October Ancestry Challenge – Mary Ann Rodgers

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 23 posts – 23 days – 23 ancestors.

Ancestor #17 – Mary Ann Rodgers

She was just a name in my family tree. Mary Ann Rodgers Carpenter Jolly. My third great grandmother. 1828-1898.

I discovered that she lost her first husband, Rice Carpenter, in the Civil War in 1862. How sad to lose the one you love, but hey, it’s war, people die. After he died, she remarried in 1864.

I looked at the 1870 census and found she was married to William Jolly and was living with his children, her children, and three children they had together. It was a house-full! But at least their three children (Ancestor #15) were proof they must have liked each other, right? That’s good. I was interested where William came from, so I traced him back and looked at his 1860 census. In 1860, he was living with his wife Harriet, their four children, and a woman named Nancy Carpenter who was 69 years of age.

Nancy Carpenter? The only Nancy Carpenter I know is Rice’s mother, whose maiden name was Nancy Rice. Why was Mary Ann’s mother-in-law living with her future husband?? Were they neighbors? Was she their cleaning lady? I clicked on Nancy Carpenter and saw her relationship to the “head of house” was listed as “mother-in-law.” She was William’s mother-in-law? What?? She was Harriet’s mother?

So, I went back and looked at Rice’s family, and sure enough, his sister Harriet was married to William. Rice died 31 Dec 1862 and Harriet died a month later on 30 Jan 1863. Their spouses, Mary Ann and William, brother-in-law/sister-in-law, married in 1864. Well of course they did. They had known each other for many years, hadn’t they?

The more I looked at the Rodgers and Carpenter families, the more I was amazed by the sheer number of family members they lost to war and typhoid. At the time of my research, I remember counting SEVENTEEN, but I’m sure there were many more I missed. I couldn’t wrap my head around that kind of heartache and quickly became impressed with Mary Ann’s strength. How would you react if you lost two or three family members this year? You would probably need Prozac. How would you respond if you lost a dozen? I wouldn’t even be able to get out of bed. Seventeen in one year? I can’t even fathom that.

Years, numbers, and names from census records are just that – years, numbers, and names – unless you put yourself in their shoes. Then they become tears, children, and heartaches. We all come from those strong women. We are the living proof of their strength. If the boat sank, the story would be over. But it didn’t, and we know that because we are here. We are the survivors. I dug deep down in my heart and soul and decided to tell her story, a story she would be proud of. I wanted her to know that she didn’t go through all of that in vain. I am here. I am her legacy. Her story has been told to make us all stronger. We are the products of strength, fortitude, and integrity, as well as tears, heartache, and pain. We are the children our grandmothers fought so hard for, and I want Mary Ann to be as proud of me as I am of her.

Call for Indie Authors!!

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Lori Crane

INDIE AUTHORS ~~UNTIE~~…I mean…UNITE

This blog is for my Indie Author friends….

I am releasing a new book ELLY HAYS on Nov 4 and doing an online book tour. The last day of the tour, Saturday Nov 16, I am hosting a Twitter Chat called “From Concept to Published!” As I’m sure you do also, I have tons of family and friends who always ask me how to go about publishing a book. Instead of spending hours telling them, I figured we’d just Twitter about the basics.

I’ve invited my book designer to join us and would love it if any of you would also join. I’m already promoting the event and will continue to do so through Nov 16th!

I’m going to ask basic writing/publishing questions like:

“Let’s start with concept: Where do your book ideas come from?”

“How long does it take you to write a book? Concept to published.”

“Do you use outside help? Beta readers? Editor? Cover designer?”

I’ll also ask at the beginning for all authors to tell us their titles and genres. And at the end, ask all authors to post a link where our guest can find them.

If you would like to join me, please email me at LoriCraneAuthor@gmail.com and I’ll email you all the questions, so you’ll be able to figure out answers using “140 spaces or less.” Of course, as our guests ask questions too, ours may be thrown out the window. Wing it!

The Twitter Chat is Saturday Nov 16, 4-5pm Eastern. I suggest using http://tweetchat.com/ which is real-time Twitter that you don’t need to repeatedly put in the hashtag with every comment. The hashtag I’m using is the name of my new book – #ellyhays.

I’m going to limit participating authors to six, as we only have an hour, and it will be too crazy if thirty authors are answering questions. Be one of the first six to email me and lock in your spot! Of course, everyone is welcome to attend the event.

PLEASE JOIN ME! IT’LL BE FUN! (and it’ll be FREE book promotion, which is one of our favorite things.)

