How a Hidden Diary & Old Furniture Reveal 19th-Century Life & Historical Fiction

It’s here! After years of research and writing, I finally get to hold Born of This Fire in my hands.  Watch the unboxing and share my joy in this book’s arrival! This new arrival is my author copy; its launch to the public will take place on October 17. You can, however, preorder it now!

Though this is my eighth book, publishing a book is a lot like having a baby — you welcome and love each one for its unique qualities.

Script-in-Hand Players (aka Wordcrafters)

I’m pleased as punch to join the talented folks in my Wordcrafters writing group to read aloud selections of our scribblings. Many of these pieces–including my latest book–made their debut in this group’s critique sessions. Come get a preview of my novel as Wordcrafters presents two different segments of Annie’s introduction to Leavenworth.

Two Performances!

• Date: September 13, 2025
• Time: Noon – 1 pm
• Location: Central Library of Rochester, which is made up of two buildings at the corners of South Avenue and Broad St. This reading is in Kate Gleason Hall in the new building.

And

• Date: September 20, 2025
• Time: Noon – 1 pm
• Location: Central Library of Rochester at Rundel Memorial Building (the old one) in Harold Hacker Hall

My Coat That Traveled the Globe

When I was a child, my mother donated my outgrown coat to a church clothing drive. Just for fun, we tucked a note into the pocket asking the new owner to write back. Months later, an airmail letter arrived—from someone living in the Gaza Strip. Mom and I spread a map across the table to locate this faraway place she explained was often marked by conflict and need.

 

That coat was a small act of giving, but the story behind it traveled across the world. Even now, decades later, I remember the thrill of that letter—and reflect on the sobering  truth that Gaza is still a land of conflict.

Lessons in Reuse and Resourcefulness

Though my parents had enough to keep us comfortable, they were pioneers of “reuse, repurpose, recycle” long before it became fashionable. They crafted a child’s table and chairs from discarded curbside finds, and they taught me to strip, refinish, or paint furniture where history had left too many scars to see its inherent beauty.

In the process, I learned to recognize the marks of solid wood, to distinguish antique furniture from the faux finishes of modern pieces, and to appreciate the beauty of tiger maple—a wood prized in many vintage finds. To this day, I much prefer the richness of real wood and the stories it seems to hold.

Antique Furniture, Hidden Stories

My fondness for pre-owned goods continues. I love browsing estate sales, vintage markets, and Facebook Marketplace, where treasures often come with untold stories. One of my favorite finds is a heavily carved piece that reminds me of something King Arthur himself might have owned.

This love of previously-loved objects influences my fiction as well. In my upcoming historical novel, Born of This Fire, Annie Anthony stumbles upon a hidden diary tucked inside a piece of secondhand furniture. What she discovers inside doesn’t just broaden her perspective—it threatens to upend her marriage, her town, and her future. Historically, such items weren’t uncommon; after raids, jayhawkers often carried looted goods across the Missouri River into Civil War Kansas, where they were resold as “previously owned” furniture.

The Intimacy of Diaries

There’s no better way to understand someone than through their diary. Shortly after my mother passed, I found her travel journal, filled with tender reflections on visiting us for the birth of our daughter. In my research for Born of This Fire, I uncovered diaries and letters that revealed much about 19th-century life in Kansas. A soldier under Daniel Anthony’s  command wrote about him in ways that revealed as much about the writer as about Anthony himself.

For Annie, raised as a sheltered heiress on Martha’s Vineyard, a diary becomes transformative as she gets to know Kansas. For the first time, she encounters slavery  just across the Missouri River. The city itself bears deep divides—even the Planters Hotel maintains separate bars for pro-slavery and anti-slavery guests.

Annie has never known an African-American person until she meets Emily, a formerly enslaved woman who has gained her freedom by crossing the river into Kansas. Annie’s openness to Emily is both her strength and her undoing, as she soon learns that listening to voices from the past can change everything.

Conclusion: When the Past Speaks

From a coat that crossed the ocean, to reclaiming antique furniture, to diaries that whisper across centuries—previously owned objects carry powerful stories. They remind us that history isn’t abstract; it’s written into wood grain, ink, and memory.

Book review

James, by Percival Everett

By now, you’ve probably read many reviews of Percival Everett’s James—and perhaps even the novel itself. Even so, I found it so compelling that I feel moved to comment on a few themes that struck me as especially important. Listening to this story as an audiobook allowed me to experience the main character’s two styles of language, which I appreciated.

First: Huck’s adventure vs. James’s survival.
For Huck, the journey often feels like a lark, the kind of escapade a boy might recount with excitement. But for James, every step is a matter of life and death. Huck’s sudden appearances, while innocent on the surface, regularly jeopardize James’s desperate struggle for freedom. At one point, James even considers slipping away from the boy to save himself. Yet he chooses otherwise, and the reason for that choice is only fully revealed in the book’s deeply satisfying conclusion. Everett underscores James’s selflessness toward Huck again and again. Still, to keep James from seeming too saintly or one-dimensional, Everett shows him committing an ugly, unnecessary act of violence—reminding us that James is as complex and flawed as any real man.

Second: the power of reading and writing.
One of the most striking motifs is James’s near-obsessive care for his pencil, an object that nearly brings him to ruin. His vast knowledge of classical literature belies the outward assumption that he is an illiterate slave. This quiet defiance highlights the power of literacy. Everett himself has called reading “subversive” because it allows a person to encounter ideas without an intermediary—forming one’s own judgments, turning them over, comparing them with personal experience, and arriving at one’s own meaning. In this way, Everett underscores both the danger and the liberation of literacy, and his own responsibility as a writer to give readers stories worth wrestling with.

Finally: Everett’s unflinching portrayal of slavery.
Some scenes are so brutal that I wished I could unhear them. Yet they serve a purpose: to plunge us into the interior life of a man who was never meant to have a voice or a platform. Alongside the cruelties are countless adventures and sharp, ironic, and often funny observations that soar right over Huck’s head until almost the very end.

James is not a book for the faint of heart. It is, however, a book for those who want to grapple with survival, morality, and the transformative power of language. This novel broke my heart and opened my eyes in ways I didn’t expect.

Step into captivating worlds of romance, mystery, and adventure with this free historical fiction showcase. Whether you’re a fan of sweeping historical dramas, tantalizing romances, or compelling short stories, this collection offers something for every reader. View the books and stories here.