Writing About The Alaska Gold Rush

By Lynn Lovegreen

I was lucky enough to grow up in Alaska, and like many before me I fell in love with it. The scenery is beautiful, the history is fascinating, and the people have an independent yet friendly attitude. It’s home, but it’s also a great place to write about. I am working on a young adult historical romance series set in the Alaskan gold rush. For me, it’s an ideal setting. The time in history is exciting, and the place is full of drama itself.

Lynn Lovegreen

My first novel is set in 1898 and the last takes place in 1916. During that era, lots of interesting things were happening in this country; Teddy Roosevelt and other reformers were making life better for common folks, the first aviators were flying in the sky, and people were buying automobiles and telephones for the first time. Of course women were coming into their own in many ways, from the Gibson girl riding bicycles to the suffragettes fighting for the right to vote.

In Alaska, women were a little more liberated because of the Last Frontier attitude. Folks were more interested in people’s abilities than their position in society. Women were hunters, pilots, entrepreneurs and more. The first Alaska Legislature gave women the right to vote in 1912, before the 19th amendment passed nationally in 1920. There were some restrictions, but it was easier for women to lead different lives up here. 

There are so many amazing places in Alaska. Within the Gold Rush, there are lots of boomtowns and motherlodes. I chose four to follow the main strikes chronologically. The first novel is set in 1898 in Skagway, the first big boom town during the Klondike strike.  The second book is set in Nome in 1900, where the gold in the beach sand and the claim jumpers’ conspiracy made it distinctive. The third book is set in 1906 Fairbanks, now our second biggest town, with its own colorful characters. My last book in the series is set in Kantishna Mining District in 1916, where tension between conservation and mining developed when Mount McKinley National Park was being created next door to some prospectors. 

Building stories against this backdrop gives me lots of material to work with. I can set my main characters in the middle of an Alaskan gold rush, and these young women have lots of opportunities to challenge themselves and create the life they want to live.  They can find their own path in this great land. Their hearts know the way once they’ve learned how to listen, and Alaska gives them a place to do just that.

What is your favorite time period to write about? What do you enjoy about it?

Lynn Lovegreen is an Alaskan author with Prism Book Group who enjoys sharing her passion for Alaska and its history. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and www.lynnlovegreen.com.

SCREWING WITH THE INEVITABLE

By Linda Lovely

This month’s blog topic is Death and Taxes—the Inevitable. Since spring has arrived in my neck of the woods and it’s too pretty to spend time expounding on death or taxes, I decided to focus on some of our notions of inevitability and how they can help writers brainstorm.

As authors, we have the power to cancel and/or screw with the inevitable to delight and surprise our readers. Here are just a few “givens” that writers can alter to create new worlds and reader experiences:

• The sun always rises. For the sake of argument, let’s say we wake up one morning and there is no sun. The earth has stopped revolving. Our half of the planet is plunged into perpetual darkness, while the other half bakes under a ferocious sun that refuses to set. Not a bad premise for a science fiction novel that lets us explore how people react when natural disasters change their world forever.
• We age. Or maybe we don’t. Lots of literary takes on ways to reverse this truism—from a pact with the devil to pharmaceutical intervention. Perhaps our hero/heroine finds the fabled fountain of youth, or discovers a way to switch off a gene that allows select individuals (but not all) to stay young forever. What if our hero can elect to stay young, but he’ll have to watch the love of his life become an old woman and die? What if women can bear children in their seventies (State of Wonder by Ann Patchett)?
• Spring follows winter. This one’s almost too easy for a writer to exploit. A new ice age descends. How do we cope? Do scientists try to intervene, and, if so, will their meddling cause an even greater catastrophe for life on earth?
• Eggs and sperms unite to create new life. What if nature quits functioning in this manner? What if women don’t need men to conceive? What if women can be cloned successfully, but male clones don’t survive? How would the world work as women assume power and men become an endangered species?  
• Death is inevitable and ends an individual’s earthly journey. This is perhaps the most popular “inevitable” for authors to upend. Options include ghosts (angry and/or friendly), vampires (who I guess can live forever with an adequate fresh blood supply), and reanimated zombies.
• Romances have happy ever after (HEA) endings. Okay, if you’re a romance writer, this is one inevitable you don’t dare screw with. BUT, when the “black moment” arrives in your book, you can almost convince your readers that an HEA is impossible.

