Category: Lisa D. Stewart

Elizabeth Farnsworth Publishes Novella with Flint Hill Publishing

5/13/2024

Barbi Mills Byers, Elizabeth Farnsworth, Jenny Fellows, and Lisa D. Stewart (KAC member from Prairie Village).

From Elizabeth's book launch at Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, Sunday, April 21, 2024.

Celebrated journalist Elizabeth Farnsworth (PBS Newshour, multiple Emmy nominations) has written her first novella, and it is set in Topeka and the Flint Hills. Last Light is historical fiction inspired by true events. Farnsworth chatted about the history and landscape that inspired her story, writing, and shared anecdotes from her life. Elizabeth had a long career as a foreign correspondent and Jim Lehrer’s substitute anchor on the NewsHour.

More about Last Light:
In the summer of 1943, a young woman is hired to interpret for German prisoners of war at a U.S. Army Hospital in Kansas. Harboring dark secrets from her childhood, Isabelle Graham will be forced into a struggle that saves her own life as well as many others in the distant, ongoing war. Last light is a thrilling and moving account of a young woman's courage and determination in the face of seemingly insuperable odds.

Elizabeth Farnsworth's full bio:
Elizabeth Farnsworth, documentary filmmaker and former chief correspondent of the PBS NewsHour, has written for publications ranging from The Nation Magazine to Foreign Policy.

Her memoir, A Train Through Time: A Life, Real and Imagined, was published by Counterpoint Press in 2017.
Farnsworth’s documentary, The Judge and the General, co-produced with Patricio Lanfranco, premiered at the 2008 San Francisco Film Festival and aired on POV (PBS) and other networks around the world. As a print reporter and for television, she has covered crises in Iraq, Cambodia, Vietnam, Botswana, Chile, Peru, Haiti, Iraq, Iran, and Israel, among other countries.

Farnsworth grew up in Topeka, Kansas, where her ancestors were pioneers. She graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College and earned an M.A. in Latin American History from Stanford University. She received an honorary doctorate degree from Washburn University (2021) and Colby College (2002). She has received three national Emmy nominations and the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award, often considered the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, which is also administered by Columbia University.

Farnsworth serves on the advisory board of the Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law, and the advisory committee of the World Affairs Council of Northern California. She lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband, retired attorney Charles E. Farnsworth. They have two children and six grandchildren.

Last Light was published by Flint Hills Publishing, owned by Thea Rademacher, Kansas Authors Club member.

Thank you to our 2023 Youth Contest Judges

9/22/2023

Kansas Authors Club is grateful to our member volunteers who gave the gift of time to judge our youth contest entries. We couldn't have done this without them! Please help us thank these individuals. Get familiar with their work. Share your appreciation!

Fiction Grades 3-4
Onalee Nicklin is best known for her fantasy or “storybook” pencil drawings, often depicting children as mermaids, elves, or characters in a story. She works mostly with graphite pencils, colored pencils, and sometimes does a little mixed media. “I hope my work inspires people to use their imagination, to dream, to read,” she says.

Onalee lives in a small cottage on a farm near Emporia, Kansas, with her husband, two cats, and numerous species of wildlife. She is the illustrator of the Kansas Notable Book (2022), Ava: A Year of Adventure in the Life of an American Avocet, story by Mandy Kern, and the author/illustrator of To Hide a Hazelnut (2023).

Fiction Grades 5-6
Lisa D. Stewart is a commercial writer in Prairie Village, Kansas, who writes magazine articles, feasibility studies, business plans, grant writing, and marketing. Between 1984 and 1999, she and her former husband created and grew Ortho-Flex Saddle Company, after a three-thousand-mile horse-back trip that taught them about the relationship between saddles and the biomechanics of the horse. The couple produced and sold patented saddles and tack in more than thirty countries. She has published more than one hundred articles on the topic of saddle fit. Lisa lives with her husband, Robert Stewart, editor emeritus of New Letters magazine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is the author of The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride Home. (2020)

iction Grades 7-8
K.L. Barron is a writer of place: poetry and prose. Her prize-winning fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction has been published in New Letters, The Bennington Review, Little Balkans Review, terrain.org, ChickenBones (Library of Congress), among others, and in several anthologies. She has taught writing and literature at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas for nearly twenty years and lives and writes in the Flint Hills.

Her debut novel Thirst came out in November from Sea Crow Press.

