The Writing Desk: Writing, support and useful links for writers
It wasn't until Memorial Day in 2017 and 2018, when I took my aging mother to visit cemeteries in southeastern Idaho, that the idea for my book really took shape. I was struck by the many graves with death dates no earlier than 1890, and I began to wonder about my ancestors. Who were they? Where did they come from? And why were all their dates post-1885?
As we drove around the area, I also noticed the networks of canals and ditches, which had terrified me as a child. I followed them on Google Maps and discovered they all came from a single outlet from the Snake River, called the "Great Feeder." I was intrigued and felt like I had found a story that had never been told before.