Author: janetsm

In November 2025, I published Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories. In the fall of 2025, I published a devotional book: I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter AND I Need The Light! Companion Journal and Diary. I write North Carolina local history and Southern American colonial historical fiction. I enjoy doing extensive research as well as the writing that research supports. My stories and novels-in-progress are about the common people. I'm the author of Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Books 1 and 2 and a vintage postcard book titled The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Four Books I Read in June 2023

I didn’t get much fiction read in June, but I read a variety of nonfiction books. I hope you’ll find one in the bunch that piques your interest.

Crow Mary, by Kathleen Grissom

If you like American historical fiction, novels with strong female protagonists, or novels set in the Great Plains in the US and Canada, I think you’ll like this book. Ms. Grissom did a wonderful job of researching the woman on whose life this novel is based – and just as good a job of weaving in the history without creating any “information dumps.”

I enjoyed The Kitchen House, by Ms. Grissom, so I got on the waitlist at the public library for Crow Mary as soon as I heard about it.

In a nutshell, Crow Mary was a woman in the Crow tribe who married a white trader in the early 1870s. His work as a trader took them away from her family and to Canada. They endure disappointment and trials as they try to make a go of it. Crow Mary isn’t going to take any grief from anyone, and she doesn’t shy away from taking matters into her own hands when her husband lets her down or isn’t there to take charge.

The book does a good job of pointing out how white settlers and the white government failed to see Native Americans as people and, therefore, seldom made the effort to take into consideration their intelligence and ways of life.

It Happened in North Carolina, by Scotti Kent

This delightful little book is a collection of 27 stories about things that happened in North Carolina. (No surprise there!) Some of the incidents I’d heard of and others I hadn’t. The stories are written in an informal yet informative way that makes the reading pleasurable.

The stories are presented in chronological order and start with a description of the Poskito (a renewal celebration) held by the Pee Dee Native Americans in the 13^th century A.D. It was quite interesting and prompted me to put a day trip to the Town Creek Indian Mound in Montgomery County, NC on my “field trip” list.

The most heart-breaking story in the book is “The Story of Tsali, 1838” about the terrible mistreatment of the Cherokee Indians in western NC during the administration of President Andrew Jackson.

I was pleased to find two Cabarrus County stories in the book on topics that I wrote at length about in my book, Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1: the story of the Cabarrus Black Boys in 1771 and the story of Ellen Harris of the Rocky River Community swallowing a thimble in 1896.

This is a neat little 139-page paperback book. By the way, I purchased the book for a few cents at a book sale held by the public library several years ago when the collection was being severely weeded.

It makes me sad to see books containing local history being pulled from the shelves. I suppose my Harrisburg history books will be sold for a few cents sometime in the not-so-distant future because decision makers see no value in local history books.

The Great Valley Road of Virginia: Shenandoah Landscapes from Prehistory to the Present, edited by Warren R. Hofstra and Karl Raitz

I happened upon this book as I researched The Great Wagon Road for the novel I’m working on. I took copious notes from the chapter titled, “The Colonial Road.” Other parts of the book were interesting, but it was that third chapter that I very helpful to me. The following chapters dealt with the post-colonial era to the present.

*The Great Valley Road of Virginia*, edited by Warren R. Hof

Anyone interested in the development of the United States will enjoy this book. It’s full of history and geography and helps the reader visualize how the Virginia portion of the Great Wagon Road took shape.

One point the book reminded me of is that in earlier times the government did not decide where to put roads, did not lay them out, and did not maintain them. Such was the case with The Great Wagon Road. Citizens had to petition the county and then do all the work themselves. Once the work was completed and approved, the county appointed an overseer who was then responsible to get the citizens to maintain the road. One can only imagine how well that worked!

I’m still left to determine how the family in my novel would have traveled from Windy Cove to the Great Wagon Road….

A Place Like Home (short stories), by Rosamunde Pilcher

I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of Rosamunde Pilcher’s Cornwall, England novels back in the 1980s. Reading this collection of her short stories immediately reminded me what an engaging writer she was.

*A Place Like Home*, by Rosamunde Pilcher

A Place Like Home contains 15 of her short stories. Each one puts the reader right there in England. Ms. Pilcher had a talent for describing the setting and her characters in a way that made you feel like you were there and knew them.

Since my last blog post

I had the pleasure of traveling to Marietta, Georgia the last weekend in June for the wedding of one of my great-nieces! It was a lovely outdoor event and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. It was nice to spend several days with immediate family for a happy event.

I took the opportunity while in Georgia to visit the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. One of my ancestors was wounded in the Kolb’s Farm Battle there on June 22, 1864.

In case I seem confused and distracted…

Unfortunately, the hack experienced in June by Windstream, our household email provider, resulted in the suspension of the Windstream email account my sister and I shared. All the company’s customer service in India can say is, “Yes, Windstream got hacked. We’re sorry.” After having that email address for some 20 years, you can imagine what a tedious chore it has been and will continue to be to change my email address with utility companies, doctors’ offices, insurance companies, relatives, friends, and various organizations.

Within hours of Windstream being hacked, our email and my Facebook and LinkedIn accounts were hacked, so I am no longer on either of those social media platforms. I miss many of my friends, but I don’t plan to get involved with Facebook or LinkedIn again. Due to general frustration, I’ve also closed by Twitter account.

Therefore, as of last week, my only platforms are my blog, my newsletter, and my website.

Speaking of my newsletter… I attempted to send out my Janet Morrison Books July Newsletter on Saturday. However, a box popped up saying that Mailchimp “might be having issues, or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.”

I thought things usually happened in threes, but I’ve honestly lost count of the computer program and app issues I’ve had in the last month. Perhaps God is trying to tell me to stop trying to be a writer. I’m filled with self-doubt, and I’m earnestly seeking His will. I’m hitting roadblocks at every turn. When I started this blog many years ago, my intention was to share with you the ups and downs of being a writer. I’m not whining; I’m telling you like it is.

At my age, the technology side of writing is overwhelming. Please be patient with those of us who learned to type on a manual typewriter, learned to “calculate” on a ten-key adding machine, grew up with radio and black-and-white TV, and telephones connected to the wall.

In case I’m able to send out my newsletter…

Among other items of interest, it included details about and photographs from the Open Hearth Cooking Class I took in May at Hart Square Village and my trip to Georgia.

Until my next blog post

Happy 4^th of July to my fellow Americans!

I hope you have a good book to read – one that will take you away from the stresses in your life, entertain you, educate you, and give you a new perspective.

Spend time with friends and family. Remember the treasure they are, even if they don’t agree with you about politics.

Think of the people being hurt by recent rulings by the US Supreme Court. After all, we’re all God’s children.

Remember the people of Ukraine.

