Notes from the Beach by Author Dorothy Love

Though I’ve lived most of my life in landlocked states—the exception being the years I lived in Southern California—I have always been a beach girl. My perfect day begins with a pre-dawn walk on the beach, hands wrapped around my coffee mug, my eyes on the frothy swirl and retreat of the tide as I look for whelks, angels’ wings and other gifts from the sea. Then the awe-inspiring first seam of fiery light on the horizon as the sun comes up, sending a shimmer of pink and gold light across the water. 

It’s a little slice of heaven right here on earth and one that I’ve recreated in my new novel, Carolina Gold.  Set in and around Georgetown, South Carolina and on Pawleys Island, Carolina Gold is inspired by the life of Elizabeth Allston Pringle. After the Civil War, Mrs. Pringle returned to Chicora Wood, her family’s sprawling rice plantation on the Pee Dee River to resume cultivating the superior strain of rice called Carolina Gold. In the two books she wrote about her life and work, she describes in detail the necessary annual move from Chicora Wood to the family’s beach cottage on Pawleys Island to avoid yellow fever, which the planters called the “country fever.”

Yellow fever was the scourge of the South in the 19^th century; every summer, port cities such as Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, Memphis, and New Orleans braced for the onslaught. In some years the death toll soared into the thousands. Families who could afford to get out of town for the summer did so, either to the beach, to Europe, or to the resorts of Saratoga, New York.  

Each year, sometime in May or June, the rice planters on the Pee Dee and Waccamaw rivers loaded their household furnishings, livestock, and personal belongings onto flatboats and made the journey to Pawleys Island.  There they remained until the first “black frost”—a hard killing frost that got rid of the mosquitoes and made it safe to return inland.  As one of the Allstons wrote:  “To remain in the country during the summer would be suicide.”

The distance from Chicora Wood to the family’s home on Pawleys Island was only four miles as the crow flies, but to get there required a seven mile trip by boat and another four miles by land. 

For Elizabeth, called Bessie, the trip was worth all the planning and time it required.

“I was born at the seaside,” she wrote, “and from that time until I was eighteen, the move from the plantation to the sea beach at the end of May, and the return home to the plantation the first week in November were great events and a perfect joy...To me, it has always been intoxicating; that first view each year of the waves rolling, rolling, and the smell of the sea, and the brilliant blue expanse: but then I was born there and it is like a renewal of birth.”

Bessie’s words served as the perfect metaphor for the life journey of my fictional character Charlotte Fraser in Carolina Gold.  Like the real-life Bessie, my Charlotte returns to her family’s plantation after the war, virtually penniless but determined to keep the promise made to her father: to restore the plantation to its former glory and resume growing rice. But the house is in ruins thanks to the Yankees, the slaves are free, and everything of value has been stolen, right down to the bed linens. When summer comes, Charlotte makes the journey to her family’s cottage on Pawleys Island.  It is there that she experiences a renewal of her own and regains her perspective on the events that have altered her world forever, and it is there that she finds love with Dr. Nicholas Betancourt, who is harboring deep wounds of his own. 

I look forward to my annual trip to the South Carolina sea islands. They are indeed intoxicating. I loved writing about the haunting beauty of the Lowcountry, its convoluted and tortured past, the endless mysteries of the sea and the simple pleasures it affords. I hope readers enjoy their virtual “beach time” in the pages of Carolina Gold. 

Dorothy Love is the award-winning author of numerous

books for adults, preteens and young adults. Her popular Hickory Ridge series, set in her native Tennessee marked her return to her writing roots in historical fiction and introduced readers to her trademark blend of history, mystery and romance. Love’s latest release, out this month, is Carolina Gold. Her next book, a romantic mystery set in antebellum Savannah, will be published in 2014. She lives in Texas with her husband and their golden retriever and welcomes readers at www.DorothyLovebooks.com and at www.facebook.com/dorothylovebooks.  

Come back Friday for a chance to win a copy of Dorothy's newest release, Carolina Gold!

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5 Tips for the Wannabee Writer by Author Michelle Griep

I hate to burst your bubble, but writers aren’t wizards. They’re everyday Joe Shmoes who simply have a little velvet bag of writerly tricks hidden beneath their desk. Want to peek into mine? Don’t worry. There’s no fee. 

Trick #1: Saving isn’t just for cheapskates.

Any time, every time, you take a break for anything—eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, tweeting that you ate said pint, Facebooking a picture of ice cream dripping out your mouth, or any other ‘ing’ you can think of—that’s when you should hit save. Just do it. Ingrain the movement into your body’s muscle memory so that it turns into a strange and freakish nervous twitch. Trust me. You’ll thank me later.

Trick #2: Stuff happens.

