is driven more by the will they/won’t they plot of the story. For myself, the biggest take away I got from Ro’s writing is still the prevailing double standard of expectations about sex and sexuality and roles that exist for men and women. Ro’s story (even though her MC, Sara is single), is almost a modernization of Anna Karenina or Madame Bovary, where men are rewarded and praised for following their passion and having multiple partners and extramarital affairs. Women on the other hand are cast into one of two categories: the good girls or the whores.

“Sometimes she did not know what she feared, what she desired: whether she feared or desired what had been or what would be, and precisely what she desired, she did not know.” Leo Tolystoy, Anna Karenina

Ro’s story opens with Sara, a 36-year-old single mom working in DC as an IT professional. She’s an empty nester, unsure what to do with her new found freedom after sending her beloved son away to college. Her friends want to see the lovely Sara, who has worked so hard her whole life to support herself and her son, find love.

By chance she meets DC’s most eligible bachelor, reporter Eric. A charismatic womanizer, everyone warns Sara (some of them quite snarkily) that she’s not Eric’s type, and that he’ll only break her heart. But Eric seems genuinely smitten. Eric sets about romancing Sara in a way she’s never experienced before. Admittedly, even I was a little in love with Eric by the end of part one of the book. The other part of me was looking at the remaining pages thinking two things:

This is too good to be true
There’s a lot of book left—something bad is about to happen

“Rummaging in our souls, we often dig up something that ought to have lain there unnoticed.” Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy

Enter Nathan

So a little background on Sara. In her teens she was awkward and shy. She volunteered on a political campaign for a politician on whom she had a crush, Nathan Remington. In doing so she got raped by one of the adult staffers, and that was how her son came to be. She set aside her emotions attached to what happened in order to love her son, but she always carried a torch for Nathan.

One night, while waiting for Eric at a DC political event, she encounters Nathan again. The sparks instantly fly. Nathan takes her into a back room and they have passionate mind-blowing sex. Afterwards, he informs her that Eric has been cheating on her.

“I’m like a starving man who has been given food. Maybe he’s cold, and his clothes are torn, and he’s ashamed, but he’s not unhappy.” Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

Sara is torn with guilt and passion. She cheated willingly on the man she loved, and she struggles to come to grips with just how much she enjoyed it. She also longs to have Nathan touch her and make love to her again. She experiences a sexual awakening, craving Nathan in a way she has never wanted anything before in her life.

Meanwhile she’s devastated by the revelation that Eric has been cheating on her.

As one might expect, Eric and Sara break up.

Nathan comes back onto the scene, demanding that Sara become his exclusive mistress. He sets her up to be a VP in the company in which she works and publicly be on the arm of one of his closest associates, since in the eyes of the public, he’s happily married. He can’t be seen to be cheating.

“Love. The reason I dislike that word is that it means too much for me, far more than you can understand.” Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

I have to admit, when I got to the part where Sara has sex with Nathan, I wanted to just throw the book across the room. For me, the idea of someone just casting aside everything they love for a fling is a tough pill to swallow. But maybe I have just never been overwhelmed by passion, like Sara is in this story. The other part about this was Nathan himself. He may be good-looking, charismatic, sexy, but he is possibly the most narcissistic and frightening male character I have read. I kept reading because I really want to know where this is going to go. Ro writes incredibly compelling characters, even if you want to slap some of them (Nathan).

“There can be no peace for us, only misery, and the greatest happiness.” Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

Sara and Nathan embark on a very steamy and passionate affair. It’s obvious that Nathan is incredibly obsessed with Sara. His possessive, passionate behavior is all consuming. He desires nothing less than absolute control over Sara’s life. Sara gives in, allowing it to devour her.

Even as she experiences luxury that she has never known before, swept away in the glamour of being the mistress of one of the most powerful men in the country, she longs for the love she had with Eric. Part of her even wonders why she can’t have both.

