Happy St. Patrick's Day! Most of the time, when people think of March 17, they think about leprechauns, pots of gold, and wearing green to avoid getting pinched. But the origins of this holiday are much more spiritual in nature. And I researched those origins, I found myself awed by the ministry of the man who became a legend. At the end of the 4th century, Maewyn Succat was born to … [Read more...]
All about the green in spring
Since it's springtime and the leaves are turning that beautiful fresh green and since tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and since we're moving to a new house about five miles down the road and my current office is in chaos, I thought I'd do a pictorial blog today. Flowers and trees can say so much more about these things than I can, anyway. I will give you a quote to get you through the week (from an … [Read more...]
When private love letters…aren’t so private anymore
My Darling Wife… On his thirty-third birthday in 1868, General William Hicks Jackson proposed marriage to Selene Harding, granddaughter of the founder of Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville (the setting of my Belle Meade Plantation novels). The General had his eye on Selene for quite some time. But he wasn't part of Nashville’s social circle, and Selene had the attentions of many eligible … [Read more...]
Dime Novels – The Birth of the Paperback
Right around the start of the Civil War, Erastus and Irwin Beadle published a new series of cheap paperbacks entitled Beadle's Dime Novels. Thanks to increased literacy rates among the American people during this time, and the inexpensive price (yes, they truly did cost a dime), these thin, paper-bound books met with huge success. Their debut novel - Malaeska, the Indian Wife of the White Hunter, … [Read more...]
If only graves could speak…
This past Sunday, Joe and I took a quick day trip to see some friends in Winchester, Tennessee. While there, the four of us went on a long walk, and we strolled all around the neighborhood. Curt and Dana had mentioned that there were some "old graves" back in the woods. So, of course, I made a beeline for the woods! These graves were originally located by a church that stood in Winchester … [Read more...]
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