FAITHFUL History

I spent about 4 years writing my first novel, a young adult historical romance (Faithful, Penguin/Puffin, 2010). When I landed an agent based on an SCBWI critique pitch, I was thrilled. This was my big break, the thing I’d been hoping for, wishing for, desperate for. (I’ll post on this next time.) I thought I… Read more »

Our Page Through The Parks adventure continues this week in Yellowstone National Park, the setting for my YA debut novel FAITHFUL. I first visited Yellowstone in my late twenties, and nothing could have prepared me for the wonder. The landscape would be amazing enough by itself, but add the wildlife, hot springs, geysers, and history,… Read more »

Beneath my fingers, the ground was alive. It rumbled, creaked, and groaned – with each spray, the earth heaved. And as I sat there helpless and trembling myself, I began to sense the rhythm of it, just as the sea had a rhythm that I knew. I geyser roared and ebbed and roared again, like… Read more »

“Four men straddled the road, barring our way. They wore scarves that covered their faces except for their eyes; they carried what looked like long sticks. I shook, trying to clear my head of confusion. Four horses, tied to a nearby tree, whinnied anxiously. Then I realized that the men were carrying rifles, not sticks,… Read more »

“This is nothing. Just wait! You and your pa heading out on the Tour today?” “No.” I stared over the milky-white terraces, avoiding his eyes, plucking at my gloves. Whatever the Tour was, it would cost money. Which apparently we had none of. I sighed. “What is the Tour, anyway?” “It’s a tour through the… Read more »

Mary’s ball had been the last debut of the season, held on an August night that began so hot and still, even the flies seemed drunk with stupor…Lightning flickered on the far horizon, echoing the tiny lights strung from branch to branch in the gardens outside. Page 27, FAITHFUL My previous post discussed the fashion… Read more »

One gown hung from the door of my wardrobe. Black and white, with lace at the throat, and tight through the waist, where a crushed satin belt was a slash of scarlet. Page 27, FAITHFUL. One of the fun things (for me) about writing historical fiction is researching food and fashion of the time. Of… Read more »

Today I’m posting the second in my series about 1904, the time period for my YA novel FAITHFUL. (For the first post, see here.) Maggie’s father tells her that he is taking her across the country on a pleasure trip. In 1904, the best way to travel was by train. Maggie and her father would… Read more »

This is the first post in a planned series on aspects of my debut YA novel FAITHFUL. If you haven’t read it, here’s the skinny: In 1904 Margaret Bennet has it all – money, position, and an elegant family home in Newport, Rhode Island. But just as she is to enter society, her mother ruins everything, first… Read more »