Posts by Gar LaSalle
Dying in America
In October, I participated in the 2014 Scientific Assembly of the American College of Emergency Medicine in Chicago, an annual gathering of physicians, businesses and educators that I have been attending since 1974. It is always interesting and since my first meeting, which I filmed as a physician-filmmaker, I have been fascinated by the continual…
Read MoreDoes Isaac Rest?
DOES ISAAC REST ? It has been rumored that spirits haunt the fertile Ebey plateau. Some have said that on moonlit nights, looking southward from the crest of the tiny cemetery where the headless body of Isaac Ebey is interred with those of many other mid-nineteenth century Whidbey Island settlers, a pale specter can be seen…
Read MorePhysician Writer – An Interview
I was recently interviewed by publishing expert Kelsye Nelson. We talked about my background in medicine and transition into the literary world with the Widow Walk saga, a historical fiction series. Interview Preview: Dr. LaSalle, I’ve noticed that there are a growing number of physicians who have become accomplished authors. Why did you choose to write historical fiction…
Read MoreAnother Wild Game Recipe for Cold Winter Days – Wild Goose – 15 Bean Stew
The hunting trips in Canada during the winter are memorable because of the abundance of wild game that moves south. The geese should be harvested during their winter migration, preferably from grain fields, as they will have stored a lot of fat in preparation for their long journey. We hunted in freezing weather from…
Read MoreAnother Wild Game Recipe for Cold Winter Days – "Elk Sugo for Pasta or Bread"
Elk roast is lean and sweet and imparts a much different texture and flavor than beef. That’s why I hunt for it. Ingredients: 3-5 lbs Elk Loin Roast – you can substitute with lean beef, caribou or buffalo 4-6 Italian hot or fennel sausage, or bratwurst 1 half sweet onion, minced 20 slices of dried…
Read MoreA Wild Game Recipe for Cold Winter Days – Wild Boar (Cinghiale) Blue Corn Posole Soup with Sausage
As dangerous as a wild boar can be in the wild, I dislike hunting for them in modern “hunts” which involve the use of dogs, GPS locators and motorized vehicles that keep the hunter far away and high above the tusks of the angry animal. That was the way I experienced it at least in…
Read MoreHunting on the Continental Divide
Looking out from the Continental Divide at Sunset Diary Entry December 22nd, 2014: I am at 7800 feet from the Continental Divide in New Mexico, competing with a large mountain lion and a pack of coyotes for the elusive North American Great Elk. I know the competitors are there because I have glassed a wounded cow…
Read MoreBook Guide and Discussion Questions for Isthmus
Our publisher has asked that we add study questions for both Widow Walk and its sequel, Isthmus. Ten of the following questions are included in the paper back and e-book versions of Isthmus. Isthmus Book Guide and Discussion Questions: 1. The 1849 discovery of gold in California dramatically increased the travel across the Panamanian isthmus. For several years, the local…
Read MoreReader’s Guide and Book Discussion Questions for Widow Walk
At the request of our publisher, we are adding a reader’s guide with questions for discussion groups and book clubs. Ten of these have been added to the forthcoming paperback edition of Widow Walk. Widow Walk Book Guide and Discussion Questions: 1. Widow Walk has been compared to Last of the Mohicans and Cold Mountain. How is…
Read MoreInevitable Questions at Book-Signings…Changing Careers
Common Questions at Book Signings…Career Change: Physician/Educator to Historical Fiction Author With the publication of Isthmus today, Christmas 2014, I am now scheduled to tour the book and present it at a number of gatherings. Likely, as I have in the past with Widow Walk, I will discuss the creation of the cover art as a…
Read MoreIsthmus now available!
Just released! The second book in the Widow Walk Saga: Isthmus >> Get it now on Amazon! It is 1860 and revolution is erupting throughout the world over universal emancipation. Civil war looms in the Unites States. In the midst of it all, a young woman is moving back to Boston with what is left…
Read MoreWorking the Next Sculpture
These two pieces will be bronze with a black patina – wall mounts as a backdrop for an outdoor courtyard fountain. The smaller of the two pieces is 4′ x 6′, the larger piece is 13′ x 6′. I decided to do this in bronze because it will weather better than granite or basalt…
Read MoreOn the Track – Isthmus
In Isthmus, set to premier in December, we will be reintroduced to many of the characters from Widow Walk. This brief introduction from Part One: “Gold and silver, the coveted, malleable metals that glistered the ceilings and gilded the columns of the palaces of the ruling classes of the Western world and lined the chalices elevated over the…
Read MoreTattoos: A Long-Standing Native American Tradition
In Widow Walk many of the First Nation Haida, Tlingit, Bella Bella, Bella Coola and Kwakiutl characters wear prominent tattoos and other body decorations. In one scene, a Makah woman, slaved to a Salish tyee (chieftain), recognizes the distinctive markings of the naked Haida warrior she encounters while retrieving water from a stream. She…
Read MorePort Townsend: History and Role in Widow Walk
Port Townsend, was named in 1792 by explorer George Vancouver after his friend the Marquis of Townsend. Located on the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula, it was inhabited solely by Native Americans throughout the 1700’s and early 1800’s. The Chimakum people were the predominant group. The Klallam Indians controlled the land that encompassed the area…
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