News and Updates From Sandy Kay Slawson |
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Welcome! There have been so many goings-on since my last newsletter in April and I can't wait to tell you about it! |
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At the end of May, I attended the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference as I have for the last 4 years. This year I entered my debut novel, Hope for Charity, into the Foundations Award contest and received 2nd place in the Christian Historical Romance Novels category! |
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In June, my husband and I set off on a fourteen-day research/anniversary trip to Alaska and the Yukon in British Columbia. Many of you may know that my first series of novels entitled, A Lady of Hope, beginning with Hope for Charity, is set in 18th-century England. However, my second series, A Love Worth More Than Gold, is set in America, Alaska, and the Yukon in the late 19th-century. So, I was super excited to take this route, which covered many of the areas you will read about in this second three-book series. | | |
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First, we caught a plane to Vancouver, Canada. |
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We boarded our ship the Zaandam. |
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We enjoyed three days of beautiful weather and calm seas. |
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Our first glimpse of Alaska! |
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Here's a look at Juneau, Alaska, from our stateroom window. |
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In Juneau, we learned about hard rock mining, which is still going strong today. Our tour guide is a working miner of 38 years! |
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| | Our guide took us 400 feet into the mine and gave us a demonstration with one of the huge drills. | | |
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| | I was glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel! | | |
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We said goodbye to our ship in Skagway, Alaska. For the next ten days, we traveled by buses, trains, and planes. |
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We traveled in and around Skagway for two days. I took hundreds of pictures and notes here, as this is a major town in my story. However, most were taken for research purposes only. |
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| | One highlight of the trip was traveling on the White Pass Railway from Skagway across the White Pass Mountains into the Yukon. In the second book, the White Pass Railway is being built. Also, my characters travel across these mountains but not by train. | | |
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| | (Because of technical difficulties, our best pictures of this portion of the trip are on my husband's GoPro. 😑) | | |
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We exited the train in the town of Carcross. This Yukon town was important for stampeders traveling to the goldfields. In the A Love Worth More Than Gold series, I will use the town's original name, Caribou Crossing. Also, you will read about the Five Finger Rapids nearby. It was a dangerous obstacle for those traveling by water to the Yukon River and the Klondike. |
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These next several pictures were taken in Dawson City, B.C., Yukon. This town is another important place throughout my story. Gold mining is still alive and well here, too, but they do what is called Placer Mining, which uses water to melt the permafrost in order to reach the gold. |
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The Dawson City Courthouse is in the museum. Since the court was not in session, the museum workers brought me a pile of archived information to research in the courthouse. It was an exciting and invaluable opportunity. |
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| | Fort Herchmer Jailhouse and Hospital-Est.1897 | | |
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| | Fort Herchmer Married Housing | | |
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My husband and I explored this cemetery on a hillside hidden from view from the town of Dawson City. |
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Jack London was a Stampeder in Dawson during the Gold Rush there. Below is his cabin. |
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A very large Placer Mining operation which is not used anymore. Most of the operations are smaller nowadays. |
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We left Dawson City and flew to Fairbanks, Alaska. |
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In Fairbanks, we took a riverboat cruise . . . |
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learned about dog sledding . . . |
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visited the Chena village . . . |
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And, my husband and I got to experience 40-below temperatures while eating ice cream! |
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The next day, we traveled to Denali National Park. Though we spotted one black bear, several moose, and caribou, most times they were too far to get good pictures or they moved too fast to catch them! Also, we visited an Alaskan Husky breeding and training facility and the home of one of the three time-time racers of the Iditarod. |
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My husband and I rode in a double-decker dome-ceilinged train for most of the last day across a vast and mostly wild land to reach Anchorage, Alaska. We ended our vacation with a 35th Wedding Anniversary celebratory dinner out. Then we went to bed because we had to leave for the airport at 2:30 am the next day to head home. |
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We made it to July! This month has also been full, but no pictures to share yet here. First, I came home to a revise and resubmit request from a traditional publishing house for my Hope for Charity manuscript! This was quite exciting and I am working hard on the revisions. Second, I am working on a detailed marketing plan and summaries for both of my series at the request of a different publishing house due by the end of this month. And, if that isn't enough . . . my youngest son got married to his sweetheart on the 12th of this month and we helped my other son move into a new house! So, I am running on fumes right now, but I am not complaining because I have been greatly blessed. The Lord has been good to me. 🙌🏻 I'm so thankful for you! You actually stuck with me to the end of this long newsletter! May the Lord God bless you and yours with faith, hope, and love. In Jesus' Name. Amen. Love, Sandy Kay Slawson |
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