Note from K.L. about the youth submissions:
I enjoyed reading the 7th and 8th grade fiction contest submissions and I applaud KAC for encouraging creativity in young writers and offering a supportive space to share it.

Fiction Grades 9-12, Non-Fiction Grades 9-12, and Poetry Grades 9-12
Curtis Becker, a Topeka-based writer, editor, and publisher, teaches English at Washburn University and Emporia State University. He is also a licensed Realtor® with Keller Williams One Legacy Partners, serving the Topeka and Emporia areas. Becker is the editor of Kansas Authors Clubs “Writing from the Center” literary zine. Most recently, his article “Giving Effective Feedback to Young Writers” appeared in Kansas English, a publication of the Kansas Association of Teachers of English. Becker is also a member of the Emporia Writers Group and The Writers Place of Kansas City. He is a frequenter of open mics, coffee shops, and bookstores across Northeast Kansas.

Curtis is the author of He Watched and Took Note (2018).

Non-Fiction Grades 3-4
Jolene Haas grew up in Southeast Kansas listening to the many stories of her extended family members. Some stories were true, but most were creatively told with twists and turns in the events, depending on who was telling the story. As a young girl, she began writing her own stories. She loves to read and write middle grade and young adult fiction. Jolene has taught students in Pre-K through eighth grade for thirty years. She is a member of Kansas Authors Club and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Non-Fiction Grades 5-6
Ronda Miller is a Life Coach and published author of five books of poetry. She teaches The Importance of Voice for Trauma Transformation in concert with Johnson County Library, School of Trades and The Department of Corrections. Miller sits on the board of The Writers Place and is a former state president of Kansas Authors Club, 2018 - 2019. She is the poetry editor for zine, The Write Bridge. Ronda is the author of To Love the Child (2019) and three books of poetry.

Note from Ronda about the youth submissions:
I was impressed with the submissions I had the opportunity to judge. Each one was interesting and well written. I was especially impressed with the depth of research, passion and knowledge that was shared. My decisions were difficult to make.

Non-Fiction Grades 7-8
Carolyn Hall is an award winning author and her book Prairie Meals and Memories was named to one of the top 150 books on Kansas. Her writing has appeared in several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, The Christian Science Monitor, several anthologies, the Kansas City Star, Produce Merchandizing Magazine, and The Best Times.

Poetry Grades 3-4 and 5-6
Jerilynn Henrikson has spent her life in Emporia, Kansas, which she considers her front porch to the rolling Flint Hills and expansive skies of East Central Kansas. Here she and her veterinarian husband Duane have raised four kids, who also love being half way to everywhere. Jerilynn has loved teaching English, collecting friends, and telling tales. Remembering Martha is her favorite, so far.

Poetry Grades 7-8
Linda Heggestad started writing poetry at about the age of the 7th and 8th grade poets in our contest. Her first volume of poetry, Cloud & Wind, was completed in 2020. Her second volume of poetry, Blooms & Glory, came out in July.

She loves poetry for its unique ability to capture a moment, a feeling, an image, an unforgettable experience. There is such freedom in this unique art form that is suspended between words and pictures, song and story.

Note from Linda about the youth submissions:
I want to celebrate each of you young artists and your efforts here. There were so many powerful images you have created in your poems – snakes wrapping around their next meal stealing the very life from it; being treated like trashy contraband; feeling trapped in a school situation from which you long to escape. There’s a girl in a mysterious castle exquisitely drawing maps, and someone lying awake at night hearing the songs of the stars in the sky. You’re doing beautiful work. Please keep writing. Please keep going in the struggles that you are experiencing now. It will get better, the road will widen, you will have other opportunities and fresh air. Just keep going, don’t give up. And lean into your writing: keep writing the beautiful things and the hard things and the things that are wrong and unjust and that hurt, and also the things that make it wondrous to be alive. Keep writing them – and keep living.

Click Here for 2023 Youth Results

20 Memoirs by Kansas Authors

6/19/2023

A LIST OF BOOKS BY KANSAS AUTHORS CLUB MEMBERS, PAST AND PRESENT

Inspired by the June program by Denise Low, "Embellishing Prose and Poetry with Memoir," we pulled books by Kansas Authors Club nembers that illustrate the many and varied techniques of memoir writing.

If you have examples of member books to add (your own or a friend's) please put your addition in the comments section.

