August 23, 2015

GREETINGS from North Dakota and Author Aeryn Traxx



I’m not a native of the state but am very pleased to call this place home for the past 18 years. It’s true we only have two seasons up here- winter and NOT winter. But honestly the state is beautiful no matter what day of the year you might want to drop in. We are one of those states hip deep in history. You can’t go more than a few miles before you see one of those little signs “point of interest straight ahead”. I’ve been waiting for them to put one of those at the end of my street but I think they lost my request to be a point of interest. Teddy Roosevelt had a huge impact on the state during his lifetime. When not in the white house or traveling abroad he was in or around North Dakota and his two ranches. “It was here the romance of my life began” is supposed to be a quote about his love of this state. We owe a great debt to Teddy and even today we have the town of Medora that is only open during the summer. It has a dinner show and a very quaint atmosphere. It’s not hard to imagine what life was like back before running water. Our primary source of income these days is oil but we’ll always have Teddy’s legacy to share when the well runs dry.
We are also the epicenter of some really amazing scientific finds. A few years ago we were fortunate to find the first “Dino Mummy”. They named him “Dakota” and he was featured on all the NatGeo channels. For nearly a year everyone was abuzz about the first and only dino autopsy. Since then more and more fossils have been unearthed giving scientist valuable data about what dinosaurs REALLY looked like. I’m not sure there will ever be a definitive answer about what they looked like as each generation of explorers
find more and more clues but it is exciting to be in the middle of all the discoveries.

In addition to all the official accolades we also have the unofficial ones of being the state with the most car farms and abandoned farm houses. I’m sure we’re going to end up on some vintage car TV show or pickers delight hour with all the treasures we have hidden in the overgrown brush. It was the prospect of what I could find in an abandoned farm house that gave me the idea for my book “The Ghost Story”. Between General Custer’s old home front and a leaning three story farm house at the end of a dusty dirt road I found while exploring my characters sprang to life.

I have incorporated the sights and smells in my book hoping to convey some of what I was lucky to experience. Beeswax and polish smells from the antique wood stairwell transported me for a short time back to the olden days when candles were made out of tallow and laundry hung on the line to dry. I hope I have made you all curious about my state and how I have added a touch of the past in “The Ghost Story” at the Barnes and Noble online Nook bookstore. A sequel is in the works and should be in the
Barnes and Noble bookstore in December 2016.

Bio: Aeryn Traxx writes gay romance with a hint of the paranormal. Along with three dogs and a life partner she has put roots down in small town North Dakota, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the big city. After a lengthy break from writing Aeryn is back and hopes to have a follow–up novel ready for fans of “Were is He” by 2016.
Aeryn gives two journal pen and pencil gift sets to the lucky people who comment and win the draw!  Good luck!
(all info provided by author)

5 comments:

  1. I have never been to North Dakota but have always considered that a failure of my character. More convinced by this essay than ever that it is a place to drive though, I am considering purchasing a clunker and planting it somewhere — from the sound of it anywhere in the sate will do — and wait for it to turn into oil; presumably the natural produce of car farms is petroleum. It may be a rough ride, but will surely be worth sticking to it. (All puns intended.)

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  2. Thank you for your vivid description of North Dakota. We in the lower states get as far as South Dakota and stop. We need to visit Teddy Roosevelt's great love.

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  3. Teddy Roosevelt's writings about his ranch days and history were among favorite readings in my boyhood. That, along with interest in the Lakota and other native peoples and the dinosaur, should have brought me to your state long before this. Enjoyed your insights.

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  4. Nice! I grew up in eastern Montana, so we were neighbors with ND! My college roommate was from Dickinson. I know what you mean about winter and NOT winter! Good luck with your writing and marketing!

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  5. We've made it as far west as South Dakota, and even had the time to spend a couple of days in Wyoming one year...but we've never been to North Dakota. We hope to change that someday. Thanks for sharing.

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