From Biographical War Sources to Memoir
What started as personal entertainment writing turned into an anthology submission when I realized that my piece really did fit the theme of overcoming adversity. After too many edits for a short writing, "The 36-Year-Old Quilt" was accepted for ANWA's anthology, From Ashes. Pretty excited about the publication, and that the editors insisted that I edit more because they "loved the story."
Semper Fi: Idaho to Iwo Jima is available...now... on D-Day!
Today, February 19, 2020, is the 75th anniversary of D-Day on Iwo Jima for the 5th Division U.S. Marine Corps. The subject of this book landed on Red Beach, with the 27th Battalion, then scurried, ducked, and shot. And guess what? Private W. Lee Robinson turned 96 on February 1, 2020. I wrote Semper Fi : Idaho to Iwo Jima in his honor and for a past student. She loved the inquiry investigation into the life of the doughboy from my first book. However, she turned to me as she was leaving the library and asked, "Can't we do this with someone who lived through a war?" And here is the result. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be available on the 19th. But I will be happy with the 20th or the 21st. I hope you, educators and students enjoy solving another personal mystery involved in "big history!"
WordFest January 2018: A Reading and Activity
I was the third reader at the Longview writers' monthly event at Cassava's. Everyone before and after me read meaningful novel excerpts or poems or short stories. Me....a preface and introduction. What do you do when you are an nonfiction writer of interactive books? Then I distributed an original document about the usual suspect, allowed them to study for five minutes and invited them to the mic to share what they discovered about Joshua. A few brave souls led off, then they lined up to present, then Alan Rose gave them more time, and finally, he had to cut them off so that open-mic could proceed. It was a great night!
The Daily News article announcing the event.
The Daily News article announcing the event.
American Night Writers Assn NW Retreat October, 12, 2017
I facilitated an interactive session using the sources from Joshua Henry Bates' life. Participants really interacted with and extracted information from their documents. As usually the event in its entirety was wonderful....being surrounded by fellow writers, a gorgeous location at Rosario Beach, and tasty cooking and company. At the author open house quite a few books sold, always a pleasure.
Evidence is Lacking. Yet I Still Hope. is available now on CreateSpace, and on Amazon.
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Longview, Washington's Family Discovery Day October 2015
After months of preparation our local Family History Center, me as director and with a hardy group of great assistant directors, organized our first conference event. We had 136 persons attending with 14 hourly sessions, 2 open labs, a "Discovery of Me" experience (low-tech, but fun) and informational booths. Local consultants from Woodland to Cathlamet to Castle Rock helped with setup. We are working on our second one for 16 April 2015.
![]() Lower Columbia Genealogical Society Presentation Sep 10, 2015 A great group and fun presentation! I had a preconceived notion that they knew so much my activity would bore them. Well....not so much! ![]() I just returned from presenting young adult and adult sessions at the BYU Genealogy and Family History Conference 2014. It was a great experience. The young adults cooperated in creating a timeline of a WWI soldier's life after analyzing primary sources of his life. The next day I facilitated an adult conversation about creating similar experiences for young adults in their locales. Of course, they enjoyed experiencing a sliver of the youth activity. It was difficult to exit the room. We could have talked about the involvement of youth in genealogy at least another half hour.
I am eager to prepare more sessions for youth involvement in family history. |
Joan Enders and JD Ott featured in the Longview Daily News.
![]() JD Ott encourages analytical thinking
prior to the research.
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Past Presentations: |
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Welcome to my site which blends together research strategies, family history research, primary sources, history and information literacy.