tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113088373075462582009-10-17T19:26:54.656-07:00Freelance writer Amy Ballard's publishing news and the latest from amyballard.comAmy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-18757292691961857332009-10-13T19:04:00.003-07:002009-10-13T19:20:57.797-07:00

Sometimes you get lucky and the day you decide you're calling in sick tomorrow, school is canceled for three days. With a weekend sandwiched in between, I've been able to recover from my cold (not H1N1, as all the students believed they had). I hope everyone else was also able to recharge, and that my 10th graders will be ready for their massive test on the first theme in their lit book. Okay,

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-63112260678488682572009-09-11T19:54:00.002-07:002009-09-11T20:03:22.975-07:00

Having passed my ABCTE with a "distinguished" score, I began my school year at North Valley Academy on Tuesday. Our history teacher also just passed his World History ABCTE, and he, too, received a "distinguished" mark.I teach about 100 students in grades 7-12. I have English and Journalism. The latter class has been an enormous thrill, partly because you might say I've been preparing for that

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-70292519352092228092009-08-24T12:45:00.003-07:002009-08-24T12:51:42.264-07:00

My sister Meg makes these adorable felt creatures which were just featured on a craft blog, Creative with Clay. The featured mice are the exquisite Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. I've ordered a custom wolf and chicken for my daughter's birthday. These critters make great gifts! Visit Moss Mountain here.

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-30421490009111442572009-07-23T13:38:00.004-07:002009-07-23T13:53:43.986-07:00

The big day is August 11, though you wouldn't know it to look at me. I'm doing everything but studying: sorting used books for my bookseller husband, experimenting with my new laptop, hopping in the wading pool with the kiddies. . .It's 90 degrees out there!I'm procrastinating other project deadlines as well. One is a presentation on Great Expectations, a character education curriculum based in

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-371698544286704092009-05-27T18:31:00.003-07:002009-05-27T18:45:32.182-07:00

Before school starts I plan to take the ABCTE's secondary English test so I'll have my certification in that area. As of now I have my elementary certificate (through the American Board for the Certification of Teacher Excellence) and a 9th-grade English endorsement from the State of Idaho. If you're not familiar with ABCTE, it allows college graduates who didn't major in Education to become

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-17509030133389750572009-05-13T11:12:00.003-07:002009-05-13T11:33:03.418-07:00

My blog may shift gears a bit here because I've just accepted a job teaching 7th through 12th grade English for the 2009/2010 school year. Really it's not a huge leap--I've wanted to do this since my senior year of college. I can't wait to begin teaching writing, grammar and literature! There's a lot to do in the meantime, though, such as jumping through a few hoops to get my high school

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-33132494256686658952009-04-13T15:05:00.007-07:002009-04-13T15:31:45.458-07:00

This Lone Star quilt from the early 1940s belongs to Beulah Baldwin of Fairfield, Idaho. In a recent interview she shared stories of her life as a young teacher on the Camas Prairie--and displayed several gorgeous quilts made by members of her family. Beulah said the material in the Lone Star quilt is not color fast because during WWII good fabric was scarce, though not rationed.The second quilt

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-5481632246993065252009-03-31T14:15:00.003-07:002009-04-02T07:16:45.538-07:00

Visit magicvalley.com, the Times-News' Web site, for my latest article on the Soldier Mountain Ski Area fire.My Web site, amyballard.com, has more photos from the scene.Photo by Amy Ballard2009

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-37770954100550127432009-03-30T13:24:00.004-07:002009-03-30T15:16:22.529-07:00

Visit the Times-News online for breaking news about this morning's fire at Soldier Mountain Ski Area north of Fairfield. The photo currently posted is mine. The story is a compilation of news gathered by me and other correspondents and reporters.

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-42813341654723786312009-03-16T14:40:00.002-07:002009-03-16T14:53:28.588-07:00

Today I submitted my entry in the Daphne du Maurier contest--just in time for the deadline. Phew! Now I have my eye on another contest that deadlines at the end of the month. I plan to send two entries to that one, so I still have my work cut out for me! All of which, I hope, will distract me from the waiting game of my novel submission. Yeah. That's the idea.

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-76951944116316891112009-02-24T17:01:00.002-07:002009-02-24T17:04:11.612-07:00

I finally got around to posting several Camas Prairie History links on my Web site. Go to amyballard.com and check out the right column. If you know of other helpful sites on the topic, send them to me. I'd love to add to this list!