Janet

Following up on last week’s blog post: Book Banning

I was gratified by the responses my blog post of last Monday received. Thank you to everyone who responded, and thank you to the ones of you who reblogged my post about book banning. In case you missed it, here’s the link: Book Banning is Democracy Banning!

In last week’s post I listed the 19 books that had been banned the week before by the school board in Hanover County, Virginia. I failed to list other books or tell you how you can find lists of other books that have been challenged in the United States.

You can simply put “Challenged Books” or “Banned Books” in your favorite online search engine. Or, you can look for reputable sites like the American Library Association’s website for intellectual freedom: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/

Barnes and Noble has a list of more than 230 challenged books on its website at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/banned-books/_/N-rtm.

Imagine if these shelves were empty! (Photo by Rabie Madaci on Unsplash)

Let’s flood our public library systems and bookstores with requests for such books! Here’s a partial list. You might find many others when you do your own search. The following list of 101 books that have been challenged or banned somewhere in the United States is in no particular order.

Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

They Both Die at the End, by Adam Silvera

What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self, by Ellyn Spragins

The Giver, by Lois Lowry

1984, by George Orwell

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling

Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History, by Art Spiegelman

Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, by Julia Alvarez

New Kid, by Jerry Craft

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult

The Dairy of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, by Nicole Hannah-Jones

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas and Amandla Stenberg

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

This Book is Gay, by Juno Dawaon and David Levit

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou

Gender Queer: A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe

Hop on Pop, by Dr. Seuss

Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

How the Word is Passed, by Clint Smith

Twilight, by Stephanie Meye

Beloved, (a Pulitzer Prize Winner) by Toni Morrison

The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett

Girl, Interrupted, by Susanna Kaysen

Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein

The Grapes of Wrath, (a Pulitzer Prize Winner), by John Steinbeck

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

The Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley

A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway

The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo

Looking for Alaska, by John Green

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, by Margane Satrapi

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt

Class Act: A Graphic Novel, by Jerry Craft

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey

Monday’s Not Coming, by Tiffany D. Jackson

Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James

The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore

Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel

What If It’s Us, by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

A Time to Kill, by John Grisham

A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines

The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown

And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Child of God, by Cormac McCarthy

Feed, by M.T. Anderson

A Separate Peace, by John Knowles

Stamped from the Beginning, by Ibram X. Kendi

Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous

Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein

Different Seasons, by Stephen King

For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway

The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Native Son, by Richard Wright

Angela Davis: An Autobiography, by Angela Y. Davis

Skeleton Crew: Stories, by Stephen King

Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped from the Beginning, by Jason Reynolds and Ibram S. Kendi

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens, by Becky Albertalli

All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir, by George M. Johnson

The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane

Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy

Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume

Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1719-2019, by Ibram X. Kendi, Keisha N. Blain

A Thousand Acres, a Pulitzer Prize Winner, by Jane Smiley

Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth’s Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa, by Mark Mathabane

Beach Music, by Pat Conroy

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy, a Pulitzer Prize Winner, by Heather Ann Thompson

The Tenth Circle, by Jodi Picoult

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair

Girl With the Blue Earring, by Tracy Chevalier

Catch-22, by Joseph Heller

Palestine, by Joe Sacco

Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell

Bridge to Terabithia, A Newberry Award Winner, by Katherine Peterson

The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway

Addie on the Inside, by James Howe

Call of the Wild, by Jack London

Olive’s Ocean, a Newberry Honor Book, by Kevin Henkes

A Stone in My Hand, by Cathryn Clinton

Tilt, by Ellen Hopkins

How Often Are Books Challenged Where You Live?

There is an interactive map of the United States of the American Library Association’s website, https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/by-the-numbers. Hover the curser over a state to find basic information about book challenges in that state in 2022.

For instance, in my home state of North Carolina, there were 32 attempts to restrict access to books last year involving 167 titles. The most challenged book in North Carolina was Looking for Alaska, by John Green.

That map revealed some surprises. There were 45 attempts to restrict access to books in Massachusetts last year involving 57 books. In Michigan, the figures were 54 and 359. In Pennsylvania, 56 and 302. In Florida, 35 and 991. But Texas was at the top of the list (or bottom as the case may be) with 93 attempts to restrict access to books in 2022 involving a whopping 2,349 titles!

Different books are listed as the most-challenged book in the various states; however, Florida and Texas agree on The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison. I wrote about that book in my blog post last week. I want to say to the book challengers in Florida and Texas, “You’ve got to be kidding!”

If you want to read more about the topic of book banning…

Here’s the link to the website of PEN America. PEN America is made up of more than 7,500 novelists, journalists, nonfiction writers, editors, poets, essayists, playwrights, publishers, translators, agents, and other writing professionals, as well as devoted readers and supporters who join with them to carry out PEN America’s mission to protect free expression in the United States and around the world: https://pen.org/report/banned-in-the-usa-state-laws-supercharge-book-suppression-in-schools/.

Until my next blog post

I hope you’re reading a book that someone has tried to get banned from a library. Let’s flood our public library systems and bookstores with requests for books that someone doesn’t want us to read!

I hope you make time for friends and family. Read to the children in your life and encourage them to read for fun.

Stop right now and visit my website (https://janetmorrisonbooks.com/) to subscribe to my newsletter. I took a special “field trip” to benefit my historical fiction writing on May 20. I’ll tell you all it in my July newsletter!

Just for signing up, you’ll receive a free downloadable copy of “Slip Sliding Away: A Southern Historical Short Story” to give you a taste of my fiction writing.

Remember the brave people of Ukraine.

Janet

Book Banning is Democracy Banning!

I’d planned to blog about flash fiction today but somehow in the big scheme of things, flash fiction doesn’t seem very important at the moment.

There are a number of trends in the United States that trouble me. The one I’m addressing today is book banning.

When you ban books, you are in fact banning democracy. You don’t see it that way, but you are. You are forcing your will on other people.

You do not have the right to tell anyone besides your minor children what they cannot read. Period.

You can try to force your fear of knowledge on your children until they are 18 years old.

I’m not talking about age appropriateness. I’m talking about banning books so they aren’t available to others in a library, classroom, or other place in which people go to find books.

What are you afraid of?

Are you afraid Little Johnny might find out that he’s not the center of the universe just because his skin is white? Are you afraid Little Mary might find out that there are people in the world whose skin color is different from hers?

Are you afraid your teenage child who believes they were born in the wrong-gendered body might find out they are not alone in this world? They already know you have rejected them.

The case in Hanover County, Virginia

Every week I see a headline about another school board voting to ban books. The one I learned about last Thursday is Hanover County, Virginia.

I have visited Hanover County, Virginia. I thought it was beautiful area. In light of what the Hanover County Board of Education did last week, though, the physical beauty I remember about the area is now tarnished. I pity the children of that county, for their right to read ~~is in serious danger~~ has been taken away.

