When Christmas Was Poor

There have been many times in history that celebrating Christmas was difficult, but perhaps the most notable time in U.S. history was during the Great Depression. In some ways we are revisiting that terrible economic collapse again. So now I’d like to share some personal history about a family that survived during those dark times, my grandparents and their three children—the Millers, my father’s family.

My father’s side of my childhood family was for much of their lives poor. Charles Edward Miller, my grandfather, made his living as a blacksmith. Blacksmiths didn’t just make horseshoes; they made many things that could be shaped from iron and other malleable metals of those days (in the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds.)

However his profession was obviously tied to horses and horse carts, and as a young man Charles worked closely with these spirited beasts in other ways as well. He was following in his father’s footsteps when his father apprenticed him to a Belmont jockey trainer at the age of fifteen. Eventually, Charles Miller rode one of the horses at the Belmont Stakes racetrack, just as his father had. But jockeying was a brief interlude and what Charles really learned at the Belmont was blacksmithing.

Charles was proud of his work, which he performed out of his garage, but eventually time caught up with his noble profession and blacksmithing waned. The automobile and other changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution were to blame.

For Charles and his family of five, poverty preceded the Great Depression. I’ll forgo a history lesson here, but just a little background to put the facts in their place; first came the Great War (WW I) and then came women getting the vote and the passage of the 18th Amendment—Prohibition. Next came the Roaring Twenties (today we might call this a “bubble”—a besotted bubble) and the Stock Market Crash of ’29. This crash shoved the world over a cliff, and with a sudden precipitous drop our economy was into the Great Depression. The Great Depression lasted through the thirties until World War Two (WW II.)

Other forces were at play during this fascinating period of U.S. history, but for my purposes this is enough background.

Let me return to the thirteen years of Prohibition when the very adaptable Americans adapted. For the Miller family, already teetering on the edge of poverty, adapting to this wave of social change meant the children had to leave their formal education and go to work. Estelle, Charles’ wife, also had to turn their home into a boarding house.

My father Roland had just completed the fifth grade when he began “rum running” with his older brother Russell, from the shores of Long Island near their home. Roland’s exposure to hard alcohol and extreme fear (a lethal combo) at such a young age did him no favors. The abbreviated education was equally damaging for this very bright child. Despite these handicaps, years later he would rise to an executive position in one of our nation’s great steel companies, Glendale Steel Corporation of Brooklyn.

If Americans were lucky during these times, their lives were meager. For the unlucky, life was outright misery. Russell eventually died of alcoholism at a relatively young age in his mother’s boarding house. Roland survived longer, but suffered the same illness most of his adult life.

One more family secret, and one in which I share his pride; Charles E. Miller used to boast that he was a "half breed", part “injun”. And as proof, he offered the fact that he posed for a sculpture still standing today in Central Park. This sculpture is called The Indian and you can find pictures of it on the internet.

Research into this matter has led me to know that at least two hundred young men were paid to pose for this statue, so I must add that I have no real proof of our family’s connection to American’s first inhabitants--just a lovely fantasy.

Oh, and another side note; I still have Charles E. Miller’s anvil, and a tree stump he saved that has a horseshoe embedded in it.

And the moral of this story? America’s inventiveness and adaptability are its greatest gifts. Also, how you adapt to hard times may determine what you become for the rest of your life.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all.

Back from a couple of long vacations and a Thanksgiving house full of kids and grandkids. Nothing could be better, but it does take my mind away from everything else.

My writing can be found in several places: Unraveling Ada is for sale through www.amazon.com in hard/paperback and is available on Kindle if you own one; my more current thoughts are on facebook.com, just search for Barbara Sullivan and you should find me; and of course here. If you're looking for my free chapters from Unraveling Ada, just follow the links to your right, or type www.unravelingada.blogspot.com.

I am having a wonderful life, as I hope you are all having too. Take very good care of yourself and your loved ones during this holiday season. These are lonely times for some; they need your hugs, so be sure to reach out. Hugs are cheap.

Joy to you all,
Barbara

A visit from relatives

I hope your homes will be full of friends and relatives this Thanksgiving, just as mine will be. I expect to stuff them all fuller than my turkey.

List of thanks...

I have a list, we all do, so let's get started.

First, I give thanks for living in a free, rich and healthy United States.
Second, for having a loving husband, two loving daughters and two loving sons through marriage, and for four healthy, loving, happy, well adjusted, and smart as whippersnappers grandchildren.

I give thanks that our government is made up of mostly thoughtful, caring people who want our country to be better.

