Every person has a story. Nicole Muchmore took this statement and put action behind it by helping produce “Echoes from the Prairie,” a collection of short memoirs from Kansas writers. MUCHMORE resides outside of Lawrence on a farm with her family. Her daughter is a graduate from the University of Kansas and her son is a sophomore at KU.
She will speak Saturday at the Iola Reading Festival at Allen Community College about the importance of writing our own stories.
The idea for the book started when Muchmore’s friend wanted to take a writing class. Her friend wanted to be published, so they signed up for a class together.
Muchmore is a full-time freelance copy editor who specializes in medical journals and textbooks. She worked for publishing houses such as Nature Publishing Group and Oxford University Press. At first she wasn’t thrilled about attending the class.
At the end of the writing class, there were 10 people from it who felt like they hadn’t finished what they started.
So, the group along with a few others created the Great Plains Writing Group. Muchmore compiled all of the writers stories and began working on “Voices of the Great Plains.” The group enjoyed the success from the first book they decided to go for another.
Muchmore started posting flyers in the local public library. Those who wanted to be published could submit their stories for consideration. She received 120 entries and narrowed it down to 60 short stories.
“Echoes from the Prairie,” has three basic parts. There are stories that are light anecdotes about family members, people talking bout notable experiences and those processing life experiences.
“As I was reading the stories I saw connections between them,” Muchmore said. “There are two women who wrote about their childhood experience with religion. Each had a different outcome and I found that to be intriguing.”
“These stories are the DNA of history,” Muchmore said. “They are the messages to the future generations.”
Since technology has made writing short, sweet and to the point, writing also needs to short and compact. The authors of “Echoes” have written short anecdotes of their lives instead of a “Dear Diary” format.
Her career in publishing started in college. She attended Kansas State University to become a veterinarian, a lifelong dream. About the time she realized she was squeamish at the sight of blood, she re-routed and headed to KU’s English department.
In 1990 she began typesetting mathematics at Allen Press in Lawrence. Her knowledge of science and English has given her an advantage in the publishing world.
Muchmore said helping with the book “has been a wonderful experience.”
Her friend who had gotten her into the writing class died last week from cancer.
“She was so thrilled about this book and she shared it with her friends and family,” Muchmore said. “It has really been worthwhile.”
Great Plains Writing Group still meets once a week to bounce stories off of other authors.
“I wish there were more writing groups,” she said. “This book was very encouraging and it brings people together.”
Muchmore will speak at noon in room A-26 at Allen Community College.
Book tells stories of Kansas authors