Fiction allows our imaginations to explore wonderful, improbable, and sometimes terrifying worlds. What “inevitable” laws do you enjoy seeing authors commute? Can you think of other “inevitable” premises that can be reversed in books to entertain readers?  

"Let's do our taxes" is no longer a euphemism

"'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Benjamin Franklin.

I don't think Ben expected that quote to become as famous as it did when he penned it in a letter a hundred years ago, but it still rings true today.

When I was younger, and first started working full time, I couldn't wait for tax time, because it meant I'd been getting back a couple of hundred dollars from the taxes I paid in. Once I got married, the refunds got a bit larger. Although, now when the sidekick says “lets do our taxes” it’s not a euphemism for escaping behind closed doors.

This year, like the past ten before (when he retired from the military), he’ll gather all the financial statements and try to figure out, if any, how much money we’ll get back. Yes, my husband prefers to do the taxes himself. No, he does not have a degree in accounting. Like most men, he does not like to ask for directions but would prefer to circle the hemisphere looking for the interstate. Okay, so far he’s not gotten lost amongst the 1040’s and 1099’s and we’ve been lucky enough to get a refund, but I still think it would be better to have a professional look at it and see if he can find more deductions.  (Now that all the kids are grown, we lose those tax breaks.) But that’s not a debate I wish to have. For some reason, it gives him a sense of accomplishment to do the paperwork, as if he’s thinking to himself Those bastards aren’t gonna wear me down! And, he does get us a refund each year which we use for vacation.

Anyway, doing the taxes isn’t really that hard, just time consuming. This year I did the taxes for my kids....they have their own jobs. Their taxes are easy to do because they don’t make much money, so it’s the EZ form. And, sadly, they don’t get much back either. This year, my son had to pay into state, which is the fault of the company he works for because they didn’t do the paperwork correctly. His federal refund wasn’t anything to jump for joy about either....of course he only makes $24000 a year....which is horrible for a security guard who has to put his life on the line as much as the local police do. (don’t get me started)

So....before this turns into a rant....have you done your taxes yet? If you’re getting a refund, what do you plan to do with it?

Death and taxes: paranormal-style

Death is a major theme in paranormal romance. Yes, our genre canvasses the big issues. Questions that concern ordinary people every day. Such as:

Is death the end? Hell, no. People die in paranormals all the time and get resurrected, or transformed into something new, better and more gruesome. Often, to get the very best paranormal jobs – vampire death prince, zombie overlord, etc. – death is compulsory. Like multi-resurrected ancient Egyptian priest Imhotep said in The Mummy: 'Death is only the beginning.'

Can love survive death? All the time. The odds that you'll get haunted in some fashion by a dead loved one or a potential non-living boyfriend are pretty much unbackable. Ghosts, stalker vampires, lovesick walking corpses. They're all over the place. In fact, if you're NOT being hassled by a hot dude from the other side, you're probably in need of a paranormal heroine makeover.

Can you be dead and alive at the same time (otherwise known as undead)? This one has lost popularity since the days of Dracula and Boris Karloff wrapped in toilet paper. Mostly because romance writers realized that guys with no heartbeat are going to have trouble, er, rising to the occasion, shall we say. The solution? Vampires have heartbeats, and blood pressure. Even though they're dead and have no pulse or body heat. Or something.

Or else, it's magic!! and to hell with explaining it. I'm good with that.