I also want to give thanks for the plethora of good reading that I find all around us.

And of course, to those of you who have read my first book, Unraveling Ada, I give a special thanks.

But I do have one regret that I add in the hope that by doing so it will end up on next year's list of thanks: with the near demise of print media, especially small, local newspapers, we have lost our watchdogs over our local governments. This is no more apparent than here in California--where some of those so-called public servants are paying themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. So to my annual prayer of thanks I add a wish that everyone would subscribe to their local newspapers today--so that they may hire an extra reporter to watch those dogs. Without your financial support, these guardians of our freedom may cease to exist.

And one small prayer: for all those women and children worldwide who suffer under oppression and violence, I pray for their release.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and eat lots of wholesome food. Try some home cooking for the best possible flavors!
Barbara

Trouble with G-mail

Unfortunately someone has hacked my G-mail account and sent out advertisements for Apple iPads. I do not own an Apple iPad, and don't advertise anything but my book, Unraveling Ada, a Quilted Mystery Novel.

Thank you for understanding that I have no control over spam or hackers.
Barbara Sullivan

Visiting grandchildren and other wonderful humans...

The weather up here a mile above the rest of you has turned decidedly wet and cool. Must be fall.

For those who don't know what my website is about, a reminder that I am the author of Unraveling Ada, a Quilted Mystery novel. This wonderful tale about one of the women in a group of quilters who goes missing and ends up dead, and how three of the other quilters go about solving her murder, is a five star mystery listed on www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com. Only a handful of months more and the second in the series will be out, so you might want to hurry and read the first now. It all makes so much more sense when read in order.

Again, the book is Unraveling Ada by Barbara Sullivan, available at amazon.com.

Back to the mile-highers: all four grandchildren are well, their parents are too, as are we two grandparents, Mike and Barbara. Life doesn't get better. Our next stop is Florida for a visit with high school buddies and then back home to the goldfish and one koi. Of course white Fang is traveling with us some of the time. Unfortunately he doesn't fit in a plane seat so he'll be left behind for the Florida leg.

Book Two, Ripping Abigail, is almost complete! Be looking for it soon.

Keep healthy,
Barbara

Chapters 1-20 of Unraveling Ada Still Available

Use the "Blinks" on the sidebar to travel to Unraveling Ada, and select the chapters you wish to read from that site.

My second book, Ripping Abigail has hit a speed bump, but I'm back at editing it now and will have it published around the end of the year. Hope you are all well and happy and loving the mysteries of life.
Barbara Sullivan

Changes

It's my impression that there are no regular followers of my blog. With all the copyright issues we are having today in the world I have made the painful decision not to continue to load my book entirely on my blog. I apologize for making this change. My book is still available through Amazon.com. After the publishing of my second book the prices will be lowered. Please keep this in mind. If I'm incorrect in my assumptions you may contact me through gmail.com at quiltmyst.

Thanks for understanding.

Chapter's 1-22 of Unraveling Ada now available to read

Just go to the link for Unraveling Ada and select the chapters you want to read. Enjoy.
Barbara

My Fourth of July

Just before the turn of the nineteenth century my grandfather Carl Nim was traveling across the Atlantic Ocean with a sense of excitement in his heart. Only his journey wasn’t made on a travel ship. He was a young sailor on a merchant ship bound from Denmark to the USA.

He was thirteen, and must have been at least a little frightened given his plans.

When he hit New York harbor he completed his chores and went on leave, slipping easily into the slums and back streets of the late 1890’s New York. He never returned to the ship. He hid inside the busyness of that other turn of the century world for many years before emerging as a young man fit for my genteel grandmother Ivy. I have letters that attest to her love for him.

All of our ancestors made their way to these beautiful lands in a manner similar to my grandfather Carl, whether you know about their trip or not.

I know this country is in trouble because of the influx of people across our southern borders, but my hope for this 4th of July is that we can gentle our reactions to this growing change. There are no walls that can’t be broken down or slipped around, over or under. And as world populations continue to expand without restraint more and more desperate people will turn to a rich and largely vacant America for hope.

We must find acceptable solutions for this truth.

Another thought: I realize now that my personal memory reaches into three different centuries, made possible because of the plenty of our country and modern medicine. Isn’t America wonderful? Shouldn’t we therefore all celebrate it?

And may I finally recommend the Daughters of the American Revolution as an excellent place to begin a search for your heritage.

Chapter 20 of Unraveling Ada now available to read.

