We are almost into January and the warmth continues. Thus far, even in upstate New York, we have not had a killing frost. I still have beets
and kale
Moreover, my poor dog is suffering. She grew in her winter coat. And now it looks like her April hair; ragged as she sheds. This is her flank one day after brushing.
I, however, am not complaining. Maybe this year I will actually get my peas in to the ground mid-March instead of being held back by snow.
Because of my goodreads giveaway, I am behind on my blogging. Now that most of the books have been put in the mail to the winners, and the remaining ones ready, I can turn my attention to something else.
A few weeks ago, my husband and I went to an exhibition of Shaker items at the New York State Museum. I”d wanted to attend the program on Children and the Shakers, which was unfortunately canceled. But the display was still up and will be until March.
Despite all my research, I still learned some new facts. One of the pieces on display was a Granny Cradle. The explanation given was that it was used either to comfort the ill adult or to move them.
I did not know that some parents indentured their children to the Shakers. Several contracts were on display.
Here is the board listing a boy’s duties.
The morning began early, at 6:30, with many chores before breakfast and more after. School (from Dec to March for the boys) was fit into the mornings. Photos of smiling children on outings were also on display. It may seem harsh to modern eyes but hard work was usual even for very small children then.
We also paused on our way out to see the exhibit on the World Trade Center. Crushed trucks and heavy beams bent and twisted like licorice sticks. Even after the passage of more than a decade, this exhibit has not lost its power.
I am thrilled to announce that 941 people requested Cradle to Grave. (And here I was wondering if I would break 500!) I have received the names of the winners and will be sending copies of the books to them this weekend.
The Giveaway ends tomorrow at midnight; two days left to add your name for the Giveaway.
Will and Lydia travel to New York just outside of Albany after a frantic plea for help from Shaker friend Mouse. There they find Mouse had been accused of kidnapping – and she admits it. Shortly after, the mother of the children is found dead and Mouse is the the primary suspect.
I am so happy to announce that I have broken the 400 mark. I still have a week to go. Will I break 500 requests? Only time will tell.
Salad has a long history. One source I read claimed that the Greeks and Romans ate mixed greens with dressing.
I have salad recipes in my Queen Elizabeth I and King Richard cookbooks although they also include things like figs and are sweeter than we normally think of salad, which is now seen as more of a healthy food. The recipes from these renaissance cookbooks read more like dessert.
Besides wild greens and the tops of beets and turnips, early American farmers also grew several varieties of lettuce, cucumbers, radishes. What’s missing from the usual American salad? Why, tomatoes. Although now considered Italian, tomatoes are actually, like potatoes, from South America It was brought to Europe by Spain. And, a member of the nightshade family, it was considered a poison. It was not eaten at all during the Colonial period ( and grown as a decorative plant) but by the early 1800s was popular as a food. One story lists Thomas Jefferson as the who began planting and eating tomatoes. He was a passionate gardener who tried new foods but we don’t really know for sure.
But I digress. Cucumbers were frequently used as a salad and I have found old recipes for cucumber salad which usually consists of chopped cucumbers and vinegar.
Other vegetables: artichokes, onions, garlic, parsnips, asparagus and of course things like cabbage were popular. We think of the diet at this time as meat heavy, and it was, but cheese and diary and grains, as well as the vegetables, were also a big part of the diet.
I always mention food in my books. I’m a gardener myself and clearly a foodie – which regular readers of my blog can surely tell. And I find it fascinating to discover what our forefathers ate and didn’t eat. Sometimes it is surprising.
I am happy to announce that I received both the contracts and the edits for the Devil’s Cold Dish.
The contracts have been signed and put in the mail.
I am still working on the edits but they are almost done. These are line edits; i.e. the editor goes over the manuscript and comments/questions items. This is when the editor has the author correct the manuscript – are there too many repetitions of the same information? Does the plot need some changes? Too many characters?
