Today has been a full day and not an easy one. I went to Indianapolis to attend my brother-in-law’s funeral. It was a military service. He had served in the Navy, and the ceremony carried a sense of formality and honor. It was moving and an appropriate funeral with flag at half mast, bells ringing,Continue reading “Writing in the Midst of Life”
Category Archives: genealogy
Elijah Lovejoy Standing Against the Mob, the Cost of Speaking Out
As I’m revising Chapter 9 of my Lincoln novel, I’m emersed in the life of Elijah Lovejoy and the position he occupies in the story at this point. The danger surrounding him is no longer uncertain. Those who oppose him are gathering openly and speaking of what they intend to do. There is no realContinue reading “Elijah Lovejoy Standing Against the Mob, the Cost of Speaking Out”
Owen Lovejoy and the Underground Railroad
Owen Lovejoy plays a significant role in my Lincoln novel. He appears in several scenes, but in the chapters I’ve been working on recently, he becomes more intimately involved in what is happening. While tensions rise and the trheat to his brother grows more intense, Owen moves among those gathering against them, watching, listening, spying.Continue reading “Owen Lovejoy and the Underground Railroad”
Writing Historical Fiction When Voices Are Not Recorded
This week I’ve begun revising Chapter 9 of my Lincoln novel, where the tension continues to escalate and the danger surrounding Lovejoy becomes more direct. As the threats gather and those around him begin to organize for defense, I realized that something important was still missing from the chapter. I need to write a sceneContinue reading “Writing Historical Fiction When Voices Are Not Recorded”
Owen Lovejoy in a Lincoln-Era Novel
At writers group this week I read a chapter from my Lincoln novel that features Owen Lovejoy more prominently. He has appeared earlier in the story, but in this chapter he has two scenes of his own. While others gather and tensions rise around the arrival of Elijah’s fourth press, Owen moves stealthily among thoseContinue reading “Owen Lovejoy in a Lincoln-Era Novel”
How Quakers Helped the Underground Railroad
In tracing my family genealogy, I’ve come across a connection that leads into the quiet work of the Underground Railroad. I was surprised and delighted to find a document that Mary Louisa John’s family had signed supporting that network. This is a branch of my family that were Quakers in Pennsylvania. Quakers were among theContinue reading “How Quakers Helped the Underground Railroad”
How Participating in a Writers Group Helps Shape a Historical Novel and Career
Gatherings like this were common in Lincoln’s time, when ideas and arguments were often tested in small rooms before they reached a wider audience. At writers group today I read another chapter of my Lincoln novel and received several helpful suggestions. After the reading we talked about something writers often wonder about–how books actually findContinue reading “How Participating in a Writers Group Helps Shape a Historical Novel and Career”
Researching Genealogy While Writing a Lincoln-Era Novel
This week I worked in several different realms of writing that all involved history. Chapter 7 of my Lincoln mystery is now prepared to the next reading at Scribes (tomorrow). Its an action chapter, and the tension between Lovejoy and those who oppose him is sharpening. Reading these scenes aloud to the group is theContinue reading “Researching Genealogy While Writing a Lincoln-Era Novel”
When History Becomes Part of the Family
The Mayhew Cabin stood along one of the western routes of the Underground Railroad, part of a quiet network that stretched across much of the country. Earlier this week I wrote about discovering a family connection to the abolitionist movement and the events surrounding John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. The more I think aboutContinue reading “When History Becomes Part of the Family”
An Unexpected Historical Thread
This week, while working on family genealogy, I came across something I hadn’t known before–a distant connection to the events surrounding John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. My great-great-great-grandmother’s youngest brother was an abolitionist living on the frontier. Hie cabin, known today as the Mayhew Cabin, still stands in Nebraska and served as a stationContinue reading “An Unexpected Historical Thread”
The View From The Imaginarium 