♥♥♥ Hearts Through History Blog Hop ♥♥♥

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Lori Crane

Happy Valentine’s Day! Welcome to the Valentine’s Blog Hop!

24 Authors have united to tickle you with their favorite historical mushy anecdote. You can hop from page to page and enjoy the warm, fuzzy feelings. At the end of this post is a list of participants to help you hop from site to site.

You can also win prizes on each page. Be sure to comment on each page to win great stuff.

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Whether medieval times, tudor times, the old west, or today, nothing is as exciting as the promise of new love!

This is an excerpt from my new book, “An Orphan’s Heart.”

Texas 1884. Ellen has just arrived at her brother’s house for a visit and is playing with his daughters.

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I am so wrapped up the little girls, I don’t even notice him sitting quietly at the table.

“Ellen, I’d like to introduce you my brother. This is Sam Meek.”

The man rises from the table to greet me, and I am immediately taken aback by his rugged good looks and his warm smile. Our eyes meet and lock. Suddenly I feel as if I’m drowning in a pool of green—the richest green of a mountain side, the darkest green of the deepest water. Everyone and everything disappears. The only thing I see is him.

He offers me his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“And you, sir,” I take his hand and feel the warmth of electricity flow through every vein in my body. I pull my hand away from his heat and just as quickly regret the action. I wish to feel it again, but there is no way to touch him again now. I glance down and admire his tan forearm covered half way by his rolled-up shirt sleeve. “I am very sorry about the loss of your mother,” I offer my condolences as I try to compose myself.

He doesn’t respond for a moment. I look back up at his face and he gazes deeply into my eyes. “Thank you. It is very sad for all of us.” He doesn’t pull his eyes away. We are locked in eternity.

Mollie brings some coffee to the table, breaking the spell Sam Meek has created, and she motions for us to have a seat.

“Would you like something to eat?” she offers.

“No, thank you,” I shake my head, finding it hard to take my eyes off the stunning creature in front of me.

“Sam?”

“No, I’m fine, but thank you,” he says, not breaking our gaze. “I’m going to have to get to sleep in a little bit. I’m exhausted.”

I feel myself sink into the chair but have no idea if I’m actually sitting. The thought of him leaving the room is disheartening, and I am surprised a man I just met is having this kind of effect on me.

“So, how was your trip?” he turns his attention toward his coffee cup as Mollie fills it.

“It was amazing. When I was younger, I traveled through a small town in Alabama that had a train station. I was so enchanted by the women in their fancy hats coming and going, I vowed to myself I would someday travel on a train to a distant place.” I smile. “And here I am.”

“Sounds nice.” He takes a sip of his coffee, watching me over the brim of his steaming cup. His voice sounds like silk.

I can’t take my eyes off of him. I watch the way he sips his coffee. I watch his strong, callused hands place the cup back down on the table. I watch his tongue lick a stray drop from his lips. I watch his tanned throat as he swallows. He is stunning.

“Did you sleep on the train or did you stop somewhere?”

“I spent the night in Mobile and New Orleans, but the rest of the trip was on a sleeper train that had bunks. The rocking motion of the train was actually very soothing.” I sip the strong, bitter coffee then glance at him as I place the cup back on the table.

“Well, I’m glad you had a good journey.” He stands. “I’m sorry to interrupt our coffee and conversation, but I really need to get some sleep. I can hardly keep my eyes open.” He is breathtaking. “It’s going to be a long day tomorrow with the funeral and all.” He grabs his hat from the side table. “Relatives have been coming into town all day.” He nods to me. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Ma’am. I’d love to speak with you more about your journey, and I will see you again tomorrow.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Meek.” His movements are exquisite, like a stallion running through a field, like an eagle catching his prey, like a…

“Please, call me Sam.” He grins, showing the slightest dimple under the dark stubble on his cheek. His eyes sparkle in the firelight.

I nod and smile. I’m sure I’m blushing, but I can’t stop staring at him.