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-52662412179107744932009-02-23T13:01:00.002-07:002009-02-23T13:31:52.353-07:00

he novel I've been working on for several months is finally finished at 45,000 words. It feels wonderful to have accomplished that feat. Before I wrote Harvest Moon it seemed I would never get to type the words, "The end." Now that I've finished the book, I can't believe it took me so long to do it. Granted, it's a huge undertaking. But when you love writing, it's the most enjoyable kind of

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-22107919836476407582009-01-29T16:52:00.002-07:002009-01-29T17:01:42.962-07:00

On Monday the Camas County Library will reopen in its new Soldier Road location. Check out my article in the Times-News for more information and a link to the library's Web site.I also recently joined American Christian Fiction Writers. The group has a lot to offer writers, and I'm enjoying exploring the Web site.

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-2707396745170669012009-01-28T17:00:00.000-07:002009-01-28T17:01:15.189-07:00

View of Soldier Mountain from the southeast, January 2009

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-13448275585886226692009-01-04T15:24:00.003-07:002009-01-05T11:14:14.225-07:00

Now you can purchase the Mainely Murder series by Susan Page Davis and Megan Elaine Davis (my mom and sister) through my Web site. The third novel in the series, Impostors at Blue Heron Lake, is on pre-order until April. Take it from a Maine native, you can almost smell the pine!

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-10152702950223484812008-11-19T19:50:00.002-07:002008-11-19T19:54:10.312-07:00

Visit the Suspense Zone and play a cool video trailer for my mom's new book, Inside Story. The book follows Frasier Island and Finding Marie. I can't wait to read it!

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-19707808901705864032008-11-15T08:23:00.002-07:002008-11-15T08:27:10.243-07:00

Here's my latest article in the Times-News:Using the past to mold the future Sustainability project launched in Camas Co.Meanwhile, I'm researching early 20th-century Idaho for a fiction project.Thanks for visiting!

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-76925675741938933412008-11-04T12:54:00.004-07:002008-11-04T13:06:06.653-07:00

Since joining the board of the Camas County Historical Society several months ago I've been working on putting out a biannual newsletter for the organization. We decided on the title "Whistle Stop" to commemorate the historical museum's past life as a train depot. The Fall/Winter issue is finally here, just in time for our Fall Membership Drive. To sign up for our mailing list you need to

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-29711802087853184402008-10-16T12:07:00.002-07:002008-10-16T12:13:59.461-07:00

Here's a link to an article by Mike Cothern in the Outdoors section of today's Times-News. Mike quotes me on the origin of the name "Soldier" for the mountains in northern Camas County, Idaho. To clarify, I never use the term "military personnel." Oh, well! It's nice to give some publicity to the Camas County Historical Society.

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-1613889600359700012008-10-04T20:44:00.002-07:002008-10-04T20:49:25.495-07:00

Just kidding. But I did get elected to serve on the board of directors of the Idaho chapter of the Oregon-California Trails Association this morning. This is a great group of people who love history and have some great stories to tell about the people who emigrated west across the Oregon Trail system in days gone by. I hear my duties are minimal, so I'll just put up my feet...

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-908816310023860532008-09-22T09:07:00.003-07:002008-09-22T09:12:16.923-07:00

Here's a link to an interview with my sister, mystery author Megan Elaine Davis, from the blog Keep Me in Suspense. The previous interview (just scroll down!) is with her co-author, my mom, Susan Page Davis. Megan tells about her new life in Liverpool, England!

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-31007802899174868692008-09-15T12:23:00.003-07:002008-09-15T12:38:43.096-07:00

Yesterday after church my family went to Castle Rocks in Elmore County (just west of Camas County) for a picnic. Afterwards, we followed directions provided by an OCTA contact to the site of an Indian attack on a small wagon train in the 1850s. As it turns out, I had been to the site this spring with Jim and Patti McGill to mark the Jeffrey-Goodale Cutoff trail portion that runs through the area.

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-55262592017020826452008-09-03T07:14:00.002-07:002008-09-03T07:20:03.474-07:00

Idaho OCTA's Web site now links to a video clip from KBCI Boise channel 2 news on the Oregon Trail section that became visible after a recent fire. The man in the interview, William Wilson, has been a big help to me in my historical research on cattle drives across the Camas Prairie. Check it out!

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-8156940171485940752008-09-02T15:15:00.003-07:002008-09-02T15:19:02.982-07:00

Here's an interesting article on portions of the Oregon Trail that were cleared to view after a fire devastated a subdivision in Boise recently. The OCTA people quoted are acquaintances of mine.

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-511308837307546258.post-36694929896110581032008-08-31T13:30:00.003-07:002008-08-31T13:40:08.985-07:00

I was delighted to receive an e-mail yesterday from Ted, a Ballard relative on the East coast who had stumbled upon my blog while searching for Internet references to the Camas County Courier. Up popped my post entitled "Presentiment," which tells of my meeting two Ballard relatives at a restaurant here this past spring. In his e-mail, Ted shared some stories and ancestry information that will

Amy Ballardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01274865116056876915noreply@blogger.com0