Flipping Bookworm

For my Revolutionary War adventure, Her Vanquished Land , my main male character is a Welshman with a dark past. Let's find out more about Derec Pritchard with a Character Interview:     Derec, the Welsh don't care much fore the English, why do you spy for their cause? The tall, lanky man took a chair. "Aye, I needed money, and to leave Wales after an...incident with my step-father, a horrible man." An incident? "He used his fists on my mum." His black eyes above sharp cheekbones burned fiercely. "I had to stab him, not to death mind. But scared him off. Now I send her money to keep her from being evicted." I see. That was awful for you and your mother. What are your duties is the spying business? "Code breaking. Stopping messengers, taking their satchels." He pushed back his three-cornered hat. "Sending the information to the British generals." Is that how you met Miss Marsh? "Not exactly. She's a hoyden, that one....

Since I'm writing about America during the American Revolution, and Christmas is close, I delved into the traditions following one of our famous heroes, George Washington. The turn of the tide for the Patriots: General, and future first president, George Washington, spent a freezing Christmas crossing the frozen Delaware River in 1776. His rebel forces fought the Battle of Trenton in New Jersey, which led to a string of victories. The holiday was forgotten amidst the chaos of battle. The famous painting of this event wasn't produced until 1851. Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze In happier times, at his Virginia estate called Mount Vernon--a great place to visit if you have the chance--Christmas was a popular holiday. Mount Vernon, VA Washington spent a typical Christmas season foxhunting on his estate with friends and family, visiting his grist mill, and attending services at the Pohick Church. Food and alcoholic drinks, especially rum punch, were in abundance...

Although Thanksgiving can be traced back to 1621 at Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, I was surprised to find that the first "Official" celebration was held in York, Pennsylvania in 1777.  The British had captured Philadelphia, pushing the Continental Congress out of that city. The Patriots fled west to York, a sleepy farm town populated mostly by Germans. When the rebel General Gates defeated the British at Saratoga, the tide turned, and the exiles held a celebration, passing a resolution for a feast to be held, to honor the victory, on Dec. 18th. Hardly the date we use today. It's doubtful they had turkey or stuffing, and with limited resources, even enjoyed a hearty meal. But it showed the new government's growing strength in this establishment of the holiday. The gathering was somber, with prayers of thanks, and might have included German (Pennsylvania Dutch) dishes. If they were fortunate, they ate Schnitz un Knepp: apple dumplings. Spaetzle: noodles and du...

In my novel, The Apothecary's Widow , a murder mystery, Free Read for October , I delved into eighteenth century apothecaries. Set in Truro, England, in 1781, Jenna Rosedew has taken over her husband's practice after his death. But soon she'll be accused of murder. In researching the apothecary business, I found that many of the poorer people used the apothecary as a doctor, since it was cheaper for them. I visited an actual eighteenth century apothecary's shop in Fredericksburg, Virginia, once owned by Hugh Mercer. We were shown squiggly leeches, and how they were used to heal the sick, sucking out poisons in the body. Leeches are sometimes used today, shockingly now for beauty treatments. Bloodletting was another popular treatment, a quick cut in the vein, and blood dripped into a bowl. It was supposed to restore the humors. Hugh Mercer's shop, courtesy of Wikipedia Hugh Mercer was a Scotsman and a close friend of George Washington. He was a doctor and a soldier. ...

While researching my novel Her Vanquished Land , I came across many women who spied during the American Revolution. I wanted my heroine Rowena in the thick of the war, spying for the British, in what would become a lost cause. Margaret 'Peggy' Shippen, the second wife of Benedict Arnold--a man whose name would become synonymous with the term 'traitor'--was reportedly also a spy for the British and a force to be reckoned with.   Born in Philadelphia in 1760, Peggy's prominent family were Loyalists (other sources refute this), the people who stood behind George III and the British government when war broke out in the colonies. Peggy met Benedict Arnold when he was military commander of the city. She and Arnold married in 1779. Arnold, feeling underappreciated and underpaid by George Washington, began conspiring with the British to change sides. Peggy, it's been reported, played a major role in convincing her husband to desert the Americans, ask for command and wea...