Should You Know the History of the Place You’re Writing About?

(My guest today is Marilyn Meredith, prolific author of some 30 novels, including an award-winning series. Read on and you could have a character named for yourself in a future novel.)

Some might say, “No,” in my case since the setting for Spirit Shapes takes place in a fictional setting.

However, throughout the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, I’ve woven in bits and pieces of the real history of the town it’s based on and I think that’s enriched each book.

In Kindred Spirits I wrote about the true history of the Tolowa people and the genocide that nearly wiped out the whole tribe and instigated by the then Governor of California.

I’ve written about the history of the Bear Creek Inn which once was a stage stop for people going higher into the mountains to see the big trees in several books. I wrote a lot about the history of the Tapper Lodge in Intervention even though that Lodge is fictional, but the history is borrowed from Camp Nelson.

Because at times I write about an imaginary Indian reservation but borrow a lot from the real one that I live near. I’ve often sprinkled wonderful facts of the history and legends from that reservation which have enriched various stories I’ve written.

In Spirit Shapes the haunted house is imaginary—but the old murders that happened in it are based on real murders—one that was highly publicized though changed in many ways for my mystery, and the other didn’t happen but was based on a story told me by someone long ago.

Finding out about the history of a place you’re writing about, even if you’ve fictionalized it, can give you material for you story that you might never have imagined.

As a reader, do you like to have interesting historical facts spicing up your fiction? And if you’re a writer, do you like to find out historical facts about the place you’re writing about?

Marilyn Meredith

Blurb for Spirit Shapes: Ghost hunters stumble upon a murdered teen in a haunted house. Deputy Tempe Crabtree's investigation pulls her into a whirlwind of restless spirits, good and evil, intertwined with the past and the present, and demons and angels at war.

Bio: Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. She borrows a lot from where she lives in the Southern Sierra for the town of Bear Creek and the surrounding area, including the nearby Tule River Indian Reservation. She does like to remind everyone that she is writing fiction. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and follow her blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

Contest:

The person who comments on the most blogs on this blog tour will have the opportunity to have a character named after him or her in the next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery.

Tomorrow I’ll be visiting here: http://thebookconnection.com.blogspot.com

About My New Book

History is story.

Story handed down orally, generation to generation. Story made more permanent in written form. Story as legend.

My latest book, “Digging Dusky Diamonds,” is this kind of history. Based on contemporary newspaper accounts, genealogical records, family stories and even some legends that have become part of the lore of Pennsylvania’s anthracite mining region where I grew up.

I clearly remember as a boy seeing throngs of miners pouring like a stream, their faces blackened, shoulders slumped in weariness, boots shuffling along the paving as they ended their shifts at the Glen Burn in Shamokin.

My paternal ancestors were mainly involved as canal boatmen and, later, as railroaders transporting the coal from place to place. But my great-grandfather, Henry Francis Fisher, his father and brothers were all miners. Three of Henry’s brothers died as the result of mine accidents.

My focus is on Northumberland and Schuylkill counties—the areas I’m most familiar with—though similar conditions prevailed across the anthracite mining region in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

While there is some technical information on the process of mining, the emphasis is more on the miners and how they and their families lived and worked, loved and died. The stories reveal the harshness of their lives, their daily concerns, their diversions, social attitudes and prejudices.

The accounts reveal what was different about those people and what has remained constant in us, their descendants.

A Rose By Any Other...

Writers are fascinated by names.

There’s a whole science to the study of the origin and history of names. It’s called onomatology. As writers, we’re more interested in finding the right name than in delving into its origin.

As we create our characters—unless they whisper in our ears and tell us what they want to be called—we often struggle to find an appropriate name. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has changed a character’s name in midstream because the first simply did not click.

I’ve often wondered why Fran Striker, creator of the Lone Ranger, chose the name Tonto for the masked man’s companion, since the term means foolish in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, surely an affront to the Native American community. Some sources indicate the name was proposed by James Jewell who contended it meant “wild one” in an unspecified indigenous language. Jewell also came up with Tonto’s trademark term, “kemosabe,” which he based on the name of an Upper Michigan summer camp. At least they did select Jay Silverheels, a genuine American Indian (Mohawk), for the radio and film roles.

Writers use a variety of means to select names. Some rely on the phonebook—just open to a page at random and take your pick. Others hold contests, offering readers the opportunity to have a character named for them. Not sure why anyone would want their name attached to a murderer—even a fictional one. I guess the quest for fame (or notoriety) takes us down some strange roads.

One thing we must strive to avoid is having characters with too similar names. This has a tendency to confuse readers. One way I’ve found useful to prevent this is to keep an alphabetical list of characters.

Names are important in my other life as a genealogist, too. I’ve found my work in that field a good resource for harvesting names. I keep a list of those which appeal for future use, forenames, surnames and even nicknames.

Frankly, I can’t think of a better source for a variety of common and unusual names.

Interview With Margaret Blake

My guest today is my friend Margaret Blake, a writer of page-turning contemporary and historical romances as well as thrillers. Welcome Margaret. Tell us about your latest novel.

