Lauri Robinson's Land of Ten Thousand Lakes-Minnesota

We not only have close to 12,000 lakes, and upwards of 6,000 rivers, Minnesota has The Vikings, The Twins, The Headwaters of the Mighty Mississippi, The Twin Cities, Mall of America, Paul Bunyan, Bob Dylan, Prince, Ole’ and Lena, Kevin Sorbo, Judy Garland, Grumpy Old Men, Minnesota…the list goes on and on, and I love it. I was born on the ‘Iron Range’ in the small town of Embarrass and after living in Kansas and Nebraska for a dozen years, returned to Minnesota to raise my family.

There are winters, (like this one, where we’ve had snow six month straight in a row) I wonder why I remain, but deep down I know there is no place like home. My grandparents homesteaded on the northern most border of MN, and we travel the six hours north several times a year to spend days ‘living in the woods’ on that very property. While my husband fishes/hunts/etc. depending on the time of year, I stay at the cabin and write. With no internet and/or cell service, I can immerse myself deep in the stories and only come out when it’s time to cook a meal or add fuel to the generator.

One of my books, A Wife for Big John, is set in Northern Minnesota in 1893. The story is dedicated to my father who passed away in 2007. He’d asked me to write a book about the logging industry that plays a deep role in Minnesota’s history. My father had worked in a logging camp as a young man, and shared many stories about the characters and the work they did, some of which I used in the book.

A Wife for Big John:

At first sight, Dani Jones fell in love- not with Big John, but with his stove. It’s the latest model and makes her believe her cooking alone will encourage the Boss Man to let her stay until she has enough money to travel to California and be reunited with the man she promised to marry.

Big John Thompson returns from the spring river drive to find the man he hired to cook for the lumberjacks is a slip of a girl—Danielle Jones. To make matters worse, Miss Jones decides John needs a wife, and sets out to find him one...

Reviews have included:
“This Happy-Ever-After story reminds me why I love to read romance,” Camellia LASR.
“I definitely recommend reading Wife for Big John. I enjoyed it immensely and you will too!” Recommended Read—Laura TTL
“Just sit back, relax and transport yourself to 1893 in northern Minnesota,” Trudy OUR.
“We have another winner from Ms. Robinson,” Brenda TRS.
I’ll draw a name from those who comment on this post to receive a PDF copy of A Wife for Big John.

Though I love Minnesota, I enjoy unearthing historical tidbits from across the nation, and have used many other states for settings in my books, including Kansas for both the Quin

ter Brides, and McBride Brothers series, as well as the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and Tennessee to name a few. Every state has wonders that make them unique and intriguing, and I love how this blog highlights them.
Thanks for visiting today. I’ll leave you the blurb from my latest book, Nights with the Outlaw, released May 1st from the Harlequin UNDONE line.
Nebraska, 1885
Outlaw Clint Turnquist is on a mission—one that doesn’t involve falling in love. His freedom hinges on tracking down his former gang, but he can’t resist Doreena Buckman’s plea to help protect her ranch from the strangers watching her property. Bold and beautiful, she tempts Clint with both her body and her promise of a fresh start. But even with his past standing between them, denying the urge to kiss her may take more discipline than he has....

For more information on Lauri Robinson visit http://www.laurirobinson.blogspot.com/