It did, actually. I gave up on the binder. It was all in my head anyway. But I didn’t want to leave it behind, so I hauled it around in the hamster car (“small SUV”) on our way to into Forte Payne to hunt for the cabin site.

You too can fill your mind with the giant report by visiting this PDF link. This document has archeological and historical info that can satisfy and horrify the curious mind in equal measure.

Setting the scene

Info in the document above, gleaned from many first-hand sources including letters and the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper, paints a picture of what life in the region looked like by the time the bulk of my novel (What Shadows Hide, on query now) starts. It shows that Thomas Miller’s family steps into a place ripe for vigilante activity, as was common in regions with this level of upheaval.

Here is an interesting excerpt from the document:

Alabama Laws Extended over the Cherokee Nation On February 25th, 1832 the Cherokee Phoenix published an article commenting on the extension of Alabama laws over the Cherokee and Creek Nations in Alabama. The law was blamed for hundreds of citizens of Alabama intruding on Indian lands. The article expressed the “wanton cruelty and oppression excised” over the Cherokees. Land and property were taken away, their rights and liberties were invaded, and lawless intruders were swarming in. The extension of Alabama laws over the Cherokee and Creek Nations attracted the lawless citizens of the adjoining states. “We understand that Will’s Valley is now filled up by intruders; a great many are joining their fences to those of the Cherokees, others take possession of farms which may happen to be lying some distance from the house of the owner, without asking his consent. Others have threatened to possess themselves of Ferries and Bridges belonging to Cherokees” (Cherokee Phoenix 1832: 2). Excerpts of the laws passed by the State of Alabama are shown below [in the document linked above] as printed in the Cherokee Phoenix issue of February 18, 1832.

That was in 1832. By the time Thomas’s family arrives deep in the woods in 1834, the depredations and squatting just outside are rampant. His family is really no better, since they are technically squatters, too. While most people came to farm, his family is running from something—he just doesn’t know what it is yet. Thus they retreat to the isolated woods where he meets the other characters.

Let’s jump ahead, though

Thomas’s most likely entry point to Alabama is further south near Centre and Turkey Town. Furthermore, their pocket of woods is about 25 miles from Fort Payne, so we don’t need to talk about the story much.

What I’m going to cover next is not the main plot force, but it does influence the characters’ lives.

Fort Payne Historic Cabin Site

The air here is somber, quiet. I’d say heavy, but that’s probably the humidity I’m not used to. Fort Payne Historic Cabin Site is thought to be commandeered as part of a holding center for the Trail of Tears. Cherokee from surrounding towns were forced from their homes and put here about three summer months before departing over a thousand miles west in October 1838.

In this general area there was a stockade, cabin, and dispersed encampments with soldiers at perimeter. Researchers suspect there were few actual walls to this holding center, so keeping nefarious outsiders away, and the frustrated captives in at the same time was no small feat.

With flour and bacon rations being foreign to their diet, sick season already looming, and most of the people lacking basic necessities, severe health issues cropped up quickly. Many people attempted to go home—if their homes were not destroyed or taken out from under them as they left. They were forced back to the stockade. Only people of high status were allowed to remain at home until processing and departure.

While excavations haven’t confirmed a hatch near the cabin, it is said a hatch existed down which they stuffed people to “hold” them. The entire stockade was dismantled a very short time after departure, so it is hard to say if this particular cabin was the one spoken of.

Let’s talk numbers

According to the 1835 census, 1,424 Cherokee resided in Alabama with 299 enslaved Blacks and 32 intermarried Whites. Slavery was something all three of my cultural accuracy readers/advisors wanted me to make note of. I don’t know the ratio of enslavers to enslaved overall, but by reading the census I see that certain families held a large number while others had none.

The signs at the cabin site gloss over specifics for the sake of brevity, so here are more detailed stats:

• 800 people stayed around the stockade through most of summer, their numbers falling and rising. Many left in groups of roughly 200-300 folks. The remaining people joined others eight miles below before setting out.

• Along the way people abandoned, switched groups, or gained more members for an average 1190 on route with John Benge in the lead.

• At least 33 people from this detachment died by the time they arrived at their destination, and it is said that about 4,000 of the 16,000 total persons removed perished along the 1,200 (depending on where they started from) mile march.

• The Benge detachment arrived in what is now Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, January 1839. Once there, more trials began while political factions demanded justice from each other, or struggled to keep control of already-established community order while newcomers flooded in.

Willstown and the mission are very close to Fort Payne, so people from that area would have been held here, but I’m going to save Willstown for a different topic.

In summary

This site was painfully necessary to research, but thanks to the bodies of work people have put together, I learned more about the region than I thought I would. I also got to work closely with one of my cultural accuracy readers on this. The fact that they had to stop occasionally to recenter brought home how much written work affects people, how hard this person’s job is, and the responsibility we all have to do right by our readers.

Here are some quick links related to the Fort Payne site:

Check references to see primary sources, and compare them to each other.

As always, if you’re wanting an accurate and all-encompassing approach, seek out literature from Cherokee historians such as Rachel Caroline Eaton, Julie L. Reed, and Robert J. Conley. Theda Perdue is also a huge name in this kind of research.

Alabama Collection Camps, Forts, Emigrating Depots and Travel Routes Used During the Cherokee Removal of 1838-1839: https://www.nps.gov/trte/learn/historyculture/upload/Alabama-Collections-Camps-Forts-Depots-and-Routes-508.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0GUmzj8b1DoEOzutzJSKfdjHq1P3LPr9NNKgZiLE5ii2nDYumih978OWQ

Landmarks of Dekalb: https://www.landmarksdekalbal.org/preserving-dekalb-county-alabama-landmarks/the-old-cabin-excavation/

Historical Marker Database: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=100286

See also this interactive map of Trail of Tears route: https://www.nps.gov/trte/planyourvisit/places-to-go-in-alabama.htm

If you haven’t already, please consider a free subscription to support my work and receive a free short story.

With our pouting dog dropped off at her grandparents’ home, and everything we needed for a week packed tightly into carry-on bags, Ryan and I embarked on a trip that we would never forget.

There isn’t much I enjoy more than pretending I have an iron stomach, and actually getting away with it. Sadly, I didn’t get away with it on the plane ride from my home state to Dallas, Texas. Dramamine saved me from certain disaster between Dallas and Birmingham!

The difference between Sacramento and Birmingham airport was stark—like opening a curtain to another, calmer reality. It could have been the day, arrival time, or being happy to land, but the few people we saw were not in such a hurry as the place we left. The very air was more relaxed.

The rental car was “a small SUV”. I think that’s code for “Hamster Car”, but that little thing sure got great gas mileage! We piled in and naturally, the first thing we did was find a place to eat. I didn’t quite catch Author Joi Miner for a quick visit, but she suggested a great food place. Juke on Crestline was fantastic! My eyes wanted it all, and my stomach sure tried to keep up.

Birmingham is simply amazing, and I wish I had more time there. I for sure need to go back and see Joi, too.

Never having been to the South during early spring, we spent the entire drive to Fort Payne enamored with what Ryan calls toothpick forests. Tall, thin, leafless trees packed together so tight that they really appeared to have toothpick qualities. Even the pine trees had no needles until their very tops jutted out from the rest of the forest and got enough room to support such an endeavor. Ground cover, too, was just as surprisingly thick with leaves, in contrast to the grass, pine, and oak around our home.

We arrived at the Bird House—our very first Air BnB experience! My favorite parts about it were the electric fireplace, hot tub, and a place in the back to have a fire outside. Set off the road, but not too far from town, it backed up to a forested area with a small waterfall. I had a great time exploring this before remembering I brought nothing to keep the ticks off me. Those bastards enjoy a good taste no matter what state they find me in, often latching onto my back where I can’t reach them. I somehow made it through this trip unscathed.

The thing that struck me the most about all of the places we went was the birds. At home during spring we have a truckload of birds in constant song—so many that it’s impossible to pick out individual sounds. But in that area of Fort Payne, Alabama, it was like the birds took turns. I could figure what kind of bird called from where. They were not on any kind of mission to belt out as much as they could. They just lived. Life seemed to slow down just a bit. The rain did not slow that day though, and we got thoroughly drenched. But it’s OK because I got to write about that in of the most vivid scenes!

We had some time to kill, so we ventured back into Fort Payne to see what looked explorable for the next day. The sock museum, railroad museum, and a few other places looked enticing. I made a note to stop at a coffee shop another friend recommended.

I was determined to make this trip as laid back as possible because I’m a nervous planner. If I finally make a plan, and something disrupts it, I get all flustered. So… no plan. Just places to check off my list and people to meet! That’s quite enough for this introvert.

My list for the Alabama/Tennessee/Georgia triangle

Willstown Mission site

Fort Payne Historic Site

Buck’s Pocket State Park

Bellefonte—the most interesting cemetery we saw!

Guntersville

Ross’s Landing

Red Clay State Historic Park

Cherokee Rock Village

Little River Canyon

New Echota State Historic Park

As I make new posts about these places, I’ll link them to the above list. The separate list in my head—you know, the one we don’t write but remind ourselves of every few hours—held the people I wanted to see! Vee, one of my beta readers, was most gracious to let us tag along for a bit. Ranger Greenwood of Bucks Pocket drove (or I should say carried) us around and talked about the history and landscape of Bucks Pocket. I am incredibly thankful to have met these wonderful people.

Next up will be Willstown and the Fort Payne historic site. For now, here are some photos of the town. I was too dazzled by the experience to take as many photos as I should have, but here we are!

Goodness, friends! I don’t often stray from historical fiction, but I’ve been on a suspense and speculative fiction kick while I query What Shadows Hide.

Needy Little Things pulled me in because parts of Sariyah’s arc are similar to Sarah from my query project. They both have a sensitive gift that almost ruins them, but if harnessed can be the thing that saves them.

Sariyah from Needy Little Things can sense other people’s needs. I’m not saying she’s an empath, I’m saying she needs headphones to muffle the intensity of all the needs coming at her while walking through crowds. They give her migraines. They pester her so badly that she carries a “Santa bag” of common needs to hand out and silence the voices. Sometimes giving a person something backfires, and other times she blames herself for not being even more present—like when her friend disappears at an event and turns her life upside down.

There are so many layers to this book: parentified child, gifts as a blessings vs curses, missing black kids not getting the same media attention as missing white kids, personal boundaries, and silent obsessions in plain sight.

I would read this book again, and definitely recommend it to others.

Here is the book description:

In this debut speculative YA mystery, a Black teen with premonition-like powers must solve her friend's disappearance before she finds herself in the same danger, perfect for fans of Ace of Spades.

Sariyah Lee Bryant can hear what people need—tangible things, like a pencil, a hair tie, a phone charger—an ability only her family and her best friend, Malcolm, know the truth about. But when she fulfills a need for her friend Deja who vanishes shortly after, Sariyah is left wondering if her ability is more curse than gift. This isn’t the first time one of her friends has landed on the missing persons list, and she’s determined not to let her become yet another forgotten Black girl.

Not trusting the police and media to do enough on their own, Sariyah and her friends work together to figure out what led to Deja’s disappearance. When Sariyah’s mother loses her job and her little brother faces complications with his sickle cell disease, managing her time, money, and emotions seems impossible. Desperate, Sariyah decides to hustle her need-sensing ability for cash—a choice that may not only lead her to Deja, but put her in the same danger Deja found herself in.

I will probably never be done learning, but I finished up with cultural accuracy and sensitivity readers for my novel now on submission. What a journey! Over the years I made new friends, learned language and traditions, and experienced new ways of seeing the world. I’m so very happy to see their accomplishments and growth as well. Collectively, they’ve gone on to teach Cherokee language at university, write and help produce film, and help spearhead immersion programs—all of these things are a huge benefit not only to their nation, but to everyone!

