friday's frontier fact

In keeping with the upcoming release of my first book August 1st, I'm going to devote Fridays to posting a fascinating frontier fact (at least I think they're fascinating!) or a bit of family lore (sometimes this is stranger than fiction!). So if you like frontier fiction or family history, stay with me. I'll post the first next Friday.

Here's an update on all that frontier fiction I'm working on:

The Frontiersman's Daughter
I just finished reviewing the page proofs and making some minor changes. My editors asked me some very interesting things this go round, such as "What is salat?" For those of you who don't like greens or are non-Kentucky natives, poke salat is a plant that settlers ate in spring as they considered it a good spring tonic. Another question asked me: "What does 'light and tie' mean?" This is an archaic expression meaning to literally alight, or get down, off your horse/mule and tie it up so you can visit. Never heard of it? You will in my book.

Red River Daughter
If I ever wanted to be a character in a novel it would be Morrow Little on the Red River in Kentucky. This story is close to my heart in ways I can't begin to understand. I think it will always be my most beloved book. The idea was given to me on a flight home to Kentucky two years ago. I wrote the middle of the book first and then filled in all around it. Sounds strange, I know. It was a joy to write. I'm still editing it but all attempts to put this big fat historical on a diet have failed, though I recently trimmed 14, 000 words. The manuscript is due to my publisher August 1st, the same day as The Frontiersman's Daughter is released.

The Scrivener's Daughter
Am up to page 228 on this one and am using a male-female perspective throughout. I've fallen in love with my male lead, always a good sign! This book takes place at the Falls of the Ohio during the late 18th-century. It looks like it will come in at the contracted 352 pages or so. I can hear my editors sighing with relief:) Echoes of George Rogers Clark are throughout this book. James Thom's incredibly moving epic, Long Knife, inspired me to begin this book. When I visited Locust Grove in Louisville last fall where Clark spent the last years of his life, I knew that I should keep going.

Anyway, happy Friday. Hope you have some sunshine and a good book to read - or write!