ac·knowl·edg·ment
an author's or publisher's statement of indebtedness to others, typically one printed at the beginning of a book.
This week has hit me fast and furious and yes, I do realize it’s only Wednesday. I just finished responding to my editor’s first-round of edits on Irish Eyes — writing a book truly does take a village — and I’m about to start packing for moving house on Monday. I was planning to squeeze in a walk but between us, it may not happen. Que sera, sera…
While writing and editing a book is hard work, the easy breezy part is writing the Acknowledgement section. Giving a shout-out to all the people who’ve backed me, be it by beta reading the draft novel, or pouring wine and passing tissues when the going got tough (or stalled altogether), isn’t work. It’s pure pleasure.
In that spirit, I’m dedicating today’s post to a few of the fellow history lovers and historians who’ve made Irish Eyes a better book. They include, in no particular order…
Former FDNY captain, Paul Hashagen — I found Paul, a third generation firefighter who began his career in 1976, through his fascinating book, A Distant Fire. A History of FDNY Heroes. In writing the Windsor Hotel fire scenes in Irish Eyes, Paul’s book was basically my bible.
Still, I had questions, which prompted me to get in touch online. Happily, Paul not only answered my SOS, including questions on the design and proper use of nineteenth century scaling ladders, sundry horse-drawn fire apparatus, and the particulars of the Windsor Hotel Fire, but he also vetted my novel pages on the fire.
As an aside, I found his book on sale at the New York City Fire Museum, a tucked away gem of a museum housed in a 1904 firehouse at 278 Spring Street. You can also buy A Distant Fire and Paul’s other books here and connect with him on Facebook.
Bert Cunningham — I met New York Army National Guard 69th Infantry Regiment Veterans Corps Historian, Bert Cunningham on a blustery mid-March day while on Kevin Fitzpatrick’s World War I walking tour of Manhattan. A former U.S. Marine Corps Reservist, Kevin is the author of eight nonfiction history books including World War I New York. A Guide to the City’s Enduring Ties to the Great War. He’s also the founder of the Dorothy Parker Society and an NYC tour guide par excellence. If you love history and you’re in NYC, take one of Kevin’s Big Apple Fanatics’ walking tours. You’ll be glad you did!
But back to Bert…
On a pub break between tour stops — the tour took place the day before St. Patrick’s Day — fortified by a hastily gulped Guinness, I approached Bert and shared I was writing an historical novel that spanned the Spanish American and First World Wars. Rather than roll his eyes (who isn’t writing a book or at least talking about writing one?), he volunteered to answer all my military queries and vet my pages, which he did, flagging numerous mistakes and misconceptions. He even provided additional source material! (Any errors are entirely mine).
While my Acknowledgements in the novel is a lot longer than this, I’ll wrap up with a shout-out to friend and fellow historical novelist, Nancy Bilyeau. Nancy is the author of eight novels; her latest is The Orchid Hour. Here’s a taste.
New York City, 1923. Zia De Luca’s life is about to be shattered. Having lost her husband to The Great War, she lives with her son and in-laws in Little Italy and works at the public library. But when a quiet poetry lover is murdered outside the library, the police investigation focuses on Zia. After a second tragedy strikes even closer to home, Zia learns that both crimes are connected to a new speakeasy in Greenwich Village called The Orchid Hour.
When the police investigation stalls, Zia decides to find her own answers. A cousin with whom she has a special bond serves as a guide to the shadow realm of the Orchid Hour, a world filled with enticements Zia has shunned up to now. She must contend with a group of players determined to find wealth and power in New York on their own terms. In this heady atmosphere, Zia begins to wonder if she too could rewrite her life’s rules. As she’s pulled in deeper and deeper, will Zia be able to bring the killers to justice before they learn her secret?
Pre-order The Orchid Hour by clicking on any of the Buy Links here.
On Nancy’s suggestion, I reached out to her, now our, editor to ask if she would like to take a look at Irish Eyes.
The rest, as they say, is history. :)
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IRISH EYES (coming December 2023), Book 1 of my American Songbook series, spans twenty-five years of Gilded Age through the Jazz Age Manhattan, as seen through the eyes of spirited Irish-born Rose O’Neill. Read more here.
I always love reading the acknowledgements.