Booted out of the comfy, editing nest

My editor convinced me that my family saga What Shadows Hide (tentative title) is ready for agents. Thus, I’ve learned the art of query letters, finding comp titles, and braving the dreaded synopsis. Not only do I get to jam everything into 350 words, but only half of that is allocated to the plot. It seems like so much of writing is the art of presentation, and presenting my own work is much harder than writing a glowing review of somebody else’s novel.

Making memories and reminiscing

This year didn’t have the best middle; I pushed myself too hard on personal growth, followed by the death of our beloved dog and my health taking a sharp downward turn. In the process I learned a lot about setting boundaries with myself, cherishing what I have, and pushing to finish projects instead of starting new ones.

Despite mid-year, the rest of 2025 was great! We visited countless cemeteries, got our motorcycle licenses to ride into the forest and find more cemeteries (hehe), took our ambulance/RV conversion on its first trip, saw the Northern Lights, and traveled to see family. I also visited an author friend, Randy Scobey, who wrote an incredible memoir and is currently enjoying success in the world of art and sculpture.

Through all of these adventures, mishaps, and hard things, Ryan has been right beside me and I’m so glad. He even indulged in my purchase of a tiny banjo that I will probably never play the way it deserves.

2026 Goals

1. Either land an agent or decide to adjust What Shadows Hide again.

2. Write a newsletter 2-4 times this year instead of never.

3. Due to popular demand, I am writing a follow up story for my ghost story, Hotel Vanity.

4. Continue my goal of visiting an author in each of the 50 US states.

5. Continue visiting each state my ancestors spent a lot of time in—basically all the ones not immediately around me.

6. I’m looking into some family mysteries to write about:

• Kansas orphans whose mother only appears on their death certificates, and father seems to have had three families.

• Distantly related Thankful Hersey, who joined a cult and helped murder one of their members.

• A larger story including the events of Joseph Walker’s fight over his favorite tree. For something this large, somebody without descendants seems like a perfect POV character. I’m thinking one or both of the nephews, or a fabricated friend.

Survey time!

While you are here, would you mind filling out this survey? It helps me know what my readers want to see:

https://www.danielleapple.com/survey/5595090

It’s been a minute (or maybe a few months) since my last post. Might as well dive in!

One thing I wish I had done more often was listen to my grandparents’ generational stories. In one such story, my grandmother had mentioned that some relatives got in a bloody fight over a tree, and “by gawd that tree never did get cut down.” In her later years, and especially after her passing, I thought it was high time I found out more of what caused this tree incident. I owed her that much, at least. This is when I learned how difficult, yet rewarding, generational stories can be.

First, I had to define my project’s purpose

I had to decide if I wanted to focus on facts or lessons. I picked both… facts to shape the context, and lessons to give the story life. I was looking for non-fiction, and writing fiction inspired by real people/events.

Challenges

People will readily share conflicting information, as long as it’s interesting

In researching “A Dangerous Road”, I found so much hearsay and misinformation (especially being shared on Ancestory.com) that it was difficult to figure who was a hero and who was a villain. The truth is often somewhere in the middle.

Stories passed down are alive, in a way, and are therefore susceptible to change

A teller may embellish, forget, emphasize, or add pieces, etc. In many cultures, this can be a good thing, but if you’re looking for just the facts and not the lesson, it can muddy the waters.

Imagine the game of “telephone”, in which groups of people must pass information to one-another down the line of the entire group, and see if the original information is still intact at the end.

Often, a story starts with some tidbit of drama passed down by word of mouth for generations until it becomes mythical in proportion.

Stories from only one point of view can color the entire situation

I found that nearly each medium (word of mouth, newspapers, letters, folklore, etc.) had a strong slant. Combining all of those to find the facts was necessary, and even then I won’t know everything. Also, with a short story like this, it’s my job to show the reader how the characters view events without jumping around to different POVs (point of views).

Mistakes will happen

Sometimes when I miss a key detail, it is tempting to beat myself up, but there is always a lesson to be learned!

As the short story A Dangerous Road formed in my head, I’d immediately thought the tree Joseph Walker sought to save was an oak tree. Yet, somehow I convinced myself that was silly and generic, and I went with a pine tree. Perhaps he’d have saved it from the ravishes of the railroad.

Turns out my first instinct was mostly likely correct! After further discussion with descendants, it appears to have been a Witness Oak all along.

I’ll write more about that tree next month…

Rewards

While generational stories are not complete factual accounts, they are still incredibly valuable. These stories:

• Connect us to each other through generations. I wish so badly that I could listen to my grandmother’s stories again. If you or your kids have the opportunity to do something like that, please do!

• Connect us with extended family. Writing and researching this story has brought me in contact with many fellow descendants who are just as passionate about their history. I didn’t have to write anything to find them, either. I just had to look.

• Contain essential life lessons. The application of these lessons can change over time, as culture and technology progress.

• Have entertainment value.

• Give a starting point for more research. Enjoy that rabbit hole!

• Provide clues, often through half-truths, that are essential for putting a history puzzle together.

On the surface, the main character Joseph Walker seems like a grouchy old man who wants them darn youths—and any roads—off his lawn. Underneath it all, he is a product of his life experience. While writing “A Dangerous Road” (in anthology To Wear a Heart so White!), it was difficult for me to get into his mind. What on earth could drive a man to go to the lengths he did to prevent a road, and protect a tree while he was at it?

Let’s dig in!

Civil War

Joseph came of age in Missouri during the American Civil War. Missouri was a mixed bag of Northern and Southern supporters. Residents suffered from rogue gangs on both sides that assaulted them, burned their farms, and took their supplies. It’s likely Joseph had to defend his family from Bushwackers that plagued Ava, and he was not the kind of man to wait around when something needed doing.

But is that enough to understand his actions over fifty years later, in 1916?

Since Joseph was a real person, I dug into his immediate family, trying to piece together his life, and hunting for clues. When I noticed that his brother and nephew were buried in the same grave on the same day in the 1880s, I naturally felt compelled to investigate.

Vigilance Committee Leader—Villain or Something Else?

Joseph and his brother Dave Walker were leaders of vigilance committees in their respective counties in the 1880s. This is not surprising, given the action of their younger years. The Bald Knobbers, as the committees were called, were both villains and heros. It all depended on what source I read.

I encountered a lot of fascinating folklore that may or may not be accurate, so I bolted further down this bunny trail. It finally came together for me when I ran across a dissertation paper by Matthew James Hernando–a precursor to his book Faces Like Devils: The Bald Knobber Vigilantes in the Ozarks. In this, he explained the way each county ran their vigilance committee post Civil War.

According to Hernando, while the original Bald Knobber group in Taney county “… championed economic progress and encouraged new immigration into their region, the vigilantes in Christian and Douglas counties reacted to the inequities that such changes produced…”

Railroad construction and an influx of homesteaders set their communities into a spiral of crime and suspicion of outsiders.

At first, Joseph and his brother David sought to keep their communities safe in the absence of reliable law enforcement. They typically went after those they thought were criminal or engaged in indecent behaviour, and they did so by a group vote. These offences could be anything from selling moonshine that made people go blind, to trying to monopolise railroad tie sales, to simply insulting them. The group often overstepped, especially as their numbers swelled with younger, hot-headed men. They had considerable membership among people in positions of influence, other gangs pretended to be them while committing crimes, and the law was getting more orderly. These are just a few reasons Bald Knobbers lost favour with the larger population.

The groups disbanded in 1889 with a string of court cases, confessions, fines, and a murder trial—leaving Joseph’s brother David and nephew William at the end of a noose. The details of that trial drew national attention and much speculation—a topic for a whole other post!

So, that was the 1880s. The event I wrote about was in 1916.

Joseph is now a regular guy, striving to hold on to his way of life and longing for the respect he once had.

The Good Roads Movement was gaining momentum. People wanted decent roads in and out of their towns. Joseph tried using the law to prevent road construction near him, as court cases reflect, but that didn’t get him what he thought was right and just. Furthermore, he and his sister’s family couldn’t agree on who owned what land.

Losing his beloved thinking tree to a road meant so much more than inconvenience.

It was his family’s perceived safety, his farm getting split, and the final straw was his guilt and loss coming back to haunt him.

The way Joseph ultimately went about getting everyone “off his lawn” is not recommended in the least.

A note

I will not say all of Joseph’s mannerisms, reasonings, and actions in “A Dangerous Road” are exactly the way things really happened, but it’s plausible. I hope to find out one day! If you end up reading the anthology (which you can order for 99c), you will see an author’s note at the end of this story that gives more specific details.

____

My actual ancestors’ shenanigans inspired the narrative in my contribution. Having such a connection to the story helped drive me into a few rabbit holes, so I am going to share them in the weeks leading up to, and during November.

For now, here is a short description of “A Dangerous Road”, which takes place in 1916.

Joseph Walker simply cannot understand why his community must build a road right through his property. His nephews call it progress. He knows better. Not only will the road will bring crime right to his door, it will destroy his farm—and his favorite thinking tree. Joseph will do whatever it takes to prevent the road from being built, legal or otherwise, but he doesn’t know how dearly this quest will cost him and his family.

Stay tuned for some posts with content like this:

• Bushwackers, Missouri, and the Civil War

• Slick(ers) means what?

• Missouri homesteaders vs. original inhabitants vs. the previous original inhabitants

• Vigilante justice gone wrong (as expected) and the Bald Knobbers of Missouri

• The Good Roads Movement

• The Walker curse of… well… expiring in not entirely unpredictable ways

**Edited 10-2024 to include accurate language on free copies** OK, first thing’s first. Every October for five days leading up to Halloween, I’ve promised you all a free copy of my short story, Hotel Vanity, first published in the anthology Hauntings (2021).

Click here October 27nd-31st

But, is it for you? Can you handle annoying ghosts?

If you like the story, please grab a copy of the entire anthology (just 99 cents!). You can also leave a review for either one (or both, cause, that’d be cool).

And now, for the rest of the news

With the passing of my grandparents over the last couple years, I’ve been granted the privilege of documenting and cataloging our family’s history. The researcher in me is ecstatic! The ADHD in my is overwhelmed. I predict much chocolate in my future.

How do I accomplish this task without the old papers melting in my hands, or bringing down my house Indiana Jones style? Furthermore, how do I make sure I can get the most important things to safety in the event of a fire (looking at you, California)?

I made an appointment with the Placer County Archives and Research Center to find the answers. The curator there showed me some basic methods to get started, and pushed me toward more information (scroll to the end for links).

To stabilize the collection and handle it properly, I’ll need:

1. Nitrile, latex free gloves

2. Archival safe plastic sleeves, folders, and boxes (not wood or cardboard!) that are PAT certified.

3. Storage in a cool, dry place with consistent % humidity and temps. This should be away from walls, windows, and off the floor.

4. Keep newspaper clippings [and other acidic items] away from photos and documents, as the acid will break those items down.

5. A cataloging system, which I’m trying to come up with right now. Placer County uses a system with Year.name of collection.item number but she said I should use whatever works best for this archive of mine.

I have so many more notes to review, and will keep you all updated when my mom and I make our first attempt! She’s an expert at organizing, and is coming all the way from Oregon to give this project a head start. The Shafer and Hersey family have also graciously offered to help buy materials. In the meantime, here are a few things we’ll be preserving as best we can! Scroll down for more resources.

More information on preservation. Click on the blue text for navigation to each page.

• Conserve O Grams
  What are Conserve O Grams?
  They are short, focused leaflets about caring for museum objects, published in loose-leaf format.New topics are added as needed and out-of-date issues are revised or deleted. Semiannual supplements will be issued for an indeterminate period.

• Newspapers.com™ is the largest online newspaper archive consisting of 907 million+ pages of historical newspapers from 24,300+ newspapers from around the United States and beyond. Newspapers provide a unique view of the past and can help us understand and connect with the people, events and attitudes of an earlier time.

