I'm so exited to get to blog here this week! I've been waiting and waiting to chat with you about my novella in the collection, Love at Last.
Here's a quick summary of the story:
When we first began planning and plotting the 7 Brides stories, I knew I wanted a hero named Bowie. I love that name. And the second born role is one that I get, because I'm a second born. And because I had been reading a collection of Civil War letters written by Louisa May Alcott when she was a nurse in a Union hospital, I knew I wanted my heroine to have been a nurse.
I have long been fascinated by Civil War History. I have dozens of books on the subject, as well as having visited many Civil War sites. I've seen some of the "Biggies" like Chickamauga, Andersonville Prison, Vicksburg, Franklin, TN, and the Lincoln Museum and Grave. And I've visited countless smaller sites, the Tilghman House in Paducah, The Richmond, KY battlefield, Fort Donaldson, TN. One area of Civil War history that intrigues me is what happened to all those Confederate soldiers when they returned home. How did they feel about themselves? How were they received? How did they deal with their experiences?
I knew that I wanted to explore these questions at least as much as I could in a novella.
Tomorrow and Wednesday, I'll blog about Bowie and Elise respectively, and how their characters were created. I hope you'll come back and hang out this week.
Every day this week, I'm giving away a copy of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the musical!
To win the DVD, leave a comment telling me the Civil War sites you've visited and/or books on the Civil War that you recommend. (US Only.)
And time is running out to enter to win a LOADED KINDLE FIRE!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I adore this collection and look forward to your posts this week, Erica! I have visited several Civil War sites including Vicksburg, Fort Sumter, and Gettysburg.
ReplyDeletetexaggs2000 at gmail dot com
Gettysburg is definitely on my MUST SEE list! And I'd love to visit Fort Sumter, too. And Vicksburg again, this time when it isn't 105 degrees outside!
DeleteVisiting some of the more famous Civil War sites is an item on my Bucket List. Since I'm out in California, I don't have access to many. However, I have visited one right here in Northern California. Fort Point, in San Francisco at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge, was built to protect the city during the Civil War.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/historyculture/fort-point.htm
Very cool! I will put that on my Must See list for when I ever get out to California!
DeleteWhile I enjoyed all of the stories, Bowie's was my favorite. I have been to several Civil War sites and have a list of others that I would love to go visit. We have been to Manassas, Appomattox and Vicksburg and a couple of others.
ReplyDeleteA neat little bit of history in my family, my great grandfather, John Hance O'Steen was the youngest Confederate soldier from Florida. He was the second youngest that served for the Confederate States of America. He was a mail carrier and I believe he was 8 years old. So that is why I have always been fascinated with the Civil War and that time period. :)
http://florida-scv.org/Camp770/
That is so fascinating! Your great grandfather would make a wonderful character in a novel....now my mind is full of plot ideas and notions...
DeleteWell if you ever come up with an idea, I would love to read it. :)
DeleteWhat fun to learn more about the characters. :) Don't enter me - I already have this fabulous movie!!
ReplyDeleteSusan, I have the movie, too, and it is well-watched. I can never decide who my favorite brother is in the musical...
DeleteI don't know if this counts or not, but I have toured Longwood and Stanton Hall in Natchez, MS. Longwood was left unfinished due to the war and Stanton Hall was occupied by Union troops.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, I love genealogy and have identified my ancestors that fought for the Confederacy. I have scans of several letters exchanged between one of my ancestors and his wife during the war. Very cool!
Monica, I LOVE Civil War letters. I have a package of letters (Written in German and translated) from my husband's ancestor Jakob Vetsch who served with a Wisconsin regiment during the War.
DeleteUnfortunately, I haven't visited many Civil Wars sites. I've been to Fort Gibson in Ok, Pea Ridge in Arkansas, and seen the historic places of Charleston.
ReplyDeleteJocelyn has a fabulous Civil War series called Heroines behind the Lines. I highly recommend it. You'll see the war from all angles.
I haven't read Jocelyn Green's books yet, but I've heard wonderful things about them. So many books, so little time!
DeleteWe've been to many sites in our state, including a place where soldiers camped in Marietta, Johnson Island right off the top of my head. We have several re-enactments and even a Civil War ball.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Civil War Re-enactments! We have one here every year to commemorate The Boys of Wasioja, who all left seminary together to join the War effort. It's so moving!
DeleteYou have picked one of the best , fun movies for your giveaway. Our second daughter loves it and even named her son Gideon after the youngest brother in the movie. She had such a crush on him when she first saw the movie while in high school. Her son is now 18. I did order the movie, but it is never here. She has "borrowed" it and not returned it.
ReplyDeleteWe have visited Chickamauga, and have been to Andersonville but for the funeral of a friend at the National Cemetery. We will be going back to visit the National Park. We have also been to Petersburgh, VA, Appomattox, VA, The Carter House and nearby cemetery associated with the Battle of Franklin. We have visited the
Stones River Battlefield and the Battle of Nashville
area. Although the battleground is almost entirely gone, i.e. developed over, there are several sites with historical significance. The Tennessee State Museum holds uniforms, weapons and battle flags from the Civil War and is an informative stop. There have been other stops along the way. We had a Civil War battle reenactment just 5 miles from our house here in TN.
The church we attended while we lived in Northern Virginia was one where Clara Barton volunteered to help nurse Union soldiers during the Civil War. "As a result of Barton's experiences at St. Mary's, she devised a plan to establish a civilian medical treatment society, which became the American Red Cross." More information is here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/22/AR2010092202215_2.html?sid=ST2010110307773
Ah! You have been to so many sites! I loved the Tennessee State Museum! I got to visit it this past August. And the Franklin sites were amazing! One of my 'bucket list' sites I want to see is the Civil War Medicine Museum in Fredrick, MD. If you win a copy of the movie this week, you won't have to track down your other copy from your daughter. :)
DeleteAt the top of my bucket list is Gettysburg and Andersonville. I went to the TN Museum with my son's 8th grade class. The focus was the civil war flag collection. The gentleman who gave the talk also took us around town to show us the sites that have been developed around. We need to get back to the museum and see more of it.
DeleteSo looking forward to reading this book,Erica! Especially the story about Bowie! Unfortunately have not visited any Civil War sites,but one of the best documentaries I've watched about the Civil War I've seen is Ken Burn's documentary. (Unfortunately can't think of the best books at the moment.) Hope I can visit one of the sites someday!
ReplyDeleteI visited Gettysburg, PA. There was so much to see that we only had enough time to walk around the battlefield. I hope to go back someday.
ReplyDeleteI live near Nashville so I visited The Battle of Franklin! It was only 3-4 hours but was more bloody than Gettysburg!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your post, Erica, and the history behind Bowie - thank you!! I love Civil War history and books - it's been years since I've visited a Civil War battlefield, the most memorable was Gettysburg. I also have Jocelyn Green's Civil War series.
ReplyDeleteOur local historical society maintains the Belle Boyd cottage. She was a teenage spy during the Civil War. We've also toured the Belle Grove Plantation, where the Battle of Cedar Creek was staged, and we've visited Harper's Ferry.
ReplyDelete