Description:
A collection of pieces written by Linda M. Hasselstrom that previously appeared in various publications, but never in book form. 80 pieces describe plains life, with photos by James W. Parker.
Brief description: Linda started writing when she moved with her mother to a cattle ranch in South Dakota because she was going to get, as she told her teacher, "A horse and a father." She was nine years old, and her education in writing, ranching, and living began when her new father made her save her allowance to buy the horse. She earned the allowance by taking care of the family chickens and herding cattle. After college and a variety of teaching jobs at colleges in the center of the nation, she returned to the family ranch. Her first published book, Windbreak: A Woman Rancher on the Northern Plains, was a diary of a year of her life on that ranch.Her writing education was conducted the same way: by doing the work. Besides working as a journalist for several daily newspapers, she has constantly written and submitted her poetry and nonfiction. With seventeen books in print, she is now one of the Great Plains' best-known authors. She has spoken about writing and related topics for dozens of organizations and conducted numerous writing workshops for groups ranging in age from first grade to senior citizens.