Follow the Blinks to Unraveling Ada and select the link to Chapters 16-20. This is another Eddie Chapter. Things are changing for him very rapidly.

Chapter 19 of Unraveling Ada now available.

Rachel gets to experience an autopsy up close and personal as she fantasizes a love match between Dr. Karen Bridle and the county Medical Examiner. Jake Stowall is the uninvited death of the party (as opposed to life) while the suspicious Detective Learner plays his malevolent role perfectly.

If you haven't yet read Unraveling Ada, this is the time to begin. The Prologue and first nineteen chapters are available for free.

If you prefer to read the entire book you can purchase it at amazon.com, or check it out from your public library.

Have fun!
Barbara Sullivan

Chapter 18 of Unraveling Ada now posted.

Luke is back and Eddie is terrified.

Follow the Blink to Unraveling Ada, then select the appropriate chapter.

Purchase Unraveling Ada at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, or where ever books are sold.

Give your library a try as well.

Have fun.
Barbara

Chapter1-17 now available to read.

Just follow the link, Unraveling Ada to the chapter you want to read.

Unraveling Ada just received another five star review! Give it a try.

Chapter 16 now posted.

Part Two, Chapter 16 is now up and available for you to read. Follow the Blink to Unraveling Ada, and then to Chapter 16 thru 20. Have fun!

Find Chapter 15 through the Blinks

Follow the Blink for Unraveling Ada. At Unraveling Ada's page, select the appropriate Blink to continue reading for free. I hope Spring is as beautiful where ever you are as it is at my house. Every flower in my garden is in love.

Enjoy,
Barbara

Fourteenth Chapter of Unraveling Ada Now Available

I've uploaded the fourteenth chapter of my first book, Unraveling Ada, a Quilted Mystery novel. You may read the book up to and including that chapter for free, or travel over to amazon.com and purchase Unraveling Ada anytime you wish.

I'm three quarters of the way through the rewrite on Ripping Abigail. It's a ripping good story!

Have fun,
Barbara

Chapter 12 Now Available

Just follow the links to Chapters 11-15. Enjoy!

Editing a Fiction Book

My thanks to the man who posted this information on one of the writing boards I visit, and whose name I've long ago forgotten—and was probably one of those user id’s that made no sense, anyway.

This is a brief list of issues an editor of fiction writing must look for in order to be an effective editor. From my vantage point as a writer, I use this list as a self check on whether my outline is well designed. And I also use this as a guide as I go through second and third rewrites.

LACK OF SUFFICIENT DEVELOPMENT IN THE CENTRAL CONFLICT:
This area is concerned with the amount and flow of information a reader is receiving regarding the central conflict of the novel. Does enough happen with/to the main characters regarding the central conflict to satisfy the reader? And related to this, is the "flow" of information about the central conflict broken too often with asides and irrelevancies--little side trips our creative minds like to take? If the answer is yes, the reader won't continue to read.

That by the way is one of the tests: did you put the book down and walk away...

VIEWPOINT:
Does your writing stick to the viewpoint of one character through each scene? Flipping from character to character within the same scene confuses a reader to the point of...you guessed it, putting the book down and walking away.

Using more than one "voice" within a book is also very tricky. One way to cue a reader as to which "voice" or character is speaking at any given time is to switch from first person narrative to third person when changing characters. There are other ways as well.

MECHANICAL PROBLEMS:
This area concerns itself with paragraphs and grammar.

Paragraphs: Where you split your prose into paragraphs is akin to a comic's sense of timing. Your writing can become dramatic spotlights when paragraphs are handled correctly. Note in your favorite author’s writing how and when their most exciting paragraphs begin and end. But be careful not to over use this technique.

And she cried.
And she sobbed.
And she made me…stop reading.

Grammar: Of course this is spelling and punctuation, something any good word processor will help you with (like MS Word--where red underlined words are misspelled and green underlined phrases are not punctuated correctly or they are incomplete sentences. Don't ignore your word processor's messages.)

Note the “help you with” comment above: homonyms are an exception. Deer and dear, bare and bear, they’re and their and there, are only three homonyms that word processor won't catch.

OTHER:
Over Use OF PASSIVE VOICE.
This is an area I'm trying to improve in. This is an area I am improving in.

And not fully explaining yourself. I've added to this list a bad habit of mine because my mind moves too quickly for me to keep up with. Have I said something that needs a lead in, an explanation? Have I left a step out in the sequence of my logic? Have I explained my points completely? Have I included enough detail to inform the reader well; and the adverse, am I over explaining? (Like maybe now.)

