Back In The Saddle Again

Well, I’m back, in more ways than one.

I’m back home after spending a few months galavanting around, promoting my latest novel that came out in June of 2024.

I had a great time attending book signing events, readings, and even a couple presentations, one of which was at the Annual Lakota Nations Education Conference where I got to meet and speak with famed Yellowstone series actor Mo Brings Plenty—that was definitely a high point.

Much of my time away was spent bouncing between the homes of my grown kids in Council Bluffs, IA, and Kearney, NE, and the timing of my book signing events allowed me the treasured opportunity to spend more time with them through the holiday season, so that was another bonus.

But as much I liked the experience and freedom of the gypsy life for those weeks—traveling and meeting new people, getting to talk about my novel and writing, in general, I have to say, it’s good to be back in the comfort of my own home again, and settling into my old routines.

Speaking of old routines, another recent development for me that feels a lot like a homecoming of sorts, has been joining the SCJS editorial staff in Gordon, putting me back in the saddle of newspaper writing and editing. This is a role I thoroughly enjoyed and was sad to leave back when I wrote for the Press & Dakotan in Yankton, SD several years ago.

It’s good to be back to bylines and deadlines again.

And if you haven’t guessed by now, as an additional kicker to my return to former roles, I am also resurrecting my weekly column, Strictly Haresay. So those who have been asking when or if I was going to start the column back up again no longer need wonder.

My return to news writing, and the other activities involved in the business of newspaper production was somewhat of an unexpected turn for me, though one I’m glad I took. My experience around this shift is well articulated by Eliezer “Elie” Wiesel, a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor who is often quoted for saying, “Write only if you cannot live without writing.”

And while I think Elie perhaps was referring to the importance of content, and how one should only write if they have something to say that no one else can express in the same way, I can also see how his words ring true today in the context of publishing and people’s reading habits that continue to evolve with the progression of technology and the Internet. It’s a reality that has many believing that books and periodicals will soon be relics of the past.

But I, myself, have faith in the fact that people have been telling stories and passing written information since before oral language was born. Our human need for stories and connection through written account is in no danger of exinction, no matter what people may be saying on TikTok.

Another quote from wise old Elie is his statement about his two favorite words being, “And yet,” which, when applied to any situation, by his estimation, will always offer hope. (Anyone saying this after surviving the Holocaust I tend to believe.)

So as I move ahead, dividing my writing time now between my fiction endeavors and my staff position with SCJS, I find myself marvelling at just how much I enjoy being back in the world of journalism—news writing scratching an entirely different itch from fiction.

For several years I believed journalism, for me, was a thing of the past.

So it was.

And yet...