MB: My latest novel “Under a Grecian Moon” is set on a Greek Island and in London. I have never been to Greece so it was exciting to do this. I chose the Greek setting because one day I was looking out of my window on a cold, dull November morning. I wanted to go somewhere warm. The novel is the story of past loves meeting after many years; there are secrets to be revealed and an adorable child. Although it is a contemporary romance there is an element of suspense, I think.

JRL: When and why did you start writing?

MB: I’ve always written for as long as I can remember. I never did anything about it until John (her late husband) persuaded me to take myself seriously. I think I wrote because I was an only child and often used to do this to amuse myself. My dad used to think it was smart of me and he was so proud when I had my first book published in 1978. I am so glad he was around to see that.

JRL: What do you see as the turning point in your career?

MB: I guess when I started taking myself seriously. John nagged me to do something about it and I researched publishers and then wrote a book I thought they might like. They didn’t like it but suggested if I had anything else I might send it in. This was a turning point. Always having loved Richard the Third I decided to write a novel and try in some way to exonerate his character. That book was accepted and it was the kick start for me to write more historical novels.

JRL: You’ve written in several genres. Would you give us your insight on the challenges in doing this.

MB: Well, you do the same, John; many writers do. It is challenging in that if you are writing historical you must do your research. I always try to remember that someone knows more than I do so I am very careful. Writing suspense is very challenging, I have changed things in these kinds of books. In one I fell right out of love with my hero. I think it worked but had it not done so, then I would have ditched the book.

JRL: Do you see switching from one genre to another as a good or dangerous thing for a writer to do?

MB: No, I see it as fun. Sometimes I feel I like to do something new and fresh. For me if I am just writing in the one genre I feel I might become stale.

JRL: Do you have a favorite genre?

MB: It’s all down to how I feel at that moment. For instance I loved writing “Under a Grecian Moon,” not only did it take me away from grey England in winter but it was fun, too. My last contemporary romance “Tilly’s Trials”I also enjoyed writing as it was looking at a young woman who had a serious problem with intimacy. Although it was a romance it looked at the challenges she had to face, it had humour, too, so I felt very light hearted at times. The funniest thing about this novel was when my grandson, then 14, saw the cover he asked. “Is it about bikes, Nana?” as there is a bicycle on the cover! Covers are very important!

JRL: What do you consider the biggest challenge in writing a novel?

MB: Since my husband died every novel has been a challenge. I would not say I have had writer’s block, but I have put off writing quite a lot. I really have to drag myself into my little study to work. Once I start work I am all right but it is getting there. I think this is because John always was the wind beneath my wing.  Generally, I didn’t have challenges, I just loved writing so much I got on with it. Really one challenge we all have is knowing when you have to ditch something you have been working on. Like parents with their children, they just don’t want to let them go when you know you have to.

JRL: Is there anything you’d like to say to your readers?

MB: It would be great if they would stop by my website and let me know what they think. It is quite new and I love it: www.margaretblake.com Also, if you want to be a writer, do it. I always used to tell people that it only costs the postage to mail a novel/story/article off to a publisher. Today it’s even cheaper than that with the Internet and e-book publishing. Don’t be shy. We all have to take that step into the unknown.

JRL: So, what’s next, Margaret?

MB: I have two books out next year. The first, in February, is an e-book version of a hardback novel I wrote a couple of years ago. Then, coming in April, is a new romantic suspense, “The Flower Girls,” which is set in Yorkshire and the South of France, both favorite places of mine. Thank you so much, John. It is always a pleasure to visit with you.

Readers can find details of all Margaret’s books at www.whiskeycreekpress.com and www.amazon.com

A Splendid Little War

This week we Americans will be celebrating the anniversary of the day the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. Between picnics and fireworks many will also be remembering the terrible and costly battles that occurred over a three-day stretch in 1863 at Gettysburg.

A significant turn in another lesser known war took place between July 1 and 4 in 1898.

The Spanish-American War of 1898 is occurring as a background to my novel, Sooner Than Gold. Though the characters are not directly involved in the war it does affect their lives and intrude on their thoughts.

For this reason, I took a closer look than I ever had in the past at this conflict. It was another of those politically- and industrially-motivated wars which could have been avoided. The fact we entered it because of propaganda spouted by some with selfish and/or profit motivations does not diminish the bravery and patriotism of men (and women) willing to sacrifice all for their country. In all wars it is most often the bravest and most honorable who decline to speak later of their experiences.

What Teddy Roosevelt dubbed a “splendid little war” was promoted initially as a means of supporting the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain. Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst drummed up public support for intervention. While their motives may have been sincere it didn’t hurt that the public clamor for information spurred newspaper sales as nothing had in the preceding months. It’s also worth noting the U.S. had important economic interests made uncertain by continued conflict between Spain and Cuba.

President William McKinley sought to broker a peaceful settlement. That effort was scuttled when an explosion rocked the USS Maine in Havana Harbor, killing 266 U.S. sailors. Though the exact cause of the explosion has never been determined, Spain was held to blame and the nation went to war.

