It’s Monday! What are you reading? “A Newfound Land”

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Lori Crane

I’m reading yet another of my favorite authors…

Anna Belfrage

“A Newfound Land”

“A Newfound Land” is the 4th in the Graham saga. I would suggest you start at the 1st book, “A Rip in the Veil,” and set aside some time, because once you get caught up into the world of Matthew Graham and his time-traveling wife Alexandra, you will not want to stop reading. This story takes up where the 3rd book left off. Matthew and Alex were having trouble in their homeland of 1670 Scotland. Religious and political turmoil gave them no option but to pack and leave, and what better place to travel to than the new world – the Colony of Maryland? Unfortunately, some of their former adversaries make an appearance and the reader is left gripping the arm of the chair as the suspense builds, and new complications arise to increase the tension. We know these two are strong and steadfast, but we wonder how in the world they will make it through. It is a pleasure to see their children growing, and I look forward to reading the 5th book in the series, “Serpents in the Garden.” Keep ’em coming!

“A Newfound Land” blurb

It’s 1672, and Matthew Graham and his family have left Scotland. Having taken the drastic decision to leave their homeland due to religious conflicts, Alexandra and Matthew hope for a simpler, if harsher, life in the wilds of the Colony of Maryland.
Unfortunately, things don’t always turn out as you want them to, and the past has a nasty tendency to resurface at the most inappropriate moments. Both Matthew and Alex are forced to cope with the unexpected reappearance of people they had never thought to meet again, and the screw is turned that much tighter when the four rogue Burley brothers enter their lives.

Matters are further complicated by the strained relations between colonists and the Susquehannock Indians. When Matthew intercedes to stop the Burleys from abducting Indian women into slavery he makes lifelong – and deadly – enemies of them all.
Once again Alex is plunged into an existence where death seems to threaten her man wherever he goes.

Will Matthew see himself – and his family – safe in these new circumstances? And will the past finally be laid to rest?

A Newfound Land is the fourth book in Anna Belfrage’s time slip series featuring time traveller Alexandra Lind and her seventeenth century husband, Matthew Graham.

Anna Belfrage

As a child, I spent a lot of time trying to find ways of travelling through time – always backwards – and somewhere along the way I concluded that while real time travelling is as yet (sadly) not possible, it is always possible to leap through time by using that most powerful tool, imagination.
I don’t know how many hours I’ve whiled away submerged in one daydream after the other, all of them set in the misty past, all of them starring yours truly. As a matter of fact, I still daydream, and my hourly walks with the dog tend to be one long delicious escape from the world of today to another place, another time.

The books in The Graham Saga (so far I’ve published A Rip in the Veil,Like Chaff in the Wind,The Prodigal Son, A Newfound Land, Serpents in the Garden and the NEW Revenge and Retribution – more is to come)are the products of very many hours of daydreaming – although at times I’m not entirely sure who is doing the actual daydreaming, my characters or myself. Alex(andra) Lind and Matthew Graham have grown into most tangible beings, people with likes and dislikes – and very exciting lives, putting it mildly. Which is why the story developed into a whole series, six of which have now been published (two more to come).

The latter half of the seventeenth century is rife with dangers, and even more so when you’re a woman who has been yanked out of your comfortable, modern timezone and dropped into 1658. But Alex is lucky; she lands at the feet of Matthew, a man most women would give an arm and a leg to get to know closely. Things, however, are complicated by the general political unrest of the times and Matthew’s present status as convicted (but fugitive) royalist. Phew; at times I almost feel sorry for all the situations I land Alex in.
“Tell me about it,” she sort of growls, “and it’s not you who’s got the bruises to show, is it?”
Erm, no; but I’m the author, remember?
“We can trade anytime,” she says.
Ooh yes, please! I nod eagerly, throwing Matthew a longing glance. Alex follows my look, and two well-formed brows come down in an impressive scowl.
“He’s mine,” she says.
Matthew raises his face and looks at her. Those magical hazel eyes shine gold in the afternoon sun, and a slow smile spreads across his face. She sort of dances towards him and I sigh; he’s definitely hers, I can see it in the way his fingers graze her cheek, in how he laughs at whatever she’s saying. Shoot…

The Graham Saga is a heady mix of romance, swashbuckling adventure and emotional drama. while each book has been written so as to make it possible to read them as stand-alones. I believe the experience is enhanced by reading them in order. Alex and Matthew have more than their share of adventures, both in Scotland and in the New World – more specifically the Colony of Maryland.