“There are no conditions to which a person cannot grow accustomed, especially if he sees that everyone around him lives in the same way.” Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

Sara’s devolution and evolution as a character is what really drives the story. Her change from the good girl, to high glamour mistress then back to normal speaks volumes about how our society views women who dare explore their sexuality outside what is deemed acceptable. In the high-stakes DC society in which she moves, the men are admired and praised for having mistresses. Women line up to throw themselves at womanizing Eric. Men applaud him for being able to have more than one woman at a time. When Eric and Sara are together, people constantly let her know that she’s not his type and she not only doesn’t belong with him, but she doesn’t belong in the DC political crowd. It’s subtle, but his behavior to her is similar to Nathan’s. He puts her on a pedestal, showering her with gifts and love. It’s okay for her to be his mistress. But when she’s another man’s mistress, she’s a gold-digger, a whore. Now much of his words and pain come from losing her, but it is still a vivid reflection of how women are treated in our society.

Meanwhile Sara submits to Nathan’s subjugation, because she is indeed desperately in love with him. She experiences the full wrath of society’s condemnation for her behavior. But before long it eats at her like a cancer. She loses her closest friends. But it is her son that calls her on her behavior. This is her true wake up call that brings her back to herself.

At the risk of putting too many more spoilers into this review, I will leave it to you to find where Sara goes from here. I will say this. Rowena’s book will make you angry. It will make you cry. If you like descriptions of passionate sex, you’ll love this. But it will also make you think. It will make you ask, why can’t she have both? Why is it that it has been over 140 years since Anna Karenina was published (written in 1873, published serially until 1877) and women are still punished for having sexual desire, while men get a free pass?

Reference

It’s been ages since I read Anna Karenina. I used this link below for the quotes in my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2507928

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned. My review of The Soul Web will be coming soon.

February 3, 2020July 5, 2020

Alaska Writing Inspiration, Part 2

As previously mentioned in another post, when most people think of Alaska, they think of the South East. Calving glaciers, tall trees and forbidding totem poles. While that is a part of Alaska, it is only a small portion. The inspiration for my stories comes from the expansive interior. In particular, my novella, The Dark Land, is inspired by Wrangell St. Elias National Park, the largest park in the United States.

https://www.doi.gov/blog/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-wrangell-st-elias-national-park-preserve

Wrangell St. Elias is 13.2 million acres in size, or approximately 20 million square miles, most of it is uninhabited wilderness. What is also unique about this park, 35% of it is covered in glaciers, making it the largest glacier system in the US. The park is only accessible by road from two entrances. On the western boarder it can be accessed via the McCarthy road through Copper Center and Chitina. From the Northern side, it can be accessed via the Nabesna road. That means the vast majority of the park must be accessed by other means. In my story, the characters travel by ski and dogsled in winter.

View of Mt. Sanford from the North side of Wrangell St. Elias National Park

Before Alaska became a state in 1959, Mt. Whitney in California was the US’s tallest peak at 14, 505’. Many people know that Denali (Or McKinley to those from “the lower 48”) is the tallest now at 20, 308’. But what many do not realize is that Whitney became 11^th place once Alaska became part of the union. 7 of the 10 tallest peaks in Alaska reside in the Wrangell or St. Elias Range (with St. Elias being its tallest. At 18,009’ it is the second tallest mountain in the US). Four mountain ranges converge within the park boundary (Chugach, Wrangell, St. Elias, and the Southern end of the Alaska Range).

Concentration Mill , Sacking plant and leeching plant at Kennecott. Mt. Blackburn visible in the background.

Kennecott Mine, which I have featured in a previous post, can be accessed from the McCarthy Road. The mine was in operation for nearly 30 years. While most copper ore around the world is around 3-7%, The copper seam in the hills above Kennecott was discovered to be between 60-70% pure, making it the richest known copper concentration in the world at the time. The Kennecott Copper Corporation was formed between Daniel Guggenheim, JP Morgan and Steven Birch, some of the most powerful businessmen of the early 20^th century.