Members - View June Program

sign-on required

Posts of a Mid-Century Kid, by Ann Vigola Anderson (Anamcara Press, 2021)

Anderson takes us on a journey to 1950s and 60s Kansas and treats the reader to hometown cooking in her tasty memoir Posts of a Mid-Century Kid. With humor and richly crafted details, she chronicles her mid-century childhood, offering a sampling of another era. This delightful and mischievous memoir advocates coloring vividly outside of the lines!

Headwinds: A Memoir by Edna Bell-Pearson (Meadowlark, 2019)

When World War II made her way to southwest Kansas, Edna Bell-Pearson’s life was forever changed. After meeting her husband Carl Ungerer—a pilot stationed in Liberal for the war— Edna’s moved to the opposite corner of the state, and she became one of the first private female pilots in Kansas. Her story takes place over the course of five years and tells of Ungerer Flying Service, a family-owned and operated business stationed in Marysville. As the business is born and takes on the challenges of life, Edna learns to appreciate the importance of the little things: hunting and fishing trips, a good housekeeper, and crisp, autumnal days without wind.

Running Out of Footprints, by Cathy Callen (2013)

Running Out of Footprints is the true story of three generations of the Neff family, who arrived on the scene in Kansas City in the late 1800s full of energy and potential, contributed as political, business, religious and medical leaders in the city, and then gradually disappeared into obituaries and census data. The author, a fourth generation Neff herself, came into possession of a metal box full of old letters, documents and photographs after her father's death. The questions she asked about these keepsakes and the answers she sought and found, led to writing this collection of biographies.

Lovers, Dreams & Thieves, by Marcia Cebulska (Flint Hills Publishing, 2023)

"With a novelist’s eye for detail and a poet’s gift for language, Cebulska has written a visceral knockout of a memoir packed with vibrant, unforgettable family members and unexpected happenings. Cebulska is a brilliant, big-hearted, and luminous storyteller who can capture a world in a short vignette. I was entirely captivated by these intimate and moving family portraits that have shaped the author's life and work.” -Harriet Lerner, author of The Dance of Anger and Why Won’t You Apologize?

High Plains Homestead, by R. Kent Crawford (Post Rock Press, 2023)

Scorching heat. Bitter cold. Relentless wind. No trees. Scarce water. That’s what settlers faced on the Kansas plains. Crawford grew up on a farm in Russell County that his great grandparents homesteaded in 1879. Tales of hardship, humor, and grit merge with details of the enormous changes in mechanization, economics, and political forces as the country transitioned from a mostly rural nation to a mostly urban one. Crawford's personal story coupled with meticulous research on the evolution of farming from the homestead years to the recent prairie fires describe the birth and transformation of his family farm. The narrative concludes with a thought-provoking discussion of the future of rural communities, the options for farmers, and High Plains farming.

In the Shadow of the Wind, by Ann Christine Fell (2014)

Following a series of tragic losses, thirty-year old Ann Fell struggles alone in a strange and frightening world. The young widow and bereaved mother retreats to the wilderness for comfort and healing. Planning to stay forty days, she sets up a solitary camp on the river bank of her family’s abandoned farm homestead. Marooned by rising flood waters after only a few days, she faces her own mortality.

And I Cried, Too, by Mike Hartnett (Meadowlark Press, 2020)

Mike and his wife, Barbara, moved to Lincoln, Illinois, in 1972. The town of 17,000 was charming, friendly, and safe. As employees of Lincoln College, a small, private junior college, they quickly grew to enjoy the subtle pleasures of small-town living. Then the campus was hit with a series of burglaries and a student disappeared. Finally, the murders began. This is Mike Hartnett’s personal story, memories that have taken him more than forty years to write. This is not a true crime exposé or a who-dunnit mystery. This is simply a story about one man on the periphery of a series of events that devastate a community for a time. It is a story about the guilt that lingers and the questions that remain.

31 Days (Nights), by Reginald Jarrell (Blue Cedar Press, 2022)

Reginald D. Jarrell’s book of essays is a thoughtful exploration of experiences that molded him as a Black man growing up and raising his family primarily in Kansas. Mr. Jarrell also lived in Mississippi, Iowa, California, and Washington, D.C. As a pastor, lawyer, communications professional, and university professor, Mr. Jarrell is first of all a truth teller.

