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Spy of Richmond-Themed Give-away!
One hundred fifty years ago today, (April 2, 1865) the Confederate government evacuated Richmond, but not before ordering buildings and structures of military importance burned to prevent the Yankees benefiting from them. Unfortunately, the Richmond City Council's order to also destroy all the city's liquor by dumping it in the gutters only served to spread the fire. By the time the Federal troops contained the blazes after arriving on April 3, twenty city blocks had been destroyed. Very few in the Confederacy held out any hope that the South could survive the loss of its capital. Six days...
How to Be Inspired
Recently a writer friend emailed me with this: “I noticed on your Facebook post this morning that you said you had ideas ‘again.’ Does that mean that for a while you didn’t?” She was feeling such pressure to be inspired and write another book, and it just wasn’t coming together for her. Do you ever feel this way? Yes? Welcome to the club of Almost All Writers Almost Everywhere!
Inspiration is a slippery thing. Sometimes I have way too much of it to be practical, and other times, I am bone dry. Here’s what I...
5 Pioneering Women Doctors and Nurses of the Civil War
The truth is, all women who were doctors and nurses during the Civil War were pioneers in their field. Prior to 1861, nurses--and all but two doctors in the United States--were men. But when social reformer Dorothea Dix pointed out to President Lincoln that he had a scant 28 surgeons in the army's medical department to care for the 75,000 volunteers he'd just called for, he reluctantly conceded that women be allowed to serve as nurses. I want to introduce you to five remarkable women who blazed the trail for women in medicine.
1) Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell. An English...
Sword of Forgiveness Give-away & Author Chat with Debbie Lynne Costello
I didn't expect to become so fascinated with the plight of Irish Americans when I began writing my first Civil War novel, Wedded to War. But as I researched 19th-century New York City, where my heroine Charlotte Waverly lived, I was totally drawn in to the story of how "the other half" lived. My heart broke as I read about immigrants trying to make...
Have you ever read a book that made you hungry enough to head to the kitchen? That's what happened to Pegg Thomas last week when she was about half way through Spy of Richmond. Apparently the references to ginger cakes (gingerbread) that the Kent household cook prepared for the Union prisoners were just descriptive enough to convince Pegg it was high time she had some herself. Thankfully for the rest of us, she's sharing her family recipe with all of us! Thank you Pegg! 2 1/4 cups flour Did you know March is officially National Reading Month? I didn't until I read this. Furthermore, yesterday apparently was World Book Day. Clearly I missed that one, just like I missed my son's doctor appointment on the same day. (Do not be alarmed. It was only a check-up.) I've really been on a roll. The day before that, as I was driving a minivan full of children, I missed the exit for the birthday party and made half the guests late. #MissedIt was definitely trending in my life this...
Hundreds of women were spies on both sides of the Civil War. The book Stealing Secrets by H. Donald Winkler shares the stories of seventeen of them. Below, I'll tell you a little about five women spies every Civil War enthusiast should know. 1. Belle Boyd, spy for the Confederacy In Spy of Richmond, one of my main characters is an inmate of Libby Prison and tries to escape. As he is desperately digging through a dark tunnel with very little oxygen, and making barely any progress, one of my characters tells himself, “This is not a grave, it is rebirth.” Isn’t this true for whatever we must overcome in our own lives? When we’re in the midst of a trial that seems to imprison us, we may be isolated, in the dark, and gasping for breath. It might feel like our burial. But with God’s help, that dark place can really be a tunnel to get us to a new place of rebirth...
At long last, the Heroines Behind the Lines Civil War series is complete! Sophie Kent, Spy of Richmond, joins her "sisters" Charlotte, Liberty, and Caitlin. Ecclesiastes 7:8 says, "The end of a matter is better than its beginning." As much fun as it is to start writing a new series or new book, I must say I agree with this verse--bringing a project to completion is even better. There were times I thought writing this series would kill me (more on that in a separate blog post), but look, I'm still here! Whew!...
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Irish-Americans and the Civil War
"Erin's Pride" by artist Dale Gallon
Recipe: Gingerbread, inspired by Spy of Richmond!
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
3/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup oil...
#AmReading During Reading Month! (Plus a Give-away!)
5 Women Spies of the Civil War
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Escaping our Prisons: Burial or Rebirth?
Spy of Richmond Launches! 5 FREE Ways to Help
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