I like my female protagonists strong and capable, and Alex is nothing if not resilient, no matter what full blown punches fate throws her way – and they are many. And as to Matthew, well… the man is stubborn and brave, rarely back downs when it comes to issues of faith and integrity and is at times more than a little frustrated by his opinionated, time travelling wife.

It isn’t always easy, to bridge the divide of three centuries in perceptions and ideas. Some days, Alex wants to kick Matthew in the butt for being a old-fashioned jerk. Other days, Matthew is sorely tempted to belt her, this woman with eyes the colour of the deep sea. But the moment his fingers graze hers, the instant she steps into his arms, none of that matters: She is his woman, and he is her man – that is the way things are, that is the way things will always be!

Oh; BTW. For those of you that want to know when the next book in the Graham Saga, Wither Thou Goest, will be out, it is planned for November 2014. (The paperback will probably be available somewhat earlier than the e-book version)

I hope you choose to buy my books and that you find the reading as enjoyable as I’ve found the writing!

Anna’s Amazon page

Anna’s blog

Anna’s website

Saturday Snippet – Stuckey’s Legacy

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Lori Crane

This snippet is from the second in the Stuckey’s Bridge Trilogy, STUCKEY’S LEGACY. Last week, I posted a snippet from the first book. You can see it HERE. Next Saturday, I’ll post a snippet from the coming book, STUCKEY’S GOLD. It is scheduled for release on August 25th!

STUCKEY’S LEGACY: THE LEGEND CONTINUES

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Levi was so elated at his good fortune, he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, so he stopped off at the King Street Pub near the old Charleston Orphan House. He wandered into the musty-smelling place, with its plank floor and wood tables, and ordered a whiskey at the bar. Ragtime music filled the room from a piano player in the corner, and the air was foggy with cigar smoke. He always thought he’d like to partake in the habit but he just couldn’t stand the smell. He pulled the silver lighter from his pocket and flipped the top open and closed over and over without pushing the ignition button. He gazed around the room. The place was quite lively for a Monday night. A handful of men sat at the other end of the bar and a few played cards around a large table in the center of the room.

“Where are all the women?” he asked the barkeep.

“Not much business for them here on a Monday, but I can send for some ladies if you’d like.” The husky man wiped down the bar top with a dirty cloth and then shoved it back into his stained apron. “You’ll have to make it worth their time, though, if you know what I mean.”

Levi grinned. “I can certainly do that. I’m having a celebration of sorts tonight. It’d be nice to have some company.”

“Louis!” the barkeep called over his shoulder.

Levi downed his drink as a dirty, young boy dressed in knickers, with long curls sticking out of his sailor hat, appeared from around the corner. The barkeep told him to run down to Miss Mabel’s place and ask her to send over a couple ladies. The boy nodded and ran back the same way he had come.

The man turned to Levi. “They’ll be here shortly. Miss Mabel runs a tight ship.”

The word ship made Levi smile. He flipped the lighter open and closed again.

“Why don’t you get in on a couple hands of poker and a good cigar while you wait,” the barkeep said, gesturing toward the game.

“No, I’m not much of a card player and not really in the mood for a cigar. I’ll just have a refill and wait for the ladies.” Levi pushed his empty glass toward the barkeep, who refilled it and sloshed it back toward Levi.

Levi downed the whiskey and listened to the piano player for a few minutes. When the man started playing “Camptown Races,” Levi started humming along. “Doo dah, doo dah, camptown racetrack’s five miles long, oh…”

His singing was interrupted by the jingle of the brass bells on the front door. He spun around and saw two women enter. They glanced at the barkeep, who nodded toward Levi. One of the women was a thin brunette, wearing a light green dress that gave her body more of an hourglass shape than she probably had. The other was a blonde, wearing a loose-fitting blue dress that sloppily drooped off one shoulder. She caught Levi’s eye and dramatically pulled the neckline back up to its proper spot, raising her chin as if she were royalty and he a mere peasant. He smiled at her pompousness.