The connection between Sex! and Death! Will sex kill you? Will dying turn you on? Is there, in fact, something wrong with you that you enjoy this? This is kind of what paranormal romances are for, right? The danger element, the demon lover, the monster only you can tame. I mean, what's the point of a vampire hero who isn't on the edge of tearing your throat out? Or a demon boyfriend who doesn't occasionally fantasize about sucking out your soul? Might as well make him a lumberjack.

Or, he could lie in a meadow and sparkle. That'd be excruciatingly lame. Excuse me while I nip away and write a bestseller.

Lastly, and most important of all:

If you're immortal, can you get out of paying tax? If death isn't inevitable, what about taxes? If you're planning to live forever – and most self-respecting immortals amass an indecently large fortune – that's a whole lot of money you'll have to give over to the IRS between now and the end of the world.

But never fear! There are a number of popular options for preserving your endless slush fund:

- Become a mobster. Everyone knows mobsters don't pay tax. With your supernatural powers, you'll be able to wipe out your enemies in no time.

- Better still, become the billionaire CEO of an evil multinational corporation. They definitely don't pay tax, and there's the added bonus of all those virginal, latently submissive interns who will trip over you in the lobby of your skyscraper. Happens all the time.

- Hide your money in gold bullion, deep in the vault of a haunted castle in Eastern Europe. Then, hire a gang of seductive killer minions to protect it and invite enemy accountants and lawyers for a holiday. An oldie but a goodie.

- Keep your supernatural empire a secret from humans, and own a bunch of dark and desperately hip nightclubs. For some reason, immortal heroes love to own nightclubs. I assume it's because there are tax advantages.

- Use your magical powers to fool the tax people. For instance, try the Jedi Mind Trick when they come to audit you. 'These aren't the capital gains you're looking for. Nothing to see here. Move along.'

In my book REDEMPTION (this month's new release! Yay!) my immortal hero is a fallen angel warrior. Angels don't pay tax. It's just a fact of life. Where do they even get money? They don't have day jobs, or trust funds…

How do they pay rent, buy dinner, keep themselves in cool clothes and the latest fiery weapons of demon doom? Do they conjure cash from thin air? Is there a holy Visa card? Or do they just go around blessing people into giving them things for free?

Like I said. Paranormal romance: we canvas the big issues.

P.S. You can check out the first few chapters of REDEMPTION for free (yay!) on my website, or for Kindle.

So you tell me: if you were an immortal, ultra-powerful paranormal dude (or dudette!) how would you thwart the IRS?

Death, taxes, and time

March’s monthly blog theme of “death and taxes” made me stop and ponder both topics. Unfortunately, I’m a procrastinator, so my taxes still loom ahead of me, inducing anxiety and dread. Death is just behind me, since I lost a family member last month. Its long tentacles of grief loosen a bit each day.

After some pondering, I realized that both topics—death and taxes—relate to time. Time is such a precious commodity, and yet so easy to take for granted. Surely, it will stretch out into another day and another and yet another. There’s always tomorrow. The sun will come out tomorrow. I love ya tomorrow. Forgive the Little Orphan Annie interlude. You get the idea.

Taxes make me cherish time because I am grateful for all of the hours remaining until I have to complete my tax forms and get them submitted. Still, that deadline, so firm and unyielding, reminds me constantly of the hours ticking away. Death makes me acutely aware of time too. Don’t we all have long lists of places we want to visit, books we plan to read, and achievements we want to accomplish? It seems I’ve spent my life making plans for what I will do someday. Losing someone reminds me that this life is finite and there is no better time than the present to stop making plans and start taking action.

This month, while worrying about taxes and dealing with death, I appreciate time. I take time to tell those around me how much they are loved. I appreciate the early morning moments that I set aside to write. I value the hours I now have to devote to working for myself and doing what I love. I am less and less content to put dreams on hold and postpone my bucket list.

I don’t think I’ve ever more thoroughly embraced the notion of not putting off until tomorrow what I can accomplish today—in my life, in my writing, in relationships with those I love. Time is precious. Don’t waste it. Don’t wait to say what you need to say. Don’t wait to write your book. Seize the moment and make it count.