Dear Friends, I’m excited to be planning my trip to Historical Novel Society North America’s (HNSNA) 2023 Conference in San Antonio next month! I’m planning to pitch my finished novel to a couple of smaller publishers while I’m at the conference and learned I need something called a “pitch sheet.” This sheet will have aContinueContinue reading “Off to Historical Novel Society North America with a sample book cover!”
Tag Archives: Quaker
“Welcome”: a short story
Dear Friends, Last year, Friends Journal decided to do a fiction issue for the first time. This year they decided to do it again, and I’m excited that my story, “Welcome,” is in it. If you have a few moments, please check out my very short, short story. My story is a fictional account ofContinueContinue reading ““Welcome”: a short story”
Deconstructing the Bonnet
https://www.amazon.com.br/American-Quaker-Romances-Building-Christian/dp/8491349081 This book caught my eye when I saw it go by on Twitter It’s the end of September and I’m back at my desk reading and writing about all sorts of things. Reader, I am no longer in the habit of reading literary essays. It has been years! But I stumbled upon this bookContinueContinue reading “Deconstructing the Bonnet”
Anthony Benezet’s Revolutionary Academy for Children
Benezet set up a school for free Black children in his home on Chestnut Street between 3rd and 4th Streets Dear Friends, Happy August! Are you already thinking about back-to-school? I am––when I walk through a pile of dried brown leaves, and their smell brings me back to college orientation (when it was still summer,ContinueContinue reading “Anthony Benezet’s Revolutionary Academy for Children”
10 Ways I Consumed Books in 2021
Dear Friends, It’s July! Do you have time off? Are you going to the beach? Are you reading more? I have been thinking more about my reading habits––there are always so many books I want to read. 2021 was a big reading year for me; I read a total of 40 books, including some ofContinueContinue reading “10 Ways I Consumed Books in 2021”
A Quaker Day in Darby
Dear Friends, I have been busy! After finishing the seventh (what?) revision of my first novel, I’ve made a goal to query an agent a day this summer. Why not? If I don’t have any luck, I’ll work on my own e-book and audio versions. Meanwhile, my sister and I had a wonderful day lastContinueContinue reading “A Quaker Day in Darby”
A Quaker “Happening” in Darby, PA May 1!
Live in the Philadelphia area? Interested in Quaker, Philadelphia, or library history? I’ll be at Darby Friends Meeting House at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 1, with others celebrating a new federal grant made to the Darby Free Library. Darby Free Library is the oldest library in continuous use in the U.S., founded by DarbyContinueContinue reading “A Quaker “Happening” in Darby, PA May 1!”
Sex and the City: Philadelphia 1777
Bedroom, Cedar Grove, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia A confluence of events: the reboot of Sex and the City (SATC) i.e. And Just Like That (AJLT) and a family emergency led me to watch both the reboot and the original SATC this past month. With the attention span of a flea the past few weeks, I dippedContinueContinue reading “Sex and the City: Philadelphia 1777”
“Membership Discontinued” or the 5 Best Ways to Get Kicked out of Quaker Meeting
Me in front of Darby Meeting House in 2019. My ancestor was kicked out of Darby Monthly Meeting, as were John Bartram, and John James Pearson. Fornication, disbelief in the Holy Trinity, and fighting in the American Revolution were all big Quaker no-nos over the years. Quaker disownment fascinates me. In the genealogical research I’veContinueContinue reading ““Membership Discontinued” or the 5 Best Ways to Get Kicked out of Quaker Meeting”
10 popular novels that taught me how to write about Quakers
Hi all and Happy November! When I started writing my first Quaker novel three years ago, I decided to take a look at other fiction featuring Friends. I didn’t want to look at the classics (nope, Moby Dick, don’t think I can write that!), but at popular books. I started by working through the “FictionContinueContinue reading “10 popular novels that taught me how to write about Quakers”