According to reports, the Hanover County, Virginia school board voted 5-2 on June 13, 2023 to adopt a new school library policy. If the reports I’ve read are accurate, the new policy gives board members full discretion over banning books from school libraries, classrooms, school buildings, or school divisions. I’m not sure what a school division is, but apparently it is a place where literature goes to hide.

By majority vote, the Hanover County, Virginia board of education can remove books from the district’s schools without input from ANYONE. That includes you, parents. The parents who pushed the board to this point probably didn’t anticipate that they themselves would be taken out of the equation. My hunch is that they thought they’d have the inside track on future book bannings. That’s the way it usually works with narrow-minded anti-books people.

The Hanover County, Virginia board of education wasn’t satisfied to stop there. By a majority vote, the board can now dictate “any and all materials of its choosing in the library, classroom, school building(s) and or division.”

According to the Hanover Public Schools website, those school board members are not even elected by the citizens! They are appointed by the County Board of Supervisors. Those seven appointed individuals now have complete authority over every book that will be in your child’s school library and classroom in Hanover County.

How’s that working for you now in Hanover County?

Is that what you wanted?

I couldn’t help but notice the motto of Hanover Public Schools is: “Inspire. Empower. Lead.” What a sad joke that appears to be in light of last Tuesday’s book banning decision! Where is the inspiration?

And where on earth is there any empowerment in the Hanover Public School board’s decision? It seems to me the only people who have been empowered are the APPOINTED members of the school board. You didn’t get to elect them, Hanover County citizens… and you can’t vote against them because their names aren’t going to be on the ballot.

And as far as the “lead” part of the motto goes, this is what you call leadership?

On the Great Seal of the Hanover Public Schools it says, “A Tradition of Excellence.” Was your “tradition of excellence” formed by banning books? I doubt it.

During the same meeting the board voted to ban these 19 books. A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Silver Flames, All Boys Aren’t Blue, Choke, Flamer, Haunted, Identical, Let’s Talk About It, Looking for Alaska, Lucky, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Red Hood, The Bluest Eye, This Book is Gay, Sold, Tilt, Tricks, Water for Elephants, and Infandous.

Perhaps you’ve read some of those books. We read Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruenin the book club at our church. I don’t remember being scarred for life by it. I’ve also read The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison.

In The Bluest Eye, an 11-year-old girl of color struggles with society’s idea of beauty: blond hair and blue eyes. She prays for her eyes to turn blue so she will be considered beautiful.

The Bluest Eye was first published in 1970. The story is set in Lorrain, Ohio in 1941. The book has become a lightning rod for book banning. Reading it gave me some things to think about. It helped me to try to see the world through that 11-year-old girl’s brown eyes.

We’ve come a long way in race relations since 1941. We’ve come a long way in race relations since 1970, when I was in high school. There is no societal benefit, though, in going backwards. There is no societal benefit in banning a book that presents a black child’s perspective on a world that doesn’t accept her humanity.

Why would the Hanover County, Virginia school board members be afraid to leave The Bluest Eye on a school library shelf? Fear.

Fear

Fear. It all comes down to fear.

What a horrible way to live a life… afraid. You ban books and you arm yourself to the teeth because you’re afraid. The most ironic and sad thing about it is that most people advocating for the banning of books today in the United States profess to be Christians.

Where in the New Testament does it say that Jesus instructed His followers to hate others?

Where in the New Testament does it say that Jesus instructed His followers to live in fear?

Where in the New Testament does it say that Jesus instructed His followers to squelch knowledge?

If you think Jesus would spend His time and energy today banning books and persecuting people whose skin differed from his or who were struggling every day to try to figure out why something about their birth-assigned gender just doesn’t feel right, then you and I aren’t worshipping the same Jesus.

If you think Jesus loves you because you vote Republican and hates you because you vote Democrat, then you and I aren’t worshipping the same Jesus.

I don’t usually preach on my blog, but…

Jesus Christ encourages His followers to love one another… and I don’t think he meant for us ONLY to love the people we agree with. We don’t have to love the language other people use or the evil things they do, but Jesus urges us to love them because we are all creations of God.

One of the first songs I learned as a child, probably right after “Jesus Loves Me,” was “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” It goes something like this: Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world: red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.

I’ve tried to cling to those words my whole life. I believe we are all precious in God’s sight. I don’t think God wants us to hate other people. I don’t think God wants us to discriminate against other people based on color, gender, ethnicity, national origin, or any other “box” we tend to people “others” in.

I don’t think God wants us to squelch the opportunity or right other people have to read and learn and think about anything they want to read, learn, or think about.

I don’t understand why there’s an element in the United States today who think the best use of their time is to dictate what anyone else cannot read.

We don’t have to be comfortable with the message within a book, but in the United States of America ~~we have~~ we used to have the right to read.

Book banning is a very slippery slope. You don’t want a book in a school library? How long will it be before you don’t want it in the public library? How long will it be before you have a book burning… you know, like they had in Nazi Germany?

How long will it be before you decide people of a different skin color don’t have the right to an education… you know like in the United States a century ago? How long until you start burning students alive in a school dormitory like happened at 11:30pm Friday, June 16, 2023 at Lhubiriha secondary school in Mpondwe, Uganda?

Photo by Megan Escobosa Photography on Unsplash

God gave us brains. I think He desires for us to use our brain power to do positive things, not to tear other people apart, but maybe that’s just my opinion.

What do you think?

Since my last blog post

I continue to be frustrated with cyberspace, but life goes on. There are many things more important than having access to Facebook or LinkedIn or Twitter.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read – one that will take you away from the stresses in your life, entertain you, educate you, and give you a new perspective. Look for a book that will stretch your mind. Perhaps The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison.

Spend time with friends and family. Remember the treasure they are, even if they don’t agree with you about politics.

Remember the people of Ukraine.

Janet

The Other Two Books I Read in May 2023

I love the months in which I get to read so many books that it takes me more than one blog post to tell about them! May was one of those months. Today’s post is about the last two books I read in May. I hope at least one of them will appeal to you.

One Thought Scares Me, by Richard Dreyfuss

In One Thought Scares Me, Richard Dreyfuss presents his thoughts about how democracy has been eroded in the United States by the removal of the study of government (or civics) in our public schools. He pinpoints this quiet removal as happening 50 years ago, so it was after I graduated from high school.

I remember hearing a few years ago that in North Carolina the high school American History curriculum would begin with the Presidency of George Washington. I’ve wondered since then how the Presidency of George Washington would make any sense to a student who didn’t know that it followed an American Revolution.

If an American knows nothing about the Declaration of Independence – why it was written, who wrote it, when it was written, who we were declaring our independence from — and most importantly, how the signers of it risked their very lives by signing it – then they will not know what political conditions the early American settlers lived under.

