History, Real Life, and Faith
Hurricanes powering through the Hawai’ian islands remind me of several incidents involving my family. In 1982, powerful Hurricane Iwa roared over Kaua’i, the western most inhabited island in the chain, and left it in shambles. Electrical power was out for more than a week in some places on this lush vegetated island, and it was declared a disaster area. Among ideas…
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How genealogy research led to discovering a WWI doughboy in the family.
Some of you know the lyrics: “Now’s the time to say goodbye to all our company . . . “ That point is nearly here for the novel I’ve spent the last twenty months writing, and I’m having a hard time. I have to say goodbye very soon. There’s a grief that comes from saying goodbye to people you’ve spent a…
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What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet . . . William Shakespeare’s famous line from Romeo and Juliet rings across the centuries and lodges in my head these days as I finish up my novel. One of the most often asked questions of novelists is how they chose names…
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The first woman journalist to visit WWI trenches–and her treacherous journey to no man’s land.
The heroine in my current novel is a would-be World War I foreign correspondent. Early in my research, I discovered that few existed. Only one woman got to the trenches and interviewed the famous. Perhaps because she was famous herself? I recognized her name, as would mystery lovers: Mary Roberts Rinehart. A novelist and journalist, as well as a mother…
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