by Roseanna White | May 22, 2013 | 17th-19th Centuries, Remember When Wednesdays
Last week I had the opportunity to take my kids with our home school group to Carlisle, Pennsylvania for a day’s tour of the
Army Heritage Center. With displays on everything military from the French and Indian Wars through the War on Terror, I knew they would have fun–and I was hoping to come away with some nice pictures and research on that early stuff, since I seem to have fallen into writing books about wars. 😉
Our tour began in the Colonial section of the center, where we got to watch a blacksmith at work in the Carlisle Forge. I’ve had this pleasure before, but it never really gets old to see how they take hunks of formless steel and turn them into works of art or function. What especially amazes me is how these dedicated reenactors can explain so much about the early days of our country and the craft they obviously love while performing it before our very eyes.
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A few of the pieces this smith had done, based on
original artifacts he had seen |
This gentleman explained about how a blacksmith was one of the most important people to any army. Each regiment would have one, but he would rarely see any fighting–they kept him well removed from the front lines, because he was too valuable to lose. He also explained, when someone mentioned how very lovely the pieces are, that what we deem beauty–those delicate curls and whisper-thin pieces of iron–were actually there for economy’s sake. Iron was expensive, and never wasted. They made pieces as thin as they practically could to conserve the resources, and tapered them at the ends for the same reason.
From there our group ventured into more modern times, but I didn’t pay quite as much attention to those. 😉 I was far more intrigued by the recreation of the Yorktown Redoubt…
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| Revolutionary War Blockhouse |
…and in hearing the tales told to us by this wonderful historian at the Revolutionary Block House. We didn’t get to go into the watch tower, but I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the guide talk about the long rifle he carried, the state of the roads in the day (I didn’t realize they left the stumps of the trees they cut for roads, accounting for all those terrible bumps!), and why it was necessary to boil the salted fish three times before consuming it. Yes, to remove all the salt…but also to remove all the maggots. (Eww!) He also explained how the term “mess” came to be used for food in the military. Whenever they had fresh meat, each man would get a hacked-off portion. But they weren’t exactly trimming steaks here–some men would end up with nice meat, others with nothing but bone and fat. So a group of six or so would throw this mess into a pot together with whatever vegetables they might have been given. The result was a stew that gained flavor from the bones and provided something to actually eat from the meat.
Our final stop of the day was to venture into the model of a Logg House. Originally set up to be supply stations between the forts during the French and Indian War days, they afterward became vital to settlers who wanted to trade, water their horses, or get fresh food. Unfortunately, most of these two-room homes were destroyed during Pontiac’s War in 1763.
All in all, a fun day of hands-on discovery! (Oh, and the kids had fun too…) 😉
by Roseanna White | May 20, 2013 | Word of the Week
I’m in a sprint toward the end of Circle of Spies (woo hoo!), and in my marathon writing these last few days have been looking up a lot of words’ etymology. This is the first time in a good while I’ve had a historical character prone to slang, and slang is so tricky! Good thing I enjoy learning this stuff. 😉
So from my bushel of new-found knowledge I have chosen
snap for today. =) Because Slade really, really wanted to tell Marietta to “snap out of it” during the scene I was writing last night. I mean,
really wanted to. But I
knew that wouldn’t work, so I had to prove it to myself.
Snap became a verb in the 1520s, meaning “to take a quick bite” and taken directly from the noun of the similar meaning, which dates from the 15th century. These two meanings were related to animals–a critter snapping its jaws around prey. The meaning of “to break suddenly” came along in the early 1600s (and I had no idea it was nearly a century after “bite”!) “To snap” mentally might be literally from that “break” meaning, but it came way late to the game–as in, 1970s.
Football move? 1887. Sound fingers make? 1670s. (See, I probably would have guessed that one came first. Shows what I know, LOL.) The turtle? 1740s. And then, aha! Snap out of it. My target phrase was a bit older than I thought but still of no help to my 1865 story, joining the party in 1907.
On an unrelated note, I discovered this weekend that
Fairchild’s Lady, the FREE novella sequel to
Ring of Secrets, is available for
pre-order on Amazon! I have a post set up dedicated to it on its release day, June 1, but thought I’d mention it today too. 😉
And just for the fun of sharing, today begins our last week of our school year! Woot!!! =)
by Roseanna White | May 15, 2013 | 17th-19th Centuries, Remember When Wednesdays
You know to watch out when my blog titles rhyme… 😉 It’s time for a day in the life of a historical novelist.
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Marietta. She could totally
have slugged him. |
I started my Tuesday morning at 5 a.m. in the middle of a conversation between my hero and heroine. Marietta, heroine, had just been in an argument with the baddy, Dev. Slade, hero, says, “You should have slugged him. I’d have paid good money to see that.”
Insert Roseanna pausing. Was slug a word in 1865? Hmm… yep! But barely. First documented use is 1862. So while Slade, the rough-and-tumble former gambler, would definitely know it, I had my doubts that society belle Marietta would.
So Marietta gets to blink and ask, “Slug?”
“Yeah, you know.” Slade is now miming socking-it to Dev in the jaw. Says blogging-Roseanna. Novelist-Roseanna didn’t use those exact words. Novelist-Roseanna used “uppercut.” And then had to look up “uppercut.” (You see why some days I can’t get those words on the page? LOL)
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| By Jem Ward, 1860 |
Well, phew. “Uppercut” was a word. Very specific to boxing. Boxing…hmm…was boxing popular in the U.S. at the time? Hello, Google!