If an American knows nothing about the American Revolution – why it happened, when it happened, who we were rebelling against, etc., then that American will not value what it means to be an American citizen. If they don’t know what those who came before us suffered through just to gain the right to vote, they will not value their right to vote. They will feel no obligation to vote.

If an American knows nothing about the Bill of Rights – why those ten rights were spelled out in the United States Constitution and what they are – then they won’t know when a US President or the US Congress or their State Legislature is taking away one or more of those rights.

If an American knows nothing about US history, they won’t know that July 4^th is more than just a day off from work when you eat burgers and hotdogs and shoot off fireworks.

In order to be a good citizen of the United States of America, you must know the history of the country. As Mr. Dreyfuss points out in his book, it was the system of public education in the United States in the early 1800s that made it possible for every child to learn to read and write. It made it possible for every child to learn the Pledge of Allegiance, to learn about colonial times, to learn about the American Revolution, to learn about the ugliness of slavery, to learn about the Civil War, and to learn about all the wars American have fought around the world in the name of freedom.

My two-cents’ worth: If you take that out of the public schools – and if you disrespect public education and public school educators the way the North Carolina General Assembly continues to do – then you lose the level playing field on which our country was built and you lose what binds us together as a nation.

Seeking the Historical Cook: Exploring Eighteenth-Century Southern Foodways, by Kay K. Moss

Reading this book after taking the Open Hearth Cooking Class at Hart Square Village on May 20 was very beneficial. The hands-on class was invaluable to me in writing historical fiction, and the book made a lot more sense to me having had the class.

*Seeking the Historical Cook*, by Kay K. Moss

The book covers how to interpret historical “receipts” as recipes were called in the American Colonial Era, and the importance of incorporating an 18^th century mindset when using the old recipes. Ms. Moss and her books are a goldmine for anyone doing research on frontier life in the Carolinas.

This book is illustrated and very detailed in cooking instructions, including the importance of getting the hot coals just right and judging the heart, cooking/baking time, and always having hot water on-hand.

Cyberspace fiasco since my last blog post

To say it was a frustrating week would be an understatement. My email service was disrupted for about 24 hours Tuesday into Wednesday. My Facebook account was hacked on Thursday. My LinkedIn account was hacked on Saturday. My Evernote account was hacked on Sunday.

Would be writers like me are told we must have a vast social media presence if we want to ever get published. We must have followers in the thousands and tens of thousands.

After what I’ve been through over the last few days, I’ve decided to remove myself from Facebook, LinkedIn, and Evernote. Each of those accounts had unique passwords. It bothers me that hackers can take control of my stuff without any problem; however, when I try to get an account back I must provide all sorts of documentation to prove that I am me. Life is short. I don’t foresee ever having time again for Facebook, LinkedIn, or Evernote. I’ll miss some things about Facebook, but the other two won’t be missed at all. Just for good measure, I’ll no longer be on Twitter either. It was a hassle anyway. I won’t miss it a bit.

If not having 40,000 followers on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. means I’ll never get my novels published, I guess that’s the price I’ll pay.

If you receive notification via Facebook when I’ve posted a blog, you’ll no longer receive those notifications because as of last Thursday, I have no control over my Facebook account. In fact, you won’t be notified about today’s post. Someone else, apparently in Beijing, has control of my account now. Facebook indicated it would take them 48 hours to verify that I am Janet Morrison. It’s been longer than that, so I guess they’re still just playing games with the hacker in Beijing. I regret that I didn’t get to tell my acquaintances on Facebook goodbye.

My blog is protected through a whole different server, etc., so I plan to continue to blog every week and treasure the lifeline it has become.

I envy Harper Lee and her manual typewriter. She got to just hide away in Alabama and write To Kill a Mockingbird with no worries about cyberspace. There’s something appealing about that era.

Speaking of birds… the three neighborhood cats must have miserable home lives because they want to stay in our yard all the time stalking our wild birds. In my spare time last week, I had to construct a barricade to try to prevent the cats from getting to the nest of baby Carolina Wrens in the hanging basket on my porch.

Thank you for the feedback I continue to get since posting To Write or Not To Write Historical Short Stories? What do you think? on May 29. All opinions are welcome!

Until my next blog post

I hope you have at least one good novel or non-fiction book to entertain and educate you.

With the smoke from the wildfires in Canada dissipating, we on the east coast of the US look forward to clear skies and some sunshine.

In case you’re planning a trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee, or the Blue Ridge Mountains this year, be sure to pick up a copy (paperback or for Kindle) of my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I packed as much natural history and human history into the postcard descriptions as Arcadia Publishing would allow. I think you’ll find it entertaining and painlessly educational.

Don’t forget the people of Ukraine. Believe me… I know my life — even with all my cyberspace problems — is easy compared to their suffering. I truly know that.

Janet

Three Books I Read in May 2023

I’ve already blogged about two of the books I read in May (The Bill of Obligations, by Richard Haass on May 8 and Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, by Matthew Walker, Ph.D. on May 22.) That leaves me five more books to blog about today and next Monday.

As I’ve said before, I’m not a book reviewer. I just enjoy sharing my thoughts and takeaways from some of the books I read. In doing so, I hope I’ll introduce you to a book or two you’d like to read.

The Soulmate, by Sally Hepworth

If you follow my blog, you know I’m a fan of Sally Hepworth’s novels. She’s one author from whom I eagerly await her next release. Of course, then I’m sad because I know I’ll have to wait perhaps a year for her next book.

I listened to The Soulmate on CD. Pippa, Gabe, and their two young daughters live on a cliff on the coast of Australia. Their backyard turns out to be a popular place for people to commit suicide, but Gabe has a gift for “talking people down.” But one day a woman is teetering at the edge of cliff and things go very, very wrong.

Who is the woman? Did she jump or did Gabe push her?

Over the course of the book, you learn how some of the characters know each other, unbeknownst to Pippa. Bipolar Disorder is a contributing factor in why one character behaves the way he does.

It is a story of loyalty, trust, turning a blind eye, what can happen when we aren’t honest with those we love, and how you can’t be responsible for a loved one’s actions – no matter how much you love them.

Downsizing for Dummies, by Ralph R. Roberts

Don’t laugh. If you’re fortunate to live long enough and accumulate enough stuff, this could happen to you. I read this book with my niece and nephew in mind. Someday they’re probably going to be left to pick up my pieces, and I want to make that task as painless and quick as possible.

This book helps you evaluate your current situation and brainstorm about what kind of future you’d like to have if given that choice. Sometimes an illness or event can throw the best laid plans to the wind, but it’s best to have a plan in mind and make as many preparations as possible for the last phase of your life.