I enjoy this part of the editing because it makes me think of the manuscript and the story in a new way. Confusing sections are clarified and sometimes I take the opportunity to expand on something. this is my chance to look at the story with fresh eyes – for good or ill since I can either think this book is good or terrible.
The next time I see the manuscript I will be working on copy edits which I don’t like at all. This is grammatical mistakes, any double periods I haven’t caught. If I haven’t paid close enough attention to the time line, I can be sure the copy editor will pick it up.
Although I don’t address witchcraft of the trials in Death in Salem, I write about a period 100 years later, I do use it in The Devil’s Cold Dish.I am fascinated by the persistent belief in witches. Although the trials ended before 1700 and reparations began to be paid to surviving victims and families of the executed, belief in witches and the trials did not end then. As I have written in other posts, belief – and accusations – continued well into the 1800’s. ( And actually into modern times ). With Halloween only days away, it seems appropriate to address the topic again. The craze in Massacheusetts came after several centuries of the trials and burnings in Europe. Belief in magic was widespread. Girls used spells to try and see the faces of future husbands and superstitions regarding illness, birth, harvest were rife. Harelips were caused when the mother saw a rabbit, birth marks because the mother ate strawberries, for example. One of my favorites: to protect a mother and child during birth put an ear of corn on the mother’s belly. Reasons given for the explosion of belief and hangings in Salem are many. I just read several pieces on Tituba. Variously described as an Indian or a black slave, her testimony apparently drove much of the content of the stories and was a direct cause of the eventual hangings of women described as her confederates. (Although they all protested their innocence, sixteen were hanged. Tituba was set free.) A shadowy character, she has been also described as practicing voodoo. Her testimony. at least to me, reads more like the Christian belief in demons and the devil. Once she was released, however, she, like the girls whose fits started the terror, faded into obscurity. By the late eighteen hundreds her name was used to frighten children and she is shown in illustrations in the witches’s black dress holding her broom. Considering the amazing staying power of accusations, one has to wonder about the psychology behind these beliefs. Of course malice plays a huge role as does mysogyny. But why the belief in evil supernatural powers and submission to the Devil? I still have trouble wrapping my mind around it.
Beginning November 1, I am beginning a giveaway of twenty copies of Cradle to Grave.
This is my third book and of the four I have published, and the one coming out next spring, is the one with the most emotional resonance for me. My daughter had had a baby the year before. There were some problems and she had to have a C-section. Then there were some problems with the baby, most of which he has grown out of of. That poor kid was in the hospital more times than I can count.
I had already come across the practice of warning out in my research for A Simple Murder and Death of a Dyer but it wasn’t an appropriate topic for those books. (And I must say, the research for the first two and then Death in Salem were a lot more fun. I love Salem, the Shakers are fascinating and, for Death of a Dyer, I messed around with dyes for months. The research was pretty grim for Cradle.) But I started thinking, what happens to single mothers? How would I feel if I had children and was trying to feed and raise them? What happens to orphans? How could a single mother even try to fight the power structure?
At the same time, I read an article in the New York Times about the practice in Las Vegas of rounding up the homeless and shipping them to California. The more things change, the more they remain the same, right?
I was also babysitting some older children so their mother could work. So, I based Jerusha, Simon and Nancy on these kids, and the mixed race foundling that no one wanted is my first grandson.
I had to have a happy ending. Spoiler alert.
It may not be the best mystery of the lot but, for me, it has the most heart and the one that means the most to me.
B-Con is over for this year. I have already registered for next year. Why do I go to Bouchercon?
Well, I have always been a reader and I love the opportunity to find new writers. I use the little book that lists the panels as a reading list. (I admit, I am having some trouble keeping up with all the authors but what a good problem to have!)
I also find the panels interesting. Some are fun and some are perfect for writers. I attended one this time on pacing. Sounds boring? For me, it wasn’t. Other panels talk about diversity, characters and humor.
I like to serve on panels also. It gives me a chance to meet and talk to other authors. I have made friends this way.
All in all, a win in every way.
On to next year!