The Copper River drains through the Wrangell and Chugiach Mountain Ranges and is known to the “Head Water Peoples” or the First Peoples, as “The River of the Ahtnas.” It starts at the Copper glacier and runs through the Wrangell and the Chugach mountain ranges. The Ahtna tribes were considered to be some of the fiercest of the Athabascan people. As mentioned in a previous blog post, when the Europeans first tried to chart the Copper River, and sent expeditions up it, many did not return. The Ahtna and Tanaina culture, language and legends feature strongly in my writings as it is their beautiful and vast land in which many of my stories are set.

http://www.native-languages.org/ahtna-legends.htm

Having visited this unique and remote region multiple times now, I understand how it has helped shape the history of the state of Alaska. I hope that this blog post helps you to understand a little more about the inspiration for my writing, and maybe inspires you to check out a part of the world that is a little off the beaten path. If you would like to read more about my upcoming projects or backcountry adventures, sign up for my newsletter.

Me out in Chicken taking a break with Jane Friedman’s the Business of Being a Writer

Thanks for reading! My Alaska backcountry horror novella, The Dark Land is currently available on Amazon:

The legend of Alaska’s Headless Ravine is steeped in blood. Its hunger for human flesh never sleeps, even in the deepest cold of winter. Courage, skill and love will be stretched to the limits on the isolated boundaries of The Dark Land

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January 26, 2020January 27, 2020

My Review of 50 Shades of Neigh

Stephen Coghlan’s Centaur Erotica Novel

Comedy has to walk a thin line, take risks. Comedy is the lecherous little elf whispering into the king’s ear, always telling the truth about human behavior. -Mel Brooks

I have always enjoyed comedy. I love parody and satire in the style of Mel Brooks, Monty Python and other comedians of the 70’s and 80’s. There have been many who argue that the rise of political correctness will be the death of comedy. Stephen Coghlan’s 50 Shades of Neigh, a Centaur Erotica Novel, parodies some themes of a famous novel of a similar name. Yes, you read that correctly, Centaurs. There’s a little interspecies action going on here too. I would argue the focus of his novel is more on racial and social class structures. The erotica and romance complement these themes.

Now before I dive in, I am going to put a disclaimer. One of my pet peeves when I see reviews is people who were warned what the book was about (for example, in this case erotica), read it anyway. Then they write a bad review because, “I don’t like erotica.” If the following statements apply to you:

Erotica is disgusting
Monte Python makes no sense
Blazing Saddles highly offended me
I think “dirty” books should be censored
I worship EL James and anyone who parodies her work should burn in hell

There are plenty of other entertaining novels by talented authors out there. This one just is not for you; on the other hand (or hoof), if you want to read something on the wild side that will at times make you spit your beverage across the room, by all means proceed.

Setting And Characters

Stephen sets his story during WWI. Princess Clopia, heir to the Mercenary Free State, witnesses the senseless and devastating carnage of the initial battles of what would become “The War to End All Wars.” Sensing impending doom for her kind, she travels with her guardian Sussex, to the United States. She seeks a peaceful solution that will keep her kind out of the war. She meets up with Susan Hartel, a charming Creole woman working in New York City. Susan has used her intelligence and charm to rise above the racism and classism prevalent in the early 20^th Century America, and has become a personal assistant to the powerful business man, Mr. Barns.

Susan brings the Princess to the prosperous farm of Buck, an American Centaur who has developed new methods of farming and food production. Stephen does an excellent job of creating tension between the commoner farmer, Buck and the Warrior Princess Clopia. He presents the classic clash of old-world class and social structure vs new-world ideals. On a romance and erotica scale, he definitely hits home on that fetishization of the old west American Cowboy. I easily pictured Buck as Brad Pitt from Legends of the Fall.

The romance between Centaur Sussex and human Susan was tender and sweet. I have to admit though, I found the sex scenes a little hard to picture at times (wait…they’re going to what?????? WHOA…). And Sussex definitely plays on the female fantasy of the European Gentleman, a sexy mix of Sean Connery and Liam Neesen with some horse thrown in.

There’s a hefty does of intrigue, action, passion and adventure as these four come to grips with their place in a world at war.

50 Shades of Neigh is definitely a departure from Stephen’s usual writing. While he plays with parody and satire, he includes a lot of tenderness and romance. This is something that I feel both comedy and erotica sometimes miss the mark at times. While not a master of the genre yet, Stephen’s first foray into this arena is highly entertaining. If you like satire with a splash of romance, intrigue, and some interspecies erotica thrown in, 50 Shades of Neigh is a fun ride.