• NEDCC Preservation Leaflets

  Leaflet topic categories to begin your exploration of this popular and authoritative resource

• CatalogIt software trial

  CatalogIt is an application for documenting the Story of Things. Each story begins with a single item — where, when, how, and by whom it was made; what it was used for; and how it came to be where it is today. As an item’s story unfolds, it is enriched by relationships to other items, people, and places based on shared physical characteristics and history. CatalogIt empowers you to discover these interconnected stories, record them in detail, and present them in an accessible, inspiring format.

• METHODS FOR ORGANIZING, CATALOGING, AND DEVELOPING METADATA FOR FAMILY HISTORY PHOTOS

  A PDF with some tips for organizing collections.

So, my unread emails, dirty dishes and unfolded laundry watched as I picked my way around dusty office boxes to indulge in my new hobby. I gathered my things:

• PVA glue

• Foam paint brush

• Cloth tape

• Piece of cloth for the spine

• Sewing machine

• Bookpress I got at a yard sale some ten years ago, that has been attacking my toes every time I walk past it that I keep stubbing my toes on.

• Print of the cover (in progress!)

• Printed page signatures

Scroll down for steps…

1. I started with the page signatures. In order to do the binding I had in mind, one must print several sections in booklet format, and sew them into signatures. You can see them all stacked up in the book press above. I made the mistake of not adding extra pages for glueing the outside signatures to the cover, but I think I cheated sufficiently with some spray glue and cardstock.

2. The book press finally got properly used, and enjoyed squeezing the life out of paper instead hitting my toes.

3. I applied several layers of glue to the spine over the entire day, and ended by pressing fabric to the spine. This I had to leave alone for 24 hours.

4. The tutorials I read were mixed on whether to glue the spine to the cover, and I decided against it. The reason being, the spine should be flexible, especially if I expect somebody to write in the margins.

5. Pizza boxes make great softcovers, just saying. I used the existing fold and creased it wider on each side, so that the pages could have room to open properly.

6. Then I adhered my tentative cover page to the pizza box, glued the outside signature pages to the inside cover, and taped the edges all the way around for good measure.

As with all professional crastinations, I started with the intent of breezing right through, and ended relatively glad I won’t be doing this often. However, it was quite satisfying to hold this book in my hands!

Did I need to, when the person I am sending this to is expected to rip into it?

No.

Did I/anyone else lose life or limb?

Clearly not.

Was it fun?

Yes.

Therefore, it was worth it.

If you want to bind your own book, these are some resources I found helpful:

http://tuxgraphics.org/npa/book-binding/

https://www.penrosepress.ca/blogs/nerd-time/nerd-time-with-brianna-pretty-perfect-paperback-binding

https://craftymaniac.com/bookbinding-signature-estimator/

Well, perhaps that’s a little dramatic. With today’s information flying all over the place, competing for attention, it’s difficult to prioritize reading. My intention with this newsletter is to push out some updates once a month that people can subscribe to and consume in an easily accessible reading app—Substack! Don’t care for another app? This same newsletter will reach your email inbox.

Now, on to the important stuff! I mean, writing instead of eating chocolate and petting dogs.

Give it a try!

I have the incredible opportunity to take a research trip to Bucks Pocket (and beyond) in Alabama to soak in some history and put the final developmental changes on my work in progress, a coming of age saga set in... well... you guessed it—Bucks Pocket. I don't want to squander the opportunity to document things, and I'm a little squeamish about video, so I'm going to do my best to write it all down.

Being new to this research trip notion, I reached out to more experienced authors and acquired their ideas on how to stay sane:

• Make a list of places you must go, and a list of places you'd like to go. The must takes priority.

• Be flexible. Things happen and it should be a fun trip, not a chore.

• Bring a notebook.

• Securely transfer all the photos from your phone/camera before the trip, or you'll run out of space fast.

• Bring comfortable shoes.

• Check travel regulations and business hours before the trip.

They had specific advice for introverts like me who get travel anxiety:

• Bring a book to read.

• Journal.

• Find a quiet, secluded place and just soak up the silence/view.

• Listen to relaxing music on the plane.

• Find your zen and get grounded. You better bet I'll fight for that zen! Who knows, maybe we will see some things related to nefarious Slick Law and I'll have to fight extra hard.

A beta reader of mine has generously offered to show us around Lookout Mountain and other areas. Mrs. Honea has some insight on what may or may not work for certain scenes. I'll also get to meet Mr. Greenwood, a history buff and the Bucks Pocket ranger. He loves the area and knows it so well, we'll see a lot of really cool things. I never thought I'd get to see this place in person, so I'm eternally grateful to everyone who has made this possible, including my travel buddy and hubby Ryan.

I'm excited to be around chill people in the South. A much needed change of pace.

After this trip I will hopefully get cultural accuracy feedback from Mr. Galisgewi in Oklahoma, and I can hole myself up to make that last developmental edit.

So what about you? Do you have any advice?

Q: Your protagonist suffers from what we now know as PTSD. What was the common term and treatment, if any, for this condition in that time period? 

A: The short answer is none and none. No attention was paid to the mental health of the soldiers. PTSD wasn’t understood at this time, and it’s entirely likely that a man who was physically able to fight would be seen as a coward if he was unable to cope with returning to duty.

There may have been a little more leeway for an officer in this situation, but probably not much. Unlike the men, who signed up initially for life and later for a specific period of time, an officer could theoretically sell his commission and go home at any time. In practice, it wasn’t considered the ‘done thing’ in wartime unless there was a valid reason such as illness or family difficulties. Officers at this period were required to behave like gentlemen and there was a strict code of honour.

Rob Griffiths gives an excellent summary of the situation in his fabulous book about the 5^th battalion of the 60^th rifles, which is entitled Riflemen (Helion & Co, 2019).

“The intense stress of combat must have had similar impacts as it did in later wars and still does, but the only indication we have of the mental state of the men of the battalion are perhaps the suicides which occurred with some regularity.”

Q: The protagonist makes sure a few rapists are held accountable, and they seem surprised by his actions. Can you tell us a little about how rape was typically treated by the law/military law during this time?

A: This is a subject that I did a lot of research on for one or two of the books in the Peninsular War Saga. At this time in England, rape was a capital crime. Most rape accusations never made it to a courtroom but were dismissed due to lack of evidence. A successful prosecution for rape required graphic details, with evidence of penetration and male ejaculation. Women and children were not allowed into the courtroom to hear this evidence so a rape survivor would have to tell her story to an exclusively male audience. Cross-examination was usual and was brutal, and the woman’s personal life could be attacked without any limits. If she knew her attacker and had been seen with him, if she had put herself in a vulnerable position such as walking home alone, then a conviction was unlikely. A man’s life was on the line, so juries tended to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Moving on to the military, rape was not a capital crime. There were virtually no prosecutions for rape in Wellington’s army in the Peninsular. The punishment, even if convicted, was flogging rather than death. Very few women were willing to come forward and put themselves through the misery of a trial, while their families may well have wanted to conceal what they saw as their wives or daughters’ shame. There are one or two well-attested accounts of rape, particularly at the storming of Badajoz where the troops ran wild for several days. That, of course, is where Captain Sean O’Connor was wounded in An Unquiet Dream.

In the story, Sean knows perfectly well he’s not going to get a rape conviction, but he’s determined to get them for looting at the very least.

Q: What was your favorite part about researching this story?

A: I love all my research but on this occasion, I enjoyed digging a bit more deeply into the structure of the Army Medical Service and looking at how they functioned at this time. I have several characters in the main series who work with the army surgeons, and I’ve sent off a fair few characters in wagons to the general hospitals, but this is the first time I’ve followed up to see what happened next.

It was also great to meet up with Dr Adam Norris again. He features very regularly in the first few books of the Peninsular War Saga, but we’ve not seen him for a while, so it’s nice to update my readers with what’s happened to him.

Q: What surprising info did you find out when researching this story?

A: I don’t think there were any huge surprises, apart from discovering the original story which inspired me to write it. I’ve been writing this period for a number of years now, and although I do still come up with new fun facts, I’m not sure there were any in this one.

The discovery of the story was amazing though. I live on the Isle of Man, and there’s a Facebook group for sharing and exchanging books which I belong to. When I published the updated paperback version of An Unconventional Officer earlier this year, I ordered several author copies. When they arrived, I found that there was a small printing error on one page. I sorted it out with the publisher, but the faulty books were no use to me, so I offered them for free on the Facebook page. Several people took me up on it, and one lady asked for a copy for her husband. He was interested in the period because one of his ancestors had fought in the war and had managed to create a scandal by eloping with a well-born Portuguese girl. At that point I recognised the story as one I’d read in Charles Esdaile’s Women in the Peninsular War. I couldn’t believe I was on my doorstep talking to the descendent of a man I’d read about in my research.

Q: Your author note tells the inspiration for this short story, but would you mind telling us a short version to draw out our appetites? 

A: I’d love to. I first read this story, as I said, in Charles Esdaile’s Women in the Peninsular War (University of Oklahoma Press, 2014 ) and then later met the couple’s descendent here on the island.

In 1813 Lieutenant Waldron Kelly of the 40^th Foot eloped with and married Ana Ludovina Teixeira de Aguilar. Ana was the youngest daughter of a Portuguese nobleman whom he met at Mass in her family’s private chapel. Her family were furious and given their rank and station in life, they complained to Lord Wellington. I’d give a lot to have seen his face. Wellington dealt with it in typical Wellington fashion. He told the girl’s mother that he would happily hand the girl over, but he couldn’t interfere as the couple were legally married. The enraged mother threatened to have Kelly transported for life and to murder her daughter. It was decided that it would be best to find Kelly duties away from the Peninsula and he and his wife went home to Ireland.

I’d love to say that was the happy ending, but sadly not. Kelly was clearly a bit of a bounder. Prior to meeting Ana, he’d got himself court-martialled for seducing the wife of Private Noah Cooper and then using violence against Cooper when he tried to reclaim her. Once home in Ireland, Kelly got posted to Jamaica. He left Ana with their children back in Ireland, and then contracted a bigamous marriage, had further children, and never went home. Ana never went back to Portugal, but her daughter did, and it is from her that my acquaintance is descended.

When I was looking for an idea for a ghost story, I thought of Ana, and her family’s threat to kill her. For a high-born Portuguese or Spanish family at this time, honour was considered very important, and it occurred to me that it might be even worse if the suitor were French and a hated invader.

Q: This story ties into another of your written works. What is that one about?

A: The story is part of the Peninsular War Saga which is a series of six books so far, following a fictional infantry regiment through the Peninsular War. There’s also a linked series called the Manxman, which is only two books in, and then there are two Regency romances which follow some of the characters into peacetime.

The main characters in the Peninsular War Saga are Paul van Daan, who starts out as a junior officer and rises to command the regiment, and his wife Anne who travels with him. In addition to the main books, I generally write three or four short stories a year which are free on my website. These are all part of the Peninsular War Saga and often tell parts of the story that didn’t make it into the main books.

An Unquiet Dream is part of the Peninsular War story, and it does make mention of several characters from the series, but it’s a standalone ghost story.

I’m currently working on An Indomitable Brigade which is book seven in the series

Where can we find/follow you on social media?

These are all the links. I love talking to readers on social media and my lot are VERY interactive there.

Website: http://www.lynnbryant.co.uk/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LynnBry29527024

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/historyfiction1803/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lynnbryant1803/

About Lynn

Lynn Bryant was born and raised in London’s East End. She studied History at University and had dreams of being a writer from a young age. Since this was clearly not something a working class girl made good could aspire to, she had a variety of careers including a librarian, NHS administrator, relationship counsellor and manager of an art gallery before realising that most of these were just as unlikely as being a writer and took the step of publishing her first book.

She now lives in the Isle of Man and is married to a man who understands technology, which saves her a job, and has two adult offspring and two labradors. History is still a passion, with a particular enthusiasm for the Napoleonic era and the sixteenth century. When not writing she teaches history and creative writing, reads anything that’s put in front of her and makes periodic and unsuccessful attempts to keep a tidy house.

