by Lynne | May 4, 2014 | Uncategorized
The Misunderstood Acronym
I thought I’d share this humorous story about how words (and letters) can lead us astray.
“The Wayside Chapel”
An English lady, while living in Switzerland was looking for a room and asked The Schoolmaster if he could recommend any. He took her to several rooms and, when everything was arranged, the lady returned to her home to prepare for the move. When she arrived home, the thought suddenly dawned that she had seen no WC (water closet or toilet) around the place, so she immediately wrote to The Schoolmaster asking him where the WC was.
The Schoolmaster was a very poor master of English so he asked the Parish Priest if he could help in the matter. Together they attempted to discover what the letters WC meant. The only solution they could find was the local “Wayside Chapel.” The Schoolmaster then wrote the following note to the lady seeking a WC with her room.
Dear Madam,
I take great comfort in informing you that WC is located nine miles from the house, in the center of a beautiful grove of trees surrounded by lovely grounds. It is capable of holding 200 people and is open on Sundays and Thursdays only. As there are a great many people expected in the summer months, I would suggest that you come early, although there is usually plenty of standing room. This is an unfortunate situation, particularly if you are in the habit of going regularly. You will no doubt be glad to hear that a good number bring their lunch and make a day of it, while others who can afford it go on Thursday when there is organ accompaniment. The acoustics are excellent and the most delicate sound can be heard anywhere. It may interest you to know that my daughter was married in the WC, for it was there she first met her husband. I can remember the rush for seats. And there were 10 people to a seat usually occupied by one. It was a wonderful sight to behold. The newest attraction is a bell donated by a wealthy resident of the district. It rings every time a person enters. A bazaar is to be held to provide plush seats for all, since the people feel it is too long a wait.
I shall be delighted to save the best seat for you, if you wish, where you will be seen by all.
Hoping to have been of service, I remain,
Sincerely,
The Schoolmaster
by Lynne | Apr 21, 2014 | Uncategorized
Artistic License or Outright Lies
I watched the first episode of “Salem” Sunday night and wanted to share some thoughts. My latest book, “Pure Lies,” is an alternative history of the Salem witch trials. Unlike the WGN mini-series, however, it truly is based on real events. I’ve devised an alternative explanation for the “afflicted” girls’ delusions.
Historians have suggested a number of reasons for the girls’ behavior from fungus in the grain they ate to simple boredom. I came up with a new possibility. (Sorry, you’ll have to read it to find out.) But the television program went far beyond any reasonable solutions in creating an alternate history. They completely revamped history.
Let’s start with the setting. Salem Village was tiny, not the busy enclave with shops and big houses they portrayed. (The set was staged in Shreveport, Louisiana, by the way, nowhere near Salem, Massachusetts, but okay, what the heck?) Salem houses were small and very simple; windows were rare and made out of blown mullioned glass. Plus, Puritans were extremely religious and yes, puritan. So did they really have a whorehouse in town? Egad.
Yes, some of the characters they portrayed did, indeed, live during that time and place. But many were fictitious. Even the characters based on real history were in fictitious situations ie: Cotton Mather (who played no significant role in the real Salem story) caught with a prostitute? I know, I know, the whole series is based on the fantasy that witches were real with devilish powers, so what am I going on about? It’s fantasy. Still, it bugs me that producers can take a very real and very fascinating period of history and turn it into Hollywood.
Don’t get me wrong. I love “Grimm,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Hunger Games.” These are all fantasies and you can get lost in them. But they’re not, and don’t pretend to be, based on real events in history. That’s the problem with “Salem” for me. Since I know so much about the real history, I get distracted and, frankly, annoyed, at the ridiculous plot and silly character machinations.
Maybe I’m just one of those righteous history geeks and hate to see the essence of the truth completely destroyed. When I was a kid I remember watching a Disney cartoon about hippos dancing underwater. Even as a kid, I somehow knew that hippos didn’t dance in real life. But I did not know, until I was much older, that they didn’t, couldn’t, live underwater. How much does this fake history teach our children?
Yikes. Does anyone else agree?
by Lynne | Apr 13, 2014 | Uncategorized
Reviews That Make You Laugh . . . or Cry
Every so often I visit my book pages on Amazon to see if any new reviews have come in. Some of the initial reviews were family and friends, of course, so I knew they’d be pretty positive. But when the new reader reviews started coming in, I was fascinated. Some were funny, some not so.
Just as in writing a book, writing a review reveals a glimpse into the writer’s true identity — on which side of the political aisle s/he stands. How s/he feels about love, hate, money, ethnicity, religion, values and much more. I learned something from all of them so I decided to share a few with you.