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On This Day in 1828

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Lori Crane

On This Day 1828

August 15, 1828 was the birthday of my 3rd great grandfather, Rice Benjamin Carpenter.

Rice was born to Benjamin Carpenter and Nancy Rice. He was the eighth of ten children, the first five born in North Carolina, and the last five born in Mississippi. When he was 17 years old in 1846, he married my 3rd great grandmother, Mary Ann Rodgers. The Carpenter and Rogers families lived near each other and Rice and Mary Ann had grown up together.

Rice and Mary Ann had five children: Martha Lettie (my 2nd great grandmother 1848-1933), Benjamin Hays (1850-1929), William Travis (1854-1856), Charles Clinton (1858-1890), and a son with the initials MF (1862-1863). As you can see by the dates, William Travis died at the age of two, and MF died as an infant. His full name is not known, but his initials are written in the family Bible, as you can see on the bottom of the first column in the photo.

Rice and Mary Ann set up house on land they got from Mary Ann’s father, but sometime around 1860, they sold the land and moved to the town of Marion Station in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, to open a general store. Abandoning the farm so Rice could become a merchant was probably their way of starting over after losing their first son. The excitement of a new life was not long-lived, however. In February of 1862, with Mary Ann eight months pregnant, Rice signed up for the 41st Infantry Regiment, the Cole Guards, and prepared to fight in the Civil War.

On 31 December 1862, his company found themselves in Murfreesboro, Tennessee (only 25 miles from my house) where they met the Union troops head-on at the Battle of Stones River. As you can see in the Port Hudson News, the newspapers were reporting a successful campaign for the Rebels, but Rice was not so lucky. He was killed in the very first charge. Rice’s son MF had been born March 12, 1862. In February of that year, Rice had signed up to fight, but is shown as absent until May. Perhaps he did get to spend time with his youngest son.

On the 150th anniversary of the battle, 31 December 2012, I visited the Stones River National Battlefield in Murfreesboro. The man there told me the battle that took place on 31 December actually happened about two miles up the road in what is now a golf course.

The Confederate Circle was established at Evergreen Cemetery in Murfreesboro in 1890, and in 1891 all of the remains of soldiers from local areas were re-interred in a mass grave there. Of the 2000 soldiers buried in the Circle, about 90% are unknown or not recorded in the records – one being Rice Benjamin Carpenter. He left behind a grieving widow and three children ages 14, 12, and 4.

Rest in Peace, Grandpa Rice.

Shameless plugs:

Mary Ann’s story is told in my book Okatibbee Creek.

This post is brought to you by On This Day available at Amazon.

Frances Culpepper Stephens Berkeley Ludwell etc etc

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Lori Crane

My cousin, Frances Culpepper (photo), was born in England in 1634 to Thomas Culpepper and Katherine St Leger. Thomas’s brother, John Culpepper the merchant, was my 10th great grandfather and will play a role later in her life. Frances was baptized 27 May 1634 at All Saints Church in Hollingbourn, where all of the family at that time was baptized. Her siblings were: Mary (1629-30 who died as an infant), Ann (1630-95), Alexander (1631- 24 Dec 1694, Surveyor General of Virginia), and John (1633-74 who often gets confused with John the Carolina Rebel, son of John the merchant).

Culpepper Connections website describes Frances as, “Apart from Pocahontas, Lady Frances Berkeley, the strong-willed, thrice-married and childless Colonial dame who ruled the political roost in Virginia from around 1670 until her death in the 1690s, was the Old Dominion’s most notable 17th century woman.”

Well, doesn’t that make you want to know more about her?