January 25, 2020January 26, 2020

My Review of Beth Anderson’s The Frost Eater

https://carolbethanderson.com/

I have provided a link to where you can check out Beth’s book and her writing advice

“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” CS Lewis

I had the pleasure of being asked to do an honest review of Beth Anderson’s young adult, dystopian fantasy novel The Frost Eater; book one of The Magic Eater’s Trilogy. I have always been a fan of fantasy and all of its sub-genres. I spent many hours in my youngest years reading books like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I progressed to Anne Mc Caffrey’s blend of fantasy and science fiction. By my teenage years I began books like Dragon Lance series and the Wheel of Time. While I don’t write fantasy myself at this time, I admire writers who have the capability of building unique new worlds without bogging the story down.

What is Dystopian Fiction?

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-dystopian-fiction-learn-about-the-5-characteristics-of-dystopian-fiction-with-examples#quiz-0

According to the above article, Dystopia is an antonym for Utopia. In contrast to a perfect society described by Sir Thomas Moore in his book written in 1516, a Dystopian society is dark, impoverished, and inhumane.

Beth does a good job of easing into the dystopian theme in the Frost Eater. Her novel is set 200 years after a cataclysmic disaster wiped out most of the planet Anyari’s population. Anyari is a future colony of earth that has been cut off from its home planet for some time. It thrived until the event known as “the Day.” A mysterious orange stone pulled from the ground unleashed a deadly wave of radiation. It killed most of the planet, destroying technology. The survivors discovered it had also created magic creatures and capabilities amongst the once humans inhabiting the planet.

THEME

Blend of Science Fiction and Fantasy

Beth’s novel reminds me of Anne McCaffrey’s style of blending science fiction and fantasy. One of the things Beth does well here is leaving some information open to questions. I think some science fiction writers feel they have to describe EVERY detail of the science behind their stories. I almost want to scream at them that they’re writing fiction, not a tech manual or survival guide. If I want that, I’ll shop in the non-fiction section, thanks. It’s great to leave some things open to question, even debate. Especially in writing targeted toward the young adult crowd. Beth’s story provides just enough to spark questions like:

Could radiation have such and effect on the planet? What are some of the things that are considered global killers by scientists?
How does solar power work? Why can’t they just turn it back on?
Energy sources—unless they had large animals/plant life decaying millions of years prior, the planet is just not going to have large hydrocarbon deposits. What other energy sources might people colonizing another planet use?
How will we travel to distant planets?
What are the challenges of surviving interstellar travel and still being able to reproduce?
Could we grow food on a planet with different conditions than our own? Could we eat the plants and animals that may already be there?
What are the consequences of a losing technology once you are dependent on it? Surviving a disaster is one thing, but then surviving the lack of technology might be another.

I’ve mentioned this reference in previous posts, but a great source of information on life on other planets and how many “habitable” planets may exist in the universe is Wait but Why’s article, The Fermi Paradox by Tim Urban:

The Fermi Paradox

Her story sparks many more interesting questions about birth control, feminine hygiene products, clothes, many things we take for granted in a modern society when we have plentiful energy. As an electrical engineer, I think her story makes for great talking points amongst young people about not only how to solve this problem if there was no energy, but how much of this do we waste right now on what we don’t need. Many have a pessimistic attitude of the state of the planet and what the future holds. I can understand why. Things are not in the best of conditions. But I for one have hope. People pick on the next generation, but I work with young people on a regular basis, and I see a generation asking questions, rejecting the status quo. These questions are the sparks of ideas that will turn the tide.

SHOWING vs. TELLING

DATA DUMPING AND EXPOSITION

Sometimes fantasy and science fiction novels lend themselves toward data-dumping and too much exposition that bogs down the plot. Beth does a great job of giving out the background behind “The Day,” in little snippets throughout the story. She does this the form of excepts from history written by the first survivors of the cataclysm. This allows her to maintain the pace of the story but gives the reader insight and history. She matched the excerpts very well with the theme of each chapter.

CHARACTERS

Magical Powers or Mutant Capabilities?

