Wednesday, September 1, 2010

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER UPDATE

It’s September 1, and I’m writing my BLOG on time! I think this may be a first! Summer is fading into a cooler fall here in coastal Georgia and we’re so ready for that! Wonderful things have taken place during the summer months as our business and book sales grew proportionately. Three of our books are now being distributed in France by an American/European press. We feel so grateful for our many blessings!

We’re also grateful to be living on Jekyll Island. Found a wonderful song/slideshow  that expresses what we feel. See what we mean and enjoy!

Mr. Richard Freeland from Suite 101 wrote an interesting review on Splendid Isolation coining a word I particularly liked in describing the writing style.

Splendid Isolation weaves a spell centered around the Jekyll Island of the late 1800's and early 1900's. You could call it "faction", a historical novel told from the perspective of the Jekyll Island Club employees, and how they perceived their employers - men like Rockefeller, Goodyear, Pulitzer and Morgan, who met on Jekyll Island every year for some down time from their empires. Their actions while on the island were instrumental in creating history - notably the Federal Reserve. A great read that will open your eyes to how actions from the past impact the future. One of the best Jekyll Island books on the list.

So would you say a “faction” is historical fiction with action? Or factual historical events? Either way, I like it.

I spent about two weeks over the summer in Charleston, S.C. researching my next book on Eliza Lucas Pinckney. The South Carolina Historical Museum has an amazing library with wonderful people eager to help me find what I needed. I also visited the home where Eliza lived at the end of her life: Hampton Plantation. It was there that she and her daughter Harriott Horry entertained President George Washington for breakfast in 1791. How fascinating to actually stand on the porch where he stood! It gave me goose bumps! I shall include photos of this house in the book.

Next step: begin the writing process. Most of the organization is done, so I’ll take a deep breath and plunge in. This is always a leap of faith for authors. We tend to deliberate too long, rationalize why we are not ready to go but we’re really just scared to get the ball rolling. Since it IS my birthday month, I’ve decided to go for it.

Wish me well and stay tuned,

Pamela