Saturday Snippet – Complete with Music and Indians

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Lori Crane

Saturdays are the days I usually post snippets of one of my books, but today is slightly different. As many of you know, when I’m not writing historical fiction books, I’m playing music – the whole “professional musician by night, indie author by day” thing. That being said, I tend to get caught up in the music of the time of whatever book I’m writing. My latest work takes place in 1812, the setting is the Mississippi Territory, known today as Clarke County, Alabama, and a few of the characters are Mvskoke (Muskogee Creek Indian.) Because of this, I’ve been listening to traditional Creek music for the last few months, and this particular song has stuck in my head. It feels more like an ancient chant than a song, and I can’t stop playing it. It is “Heleluyvn.”

Here’s an excerpt from “Elly Hays” coming Nov 4 to all online retailers. Elly is my 5th great grandmother, and the book is the third in the Okatibbee Creek series.

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The laborers had erected a small makeshift platform in the middle of the meadow. It rose two feet off the ground so Tecumseh could be seen above the massive gathering of people. Rumors had circulated for months that he would come, as it had been foretold by a bright comet in the nighttime sky in March of 1811, and the gathering crowd numbered into the hundreds, perhaps closer to a thousand, representing over a dozen of the twenty Mvskoke clans.

As the people waited for him to take the platform, they grew increasingly impatient. They had been assembling for days to hear him speak, so not only were they weary from their travels, but the scorching sun was not improving their disposition. The air was as stagnant as the wait, with not even the slightest of breezes to offer relief from the stifling heat. The afternoon sun melting into evening had made them agitated, and they grumbled and occasionally began chanting for the great warrior to appear and address them. When he did not take the platform after a few minutes, the chanting quieted to a dull objection, only to start up again within a short amount of time.

Over the last few months, reports had surfaced that the Americans would once again declare war against the British. Before and since the revolution, the British had befriended the Indians, asking for their help in warding off the Americans’ expansion. Since the Indians considered the land theirs in the first place, they were pleased to oblige. The Indians had never asked for a favor in return, but the waves of white settlers were growing, continually trespassing upon their tribal land. They needed help, they needed answers, they needed to stop the encroachment. They eagerly awaited Tecumseh’s speech and they were anxious to hear a plan. They wanted to know what he wanted of them. If the reports of an impending war were true, perhaps this was the time to join forces with the British and defeat the white man once and for all.

Finally, a group of elders dressed in vibrant tribal robes with headdresses embellished with porcupine fur and hawk feathers stepped up onto the platform. The cheer began small and grew to a fevered pitch as it spread across the field of warriors like a breeze washing over wheat. The elders greeted the crowd and led them in singing their tribal anthem, “Heleluyvn,” following which the crowd erupted again in anticipation of the great warrior’s arrival.

Elly Hays is available at Amazon

Wednesday Writer’s Corner – Swag-o-Rama

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Lori Crane

Swag Swag Swag!!! I love Swag!!!

What is Swag, you ask? It’s STUFF. Junk, really. But cool junk!

In planning my Nov 4th online book release party and my Nov 4-16 virtual book tour for my new book “Elly Hays,” I’ve lost my mind looking at swag to give away to lucky winners at the events. And, I must admit, I want to keep it all for myself.

My amazing book designer sent me a FREE bookmark file, which I uploaded to Overnight Prints, and for less than the price of a grande mocha cappuccino, I ordered bookmarks.

My designer is amazing! I love this! BTW, he’s working on a new website which I have misgivings about. I want to tell the world about him, but I’d much rather keep him to myself. Writers are possessive of their designers and their editors. Don’t even think about asking me for her number.

Anyway, back to Swag. There is an Etsy site called “The Book Swag Shop” with nothing but Swag – check it out here. She makes custom mini book charms, buttons, charm bracelets, potion bottles, just about everything cool you can think of. OMG, I’m more excited about the Swag than the book! 🙂 It’s all about the Swag!

Saturday Snippet – Sep 14, 2013 – Stuckey’s Bridge

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Lori Crane

I received a sweet and awesome 5-star review for The Legend of Stuckey’s Bridge from Trudi LoPreto at Readers’ Favorite.

“Lori Crane has written a nail-biter that will keep you up all night. This is a five star winner and Lori Crane is a must-read author.”

You just can’t get any better than that! I’m tickled. You can read the entire review HERE.