Readers of my blog will remember that I went through a decluttering phase last year. I had good intentions of continuing that process, but I gradually lost my enthusiasm. Hopefully, reading this book will be the impetus I need to get back on track getting rid of the things I no longer need – the things my niece and nephew shouldn’t have to deal with when I’m gone or incapacitated.

The book recommends that you take one room – or one closet – at a time and evaluate each item. Have separate boxes for “throw away,” “donate,” “sell,” and “give away.” Everything else (which theoretically will be very few things) fall into the “keep” category. They should be organized and put back in the closet or room.

I know… easier said than done. I was raised by parents who were young adults during The Great Depression, so I grew up with the mantra, “Don’t throw anything away because you never know when you might need it.” It was more an unspoken rather than a verbalized way of life, and it’s difficult to stop such old habits.

Downsizing for Dummies is really a common-sense book. It also contains some basic information about wills, trusts, and how long certain documents should be saved or how some of them can be scanned and stored in electronic form.

Secret Lives, by Mark de Castrique

This is a spy thrilled by North Carolina author Mark de Castrique. In Secret Lives, Ethel Crestwater operates and boarding house that caters to government agents. One of her boarders, Jonathan, is murdered in her front yard.

Since 75-year-old Ethel has a background in spying, she jumps right in to solve the crime. Her sidekick is her double-cousin, Jesse, who attends college. His expertise is computers.

It turns out Bitcoins are involved and there’s a lot more going on than murder. No one is without suspicion. There are red herrings and it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

Mr. de Castrique masterfully weaves the story and ties up all the loose ends.

Since my last blog post

In last Monday’s blog post, I asked for feedback about the possibility of my writing short stories about some of the characters in my planned historical novels. I appreciate all the feedback I received. It gave me some things to think about as I proceed with my plans. Thank you to each of you who responded on my blog and on Facebook.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have lots of good books to read!

Spring weather is finally here in North Carolina! Enjoy the season, wherever you are.

Remember the people of Ukraine.

Janet

To Write or Not To Write Historical Short Stories? What do you think?

Calling all historical fiction fans: I need your help with something!

I mentioned in May 1, 2023 blog post, Some of the Books I Read in April 2023 that I was toying with the idea of writing some historical short stories related to the historical novel I’m working on. I’d read that suggestion in Writing Short Stories to Promote Your Novels, by Rayne Hall as a way to create interest in the characters in one’s novel before that book’s publication.

Since I need to grow my mailing list greatly before I publish the novel, it appears I’ll have plenty of time to write a few short stories. The process should produce various benefits to me and my potential readers.

In addition to my novel readers getting a head start in learning about some of the book’s characters and the 18^th century world in which they live, such writing will help me flesh out the characters and get better acquainted with them. You and I can both get a good grasp on what makes them tick.

I’ve been brainstorming ideas for the stories. If it all works out like I envision, I will self-publish the stories in an ebook collection. My timeline is written in pencil with a big eraser nearby. If nothing else in the last year of self-publishing two local history books and trying to self-publish a family cookbook, I’ve learned that flexibility is a necessity.

Readers, what do you think? If you’re a fan of historical fiction, let me know what you think of this project. Would you enjoy getting acquainted with some of the characters in my novel(s) and the world in which they live in the 1760s and 1770s before getting to read the novel(s)?

Characters such as Elizabeth Steele who had tavern in Salisbury, North Carolina? George, who was a slave in The Waxhaws in South Carolina? Oliver McNair, who was educated at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and ended up in The Waxhaws? Betty Jackson’s story of family obligations in The Waxhaws?

Would you be interested in reading such short stories while I continue to work on my novels?

In the meantime… if you haven’t subscribed to my newsletter yet, please visit my website at https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com and click on the “subscribe” button. In return, you’ll receive a free downloadable copy of my first historical short story, “Slip Sliding Away” and you’ll receive my e-newsletter every other month. Do it right now!

Since my last blog post

My research last week for my historical fiction writing focused on how food was cooked in the southern colonies in the 1760s and 1770s. I have a growing appreciation for how time consuming it was to prepare a meal then.

A funny thing happened to me at the public library the other day. I had been given some soft mountain mint and was eager to find a book with good information about how to root it. I typed, “how to grow mint” in the library system’s search engine. The response I received was, “Nothing found for how to grow mint. Did you mean ‘how to grow marijuana’? View 13 results.” It’s sort of a sad commentary that the system has no books about how to grow mint, but 13 books on how to grow marijuana. a sign of the times, I suppose. (Before you try to enlighten me, yes, the library had plenty of books about growing herbs. I just started by looking for one specifically about mint.)

Until my next blog post

Take time on this Memorial Day in the United States to remember and give thanks for those who gave their lives in the military service of our country.

I hope you have a great book to read.

Take time to enjoy friends and family.

Remember the people of Ukraine.

Don’t forget to give me some feedback about my short story plan!

Janet

A Wake-Up Call: Let’s Talk about Sleep!

Does this sound like an odd topic for a blog about my journey as a reader and a writer? Please keep reading.

Just as reading The Bill of Obligations, by Richard Haass, prompted me to dedicate an entire blog post to that one book a couple of weeks ago Taking a look at The Bill of Obligations, by Richard Haass, I’ve since read a book that deserves its on post: Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, by Matthew Walker, Ph.D.

*Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams*, by Matthew Walker, Ph.D.

This is a fascinating book! Who wants to read about sleep? We all should. Most of us don’t get it right. I’ll just hit on some of the highlights or items I found most interesting – or frightening – in the book.

Studies have proven that humans need eight hours of sleep a day. The last two hours of our sleep is when our brains get a memory boost. When we jump start our day by getting up after just six hours of sleep, our concentration and physical limits suffer. Getting less than six hours of sleep is equivalent of going without sleep for 24 hours.

Dr. Walker states, “You do not know how sleep-deprived you are when you are sleep deprived.” Driving while sleep-deprived is as dangerous – or even more dangerous – than driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol. Falling asleep at the wheel for two seconds at 30 mph, your vehicle can completely change lanes. An alcohol-impaired driver’s reactions are slow, but a sleeping driver has no reaction.

Dr. Walker says we should not fool ourselves into thinking we can force ourselves to stay awake while driving by turning up the music or opening a car window. Those – and all other such coping practices we’ve probably all used more times than we want to admit – are all myths.

He says we are also only kidding ourselves when we think we can “catch up” on our sleep on the weekend. If we’ve lost sleep during the week, it takes more than three nights of eights of sleep for our brain to get back to the level of performance it had early in the week.

Although professional athletes team decision-makers can be told how important it is for players to get eight hours of sleep a day in order to be at peak physical and mental performance, few athletes get the sleep they need. Furthermore, getting adequate sleep after a game is even more important than it is prior to a competition because sleep is necessary for a body to recover from the toll a game takes on a body.

