A Rumor of Coyotes

Lone tree in the Flint Hills, Chase County, Kansas

Hello, People of the World! Cheryl Unruh here. Welcome to my new blog!

I’m really excited to have a new space to spill words onto! A clean new site!

I’ll be covering several main topics here. For one thing, I’ll be talking about the writing process – sharing tricks of the trade, tricks of the mind. And I will post some of my new essays in which I try to capture moments of life, those tiny moments that we humans connect with each other on a deep and meaningful level. And, I’ll splash some of my poetry on this page as well.

I wanted to pick a name for the blog – and with a million blogs out there, every clever turn-of-phrase about writing has already been used to death. So, I thought about taking a line from my own writing and what immediately came to mind was a line from “At Home in the Flint Hills” that I’ve always liked, “A rumor of coyotes hangs in the night air.” This phrase isn’t about writing, but it offers a feeling of wildness, a sense of place, and a little bit of uncertainty, which is always fun. So, coyotes it is!

I hope you haven’t come here expecting to gain information about coyotes! Although I’m not ruling out random coyote mentions. 🙂

My husband, Dave Leiker, a professional photographer and web builder, made this site for me, and I’m thrilled to have a fresh, clean place where I can splatter some words. (Dave is available to build you a website, too. Or he can photograph you or your family – individual or family portraits, senior pictures, weddings, etc. See his work at http://prairiedust.net/)

For those who don’t already know me, I am a writer living in Emporia, Kansas. For over 11 years, I wrote a weekly column for The Emporia Gazette about Kansas topics. The column, called “Flyover People,” led to the publication of two books of Kansas essays, “Flyover People: Life on the Ground in a Rectangular State” and “Waiting on the Sky: More Flyover People essays.” Both books have won the Kansas Notable Book Award (2011 and 2015).

But, hey – it’s time for a fresh start. A new blog. New topics. An expanding outlook on life. I’d be ever so pleased to have you join me here. Thank you.

Peace, Cheryl