Follow the blog hop page for more interviews with the authors, or visit their blogs when their posts go live:

October 3^rd 

Sharon Bennett Connolly https://historytheinterestingbits.com/2021/10/03/book-launch-hauntings/

October 4^th 

Judith Arnopp and Simon Turney https://juditharnoppnovelist.blogspot.com/2021/10/s-j-turney-joins-me-on-hwf-hauntings.html 

October 5^th

D. Apple https://www.danielleapple.com/2021/10/04/interview-author-lynn-bryant/

October 6^th 

K.S. Barton https://ksbarton.com/inspiration-behind-kindred-spirits-the-monster-of-machecoul/?fbclid=IwAR1FeszU_huwcJgNLuFVFXmDL2BuNo9xcMUQ8lJcOOHV07g 

October 7^th

Paula Lofting

https://paulaloftinghistoricalnovelist.wordpress.com/?p=4597

October 8^th 

Samantha

https://samanthawilcoxson.blogspot.com/

October 11^th 

Simon Turney

https://sjat.wordpress.com/2021/10/11/the-inspiration-behind-the-haunting-of-edenbridge-castle-by-judith-arnopp/

October 12^th 

Lynn Bryant

http://www.lynnbryant.co.uk/hauntings-an-interview-with-d-apple/ 

October 13^th 

Jennifer C Wilson

https://jennifercwilsonwriter.wordpress.com/blog/

October 14^th 

Stephanie Churchill

https://stephaniechurchillauthor.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=648&action=edit

October 15^th 

Sharon Bennett Connolly

https://historytheinterestingbits.com/2021/10/15/book-corner-hauntings/

Then they are gone.

And the house is empty.

Except when the wind chimes jingle without a breeze, and the emotions found inside letters bubble to the surface. It's full. It's full of memories, sometimes my own faint ones, but never anything below the surface. As I'm allowed to go through some items to discover more about the people I thought I knew...but didn't really, I'm finding more and more history.

Since this is all that has been on my mind aside from the Historical Novel Society Conference, I'm going to do this post on some American History closest to me.

The Hersey family apparently kept a lot of old written items, which is wonderful for a nerd like myself. I figure I will pick just one interesting piece of history to talk about today: A Tax return from 1862.

But the US didn't start taxing until the next century, right?

Well, yes...and no. Revenue Acts of 1861, 62, and 64 all attempted to fund a nation already in millions of dollars of debt, through a civil war. The tax was let go in the 1870s due to severe backlash about the government having too much power. It's way more complex than that, and so I'm slapping this link down so you can look into it yourself: http://www.taxhistory.org/thp/readings.nsf/ArtWeb/ff949517831b181685256e22007840e8?OpenDocument

How much did Mr. Hersey fork over in today's money?

He made roughly $2,002 before taxes, and that equals $53,359 today. Not bad! He's got a farm and pays a laborer. It looks like he's got some real estate income as well.

His payment of about $16 would be $426 today.

Why save this return for so long?

Did they know that it would be something people wanted to see later? Maybe they were so upset about taxes that they wanted to hold onto it and get angry every time they took it out? So many possibilities! At any rate, I've got more things to scan and stow away.

Want more random history?

Check out the other posts on the American History Blog Hop!

According to his bio, Martin Svolgart is a nature lover, amateur photographer, coffee lover, and a geek! He has a fascination for humans. What drives them, makes them, breaks them. What can bring out the worst in a person? What can bring out the best? His protagonists are never just good, and his antagonists are never just evil.

If you've ever met Martin you'd know how humble, yet passionate about his work he is.

1. Tell us a little about yourself!

I’m a Dane, forty-one, and a single dad to a big teenager. I’m a smith by trade, but I now work at a company spray-painting kitchen cabinets and stuff.

2. What are your favorite genres to read and write, and why?

To read? Just about everything. I even like textbooks. To write, I prefer action filled and character driven storylines with quirky personalities and humor and some psychological growth. The genres are secondary to that, but I enjoy both contemporary, paranormal, space opera, horror…everything. I try my hands at many genres because I think I can grow as a storyteller from it. I publish them under different pseudonyms, though, so that my readers knows what to expect from any given name.

3. You just published another book in your vigilante justice series (Brass Knuckles and Tattered Wings). Tell us about this series.

The one that just came out is the eighth book but the fourth in Season Two. There’ll be another season, which I’m pretty sure is the last season.

I always write long books and series, so I wanted to challenge myself to write something short and like a TV series. It took form as four novellas at 25,000 words each to make up a season, and the storylines fit like that, too. Each novella has its own little action filled plot, the season has its overall arch, and the entire season has its own plot, which is primarily the character’s development.

Heart, humor, and action. That sums it up. But also a broken man healing after the death of his wife and son.

4. What was your inspiration for writing this series?

The Equalizer and other vigilante justice movies, yet I wanted to keep the killing down. I wanted to write something hard-hitting but with humor, so there’ll be my characters going on a bender with a donkey at a bar. I wanted to have fun with it.

5. What is the most fulfilling or heartwarming fan mail you have gotten?

I like when my newsletter subscribers answer the newsletters. We sometimes have long email exchanges after that, and I get to learn about awesome people doing wonderful stuff. One took me by surprise. I’d written a story that seemed quite hard and brutal, yet the character’s struggles resonated with a reader who’d been traumatized similarly to the character. She thanked me for writing him because it helped her develop tools to move forward. To be able to impact a life like that is what I’ve always hoped my writing can do, so that email helps me through my dark times.

6. What do you do for fun?

Bonfires. I love sitting around a fire all night, sometimes playing a flute. Sometimes with friends, and we tell stories and enjoy nature and food made over the open fire.

7. Tell us about your other projects.

I’m working on a space opera series and a horror novel. I’m not far enough with any of it to even have a cover, though. I’m also playing around with the idea of writing a follow up to A Game Called Payback, which was crime thriller debut.

8. Where can we find your books?

Everywhere. Everything’s wide. I’ve collected all links on my website, so that’ll be the easiest way to find them. https://www.martinsvolgart.com/books

Here is a short description of his book, The Search:

The guns of the Civil War have ceased firing, and the shots are but an echo... yet the war rages on, deep inside Will Crump's soul. His "soldier's heart" is searching for peace, and in that quest Will joins the westward movement, setting his path on a collision course with adventure, loss, and love.

The Westward Expansion floods the sacred, untouched lands with immigrants, bringing conflict to the Shoshone, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. Amidst the chaos Will finds safety in the shadow of the US Army, but the army brings battle-hardened troops into Red Cloud's War, pulling Will into a tornado of conflict. Broken treaties and promises leave both sides searching for answers. Will's search leads him to a battle for survival, and there he finds a love that could change him forever.

Dove, a young Shoshone woman, is a survivor of the Bear Creek Massacre. After being kidnapped and escaping from the Cheyenne, she joins Will's search, seeking where she belongs. Dove longs for more than the restricted role placed on women in her tribe. If she can learn to trust a white man, he just might help her find home... and hope.

Together, Will and Dove must search for understanding, and reach Across the Great Divide.

What inspired you to write the series and this book's setting in particular?

For the series, the inspiration had several elements:

• I was born in Lubbock, Texas, and wanted to explore the town's history. I knew my main character's granddaughter, Katy Bell Crump, when I was a child. Her stories about her grandfather got my curiosity going.

• Always a fan of history, I saw many trends and elements today that echoed the situation in 1859 - a divided nation, issues over immigration and sanctuary cities, tariff wars, riots in major cities over racial issues, and political divisions within families deep enough to bring permanent splits. The solution at that time was a war that killed 20% of the adult male population. I want to remind people, and hopefully influence a better outcome. 

For The Search particularly, I've been fascinated by Red Cloud's War, where the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho united and defeated, temporarily, the US Army. The Army had superior weaponry, superior numbers, and better resources - yet the Native Americans beat them. Of course, it didn't last. The Shoshone took a different tack — Washakie thought they could not win a military battle in the long run. He listened to men like Jim Bridger about the numbers of white men in the East. He saw the telegraph come, and the beginnings of the railroad. He tried negotiation and was more successful than most.

I knew that the Native Americans were victims of planned genocide, through war, disease, and starvation, and I thought that story needed to be told, especially from their point of view. Darren Parry, chairman of the Northwestern Shoshone Tribe, helped me tell that story.

Historically, I had a gap of about five years where no one knew much about what happened to Will, in the period 1865-1870, except some references about him going west as many of the soldiers did after the war. The Search is my idea of what might have happened to him, and what did happen to the Shoshone.

What surprising similarities did you find between Will Crump and Dove?   

I think the Shoshone culture values truth, honor, and bravery. These qualities were Will's also. The cultures are extremely different, but these were common elements, along with respect for parents and elders. They also shared the traumas of what we now call PTSD - Dove survived the Bear Creek Massacre, and carried the psychological scars. She had to learn to trust all over again. Will also had inner scars, after enduring the bloody battles of the war, the guilt for those he killed and those he could not save, and the horror of Camp Douglas prison camp. They both longed for family and yet were afraid to re-enter their family circle. They sought peace in each other and their love, but had many obstacles. 

Let's hear something humorous that happened while researching or writing this novel.

I can't say there were too many chuckles, but one event was misunderstanding some feedback on the second draft of the novel. It caused me to delete the last three chapters and write a new ending. After realizing the misunderstanding, the reviewer and I both agreed that the original ending was stronger, and it got reinstated. Aside from that, I'd have to say the funniest thing was the introduction of the dog character, Lightning. He wasn't in the first draft. After Blue Pencil HNS 2019, I added two chapters on the front, and Lightning just walked up out of the storm, so to speak, and introduced himself, wagging his tail and demanding attention.  I love animals and enjoy including them where it works. I suppose the other humorous event was after writing the first chapters featuring Dove, she demanded a meeting to tell me she didn't like how she was being written and had changes she wanted - I listened. 

Tell us about your research for this book. 

Wow — how many months do you have?  I started right after finishing Clouds of War. I'd read the journals of Lewis and Clark in the past, and I began reading anything I could find on the Sioux, the Shoshone, the Cheyenne, and the army after the war. I visited the US Cavalry Museum in Fort Leavenworth, Ks. I read the autobiography of Red Cloud, My Army Life by Francis Carrington, original army documents on the Fetterman Fight, the Laramie Treaties, the debates in Congress over the treaties, and newspaper accounts from the period concerning Bear River, Tounge River, and the Fetterman fight. I read Beach's journal and maps on Bear River.

The toughest part of the research was finding material, reliable material, on the Shoshone. The Smithsonian puts out a book on the Native American tribes, but it is over $200 per volume. I was able to get it through an inter-library loan and learn about the Sun Dance and other Shoshone rituals. I also happened on an out-of-print book of Native American legends and religious stories. Despite all that, the amount of written information was not much.

I discovered the Utah University Shoshone Language project and through them the fact that Idaho State University, near the Fort Hall reservation, was carrying on research into Shoshone language and culture. I remembered an old college friend working at the ISU library, and asked her for professors or others working on the Shoshone Project. That's how I met Drusilla Gould. Drusilla was a consultant to Hollywood on the 2000 movie Wind River.

For a few months, Drusilla answered questions and pointed me at The White Indian Boy - The Story of Elijah Nicholas Wilson. Wilson wrote a non-fiction account of living with Washakie as his adopted son. After a short time, Drusilla retired and stopped answering questions. This caused a stall in the book as I searched for a new resource.

Understandably, many Native Americans are reluctant to talk to whites or trust them. I tried a descendant of Chief Pocatello — no luck. I tried the Eastern Shoshone Cultural center — no luck. I tried a few others and was striking out everywhere. Finally, I started searching social media for anything or anyone related to Shoshone. On Twitter, I found Darren Parry, "Chief" of the Northwestern Shoshone tribe.

