Mystery Monday – The Chicago Coal Famine

My mother’s ancestry was a mystery to me and to her. She knew her father, of course, but they never talked about her grandfather nor anyone else further back. I was able to fill in a few blanks for her by researching on Ancestry. Later, I found documents tracing our heritage all the way back … Continue reading Mystery Monday – The Chicago Coal Famine

Saturday Share – Vatican Daughter

A Book Review Extensive research through books, news articles, and personal travel is the basis for a page-turner about intrigue at the Vatican.Vatican Daughter is a novel about family, love, and murder in and around the Vatican. The story had me so enthralled I couldn’t put the book down, and I read the first fifty … Continue reading Saturday Share – Vatican Daughter

Throwback Thursday – Feast or Famine

We are so spoiled! The amount of work that went into providing food for a peasant family in 1650 is daunting by today's standards. The typical seigneurial system in France granted 1-3 acres to a family to farm. A family of five would need two acres of rye to provide bread for a year. Their … Continue reading Throwback Thursday – Feast or Famine

Writing Wednesday – Self-Publishing

I was too impatient to wait for a “real publisher”… and I ended up as an indie author with six books on Amazon and elsewhere. Authors know that publishing isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every path—self-publishing, working with an indie press, or chasing a traditional deal—comes with its own mix of freedom, work, frustration, and reward. Self-publishing is … Continue reading Writing Wednesday – Self-Publishing

Mystery Monday – Harvesting Wild Grapes

It’s a mystery to me how I’ve gotten through life so far and why I sometimes do stupid things.  After finding wild grapes along the trail, I imagined being like my peasant character while I picked them. I spent an hour harvesting the grapes and another two hours de-stemming them, my fingers hurt as if … Continue reading Mystery Monday – Harvesting Wild Grapes