Her father, Thomas Culpepper, was one of the original proprietors of the northern neck of Virginia when the Virginia Charter was formed, transferring control of the colony from the Crown to individual investors. Following King Charles I execution, Thomas moved his entire family to Virginia in 1650 when young Frances was only sixteen. When she turned eighteen, she married the governor of the Albemarle settlement in what is now North Carolina. He was also the owner of Roanoke Island. Yes, where the very first colony disappeared from. His name was Samuel Stephens. Samuel and Frances lived for seventeen years on his 1350-acre plantation called Boldrup in what is now Newport News, Virginia. The plantation land and the house’s crumbled foundation is all that is left today and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Following Samuel’s death in 1669, Frances inherited his large estate and in 1670, she married yet another politician, Sir William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia (photo). They took up residence at his estate called Green Springs (photo) near Williamsburg, Virginia. Today, about 200 acres of the original plantation land is preserved by the National Park Service, which acquired the property in 1966.

In 1676 (100 years before the Revolution and the same year her cousin John Culpepper the Rebel was causing problems in Carolina) there was a dispute with the local Indians who had been chased north by militiamen. The Indians raided the Virginia frontier out of anger, hunger, revenge, who knows? Some colonists saw this as an opportunity to isolate or kill the Indians, some saw it as an opportunity for new slaves and lands. It was typical politics with each side rallying for their own cause. A newcomer to the land and the local Virginia Council was Nathaniel Bacon (photo). He asked Sir William Berkeley to form a party to kill off the Indians, but Berkeley refused as some of the Indians were Virginia’s closest allies. In defiance, Bacon raised a group of volunteers to fight the Indians. This led to a civil war of sorts, with Bacon’s followers against Berkeley’s loyalists. It also became a personal vendetta. At one point, tiring of Bacon’s threats, Berkeley bared his chest and dared Bacon to shoot him. After the public display, Berkeley threw Bacon out of the Council, later reinstated him, and then threw him out again. Berkeley ended up being chased out of town by Bacon’s men, who burned down the capital. Bacon died of dysentery in Oct 1676, but the fighting continued for a few more months without his leadership.

Here’s where Frances steps in…

Frances sailed to England on her husband’s behalf to ask King Charles II (photo) for help, and the King, unaware that Bacon was already dead, signed a proclamation for putting down the rebellion. He dispatched one thousand troops to Virginia, along with a commission of three men to find out what the hell was going on. By the time the soldiers arrived, without Bacon’s leadership, the rebellion had died down. The three members of the King’s commission watched Berkeley identify Bacon’s men as traitors and witnessed the hanging of twenty-three of them. Once the commission reported this back to King Charles II, he summoned Berkeley to return to England to explain his actions. As soon as spring arrived, Berkeley sailed to England to plead his case with the King. He became ill on the journey and went directly to his brother’s house in London upon arrival, where he died in July 1677 before getting a chance to tell his side of the story to the King. Frances didn’t receive the news of his death for months.

Here’s where uncle John steps in…

When John Culpepper the Merchant was fifteen years old, he attended Middle Temple, which was a law school. There he met a young William Berkeley, who was not a “Sir” at the time, and the two became fast friends. Though John was trained as a lawyer, he was more inclined to be a merchant, and in 1633, he bought a ship with his brother Thomas (Frances’s dad) called the “Thomas and John.” The ship delivered immigrants to the new world and shipped cotton, tobacco, and the like back to England. This was probably the vessel Frances and her family sailed on in 1650 to move to Virginia. During the rebellion, Frances and William Berkeley needed money to sail back and forth for this rebellion nonsense and they sold off Roanoke Island. Uncle John Culpepper was the lawyer who oversaw the sale of the land to the Lamb family, witnessing William Berkeley’s signature on the deed.

In 1680, Frances married her third husband, Col. Philip Ludwell (photo) of the 4,000-acre Rich Neck Plantation. Ludwell had been a chief supporter of Berkeley during the rebellion and also his cousin. Hmm. Frances never relinquished her title however and was known as Lady Frances Berkeley for the remainder of her life. She died around 1695 at the age of 61. Her body is interred at Jamestown Church Cemetery in Jamestown, Virginia.

As for Col. Ludwell, after serving as governor of the Colony of Carolina 1691-94, he returned to Virginia where he served as Speaker of the House of Burgessesin in 1695-96. In 1700, he moved back to England where he died in 1716.