Darren was wonderful and willing to talk — even to meet. He'd written a book on the Bear Creek Massacre, and teaches Native American History at the University of Utah. He's descended from Chief Sagwitch, whose band was almost wiped out at Bear River, and speaks fluent Shoshone. He was willing to meet with me.

I had planned a long driving trip to visit all the sites mentioned in the book, which is my usual practice. I've driven through a lot of Wyoming, but not some of the specific sites. Then COVID hit, and the driving trip had to be abandoned. I flew to Utah to meet with Darren. He gave me a personal tour of the Bear River Massacre site, explained the Shoshone side of the history, and suggested I visit Promontory Point where the railroads met - the Golden Spike. 

What are the three greatest things you learned from Darren Parry? What would he say to your readers?

1. Great wrong was done to the Shoshone, and some of it continues today. Land stolen, treaties broken, murderous genocide planned and executed. But concentrating on the wrongs of the past is not the way forward.

2. Education of both white and Native American people, concerning the past and the technological world of today, is the way to solve many problems. There's nothing we can't do if we work together.

3. Shoshone women are the strong and vital force for good but are vulnerable. As the 2007 Wind River movie points out, hundreds of assaults, murders, and abductions of Native American women, Shoshone and Arapaho go unsolved and even unnoticed every year. My character Dove was strong, smart, resourceful, and a little wily, while honoring the traditions of her people. As Darren said in our Zoom session, there are hundreds of Doves out there. We need to honor them, listen to them, and help them. 

Is there anything you'd like your readers to reflect on, moving forward?

There's a natural human tendency to be suspicious or look down on anyone who is different from us. Occasionally that suspicion is well-founded, and useful for self-preservation.  More often though, it creates divisions, hate, prejudice, and mistrust. You can see it with men and women, whites and African Americans, whites and any other race, religious "pseudo-superiority". People are denigrated and excluded based on ethnicity (How many people know about the internment camps in WW2 for Italians and German Americans?), appearance, and just about anything "different". In Clouds of War, I wrote about strangers walking out on a field of battle and killing each other because of the uniforms they wore - their woolen skins. Our recent race riots reflect the same spirit. 

I'd like readers to think about their "enemies", the people they are different from, and look down on. How can they find common ground, common purpose, with those individuals, or groups? In 2018, an African American man refused to be intimidated by the Ku Klux Klan — instead he knocked on the door of a Klansman, and invited him to dinner. This step ultimately resulted in over 200 Klansman giving up their robes, and embracing friendship with the African American community. Who are the looked down on in your circle? What can you do to help them?

Today, Native Americans are often the forgotten people. Do you know a Native American? If so, ask about his family history, learn about his culture. If not, find out if there are Native Americans nearby — try to learn about them. It will enrich your life. 

The Great Divide I write about in the series is not a physical mountain range — it is the division we create between people. We are all the poorer for it. This Christmas season, regardless of your religious beliefs, try to reach out — Across the Great Divide. Be a positive force for change. 

To donate to furthering education and learning opportunities, or to arrange for a speaking engagement, visit https://boaogoi.org/

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Michael L. Ross

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Ready for some storytelling? Looks like it's my turn to contribute to the Historical Writers Forum Jolabokaflod blog hop, in which the authors hold games, giveaways, and host novel excerpts. Storytelling is at the heart of this event, and so today I will share one such chapter from my upcoming dark saga, What Shadows Hide.

My characters come from a blended family, and are all children when we first meet them. Aginili struggles to put his trauma and goals aside to hold onto his new, tiny family. Assuming the role of storyteller is one way he can do that. Storytelling is so important, and a way to connect to elders and ancestors. Aginili only had a short time with his elders, and sometimes it shows. Being an author and a storyteller, as Aginili understands it, is not the same thing.

This is why I want to "pass the mic" to the true storytellers out there—ones Aginili wished he could look up to, and learn from them how to lead. Read to the end of this post and comment with a nod to your favorite story (scary or not!) that you heard growing up here, or on the Facebook post, Dec. 8th or 9th for a chance to win a wonderful book: Cherokee Stories of the Turtle Island Liars Club, by Hastings Shade, Sammy Still, Sequoyah Guess, Woody Hansen, and Cherokee scholar Christopher B. Teuton. Now, these folks will gladly tell you it's not about the storyteller, but about sharing, and the experience between people.

Call your grandparents/parents/wise person in your life, if you are blessed to still have them!!

Excerpt from What Shadows Hide (working title!)

Working back cover copy, for reference

Just like the blurb and title, the cover will go through a few changes. It will be fun!

"Hold onto one another." That's what their father told the Clemons children the day before they found their mother murdered, and again before he disappeared...but nothing can prepare them for what is to come.

They struggle to resist the pull of a mysterious stranger in the shadows; one who guards the remainder of his family through the whirlwind of changing times, vigilante justice, and expulsion of Northern Alabama's original habitants. As they start to seek their places apart from him in the ever-changing world, disaster strikes.

Lost lives and a devastating family secret find the children and their friends questioning everything they thought they knew. Family ties are tested, friendships severed, love lost, and one of them stands at the head of a decades long quest for blood from which there is no escape except to face it head on. Together they must find the truth. Their lives depend on it. December 1835, Alabama

# Sarah

“Happy Christmas, Aginili!” Sarah burst into the cabin, dripping wet. In her hand, she presented a fidgeting fish. Having two sets of guardians was not ideal for a young girl like herself. Mrs. Miller insisted she not go to the water with the boys, but Aginili’s warning that Slicks would harass her meant she had to sneak out early. Surely a rogue group of vigilantes soured at the thought of waking early to torment girls.

The fish offering may save her from a tongue lashing, though.

“You're going to freeze to death, someday.” Aginili turned to her, wooden spoon in hand.

“I’m not cold,” she said through chattering teeth. She smirked at her half-brother, or cousin, or whatever he insisted on being. For the past month, he’d taken up cooking. He did not get along with the hot grease splatter and often took refuge beneath Ma’s best apron—the one with frills sewn into it. If he had searched longer through her old trunk, he might have found something more suitable for daily use. But he hadn’t touched them after that day. ‘It isn’t right to touch a dead woman’s things,’ he’d told the twins. 

Aginili’s brows furrowed, and he shook his head. “Put on some clothes.” 

He snatched the fish from her, mumbled a few words, and whacked its head against the doorway. The fish stilled. “You ought to kill it before it suffocates. It isn’t right.”

Sarah clenched her teeth. “Maybe I want it to.” The words slipped out before she could stop them, and she lowered her head. 

Red crept up Aginili’s neck and face. He stood speechless for a moment. 

Finally, he spoke. “There are things you simply don’t do. Did you thank it first?”

“No, what happens if I don’t?” Sarah’s fingers tingled and burned as she made her way to the fire. She held them over the flames, knowing good and well he would fret about how close she got to them.

Aginili rubbed his temples with calloused fingers and squinted. “I don’t remember what happens when you are cruel to fish; I just know you don’t do it.”

Sarah gave him the most purposeful glare she could muster and stamped toward the pallet, hunting for her clothes. As she dressed by the fire, Aginili looked away with a huff, partially because flames any higher than half a foot made him sweat, but he didn’t like reminders of her nakedness. Mrs. Miller loathed it, and her wrath usually came down on him when she saw it. Nothing made Aginili squirm more than the neighbor woman’s sharp tongue, and how he resented her influence. 

“Slimy, creepy dreams. That’s what happens,” Aginili mumbled with his back turned.

A knock on the door sent Sarah shimmying into her woolen dress before she could even don one petticoat. Aginili stared at her dully, no doubt wishing he lived with only brothers. Couldn’t he let her have a secret like missing layers just once? When she got older, she would wear whatever she wanted.

Aginili sighed and tossed Sarah her cloak from by the door. She thought she saw the beginning of a smile twitch on the corner of his lips, and she savored the moment. Smiles were a rare thing.

Mr. and Mrs. Miller, and Thomas stood on the porch in smooth, woolen cloaks, shiny buttons, and grins on their faces. “Happy Christmas!” Thomas held out a large package with brown paper and string. “Mother says we’ve got to keep you fed while we are out.”

Sarah flinched as Aginili grasped her shoulder from behind. His usual simmering peaked. 

“We don’t need to be fed,” he said.

“It’s only a kind gesture, dear. It’s Christmas,” Mrs. Miller crooned. “And you are still children.” She glanced behind them at the clutter of Ma’s knitting and newspapers, still not put back in their places after over a year since her death.

“I don’t understand why you designate a day to be kind when the rest of the year—”

Mrs. Miller’s eyes widened. Sarah rolled her shoulder under her brother’s hand. He knew well enough; he’d said as much about his time with the missionaries and boarding with a religious family.

He took the hint. “I mean you are always kind…and…Jesus…” Aginili blustered, dodged away, and dared to stoke the fire with smaller sticks, but the tilt of his head indicated he still listened.

Sarah turned back to the Millers’ freshly scrubbed faces. 

“We are going over the Georgia line to see some aging relatives,” Mr. Miller said, “but we’ll be back next week. The Slicks wouldn’t dare come out on Christmas week, so I think it’s safe.”

Sarah shrugged. “Aginili can fight off Slicks anyway—with his bare hands. That’s what he said.” She glanced at his turned back and grinned as he buried his head in a hand.

Thomas turned his head to his mother and then to Sarah with a beaming smile so wide that freckles bunched up into his eyes. He fished another gift from his pocket and held it out to Sarah.

“What is it?” Sarah eyed the shiny white stick. It smelled marvelous, even from the threshold.

“It’s a peppermint stick! I saw how you like the mint growing by the creek.” Thomas shoved it toward her. “Mother said I should give it to you.”

Sarah took the stick and turned it in her hand with wonderment. Thomas was indeed turning out to be a great scout. Maybe not a spy just yet, but—

“Say thank you, Sarah…” Aginili whispered from near the fire, but Sarah heard him.

“Thank you, Thomas.” She held the stick tight to her chest. “I’ll wait to eat it until tonight at just the right moment.”

Thomas shuffled his feet, and his cheeks flushed pink under his freckles. “You’re welcome.”

“I have nothing for you.” Sarah vaguely remembered previous Christmases with Mamma. They’d always conspired with Father to make her a clay jar or a cornhusk pair of dolls. Mamma always stored each gift on the windowsill, just before the oilcloth covering. Where they were now, she didn’t know.

“It’s alright, dear; we expect nothing in return.” Mrs. Miller leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. The woman’s cloak smelled like lavender. She pulled a tiny bundle of dried lavender out from the folds of her cloak and tucked it into Sarah’s other hand. “I do wish we could take you with us! We’ll come back in a week and have a great feast!”

“Where is David?” Thomas craned his head around Sarah.

“He’s gone to water alone,” Sarah said, trying not to sound bitter about being cut off from the company at the water.

After hugs and kisses and farewells, the Millers took off in their gig with the stock horse. 

David came in later, being more careful than Sarah to hide where he had been by putting on dry clothing. He glanced at Aginili rummaging in the package of foodstuffs and settled by the fire, waiting for a thorough tongue lashing at being out so late in the morning. 

Sarah tugged on David’s sleeve. He turned toward her with blue eyes peering out from behind, stringing wet, black hair. He never turned away from her, even when he was angry or expecting a punishment. Not in all of their eight years.

Sarah split her peppermint stick in half and handed him one piece. 

He sniffed it and rolled it in his hand. Grinning from ear to ear, he tasted the edge of the broken part before plopping it into his mouth. Sarah hadn’t seen his face so content in a very long time, nor had she felt his spirit so calm. Hope filled a corner of his emptiness now and then, and at this moment, he was her twin again. 

David crawled to the pallet bed and revealed a bundle wrapped in a shirt. He plopped it in Sarah’s lap, eyes gleaming.

Sarah unwrapped the layers of his shirt wrapping. She revealed a book: Aesop, Junior, in America: Being a Series of Fables Written Especially for the People of the United States of North America, printed in New York.

