What’s So Funny? (Part One)
When writing of times long past, I always wonder what people found funny. What insults did they use and what invective? What jokes did they tell in taverns and saloons? After finishing a novel set in one era I shift the source materials to another room to make space for the next batch. The humor books, however, stay in place.
My Little Black Book
My Address Book Is Where I Find Myself Here's how out of touch I am with modern technology: A friend called to ask for...
the Tuesday Club
Loquacious Scribble and the Tuesday Club “Oh, we can make liquor to sweeten our lips Of pumpkins and parsnips and walnut tree chips.” (Vexed and Troubled Englishmen: 1590-1642 by Carl Bridenbaugh) The vexed and troubled English colonists in 17th-century...
On the Road Again
On the Road Again The human itch to hit the road goes way back. Much has been written about journeys, starting with the epic poem, the Odyssey. Attributed to the Greek poet Homer,...
Connecting the Thoughts
Now and then someone will ask where I get my ideas. I resist the temptation to give Isaac Asimov’s answer: “A post office box in Cleveland.” I skip from one era, event, person, or country to another for my novels, so curiosity about what inspires them is...
Shock and Ew-w-w-w
In 1979, Ballantine Books gave me a contract to write a novel about the Comanches, a culture and tradition completely unknown to this Anglo-American East Coast native. That first venture into historical research raised an unexpected question. In 1836 what made the...
Brian and Lucia
Lucia and Her Dear Friend Ginny
Visit All Of Lucia’s Facebook Pages
Brian and Lucia