“What we call Man’s power over Nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument.” CS Lewis

I really enjoy the Marvel X-men series. Super Villain Magneto is one of my favorite characters. His fears of being exterminated by humans for his differences are founded on his past experiences. In the Frost Eater, this trope is turned on its head. It is the people with magic capabilities that have become royalty, and the people without are commoners. The friction between the two factions is growing.

Princess Nora Abrios

One of the trends in fiction that bothers me is the rise of the “bad-ass” female stereotype trope. In my opinion, this has become worse than the dreaded “Mary Sue.” In the name of feminism, I see a lot of writers striving for the ruthless “alpha” female. She is better than any man—dammit! She is going to prove it any way she has to, with no help from anyone. She can out-smart, out-fight, out-drink, out-cuss and out-sex any man or woman for that matter. Set up on a pedestal, she has a long hard way to fall, but never does, of course.

As a woman who has worked in a male dominated profession for over 20 years now, this really defeats the purpose. I can only speak for myself, but my professional success as an electrical engineer, operator and technician has been my ability to recognize my strengths and weaknesses and continue to grow and develop over time. While there are times insecurity creeps in, my success has had nothing to do with being better than anyone.

This also runs the risk of making a character unrelatable. Unlike Mary Sue or the “Super-Alpha-female,” no one is perfect. As readers, we fall in love with flawed characters and their insecurities that remind us of ourselves. It’s great to have a larger than life character, but there has to be believability.

What Beth depicts in her female lead here is far better. She shows honest character development that reminded me of my own high school years. Was I a beautiful, rich princess on an alien planet? No. But I was young with hopes, desires and insecurities about where I belonged in the world and my future.

The pampered, sheltered Princess Nora has never experienced the true hardships the commoners of Cellerin face. She also has no real friends, which leaves her naïve, lonely and bored. Surrounded by adults in a world where she knows that someday she will face the pressures of running the kingdom, it leads her to befriend the enigmatic Krey. He is a Frost Eater like herself and has talents that no one else is willing to teach her. As her eyes become open to what is really going on, she begins to mature. She also develops latent magical capabilities. While she always dreamed of having these powers, they will alter the course of their quest and even her own destiny as Princess.

Her loss of innocence as she discovers the truth about herself and her family is what bridges the gap to real friendship between herself and her companions. It also gives her credibility that she really will have what it takes to be a competent ruler someday.

Kreyven West

Krey has a huge chip on his shoulder when it comes to the royal family and an ulterior motive for grudgingly accepting Nora’s friendship. He is on a quest to find his girlfriend Zeisha. He was told she left for an apprenticeship, and subsequently sent him a letter coldly breaking off their relationship. Certain the note was fake, he is determined to find her. Even with his mistrust of the royal family and his belief that they are behind Zeisha’s disappearance the slow development of their friendship is heartwarming and believable.

The one thing I would say that could have been done better here was a few more hints as to why he mistrusts the royals over the beginning parts of the book. Maybe more flashbacks to the reason without coming out and saying it (avoiding spoilers the best I can here). We’re bombarded with his anger and his constantly being nasty to Nora which starts to make me resent him. She puts up with it because she’s lonely, wants a friend, and wants to learn more about being a Frost Eater. Frankly there’s times in the book I would have told him to get over it or explain why.* At the scene where he finally ‘fesses up, it is because of the character in the story I like to call “the voice of reason.” Almost like Samwise Gamgee in the LOTR trilogy, this person usually the calm, logical, collected one. In the Frost Eater, its Beth’s character, Ovrun.

*Just to be clear—this is a very minor dislike and just my personal opinion, otherwise, great character development. And I understand why she might not want to reveal much as it might take impact away from “the big reveal scene” you could argue the point either way.

Ovrun

Ovrun starts out a secondary character in the story, but becomes a stronger presence in the adventure as the story unfolds. Nora’s crush, he loses his job as a royal guard for the sake of helping the two on their quest to find Zeisha and the truth. His logic and practicality during the action and tough situations is a great foil to Krey’s recklessness and Nora’s naivety. I really enjoyed the slow burn of romance between Nora and Ovrun. Beth builds on genuine conflict between the princess and the commoner. At first it comes off as just teenage hormonal passion, but as the story progresses, they realize they have something deeper. A real future together may not happen since she is expected to have her future husband chosen for her, and that future husband has to have magical capability (which he doesn’t). This prevents them from acting further on their romance, but you can cut the tension between the two with a knife by the end.

