Rosebud Writing
Meet a fiery Titanic stewardess
In my novel Sheltering Angel, you’ll get to know Titanic second-class steward Violet Jessop. Here is a closer look at this sizzling beauty. During the Irish potato famine of the mid-nineteenth century, hordes of Irish left their country for Canada, the U.S., and especially Argentina where they hoped the pampas would provide more fertile land…
Read MoreThe irony of one Titan and two Titanic passengers
Wendy Weil Rush, wife of late OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush who perished in the recent implosion of the Titan submersible, has been noted for being the great-great-granddaughter of Titanic first-class passengers Isidor and Ida Straus. I can’t help but wonder at the irony of Rush’s fervor for taking people deep into the North Atlantic to see…
Read MoreAt this writing, Titan submersible still not found
The horrific news about the missing submersible and its failed attempt to find the Titanic wreck in the North Atlantic has hit me hard. For eight years I researched details about HMS Titanic, its concept, creation, crew, passengers, and ultimate demise and have recorded that research in my forthcoming novel SHELTERING ANGEL. I imagine the…
Read MoreTitanic third-class steward Charles Savage
In my novel Sheltering Angel, you’ll meet intriguing minor characters based on actual people aboard the Titanic. One of them is third-class steward Charlie Savage. Charles James Savage was born December 31, 1888, in Brightlingsea on England’s east coast. His father, a mariner, wasn’t around much, but Charlie had plenty of company with three older siblings.…
Read MoreTitanic Passenger Joseph Laroche
My novel Sheltering Angel, based on a true story of the Titanic, includes several actual passengers of the unlucky ship. Let me introduce you to Haitian engineer Joseph Philippe Laroche, the only black passenger aboard. Early Life Born in 1886, Laroche showed promise at a young age and at fifteen, his mother sent him to…
Read MoreReaders Ask About My Novel, Beside the Long River
What’s the novel about? In spite of objections from English teenager Sarah Lyman, in 1632 her Puritan family boards the ship Lyon bound for Massachusetts Bay Colony. When the Massachusetts laws prove unbearably harsh, Sarah and her family join Thomas Hooker’s group in settling Hartford, Connecticut. There Sarah befriends two Pequot Indians whose camp is…
Read MoreOn writing the nonfiction book While In Darkness There Is Light
In early spring of 2004, when Howard Dean was running for President, my husband Harry sat on the front porch of our Vermont house with a glass of beer and talked about Howard’s younger brother Charlie. Harry had met Charlie in 1968 when they were students at St. George’s School in Newport, Rhode Island. There were…
Read MoreA Writing Space of My Own
An MFA in Writing student recently asked for a photo of my writing spot for a lecture she was working on. I’ve never given it much thought, but looking at the space through someone else’s eyes, I see it differently. The big desk was a bargain I couldn’t pass up when a realtor was breaking up…
Read MoreOn Getting an Agent
Who doesn’t need an agent? Getting book representation is harder than getting published. I should know. My 4th book came out in September 2008 with Black Lawrence Press under Dzanc’s umbrella, and this one, like the others, found its way into print without an agent. I don’t doubt that an agent could have gotten me…
Read MoreThe Writing Group
One of the best ways to move your writing along is to have good readers, and a writing group can fit the bill. Read my last entry for how to find people you can trust. Make arrangements for a comfortable and convenient place to meet, a place with good light at a time that works for everyone. My…
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