It’s Monday! What are you reading? “Live from the Road”

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Lori Crane

I’m reading one of my favorite authors…

PC Zick

“Live from the Road”

“Live from the Road” is a story of two friends, Meg and Sally, and their road trip across Route 66. They are escorted by their grown daughters, and the four women each have their own personal demons to face during the trip. Some of their struggles are shared with each other, some kept private.

There were idiosyncrasies in this story that made me giggle. At each stop, they invite whomever they ran into to join them, and a lot of people strangely took them up on the offer. I would never be that open to invite strangers to join my vacation, but I have some girlfriends who would do something that crazy, so it’s not all-together impossible. At one point, they had four or five cars in their caravan. I thought the concept of strangers joining on one’s vacation was a little weird, but then I realized I had joined them, too. I was traveling the Route with them, experiencing the sites and sorting through the personal problems. The road trip mimicked the trip through life – the inner journey. The part I loved best was Meg’s 50-year-old brain struggling with her own mid-life crisis. I found myself thinking her thoughts many times. Perhaps these are the thoughts of every mature woman.

“Live from the Road” blurb

Live from the Road takes the reader on an often humorous, yet harrowing, journey as Meg Newton and Sally Sutton seek a change in the mundane routine of their lives. Joined by their daughters, they set off on a journey of salvation enhanced by the glories of the Mother Road.

Along the way, they are joined by a Chicago bluesman, a Pakistani liquor store owner from Illinois, a Marine from Missouri, a gun-toting momma from Oklahoma, and a motel clerk from New Mexico.

Death, divorce, and deception help to reveal the inner journey taking place under the blazing desert sun as a Route 66 motel owner reads the Bhagavad-Gita and an eagle provides the sign they’ve all been seeking.

Enlightenment comes tiptoeing in at dawn in a Tucumcari laundromat, while singing karaoke at a bar in Gallup, New Mexico, and during dinner at the Roadkill Cafe in Seligman, Arizona.

The trip isn’t always easy as laughter turns to tears and back again. However, the four women’s lives will never be the same after the road leads them to their hearts – the true destination for these road warriors.

PC ZICK – Author

P.C. Zick began her writing career in 1998 as a journalist. She’s won various awards for her essays, columns, editorials, articles, and fiction. She describes herself as a “storyteller” no matter the genre.

She’s published five works of fiction and two nonfiction books.

She was born in Michigan and moved to Florida in 1980. She finds the stories of Florida and its people and environment a rich base for her storytelling platform. Florida’s quirky and abundant wildlife – both human and animal – supply her fiction with tales almost too weird to be believable.
Her fiction contains the elements most dear to her heart, ranging from love to the environment. In her novels, she advances the cause for wildlife conservation and energy conservation. She believes in living lightly upon this earth with love, laughter, and passion.

“This is one of the most exciting times to be an author,” Ms. Zick says. “I’m honored to be a part of the revolution in writing and publishing.”

PC’s website

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On This Day in 1890

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Lori Crane

On This Day in 1890, my great great grandparents were wed.

Thomas Gilbert Lafayette Keene was born 20 Apr 1859 to Green Keene and Sarah Tabitha Keene and grew up in Mississippi. According to records, I believe his parents died during the Civil War. He is shown living with them in the 1860 census, along with his siblings John (1849-) Martha (1851-) Minerva Ellen (1852-1914) and Mary (1855-). He was only an infant. In the 1870 census, he and his sisters are shown living with a woman named Elizabeth Keene (not married) and an 80 year old man named Gilbert Keene. I believe this is his aunt and his grandfather who is Gilbert senior. There is also a Gilbert junior in an earlier census born in 1815.

He more or less disappeared from records until his marriage in 1890, and the next record of him is the marble plaque that is in the Lauderdale County Court House in Meridian, Mississippi showing him as the County Treasurer 1904-1907. (For you “Stuckey’s Bridge” fans, check out the top name – JR Temple, Sheriff.) Later census records list TGL as a member of the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors, also as a farmer and a Justice of the Peace. He died 26 Sep 1921 and is buried next to his wife at Oak Grove Baptist Cemetery in Bonita. His death certificate lists no parents.