The Art of Listening to the Heart, by James Kenyon (2016/ 2022)

In this memoir collection, retired veterinarian James Kenyon recalls his days in veterinary practice. From heartwarming to heartbreaking and everything in between, Kenyon writes of his care for beloved family pets, livestock, and their human caretakers. His memories illustrate a true devotion and love for veterinary work, as well as a passion for people and local history. Each chapter relates a specific memory of working with a quirky, loyal, and loveable animal, as well as the quirky, loyal, and lovable humans who owned them. The work offers not just insight into the work of a veterinarian, but to human nature and the manner in which people relate to and care for each other, as well as their animals.

Jigsaw Puzzling: Essays in a Time of Pestilence, by Denise Low (Meadowlark Press, 2022)

Writer of poetry, essays, memoir, and fiction—Denise Low did what so many of us did in the spring of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic sent us to spending long days at home. Denise’s jigsaw puzzling went well beyond pictures put together piece-by-piece, however. The 15 essays in this book document the pestilence that impacted our entire world. In them, Low explores the very culture of jigsaw puzzles while providing poetic lessons in art, geography, history, and more.

Diary of a German War Bride, by Trudy McFarland (2006)

"Trudy McFarland's telling of her mother's story in diary form, from her parents' 'love at first sight' meeting in post World War I Germany to 1988 when her mother's very full life ends, is a remarkable account of family relationships, historical events, and the characteristics which make a family strong and memorable. It is a fascinating read!"
--Evie Green, Coordinator of Write Stuff

My Flint Hills Childhood, by Gail Lee Martin (Blurb, 2009)

A childhood on the Kansas prairies in the 1930s springs vividly to life in the detailed memories of Gail Martin. Her simple accounts of long ago school days, celebrations and family life are a treasure. Travel back in time to life in the Flint Hills during the Great Depression and the time leading up to World War II. The memories include her father's work in the oil field, trips to town in the family's Model A, raising her pet badger, fishing on the Cottonwood River, and wearing dresses made from feed sack material. The book also explores her family's role in early Kansas history with details of covered wagons, homesteading, the Civil War and fledgling industries. These range from Tyro to Teterville to Eureka.

Courtesy Boy: A Memoir of Addiction, by Mike Matson (Flint Hills Publishing, 2021)

“Thirty years after my last ingestion of chemicals, I inventoried the traits and behaviors connected with my addiction, chronicled my early adult life, and wrote a book. My motivation is to help those suffering and their loved ones connect the dots between the destructive traits and behaviors—and the potential for addiction. In so doing, infuse some fresh air into the oppressive stigma that clings to addiction and mental health.

The Sky Begins At Your Feet, by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg (Ice Cube Press, 2009)

I cannot figure out who I am as a body these days, writes Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg in this powerful, tender and humorous memoir about resiliency and love in the face of cancer. Mirriam-Goldberg braves breast cancer, the breast cancer genetic mutation and the loss of a parent by connecting with an eclectic Midwest community, the land and sky, and a body undergoing vast renovation.

Cop in the Classroom, by Sgt. Jim Potter (Sandhenge Publications, 2007)

Learn how kids and cops connect at school. You will enjoy 33 personal stories about one officer's professional career as a deputy sheriff and school resource officer. Cop in the Classroom gives an insider's look at the emotional experiences behind the badge--and life lessons for us all.

I've been fighting this war within myself, poetry by Antonio Sanchez-Day (Meadowlark Press, 2023)

Even though he was often vastly outnumbered by enemies on the outside and by demons on the inside, Antonio Sanchez-Day took on life. He fought against racism as a boy, fought against family troubles, and fought as a street soldier for his gang which was the “family” he’d always wanted. Then he had to fight simply to survive 13 years of incarceration. Inside the walls, Antonio found his main weapon, his pen. He wrote brilliantly, and with pen in hand, he turned his life around. The 123 pages of new, unpublished poetry in this book was put together by Antonio’s friend and mentor, Brian Daldorph, to “cement [his] legacy” (Antonio’s words).

The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride Home, by Lisa D. Stewart (Meadowlark Press, 2020)

At 54, Lisa Stewart set out to regain the fearless girl she once had been, riding her horse, Chief, 500 miles home. Hot, homeless, and horseback, she snapped back into every original cell. On an extraordinary homegoing from Kansas City to Bates and Vernon Counties in Missouri, Lisa exhausted herself, faced her past, trusted strangers, and stayed in the middle of her frightened horse to document modern rural America, the people, animals, and land.