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” CS Lewis

As the three teens travel into the “abandoned” cities on Anyari, searching for Zeisha, the bond between them grows. They test the limits of their magical capabilities and the bond of friendship. The vivid images of a decaying modern city gave me the chills. High rise buildings filled with bones, crumbling light rail lines suspended in mid-air, and empty streets decaying in the sun were all easy to visualize. While the city is “abandoned” it is not empty. The teens encounter Troggs, the people they have been taught are savages. There will be many things that make them question their upbringing and what is right and wrong. It is clear from the beginning of the story that the government has something to do with the disappearance of the young people with magic capabilities. By the end of the story, all three will have to decide where they will make their stand. With each other, or the life they once knew.

The Frost Eater, Beth’s first book in the Magic Eaters Trilogy leaves the reader hungry for more. Unlike some dystopian novels, I would argue there is a sense of hope that our young people will prevail, though it will be a tough rough ahead. I can’t wait to see where she takes us in the next offering, The Vine Eater.

Thanks for reading my review of The Frost Eater. This week is a double header. Be sure to check out my review of Stephen Coghlan’s 50 Shades of Neigh.

Next week’s blog will be about my upcoming battery study planned for this summer at the cabin in Chicken, AK.

I obtained my CS Lewis quotes from the website below:

https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/c-s-lewis-quotes

January 6, 2020

My Review of Opening Act

Contemporary Romance by Deborah Wynne

One of the main reasons I love to read is escapism. A well-written book can transport me to another time or place and immerses me in a new experience. Deborah Wynne’s Contemporary Romance, Opening Act takes us along with 25-year-old Izzy, as she journeys to New York City for the first time to begin a career on Broadway.

I have mentioned it before in some of my other reviews, Contemporary Romance is not a genre I typically gravitate to. I write more in the Romantic Suspense/Paranormal Suspense line. I typically read those types of novels along with historical, fantasy, and non-fiction. However, Deborah’s concept intrigued me and I really wanted read this debut novel. And now, I am sucked in….dammit!!

Having started over in a new city alone multiple times, I could really relate to Izzy’s wide-eyed wonder at finding herself in the bustle of New York City after living in Colorado her whole life. Admittedly I have never been to New York City, and my impressions of this legendary Babylon on the east coast are limited to movies like Coming to America, When Harry Met Sally, the Butcher’s Wife, and a guy I knew in the Navy who the rest of the crew nicknamed “Rat F—ker.” (Long story, maybe I’ll share it in another blog post).

Deborah paints a vibrant picture of a hustling, vibrant city full of unique and diverse people. As she moves into her apartment, innocent and naïve Izzy meets the charismatic and hot firefighter Brandon. Yes, cue female romantic fantasy here as Brandon helps Izzy move her stuff into her apartment and they begin seeing each other. As I read this, I was thinking to myself, “Damn, where was my Brandon when I moved to Seattle or Alaska?” Ok—enough of that.

Now one minor thing I did have issue with here, as their relationship stretched on and Izzy agonized about her secret (trying to avoid spoilers); I really felt it would have come up in conversation. To me, I think it would have made the eventual blow up even more realistic to have it brought up in some way, and she evades it because she’s embarrassed. I say this having dated with MS, which was my own terrible secret for a long time. Having got dumped over it quite a bit, I understand the agony of finally telling someone something you think is terrible. Anyway, my own thoughts—minor point. At their eventual break-up, I bawled. Great scene.

So they break up over miscommunication/misunderstanding. At this juncture I was pacing in my living room and yelling at Izzy put her big girl panties on and to get her a— back down to his apartment. My husband thought I was losing it. But he’s kind of used to that by now.

Now throughout the story we have been also reading about wealthy and good-looking Ashe. Ashe is what I like to call one of the “Walking Wounded.” He has shut love and life out, and is living almost a double life after the death of his wife working in the porn industry. Admittedly, I found Ashe’s first encounters with Izzy to be a little stalkerish. At the same time, he genuinely loves her, but is so terrified of losing her he can’t show it. Instead he thinks that if he “saves” her from her life, that’s good enough.