“That’s the longest title I ever read. You got this, all the way from New York?” Sarah flipped through the pages with greedy eyes.

“The shopkeep’s old woman helped us pick from her own library.” David tugged at the ends of his shirt, frowning. “I think she is done hating me now. Aginili and I saved up for it.”

Aginili grunted from across the room. “It was either that or books on the dangers of dancing.”

“I love it!” Sarah flung her arms around her brothers one at a time and hurried back the fire with her book.

They each sat on blankets in front of the fire, savoring peppermint stick pieces, while Sarah read aloud. She thought for the first time that she might truly be happy. This day might be the best one they ever had without Mamma. 

# Sarah

They spent the day reading, or pretending to read, and snacking on pulled candy and sweet potatoes. When night fell, they feasted on hot corn with pumpkin mashed into it. Plum pudding went first, though. It always did.

When David went out to get more wood from the pile, he came back waving a note and another peppermint stick in his hand. 

Aginili snatched the note and held it to the firelight. 

“Is it from Father?” Sarah bit her lip, hope rising in her chest.

Aginili shook his head and shut his eyes tight. “Who gave this to you?” He flapped the note around until David jumped to grab it again.

David’s eyes gleamed. Note in one hand and peppermint stick in the other. He read what he must already have known before he had flashed inside the house. 

“David,” he cringed. “That’s it. I found it on the woodpile.”

Sarah crossed her arms. “That’s it?” How could a mysterious gift be only for David when she had shared hers?

David frowned at the peppermint stick in his hand and looked back up at Sarah with wide eyes that earlier had danced with so much glee. A bit of guilt at her jealousy plagued her. 

Sarah gave him a half-smile and shrugged. “Who do you think left it?”

"I think I know." Aginili snatched up the note and lit a kindling stick in the fire before stamping out the door to stare at the tree line. Holding the note to the burning stick, he set it aflame and let go, watching it float aimlessly until only embers and charred paper settled on the porch, which he ground with his foot for good measure. He slammed his fist into the railing and shouted. “What do you want?” He fixated on the same spot they’d seen the Shadow Man watching them earlier. 

Sarah crept up beside him and grasped the rails. If she stood on her tiptoes, she could just see the figure in the trees. As before, the man wore only black and didn’t show his face. He stared at them from under his hat, unmoving.

“What do you want!” Aginili repeated, his voice cracking. 

David joined them on the porch, peppermint stick of torment in his hand, only he’d split it into three pieces. He tugged at Aginili’s arm, placed a piece into his hand, and then another into Sarah’s waiting hand. As Sarah popped her share into her mouth, she thought she saw the Shadow Man cross his arms. 

The Shadow Man backed away, making a gradual retreat into the trees. The hair on Sarah's arm stood. She shivered.

Aginili turned and scooped Sarah and David back into the house. He grasped the rifle from over the fireplace and stood with his back to the door. “Nobody leaves this house.”

# Aginili

As the evening turned to night, Aginili’s eyes drooped. The pounding in his chest was the only thing keeping him awake as the twins soon forgot their fear and feasted on hot corn and seed cakes. He envied their naivety, their fearless love for anything careless.

What right had the Shadow Man to target David? And for what?

In a rare show of trust, David stopped his play and slid beside Aginili, shoulder to shoulder. His small hands held a few stones in tight fists, ready to take on an army. David and Goliath. Aginili chuckled, remembering the story Mrs. Miller liked to tell them. He adjusted the rifle across his lap. If the Slicks or the Shadow Man wanted in, they would have to get through him first.

“Aginili, tell us a story!” Sarah jerked him out of his thoughts and plopped down with her legs crisscrossed by the fire. “I love my new book, but I want to hear a story from you.”

A story…so many stories crashed through his mind that he hardly knew what to pick. He wasn’t even sure he could remember the best ones correctly anymore, having his fill of Yonega stories at the mission school. Tempted to deny their wishes, he glanced at each hopeful face and caved. He lay the rifle down and settled with his back to the door.

“Let’s talk about the Nunne’hi, travelers, people who live anywhere. I like to call them immortals,” he said.

Sarah leaned forward and placed her chin in her hands, elbows on her knees. “The who?”

“Nuh-nay-hee.” Aginili slowly pronounced the syllables. “This is a story my grandfather told me. The Nunne’hi are invisible unless they want to be seen, much like the Little People, only they are our size. They look just like the rest of… well, like Father and me, and you wouldn’t know them from a human if you saw one.”

“You could be a Nunne’hi, couldn’t you?” Sarah asked.

Trying not to beam at her for this sentiment, Aginili only grinned. “I wish I were. I wish we could all go live with them. See, they are said to rescue people in battle when all hope is gone, but they often find lost children in the woods, guide them home, or take them in for shelter. Unlike the Little People, they are not as mischievous. But like the Little People, you'll never find them. You'd get lost if you tried.”

David’s eyes lit up for the first time since the Shadow Man had ruined their morning. That chooj, boy…always getting lost. They were probably planning it right now, Aginli mused.

"Not the kind of lost that makes them rescue you, chooj.” 

Aginili smirked as David gave a resigned sigh.

“So here is a story about the Nunne’hi.” 

“One day, a boy on the river played target practice with his bow and arrow. When the sun started to set, he realized he’d been playing too long.” Aginili eyed the twins and, satisfied to see their knowing grimaces, continued. “To make up for it,  he started making a fish trap to catch supper. Soon he got more and more tired and could barely lift the stones to make his trap, so he slowed his work and wiped the sweat from his brow.

A stranger came along the shoreline and called out to him, ‘come walk up the river a bit and rest.’

“The boy weighed his options. Go home with no fish and miss supper, or go with this man.”

“I’ll give you a good supper,” the man said, “and return you home in the morning.” 

“Well, just then, the boy’s stomach let out a mighty growl. A meal sooner than later sounded fair.”

Sarah giggled and made her best rolling growl. David grinned but kept his hands around the stones. Lethargic, he’d probably eaten too much corn.

"The boy followed the man to his home and ate along with the man’s family. They were all very kind and glad to see him. Another man from the boy’s village named Udsi’skala even came by to eat. After supper, the boy played with the other children and lost track of time. But he had a wonderful night’s sleep. He left for home in the morning with Udsi’skala, the man from his village.

“As they traveled down the path, things looked unfamiliar, but he strode happily and passed the orchards and cornfields. When they reached a fork in the trail, the man told him to take the other trail that will go straight to the boy’s home.

“The boy left Udsi’skala and walked a little way before looking back. When he did, the cornfields and orchards had vanished, and only the trees and mountain remained.”

David rolled the stones in his hands and studied them, listening.

“When the boy got near his home, he found a search party out looking for him. Confused, he saw Udsi’skala, who had accompanied him partially home. ‘I thought Udsi’skala would have told you where I was,’ he said to the party and gestured to the man.

“But Udsi’skala shook his head and told him, ‘I’ve been looking for you this whole time. You must have seen the Nunne’hi, and one of them disguised himself as me.’”

Sarah’s eyes widened.

“The boy’s mother smiled. She knew what happened. ‘Son,’ she said, ‘you stayed with the Nunne’hi in their invisible home. When we go in that direction, we sometimes hear a drum above us, but we never can find the source.’

“So you see, these invisible people only show themselves when they like, but they watch over us in a way.”

David stared up at Aginili with his big, blue eyes. The stones dropped from his hands. “Do you think the Shadow Man is a Nunne’hi? He watches over us.”

Aginili frowned. Maybe. He hadn’t considered the man was anything more than a Slick. “I think we ought to stay away from him. If he were Nunne’hi, he could watch us without showing himself. And if he targets one of us, he targets us all.”

“Does that mean you want to be our brother? To stay?” David’s pensive voice barely made it to Aginili’s ears. 

Aginili studied each twin’s wide eyes and lifted brows. They didn’t resent him, not even after he’d acted a fool weeks ago, but they should. He resented their innocence. Though tender, the wound on his shoulder had healed somewhat, but his heart and head still demanded justice. In order to stay, he’d have to give up his ambition for revenge against his grandparents’ murderers, the Slicks.

Father’s note couldn’t have been more clear. Show nobody your scar. Hold onto each other. Keep out of trouble and the public eye, or leave. And if you go, you can’t come back. He couldn’t leave these children behind, though. Father wasn’t likely to come back soon if he left this long already.

Aginili leaned his head back against the door. Something unsettling about his father’s instructions twisted his stomach. Perhaps whoever killed his grandparents would have followed him here, and staying low made sense. A peculiar attachment to the barefoot rascals  beside him rose in his heart. Father had left his family too many times.

No ceremony, no witnesses. He had nothing to give these children, and they had little to give him in the form of trade to finalize the pact, but his word meant something to them.  

“Yes, I will call you my brother and sister, and I will stay.” At least until Father gets back. Even as he said it, a piece of him dropped away. He was not sure he wanted it back, sitting with his small family inside the vast expanse of uncertainty.

Well, that is it for this chapter!

All work is copyright. Permission must be obtained to use.

Win a book by nonfictional Cherokee storytellers

Comment with a nod to your favorite story (scary or not!) that you heard growing up here or on the Facebook post, Dec. 8th or 9th for a chance to win a wonderful book: Cherokee Stories of the Turtle Island Liars Club, by Hastings Shade, Sammy Still, Sequoyah Guess, Woody Hansen, and Cherokee scholar Christopher B. Teuton.

Curious to see who is up next with free books and other prizes? Check the schedule on

https://paulaloftinghistoricalnovelist.wordpress.com/historical-writers-blog-hops

"Whole nations have melted away in our presence like balls of snow before the sun, and have scarcely left their names behind except as imperfectly recorded by their enemies and destroyers."

Let's dive in! The plan is to go from a broad understanding to a more specific area of study (Cherokee Nation, 1700s-1800s), and so get more of a first-hand perspective. This is not an exhaustive list and is mostly based on history because that is my area of study right now. Please remember that Native Nations are very much alive today and that issues over land and culture continue for each Nation. Let us know of more modern resources AND books regarding other nations in the comments!

General, Essential books

There are always more! If you have read some others please leave them in the comments.

First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History

I have not read this book, but it was recommended to me as a text book from a person who took a class and found it really helpful in understanding interactions between First Nations and Europeans. I'll let the description take the wheel:

Expertly authored by Colin G. Calloway, First Peoples has been praised for its inclusion of Native American sources and Calloway's concerted effort to weave Native perspectives throughout the narrative. Emphasizing the importance of primary sources, each chapter includes a document project and picture essay organized around important themes in the chapter. This distinctive approach continues to make First Peoples the bestselling and most highly acclaimed text for the American Indian history survey.

The Trail of Tears: The Story of the American Indian Removals 1813-1855 by Gloria Jahoda. This was such a difficult read for me. I discovered some unsavory things about an ancestor of mine, too. The lies, coercion, and deceit found in these pages are generally what they mean when people say that the Government stole land. The people who stood up for the legal and human rights of Native Americans did so with the knowledge that they could lose everything, and still they did it. Could you imagine if more followed their example? I'll just let the Goodreads description speak for this one:

In this poignant and powerful book, Gloria Jahoda makes use of hitherto unpublished sources to relate in unprecedented depth and detail the history of Indian courage in the face of white expansion during the first half of the nineteenth century. She describes the violence, the wars, the meaningless treaties and political double-dealing that spread from Washington to the frontier. She portrays the suffering as thousands of Creeks, Choctaws, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Seminoles, Shawnees, Delawares, Senecas and members of other proud Native American nations perished from cold, hunger and white men's diseases. Here too are the monumental figures of the age, men of greed, hatred, honor and inspiration, including: Andrew Jackson, who created the policy and presided over its ruthless execution Sir St. George Gore, an Irish millionaire who, in slaughtering over 2,000 buffalo, helped speed the demise of the Native Americans newly arrived in the Great American Desert Sam Houston and Davy Crockett, former Indian fighters turned Indian advocates John Ross, the Cherokee statesman who represented his tribe before the United States government and later bitterly led his people out of Georgia Osceola, the brilliant military tactician and Seminole chief who gallantly waged war against Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor.

