It is a most unusual Donner Party narrative, for rather than writing a narrative of the Donner’s cross-country journey, Gabrielle Burton takes her husband and five daughters on a road trip, visiting spots that Tamsen Donner lived in along the way. The catch? The road trip was in 1977, when Burton was trying to write a novel that touched, but did not focus, on Tamsen Donner. … The result is part memoir, part historical recreation, part travelogue.

This is from the blog Ghost Word, which today features a post on University of Nebraska Press author Gabrielle Burton and her newest book, Searching for Tamsen Donner. The post also includes an in-depth Q&A with Burton, in which she reveals where her fascination with Tamsen Donner, wife of George Donner (George being, of course, the leader of the small group of covered wagons stranded in the Sierra Nevadas during the winter of 1846-47).

In other online news, our Bison Books editor Tom Swanson was mentioned on ForeWord Magazine’s Web site today (you have to scroll down a bit to get to the part about Tom). Tom will talk about Ted Kooser’s new book, Lights on a Ground of Darkness, at Book Expo America later this month.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned Lights on a Ground of Darkness on this blog before, and I suppose now would be a good time to do so. Lights on a Ground of Darkness is a memoir of Ted’s childhood in Iowa. More specifically, it’s a collection of Ted’s memories of his mother’s family, and the simple – yet often surprising – rural life they led. It’s a beautiful book, one that’s tender and beautifully written without being sappy or too sentimental. It’s also, I think, a snapshot of what life was like in many rural areas on the Great Plains 50 years ago. Plus it contains some cute photographs of Ted as a little boy.

One last note for the blog today: East Coast readers, you can hear an interview with Tom Swift, author of Chief Bender’s Burden, which won the Seymour Medal (a big, prestigious, sports book prize) will be on WSVA (550 AM) in Harrisonburg, VA at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday. Tune in.