It’s spring again, and I thought I’d kick it off with some vintage green. Among the vintage documents peeks out the grassy-shaded WWII postage stamp on an envelope my grandmother sent to Dad while he served in the Army Air Corps. The background photograph, featuring one of my maternal grandmothers (why I have more than …
A Civil War Courtship: The Letters of Edwin Weller from Antietam to Atlanta by William Walton My rating: 4 of 5 stars The title reflects the contents: it’s a collection of letters written by Edwin Weller, a member of the 107th New York Volunteers, during the Civil War. Mr. Welller fought at Antietam and Gettysburg …
The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw My rating: 2 of 5 stars Rating this, a collection of short narratives, almost bios, of people in WWII, is difficult because of one thing: its writer. While I found some of the information about their life stories and experiences interesting, all was told by, and very much in …
I find reading literature from the era in which I am writing helps me to get the feel of the language and times. Many of the following books I’ve read over the years – AJ Cronin and Kenneth Roberts are favorite authors of mine, and I loved Nancy Drew and Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Long …
The decade of the 1940s was, from the perspective of seven decades past, a decade of numbers. But in choosing the decade as a setting for my story, they are numbers to be looked at, as the nation changed drastically. Before World War II, much of the country still resided in farm communities. No Ordinary …
In the mood for the 1940s? I am, as my work in progress is set in the decade of swing and World War II. So what better way to kick off a series of posts on the 1940s than with the Glen Miller Orchestra and “In The Mood?”
As I have returned to have a day job recently, I’ve had less time to write – mostly in dribs and drabs on my lap during lunch (why doesn’t my company have quiet corners with comfy desk chairs just for writing at lunch?). I’ve begun re-reading the Anne of Green Gables series, and there’s much …
Reading a book as a struggling author, I find myself intrigued by the story of the writer, particularly when the book in question haunts me over time. And so that is what happened with Patricia Clapp. Dear Ms. Clapp – have you any idea what you started? No? Back in the late 1970s, I first …
Okay, so I tend to geek out on family history – and not just my own. But why talk about it on a blog geared to writing historical fiction? What does one have to do with the other? While researching genealogy, I’ve discovered some wonderful nuggets of history which seeded good ideas for fiction. Go …
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Halloween has been a favorite of mine since my early childhood, as I grew up in an area heavily trafficked by trick-or-treaters, and the night ended with a large bonfire party in our neighborhood park, complete with costume contests, hot cider (this was in Michigan where October nights are chilly compared to where we live …