He bids a good evening to Mollie and Willie, and just as instantly as he appeared, he is gone.

I’m speechless. My heart is pounding in my ears. My palms are sweating. I can’t seem to catch my breath. I wish I could follow him. I look down at my coffee cup and shake my head. When I look up, Mollie and Willie are both staring at me. I blush with embarrassment.

“Well,” says Mollie, “You two seemed to have hit it off rather nicely. I’m glad you are here, Ellen.” She smiles.

I nod my head and sheepishly glance toward the closed door, wishing Sam would come back into the room with an excuse that he forgot something.

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“An Orphan’s Heart” coming May 2013 in paperback and eBook.

Click here to visit and LIKE “An Orphan’s Heart” facebook fan page to stay up-to-date

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TWO GIVEAWAYS

There are currently two books in the Rodgers family series – “Okatibbee Creek” and “An Orphan’s Heart.” To win a free copy of either book please comment below. The books will be in eBook form in the format of your choice. Two winners will be chosen. Winners will be chosen and notified February 20. “Okatibbee Creek” will be delivered by email immediately. “An Orphan’s Heart” will be delivered by email on or about April 30. Winners will be posted on this page on or about February 20. Comments are set to moderation, so it may take a short time for your comment to appear.

FEBRUARY 20, 2013 UPDATE: Winners are Faye Johnson and Anna Belfrage. Congratulations! Please check your email and claim your prize.

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Thank you for stopping by. Please hop over and visit other authors!

Valentine’s Blog Hop

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Lori Crane

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, your favorite authors are hosting a Valentine’s Blog Hop.

All authors will reveal their favorite historical mushy anecdote along with a giveaway or two on each page. All pages will have links to the other pages.

The Valentine’s Blog Hop is February 10-16, 2013.

Be sure to stop by and get mushy.

At present, there are 22 authors participating, so hop on through and win some prizes, and maybe learn a thing or two about love and romance in the process.

Who do I have to talk to to get more hours?

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Lori Crane

Is there anyone who can arrange more hours in the day for me? I’ll pay you! No, I don’t need a “Survival Guide for Busy Folks” or a new pocket organizer. I am the Queen of Organization! I need more hours. Maybe a 28-hour day would help. 32 would be better.

My to-do list is trailing off my desk like Santa’s gift list in December.

I’m usually good under pressure. As a matter of fact, deadlines feed my soul. I admit, most of my deadlines are self-imposed, but that’s how I get things done. And I get a whole lot of things done – I think. I may have too many irons in the fire right now because I’ve apparently added a few new hats to my job closet.

1) I am a full-time musician. I work late nights and don’t sleep well because I keep changing my bedtime hours throughout the week. Sometime I crawl in bed at 8:00 p.m., and sometimes I don’t go to bed until 4:00 a.m. That job also requires daytime hours for rehearsal and scheduling. I would like an extra two hours added to the music portion of my day.

2) I write. Books. Not just any books – historical fiction books. Anyone who has ever written anything of length knows how insanely time consuming it is. Now add to that hours and hours of research to make sure the historical part of the story is legitimate. I admit I go off on tangents. I’ll hunt for information on a website, click on every link, and look up to find it’s three hours later. I love web surfing. I also have a bad habit of getting side-tracked on Ancestry.com and FindAGrave.com when I simply go there to check a wedding date or a death date. Rewrites, editing, proofreading, formatting, designing covers? Three more hours a day would help.

3) I am my own publisher/publicist/agent/video trailer producer/audio book narrator/etc. I don’t even know how much time is spent doing that stuff. It’s a ridiculous amount. I don’t mind doing it, I just need about four more hours a day.

4) Blogging? Ugh. I’m a slacker. It’s true. No amount of time will fix that.

5) Wife and mother? Ha. Yeah, that cooking thing? Not so much. And you can do your own laundry. Do mine while you’re at it. And somebody pick up some milk.

Ok, rant over. I have to go brush my dog now. Poor little guy.