Gravedigger's Daughter, by Cheryl Unruh (Meadowlark Press, 2021)

Gravedigger's Daughter: Vignettes from a Small Kansas Town is more than a story of the author and her father. It is a reminder of the relationships we all have, more than skin deep, an examination of the complexities of the people we love and care for. It is a love letter to the individuals who always exist at our very core.

It's All Showbusiness, by Connie Rae (Page Publishing, 2019)

Lee Edward Atterbury was born September 1, 1924, into the Atterbury Circus family. He was the fifth of seven children born to Robert L. and Rose Atterbury. By the time Lee was old enough for school, his older siblings were accomplished aerialists and his mother was a slack wire walker. The Atterbury Circus was a road circus, traveling the highways of rural America from Iowa and the Dakotas to Texas throughout the years of the Great Depression. (written by Connie Rae White)

Memoirs of the Dysfunctional? by Joann Garrity Williams (Meadowlark, 2018)

Memoirs of the Dysfunctional depicts the unconventional, but necessary lifestyle, and results, of a family forced to live a somewhat nomadic existence because the father, who was blinded as a child, had no means of support other than working as a street musician. The author, Joann Garrity Williams, is the oldest child of Ethel and Francis Garrity. She served for four years as state president of the Kansas Authors Club. This is the first time many, including family members and close friends, will learn the truth about Joann’s unique childhood and upbringing.

Watch Lisa D. Stewart's Interview on YouTube!

8/30/2022

Lisa D. Stewart, District 2 member, was recently interviewed by Carly Cade. They spoke on Long Riding the Midwest, saddle anatomy, and overcoming loss.

Lovers of horse books should check out Carly's offerings.

Carly Cade Creative

Lisa D. Stewart Website

June 14, 7:00pm - You are Invited: Author Talk by Lisa D. Stewart

6/6/2022

“Writing the Radical—Saying the World is Kind and Good.”

In 2012, Lisa Stewart rode 500 miles, alone, on her horse through Kansas and Missouri to fulfill a childhood dream. Lisa will speak about her notetaking and communications on the trip and how she handled writing about the love and kindness she encountered without sounding saccharine or appearing to promote a message. She will speak about why and how she made such a trip, the nature of horses, what she personally gained from the experience, and what she hopes others will learn about the beauty and kindness of the world.

Lisa was the winner of our 2021 "It Looks Like a Million" Book Design Award.

2021 Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award for books published by Kansas City area writers

2021 High Plains Book Award Finalist

At 54, Lisa Stewart set out to regain the fearless girl she once had been, riding her horse, Chief, 500 miles home. Hot, homeless, and horseback, she snapped back into every original cell. On an extraordinary homegoing from Kansas City to Bates and Vernon Counties in Missouri, Lisa exhausted herself, faced her past, trusted strangers, and stayed in the middle of her frightened horse to document modern rural America, the people, animals, and land.

Praise:
“Lisa Stewart’s The Big Quiet charts a path for all women. It’s a path at once dangerous and thrilling and a path she had started down and backed out of since childhood. The resulting narrative recounts a journey not only to a point on the map but to a whole and liberated self. Stewart is finally free to trust herself and others, to survive by her wits and with the help of kind strangers of which there are still many. This is a delicious fantasy of a journey most of us deny ourselves and one taken on the back of a horse whose simultaneously terrified and fiercely loyal personality unfurls before us as the richest of characters’ personalities do—on the way from Point A to Point B.”
—Kelly Barth, author of My Almost Certainly Real Imaginary Jesus
“This is a book of gratitude of the highest order. Stewart, a 54-year-old woman riding alone on a high-strung, sure-footed horse across the gravel grid of rural America, is grateful each night for a place to pitch a tent and pasture her horse. But her journey, past and present, is as much about the people she meets, many of whom know how to study a horse and to trust its rider—these strangers are glad to offer water and their own stories, which, like Stewarts’, churn with old wounds, hard work, family, and an abiding trust in open land. This compelling meditation reminds us that every step, fall, and missed road leads the rider home.”

—Gary Dop, author of Father, Child, Water, MFA Program Director at Randolph College
“This book is more than a log of an unusual (for this day and age) solitary horseback journey; it is also a perceptive examination of the author’s own life—a well-written introspective journey of self-discovery.”

