tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post6564340247060145139..comments2024-03-27T03:14:07.652-04:00Comments on Seekerville: The Journey Continues: Monday Holiday Reality Strikes Seekerville! Missy Tippenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480008023330542958noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-50039458985745800882018-05-31T15:59:32.567-04:002018-05-31T15:59:32.567-04:00Good afternoon, Ruthy!
I'm excited about your...Good afternoon, Ruthy! <br />I'm excited about your historical project.<br /><br />It's been kinda nice here in Maryland, with spring like temperatures with some hotter, humid days thrown in here in.<br /><br />Blessings, TinaMrs Tinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12896114843568971108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-4933245186225967042018-05-30T15:42:12.282-04:002018-05-30T15:42:12.282-04:00I'm late also but i'm thrilled to read abo...I'm late also but i'm thrilled to read about your historical series. As I read the questions you left for us I also wonder how the lives of our young people have changed so much. I do believe that our moral standards have eroded. I consider myself a Christian and I try to live a life pleasing to God but I know that my "shock barometer" has changed. What once would have been a no-no is accepted. I may not find it acceptable but I do accept it as part of our culture. This saddens me!Connie Porter Saundershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09234596850866029756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-65701943380956519642018-05-30T11:09:53.069-04:002018-05-30T11:09:53.069-04:00I'm a day behind but wanted to thank you, Ruth...I'm a day behind but wanted to thank you, Ruthy. You've given us MUCH to think about. Walking through old cemeteries is fascinating--we have one on our Georgia coast that's filled with history. <br />And I'm SUPER excited about a Ruthy historical series---YAY!! :)<br /> Hugs, Patti JoCatMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09985658721138526298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-78844071540786342572018-05-29T22:14:58.004-04:002018-05-29T22:14:58.004-04:00Hi Ruth:
I'm not talking about writing hard h...Hi Ruth:<br /><br />I'm not talking about writing hard historical fiction. That would take a lot of time. I'm talking about putting interesting historical facts into the romance where they would occur naturally. This should not take much longer or many more words than would have been the case without the facts.<br /><br />In the old west newspapers brought by travelers from back east were highly prized. Even papers moths old. Cowboys kept the Police Gazzette in the bunk house. People talked news in the saloons.<br /><br />I just read a story in which a major character was a newspaper editor. At the time President Johnson was being impeached. Not a word! One vote saved Johnson's presidency. Do you think this fact could have been mentioned? Reno became a city. Again not a word in this Nevada city's newspaper. Of course, there is never any mention of money or what things cost. That would take a little research. <br /><br />Just Google, "List Major Events in 1878" and you'll see outlines of major events. Many are very interesting. A character could have a quirk of asking everyone questions because he reads Eastern papers. "Guess what old Tom Edison has patented now?" A phonograph! Pope Pius IX died after 31 years…that would be an interesting factoid…especially if there was a priest in the story. Italy got a new King. Soon after someone tried to assassinate him. This would be of interest given what happened to Lincoln.<br /><br />It would take about 30 minutes to come up with a dozen or so very usable facts that would historicize a romance. Adding these little facts is like telling a wife you love her every once in a while. It may not seem like a big deal but it can make all the difference. Even if wives know you love them, they still like to hear it. :) <br /><br />In fact, if you send a beta copy of a historical romance, I'll send you a collection of very usable factoids. Even a synopsis will do. Include dates and locations.<br /><br />Tell your historical readers that you love them. ) <br /><br />Vince<br />Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12707773426729777989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-44633491432011687952018-05-29T21:09:29.193-04:002018-05-29T21:09:29.193-04:00Oh, I can see that story and setting, Cindy. That ...Oh, I can see that story and setting, Cindy. That poor child... and the family, laying her out on what they had. An ironing board. <br /><br />You can just paint that picture with words and emotions.... That poor family.<br /><br />My husband's grandmother lost her little son Clark to leukemia when he was two... and the family never really recovered. The parents never got over it they said... <br /><br />And the other grandmother lost a set of twins and then a little girl "Jane" (who was listed as Sally Jane in the church records, but I was told those records were wrong... that her name was just "Jane", but that's a kind of funny mistake, isn't it?) Anyway Jane was two when she died of leukemia.... and now 98% of the kids who get leukemia LIVE and have full lives.<br /><br />That's a huge turnaround in a generation and a half.<br /><br />So now I want a cure for cancer... and Alzheimers.<br /><br />And I'm throwing mental illness into the pot, too.<br /><br />Life is too precious... and God wants us to conquer those diseases. He told me!!! :) Ruth Logan Hernehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550734775151341968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-81892967302003149802018-05-29T21:03:49.328-04:002018-05-29T21:03:49.328-04:00Kim, that's so true and tragic. :( Those lost ...Kim, that's so true and tragic. :( Those lost little lives... and lives handled carelessly. <br /><br />There was a gripping episode of "Call the Midwife" that talked and showed the mass grave area of an English workhouse.... and how that affected the elderly mother who survived the workhouse even though all of her children died there. :(<br /><br />Heartbreaking whenever I think of people's cruelty to other people.Ruth Logan Hernehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550734775151341968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-6842155241554733622018-05-29T21:00:29.502-04:002018-05-29T21:00:29.502-04:00Vince, you might be on to something!
