J.R. Lindermuth's Blog, page 16
May 31, 2010
New Reviews
Two of my novels earned good reviews over this holiday weekend.
Fellow Good Reads member DelGal reviewed Corruption's Child at http://www.delgalreviews.com/
Debbie Lester gave The Accidental Spy a four-apple rating in her blog at http://debsbookbag.blogspot.com/2010/...
It's always a pleasure to get reviews--especially good ones--and to know someone who enjoyed your books.
Fellow Good Reads member DelGal reviewed Corruption's Child at http://www.delgalreviews.com/
Debbie Lester gave The Accidental Spy a four-apple rating in her blog at http://debsbookbag.blogspot.com/2010/...
It's always a pleasure to get reviews--especially good ones--and to know someone who enjoyed your books.
May 25, 2010
Romeo and Juliet in Pennsylvania
The theme of forbidden love has been used to advantage by many writers, from ancient times to the present.
Consider Abelard and Heloise. Launcelot and the Lady of Shalott. And, of course, Romeo and Juliet. A thousand other examples might be suggested. There are many reasons for love being forbidden. The most common include social distinctions such as class, religion or ethnicity.
Probably no one has used the theme to better advantage than Will Shakespeare—most notably in Romeo and Juliet, but also in a number of other classic plays and poems.
I don’t intend comparing myself to Shakespeare, but I’ve used the theme in my novel Watch The Hour and don’t feel it would be out of line to say it might be seen as another variation on Romeo and Juliet.
Fleeing famine and brutal oppression, more than a million Irish refugees flocked to the United States between 1846-1855 in search of opportunity and a better life. They worked whatever jobs they could find and were routinely exploited. Many found their way to Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal region where they encountered some of the worst exploitation and hatred.
In the 1870s, mine owners and their employees, particularly the Irish immigrants, were in conflict over working conditions. Private police forces commissioned by the state but paid by the coal companies were sworn to protect property of the mine owners. The miners knew their real purpose was to spy upon targeted agitators and intimidate and break up strikers.
My Romeo is Benjamin Franklin Yeager, a coal company police officer. He does his best to follow orders while trying to be fair to the workers whose lot he sees as little different from his own. Despite his efforts at fairness, Yeager’s job makes him the enemy of the Irish.
And that’s the crux of his troubles. For Ben is in love with an Irish girl, Jennie Teague. You’ll have to read the book to see how their love plays out.
Watch The Hour is available in print and electronic forms from the publisher at https://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/sto...
Consider Abelard and Heloise. Launcelot and the Lady of Shalott. And, of course, Romeo and Juliet. A thousand other examples might be suggested. There are many reasons for love being forbidden. The most common include social distinctions such as class, religion or ethnicity.
Probably no one has used the theme to better advantage than Will Shakespeare—most notably in Romeo and Juliet, but also in a number of other classic plays and poems.
I don’t intend comparing myself to Shakespeare, but I’ve used the theme in my novel Watch The Hour and don’t feel it would be out of line to say it might be seen as another variation on Romeo and Juliet.
Fleeing famine and brutal oppression, more than a million Irish refugees flocked to the United States between 1846-1855 in search of opportunity and a better life. They worked whatever jobs they could find and were routinely exploited. Many found their way to Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal region where they encountered some of the worst exploitation and hatred.
In the 1870s, mine owners and their employees, particularly the Irish immigrants, were in conflict over working conditions. Private police forces commissioned by the state but paid by the coal companies were sworn to protect property of the mine owners. The miners knew their real purpose was to spy upon targeted agitators and intimidate and break up strikers.
My Romeo is Benjamin Franklin Yeager, a coal company police officer. He does his best to follow orders while trying to be fair to the workers whose lot he sees as little different from his own. Despite his efforts at fairness, Yeager’s job makes him the enemy of the Irish.
And that’s the crux of his troubles. For Ben is in love with an Irish girl, Jennie Teague. You’ll have to read the book to see how their love plays out.
Watch The Hour is available in print and electronic forms from the publisher at https://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/sto...
Romeo and Juliet in Pennsylvania
The theme of forbidden love has been used to advantage by many writers, from ancient times to the present.
Consider Abelard and Heloise. Launcelot and the Lady of Shalott. And, of course, Romeo and Juliet. A thousand other examples might be suggested. There are many reasons for love being forbidden. The most common include social distinctions such as class, religion or ethnicity.
Probably no one has used the theme to better advantage than Will Shakespeare—most notably in Romeo and Juliet, but...