Also, Dr. Walker says that getting adequate sleep for several nights or a week prior to getting an influenza vaccine is necessary for a person to get the full immune benefits from the shot.

The second category of findings that grabbed my attention is that a lack of sleep is fast being recognized as a key factor in whether a person will develop Alzheimer’s Disease. He cautions that sleep is not a “magic bullet” against Alzheimer’s Disease, but there are some interesting associations.

A study found that those people with the most amyloid deposits in the frontal part of the brain also had the least deep end-Rem sleep and, therefore, had the least sleep state in which new memories are cemented.

The lymphatic system sanitizes the brain during sleep. Amyloid protein is removed – as well as tau – in this process which takes place in the last two hours of an eight-hour sleep cycle. Amyloid and tau are associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. This becomes a vicious cycle if you’re not getting enough deep sleep: more amyloid and tau build up leads to Alzheimer’s Disease, which leads to more amyloid and tau buildup, which leads to worsening of Alzheimer’s Disease, etc.

Dr. Walker addresses those individuals who claim they can get along well – even perfectly – on as little as four or five hours of sleep a day. He says they are only fooling themselves. He points out that US President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher both made such claims. They both ended up with Alzheimer’s Disease.

The book also talks about sleep and its relation to cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. He says, “Sleep is the bedrock for health.” Sleeping less than six hours a day increases one’s chances of heart trouble by 400%.

The third area of study explained in the book that struck a chord with me was the section about melatonin, electric lights, LED lights, and the short-spectrum blue lights given off by our electronic devices.

The advent of the electric light bulb enabled humans to change night into day in many respects. By doing so, we’ve forced our naturally-made melatonin (which signals our bodies that it’s time to start winding down because it’s getting dark and it’s time to go to sleep) to be delayed by several hours.

Dr. Walker warns of the harm looking at an electronic tablet late at night is doing more damage to our sleep patterns than we realize. If we look at a tablet until 11:00 pm and then go to bed, our natural melatonin might not kick in for two or three more hours instead of when it should have kicked in – say around nine or ten o’clock.

Have I gotten your attention?

I hope I have hit on some things that made you stop and think. Do you get adequate sleep?

I don’t. I haven’t had a night of restorative sleep since I became ill with chronic fatigue syndrome in 1987. My circadian rhythm is way out of rhythm. I paid for a number of appointments with a sleep specialist a few years ago. Dr. Walker’s book reiterates everything she told me. She told me to dim the lights for 90 minutes before going to bed, to keep my distance from a TV during that time, and to not under any circumstances use the computer or my tablet before going to bed.

The instructions Dr. Daley gave me were tough, but they worked. Eventually, after working on my bad habits for months, I was able to usually go to sleep by 1:00 a.m. instead of 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. I gradually fell back into old habits, though, and now I rarely fall asleep before 2:00 a.m. It’s a daily battle for me to fall asleep. Once I’m asleep, it’s equally as difficult to wake up.

Listening to Dr. Walker’s book – parts of it several times – has reminded me about the damage I’m doing to my health – to my brain, heart, and other organs – in the short term and in the long term.

It won’t be easy, but I must once again train myself to stop sabotaging my health.

I don’t expect or even aspire to ever being someone who goes to bed by 10:00 p.m. so I can wake up refreshed by 7:00 a.m. My physical maladies will never allow me to have restful sleep, but some of my late-night habits aren’t helping matters.

I need to get back to the light dimming practices, etc. that Dr. Daley recommended so I’ll at least have a chance to get eight hours of sleep every day.

Since my last blog post

Being a writer of historical fiction gives me excuses to do things I wouldn’t otherwise do. If I’m going to have characters in my 18^th century novels cooking in a fireplace, I need to know what that was like. I spent the day on Saturday at Hart Square Village near Vale, North Carolina, learning how to cook over an open fire in an 1800s kitchen (which wasn’t easy after only three hours of sleep!).

If you want to hear about my adventure, sign up for my newsletter by visiting my website (https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com) and clicking on the “Subscribe” button. I’ll write about Saturday’s experience in my Janet Morrison Books Newsletter in July. It was quite am enjoyable day, but I was happy to come home that afternoon to my electric kitchen appliances!

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a fascinating book to read. Please consider reading Dr. Walker’s book, if you tend to not get a full eight hours of sleep every night.

Make time for friends and family – and sleep!

Remember the brave people of Ukraine.

Janet

Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, Revisited

Even though we can’t show you an original copy of this declaration, it is written on our hearts as the descendants of those who whole-heartedly supported it as they prepared for the inevitable war against King George III of Great Britain.

The Americans’ beef wasn’t with the people of Great Britain – many of them were their relatives and friends – their beef was with the King – and they knew their friends and relatives back in Scotland were secretly wishing them well for they were also under the thumb of the King.

The year was 1775. The date was May 20.

The people of Mecklenburg County in the backcountry of North Carolina had had all they could take of King George and the oppressive laws and taxes he and the British Parliament continued to impose on the American colonists. After all, the reason most of them had left Europe was to escape monarchs who had little or no regard for their subjects.

The years leading up to May 20, 1775 had been tense. On May 2, 1771 a group of Mecklenburg County residents had taken matters into their own hands and blown up a shipment of munitions King Charles had ordered to be transported from Charleston, South Carolina to Rowan and Orange counties in North Carolina to put down The Regulator Movement.

The perpetrators of that gunpowder plot had been declared traitors and were still being hunted down by the Royal Government authorities when the county militias sent representatives to a convention in Charlotte to debate political conditions. The result was the writing of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence more than a year before the more famous one was written in Philadelphia.

The document set out the citizens’ grievances and declared themselves free and independent of Great Britain. Sadly, the original copy of the declaration was lost in a fire at the home of John McKnitt Alexander on April 6, 1800. The Declaration was reconstructed from the memories of those who had written it and signed it.

A recreation of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

There are Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence doubters today, but I have no doubt that it existed. It was followed just 11 days later by the Mecklenburg Resolves, which was a similar document.

Captain Archibald McCurdy of the Rocky River Presbyterian Church area of old Mecklenburg County that is present-day Cabarrus County, stood at the Mecklenburg County log courthouse steps and heard the Declaration read. He went home and told his wife, Maggie, they needed to make a list of the people they knew they could trust. There were a few Loyalists in the area.

Whatever you’re doing this Saturday, May 20, take a moment to reflect on what the brave people of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina did 248 years ago. If you live in the United States of America, ponder the stand they took on that day. The King proclaimed them to be in a state of rebellion, and the men who signed the document risked their very lives by proclaiming they were free.

Since my last blog post

Spring is finally in full force here in North Carolina. All I have to do is put a hanging basket of pretty flowers on a hook on the side porch and I can count on “Mama Bird” – a Carolina Wren – to build a nest in it. She’s done is for decades.

