Welcome to
Marcia Neely Books
Official Website of Author of
Deep Grass Roots
The adventures and challenges of two women homesteaders
and
101 Herbs with Essays and Stories
Cooking with Herbs and Spices
Deep Grass Roots was the 2019 gold-prize winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award in historical fiction by the Independent Book Publishers Association and was also a finalist in MN Writes, MN Reads sponsored by the
Minnesota Library Association
Developmental and copyediting services are also available by contacting author at
Available at:
Ingebretsen's Gifts and at Magers and Quinn, Booksellers, Minneapolis
Billy Maple Trees, Milan
Chippewa Co. Historical Society, and Doug's Trimming & Artwork, Montevideo
Jacob's Bakeri & Gifts and at The Owl Bookstore, Osakis
On this site's on-line store, directly from author
Amazon.com
Great River Regional Library (GRRL) has this book available to check out
About the book
At the dawn of the twentieth century, two young Norwegian women turn their dreams into reality. Leaving their homes near Watson, Minnesota, Tillie Melbakken and Bertha Harstad make the five-hundred-mile journey to a small settlement in northwestern North Dakota where they file claims on land that appears desolate at first sight, but develops beauty and character as they settle into homestead life in tar paper shacks.
Through joy, sadness, adventure, danger, and tragedy, the author delves deep into the homesteaders' hearts.
Well researched and true to the conditions of the era, Deep Grass Roots is fiction, but the challenges and adventures that confront the homesteaders feel nothing less than real.
Published by Beavers Pond Press, 2018
$15.95
Available at:
Author's email: or on-line store on this site
Amazon
Billy Maple Trees, Milan, MN
Ingebretsen's Scandinavian Gifts, Minneapolis
Magers & Quinn, Minneapolis
Chippewa County Historical Society, Montevideo, MN
Rhunestone Museum - Alexandria, MN
Also available through Great River Regional, Pioneerland, and other libraries
About the author
Marcia Neely worked as a public health nurse and administrator during her younger to middle adult life, then joined her husband as co-publisher of the Granite Falls Tribune, a small-town newspaper. After five years of publishing, and following the death of their seventeen-year-old son, the couple purchased five acres of land near Benson Minnesota. Moving down the ladder of success, as defined by society, they discovered a love for an organic lifestyle informed by their natural surroundings.
For several years Marcia edited the Support Report, a publication of SW/WC Educational Cooperative for whom she worked an educator in the 1990s. While living in the country, she published the Honey and Herbs Newsletter, a publication with essays, stories, and information, and she wrote feature stories for the Swift County Monitor in Benson, Minnesota. She also authored the following two books:
101 Herbs with Essays and Stories and Cooking with Herbs and Spices.
Her novel Deep Grass Roots was published by Beavers Pond Press in 2018. She now lives in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Developmental and copyediting services are available from Marcia
by contacting marciakgarden@gmail.com
About 101 Herbs
101 Herbs with Essays and Stories began as an herbal, describing the 101 herbs that the author cultivated or that grew wild at her hobby farm, Honey and Herbs. But the book grew to include much more than herbal descriptions. It
incorporates essays and stories that reflect the author’s enchantment with country living and the life forms in her environment.
You will discover the characteristics of 101 herbs, along with their medicinal value, growing patterns, and harvest suggestions. The words of herbalists from centuries past provide an interesting historical vision of many of the herbs.
This book includes culinary recipes, as well as recipes for making herbal preparations.
$10.00
Published by Honey & Herbs Press, 2007
About Cooking with Herbs and Spices
This book begins with a historical and philosophical perspective on the use of culinary herbs and spices.
Cooking with Herbs not only includes 131 recipes, but describes the characteristics of 35 culinary herbs and spices from allspice and basil to thyme and turmeric.
The book provides cooking
suggestions, medicinal
qualities of the herbs and spices, and tips on cultivating, harvesting, and preserving herbs.
$10.00
Published By Prairie Project Press, 2009
Contact and buy
For online sales, click online store in menu at top of site.
Email: Marcia Neely at for direct orders or for information on editing services.
Deep Grass Roots is also available on Amazon.