—James F. Hoy, author of Flint Hills Cowboys: Tales of the Tallgrass Prairie, Chair of Emporia State University’s English Department and professor, past president of the Kansas Historical Society
“After riding more than 3,000 miles across the United States in the early 1980s, Stewart helped launch one of that country’s most successful saddle companies. Yet Lisa Stewart is no salesman, eager to sell a saddle to gain a commission. She is a long rider who made mistakes and learned by them. She faced obstacles and overcame them. She was presented with ancient riddles and discovered solutions.”

—CuChullaine O’Reilly, FRGS, Founding Member of The Long Riders’ Guild
A unique and inherently fascinating memoir, "The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride Home" will prove to be an immediately welcome and enduringly popular addition to both community and college/university library Contemporary American Biography collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated horse lovers and dedicated travelogue fans that "The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride Home" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

—Helen Dumont, Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

June Author Talk: Lisa D. Stewart

5/22/2022

Save the Date!

For our next statewide Author Talk we will be hosting Lisa D. Stewart, the winner of the 2021 "It Looks Like a Million" Book Design Award.

Tuesday, June 14, 2022
7:00 pm via Zoom

You must register in advance to attend this meeting. The Zoom link will be sent upon registration. We will send you a reminder link closer to the day.

The Big Quiet, by Lisa D. Stewart

In 2012, Lisa Stewart rode 500 miles, alone, on her horse through Kansas and Missouri to fulfill a childhood dream. Lisa will speak about her notetaking and communications on the trip and how she handled writing about the love and kindness she encountered without sounding saccharine or appearing to promote a message. She will speak about why and how she made such a trip, the nature of horses, what she personally gained from the experience, and what she hopes others will learn about the beauty and kindness of the world.

2021 “It Looks Like a Million” Book Design Award

10/9/2021

The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride Home
By Lisa D. Stewart

Cover Design: Cynthia Beard
Interior Design: Lisa Stewart, Robert Stewart, & Meadowlark Press.

Cover Design A
Excellent choice of imagery and typography that directly ties into the narrative of the story. You almost can literally “judge the book by the cover,” with the attractive, evocative photograph on the front, and the effective use of the blurbs and the brief summary about the author and her intention on the back. The colors effectively promoted a story told close to the land, with the use of sky blue and earthy green. The subject of the cover photo obviously represented the author and it showed her doing exactly what the book is about—a memoir of a journey of discovery while riding a horse in the countryside. Professionally printed and bound, the cover presents an attractive premise to the reader, welcoming one to open the book and begin the author’s trip alongside her.

Cohesion of Cover and Interior Pages A
The interior pages related to the cover design by use of the display font featuring a hand-honed, slightly distressed but easy to read font. The cover design is somewhat minimal, with a big empty sky at the top, and the chapter openings echo that feeling throughout.

General Format A-
Everything followed the standards set out by IBPA. All pages were in the correct order and the suggested elements were included. I was a bit puzzled by the use of the little pointer…I believe it alluded to the quote by Issa, with a radish as a pointer, but if I have any criticism of the book, it presented more of a “break” than was required by the narrative. It wasn’t used enough throughout to be an effective design element and seemed somewhat distracting.

Typography A
The use of an elegant typeface for the body text, perfectly leaded, and the attractive wide margins make the book appear to be an “easy read.” Clean white space at the beginning of the chapter, and the choice to make all chapters appear on the right side present a welcome break for the reader’s eyes. Professional composition of the text, with minimal hyphenation and awkward line breaks.

Printing and Binding A
Printing was well-done, with colors appearing bright but earthy. Soft, matte finish to the cover adds to the more rustic feel of the book. Off-white, non-glossy pages are welcoming and facilitate long sessions of reading.

Judge:
Desiree Ultican loves art, history and mysterious circumstances. She is a graphic designer by trade, a collector of vintage paper ephemera by inclination and an author by desire and determination after publishing her first book in 2010—the steampunk novel The Empress of the Clouds. Over her 40+ years as a graphic designer (as Desiree Mueller), she designed the interior pages for several books for Andrews McMeel Universal and The Vintage Workshop, both based in the Kansas City area. While working for various advertising agencies and design firms in town, she designed books for corporate and municipal clients. She currently is the art director for Lamcraft Inc., a supplier of laminated bookmarks and products for the funeral home industry and for museums nationwide, including the U.S. Capitol and the National World War I Museum in Kansas City. Desiree keeps company with her husband, Jim, and their cats in Independence, Missouri.