These two little words—stuff happens—should become your new best friends. They are versatile, quick little rodents who are excellent at preventing writers block. Working on a synopsis and are unsure about what happens right after the mutant rock badger eats Detroit? Just type in ‘stuff happens’ and move on. Or are you pounding away at a scene and don’t have a clue how your heroine should respond when the hero tells her, “I’m leaving you for my mother?” Stuff happens. Next scene. Don’t get me wrong; you can’t slap this phrase everywhere and expect to sell a manuscript. You will have to come back and fill in what exactly happens with that stuff. This little trick is simply a way to keep your writerly momentum going when you’re in the midst of the writing battle.

Trick #3: Save the cliffhangers for your readers.

At the end of your writing session, the last thing you should type is a sentence or two of what you’ll write next time you sit down. There’s nothing worse than pulling up a finished scene and trying to remember what that stellar idea was to begin the next. You faintly recall it had something to do with a feather boa and a toaster, but doggone if you can’t even remember what you ate for breakfast. 

Trick #4: Google it.

Most writers have a limited budget. Translation: they’re too broke to actually visit the towns they set their stories in, unless of course, it happens to be within walking distance. Even then it’s a little iffy. Fortunately, every writer has a new best friend called Google Maps Street View. This is tricky if you’re writing historical, though, in which case you’ll have to rely on your imagination and/or a written description of the place (tip to the wise: if you’re using Wikipedia, verify, verify, verify). 

Trick #5: Tweetable thinking.

You’ll need to be able to describe your epic blockbuster novel in a sentence or two. Even better if you can chop it down to a 140 character Tweetable size.  Here’s an example from my latest release, A HEART DECEIVED…

Lies were born in a garden and just may be the death of Miri Brayden.

Intrigued? Ahh, you’ve fallen into my trap, my pretty. Here’s the full blurb:

Miri Brayden teeters on a razor's edge between placating and enraging her brother, whom she depends upon for support. Yet if his anger is unleashed, so is his madness. Miri must keep his descent into lunacy a secret, or he'll be committed to an asylum—and she'll be sent to the poorhouse.

Ethan Goodwin has been on the run all of his life—from family, from the law ... from God. After a heart-changing encounter with the gritty Reverend John Newton, Ethan would like nothing more than to become a man of integrity—an impossible feat for an opium addict charged with murder.

When Ethan shows up on Miri's doorstep, her balancing act falls to pieces. Both Ethan and Miri are caught in a web of lies and deceit—fallacies that land Ethan in prison and Miri in the asylum with her brother. Only the truth will set them free.

If you decide to pick up a copy, you just may discover a few more of the tricks I’ve got buried in my writerly bag. Feel free to use them.

Michelle’s been writing since she first discovered blank wall space

and Crayolas...professionally, however, for the past 10 years. Her recent release is A HEART DECEIVED, a gothic regency put out by David C. Cook (June 2013). If you’d like to keep up with her escapades, you can find her at www.michellegriep.com or www.writerofftheleash.blogspot.com or feel free to stalk her on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.




REVIEW of A Heart Deceived

Book Summary: Miri Brayden teeters on a razor's edge between placating and enraging her brother, whom she depends upon for support. Yet if his anger is unleashed, so is his madness. Miri must keep his descent into lunacy a secret, or he'll be committed to an asylum—and she'll be sent to the poorhouse. 

Ethan Goodwin has been on the run all of his life—from family, from the law ... from God. After a heart-changing encounter with the gritty Reverend John Newton, Ethan would like nothing more than to become a man of integrity—an impossible feat for an opium addict charged with murder. 

When Ethan shows up on Miri's doorstep, her balancing act falls to pieces. Both Ethan and Miri are caught in a web of lies and deceit—fallacies that land Ethan in prison and Miri in the asylum with her brother. Only the truth will set them free.

An excellent book full of twists and turns. Set in England, the book is rich with history while giving insight into both the troubles and trials of the time period (opium, asylums). Ethan is a strong, though flawed hero, and Miri is a heroine torn between her world and the one her brother only thinks he sees. 4 1/2 stars

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What I've Learnt Launching a Book by Author Jessica Dotta

When I first began writing, I found an article online that I've never forgotten. 

In it, the writer said something like: So you want to be a writer? Take two aspirin, lie down and hope the urge goes away! The gist was that it would be much, much easier to quit than to attempt to break through the publishing wall. At the time, I remember laughing. Now I'm not so sure he was joking. He really might have meant to take the aspirin. At the time, I remember laughing. Now I'm not so sure he was joking. He really might have meant to take the aspirin. 

Breaking through the publishing wall does seem like an impossible task, and if you're among those seeking publication, I want to offer encouragement. Believe it or not, right now you're in the honeymoon phase—and I don't want you to miss it! 

