I admit it, I love history, especially the Middle Ages, the Golden Age of Piracy, Georgian/Regency era respectively, and one of my true favorites, the tough, gritty, Wild, Wild West. Now, I realize much of the folklore about the Old West isn’t quite what happened in reality, but the fact is, Jesse and Frank James, Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were real.  There lives were glorified or villified, depending upon who was telling their tales, but Doc Holliday really had TB and went out West when his disease worsened and his love for his cousin met with stern family objection.  He was a real man with real heartache and real life drama, and, as you know, he played a significant roll in the shoot out at the OK Corral, which didn’t really ‘happen’ at the OK Corral as Hollywood would have had us believe years ago.

Perhaps Hollywood glamourizes historical figures, or portrays them with some inaccuracies. I think this is to create a story that would draw us to it. How many people saw Titanic knowing how it was going to end, but still watched it over and over just to watch the love-struck couple face such terrible odds and hope that Leo didn’t really die at the end?  Sad as it was, real people died on that ship and that’s why I cried so hard at the end.

So, I’ve been watching a lot of my Yahoo groups lists, and noticed some discussion about historical events and how authors and movies interpret them.  There are so many historical figures, true people whose accomplisments and lives touched thousands of lives and span the test of time. If you could truly step into a time capsule, who would you like to meet, if only for fifteen minutes or just to shake their hand?

I, for one, would love to go back and meet Peter, one of the Apostles, because he made mistakes, he was human, and years ago when I went to Israel, I learned that he must have been married. As one of the places we visited was Peter’s mother-in-law’s home. That makes him real to me, a person with flaws, but one who tried to be faithful to Jesus. I’d like to meet Harriet Tubman, her life story alone making her absolutely fascinating and selfless to me. She sacrificied so much to help slaves find their freedom, to take a moment to thank her would be amazing.  I would like to meet Crazy Horse or Geronimo or any Lakota/Souix chief and find out their take on Manifest Destiny, the determined progression of the United States from the Eastcoast to the Westcoast. Of course, that’s my very simplified take on Manifest Destiny, but I would like their point of view.  And, in all honesty, I’d like to meet John Wayne, perhaps because he seemed so larger than life to me on the silver screen and two of my favorite movies are The Cowboys and True Grit.

Finally, I would like to meet Jane Austin because she was a writer and I’d love to spend a day in her company just to hear what she has to say about the Regency period and romance.  

These are only five people I’d like to meet if I could step back in time. There are countless more, so many it would take pages and pages to blog about, but I would love to know what you think. Who would you like to meet if you could and why?  Share if you will, I would love to read your responses.

Until next time write well and read often,

Frances Stockton

Well, wow, it’s hard to believe that September is here, school has started pretty much around the country, and summer went by so fast!  Too fast, if you ask me, but it was a good summer.

While there had been some difficult moments in my family with the death of my uncle, some minor personal issues to deal with, and during the last month I’ve had a terrible chest cold/cough and then a 24 hour bug that kept me weak for a few days after my appetite returned, I did have an awesome vacation to Key West in July, spent time with my folks and my husband’s family, and, of course, I read, a lot!  Earlier in May, my husband and I went to Maui, Hawaii, and that was awesome!  And, guess what, I read a lot during that long flight to San Francisco and Maui, so the summer was wonderful.

Fortunately, I’d also found time to write and edit, but I admit I’d have liked to write more than I had.  Regardless, I wanted to share with you all some of my favorite summer reads, and ask that you share some of your own.  

Among my favorites was Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Devil May Cry, another fabulous Dark-Hunter novel, in my humble opinion. I couldn’t put it down. Another favorite was Die For Me by romantic suspense author Karen Rose. With a chilling villain, a sexy hero, a strong heroine, and lots of suspense, this book leapt to the top of my keeper shelf.   I just love reading romantic suspense anyway, and Die For Me didn’t disappoint.  There’d been another spicy, enjoyable romp by Cheryl Holt, her latest is on my ‘to be read’ table, which is next to my favorite spot on the family room sofa, even as I write this, and I enjoyed a number of new paranormal authors/books as well. Of course, I couldn’t let a summer go by without reading Julia Quinn or a Regency-era historical, always enjoyable for me, especially when I need to be wisked back in time and imagine all those devilish rakes resisting the lure of wedding bells. Isn’t that what reading is all about? To take us places where we never thought to go, back in time to a favorite era in history, to experience the ulitmate life or death show down with an alpha vampire, or in some cases a vampire hunter, and to forget about reality for that space and time.  Truly, I love to read almost as much as I like to write and there’d been a plethera of great books to take along on my travels this summer.