What I enjoyed here about Deborah’s book was the departure from the typical Romance trope of the “Alpha,” d-bag billionaire who swoops in and saves her with his money and his magical penis. She turns him into a wonderful, sensitive man with her golden vagina and they sail away on his yacht to Italy where they live happily-ever after making babies.

Instead Izzy has had a taste of real love with Brandon. The cold but secure relationship Ashe is offering is pale and empty in contrast. She knows that dancing is what makes her happy. It is her dream, it is what feeds her soul. But Ashe is asking her to give that up for him. As their wedding day approaches, she needs to make a choice, security and safety with Ashe but emptiness. Or can she strike out on her own again, make her dreams of success as a dancer come true and win Brandon back. I will let you as the reader find out. The journey is well worth it.

Thanks for reading. There was a lot more I wanted to add to this review, but I don’t want to spoil the story! In a few months I will come back and update this with more of my thoughts. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did!

My next two reviews will be of Stephen Coghlan’s 50 Shades of Neigh and Beth Anderson’s the Frost Eater.

January 5, 2020March 29, 2021

Alaskan Writing Inspiration

Truths Behind the Myths: a look at the locations, myths and legends of the Alaska interior,

Bigfoot

Sasquatch

Ceptid

Chupacabra

Banshee

Draugr

Mothman

The list goes on and on…famous creatures of various cultures.

We call them myths as we snuggle in our modern, warm homes. Secure in the safety of LED electric lights we laugh with our knowledge that science has proven these creatures don’t exist. Maybe by a campfire in the woods we concoct bloodcurdling tales to make ourselves shiver by the firelight for sheer entertainment. Hollywood embellishes on these themes with fake blood and special effects. We munch on popcorn, shudder and turn off the TV. Complacency and normalcy returning. But a chill always haunts the back of our minds. Echoing back to prehistoric times when we only had fire to ward off the darkness.

I think that faint echo is the wonder. The grain of truth behind the tale. As an author, I find inspiration all around me here in the “Last Frontier.” Both in my own and my husband’s adventures in the interior of Alaska. In a previous blog, I went into detail about the Legend of the Cet’aeni and the Ahtna people, which were part of the inspiration for my story the Dark Land. In this blog I will go into further detail about other adventures that sparked my imagination.

A Summer Hike

My husband at one point recounted for me a tale he heard from some of our Athabascan friends about mysterious creatures of legend that lopped off heads and played with them. This stuck out in his mind because he and his brother homesteaded for several years in a remote region of Alaska near Slana. He had heard this tale, but it wasn’t until a hiking trip on a summer day, he started to question whether it was true.

Mt. Sanford, Wrangell-St Elias National Park from the Nabesna side looking south

Ray would often go on hikes in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park from the Nabesna side. On this particular day, he chose to hike past a junction of Tenada Creek and the Copper River, near a place called, “Batzulntas.” To the Athabascan Nabesna Tribes who refer to themselves as “People of the Headwaters,” this word means “Roasted Salmon Place.” When he stopped at the visitor center and let them know where he was going, the local guide advised him not to go alone—let alone at all. While the Batzulntas was a popular local fish camp, beyond that was considered to be an evil place where unwelcome spirits dwelled. A place where people didn’t belong. Ray thanked him for his advice and started his hike. It was a bright summer day, and he thought that there couldn’t be anything too terribly dark lurking in the woods.

He got a few miles into his hike then said that everything grew eerily quiet and still. He sensed that eyes were watching him from the deeper spruce forest. Menace and evil permeated the summer day like a fog. Spooked, he turned and ran the whole way back to the trail head.

Now Ray is a pretty fearless guy. He’s climbed Denali, skied the Alaska Range and worked in all kinds of remote Alaska wilderness. But to this day, he refuses to go back there. He concedes there was something there in the woods that didn’t want him there.

