11Aug

US Review of Books gives Aunt Phil high praise!

More awesome news for Aunt Phil’s Trunk Alaska history series – the US Review of Books just sent me its “Seal of Approval” and highly recommends Volume Four. To say I’m speechless is an understatement. We are on a roll! And here’s the complete review that US Review of Books recently published: July 25, 2016 […]

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19Jul

Aunt Phil wins international awards!

I am thrilled to share my big news – Aunt Phil wins international awards, two huge awards from the 2016 Literary Classics international competition: Best Historical Nonfiction AND Best Nonfiction Series! Looks like I’m off to Las Vegas in October to accept the awards in a formal ceremony and participate in Nevada’s largest book festival. […]

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30Jun

Busy summer for Aunt Phil and Alaska history

The past few weeks have flown by! We had company from Michigan for three weeks and packed every day with adventures. We traveled from Homer to Sterling to Seward to Fairbanks during some of the most glorious weather I’ve ever seen in June in the Last Frontier. And it looks like there will be more […]

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07Jun

Alaska Story Time with Aunt Phil is back!

“Alaska Story Time with Aunt Phil” back on television on Monday mornings! I’m so excited that Anchorage CBS affiliate KTVA Channel 11 asked me to start doing my Alaska history show again. The first episode aired last week. We talked about the popular Delaney Park, which served the residents of Anchorage as a firebreak in […]

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22May

Another Amazon Top Viewer Loves Aunt Phil!

Last week another Amazon Top 500 reviewer wrote an awesome review for the new Volume Five of Aunt Phil’s Trunk. Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars From statehood to natural disasters, mass murderers and a few quirky things, May 20, 2016 By Connie (Amazon Top 500 reviwer) This review is from: Aunt Phil’s Trunk […]

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25Apr

Volume Five receives high praise in Alaska Dispatch News!

More exciting news for the Aunt Phil’s Trunk Alaska history series – Volume Five received a wonderful review in the Alaska Dispatch News on Sunday, April 24! Click here to read the full review by critic David James Highlights include: “Ten years ago when I first took a job reviewing Alaska books for another publication, […]

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12Apr

Lights along Alaska’s coast

The discovery of rich gold deposits in the upper Yukon River in the late 1890s brought a massive rise in the number of ships plying Alaska waters. Especially in Lynn Canal, a part of the Inside Passage. It was a safer route for ships to travel than the open ocean route to the west through […]

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24Mar

Aunt Phil Alaska history series celebrates 10th anniversary!

I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since Aunt Phil’s Trunk Volume One made its debut in Anchorage. I remember carrying a proof of the book to gift shops and bookstores in December 2005 to see if anyone wanted to stock my first-ever book on their shelves. To my amazement, just about every shop placed […]

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15Mar

Gold brings Post Office to Circle City

While the Southeast town of Sitka claims the first U.S. Post Office established in America’s new possession of Alaska in 1867, Circle City – located on the banks of the Yukon River – holds the honor for the first post office in Alaska’s Interior, according to “Directory of Alaska Post Offices and Postmasters.” Circle City’s […]

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03Mar

Dinosaurs roam Alaska grasslands

My 2-year-old grandson Aiden is crazy about dinosaurs. So much so that we decorated his birthday cake last weekend with small brontosaurus, nanosaurus and T-rex replicas. He received an abundance of dinosaur-themed gifts, too, including dino sippy cups, dino books, dino imprinted T-shirts and a multitude of dinosaur toys. I went to bed Sunday night […]

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