In 1862, when Blood of Pioneers takes place, most of Michigan’s commercial centers were located along Lake Huron—within easy reach of Detroit by boat—or along the rail corridor that ran between Detroit and Chicago. Grand Rapids, you’ll note, was not close to either. The settlement began as a trading post and blacksmith shop on the […]
Second Baptist Church of Detroit
Second Baptist Church of Detroit is a historic and still-functioning church that features in my middle grade historical fiction novel, The Candle Star. Organized in 1836, a year before Michigan became a state, it claims the honor of being the oldest Black congregation in the midwest. The congregation moved to its present location in 1857, […]
What's Next?
I’ve had a few people ask me what’s next on my agenda. I’ve been a little secretive. I’m still going to be a little secretive, but I’ll give you a broad hint at the end of this post. But first, what have I been doing? Reading. Reading and reading and reading. I’ve reread old favorites […]
Confessions of a Newly Full-Time Writer
I’ve been pretty silent on here lately. Those who have been hanging with me awhile know everything changed for me last spring when I decided to send my last homeschooler to public school. I made the decision to go mercenary–write in a popular genre and see what I could accomplish and what kind of money […]
Ebb Tide: Mitchelville
This is the third in a three-part series about writing and researching my upcoming young adult historical fiction novel, Ebb Tide, the third book in my Ella Wood trilogy. (Part 1: The Port Royal Experiment; part 2: African American POW Trial.) Mitchelville, on Hilton Head Island, which was located in close proximity to the Union […]
Ebb Tide: African American Soldier POW Trial
This is the second in a three-part series about writing and researching my upcoming young adult historical fiction novel, Ebb Tide, the third book in my Ella Wood trilogy. (Part 1: The Port Royal Experiment.) Ebb Tide continues the theme of the evolution of Black soldiers in the Civil War, begun in Blood Moon. The First (July […]
Ebb Tide: The Port Royal Experiment
This is the first post in a three-part series about writing and researching my upcoming young adult historical fiction novel, Ebb Tide, the third book in my Ella Wood trilogy. Early in the Civil War, in November of 1861, the Union navy captured Port Royal and liberated South Carolina’s Sea Islands from Hilton Head all […]
My Savannah Trip!
I’ve been able to milk out my Ella Wood trilogy for not just one fabulous trip to the South, but TWO. My husband and I combined our 18th anniversary with research for Ella Wood (book 1) when I had just started writing it back in 2014 with a trip to Charleston, SC. For our 20th, […]
Clean Indie Reads Reviews–Song of the Mountain
I know it’s my off week, but this is too fun not to post. Lia London from Clean Indie Reads has started a YouTube channel of super short video reviews of books listed on that website. Lia herself created this hilarious review for one of my middle grade books, Song of the Mountain. I simply had to […]
Blood Moon: Military Innovations of the Charleston Campaign
This is the final post in a four-part series about writing and researching my upcoming young adult historical fiction novel, Blood Moon, the second book in my Ella Wood trilogy. (Part 1: Women’s Education; Part 2: African American Soldiers. Part 3: Early Photography.) The Civil War provided the turning point from the old European style […]