Cover blurbs must match the actual content of the book. Don’t think that you can sell more books just by appealing to a wider audience. If you’ve written a book about strawberries, don’t try selling it to plum lovers. It will just damage your credibility.

OH, AND BY THE WAY
Chapter 9 of UA is now up and running.

Chapter 8 is now available.

Read Unraveling Ada online. Just follow the "Blinks" to Unraveling Ada and then to the individual chapters. The prologue and first eight chapters are now available for you to read.

Just received another five star review at Amazon.com. Here are all three of the reviews so far.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent mystery with a great female protagonist, December 14, 2009
By SMS (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Unraveling Ada (Kindle Edition)

Rachel Lyons is a welcome addition to the female detective genre. A retired librarian who is relatively new to the P.I. world, she splits her free time between quilting bees and target practice. The best part of reading this book is getting to know Rachel and her world - she's got a strong, distinct voice and she's a character that I think many mystery lovers will enjoy getting to know. No nonsense but funny, tough but vulnerable, she manages to remain completely relatable while leading the reader through a complex and exciting story. The supporting characters are varied and distinctive - each one of them seem to have their own unique stories to tell. And the quilting information is fascinating and detailed without being too overwhelming for those with no previous knowledge of the craft. Without giving too much away, the mystery itself is a fairly sophisticated exploration of family secrets and violence - it is much more than your average whodunit story. I hope this is the first of many Rachel Lyons novels.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars We Dance Round in a Ring and Suppose, While the Secret Sits in the Middle and Knows - Robert Frost, February 17, 2010
By Cherise Everhard (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME) (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: Unraveling Ada: a Quilted Mystery novel (Paperback)
Retired Librarian, Rachel Lyons, has begun a new chapter in her life. With her retired Marine husband, Matt, they have started a Private Investigating business and recently relocated to California. When Rachel stumbles across a dead body it is assumed by most that he is just another victim of the recent forest fires that tore through the county. But Rachel isn't so sure.

Rachel is a hand quilter and has wanted to find a group of women to sew with. Because she hasn't made any real formal attempts at finding a quilting bee, and really hasn't expressed an interest publicly, she is a little concerned when she receives a phone call inviting her to join a quilting bee. After a little research on the internet about the bee that call themselves Quilted Secrets, Rachel decides to join the group. What she finds is a group of women, of various ages and interests, full of secrets and bonds that Rachel only gets a brief glimpse of before she is asked to look into the recent death of their quilting friend, Ada. She is handed Ada's last quilt and a genealogy of the Stowall family to begin her investigation.

Unraveling Ada is a complex and intriguing read that had me fighting myself so I wouldn't skip to the end and spoil the outcome. With every discovery Rachel makes it seems to add a dozen more questions to life of Ada and the lives of the Stowall family. Each discovery is met with either hostility or help from the other members of the Quilted Secrets, making the reader all the more interested into the why's of the story.

I am not a quilter so I thought I may get bored or lost whenever that entered into the story, instead I found the opposite happened. The author does a fantastic job of informing the reader and at the same time keeping them entertained. It's not a ton of quilting jargon thrown at the laymen, just enough to entice, enlighten and enhance the mystery. Quilting was a big part of Ada's life and her last legacy before dying; it's an essential element to the story. The lives of the women, the Stowall family, the tragedies of the past and present, are all tied together in this wonderfully written tale. I really loved it.

I still have a few more questions after closing this book, but hope the next book will come with some answers for me. The characters in this story leave an impression and I look forward to unraveling the next mystery with them.

Cherise Everhard, February 2010


5.0 out of 5 stars Curiosity has its own reason for existing -- Albert Einstein, April 2, 2010
By J Baldwin - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Unraveling Ada (Kindle Edition)
Whether or not you are a quilter, you will find lots to like about this debut novel by Barbara Sullivan. She uses her own love of quilting -- and she is a master at that art -- as a vehicle to draw you into the mystery of Unraveling Ada. Barbara is a great crime writer and knows how to build suspense and enrich the story with good details. She has a wide range of interests and touches on many different topics which keep her readers turning the pages while wondering how the story ends. Barbara was inspired to write this book by materials left to her by her mother and intends to continue exploring Ada's story in future books. Keep tuned; Barbara Sullivan is sure to develop a devoted readership.

Correction

I've just changed the way you can find Unraveling Ada--the free online version, by removing the blog that was titled "Unraveling Ada, One Chapter a Week". It was slowing you all down.

