As I opened my car door, a hawk screamed from his perch. He had a small rodent in his talons and was none too happy that we had interrupted his lunch. The old granary was in a bad way; the roof on its backside had succumbed to the elements, collapsing into the floor beneath. With […]
Author Archives: Sharon Virts
Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania
Every summer after the July 4th celebrations, Jack McCarty (the Protagonist in MASQUE OF HONOR) and his wife Lucy would bring their daughter to ‘take in the waters’ at the Bedford Springs Hotel where they would spend the rest of the summer. The McCarty family held this tradition through the 1840’s and into the 1850s. […]
Musings: A Summer Shower
“A drop fell on the apple tree, Another on the roof; A half a dozen kissed the eaves, And made the gables laugh…” Ah, the words of Emily Dickinson in her poem so often referred to as “Summer Shower”. Yesterday we had summer showers here (although some of our neighbors had outright downpours!). But at […]
Musings: Translating Passive Language of the Past
One of the challenges in writing Masque of Honor was how to make the story imminently “readable.” Have you ever read a book that was written in the 1810 -1820 time period? OMG! It can be a more than just a little laborious! Although I love her, Jane Austen is NOT an easy read. In […]
Musings: On the Road – Literally.
Recently I was asked this question as part of an ice-breaker exercise: “Name one thing you’d like to do or see in your life that you have not yet seen or done.” I mean, how does one answer that!?! There are so many things I have yet to see and do! But then when I […]
Musings: If Walls Could Talk…
A typical response on our Selma Mansion Rebirth site when folks would make the comment “Oh if those walls could talk…” was “I’d be running out the front door!” (And that would definitely be the case if the walls spoke out loud!). What I have found interesting after living at Selma for two years now […]
Musings: A Walk in the Afternoon
Although it’s been crazy hot these past few days, I find it comforting to walk in the late afternoon just before sunset (and before all those pesky mosquitos come out to feed!). The cicadas are singing and the swallowtails are working the nectar from the thistle while goldfinch wrestle for its seed. Overhead I spot […]
Musings: The Romanovs – Russia’s Last Royal Family
The Russian revolution would depose the Romanov family from its imperial throne and three centuries of the Romanov Dynasty would come to an end on the evening of June 16th and the early morning of July 17th 1918, when they were shot, bludgeoned and bayoneted by their own people. It would be an oversimplification to […]
Musings: Something About the Ocean Air…
A typical response on our Selma Mansion Rebirth site when folks would make the comment “Oh if those walls could talk…” was “I’d be running out the front door!” (And that would definitely be the case if the walls spoke out loud!). What I have found interesting after living at Selma for two years now […]
Musings: I Truly Believe Writing is What I’ve Been Called to Do
Although it’s been crazy hot these past few days, I find it comforting to walk in the late afternoon just before sunset (and before all those pesky mosquitos come out to feed!). The cicadas are singing and the swallowtails are working the nectar from the thistle while goldfinch wrestle for its seed. Overhead I spot […]