I recall my impatience now with a chuckle. I was so ready to be sold and published! Thank goodness I wasn't then! And not because my book wasn't ready. 

I had no thoughts of what still needed to be accomplished in my life. Writers know our job is to speak truth and to be willing to expose all. Yet there were still areas of my life chaining me from speaking the truth, though I didn't know it, then. Furthermore, I had no thoughts of the work that went into such a career choice. I wasn't thinking of social media, html coding, networking, creating the necessary photos, website design, mail blasts and driving for hours in a car for a half-hour event. 

At that point, I was in love with words and story. I spent hours delighting in finding the exact word choices to express an emotion or in figuring out the perfect action beat. I relished working with my fellow writers in critique groups, learning new concepts with them. 

I always thought the honeymoon started the moment a book contract is offered! But that's a skewed view. If we're comparing publishing to marriage, know that you're married as soon as you've made the commitment. 

If you're writing, you're a writer. 

How many couples on their honeymoon think about the folks back home who have been married several years with kids and jobs—and feel discontented that they're relaxing on the beach and having fun, while the others are so much further along? 

Not too many, I imagine. 

Take time and savor where you are. Make friends, critique work, grow in the craft! The next step will unfold in due season. 

Born in the wrong century–except for the fact that she really likes epidurals and washing machines–Jessica Dotta writes British Historicals with the humor like an Austen, yet the drama of a Bronte.

She resides lives in the greater Nashville area—where she imagines her small Southern town into the foggy streets of 19th century London. She oversees her daughter to school, which they pretend is an English boarding school, and then she goes home to write and work on PR. Jessica has tried to cast her dachshund as their butler–but the dog insists it’s a Time Lord and their home a Tardis. Miss Marple, her cat, says its no mystery to her as to why the dog won’t cooperate. When asked about it, Jessica sighs and says that you can’t win them all, and at least her dog has picked something British to emulate.

BOOK BLURB:

The year is 1838, and seventeen-year-old Julia Elliston’s position has never been more fragile. Orphaned and unmarried in a time when women are legal property of their fathers, husbands, and guardians, she finds herself at the mercy of an anonymous guardian who plans to establish her as a servant in far-off Scotland.

With two months to devise a better plan, Julia’s first choice to marry her childhood sweetheart is denied. But when a titled dowager offers to introduce Julia into society, a realm of possibilities opens. However, treachery and deception are as much a part of Victorian society as titles and decorum, and Julia quickly discovers her present is deeply entangled with her mother’s mysterious past. Before she knows what’s happening, Julia finds herself a pawn in a deadly game between two of the country’s most powerful men. With no laws to protect her, she must unravel the secrets on her own. But sometimes truth is elusive and knowledge is deadly.

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Doing What I Love by Author Stephanie Landsem

Before we begin, we have exciting news! You can come back on Friday for a chance to win a copy of Stephanie's latest release. Think, summer reading.

And now, this is what Stephanie wanted to share. . . 

I didn’t start out wanting to write historical fiction. In high school and my first year of college, I loved science and knew—just knew—that was what I wanted to study.   Then, I took my first history class. I left that classroom like a love-struck teenager. 

I took another, just for fun, and by my sophomore year, I knew I couldn’t deny my true love anymore. I called my dad and told him I wanted to change my major to history. 

Dad, a man of few words, didn’t say what I knew he was thinking. What kind of job can a history major get? No, what he said was, “Do you love it?” And I answered, “Yes, I really love it.” After a long silence, in which I’m sure he was wondering if I’d be moving back in with him and Mom in three years, he said. “Then do it. Worry about the rest as it comes.”

And so I gleefully changed my major from Chemistry to History and paged through the course catalog, trying to decide between classes on the early Russian Empire, ancient Greece, or medieval Europe. So many choices, and only three years to cram them all in.

With my debut historical fiction, The Well, releasing in June, I find myself amazed that I can sit down every day and do what I love the best.  And whether I’m plotting, writing a rough draft, or fine-tuning a manuscript, whenever I get stuck or can’t seem to get something just right, I go back to my true love—history—and always end up inspired.

Plotting

When I’m looking for a story idea, writing a synopsis, or outlining a plot, I remind myself that the story is in the history. My imagination might supply the details, the dialogue, and most of the characters, but the real story is already there, just waiting to be discovered in historical texts, scholarly works, and—in the case of The Well—the pages of the Bible. 

Time and again, I’ve discovered that actual events are more riveting than anything I can pull from my imagination. Much of the story in The Well came from scholarly commentary on the Bible and my research into Samaritan history.

Rough Draft

When I’m writing the rough draft and find myself with a lackluster chapter, I go back to my research.  Invariably, I find something fascinating that I can work into the story: a new setting or a historic tidbit that can move the story foreword and immerse the reader in the setting. 