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Lori Crane

Happy Birthday to Elvis Aaron Presley! He would have been 78 years old today. Wow!

Here’s some ancestral facts you may or may not know about the King.

He was born a twin, but his brother Jessie Garon Presley was still born.

Jessie is buried in an unmarked grave in Tupelo, MS but has a marker on the grounds of Graceland.

Elvis was named after his father, Vernon Elvis Presley.

Jessie was named after his grandfather, Jesse Dee Presley.

Grandpa Jesse was also a recording artist.

Elvis, his father, and grandfather were born in Mississippi, but his great grandfather, Dunnan Presley, was born in Tennessee, and his second great, Dunnan Sr., and third great, Andrew Presley, were born in North Carolina.

Elvis died in 1977, his father in 1979, and his paternal grandmother, Minnie Hood Presley, in 1980. Along with his mother, who died in 1958, they are all buried on the grounds of Graceland.

Minnie Presley

RIP Presley family

I am her legacy. The beginning of “Okatibbee Creek.”

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Lori Crane

Someone asked me how I came to write a historical fiction book, what sparked my interest in the main character? I had been working on my book for eight months, so I kind of lost track of how it all started. At the same time, I was also asked to do a talk/reading/book-signing in February, and I spoke with my husband about the important points of my impending talk.

He said, “You should let them know how it all started. Why did you write it?”

So, I put my thinking cap on and tried to remember…

She was just a name in my family tree. Mary Ann Rodgers. My third great grandmother. I discovered that she lost her 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 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.

That’s where my book came from.

available at Amazon

“Okatibbee Creek” facebook fan page

Strong Women (exclamation point) !!!

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Lori Crane

Apparently I’m going to put off working on my book for the entire day, and I’m going to procrastinate by writing stuff here.

a-strong-women-is-one_large

I’m working on a female character who is downtrodden and beaten, and am not as pleased with her as I was with my last female character who was strong, proud, determined, and driven. What is it that draws us to strong women?

I think of female characters from book and movies and always come up with women who have backbone, substance, grit. I have a hard time remembering any of the wimpy, whiny girls.

Off the top of my head, I love (in no particular order):

Sally Field in Steel Magnolias and Norma Rae

Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider and every other movie she has played in

even Alicia Silverstone in Clueless (LOVE her!)

What is it about these characters that is so intriguing?

Who are your favorite female heroines?

Sheee’s Baaaaack!

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Lori Crane

Hi Y’all! I’m back from vacation. Happy New Year to you all!!

A few interesting things happened while I was on vacation.

First, in case you missed it, my book “Okatibbee Creek” came out in paperback. Check it out on Amazon here. If you’re a Kindle fan, the Kindle version will be out in a week or so.

The interesting thing about the book release is watching the progress, which is like watching a horse race. The Amazon ratings, which are generated by some incomprehensible algorithmic computer program, shows my book jumping up and down between 60k and 380k on the best selling list. I swear it changes by 10k in the two seconds I’m looking at it. The ratings of “books released in the last 30 days” are a little more stable. I’ve been bouncing between 25 and 35 in the historical fiction category for the last week. Out of over 1000 historical fiction titles released in the last month, that’s not too bad.

okatibbee_cover front

Next interesting thing. I went to Biloxi, MS for a few days and found that 50% of the beachfront is still vacant since Katrina went through seven years ago, and it’s all for $ale. I didn’t know it was possible to purchase beachfront property any more, but apparently it is! And while it’s not cheap cheap, it’s still relatively affordable – about $1 million per acre. Not a bad price for beachfront. Yes, I’m thinking about it.

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Next, I didn’t know New Orleans was so close to Biloxi – only an hour and a half away. So, we sauntered down to the French Quarter for an afternoon. Gumbo and Beignets!

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Following our Bourbon Street party, we went up to Murfreesboro, TN to see the 150th anniversary reenactment of the battle of Stones River. It was a cold, rainy day – just like the day of the real battle 150 years ago. I walked the land where my third great grandfather died on December 31, 1862 – which happens to be a large part of my above mentioned book. The only word to describe the experience is “humbling.”