Time Exposure, 3 stars: “I’ve read worse books. Enjoyed some of the historical descriptions of uniforms and photographic advancements used during the Civil War. Author reveals her irrational fear of guns, in true ivory tower northern liberal style. She cannot seem to fathom that fighting a war to save our Union was worth the sacrifice. She seems to think it was some sort of small misunderstanding and that the war was a way for the rich to get richer. I think the most illogical theory was that it was bad of a Union gun supplier to sell faulty guns to the Confederate. That was actually a great strategy which we should consider using today. How great it would be to give all Qaeda guns that blew up in their own hands. Like I said, serious anti-gun liberal.”
Methinks this person is a Ducks Dynasty fan. What do you think
Deadly Provenance, 5 stars: “Deadly Provenance is the third book I’ve read by Ms. Kennedy and I am a RAVING FAN. The language is intelligent & colorful; downright “cheeky” when the timing is right, making for an enlightening and fun read. The smart dialog compliments intriguing characters that are human – accessible and credible. The plot is complex enough to keep me enthralled, eagerly winding my way through the maze of well researched fact and deftly organized fiction. I turn the last page smarter than when I started, longing for more. PLEASE, bring on the fourth book soon. Thank you for the excellent read.”
I’d love more of these, wouldn’t you? Honest, I don’t know this person. But I’d like to.
The Triangle Murders, 4 stars:This is an interesting combination of mysteries. Frank and his family are great characters and I like the tie to the Triangle Factory fire. One question is left hanging: what happened to Fiona’s murderer? There is also a small discrepancy where one character is labeled first a great-grandson and later a grandson. The dialogue in the historical sections is a little stilted but not bad. All in all, a very good read.”
Aha. Stilted dialogue. I always worry about this.
Check out your reviews from time to time. What did you learn? Share them with us.
by Lynne | Mar 31, 2014 | Uncategorized
Creating Atmosphere for Your Novel
I’ve been asked how I come up with ideas for my mysteries. Maybe this will surprise you, but I start with the backdrop, by which I mean the setting for the book. Since I’m into mysteries that take place in the past, I have myriad choices and I develop my plot around the place or places I want to write about.
To help me decide on a place, I scout around for real life events, crimes, tragedies, disasters that happened in those places at different times in history. This helps me settle on a time period. For instance, being a native New Yorker, I always wanted to write about early NYC history. Maybe turn of the 20th century when immigrants were flowing into Ellis Island by the thousands. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the tragic deaths of 146 workers, mostly women, immediately drew me in. The tragedy itself, the stories behind the women’s lives and the horrible injustice of it all made it the perfect backdrop for a mystery.
Plus, the atmosphere of the time became paramount. The wretched tenements and sweat shops, the little pleasure these young women had, trying to help support their families, and the fight for better working conditions made it a perfect milieu for murder.
I set another novel during World War II in both Washington, D.C. and France. As a museum professional I was intrigued with the many stories appearing in the news almost weekly about Nazi confiscated art. So, yes, more wrongs to be righted. Plus, I loved both locales and wanted to do research on location.
I lived for a number of years in New England. Not surprising, my next book is set in a small town in Massachusetts, a town infamous for prejudice and scandal. Salem, home of the 1692 witch trials. Could I ask for a place more dark and sinister with grim events of real history? Truly a great backdrop with lots of atmosphere.
Books that stand out in my mind have a setting that I personally find intriguing. Stories set in cold places like Sweden or Iceland, even Minnesota. Or just the opposite: books set in the Louisiana bayous or the humid south. Extreme weather conjures up atmosphere and along with that, characters who must deal with these extremes.
Big cities, mean streets, small, rural towns, exotic lands, different cultures and languages. What kind of backdrop do you enjoy reading . . . or writing about?
by Lynne | Mar 24, 2014 | Uncategorized
Identifying the Triangle Dead
In February of 2011, a story appeared in the New York Times. With the hundredth anniversary of the Triangle fire a month away, eyes were focused on a stone monument in the Cemetery of the Evergreens on the border of Brooklyn and Queens. The monument was erected to the garment workers who died in the Triangle fire but were never identified.
Photos courtesy of the Kheel Center, Cornell University: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/P
The Asch Building today.
There is a bas-relief figure of a kneeling woman, head bowed, mourning for the victims so badly charred that relatives could not recognize them. Nearly a century later, the five women and one man, all buried in coffins under the Evergreens monument remained unknown, although relatives and descendants knew their loved ones had never returned from the shirtwaist factory.
Thanks to a man named Michael Hirsch, the remains have been identified. It wasn’t forensics that helps identify the bodies, but rather the exhaustive work of one very persistent, obsessive researcher. For more details, check New York Times article: “100 Years Later, the Roll of the Dead in a Factory Fire is Complete:” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/nyregion/21triangle.html?pagewanted=all
I thought I’d share this humorous story about how words (and letters) can lead us astray.
