Welcome, Friends
Even as a little kid trying on all kinds of future career hats—ballerina, pop singer, archeologist (one who didn’t much like touching dirt, oh well!)—in my heart of hearts I always knew exactly who I was. A writer. And not just any kind of writer. A writer of historical novels, the kind I loved reading. Books by Daphne du Maurier, Victoria Holt, and Nora Lofts, to name a few, featuring unflappable heroines rising to meet extraordinary circumstances and challenging times. Books where the history wasn’t just window dressing but richly textured and deeply integrated into the characters and plot.
These reading sessions invariably listed late into the night, moved under the covers and abetted by a flashlight. Including school nights when I was supposed to be getting a “good night’s sleep.” Who needed sleep, good or otherwise, when with every cover cracked I had a passport to travel back in time?
Today, as an historical novelist, time traveling is pretty much part and parcel of my job description. (Being a research geek doesn’t hurt, either). For my upcoming historical novel, IRISH EYES, set in Gilded and Jazz Age New York City, I came across SO MANY absolutely fascinating finds, real-life people and stories too numerous to squeeze into the final cut of the book. What to do with this treasure trove of historical trivia? Share it here, with YOU, my fellow history geeks and historical fiction readers.
Why subscribe?
“History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.” — Mark Twain
In my quarterly author newsletter, to which some of you subscribe, I talk about my books and other writing news specifically. This newsletter is where I give my inner History Geek free rein. Expect a deep dive into history, history, and MORE history. Sometimes the stories are the fruits of researching a work-in-progress, at other times, pure serendipity. Always, they will be upbeat, instructive and true.
Here is a taste:
Behold Annette Kellerman (1886 - 1975) professional swimmer, vaudeville star, silent film actress (first actress to appear fully nude on screen!) and prolific writer. Kellerman is shown here (circa 1900) wearing her creation - the one piece bathing suit, which she mass marketed. This leotard like bodysuit seems tame by today’s standards but at the time women like Rose in Irish Eyes, during a Coney Island beach scene, wore navy sailor suit styled bathing costumes including pantaloons and thick knit hose. (Men, of course, had a much easier go of it - a striped tank top and above the knees small pants pretty much covered it). Looong before Title IX was a blink on anyone’s radar, Kellerman was advocating for women’s and girls’ physical fitness. She was one of the first women to attempt to swim the English Channel and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. #historymatters #womenshistorymonth
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Looking forward to geeking out together!
Hope