I was so excited to read it, because honestly, I’ve been working so hard on my next book, that I haven’t thought much about Old Man Stuckey and his exploits. Old Man Stuckey was a serial killer. He was a sociopath. He was pure evil. However, he had a confident swagger about him that made most women swoon in his presence. Here’s a snippet about one of his conquests. This is one of my favorite scenes from the book. Enjoy!

Scene: Stuckey’s Inn, 1900, Mississippi, the young lady refers to him as Mr. Mason for he didn’t tell her his real name, as usual.

************************************************

He found her on the front porch, sitting in a rocking chair with her laced-up boots propped up on the railing. She was gently pushing the chair back and forth with her foot and staring down into a book on her lap.

He watched her from the doorway for a while. The sun was shining on the railing, and her skirt had risen above the height of her boots. He could see a couple inches of her bare leg and longed to see more. He hadn’t had the pleasure of a woman’s company for quite some time, and he wanted to take her right then and there on the porch in the sunshine. He wanted to see the expression on her face in the light of day as he pushed that dress all the way up to her hips.

“I see you found the books I left out for you.” He grinned as he sauntered across the porch, his boots clicking on the old wood planks.

“Yes, I did. Thank you very much.” She smiled up at him with stunning blue eyes, and when she met his gaze, he thought he would explode with desire.

“Which one did you choose?” He strolled in front of her and leaned his back against the porch post, close enough to touch her bare leg.

She simultaneously pulled her boots down from the railing and flipped the cover closed. She read, “A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle.”

“Ah, Sherlock Holmes.”

“Have you read it, sir?”

“Yes, I have. I love a good mystery. I believe he has another book also.”

“Yes, The Sign of Four.” She smiled. “Do you like to read, Mr. Mason?”

“I love to read, Miss Summers.” He gazed deeply into her eyes, realizing by the fire glowing there that it would not be girlish innocence he was about to find.

She blushed and looked down at the book.

Oh, this is a game she likes to play. “Why do you look away from me?”

“I…um…I just don’t feel comfortable.”

“With the way I look at you?”

She glanced up at him through her long eyelashes and did not answer.

“Don’t you know how beautiful you are?”

She blushed and looked down again.

He was enjoying this game. Time to increase the stakes. Softly he said, “Victoria.”

She looked up at him.

He wanted this girl, and knew exactly what she needed to hear. “You are undoubtedly the loveliest woman I have ever seen, and I’m deeply honored just to be in your presence.”

She was speechless as she gazed into his eyes. This time she did not blush or look away. The game was over.

“May I kiss you?” he whispered.

She did not answer.

He took that as a yes.

He gently took the book from her lap, placed it on the side table, and pulled her to her feet. She did not resist. He wrapped his hand around her, placing his palm on the small of her back, and he gently pulled her toward him. Their lips met and she responded to his kiss, placing her hands on his chest. He kissed her deeper. She didn’t waver. He pulled the pin from her hair, letting it fall down to her waist. He wrapped his fingers in it and firmly pulled her head back so he could kiss her neck. He put his other hand on her upper back and pulled her closer to him, feeling her snug bodice press against his chest. He held her there for a moment, then whispered into her ear, “Thank you.”

He released her.

She stood there, dumbstruck and unmoving, like a mule wearing a frosted blue satin dress.

“Would you like some tea, Victoria?” He grinned and strutted across the porch, back into the house.

It was like taking candy from a baby.

**********************************************

The Legend of Stuckey’s Bridge is available at Amazon.com and all online book retailers.

Wednesday Writer’s Corner – Sept 11, 2013

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Lori Crane

Chuck Sambuchino of Writer’s Digest Books wrote a blog entitled, “How to Support an Author’s New Book: 11 Ideas For You.” It was posted today at Writersinthestorm here on WordPress. Check it out HERE.

He offers great ideas to help you support your author friends and your fellow authors.

Here are some more ideas:

Host a book party – invite your friends over for coffee or wine and discuss the book with them. It’s a good way to get together with your friends, and at the same time, get the word out about the book. If the work is a period piece, perhaps you could host a costume dinner party. If it’s a book about wine or a cookbook, all the better!

Invite the author to speak at your organizations – churches, schools, evening events are always looking for a fresh face to entertain the crowd. Make sure he/she brings lots of books to sell and a good pen to sign.

Suggest the book as next month’s read at your book club – that one is self-explanatory.

Invite the author to post on your blog – either a snippet, bio, or an interview, or you could just write a review of the book yourself. Don’t forget to post the buy links.

The number one thing you can do to help your author friends is to SHOW UP & BRING FRIENDS!! Attend their book signings, virtual book tours, Twitter chats, Facebook events, retweet, share, tell.