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RIP Private Rice Benjamin Carpenter, 41st Mississippi Infantry, Co C.

One more picture – the REAL Okatibbee Creek!

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2012 – The Year of Validation

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Lori Crane

2012 has been a most interesting year. Since my children were little, my years have been measured by childhood accomplishments: that’s the year he started high school, that’s the year she started piano. There have been family measurements too: that’s the year we went to the Grand Canyon, that’s the year we sold the house, or that’s the year Grandma died.

This year has been different. There have been no measurements. We didn’t move, no one died, there were no graduations, no great happenings, no exciting journeys around the globe.

This year has, however, been filled with humbling personal victories for me.

If you have ever read my blog, you know I’m into genealogy. I’ve been tracing my family for 30 years. I try to be as accurate as I can, but I realize memories are fuzzy, documents are mis-dated, names are misspelled. This is a fact in genealogy research, so I don’t worry myself too much with perfection of details. Example: I have known since childhood that my grandmother was 59 when she died. When I ordered her birth certificate this year, I found that her birth date was not the year we all thought. She was actually 60 when she died and her tombstone is wrong. See? You just can worry yourself with details. It takes nothing away from my love for my grandmother either way.

So, in 2012, I submitted my genealogy paperwork to three different organizations for membership. I didn’t feel one way or the other about the memberships, but when I was accepted into all three, I realized that my research has indeed been correct and now has been validated by others. More than becoming a member of these organizations, I have been patted on the back for my years of research. I am pleased to say that 2012 will be marked as the year I became a member of the United States Daughters of 1812, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Even better than that, the three memberships are under three different lines in my family tree.

I’ve also held a lifelong desire to write my memoirs for my descendants. I always craved more detail about my great grandparent’s lives, and wished they would have left me something. So, since I was very young, I thought I would someday write my memoirs in case my great grandchild felt the same. Sadly, I don’t really have a fabulous and interesting life, so I have very little to write in a memoir. I’ve spent many hours over the decades with pencil and paper in hand and never could find a way to start.

2012 became the year of writing a memoir! Not mine. My third great grandmother’s. I spent most of the year writing her life story and turned it into a book. I am currently holding the very first printed copy of the paperback and look forward to the official release of “Okatibbee Creek” in a week or so. I’ve written stories and music my whole life, but I have never completed a novel before, so I am speechless to be holding this book. The fact that it is a family history, a memoir, the family book I’ve always wanted to write, the family history I’ve always wanted to read, gives me great pleasure and validation – validation of my family history, validation of my dreams, validation that 2012 was a year well spent.

It is bittersweet to say goodbye to 2012. It will be remembered as: that’s the year I was validated.

My Missing Muse

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Lori Crane

I’ve been thinking of my muse, who apparently used to live in my car. Since I wrecked my car two weeks ago and have been car-less, I have been in a funk. All inspiration vanished into the barren junk yard with my poor, deer-slaying automobile. I was going to go on a vacation last week, but without a car, that got cancelled. What should I do instead? Spring clean! Yes, I totally missed Spring because I was working on my last novel. On Wednesday, with only one room finished and in the middle of my much-needed vacation, I received my manuscript back from my editor. I reluctantly crawled into the black hole of 1860 for the next five days to do the FINAL edit/proofread/format on my book. The rest of the cleaning did not get done.

Now, I’m in limbo.

The novel has been transferred to other creative hands and is completely out of my control. Yesterday I bought a new car with nine whole miles on it, my house is still a mess, and I am still in desperate need of a vacation. But alas, in nineteen hours, I go back to work.

I am on chapter eight of the sequel, but I am spent and exhausted. I need a muse. I need inspiration. I need someone to put a gun to my head and demand the next few chapters right now.

Right now, I need an aspirin and a nap.