While writing The Well, I went back to the Bible and my documents on Samaritan history and came away with new details that made the story shine.

Editing

Sometimes editing can get tough. I get bogged down in the details, frustrated, and know I’m too close to my material to see the flaws. That’s when I start looking at pictures. Photos of ancient ruins, paintings, and pictures of artifacts re-invigorate my sluggish brain and get me back on track.

For The Well, I started a Pinterest board of the many photos that I found in my research, and often went back to them for inspiration.

Whenever I get stuck in writing—and it happens pretty often—I always turn back to history and, so far, my true love has always come through.

Stephanie Landsem writes historical fiction because she loves adventure in far-off times and places. In real life, she’s explored ancient ruins, medieval castles, and majestic cathedrals around the world. Stephanie is equally happy at home in Minnesota with her husband, four children, and three fat cats.  When she’s not writing, she’s feeding the ravenous horde, avoiding housework, and dreaming about her next adventure—whether it be in person or on the page.

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Research Trip: Antietam Battlefield

In preparation for my new contract, I visited Antietam Battlefield last week, staying at the very clean, lovely guest home, the Mary Hill House. We enjoyed listening to the very knowledgeable Bob Murphy of RCM History Tours (Twitter @RCMHistoryTours). His prices are very reasonable and he accommodated our desire to walk some of the tour.

This, I believe, was a picture of the "Cornfield." Hard to say without the corn. :) One of the most intense spots of the entire battle.

 Mumma Farm

 Mumma Farm was the only farm burned up during the battle. The springhouse didn't burn and is pictured here:

 Roulette Farm

 Roulette Farm Pond and, in the distance, South Mountain (Battle of South Mountain)

 Bloody Lane, called Hog Trough Lane before the battle

 The tower at the end of Bloody Lane was not standing during the Civil War. Bob said people assume that it did. :)

 Look at that sky! This is coming up on Sherrick Farm and Burnside Bridge (Lower Bridge)

 Burnside Bridge from the Confederate side. With only 300-400 soldiers holding off over 2K because they held the higher ground.

 Antietam National Cemetery

 Grove House, Lee's Hdqrtrs in Sharpsburg during Confederate occupation

 Do you see the shell stuck in the side of this house? Every house in Sharpsburg was used to shelter the wounded.

 Lee moved the location of his Hdqrtrs to here, Oak Grove, where he pitched a tent. Meanwhile. . .

 McClellan's command was centered at Pry House. Not open for tour at the time of our trip. :(

 Pry House (sideview)

 This is what McClellan saw from his vantage point at Pry House. The picture is dark (sorry) but there are way more trees now than there were then.

 Uh, this wasn't part of the tour, but was part of the recovery. Nutter's Ice-Cream. 4 scoops for $2.95. I was sold!

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Writing Advice: Setting as a Live Element

Many have never heard of the Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889, but the tragedy marks the worst disaster in 19th century US. It is believed that the dam contained 20 million tons of water before it gave way. The head of water then traveled 14 miles downriver, wiping out several smaller towns along the way, before dumping into Johnstown like a great and deadly mud puddle of shifting, swirling, swift-moving water. At it's greatest height through the narrow passage down to Johnstown, the water measured 35-40 feet in height. Ninety-nine families were wiped out by the unexpected deluge that caused 17 million dollars in property damage and the loss of 2,209 lives. The pile of debris at Johnstown's beautiful stone bridge covered 30 acres and burned for days as people lay trapped within.

Fascinating facts, sure, but how to take something so tragic, so devastating, and craft not just a story around it, but a LOVE story. The problem was that I wanted to stay true to the events. Without going into gory, terrible detail of everything that happened, I used sections of setting that showed the horror of the disaster, yet highlighted the emotions generated and heightened by the suddenness of the tragedy and the burning question of my hero and heroine, "Did Jack survive?"/"Did Alaina survive?".  

As a novelist, you want to make the setting itself a part of the story by creating conflict for the characters. The flood in Promise Brides (Promise of Tomorrow) did this, while also giving the reader a peek into the lives of other prominent characters who really were there following the flood--for example, Clara Barton's appearance post-flood put her group of nurses to their first real test on American soil.

As a teenager that was the one element I enjoyed most about reading historicals--learning about a different time and place. And I believe that modern readers enjoy historicals for that very same reason. It is up to us as writers to do this. Don't just tell about a place, show the place, give a taste for the surroundings and, if at all possible, make the setting itself a hurdle characters must leap in order to grow.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit the Johnstown Flood Museum in Johnstown, PA, I'm sure you will find the information and displays educational. For more information, visit their Website at http://www.jaha.org/FloodMuseum/history.html.

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