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”
Tag Archives: writing
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”
Writing Historical Fiction When the Record is Silent
Tonight I was thinking about a different kind of difficulty in historical fiction. As I move toward the revision of Chapter 8 of my Lincoln novel, I need to add a scene that does not exist in the historical record==the reaction of the Black community to the arrival of the press and the growing tensionsContinue reading “Writing Historical Fiction When the Record is Silent”
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”
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”
A Good Afternoon at Writers Group
Today’s writers’ group was larger than usual–eight of us gathered, which increased the energy in the room. It lifted everyone’s spirits after the long winter. I read my work and received some good comments to help me in my revision. So I’m feeling energized to get a lot more done. Several members, including myself broughContinue reading “A Good Afternoon at Writers Group”
Choosing the Next Story
Soon I will be doing this for both Ed and I’s work, but today I’m talking about Ed. This week I’ll begin rereading several of Ed’s stories to decide which one should be next for publication. I asked the Friends of Ed group for suggestions, but in the end, the decision rests with me. That’sContinue reading “Choosing the Next Story”
The View From The Imaginarium 