Laurel Means

More books out! So many images, so many rich stories, writing has become such a rewarding creativity for me. When I taught English literature and writing for many years, I always wondered how those authors put images and stories into words. Entering that threshold was a revelation. I began with material from family history -- my first novel, The Long Journey Home (2008), was based on a great-grandfather's Minnesota pioneer history. Its demanded sequel, Whispers Through the House, came out in 2010. In between came my "more academic" edition of over 300 letters and documenting the story of Paul and Nathalie Means' early ministry and educational work in Southeast Asia (2009). And now for the young adults: Wagon Trail to Nowhere (June 2010) follows a teenaged girl's adventures from Minnesota to Montana in 1875,which transform her into something unexpected; Runes Beyond the Edge (Sept. 2010) projects fourteenth-century history into a teenaged Norse boy's challenges as he accompanies the king's commissioned crew into the mid-west praries and encounters rune charms, witch's spell, and ... well, please read about Harald-Son-of-Bjorn and its forthcoming sequel, Runes Beyond the Empire, in which the hero finds runes essential for survival and escape from the Emperor of China.

First, though, read more of Sarah Pearl Lundgren's adventures on the mid-west prairies and Kill Deer Mountains of South Dakota, where she connects with native American spirituality. Ghost Trail is expected out late 2012.

Much of my writing comes from a background in historical research,but more from my love of words and the transformation of thoughts into a realism beyond fiction. By the way, I live on the Minnesota praries with my grown children and an extended family, where I've been tagged "The Green Prairie Trails" author. Experience the prairies in my books! And, by way of a prairie afterthought, you can read about my own childhood experience in my just out short story, "A House Like None Other" (Deep Waters Anthology, Oct. 2010). Just don't get lost in the tall grass!

Next up? A three-part family saga, biblically based, about pioneer women on -- you guessed it -- the Minnesota praries ...and ... Sumatra.