Writers? Takes one to know one

Reader Laurie Winn Carlson sent me a note about a recent column I wrote about a study that… well, let her say it:

“You mentioned the recent NEA reading survey , which showed people are reading less literature. But, hidden in the study, which no one has mentioned yet, is the fact that more people are doing creative writing – it’s up 30 percent from 11 million in 1982 to 14 million in 2002. And Spokane definitely reflects that – there are always local writers reading at bookstores and events here. We have active writers’ groups and clubs and several successful local writers .”

Laurie didn’t mention that she is one of those writers. Having begun as a writer of children’s activity books, the Cheney author has spent the last few years earning a Ph.D. in history at Eastern Washington University and writing such books as “On Sidesaddles to Heaven: The Women of the Rocky Mountain Mission,” “A Fever in Salem,” “Cattle: An Informal Social History” and “Seduced by the West.”