In other news...

Oh, yes, I've been meaning to mention: As regular readers might recall, I've been unable to edit New Light On the Donner Party for ages and have been investigating various alternatives: new software, new host, new format. Since late October I've been working on a new site, which I'm calling Donnerpedia, unless somebody can suggest a better title. Anyway, it's a reworked version of New Light, using Wikipedia-type software and navigation. I've been learning the software, experimenting, and editing like mad -- there's a slew of information to add and every page has to be edited. It will also have some graphics, unlike New Light.

There's no projected launch date yet. I hoped to have it up the first of the year, but it's taking forever to translate everything into Wikinese. Keep watching the blog and I'll let you let you know when it's up and running.

New offering from Gabrielle Burton

Last year the University of Nebraska published Gabrielle Burton's memoir Searching for Tamsen Donner, in which she chronicles her quest to find the elusive heroine of the Donner Party. Next year Hyperion will publish Gabrielle's novel, Impatient with Desire, which tells Tamzene's story through an imaginative recreation of her lost diary. The book isn't due out until March 1, 2010, but can be pre-ordered through Amazon at a significant reduction of price. (Standard disclaimer: I have no financial interest in the book.) For more about Gabrielle and her work, visit her website: www.gabrielleburton.com