Now that I’ve shared, what did you read this summer?  And what are you looking forward to reading in the the fall. Since September is here there are countless books waiting to be released. I am an avid reader of Romantic Times magazine, (I’m also going to RT in April and I can’t wait, as it is my first RT convention!) and received my issue for October releases. JR Ward’s latest is coming out that month!  I simply cannot wait for that next book!  V is my favorite of the Brotherhood and I’ve been chomping at the bit for his story. Soon, I keep telling myself, very soon. And how cool is it that it’ll come out in October. Perfect.  Can’t wait.  There are others, of course, but I’d love to see what other readers and writers are looking forward to as the nights grow longer, the days grow shorter, and the leaves begin to turn.  Around my house, I’ve been seeing bits of orange and brown in the leaves, and allergies are rising, I admit, but that doesn’t stop me from making a ’to be read’ list for fall. 

So until next time, may you all find a fabulous new book, share your thoughts on your favorites and soon-to-be favorites, and of course, stay well.

Write well and read often,

Frances Stockton

I woke up on a bright, beautiful late-summer day, a saturday, and within moments of stepping out of bed I was on my way to a beauty salon and preparations for my wedding day! Yes, six years ago today, my husband and I pledged our love, fidelity, and our hearts to each other in a lovely, candlelit ceremony at the church I’d grown up in.

It’s hard to believe that six years has gone by. During that time, we moved into our house, after an extended stay at a temporary studio apartment-like hotel. Had my parents haul all our wedding gifts and my cat to our new home. Got a dog, a golden retriever who is as sweet and lovable as can be, and would soon find out that we were having a baby.  Our daughter is beautiful, in pre-k, a mixture of the two of us, smart as a whip, amazingly creative, and she is our pride and joy.  To think all that happened over six years is a wonderful thing, and it only paves the way for more years to come.

One of the most remarkable things about my husband is the fact that not only is he quite handsome, he is very supportive of my writing and has always, always believed that publication would happen for me if I continued to write, send in, write, send in, and also join RWA, my local RWA chapter, and, oh yeah, write and send in my work. He always said that a completed manuscript is fantastic, but it won’t see anyone’s bookshelf if I don’t send it to an editor or agent.  I’m still working on the agent part, but as you all know, I am going to be published after years and years of writing and learning from every word, sentence, and manuscript I wrote.

How many manuscripts are in my office? You don’t want to know, but they all taught me something about myself and my characters. And what a rush to know they were finished. If you are a writer, I cannot express how important it is to write and read. Read alot, read your genre, read a genre you love, read something completely opposite of your genre, and think about taking classes on writing, join a writing group that can support and encourage you. Lastly, try joining a critique group. This, I cannot recommend strongly enough because an impartial, honest, helpful critique partner or partners can really help strengthen someone’s talent and work.

If you are a reader, enjoy every book you pick up. Since it’s the end of the summer, has anyone found a particular favorite of those ‘hot summer reads’ or a book that caught your eye? Have you found any new authors or tried a different genre? I love, love, love to read romantic suspense, historicals and paranormals, but it’s the romantic suspense that I read simply to enjoy. Of course, I have my favorites in the genres I write, especially the paranormals as of late and I am looking forward to one that a little bird told me would be coming out soon. I cannot wait!

And while I’m on the subject of anniversaries, books, and summer reads, I’m more than happy to say that my husband and I are going out to a movie, an early dinner and books/coffee at Barnes and Noble to celebrate our special day. On that note, I’m off to get ready for our ’date’ and will touch base with you all after Labor Day. 

Until next time, write well and read often,

Frances Stockton