Toward the end of last year, I made a brief Facebook post about Harriet, the 2019 film chronicling abolitionist Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and the dangerous missions she led to liberate hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad. This week I’d like to dive deeper into the story of this monumental figure in American […]
Category Archives: Musings
Sojourner Truth: Truth is Powerful, and it Prevails
Born in New York in 1797, Isabella Baumfree had been bought and sold four times, suffered countless humiliations, and unspeakable pain. By the time she was 29 years old, she had given birth to five children, her first born died in childhood and one son was illegally sold into slavery. She was able to escape […]
2019 Year in Review
Looking back on 2019 From ringing in the year with a completed first draft of my manuscript to ending the year with the final manuscript at the publishers, 2019 has been a terrific year to launch to my writing career. I’ve managed to land an agent, an editor, production/publishing company and a publicist. I’ve worked […]
Feeling Fall
It’s that glorious golden time of year and I’m feeling poetic. And before you ask, the answer is “no”! With my impending deadline, I don’t have time for writing poetry these days, but I love to read the lyrical stanza of those more talented. One of my favorite poets is Robert Frost. His NOTHING GOLD […]
My Heart is Full
It is hard to put into words my emotions as I listened to the remarks of His Majesty King Toffa IX of Porto Novo, Benin at Belmont Plantation Burial Grounds for the Enslaved. His country was one of the African nations that sold their people to slave traders. Many African Americans in our community include […]
Dignity of Movement
“If a writer knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one ninth of it being above water.”–Ernest Hemingway I often look to the wisdom of Ernest Hemingway when I become frustrated during the process of writing […]
Musings: In their own words….
Last night, I read a chapter from Masque of Honor at an event for the Thomas Balch Library. The reading featured a scene comprising a lot of dialogue from characters who were real historical figures. As a writer of historical fiction, my challenge is to use a person’s actual words in the novel, while at […]
Musings: Imagination and Perspective
A few weeks ago, Hilary Mantel announced that after eight long years, her final installment of the Thomas Cromwell trilogy would be released in March 2020. Her first book in the trilogy, WOLF HALL, is one of my favorites (and if you haven’t read it, you must!). In an interview with The Guardian, Mantel talks […]
Musings: A Different Point of View
One of the first decisions to make when writing any story is selecting the type of Point of View (POV), and from which character’s perspective the story will be narrated. Trust me, it may sound like an easy decision, but I can assure you that it is anything but! When I started Masque of Honor, […]
Musings: September Nears
As autumn draws upon us, I am reminded of a poem I wrote in 2007. Entitled “As September Nears” the writing expressed my feelings on the “hurry-up-and-wait” cycles of my previous career and my longing for summer to linger just a little longer. When I stumbled across the piece in my old files, I was […]
