This is a post I wrote in 2016, but these valentines speak to an era we seldom think of as romantic. They deserve another look, don’t you think? Passion conjures up images of Valentine’s Day more than it does the Fourth of July. The Founding Fathers were serious men about the serious business of changing the world through revolution and a brilliantly written document. But these men were passionate about their women, too. Just look at the love letters between John and Abigail Adams, for example. Addressing her as “Miss Adorable,” Adams wrote: “By the same Token that the Bearer Read More
Tag: American History
Do You Judge a Book by Its Cover?
Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover? Maybe it wrapped you in its magic and walked you to the check-out counter. Maybe it called your name and the next thing you knew you were hitting “Buy now with 1-click.” As a reader, I have done just that. For example, one cover that captured me was this classic cover of The Great Gatsby. I’ve had readers tell me they bought The Cavanaugh House because of the cover. My husband Rich created that cover from a photograph he took of the actual Cavanaugh House . . Read More
3 Inspirations that Did Not Lead to a Sparkly Vampire
Don’t you wonder how Stephenie Meyer came up with the idea of a sparkly vampire? How did Diana Gabaldon decide on a portal in a standing stone that whisked Claire off to a Highlander hunk named Jamie? And Hobbits? Really? Where do authors get their ideas? Well, I can only speak to what’s worked for me with Love’s Courage: a word, a photo, and a visit. A Word Rich and I are word nerds. Okay, I’m a word nerd and Rich indulges me. Every morning at breakfast, we look up Merriam Webster’s Word of the Day. On Feb. 26, 2016, Read More
Who Was the Woman Embroiled in the World of Spies, Intrigue, and Passion?
Becky Lower, author of The Cotillion Ball series, published this post on her blog, History Imagined a while back. She graciously allowed me to repost it here. It’s a perfect explanation of the world in which Jenny and Andrew find themselves in Love’s Courage. Any fan of AMC’s TURN will recognize who Becky is talking about. Long before Agent 007 was a germ of an idea in Ian Fleming’s mind, there was Agent 355, one of the first female spies in America, active during the Revolutionary War. But unlike James Bond, Agent 355’s identity is still not known, even after all Read More