Deer 1, Lori 0

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Lori Crane

I work nights. I live in the country. I drive 57 miles one-way down a dark, deserted highway. No, not a dark, desert highway. Wrong song. Anyway, nightly on my way home, I play chicken with the deer. Saturday night, the deer finally won.

I see them standing on the side of the road almost nightly. In the past, I have swerved to miss one on occasion. I thought I might have actually clipped one a few months ago. This one was STANDING in the middle of the road. He was in the right lane facing to the right. I swerved to the left. If he would have jumped the way he was facing or even just stood still, I would have missed him. He jumped left – right into my car. (Cue Timewarp song – “It’s just a jump to the left…”)

What my engine is supposed to look like…

What my engine looks like now…

The worst part was upon impact EVERYTHING went black. WTH?? Here are the thoughts that went through my head over the next 5 seconds…

1. Why can’t I see? Where are the stars and signs and lines on the road?

2. Am I dead? Wow, that was quick and painless.

3. Am I blind? I don’t think I was hit in the face by anything. I can see this jellyfish of an airbag in my way, ergo, I must not be blind.

4. Is my windshield now a bloodbath, blocking my view? Ewww. That visual needs to get out of my head right now.

5. What is that smell? Is it blood? Is it from the airbag going off? Maybe the engine is on fire. If the engine is on fire, don’t you think I’d be able to see that?

I don’t understand.

Wait! I can still see out of the driver’s side window. WTH?

Oh, duh, it’s the hood. My black hood is straight up in the air, blocking my vision. At least I’m not blind, but the car manufacturers should remedy that. That’s just dangerous. That could cause an accident….uh, yeah, whatever.

I think my engine is dead. No power steering. No power brakes. I coast to the right shoulder, looking out of the driver’s side window at the lines in the road to make sure I’m safely off the road. Vaguely, I hope there is not an abandoned car on the shoulder, but I figure if I hit it, it’s not really my fault. I can’t freakin’ see.

Stop. Sigh. Breathe.

Everything ok? I think so. No injuries? Except for thinking I was blinded for life and would have to buy one of those white canes with the red tips, but having no idea how I would choose the right cane if I couldn’t actually see it…no, I’m good. Cell phone? Right here, along with everything else from various locations of my car, now in a convenient and handy pile in my front seat.

What if the deer is actually in my engine? I try to look through the 3-inch slit between the hood and the dashboard, but I can’t see anything. Should I get out and check? I guess I have to. My thought process doesn’t go beyond that point to figure out what I will do if there actually IS a deer sitting on my engine, but I’m still thinking the engine may be on fire and I need to look.

Open car door…well, try to open car door. It will only open about 8 inches. I squeeze out and walk around front to look at the engine. No deer. Thank god. But, holy crap, my front end is a mess. Now, where am I? I need to call and give the police a mile marker. Luckily, there’s a sign right in front of my car. I almost ran into it. No kidding. I’m a mile from my house. Perfect.

When the police arrive, the officer says the deer is about 100 yards behind me on the left shoulder and casually mentions that the poor thing is still alive. He had to shoot the deer THREE times to kill it. Ugh. End to a perfect drive home.

Don’t worry, that shit’ll buff right out…

Update: Finale of the Deer vs. Truck saga

My truck is on its final journey to the junk yard. I’m so sad. The insurance co paid all but about $500 of what I owed, but I was due to buy new tires before winter, so it’s a wash.

Lesson Learned: a 70 mph front-end collision with air-bag deployment and over $12,000 of body and engine damage + I walked away with only a bruise from the seat belt = I’ll be buying another Nissan on Monday.

Lori Crane

award-winning author. musician. cute shoes.

Tag Archives: life

♥♥♥ Hearts Through History Blog Hop ♥♥♥

Valentine’s Blog Hop

Who do I have to talk to to get more hours?

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

I am her legacy. The beginning of “Okatibbee Creek.”

Strong Women (exclamation point) !!!

Sheee’s Baaaaack!

2012 – The Year of Validation

My Missing Muse

Deer 1, Lori 0