Having bronchitis and no set schedule allowed me time to do some reading last week. I have some interesting books to tell you about in my May 22 and June 5 blog posts.

I continue to remind folks on Facebook to purchase my local history books. I’m trying not to be a nuisance.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read, including Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Books 1 and 2, as well as The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Don’t forget to visit my website (https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com) and subscribe to my newsletter. I have special plans for May 20 and I can’t wait to tell you all about them in my July newsletter!

Make time for family and friends.

Remember the people of Ukraine.

Happy Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence Day on Saturday!

Janet

Taking a look at The Bill of Obligations, by Richard Haass

Once in a while I come across a book that hits on so many points of importance that I decide to devote an entire blog post to it. The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens, by Richard Haass, falls into that category.

*The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens*, by Richard Haass

Dr. Haass is president of the nonpartisan Council on Foreign Relations. A diplomat and policymaker, he served in The Pentagon, State Department, and White House under four presidents – Democrats and Republicans.

Here’s a quote from the book jacket: “As Richard Haass says, ‘We get the government we deserve. Getting the one we need, however, is up to us.’ The Bill of Obligations gives citizens across the political spectrum a plan of action to achieve it.”

In the chapter titled “Rights and Their Limits,” Dr. Haass states that the aim of his book “… is to focus on another, often overlooked dimension of citizenship. I am speaking here of obligations, of what citizens owe one another and the country,” and not the rights of individuals. The book focuses on what citizens should do, not what they are required to do.

Dr. Haass draws a distinction between responsibilities and obligations. Responsibilities can be shirked. He says, “What makes obligations so important is that the ability of American democracy to endure and deliver what it can and should to its citizens depends on their being put into practice.”

He points out that, “Placing obligations at the core of citizenship is necessary because the protection and promotion of political and economic rights inevitably lead to disagreements.” He likens obligations fueling a democracy to the gasoline that fuels an engine.

Dr. Haass maintains that democracy in the US “has come to focus almost exclusively on perceived rights and is breaking down as a result.”

This book was being written during our time of transition from the Trump Administration to the Biden Administration, and the “peaceful transition of Power” enjoyed by the US for more than 200 years was in question. He wrote, “What we don’t yet know is whether what happened in late 2020 and early 2021 was an aberration or a precedent.”

Although some Americans have predicted that we’re heading for a second civil war, Dr. Haass is of the opinion that the more likely scenario is something similar to “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland where paramilitary groups target public places frequented by those people they oppose. Unlike a civil war, such violence has no set beginning and no set end because no one is in charge.

Dr. Haass reminds us that democracy is difficult. It requires informed participation from its citizens. From its leaders “it asks for good faith and restraint, and a willingness to put the collective interest before politics, party, or personal gain.”

My take on that

In my opinion, we’ve lost all of that. Too many people refuse to watch the news on TV “because it’s all bad” and few people read a newspaper now or seek out alternative news sources such as National Public Radio. Too many people say they aren’t interested in politics. It’s too easy to just say all politicians and government employees are bad people or lazy.

I’ve worked in the business world and in the government. It was my experience that government employees were more dedicated and conscientious than the ones I worked with in the business world. Let’s just stop jumping on the bandwagon of throwing everyone and everything associated with our democracy “under the bus.”

Back to Dr. Haass’ book

Dr. Haass writes about how technology has changed politics in an important way. It happened without our even being aware. Whereas political parties used to have some control over who ran for office, now anyone with enough money and technical communications savvy can run for office.

Extremists can rally vocal followers and spread their views (and their lies) through social media in ways unheard of or imagined just a couple of decades ago. The person with the loudest voice gets the attention, even if that person holds narrow or extreme views.

The book talks about how, like me, the author grew up in the 1950s and 1960s. We were taught in school that America was “a melting pot.” More and more, though, Dr. Haass says instead of a melting pot, we’re “a loose collection of separate pots” now. We live in “Red” states or “Blue” states, and few live in “Purple” states. There are divisions on every turn.

He goes on to write about history, values, and obligations not being taught in school.

The second part of Dr. Haass’ book addresses what he calls The Bill of Obligations. He writes about what he means by each one, but I’ll just list them for you here:

Be Informed
Get Involved
Stay Open to Compromise
Remain Civil
Reject Violence
Value Norms
Promote the Common Good
Respect Government Service
Support the Teaching of Civics
Put Country First

Dr. Haass’ Conclusion

Quoting from the “Conclusion” chapter of the book: “The central argument of this book is that American democracy will endure only if obligations join rights at the core of a widely shared understanding of citizenship.” It won’t happen overnight, but the rewards will be reaped years from now.

Dr. Haass proposes that we turn our attention to making the ten obligations a priority because all the “hot button” issues vying for our attention will not be solved or resolved if they aren’t debated in a vibrant democracy.

In the end, Dr. Haass sounds the alarm: “The reality that January 6, and the subsequent revelations about efforts to impound voting machines and discount legally cast ballots, has failed to shock the body politic into its senses, has failed to stir us into action to protect and preserve this democracy, challenges the conventional wisdom that crises are automatic precursors of change. We get the government and the country we deserve. Getting the one we need, however, is up to us.”

My Conclusions

Regardless of your political leanings, I hope you’ll take the opportunity to read The Bill of Obligations. There’s much food for thought in this small book. My hope is that reading it will prompt each of us in the US to be better citizens and more-informed about our democracy.

For the most part, I agree with Dr. Haass’ Bill of Obligations. I’m not as optimistic as he is, though. I recently said something to a university sophomore about January 6. She didn’t know what I was talking about!

Since my last blog post

I’ve been diagnosed as having bronchitis and asthma. Instead of sending out my newsletter on Monday, I finally got it together and emailed to my subscribers on Thursday. I’ve fallen woefully behind in reading the posts by the bloggers I follow.

My illness forced me to miss an author event by John Hart. I didn’t think Mr. Hart should have to compete with my hacking and coughing.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read.

Don’t take good health and supportive friends and family for granted.

Remember the brave people of Ukraine.

Thank you for dropping by my blog.

Janet

Some of the Books I Read in April 2023

April was a busy month, but I found time to read a variety of books. As is my habit, I’ll take the opportunity of the first Monday in May to blog about what I read in April. I hope you’ll find a book or two of interest.

Time’s Undoing, by Cheryl A. Head

This new novel alternates between the mysterious death of Robert Lee Harrington in 1929 and his journalist great-granddaughter’s persistent search for answers in 2019. I don’t usually enjoy novels written in alternating timelines, but this one worked.

Mr. Harrington is a master craftsman in carpentry in Birmingham, Alabama in 1929. A Black man, he is seen as too flamboyant by the white population. He takes pride in his work and his nice car. He presses his luck and, when he is in the wrong place at the wrong time, things go terribly wrong.

