by Roseanna White | Jan 30, 2013 | 17th-19th Centuries, Remember When Wednesdays
This past week, I’ve been reading everything I can get my hands on about the Knights of the Golden Circle and Baltimore during the Civil War. It is, you see, time to dive into the third book in the Culper Ring Series. Yay! I’d read some overviews before, so I knew some of the far-flung basics about this group and their agenda.
The KGC is one of several groups called collectively “The Copperheads”–all Southern-sympathizing societies that, at the time of the Civil War, were bent on expanding slavery, putting a halt to what they termed the tyrannies of the North, and preserving the agriculture-based way of life that they felt was crucial to America. Most of them didn’t seem to want war or succession per se–but they saw the election of Abraham Lincoln as a final straw, a slap in the face, an injury that couldn’t go unanswered.
One of the best books I’ve found on the subject is the diary of John Surratt, called a co-conspirator of John Wilkes Booth. He tells a tale of plot upon plot, most of them foiled by incompetence (much to his frustration), but also because of spies everywhere they turn.
Roseanna is rubbing her hands together in delight. =)
As history goes, this is the stuff I just love to discover for the type of book I’m writing! No matter which side you’re looking at, North or South, they’re both telling the same story–one of spies among them, hindering plans and stealing goods, plotting destruction and betrayal.
And yet, it’s such a sad story in reality, and that’s something I also have to try to capture. My story will be set in Baltimore, which was a true house divided at the time. Maryland had always been considered a Southern state, but because of its proximity to Washington D.C., the Union held much of it in a state of Martial Law for most of the war, determined not to relinquish it. But so many of the politicians, police chiefs, judges, newspaper men were Confederate at heart. Surratt tells a tale of most of them belonging to the K.G.C. And every history book expounds on how violence regularly erupted in the city. So regularly, it was called “Mobtown.”
I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to be a part of all that turmoil at the time . . . but it’s the perfect backdrop for my story of espionage and betrayal, of broken bonds of blood and the sacrifice of love. Because this is me, you can be sure there’ll be a happy ending. But before they get there, my poor characters sure are going to have to run the gauntlet! (Mwa ha ha ha!)
by Roseanna White | Jan 23, 2013 | Book News, Books, Remember When Wednesdays
Ring of Secrets is thiiiiiiis close to releasing, y’all! Okay, so maybe thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close. 😉 I know some stores will stock it beginning February 18, though other places are listing March 1 as the official T-0 day. Either way, I just realized last night that my author copies will be arriving within a couple weeks. Squeeeeee!!!!
Which means I have to get my promotion machine in order! =) Some things you have to look forward to once it’s up and running…
~ Pick your own spy name
~ Scavenger Hunt
~ Secret messages to decode
- A kick-butt giveaway featuring:
~ Ring of Secrets (obviously)
~ This one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted Winter Reeves doll
~ A one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted cameo necklace inspired by the book
~ A leather journal
~ A quill pen
~ Other stuff yet to be selected
~ Seekerville – “The Intuitive Writer”
~ Novel Rocket – “The Writer’s Race”
~ Go Teen Writers (with a fun contest where the winner gets to help me name a character from Book 3!)
~ tea party at Colonial Quills
~ Several blogs (want me on yours? Just let me know! I’m happy to interviews or guest posts!)
- A free novella! (Details are being worked out now with the team at Harvest–this will probably release midway between Ring of Secrets and Whispers from the Shadows, and the “how” will be solidified in the next couple weeks.)
I’m getting really excited, in case you can’t tell. =) And since I spent January thus far editing WhiteFire novels and critiquing and doing cover designs and all that other stuff that isn’t writing, I didn’t have any new, fun historical tidbits to share, so you get to hear about it, LOL.
I’m also considering putting together a Revolutionary Spy Master’s Toolkit. With quills, vials of invisible ink, a code book…but this would be pure novelty. Anyone actually interested in this??
by Roseanna White | Jan 9, 2013 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
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Baltimore during the Civil War
(Yep, that’s right, apparently the whole city had a crease down its middle…LOL) |
Last week, I gave y’all a brief introduction to my heroine from my third Culper Ring book. Marietta Gaines (who will be called Mari by her grandfather and Yetta by her childhood friend, just FYI) is going to be a ton and a half of fun.
But now I need to figure out what her late husband and his brother (my villain) do. You wanna help, right? I knew it. 😉
The time is 1865. The place is Baltimore. War is raging, but neither Gaines brother was directly a part of it. They’re wealthy, and I’d like the family to be in a business such that:
- It’s perfectly reasonable that they would stay home from the war to run said business, and no one would question that
- Said business is of enough importance that both North and South would covet their loyalty
My first thought was that perhaps one of the brothers is a doctor . . . or maybe a judge (might be too young for that) . . .
Then I thought of railroads. Maybe the Gaineses are a railroading family. Could be, could be. All I know about them at the moment is that their mother is from Louisiana, hence the brothers’ first names of Lucien and Devereaux . . . and hence their hidden Southern sympathies. Well, okay, so plenty of Marylanders went Southern in the war. But everyone has to assume they didn’t, no doubt because their father was vocally Union.
Anyone have any other brilliant suggestions for the family business?