I ended up at
www.ArtofManliness.com. I’ve been there before. I love that site, LOL. The post on boxing was witty and informative, and I came away with exactly what I needed to know. Yes, boxing had migrated from Britain to the Americas in the 1830s. Yes, it was quite popular in the states at the time, in certain circles. And in fact, they had just developed the first boxing gloves a year or two before…
Sweet. So, uppercut. But not in the miming line. I move it down. Marietta asks, “So a slug is an uppercut?”
Detective Slade is taken aback. Gasp! “You know what an uppercut is?”
Oh…right. How would she? Aha! She has brothers! “Isaac boxes.”
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| Colin, you make a darn good Slade. Just sayin’. |
Isaac doesn’t much like Slade. So Slade is happy for the warning. 😉 And now (remember those gloves?) Slade is looking Marietta up and down. Wink, wink. “Did he teach you? Because I can totally see you in a pair of those newfangled boxing gloves, some trousers…”
Let it be noted that men then, as men now, wore no shirts when boxing. Ahem. Marietta tells him he had better stop his imagination there. 😉
So my characters are happy for a laugh before they head outside, into the next intense conversation of “Please, please don’t put yourself in danger! I beg it of you! P-p-p-leeeeeeeeeeaaaaase. Boo hoo hoo.” (No exaggeration. Okay, slight exaggeration. Okay, total exaggeration.)
I managed to finish that scene in the course of the home school day, and was starting a new chapter when 1:00 rolled around–when my daughter had a much-anticipated play date. After dropping her off, I headed to a nearby restaurant for some lunch and laptop time, and, having no wi-fi, opened up one of my research books too.
Now, I’ve been reading through this book but hadn’t quite made it to the time period I need, so I jumped ahead to the 1865 heading. War…yep. Lee’s forces with their backs against the proverbial wall…yep, knew that. A Confederate released on parole and told to stay north of Philadelphia…who is a month later arrested in D.C. in connection with the Lincoln Assassination. Interesting. Do I know the name? Yep. He’s in my notes, but I hadn’t realized he had JUST arrived in the city on parole. Very interesting. Noted.
Then I got to a rather random paragraph. See, the rest of the book is all directly related to the war. Every mention of a nice historical tidbit is tied in–explanation of train station, tied in to arrival of troops. That sort of thing. But there, gleaming and beautiful (okay, maybe Roseanna shouldn’t have a third…and fourth cup of coffee at 2 in the afternoon…) is a random paragraph about a storm. No effect on the war. No effect mentioned on any of the key players in Baltimore. Just there. Which I get. Because I’m a writer, and it’s oh-so-awesome to include this stuff.
A storm. Of “biblical proportions.” It took off roofs. It uprooted fences. It did tons and tons of damage and killed several Baltimore citizens. Yikes. Tornado? It doesn’t say, but it’s quite likely for that time of year. And it’s…ah, March 23. And I’m on…yes! March 21! I can totally work my next scene around that (mwa ha ha ha). Moreover, that gives me a clue about the weather. See, this is my area. I know how these storms work. If you get a doozy of one on the 23rd, it’s going to be getting warm on the 21st. Darn warm. The 23rd would be
hot. Unseasonably, stiflingly hot.
Just a tidbit. Nothing anyone would likely notice if I left out. But oh! How fun to know it and include it!! (And I’ll totally tie it in…and am so grateful the non-fic authors included even without tying it in.)
I left the restaurant with only 2K words written for the day, but with a smile on my face. It was a good day. I learned about boxing. I found a storm. And I’d worked out my next few scenes, which will lead me straight to the climax.
Yep. It’s pretty fun to be a writer. Though I think four cups of coffee–and a large soda, did I mention that?–*might* be too many…
by Roseanna White | May 13, 2013 | Word of the Week
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| Gänsefütterung by Alexander Koester, 1890 |
On the road last week, silly conversation led us to the word gander. And I started to wonder whether the two meanings I knew of–a male goose and to look around–were from the same root, or if it were one of those cases where they had nothing to do with one another.
So off I went to etymonline.com the next day to find the answer. =)
Gander has meant “male goose” since the days of Old English. Apparently for a while in the 19th century it was used to mean single men (like “stag”) too–which I didn’t realize! Fun!
In 1680 gander became a verb meaning “to walk aimlessly.” Kinda akin to a wild goose chase in that. Then in 1886, the verb arose that we’re more familiar with, “to take a long look,” from how a goose cranes its head around. So yep, definitely connected! In 1912, that verb became a noun–the look itself.
Always love discovering these things. =)
by Roseanna White | May 9, 2013 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Phew. It’s been a week, that’s for sure. A rather long one, with trips to and from Baltimore, worry over my brave little princess, and nothing remotely resembling routine.
Praise be to the Lord, elbows heal fast, so Xoe’s not in pain except for when she bumps it. But there are some obvious adjustments that come when one can’t use one’s dominant hand, and as a homeschool family, we get to make all those ourselves. A few lessons have just been suspended–like handwriting. Spelling is now out loud or on the chalk board rather than in a notebook. But others involve a scribe. Which would be me, LOL. It can be fun to find alternative ways of doing familiar lessons, but it takes a wee bit more time.
We “collected” a lot of prayers last week, and I’m just in awe of the amazing group of prayer warriors who surrounded my little girl with their petitions. I can’t thank everyone enough for that, or for the continued prayers for correct healing. We’ve been showered with cute little gifts and cards for the Xo-girl.
Tomorrow is an all-day field trip to an Army Heritage museum, so my still-reeling self will be trying to play catch-up-and-get-ahead today. I can’t quite believe it’s Thursday already! So please forgive me for cutting this short this morning. And thank you, again and again, for all the prayers for my family this past week!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.