On July 1, 1898 a combined American force of 15,000 infantry and cavalry troops launched an offensive that, along with a naval operation by the U.S. fleet, effectively doomed Spain’s hope of holding onto its colonies. There were setbacks, including a crippling outbreak of Yellow Fever, but the war was over by August 12, 1898.

A highlight of that July offensive was the taking of San Juan Hill by Roosevelt and his Rough Riders. Credit is due Teddy and his bully boys. What isn’t acknowledged often enough is that they might not have made the crest had they not had the support of all four of the U.S. Army’s “colored” regiments and a force of rebel Cubans.

As to the aftermath of the war, the U.S. Congress promised Cuba independence but added an amendment which prohibited the island from signing treaties with other nations or contracting a public debt. The amendment also provided for the establishment of a permanent American naval base in Cuba. You may have heard of it. It’s called Guantanamo. The U.S. also annexed the Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam. For the first time in history, the United States became an imperial power with colonies.

A Man Who Persevered

Comment in another person’s blog reminded me of a writer I admired in my youth and hadn’t thought about in a long while.

Jim Kjelgaard was one of those many writers who influenced me, and it’s fitting to pay him a bit of tribute here. Though born in New York City, Kjelgaard grew up in Potter County, Pennsylvania, which is less than 85 miles as the crow flies from where I was raised and now live again.

Best remembered today as the author of stories for boys, he was also a prolific writer of outdoor articles and Western short stories.

I was already an avid fan of Jack London, Zane Grey and James Oliver Curwood when a friend loaned me a copy of “Big Red,” probably Kjelgaard’s most famous book and one of the best dog stories of all time. This story about a young trapper and a champion Irish setter blew me away. Obviously it inspired the same feelings in others because it won some prestigious awards and became the basis for a Disney film (which bears tenuous resemblance to the book).

Since I spent a lot of my time roaming in the woods, fishing, hunting and trapping (I liked animals too much to ever be much good at the latter two activities), I felt an immediate kinship with Kjelgaard who had been doing the same things most of his life. Like Zane Grey, he began his writing career with articles about the sports he loved. Impressed by those articles, an editor urged him to consider doing a book for boys.

“Forest Patrol,” that first novel, came out in 1941 and was about a ranger in Pennsylvania’s Black Forest, a job one of his brother’s had held.

Sometime after his first books appeared, Jim received a letter from a fan named “Eddie.” As it turned out, Eddie was the nickname of a young lady named Edna Dresen. After a period of correspondence, Kjelgaard went to Wisconsin to meet Eddie, who soon after became his wife.

As I said, I early felt a kinship with Kjelgaard and since some of my own first published articles appeared in outdoor magazines that alone would be sufficient reason to remember him with fondness.

There’s another aspect of Kjelgaard’s career which is less known. In his youth he had suffered episodes similar to epileptic seizures which were tentatively diagnosed as the result of a tumor. An operation provided temporary relief. But for the last 20 years of his life he suffered chronic pain which eventually led him to take his own life.

When you’re feeling put upon by problems in your writing life consider what it would be like to persevere under those conditions. Despite being in constant pain, Kjelgaard wrote some 40 books, numerous short stories and articles. In a 1960 tribute, Mrs. Kjelgaard said her husband gave family, friends and readers 20 years of inspiring wisdom and courage.

You can read some of his short stories and learn more about the writer at http://jimkjelgaard.com/ and http://home.sprintmail.com/~charterbus/kjelgaard.htm

Pick Your Poison

I used poison as a murder weapon in Fallen From Grace and have utilized it again in Sooner Than Gold.

Poison has a long and respected place in the history of crime fiction. Agatha Christie employed poison in her first novel, “The Mysterious Affair at Styles,” and it was her weapon of choice in some 60 other fictions. Dorothy Sayers was equally fond of poison as a means of dispatch, as was John Carter Dickson, master of the locked room mystery, and even Arthur Conan Doyle.

Thinking of Lucrezia Borgia and some other early examples, some might consider poison as more suited to women as a weapon. In fact, an equal number of male murderers have turned to poison in preference to the gun or other weapons. For example, Thomas Neill Cream, Frederick Seddon and William Palmer, who some believe to have been Christie’s inspiration for that first novel.

The writers mentioned above (and many of the actual murderers) leaned toward chemical poisons, such as arsenic, strychnine and cyanide. I utilized arsenic in Fallen From Grace, since it was so readily available to our ancestors.

There’s nothing wrong in utilizing these time-honored tinctures, though one must be careful and provide the assassin with adequate medical knowledge. Some critics have challenged Christie on the qualification of the conspirator in that first and famous novel.

In Sooner Than Gold I decided to take a more natural turn. The Tilghman stories are set in an agricultural/mining community in the 19^th century. Our rural ancestors were more inclined to forage in field and forests and many were familiar with a variety of plants with uses both benign and deadly. Since the cast of characters includes gypsies who have an even more extensive knowledge of such things, this particular plant seemed a perfect choice.

Growing up in a similar environment and fond of roaming the forest in my youth, I’ve long been fascinated by the many uses of plants most regard as mere weeds. This provides a fertile field for utilization in my stories and I’ve made frequent use of natural poisons over the years.

I’m sure this will not be the last time I dispose of a character by means of poison.