Jacksonland: President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross, and a Great American Land Grab Steve Inskeep follows two influential people through time. Cherokee Principle Chief John Ross and President Andrew Jackson had similar pasts, believe it or not, even going to battle together. But they ended up as opposed to each other as can be. Inskeep details their journeys through war, land dealings, internal and external politics, etc. It has a very detailed explanation of the treaty timelines and how they happened, which is extremely important to understanding why the Cherokee (and others!) hold animosity toward Jackson and the Treaty Party.

The works of James Mooney. James was an ethnographer in the late 1800s and early 1900s living with and interviewing different Nations. As a white person he only saw and heard as much as they allowed him to, and pieced it together based on what he knew/discovered. He threw himself into the work. He got his hands on trunk-fulls and armloads of Cherokee syllabary writings, books of formulas held by healers, and so many more things. In order to cross reference what he says, it can help to get some other sources from the Nations themselves. Conley (below) does just that. I linked to the Mooney Amazon account, but most of his work is out of copyright and available for free over several websites. Look for references to his work from historians.

My list for reading about Cherokee Nation history

This list is always expanding! If you have some excellent sources for this section, or books by and about other nations please drop them in the comments.

One thing to keep in mind while reading sources is the words used synonymously: Cherokee/Tsalagi/Aniyvwiya (or other spelling like Aniyunwiya). Cherokee is the word English speakers applied to the people Aniyvwiya, and is likely a derivative of Tsalagi (the word the Creek Nation applied to them and that is used today in official business). An early, now extinct dialect in the area of first contact did not use the letter "l" and instead used "r". This combined with Tsa=cha and gi=ki could explain the word used in English.

Check out Robert Conley's books

He was such an amazing Cherokee author who lived through times when it was unheard of to cast a Native character in novels. He eventually did both fiction and non fiction.

Here is a comprehensive list of his works:

Of his works I recommend all of the Real People series (simply a translation of their name Aniyvwiya) and the two linked below. The Real People books are an entertaining way to learn about actual people and events from a Cherokee perspective. Each one has old words you might not hear anymore (and current words), depiction of government and social systems, internal views of conflicts between nations, etc.

Cherokee Thoughts: Honest and Uncensored is a collection of essays on history and modern day issues. It covers things like casinos, treaties, humor, naming conventions, literature, and "wannabe Indians." It truly is uncensored, so get ready! I also enjoyed perusing the list of authors he wrote down. I highly recommend this book.

The Cherokee Nation: A History I like learning history from Cherokee authors because they don't (so far) shy away from anything uncomfortable. Conley does use some historic documents from white authors as sources but he has the knowledge to cross reference and figure out what is myth, what is unknown or disputed, and what is possible misinformation handed down from other early authors (like Adair). He'll reference all sources at the end of each chapter. This book brings the reader from the beginning to beyond the days of Wilma Mankiller (Principle Chief in 1985). It has sources for further reading after each topic, which I find awesome.

Right from the primary source and guides to them

It's important to know some context before or alongside jumping into many of the early writings, especially Boudinot or the Ridges. One reason for these two is that they are traitors to the Cherokee Nation. Another is that they at one time advocated assimilation, but it's good to know how their lives shaped those world views.

Being mostly white but getting a clan from his mother, John Ross was in a similar class, so I would say you must dig even deeper than Ross, Boudinot, or Ridge writings to get a picture of average life in the 1700s and 1800s. That is why I suggested Conley's Real People Series.

John Ross Papers from the Gilcrease Museum are a huge collection of seemingly everything this Principal Chief touched. If you know the name of something it might be there. Treaties, letters, notes, orders, newspaper clippings, speeches, etc. This is a great place to get some primary sources. There is no guide for this source, so be very careful! If you are looking at anything signed (or supposed to be signed but was not), be sure to find the amendments as well. I've seen countless poorly researched summaries of the Treaty of New Echota online, and you don't want to fall into that trap. If you find books by or about John Ross, it's great to get that history as well.

To Marry an Indian: The Marriage of Harriett Gold and Elias Boudinot in Letters, 1823-1839 by Harriett Gold Boudinot, Elias Boudinot, Theresa Strouth Gaul (Editor) These are a series of letters between the white woman Harriett Gold (who married Boudinot) and her family members. She defied her entire family and townspeople. Her own brother burned her in effigy and the mission school Boudinot attended eventually floundered. The contents of these letters show just how divisive people got over race and that no amount of assimilation would make society live alongside each other. After reading this book and some of Boudinot's letters, I began to notice his amazing skill for well-placed sarcasm and humor. Interesting stuff.

Cherokee Editor: The Writings of Elias Boudinot by Elias Boudinot (Editor), Theda Perdue I think the above explanation works here too. Boudinot's work went from writing and editing for the Cherokee Phoenix to making political statements against the Principal Chief in order to leave their lands. It's really important to read Perdue's notes after each section, as she explains his words and actions in the context of his life. I wrote a review of this book here.

Cherokee Phoenix. [volume], March 06, 1828 and all other saved and digitized issues are available on the Library of Congress website. This particular issue has the first Cherokee Constitution in scanned image and in text. The Phoenix was the first Native, multilingual newspaper and it was even distributed to countries overseas, creating multinational awareness of the underlying issues here in the states. When the Georgia Guard came through in the mid 1830s, hoping to destroy the Cherokees' ability to inform people of their plight, they dumped all the lead type into a well. This type was discovered many years later. Under a new name, the Phoenix opened up again in Indian Territory after the Trail of Tears.

Works by any of the agents pre-revolutionary war: John Stuart, Alexander Cameron, McDonald, etc. All of these people had to learn customs but more than that, it was their job to keep colonists off Cherokee land. I wouldn't say they were always successful, but they certainly tried. They represented the King, so their knowledge of treaties and land dealings is a whole new set compared to what we have today.

Works by James Adair. He was a trader and Indian agent during one of the most internationally violent centuries pre-world war. The English, French, and Spanish all wanted to control North America (1700s). He set to work on a history of the American Indians, but his writing has been looked down on for the insistence they (or at least the Cherokee) descended from a lost tribe of Israel. I don't know enough ancient history to say anything on that subject.

Other notable writers from history

A Son of the Forest: The Experience of William Apes, A Native of the Forest, Comprising a Notice of the Pequod Tribe of Indians, Written by Himself by William Apess A wonderful instructor recommended this to me with the purpose of explaining identity and I think it does a good job in showing how culture can mold our world views. Note that it is by a Pequod preacher who no longer held traditional views, but his outward identity never changed, which caused him to internalize trauma at the hands of his new family and neighbors. He made astute observations on the contrast in how different groups of people behaved from the time he became an indentured servant until his career as a preacher. After publishing this book, he became more of an activist for the rights of Native peoples. If you can read 1829 text with some verses spotted in, this is an excellent source for its purpose.

The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta: The Celebrated California Bandit by John Rollin Ridge. Careful with this one, haha! Ridge comes with the same warnings as Boudinot. That is why I put their writings at the end, after people get a chance to read some context. Ridge's father signed the Treaty of New Echota and paid with his life. Young Ridge was witness to the killing and this anger shows in his writing. However, it's quite the tale and is the foundation for the character Zoro as seen in other books and movies. He was an editor for newspapers in my general area of Northern California, and this book is quite editorial in victorian style. He has a frankness and bit of well...a "product of his social environment" sort of view that many people might call "product of the times". I wrote a post about this book here.

• Alice Callahan, Creek

• Sarah Winnemucca, Paiute

• George Copway, Ojibwe

• Anthology of Native Women writers from the 1800s to early 1900s: https://www.amazon.com/Native-American-Womens-Writing-Anthology/dp/0631205187

Before you go:

As a side note: If you get a chance to buy new books (as opposed to used) from modern Native American authors, I suggest doing so if financially possible. My thought is that the more we can support their honest and hard work, the more voices we will get to see and hear. If it's not financially possible, at least support their work by reviewing and sharing the titles with other people. Check out this list of Native American authors on Goodreads and this list on Open Education Database. I have read several of these and they all held a fresh, much needed perspective. It's nice to also get some fiction in the mix, to offset my more sobering list. Supporting positive stories is a must, and a request from several Cherokee that I know.

My list is limited to what I'm studying right now, but there is so much more! I really want to know more about other Native Nations and their past and present treaties. That is a huge undertaking, but I think it essential in understanding how history has shaped our world today. If you have some books or articles in mind please let us know!

An interesting book with jurisdictional issues that brought about the FBI: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Check out this Instagram post with more websites and books, including Cherokee language and cultural resources. https://www.instagram.com/p/CDEu54Wnh3s/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Not every area had a courthouse, so wait times for justice were long, if justice came at all. Sometimes people didn't agree with the judge. So what did people do when they didn't have or trust the law? They made their own vigilante justice group.

This is my part in the Historical Writer's Forum summer blog hop on momentous events. I think this blog concludes a momentous year after January of 1836 when certain settlements became counties and transitioned to the court system. If you want to know why I chose this topic in relation to my family saga series, scroll all the way down.

What is Slick Law, anyway?

In short: vigilante justice.

Every time I read a journal or collection of memories, I learn something surprising. This comes at the expense of countless hours fighting my adorable dog for the little green couch, with laptop at hand. This time the mystery lay in the writings of Rev. J. D. Anthony of his early days in Cherokee County, Alabama. Slick Law ruled the county before courthouses appeared (first circuit court was 1836).

Anthony describes a man called Captain Whips, who lived near Mud Creek and carried a wagon whip with which to...whip people, of course. He was an "old man of small dimensions, in every sense of the term, except, it might be truthfully said, that he far excelled all mankind in indescribable ugliness." Unrelated to the man's looks, his group didn't appear to have much discretion in other areas.

According to Anthony:

"Many good men had gone into this company for the noble purpose of protecting themselves in their rights in life and property; but there were many other, and doubtless by far the greater portion, who had joined for no other purpose than to be protected in their own rascality. Many a poor Indian lost his pony, his cows, and hogs, by the base villains, who screened themselves behind the specious show of "slick law." Any new comer among the whites, who chose not to cast his lot with these ruffians, was sure to bring down their ire upon his unfortunate head...."

"...Shortly after our arrival these sticklers for law and order "slicked" an old man by the name of Hendricks, i.e. they gave him about two hundred lashes on his naked back.  They then determined to "slick" his son Joab, who lived near where Porterville in DeKalb county now stands. They took both the Hendricks across the Georgia line to "slick" them. The work was done near the residence of a Mr. Dempsey. Whether Dempsey or Whips did the "slicking," or whether they divided the job between them, I never knew. Some years after, while Dempsey was sitting quietly in his house, some one gave him the contents of a double barrel shot-gun. He was thus made a cripple for life.  I never learned who Dempsey accused with furnishing him with that supper of Blue plums. Every one else attributed it to the hospitality of the Hendricks', and regarded it as the last note in the funeral dirge of Alabama "slick law."

http://www.genealogytrails.com/ala/cherokee/his_cherokee.html

When the first court session came about, the Slicks were hell-bent on keeping Hendricks from testifying against them, but well-armed citizens surrounded the building (somebody's home) and kept peace. So the Slicks "skulked away and sought refuge in more savage climes."

Slick Company in Chambers, AL.

According to E. G. Richards of Chambers county, thieves used local caves to hide their bounty and make an elaborate scheme with which to entice enslaved people to run away, hid in the caves, and permit themselves to be sold in exchange for half the money and help escaping to free states. The Slick Company would then hunt down these thieves, whip them, and make them leave the county.