You know, ed...Vince, you might be on to something!<br /><br />You know, editors of all kinds remove that stuff, Vince. I know this from my historical writing buds, etc. that they minimize the historical facts quite often to focus on the story.<br /><br />And I can see it, especially these days. Although I'd love to write a Michener type book, I don't see that happening because there's a mortgage that likes to get paid every month.... so taking 18 months to write a book that won't bring in a year-and-a-half worth of wages is a tough one.<br /><br />If you're in that top 1/2 of 1/2 of 1 percent that gets paid a living wage on one book/year, that's a different story.<br /><br />But I hear you loud and clear. <br /><br />Although I will probably utterly disappoint you, Vince! :) Ruth Logan Hernehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550734775151341968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-20490275802817426612018-05-29T20:53:47.676-04:002018-05-29T20:53:47.676-04:00That could be. Nothing was guaranteed. And one thi...That could be. Nothing was guaranteed. And one thing we've all witnessed is that we're rarely smart enough to learn from the past until we mess up our lives repeating those old mistakes.<br /><br />#GoobersRuth Logan Hernehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550734775151341968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-33786627388465135882018-05-29T20:52:31.702-04:002018-05-29T20:52:31.702-04:00Mary, isn't that the truth? There's almost...Mary, isn't that the truth? There's almost no such thing as random conversation or quiet talk or sharing with phones in hand.<br /><br />What are we thinking? Doing?<br /><br />I dunno.<br /><br />But I can picture it, and picture your mother saying it! Savvy chick!Ruth Logan Hernehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550734775151341968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-32892321237230176362018-05-29T20:51:09.527-04:002018-05-29T20:51:09.527-04:00Mary, they've done studies that show how the &...Mary, they've done studies that show how the "easiness" weakens us mentally and physically. I think those studies might be on to something...<br /><br />And another one about warmth and food and weight and that kind of ties in with that pioneer mantra of "thin and brown" (Laura Ingalls Wilder) The thought is that now that we are warm all year and food readily available, we've weakened ourselves because we don't have to work at keeping warm or finding food.<br /><br />Maybe we've gotten things easy enough that we've messed up instincts?<br /><br />And yes, totally yes about the fragility of kids before the age of modern medicine and food. What a chancy business it was!!!<br /><br />I bless every miracle baby that comes into being because they are true miracles. History proves it!Ruth Logan Hernehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550734775151341968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-83756251298764589522018-05-29T20:47:30.807-04:002018-05-29T20:47:30.807-04:00I'll have to check that one out.I'll have to check that one out. Ruth Logan Hernehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550734775151341968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-19902612621201259332018-05-29T20:46:56.201-04:002018-05-29T20:46:56.201-04:00Aw, you are the sweetest thing! I love historicals...Aw, you are the sweetest thing! I love historicals, too! I'm just totally gobsmacked by what they had to deal with, Carrie. WHAT???? We'd be treading water!!!!Ruth Logan Hernehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550734775151341968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-46908687918109480642018-05-29T18:31:34.473-04:002018-05-29T18:31:34.473-04:00Hi Ruthy! Thank you for this post and for letting ...Hi Ruthy! Thank you for this post and for letting us know you have a historical series brewing. I can hardly wait.<br /><br />History is the foundation of our country and who we are. I hated history in school but once I went to college and found a teacher who wanted to have you learn more than dates I started to like it. Then I married a man who LOVES history and can tell you more about some of the wars than you would care to know. :) It is sad to wander through some of the cemeteries and see the ages of the children. A lot were merely babies. My Mom had a little sister who at the age of two died of scarlet fever. My Mom remembered seeing Shirley Ann laying out on the ironing board with pennies on her eyes. It bothered her so much she hated ironing her entire life, but that was okay because I love ironing.<br /><br />Many blessings to all of you and I praise God every day for the freedom we have in America because of all the brave men and women who give of themselves, and some the ultimate sacrifice so we can have that freedom. I also always remember the military families because they serve too. I was a military brat and know what it was like.<br /><br />Blessings,<br />Cindy W. Cindy W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09030648905662071478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-90821603748230096682018-05-29T18:04:34.212-04:002018-05-29T18:04:34.212-04:00Fires too in orphanages were also a major cause of...Fires too in orphanages were also a major cause of children deaths too. I have come across walking through many cemeteries were a large head stone was placed by a church or organization on the spot were they these children are buried. Today too many can get there hands on there parents or step parents guns.kim hansenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12951846304316134717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-8204722847861320202018-05-29T16:51:15.084-04:002018-05-29T16:51:15.084-04:00Hi Ruth:
