Inspired by a Childhood Heroine

 

Two weeks ago today, I hopped in my car and drove about 5 hours west. West into the prairie, west into a fun-filled week, and west into the past.

I was headed to a writers' retreat with Mary Connealy and Jan Drexler. We rendezvoused in De Smet, South Dakota, the "Little Town on the Prairie" of Laura Ingalls Wilder fame. 

I had been to De Smet before, years ago, with my children and my mother-in-law and had toured the sites at that time. Jan had driven through earlier this summer (on her way home from the wedding of her son, Benjamin, to my daughter, Heather!) and had viewed the sites but hadn't toured inside the buildings. And Mary had never been to De Smet.

We have so much in common, Mary, Jan, and I. Beyond writing, we have a love of history, share some mutual interests, and...we all LOVE Laura Ingalls Wilder. From a young age, each of use were influenced by her writing.

Mary beside a covered wagon.

Each of us had a "Laura" story to share, about when we first read the books, about reading the books to our children, about how we were inspired to write thanks to Laura.

Mary also mentioned that one thing that inspired her was that Laura's first book, Little House in the Big Woods, wasn't published until Laura was SIXTY-FIVE. She didn't complete the series until she was SEVENTY-SIX. 

It's never too late to embark upon a dream. 

Here are a few pictures from our retreat. In addition to touring the LIW sites, and sampling the fare at nearly every restaurant in town, we stayed at the lovely Heritage House Bed & Breakfast, across and down the street from the Loftus Store and directly across the street from the corner of Calumet and 2nd street where the Ingalls family waited out The Long Winter in the store Pa had built on that lot. The proprietress, Kim, could not have been more gracious and welcoming, and our rooms were lovely, looking down on the wide main thoroughfare of De Smet. 

The pantry in the Surveyor's House
from By The Shores of Silver Lake

Mary and Jan hard at work in the
front room of the B&B. 

One of my books in the De Smet, SD
Library! With an honest-to-goodness
card and paper card catalog!

The first schoolhouse in De Smet, 
attended by Laura and Carrie. It was in 
this room that Laura "Rocked the Desk"
until Miss Eliza Jane Wilder sent her home
from school. When they began restoring the school
for tours, they found the original blackboards behind 
the wallpaper. 

The lovely new statue of
the town's most famous
resident. 

Cabinets and cupboards built by
Charles Ingalls for his wife. The shelves
are stocked with dishes belonging to
Caroline, Laura, and Rose.

One volume of Mary's Braille Bible.
The Bible rests in Mary's room in the
De Smet house built for her and Caroline
by Charles.

The house in town, built by Charles
Ingalls for his wife and daughter. Sadly
he only lived in the completed house for
a couple of years before he passed away.

Question for you: Have you ever visited the home of an author who was your childhood favorite? Have you ever visited a Laura Ingalls Wilder site?

He only wanted a duchess for a day--but she’s determined to make it a marriage for life

When his father and older brother suddenly pass away, the new Duke of Haverly is saddled with a title he never expected to bear. To thwart the plans of his scheming family, the duke impulsively marries a wallflower. After all, she’s meek and mild; it should be easy to sequester her in the country and get on with his life--as a secret agent for the Crown.

But his bride has other ideas. She’s determined to take her place not only as his duchess but as his wife. As a duchess, she can use her position to help the lowest of society--the women forced into prostitution because they have no skills or hope. Her endeavors are not met favorably in society, nor by her husband who wishes she’d remain in the background as he ordered.

Can the duke succeed in relegating her to the sidelines of his life? When his secrets are threatened with exposure, will his new wife be an asset or a liability?

You can get your copy of The Gentleman Spy HERE!

Best-selling, award-winning author Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. She’s a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota, and she is married to her total opposite and soul mate! When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks.

You can connect with her at her website, www.ericavetsch.com where you can read about her books and sign up for her newsletter, and you can find her at online  https://www.facebook.com/EricaVetschAuthor/ 

where she spends way too much time!