The Big Quiet, by Lisa D. Stewart, D2 member

7/26/2020

Welcome Lisa D. Stewart, D2, to Kansas Authors Club.

Lisa's book, The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride Home (Meadowlark Books) is now available wherever you buy books.

At 54, Lisa Stewart set out to regain the fearless girl she once had been, riding her horse, Chief, 500 miles home. Hot, homeless, and horseback, she snapped back into every original cell. On an extraordinary homegoing from Kansas City to Bates and Vernon Counties in Missouri, Lisa exhausted herself, faced her past, trusted strangers, and stayed in the middle of her frightened horse to document modern rural America, the people, animals, and land.

Publisher: Meadowlark (June 2020)
ISBN (print): 978-1-734-2477-4-9
Retail: $19.99
Pages: 308

Lisa D. Stewart is a commercial writer in Prairie Village, Kansas, who specializes in feasibility and marketing studies, business plans, grant proposals, magazine articles, and marketing content. Between 1984 and 1999, she and her former husband created and grew Ortho-Flex Saddle Company, after a 3,000-mile horseback trip that taught them about the relationship between saddles and the biomechanics of the horse. The couple produced and sold patented saddles and tack in more than 30 countries. She has published more than 100 articles on that topic of saddle fit. Lisa lives with her husband, Robert Stewart, editor emeritus of New Letters Magazine at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, and their dog, Paddy.

Advance Praise:
“Lisa Stewart’s The Big Quiet charts a path for all women. It’s a path at once dangerous and thrilling and a path she had started down and backed out of since childhood. The resulting narrative recounts a journey not only to a point on the map but to a whole and liberated self. Stewart is finally free to trust herself and others, to survive by her wits and with the help of kind strangers of which there are still many. This is a delicious fantasy of a journey most of us deny ourselves and one taken on the back of a horse whose simultaneously terrified and fiercely loyal personality unfurls before us as the richest of characters’ personalities do—on the way from Point A to Point B.”
-Kelly Barth, author of My Almost Certainly Real Imaginary Jesus

“This is a book of gratitude of the highest order. Stewart, a 54-year-old woman riding alone on a high-strung, sure-footed horse across the gravel grid of rural America, is grateful each night for a place to pitch a tent and pasture her horse. But her journey, past and present, is as much about the people she meets, many of whom know how to study a horse and to trust its rider—these strangers are glad to offer water and their own stories, which, like Stewarts’, churn with old wounds, hard work, family, and an abiding trust in open land. This compelling meditation reminds us that every step, fall, and missed road leads the rider home.”
-Gary Dop, author of Father, Child, Water, MFA Program Director at Randolph College

“This book is more than a log of an unusual (for this day and age) solitary horseback journey; it is also a perceptive examination of the author’s own life—a well-written introspective journey of self-discovery.”
-James F. Hoy, author of Flint Hills Cowboys: Tales of the Tallgrass Prairie, Chair of Emporia State University’s English Department and professor, past president of the Kansas Historical Society

“After riding more than 3,000 miles across the United States in the early 1980s, Stewart helped launch one of that country’s most successful saddle companies. Yet Lisa Stewart is no salesman, eager to sell a saddle to gain a commission. She is a long rider who made mistakes and learned by them. She faced obstacles and overcame them. She was presented with ancient riddles and discovered solutions.”
-CuChullaine O’Reilly, FRGS, Founding Member of The Long Riders’ Guild

Elizabeth Farnsworth Publishes Novella with Flint Hill Publishing

Thank you to our 2023 Youth Contest Judges

20 Memoirs by Kansas Authors

A LIST OF BOOKS BY KANSAS AUTHORS CLUB MEMBERS, PAST AND PRESENT

Watch Lisa D. Stewart's Interview on YouTube!

June 14, 7:00pm - You are Invited: Author Talk by Lisa D. Stewart

June Author Talk: Lisa D. Stewart

2021 “It Looks Like a Million” Book Design Award

The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride Home
By Lisa D. Stewart

The Big Quiet, by Lisa D. Stewart, D2 member

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A LIST OF BOOKS BY KANSAS AUTHORS CLUB MEMBERS, PAST AND PRESENT

The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride HomeBy Lisa D. Stewart

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The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride Home
By Lisa D. Stewart