It is sad to see LI drop historical roma...Hi Ruth:<br /><br />It is sad to see LI drop historical romances but then they really never tried to provide them. There is so little history in the typical historical romance that I call them costume romances. It is as if authors and editors can't believe women, who read romances, can tolerate any real historical facts in their romances. It will frighten the poor little dears away! <br /><br />In historical fiction, history is the draw…the big selling point. People want to learn some history along with their entertainment. And a lot of those people are women. <br /><br />A reader should feel smarter for having read a historical fiction novel. She should be better prepared to answer questions on Jeopardy to the appreciation of her family.<br /><br />It is historical romances are killing themselves. Some Indy writer should try to delight her readers with surprising historical insights that are also relevant and move the story along. To do less is to respect women readers less.<br /><br />BTW: thanks for the Tuesday post. It's fun to contribute to the conversation. :) <br /><br />Vince<br />Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12707773426729777989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-42691807587243711062018-05-29T16:17:48.990-04:002018-05-29T16:17:48.990-04:00I used to go with my mother-in-law to the cemetery...I used to go with my mother-in-law to the cemetery and we'd walk among the tombstones and she'd tell me about her ancestors. She had a grandma who was from the family that founded my hometown and my mother-in-law was very proud of that.Mary Connealyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09598386111251769803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-17945188860405332322018-05-29T16:16:20.293-04:002018-05-29T16:16:20.293-04:00Maybe when God was more central to our lives, even...Maybe when God was more central to our lives, even unbelievers hesitated to do things that might cut them off forever from salvation, like killing themselves after committing multiple murders.Mary Connealyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09598386111251769803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-11987939249642445362018-05-29T16:15:05.631-04:002018-05-29T16:15:05.631-04:00Maybe we cherished life more because it wasn't...Maybe we cherished life more because it wasn't such a sure thing.Mary Connealyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09598386111251769803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-58977932243069433602018-05-29T16:14:01.611-04:002018-05-29T16:14:01.611-04:00My paternal grandfather came from a family of nine...My paternal grandfather came from a family of nine children. Five with the first wife, who then died. Four with the second wife.<br /><br />My maternal grandfather was married to a woman who died having their second child. Then he remarried my mom's mother.<br /><br />Families are just DENSE with death.Mary Connealyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09598386111251769803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-4343728083380327812018-05-29T16:11:51.024-04:002018-05-29T16:11:51.024-04:00My 90 year old mom made this observation the other...My 90 year old mom made this observation the other day. Nothing that hasn't been said before, but she put it in a way that caught my attention.<br /><br />She had a LOT of company over her birthday and she said, "They all settled in with phones in their hands and just stared at their phones. When you kids were young you all sat like that and stared at the TV. Does that change things? That everyone is cut off, isolated, having their OWN experience rather than the communal experience of watching the same TV show?<br /><br />Of course TV was sweeter back then, too. I remember we always watched the Ed Sullivan Show. While my husband's family watched Bonanza. My mom wouldn't let us what that because it was too violent. :) Mary Connealyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09598386111251769803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-45207057374796849332018-05-29T16:09:24.140-04:002018-05-29T16:09:24.140-04:00I read once that the last fifty years is the only ...I read once that the last fifty years is the only time in human history when people expected to die in turn.<br />Oldest first.<br />We talk about how a parent should NEVER have to bury a child, but that is a really modern outlook. Historically, children were so vulnerable. No vaccinations. No antibiotics. Surgery dangerous or non-existent.<br />I don't have an answer about the madness of violence in some children, but I do know we hold life cheap too often in this modern age.<br />Is it possible it's TOO easy to survive? <br /><br />That makes no sense but that's one big change in this world.Mary Connealyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09598386111251769803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-60146923482011336452018-05-29T15:07:08.689-04:002018-05-29T15:07:08.689-04:00one of my very fave worship songs - Death Was Arre...one of my very fave worship songs - Death Was Arrested - was inspired by an old cemetery <3MeezCarriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09082724442387837601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-46836958689356416822018-05-29T15:01:16.656-04:002018-05-29T15:01:16.656-04:00Ruthy, I'm glad you posted! You know, old ceme...Ruthy, I'm glad you posted! You know, old cemeteries are great story starters, I think. We visited a lot of old ones around Boston on my kids' field trips there, and I was very moved by the baby graves.Missy Tippenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05480008023330542958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-60148813491615030062018-05-29T14:58:30.505-04:002018-05-29T14:58:30.505-04:00Pam, a like button would be great!! We should peti...Pam, a like button would be great!! We should petition google/Blogger!Missy Tippenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05480008023330542958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649424089750316818.post-77020587842569560942018-05-29T14:55:15.615-04:002018-05-29T14:55:15.615-04:00So sad, Tracey! I don't know that I'm made...So sad, Tracey! I don't know that I'm made out of tough enough stuff to be a pioneer. Or to immigrate from one country to another. I don't think I would even fare well in historical times that I read about!Missy Tippenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05480008023330542958noreply@blogger.com