Harrington’s great-granddaughter, Meghan McKenzie, comes along 90 years later. She’s a reporter for the Detroit Free Press. In conjunction with working on a Black Lives Matter report, Ms. McKenzie decides to go to Birmingham to try to uncover the details of her great-grandfather’s death.

The danger McKenzie is in escalates the closer she gets to the ugly truth.

To be honest, I bristled two or three times when McKenzie made blanket statements about white southerners. I was, in fact, tempted early on to stop reading the book; however, I’m glad I stuck with it. Perspective is everything, and I can’t expect the young black reporter from Detroit to see things the way I do.

In fact, it would be unrealistic. I think it’s human nature for us to make blanket statements about people who don’t look like we look or who live in different regions (or countries) from where we live. Assumptions are made about the South and white southerners. Likewise, southerners make assumptions about people who live in other parts of the country.

The deeper I got into the novel, the more I was drawn into the characters and the story. I’m not a fast reader, but I read the second half of the book in two days because I couldn’t wait to see what McKenzie would find out and if she would survive to tell her great-grandfather’s story.

Code Name Sapphire, by Pam Jenoff

In this historical novel, Pam Jenoff pulls bits and pieces from World War II history in Europe and weaves a story that will keep you on the edge3 of your seat.

Micheline heads the fictitious Sapphire Line in the resistance in Belgium. The network, whose mission is to get downed Allied airmen safely o9ut of German-occupied Belgium, is loosely based on or inspired by such real operations as the Comet Line.

Micheline’s brother, Matteo, is heavily involved in the Sapphire Line. He is still in love with a woman from his past. Will they reconnect even during the war?

Hannah is a Jew who escaped from Nazi-occupied Belgium once, but the ship she is on with other refugees is turned away from the harbor in Havana. Is she returned to Belgium? Does she work with the Sapphire Line? Does she make Matteo forget about his long-lost love?

Lily is Hannah’s cousin. Lily is the only family Hannah has to turn to for help while she tries to figure out how to escape to America.

But, as in all good fiction, nothing goes as planned. Everything that can go wrong seems to go wrong.

Who will betray friends or relatives? Who will survive? You just might be surprised!

The Last Carolina Girl, by Meagan Church

The author of this novel is an editor I found last October on Reedsy.com. Being from North Carolina, the title grabbed my attention. I pre-ordered the book to help support this author. The book was released on March 7, 2023, but I didn’t get a chance to read it until April.

(Rule #1 for supporting a new book: Review it as soon as it is released to boost sales and attention for the book. The first 30 days after a book’s release is the most important time to support it and its author as far as the Amazon algorithms are concerned.) My apologies to Meagan Church for missing this window of opportunity. I really need to do better.

Back to the book… Leah Payne is a 14-year-old orphan from Supply in Brunswick County, North Carolina. The neighborhood couple who take her in try to do the best thing for her… or do they? Arrangements are made and she is taken to Matthews in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. She dreams of a foster family there who will love her, perhaps even provide for her a bed and bedroom of her own.

But when she arrives in Matthews in 1936, she doesn’t receive the welcome she is expecting.

How to Read Novels Like a Professor: A Jaunty Exploration of the World’s Favorite Literary Form, by Thomas C. Foster

How to Read Novels Like a Professor, by Thomas C. Foster

The title intrigued me. As I read the first four chapters, I took some notes. There were a number of succinct statements about writing.

There was insight about how important the first sentence, first page, and first chapter are if an author wants to snag the interest of a reader.

The author set forth some humorous “laws” of writing, including “The Law of Bogus Locales,” “The Law of Look Who’s Talking,” and “The Law of Narrative Unreliability.”

Another example is “The Law of the Conservation of Character” which the author explained as “Thou shalt not burden the punter with needless character development.” He went on to translate that as follows: “If fiction writers are any good, they only tell you as much as you absolutely need to know.”

By the time I’d read the first half of the book, I found myself skipping pages. I decided it’s just possible that I don’t want to read novels like a professor. I want to read them as a reader.

The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, by Michelle Obama

I listened to this book on CD. It was read by the author, which made it extra enjoyable. This is a book of common sense and encouragement. Mrs. Obama talks about her childhood and how her parents instilled in her and her brother the merit in hard work and the value of a dollar. They instilled in the two children the value of standing up for yourself and your beliefs. She talks about the value of friendships and family. Those are the important things in life. She talks about always trying her best and often being criticized and misconstrued.

People who don’t approve of President and Mrs. Obama probably wouldn’t like this book, but they probably wouldn’t bother to read it. That would be their loss. I found the content of the book to be honest and uplifting. Hearing Mrs. Obama read it herself was a bonus.

Other books I read in April

I read Natural Color, by Sasha Duerras part of my research so I can write authentic historical fiction. I might have the main character in The Heirloom know a bit about using items in nature to dye fibers, yarn, or fabric.

Writing Short Stories to Promote Your Novels, by Rayne Hall struck a chord with me. If you’re writing a novel, too, then you might want to take a look at this book. In a nutshell, it takes you through a step-by-step model to assess the kind of book you’re writing. Then you brainstorm for ideas of a short story or multiple short stories you can write that have a connection to your novel. By publishing those short stories, you not only introduce your potential novel readers to your style of writing and your genre, you can also introduce them to one or more of the characters in your novel. It really got the gears in my head turning!

How to Find Book Reviewers: How to Get Reviews the Easy Way, by Werner Stejskal gave me some ideas for finding book reviewers I’ve not stumbled upon yet. I tend to shy away from book titles that include the word “easy,” but I decided to read this one.

Book Review Banzai: The Unknown Author’s Ultimate Guide to Getting Amazon Reviews, by Jason Ladd, Julie Gwinn, and Tom Morkes. Are you picking up on a pattern here? Book reviews on Amazon are extremely important, especially for authors just arriving on the literary scene. (Hint, Hint!)

Since my last blog post

Amid some fairly substantial computer problems, my sister and I took a trip to beautiful Asheville, North Carolina. I wrote all about it in my May newsletter. A highlight for me was visiting Hart Square Village in Vale, North Carolina. The village is a source of inspiration for my historical fiction writing.

That’s just a little of what you’re missing if you haven’t subscribed to my mailing list/newsletter. Here’s the link to my website where you can subscribe: https://janetmorrisonbooks.com/subscribe/. I plan to send out an e-newsletter every other month.

Until my next blog post

I’ll try to do a better job of writing book reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.com.

I hope you have a good book to read. Perhaps one of the books I read last month has piqued your interest.

Wherever you live, you’re probably experiencing a change of seasons. Here in North Carolina, we’re entering my favorite time of the year – seasonal allergies and all!

Make time for friends, family, and a hobby.

Remember the brave people of Ukraine.

Thank you for dropping by my blog.

Janet

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