The Chambers Slick Company met its end when they decided a hotel guest was suspicious. They broke into the hotel, got into a shootout, dragged him out and tied him to a tree, whipped him, and sent him and his wife away. The hotel owner sued the entire group for damages and an assault on her guests. Some of them ran away, others paid up, but that was the end of the Slick Company.

Slick Law probably happened all over Alabama and Georgia.

If you only consider J. D. Anthony's tale, the Sicks roamed from the Tennessee River to the Creek Nation border, but until 1836 Chambers county lay within the Creek borders. I think the Slicks would have hunted people who used caves in any county. Jackson County alone has over 700 caves. The Aniyvwiya/Cherokee who lived in Northern AL had been termed many variations of "people of the caves" by other Nations.

In order to fully understand Slick Law one must also take a look at Lynch's Law. The two terms are used interchangeably by newspapers in the area.

Lynch's Law

The Mirriam Webster Dictionary defines Lynch's Law as:

Punishment of presumed crimes or offenses usually by death without due process of law.

“Lynch law.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lynch%20law. Accessed 12 Jul. 2020.

Lynch's Law has a couple origin stories, but one story dominates. Charles Lynch, a Justice of the Peace AND a Quaker (of all things), during the American Revolution started the practice and the term. He employed questionable tactics against Loyalists and appealed to have his actions retroactively justified by law. Thomas Jefferson warned him that it could turn really sour if he did not.

This is the common problem with taking justice into our own hands: we risk punishment ourselves, or making horrible mistakes, as one can see from the short-lived Slick Law groups. For more on Charles Lynch check out the links below.

Judge Lynch

Judge Lynch was Lynch Law personified, and this term got more traction in the 1800s. Generally the group of people doing the lynching (not always death) were the judge, or they made a mock trial and appointed somebody to be a judge. A good portion of the lynchings during pre-reconstruction happened over theft, or anyone helping enslaved people gain freedom, which is a sobering thought. It's more than aggravating that "theft of oneself" was considered a thing.

I put some links at the end of this post for further reading on lynching during post Reconstruction.

Why Explore this Topic for my Series?

The rapid deterioration of vigilante justice is part of what drives my characters to change course.

First up is an exploration in what justice means to different people, and how taking it into our own hands can harm, enable, or free others. Horrible mistakes occur when involved with the wrong people who claim they are seeking justice.

I want certain characters to be part of a vigilante justice group, but one that even the Slicks would shy away from. This group is quick, quiet, and won't proclaim they stand in for the law. They do their acts alone and it becomes a matter of legend because nobody knows who they are. One of them will have good sense to part ways when things get bad, but his mistakes will cost him dearly. As one character likes to say: "You can wash blood off your hands, but it'll stain your soul."

There are a lot of good blogs this month! Check out the other blogs on the blog hop page

Further reading

Maps

https://digitalcollections.libraries.ua.edu/digital/collection/u0005_0000003/id/95/rec/1

Views from early settlers

http://www.genealogytrails.com/ala/cherokee/his_cherokee.html

https://books.google.com/books/about/Life_and_Times_of_Rev_J_D_Anthony.html?id=G9tEAAAAYAAJ

http://www.genealogytrails.com/ala/chambers/history_chambers.html

Slick Law, Captain Slick, Captain Whips

https://www.fold3.com/page/109755948-the-cherokee-indians/stories

Charles Lynch and Judge Lynch

https://scholarship.richmond.edu/masters-theses/102/

https://infogalactic.com/info/Charles_Lynch_(judge)

http://www.avocamuseum.org/lynch

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Judge%20Lynch

Post reconstruction reading

https://www.history.com/news/lynching-museum-alabama-national-memorial-for-peace-and-justice

http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/cdm/ref/collection/voices/id/2516

https://www.history.com/news/the-grisly-story-of-americas-largest-lynching

If you check out her website she has even made a "starter library" for potential readers, which I think is a really clever way to introduce people to her work. So, let's talk about these novels.

Q: Gothic novels are some of my favorites, and you have written quite a few of them, but for those of us who don't know gothic novels, how would you describe them? 

A: Encyclopaedia Britannica sums it up nicely and rather vaguely as fiction having a ‘prevailing atmosphere of mystery and terror’. That’s a great umbrella definition for the many forms of gothic fiction in the world, including mine.

Classically, there are recurring features like crumbling ruins, paranormal elements (ghosts, monsters, vampires), love and obsession, madness, dreams/nightmares, a damsel in distress, dreary or dangerous weather, and of course, death and decay. 

Although my books feature many of these elements, the main thing for me is the gothic atmosphere. It is somehow beautifully terrifying.

In Woman on Ward 13, the real gothic atmosphere is created in the 1900 storyline, which takes place in a Victorian private madhouse. The house itself is beautiful, the landscape is rural and picturesque, but delve a little deeper, and really, it’s all just a façade for something altogether more sinister. 

Q: Your upcoming work, Woman on Ward 13, is a time slip gothic novel. What is the best and also the most tricky part about writing a time slip novel? 

A: It is quite a hard process altogether. I have structured it so that the mystery takes place in 1900, and in 1957 the character Iris is trying to solve it. Therefore, I wrote the 1900 timeline first. I then wrote Iris’s story around it. 

You generally feel like you’re juggling everything in your head. It’s difficult enough to write a mystery (knowing where to place the red herrings, the missing information, etc.) and trying to do it with 2 timelines is a real challenge. I find it best to write it all down so it’s out of my head and on the page, then I can fine tune and ensure everything makes sense in the editing phase.  

Having said that, the dual timelines allow some themes to really shine. For example, the inequality of the sexes is strong in Woman on Ward 13, and I show how women have been oppressed for decades and centuries. I believe it highlights how we still have some way to go on that issue.  

Q: What lengths did you have to go through to research the psychiatric ward, and how did it affect your outlook (if it did)?

A: As with all my novels, I try to research to the best of my ability, and then use poetic licence. I have read countless books (including other historical fiction featuring asylums) and used as many internet resources as possible. 

There’s a fantastic online museum, the Glenside Museum, which has information about Bristol’s old lunatic asylum. It has so many blog posts about life in an asylum, including some reports and diary entries from the inhabitants. I visited another museum in Worcester which featured objects from Powick Asylum, including a record book which stated who was in the asylum and for what reasons. The attendant’s handbook which I mention in the book is real and can be viewed online. 

By that time in history, many of the deplorable madhouses of the 18th century had gone, and wealthy patients were being looked after in the large state-managed county asylums as private patients. However, some of these madhouses did continue into the 20^th century, so I reasoned The Basildon Retreat could be plausible. What they get up to in the madhouse has its roots in fact, but I have embellished aspects to compliment the storyline.

It was actually more difficult to research psychiatric wards in the 1950s than in Victorian times. My Ward 13 is directly inspired by the videos of Powick Hospital’s Ward F13, which you can find on YouTube and which proved invaluable to this book. 

For most people, the idea of a Victorian asylum is horrifying. For some, it undoubtedly was. However, through my research, I discovered unusually caring aspects of the system. Whilst abuse did go on, by the end of the century there was very little restraint used, and most of the time it was used only for the patient’s welfare. Those attendants found guilty of abuse would usually be sacked immediately. For the very poorest in society, it could be a place of refuge, where you could eat a proper meal for the first time in months, where you were essentially cared for because you had no one else to do so. 

On the other hand, it was a tool of oppression for both men and women. It could be wielded by those who sought money, advancement, or an easier life. 

As with anything, asylums and mental hospitals (and those who lived and worked in them) are never purely good or purely evil. They are firmly in the grey zone. 

Q: What inspired you to write this novel?

A: The idea for this novel originally began when I was studying for an MA in Creative Writing. Back then, it had 4 main characters and storylines! I soon realised it needed cutting down. 

It was a while ago, but I believe it was initially sparked by a short scene about a middle-class woman in the 1950s visiting her doctor, desperately trying to hold it together while she suffers with post-natal depression. This character no longer features in Woman on Ward 13, but she inspired the character of Mrs Leverton, and Mrs Leverton’s story is what the whole book hinges on. 

Q: Do you recall any interesting/awkward/funny/intense moments while researching or writing any of your work?

A: It’s hard to say without giving away any of the crucial plot elements. 

I would say the most intense, interesting and harrowing part of my research was watching the Powick Hospital videos. Most of the time, historical research is limited to books or recreations. Here, you see the real people and their real treatment. How they have been left, how they spend their days staring at walls in a urine-smelling room, how the rest of the world is getting on without them. Even the ward doctor called Ward F13 ‘the bin’. 

It was also bitter-sweet to write about the dogs in the book – all the Annies. They are inspired by my own dog Annie, who died after a 3-year battle with lymphoma. It was a joy to recreate her as the obedient, loyal friend, who provided hope and relief in otherwise desperate situations. Pet owners will understand the depth of such relationships. 

Q: Tell us something about one of your main characters that makes her unique.

A: Iris Lowe is one of those plain, good-hearted people. I don’t write many like that! She honestly wants to help others, in any way she can. At the same time, she’s not faultless, and she’s not a sickeningly sweet goody-two-shoes. She makes mistakes. She upsets those she loves. She is ambitious. She is a woman who wants more and better, for herself and everyone else. She wants equality, the truth, and justice.

She is a fighter. 

And even when things are terrible, she manages to pull through, to find a glimmer of hope, and to provide comfort however she can. 

Q: What do you do in your spare time?

A: I try to do things that get me away from the desk, so there’s lots of lovely countryside walks with my dog. I started practising yoga four years ago and now I can’t be without it; I try to do something every day, even though that’s not always possible. If you haven’t already, you should check out Yoga with Adrienne – just the sound of her voice immediately calms me. I’m really getting into gardening now too, and we’re currently growing over 12 different vegetables which is so rewarding. Of course, I read a lot (some of my favourite authors are Sarah Waters, Eve Chase, and Laura Purcell), and I adore a thrilling drama box set such as The Alienist or Mindhunter. 

Thank you for answering my questions! It has been great getting to know your work and I'm looking forward to your novel's release! 

For everyone interested in what sounds like an amazing new novel releasing in July, here is the description of Woman on Ward 13:

‘The first thing they question is your memory. You must hold on to it, at any cost.’

1900

Asylum attendant, Katy Owen, hates the isolation, the bars on the windows, and the way the mad women watch her. She should not believe their delusional tales, but when her charge talks of murder, she is drawn into a story of tragedy and conspiracy that threatens her own sanity.

1957

Iris Lowe is a nurse on the infamous psychiatric ward 13. After one patient receives her first visitor in over 50 years, Iris suspects there might be more to her story than meets the eye. 

As she battles against buried secrets, Iris unearths harrowing and heart-wrenching atrocities that span almost a century.

But is it too late to serve justice? 

Woman on Ward 13 is a captivating gothic time-slip novel, the first in the new series, The Iris Lowe Mysteries. 

Book description:

Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.

Review

After reading the first chapter and rolling my eyes a little, I'm thinking Dana will save this white kid and he'll love her and be a good person and all that jazz. Yeah, no...I got a kick-in-the-pants surprise.

Rufus develops this need for Dana that at first is childlike and a response to trauma, but as he gets older and needs her more often, he starts to show his true colors. Graciously, Dana still sees him like a child and knows his actions are driven by trauma and his world, but she can't give up her self-respect. She can try and blend into the environment though, and her husband helps and hinders at the same time. This complex tug-of-war is what makes everyone so slappable and the ending so sad and satisfying at the same time.

"Good person" is a difficult thing to understand. My modern sensibilities have a really hard time with it, and Butler takes opportunities to put "good" behaviors in a historical perspective while reminding the reader that it's still not OK. That is part of why I am thoroughly enjoying my reads this year. With a few exceptions too many authors shy away from these intricate issues, or don't show how complex they are. I find that many black authors just "got there," which I appreciate very much.

This book is brutal and yet somehow necessary.

I've been reading author's notes in all the books I come across, and this book as some amazing notes resources for more information.