He and I talked at length about the various creatures of the Alaska Back country. The Athabascan people have unique stories and songs related to their land that you can find here:

Athabascan Ahtna Legends

http://www.native-languages.org/ahtna-legends.htm

The Valley of the Headless Corpses

As I mentioned before, what about the grain of truth behind a tale? One of the other inspirations for my story The Dark Land, was the Nahanni Valley in British Colombia. It is also referred to as the Headless Valley. The Dene First Peoples in Canada have oral legends revolving around this area, but nothing written. Much like the Tanaiana, Hwechin, and Ahtna Athabascan tribes, this is a sacred area. It is off-limits to outsiders. In modern times, it requires special permission and permits in order to explore this region.

Articles about Nahanni Valley of the Headless Corpses

https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2014/10/the-mysterious-valley-of-the-headless-corpses/

https://www.outdoorjournal.com/news/secrets-nahanni-valley-headless-men/

Shared Legends

While the Dene, Hwechin, Ahtna, and Tanaina tribes are separated by harsh terrain and extreme conditions, it is fascinating that they share similar lore about creatures in the forest that remove heads. They also have areas that are considered to be “no man’s land.”

Man vs Nature & Man vs Supernatural

These common themes became the inspiration for my horror novella set in the backcountry of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in winter. Man vs Nature is a common theme in literature. The Alaska backcountry is harsh and unforgiving enough. But when you throw in the element of supernatural—creatures that have evolved to thrive in the extreme environment, while humans only have their limited brain and skills. That cuts to the thrill of visceral horror. Can humans come out on top of both at the end? Or will the eerie howl in the night prevail?

The Legend of Alaska’s Headless Ravine is steeped in Blood. Its hunger for human flesh never sleeps, even in the deepest cold of winter. Courage, skill and love will be stretched to the limits on the isolated trails of, The Dark Land.

Thanks for reading! Sign up for my newsletter for a sneak peak of The Devil’s Valley, sequel to The Dark Land (coming May of 2021) .

December 22, 2019June 3, 2020

Alternative Energy in Chicken, AK Part 1

ENERGY STORAGE

Reliable, cost effective and environmentally sustainable energy storage is a key to making alternative energy solutions competitive against other sources for the long term. Solar, wind, hydro, and tidal energy are abundant at times and in certain regions. Without the means to store this energy for when times are lean and make it accessible to all, it is easy to fall back onto fossil fuels.

ALASKA CHALLENGES IN REMOTE LOCATIONS

Which brings me to my upcoming summer project with our new solar kit. For those of you who follow my posts regularly, our cabin is in a remote region of Alaska, subject to extreme temperatures. The record low for Chicken is -76. The highs can easily hit 80-90 in the summer months, where our ridge easily gets 21+ hours of sunlight a day at its peak.

View of the sunset from our cabin. Time is approximately midnight at the summer solstice. The sun will dip behind the mountains for about 3 hours, never quite getting dark..

BATTERIES AND PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF SOLAR ENERGY

Battery longevity and efficiency is of extreme importance. Batteries are expensive parts of a photovoltaic system. They are, at their heart, simple devices. By definition, a battery is two dissimilar metals immersed in an electrolytic (typically acid) solution. This creates a chemical reaction. They are also (depending on their construction), highly corrosive and toxic waste in landfills. It is important that as we develop alternative energy storage solutions, we maximize storage efficiency to minimize waste and reduce cost. The extremes in temperatures that I mentioned above can degrade a battery’s life, requiring it to be replaced more frequently, thus adding more waste to our landfills and requiring more mining of rare earth minerals.

I will be conducting a study of our system, keeping track of load, temperatures, charge and charge times, acid levels and specific gravity. I will track this information as a means to help manufacturers and researchers refine their processes to create energy storage solutions that can better withstand extreme environments and improve alternative energy accessibility for all.

This will be the first of many projects we hope to bring to life out in the 31 remote acres in the 40-Mile District of Alaska. Thanks for reading. In my next blog, I will discuss a little more in-depth on the details of our system design and capacity.

Summer of 2020 IS GOING TO BE AN ADVENTURE!

HOLD MY BEER!

Me and my father-in-law Shep, having a beer at the bar in Chicken, AK

Thanks for reading. I plan on posting many of our adventures this summer and beyond as I move into my next phase of my life and career. In the meantime, if you are looking for a fictional Alaska adventure, The Dark Land is available on Amazon

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