Sarah Elizabeth “Bettie” Brown was born 19 Nov 1862 (my birthday also) to William Lafayette Brown Jr and Sarah Ann Elvira Dollar Brown in Lauderdale County, Mississippi. (Right is the transcribed family Bible.) There were ten children in her family, seven boys and three girls, one of whom died at birth. Five of the children were born just before the Civil War began, and her father was a sharp shooter guarding the railroad bridges at Chunky, Mississippi, so her mother was home with a handful of children under the age of eight at the start of the war. When her father returned from the war, the next child was born in 1865. They wasted no time!

At the age of 18, Bettie married John Thompson 16 Nov 1881 and had one daughter, Fleta S (1885-1923). I don’t know what happened to Mr. Thompson, but in 1890 Bettie married TGL Keene. They had seven children: Eunice Tabitha (1891-1964) Isaac (1893-1894 infant who is buried near his parents) Essie Mae (1895-1981) Ernest Grady (1895-1947) Benjamin Blaine (1898-1960) Eula Ouida (1899-1981 my great grandmother) and Earl Vandorn (1901-1939). Bettie outlived her husband by five years and died on 18 Jul 1926 at the age of 63.

TGL and Bettie lived in the Tunnel Hill area until 1910, when they show up on the census records as living in Meridian.

Happy Anniversary TGL and Bettie!

Brought to you by On This Day available at Amazon.

Saturday Snippet – Stuckey’s Bridge

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Lori Crane

In celebration of the coming release of the third book in the Stuckey’s Bridge Trilogy on August 25th, I’m posting a short snippet of the first book today, the second book next Saturday, and the third book the following Saturday.

This is from THE LEGEND OF STUCKEY’S BRIDGE.

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He staggered down to the river to inspect the boat, carrying the ax in one hand and the lantern in the other. He realized as he walked that he may have consumed one too many swigs of whiskey, for he didn’t remember the path being this difficult to navigate. He giggled as he stumbled toward the bank. The cool mist of the fog felt good on his face, but the lack of visibility made him a little disoriented. He wasn’t sure if the feeling was caused by the fog or the whiskey.

He reached the river, placed the lamp on the dirt next to the boat, and crawled aboard. He searched around the deck, under the seats, and down in the hole, but found nothing.

“Damn it. Why do they always keep the money on them?” he griped.

“Hey! What are you doing there?” called the skinny boy, who surprisingly emerged from the woods and neared the boat.

“I was making sure your boat was tied up securely.” The words sure and securely came out in a slur, but Thomas ignored it and climbed out of the boat, back onto the bank. He still held the rusty ax.

“Why do you need an ax to check on the boat?”

“Oh.” He looked down at the ax. “Just in case I run into something out in the woods. You can never be too careful out here, you know?”

“Don’t you have a gun?”

“Well, yes,” he said as he neared the boy. “But guns make noise.”

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Nice House, Gramps!

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Lori Crane

My 11th great grandpa was John Culpepper of Astwood in Feckenham. Not to be confused with his father John Culpepper of Wigsell, or his son John Culpepper the Merchant, or his grandson John Culpepper the Rebel.

John was born in 1565 in Salehurst, England in his father’s home, Wigsell Manor (pictured left). He was the second son, eventually totaling three brothers and at least one sister. He was seventeen years of age when he entered Middle Temple (a law school) and began a professional career as a lawyer, called to the bar in 1595, and listed as a Bencher in 1599.

He spent a lot of time at the home of his uncle Francis Culpepper (dad’s brother), whose home was Greenway Court (pictured right). Uncle Francis’s second wife was Joan Pordage. Her brother was Solomon Pordage, who died in 1599, leaving behind widow Ursula Woodcock Pordage. It was at Greenway Court where John first met the widow Ursula – probably before she was widowed as Uncle Francis died in 1591 and his wife Joan Pordage in 1598. John and Ursula didn’t marry until 1600.

John and Ursula set up house at Greenway Court while he ran a profitable law practice.