Now when you enter the main page for Unraveling Ada you will see two choices on the right hand side: one to read the book online (one chapter a week, we are currently up to Chapter 7) and one to purchase the book.

Have fun...I think you're well into the mystery now.
Barbara

Chapter 6 is up.

Back from a wonderful visit with my grandchildren and working feverishly on my second book. My garden is shaping up nicely too.

Follow the Blinks to Unraveling Ada, One Chapter a Week to read my book online.
Barbara

Chapters 1-5 Now Available.

Just follow the blinks to Unraveling Ada/One Chapter a Week to read the prologue and first five chapters of my book.

Chapters 1-4 Are Ready!!

I'm at a wonderful Creative Memories workshop in Colorado Springs hosted by my favorite CM consultant, Julie Beck. She has been kind enough to let me introduce my fellow scrapbookers to my novel, Unraveling Ada.

Scrapbooking is one of my hobbies, quilting of course is my main one.

Well, plus, spoiling my grandchildren. Traveling with Grandpa. Taking my dog for long walks. Gardening....

You get the picture. But in case you don't, there's really no need to retire when you retire.

Follow the links to Unraveling Ada, and then UA One Chapter A Week to locate the currently available chapters.

See you next week with the next one.

Barbara

Introducing Unraveling Ada: One Chapter a Week

Starting on Valentine's Day, 2010, I will post one chapter a week of my book, Unraveling Ada. So if you choose you may read it on your computer. Since there are 53 chapters (including the Prologue) it will take slightly over a year for the entire book to be available on my blog. By then I will have published my second book.

Of course, you can still purchase a copy in paperback or for your Kindle any time you wish.

Thanks for visiting. Follow the Blink to Unraveling Ada, and from there to Unraveling Ada, One Chapter a Week.

Have fun.
Barbara

Marketing for Mice and Other Cute Things

I learned my marketing skills working in a public library. I still carry some of the concepts in my head. Thought I'd share a few of the basic rules, paraphrased.


Toddlers have a ten second attention span. Simplicity and bright colors are the key.

Kindergartners have a thirty second. The above, plus an interesting subject are the key (trains, cars, baking cookies, dragons....)

The life expectancy of an advertisement is 45 to 60 seconds. All of the above, plus adult content teasers....

Only newborns and zombies watch an entire infomercial, especially if it has a beat. For a one hour infomercial use the kindergartner's rules and repeat one hundred and twenty times changing the colors and shapes.


Summary:

It you don't catch the toddler's attention you probably haven't lost much; toddlers don't have any money anyway.

Kindergartners have a little money, so if you catch the kindergartner's attention your product should be a cheap consumable. Next week he can return with his allowance and buy another one.

Newborns and zombies are too much work. Forget about them.

Focus on the advertisement if your product has any intellectual value at all. If you must skip the adult content teaser, add in adorable children or cuddly wild animals or magic tricks. Jokes are good too. Remember, your intended audience is smart(er).

Genesis of a Title

It took me six years to write Unraveling Ada. One of the reasons is that I was determined to get it right this time. Another reason: finding my voice.

Once upon a time books were written in one of three voices (at least, as I remember it): first person with one character seeing all the events on a very personal level, third person with one character but with a less personal voice, and third person with what some course in literature I took eons ago called the God's view. This third format allowed the reader to see the events in the book from the view of various characters at various times and places.

The first three years I was writing what I then called The Golden Comforter I used the second approach—a third person accounting of one character’s experience. Until I started noticing how the rules had changed in many of the current books I was reading. I was finding novels with one strong first person character narrating while other side characters entered as necessary to widen the reader’s understanding of what was going on.

In Golden Comforter, I first wrote an entire book covering all nine quilting bees, each one with its own distinct story, but all of them connected by the Stowall family secrets. I finally had to admit that mysteries just shouldn’t take nine months to solve. At least I couldn’t bring it off.

So I switched gears and broke The Golden Comforter into nine potential books. And then I named the first for Ada, the missing quilter in the book. At first I titled it Ada’s Quilted Secret, because some of her secret is contained in her final quilt. But I settled on Unraveling Ada because it spoke to the central theme of quilting and secrets without leaving the reader thinking they were about to enter a romance. As those of you who have read the book know, this story is not a romance. It is a very complex and even dark mystery.

At any rate, in the end I decided the first person approach worked best for me, especially since I was able to add another voice. That of Eddie's. To read the first chapter (actually the Prologue) follow the link to Eddie's Voice under my Blinks.