It takes one person to write a book. It takes a village to sell it.

Wednesday Writer’s Corner – Sept 4, 2013

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Lori Crane

Are you a writer? How often do you write? How many words do you write when you sit down? Do you think you should write more than you do?

Do you know that the more you write, the faster and more prolific you become? Yeah, me too. I heard you. Your answer was, “Yes, but I don’t do it.” So, try this… “750 Words”

http://750words.com/

This is a fun and awesome site for you to write 750 words per day in private. It is not a blog. No one else can see your blabbering. You can write a story or you can just brain-dump. It’s all up to you. Just write!

The cool thing is you get badges and awards for consecutive days, writing quickly and not being distracted, entering monthly challenges, points, points, points, badges, badges, badges. I am addicted to anything that even slightly resembles a game. And I think sometimes I get overwhelmed by my schedule and find it cleansing and therapeutic to dump all that crap out of my brain.

When you’re done for the day, it even gives you stats, graphs, and pie charts to let you know what your thinking about and what’s weighing most heavy on your mind. Today, my stats came up as PG13, containing either swearing, sexual content, or violence. I swear I didn’t say anything that was even close to any of those, but whatev…it’s fun to look at.

I’m hooked!

When worlds collide…you can hear me scream!

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Lori Crane

The funniest thing happened yesterday.

I met (online) a cousin on my dad’s side. We share a great grandfather, who I haven’t written about in my blog yet, but I guess I’ll have to get on that now. She showed me a picture of a plaque located in the Lauderdale County Courthouse in Meridian, Mississippi. Our mutual grandfather, Thomas G Lafayette Keene, was apparently the treasurer of Lauderdale County from 1904-1907.

That was awesome! But that wasn’t the funny part.

The book I released in June is called “The Legend of Stuckey’s Bridge.” It takes place in Lauderdale County and you can click on “my books” at the top of the page to read all about it. The man chasing the evil Old Man Stuckey throughout the book was Sheriff J.R. Temple. Go back to the picture and look at the top name.

You probably heard me scream from my office last night when I saw that! My books are historical fiction, based on real people and real events, but it is still strange to see his name etched out in marble and to be reminded that he was indeed a real person and not just a character in my head. And that he knew my great grandfather. 🙂

Interview by Elizabeth Caulfield Felt

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Lori Crane

I had so much fun doing this interview. Elizabeth is a warm and gracious hostess, and also a busy teacher, librarian, historical fiction author, and reader. I don’t know where she finds the time to do things like chat with me, but the pleasure was all mine.

Check out the interview here !!!

Wednesday Writer’s Corner – August 21, 2013

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Lori Crane

Swimming in a Turquoise Sea of Jumbled Lyrics

*or*

Why Don’t You Just Hire an Editor?

“The sky was the color of a bruised palette…”

I was reading an intense, frightening chase scene when the above sentence appeared. It stopped me dead in my tracks and has stuck in my mind for a long, long time. I assume the writer meant the sky was filled with blue and gray clouds, but he could have meant someone’s mouth was bruised from getting punched in the face. Obviously, I don’t know the difference in spelling between the roof of your mouth and the board used to mix paints. Either way, it took me out of the story. I began thinking about painter’s palettes and how they can’t get bruised, because they’re made of wood.

I’m not only going to pick on that writer. I’ve done it myself. While running from a murderer through the foggy forest, my character “looked up into the black arms of the haunted trees.”

Fortunately, I have a fabulous editor who crossed it out in bold, bright red. I thought it was pretty clever, but I could almost hear her yelling “WTF?” all the way from her office in California.

An editor will kick your artistic butt, but they will make you look good. They will correct your grammar, your punctuation, your point of view, tighten up your wonky dialog (as above), and if you give them enough latitude, they will do heavy copy editing and replace your poor choice of words, repair your jumbled scenes, and restructure your paragraphs. They will also check your facts and your timeline. In one book, I mentioned Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in a story that took place two years before he was knighted. My editor caught it and deleted the ‘Sir’ from his name. Deep in my heart, I know she’s worth far more than I pay her.

There’s only one bad thing about a good editor. When you get your manuscript back with more corrections than your ninth-grade English term paper, you will feel like you should never write again. But you have to shake that off. Editors do what they are paid to do, and it has nothing to do with your talent or your feelings.

Stephen King has an editor. You should too.

(The above photos are from thewallpapers.org and flickriver.com.)

Lori Crane

award-winning author. musician. cute shoes.

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