For that matter, I also need to choose a hunky actor to use as my model for Dev, to put on my Pinterest board. He has to be oh-so-handsome, in that strong way that can ooze all charm one minute and then, pow, you realize he’s dangerous. Thoughts on that? I was considering Hugh Jackman . . . maybe . . .
by Roseanna White | Jan 2, 2013 | 17th-19th Centuries, Remember When Wednesdays
Okay, is it seriously Wednesday? We’re having some holiday-induced confusion around here, don’t know about you. Totally feels like Monday…
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Emma Stone is my pick for
casting Marietta Gaines |
But since it’s not, it’s time to get back to my Remember Whens. =) And since I just turned in
Whispers from the Shadows before Christmas break began, that means it’s time to start prep for book number 3! (Still unnamed…)
I’ve only just begun research, so I don’t have a ton of fun tidbits to share yet. But I thought I’d give you a sneak peak of what I’ll be working with, which will in turn give you a hint of some of the fun to come. =)
The book (whatever she shall be called, LOL) opens with my heroine, Marietta Gaines, transitioning from second-mourning to half-mourning. Now, those of you who aren’t up on Victorian mourning traditions (which is probably all of us, LOL), don’t know what in the world that means. So a brief (very brief) description.
Full Mourning
First year after death of spouse
Widow must wear unrelieved black and will not participate in social events
Second Mourning
Six months to one year after full mourning ends
Widow will add a white lace collar to her black mourning gowns and will begin doing some social activities
Half Mourning
Three to six months after second mourning ends
Widow will transition to gray and lavender, but will not wear any brighter colors, and will resume normal activities.
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An evening gown that would be
appropriate for half-mourning |
So as you can see, mourning really lasted no less than a year and a half and sometimes as much as two and a half years. We have this idea that it was exactly a year, which is true of full, first mourning. But moderns tend to forget about that second year.
My book starts with Marietta coming down the stairs in color (lavender) for the first time since her husband’s death, and feeling guilty about transitioning after only a year and three months. Not because it’s premature, but because she knows her late husband would be none too pleased with the secret courtship his brother has been paying her.
Marietta’s going to be a fun heroine to get to know. At the beginning of the book, she’s a bad girl (and I haven’t written one of those in years!). Perhaps not so much by today’s standards, but by Victorian ones for sure. She’s got the femme fatale thing going on, has been using her womanly wiles for years to get her way, and feels like the black sheep–worldly and concerned with her social status–in a family that has always been altruistic and not materialistic. She’d rather be exchanging repartee with actors and poets than worrying with politics or the war. And she’s eager for her mourning to end so she can get on with life–with Devereaux Gaines, her brother-in-law.
At least until her grandfather informs her in the first chapter that Dev is in fact the villain of our story. 😉 And calls her to account for squandering her gift–perfect memory. She’s been using it all these years as nothing but a parlor trick, but now he needs her to utilize it for the greater good of their country. A task which will require her, for the first time, putting something else above her own needs.
Yep, me and Marietta (and Dev and hero Slade) are going to be having some good times around here over the next few months. =)
Happy 2013!
by Roseanna White | Dec 12, 2012 | Holiday History, Remember When Wednesdays
I thought I’d share a short little Christmas tradition today. =)
Every year, my mother-in-law takes my kids shopping for a Christmas ornament. And for the first couple years of this tradition, she would always get them one of the glass pickles you’ve no doubt seen. I’d never seen really paid attention to these before, but the kids thought they were awesome and of course asked for the why of it. My MIL explained that you kind of hide the ornament on the tree, and whoever spots it gets to open the first gift.
Some sites I’m scrolling through this morning claim that the tradition started with a real pickle. Kinda believable, since back in the early days of Christmas trees, food was used as decoration. Fruits and candies especially, but why not a shiny green pickle? (Okay, I hate pickles, so that wouldn’t be a treat for me, LOL.) Interesting possibility though, eh?
But that only partly explained the why, right? I just looked up where this came from and found that it was a Victorian tradition. The story goes that back in the medieval days, a dastardly innkeeper trapped two poor (an apparently bothersome) children in a pickle barrel on Christmas Eve.
St. Nick came along and heard them in there so set them free. They ran home and arrived just in time to share their family’s feast. Perhaps with a pickle or two?
Regardless, my daughter’s favorite ornament is her ballerina pickle. =) She loves it so much that it hangs in her room all year round.
What’s your favorite Christmas ornament?
by Roseanna White | Dec 5, 2012 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
I’m under serious deadline right now, so I thought I’d fill the blog today with some fun Christmas images. =) Enjoy! (And FYI, these are all free images, so you’re welcome to borrow!)
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| Victorian Christmas Card, 1885 |
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| Victorian Christmas Card, 1870 |
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| Christmas Comes But Once a Year by Charles Green |
And yet, it’s such a sad story in reality, and that’s something I also have to try to capture. My story will be set in Baltimore, which was a true house divided at the time. Maryland had always been considered a Southern state, but because of its proximity to Washington D.C., the Union held much of it in a state of Martial Law for most of the war, determined not to relinquish it. But so many of the politicians, police chiefs, judges, newspaper men were Confederate at heart. Surratt tells a tale of most of them belonging to the K.G.C. And every history book expounds on how violence regularly erupted in the city. So regularly, it was called “Mobtown.”
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.