I confess I haven’t always been a football (soccer) fan. I grew up in the Midwest, and while I had heard of it, I’d never seen a match nor known anyone who played. The Kansas City Chiefs were my football team. It wasn’t until I met my husband, Dave, who’d played in college, that I …
Recently, several people reading Sign of Nine Stripes commented in their reviews that it was surprising the Natives spoke English so well. I hadn’t gotten that comment before, and I realized as advanced readers of the third book, they hadn’t read the first one. So perhaps I need to add that to my author’s notes. …
I confess I am more interested in ancient history than modern. My husband, however, has a passion for World War II. A few years ago, we joined my parents on a tour of the beaches at Normandy. I learned a lot and found it very interesting. But I didn’t come home and do further research. …
I’m often asked how I do my research, and I’ll admit it is a bit haphazard. I read as much as possible about the time and location to see what was happening. If it piques my interest, I work it into the story. But I try to double-check the source and verify the truth or …
I should know better. I’ve seen Roman sites in Italy, Great Britain, Germany, and even on the island of Crete. So why was I surprised to find them in The Netherlands? Granted, it was the frontier, but Romans were there when Julius Caesar conquered the tribes between 57-53 BC. The subsequent 450 years of Roman …
When the Europeans arrived on the continent, they did not find the gold and silver they sought. Nor did they find exotic spices. But what they did find was an abundance of food, much of which they had never seen before. Many foods commonly eaten today were indigenous to the Americas. Whether they were first …
Germany is known for its half-timber medieval buildings, and many towns proudly promote these charming structures. But to my delight, each has also had a buried past. The cities are much older than they seem. In some areas, especially the south, you often find Roman ruins beneath them. And in Bavaria, in particular, there is …
Sometimes, I wonder about the internet. Having done all those Google searches on Colonial America, they have found me, and articles are popping up on my feed. I recently shared an article on Facebook about the actions Parliament took following the Boston Tea Party in December 1773. Sign of Nine Stripes, my upcoming book, doesn’t …
The other day, my landlady showed up with a bucket of currants. Don’t get me wrong; I love currants. But what was I to do with a bucket load? I froze most of them in small batches in freezer bags by first spreading them out on a tray in the freezer for twenty minutes. But …
Dreams really can come true, and recently one of mine did. Since taking part in the Pompeii Food and Drink Project, I have longed to join a hands-on dig. Twelve years later, working with many of those same people, I joined the Melite Civitas Romana Project, examining the ruins of a Roman Domus and its …