There is something about these last days of June that take me back to the summers of childhood. I remember so vividly sights, tastes, sounds and smells of those days so long ago. The dappled light that filtered through the trees onto the church yard at vacation bible school. Sharing the shade of old maples […]
Monthly Archives: June 2019
Before Writing the First Word
In October 2017, I first started the MASQUE OF HONOR project (in the world of publishing, I’ve learned that the writing of a book is called ‘a project’). In those first months, I focused my efforts on research spending countless hours at the Library of Virginia in Richmond, at Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, on […]
Musings: Enjoying the Green, Green Grass of Home
What is it about green grass that makes me just want to run through it in my bare feet? Maybe it’s the green of it that is so enticing. The color GREEN has so many different meanings: “Love is evergreen.” “Green with envy.” “Eat your greens.” “It’s not easy being green.” Green is the most […]
Dear Diary – The Catalyst
From my journal October 23, 2017: “What an incredible weekend! It’s been a whirlwind at the Film Festival…I simply LOVE Anthony (McCarten). He’s an author and the screen writer and I was assigned to him for the screenings…We talked about his love of history and his upcoming project about the Pope. I told him about Selma […]
Musings: I’m Feeling Inspired by Harper Lee
I’m feeling inspired! As I write in this eclectic 1960s hotel room in TriBeCa this afternoon, I’m reminded of Harper Lee who wrote TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD not far from here. In 1964 she said, “I never expected any sort of success with Mockingbird. I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the […]
Staying True to the Spirit of the Story
The key to keeping “history” in “historical fiction” is staying true to the SPIRIT of the story. I’ve stuck like glue to this principle. And when I say SPIRIT, I truly mean SPIRITS. I walk among them every day. They guide me. They inspire me and they keep me true to the story – their […]
Embarking on the Journey to Tell Stories
When I embarked on this journey to tell the stories of the people who had called Selma home, I had to first figure out how to write a novel! It couldn’t be that hard, right? So I bought a “how to write a novel” guide. A couple of them, in fact. The very first thing […]
Behind the Masque
Menasha, Wisconsin, December 31st, 1899 Written by: Sally McCarty Pleasants Col. John Mason McCarty, son of Col. Daniel McCarty, was born on the 14th day of March, 1795, at Cedar Grove, the family seat of his father, in Fairfax County, Virginia. Cedar Grove is situated on the Potomac River about fourteen miles below Alexandria. John […]
Why I Have Become an Author
I WAS SEDUCED! Plain and simple, that is the best explanation I can give for why I have become an author. I was seduced by a house! A very big and very old house. I was seduced by Selma! I remember the day. It was January 2016 on the Wednesday before a walloping snow storm. […]