Within a few years, his uncle Martin (dad’s other brother) died in 1605. Martin had two sons, one who had died the year before, and the second who had no children of his own. John was bequeathed Astwood (pictured left) in trust to maintain for Martin’s widow. After the widow remarried and moved elsewhere, John made an arrangement with her to move Ursula and the family to Astwood. His family now totaled four children – Thomas, John (my 10th great), Cicely, and Francis. Sadly, Ursula died at Astwood and was buried there in June of 1612. He was now a widower with four small children, but apparently his law practice was doing well, as he bought out the aunt’s interest in 1616 and gave up practicing law to become a country gentleman.

That same year, he married Elinor Norwood. They had no children. She died eight years later in 1624. He then married Ann Goddard in 1625. She outlived him by ten years. Sometime before 1635, nearing the age of seventy, he returned to Greenway Court where he died 18 December 1635.

He is buried in the chancel of Hollingbourne Church (pictured right) among other members of the family – Francis 1591, Elizabeth 1626, Philippa 1630, Thomas 1634, Elizabeth 1635, Thomas 1637, Elizabeth 1638, Phillipa 1638, Thomas 1640, John Third Lord Culpepper 1641, Solomon 1647, Cicely 1651, Thomas 1661, Sir Thomas the Elder 1662, Doris 1662, Cecilia 1685, among other memorials, plaques, and graves.
(photos by my cousin Warren Culpepper 2000.)

The Creation of a Creepy Trilogy…by accident.

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Lori Crane

Last year, I wrote “The Legend of Stuckey’s Bridge.“ If you haven’t read it, it’s based on an old Mississippi legend and is the story of an inn keeper who murdered his guests, confiscated their wealth, and buried their bodies on the banks of the river. When a nearby bridge was rebuilt years later, the workers began uncovering bodies, and Old Man Stuckey was eventually found out. I had a blast getting inside the head of a serial killer and writing the story. While creating the tale, I decided Old Man Stuckey couldn’t be alone with his thoughts throughout the entire story, so I had him run across a young boy named Levi. I guess being in psycho mode at the time of writing, young Levi became quite a creepy character himself.

Following the book’s release, I received a bunch of emails and messages asking me what the deal was with Levi. Apparently, he captured everyone’s attention.

So, I gave it some thought and penned the second book in the trilogy, “Stuckey’s Legacy: The Legend Continues.” It was released May 2014. In that book, which takes place a decade after Old Man Stuckey paid for his crimes, young Levi is 22 years old and living off the wealth of the Old Man. He’s hobnobbing with the rich and famous on Jekyll Island off Georgia’s coast. When he meets the beautiful and mysterious Penelope Juzan, he is mesmerized, and an intense game of cat and mouse begins.

In the great state of Mississippi, not far from the real Stuckey’s Bridge, lies the black, swampy waters of Lake Juzan. It is surrounded by its own legend of an inn keeper who murdered his guests, confiscated their wealth, and buried their bodies in the depths of the lake. Well, who wouldn’t grab that and run with it? 🙂

The legend of Lake Juzan became the basis for the third in the trilogy, “Stuckey’s Gold: The Curse of Lake Juzan.” Penelope Juzan’s great grandfather was Lake Juzan’s inn keeper and the original holder of the trunk of gold that made its first appearance in “Stuckey’s Bridge.” When all is said and done, Old Man Stuckey and Levi are only bit players in a story that is far darker and more sinister than even they could have imagined.

“Stuckey’s Gold” is the tale of four generations trying to escape the curse that is Lake Juzan.

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I’m Back! August 1st is a Great Day!!

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Lori Crane

Sorry for being MIA. I’ve been in Bermuda since May and internet is ridiculously expensive down there. But I’m back now and will run around and catch up with everyone over the next week.

A few months ago, I published a journal/perpetual calendar called “On This Day” (check it out at Amazon) to keep track of my ancestral dates. You know, births, deaths, etc. I finally found a minute to use it, and for the last few days I’ve been filling it in, and guess what I found out…

Today is August 1st, and I realized if it weren’t for August 1st, I wouldn’t be here. That gives me a strange feeling that I should put some energy into this day and enjoy it to the fullest.

On this day in 1936, my grandparents were married.

On this day in 1892, her grandparents were married.

I’m glad to be back, especially on August 1st! Catch you all tomorrow.