Jane Healey welcomes debut novelist Laura Vogt to discuss In The Great Quiet, a historical novel inspired by the life of Vogt’s great-great-grandmother, who joined the 1893 Cherokee Outlet land run in Oklahoma Territory. Laura shares how family stories, extensive research into women homesteaders, and overlooked corners of American history shaped the novel, along with the challenge of writing fiction rooted in her own ancestry. The conversation also explores the emotional realities of the writing life, including the unpublished manuscript that came before this debut and why perseverance matters so much to emerging writers.