Consider Abelard and Heloise. Launcelot and the Lady of Shalott. And, of course, Romeo and Juliet. A thousand other examples might be suggested. There are many reasons for love being forbidden. The most common include social distinctions such as class, religion or ethnicity.
Probably no one has used the theme to better advantage than Will Shakespeare—most notably in Romeo and Juliet, but...
May 14, 2010
The Wind In His Face
I'm reading David Herlihy's excellent "The Lost Cyclist," which recounts the story of Frank Lenz, a Pittsburgh adventurer who disappeared in the 1880s while attempting his dream of cycling around the world.
Appropriately, this is National Bike Month. And that brings fond memories of my maternal grandfather, George Lester Sears, in whose life the bicycle played an important role.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was the bicycle that first made Americans mobile. For the first time, the av...
May 8, 2010
Homage to Mom
Finding a significant way to honor one's mother isn't the easiest task.
If you've been fortunate enough to have a good mother, there's no gift you can buy sufficient to alleviate the guilt of not being able to do more. For those who haven't had a good mother, the task is no easier because you're exposed to a plethora of emotions in regret of such misfortune.
The second Sunday in May is the date selected for Americans to remember their mothers by some act of gratitude, a practice mirroring an ea...
May 7, 2010
Got Kindle?
If you have a Kindle wireless reading device you have ready access to more than 500,000 books.
That number includes the first three novels in my Sticks Hetrick mystery series—Something In Common, Cruel Cuts and Corruption's Child, published by Whiskey Creek Press, www.whiskeycreekpress.com
This series involves the title character, Daniel 'Sticks' Hetrick, retired police chief of rural Swatara Creek, Pennsylvania, who has been called back to service as consultant to his less experienced successo...
That number includes the first three novels in my Sticks Hetrick mystery series—Something In Common, Cruel Cuts and Corruption's Child, published by Whiskey Creek Press, www.whiskeycreekpress.com
This series involves the title character, Daniel 'Sticks' Hetrick, retired police chief of rural Swatara Creek, Pennsylvania, who has been called back to service as consultant to his less experienced successo...
May 4, 2010
Guest Blogger
I'm Ginger Simpson's guest tomorrow, Wednesday, May 5, at http://mizging.blogspot.com
Stop by and leave a comment.
Stop by and leave a comment.
May 3, 2010
A Question of Morality
Priests and ministers condemned it from the pulpit. Newspapers editorialized against it. Physicians called it a threat to the health and morality of the young. Government bodies and businessmen assailed it.
What was this thing that outraged so many segments of society across the nation in the early 1880s?
The skating rink. Huh? Seems rather benign these days, doesn't it? But after equipment improved and roller skating became a popular activity in the late 19th century many civic leaders raised ...
What was this thing that outraged so many segments of society across the nation in the early 1880s?
The skating rink. Huh? Seems rather benign these days, doesn't it? But after equipment improved and roller skating became a popular activity in the late 19th century many civic leaders raised ...
April 22, 2010
Sample Chapter
1.
Neil Kehler pulled back the sleeve of his jacket and squinted at his watch. Blurry. But it looked like past midnight. Past midnight on Friday. He should get home. Ruthie would be pissed. Shit! Nothing new in that. Lately she was always pissed. Neil swallowed the last dregs of his beer. All he'd wanted was a couple beers and a game of pool. A little sport. Nothing that had anything to do with how he felt about her. Hell, they'd been together since high school. Did she really think he was lo...
Neil Kehler pulled back the sleeve of his jacket and squinted at his watch. Blurry. But it looked like past midnight. Past midnight on Friday. He should get home. Ruthie would be pissed. Shit! Nothing new in that. Lately she was always pissed. Neil swallowed the last dregs of his beer. All he'd wanted was a couple beers and a game of pool. A little sport. Nothing that had anything to do with how he felt about her. Hell, they'd been together since high school. Did she really think he was lo...
April 12, 2010
Homage to the Library
Most writers would be inclined to agree the public library was one of the greatest ideas of all time.
My hometown didn't have a library until 1953. It wasn't that we were ignorant savages—there were school and church libraries and commercial lending libraries before that time.
Desire for a community library dates back to at least 1866 when an editorial in a local newspaper proclaimed: "A place that is lacking in facilities for gaining information can never hope to compete with other places whos...
My hometown didn't have a library until 1953. It wasn't that we were ignorant savages—there were school and church libraries and commercial lending libraries before that time.
Desire for a community library dates back to at least 1866 when an editorial in a local newspaper proclaimed: "A place that is lacking in facilities for gaining information can never hope to compete with other places whos...
