Laura Freeman's Blog

Researching Your Story – Part 3

Read the third part of a three-part series.

A writer will face roadblocks that may derail a story.

I had another problem in Sailing into a Storm. I needed my heroine Lady Meg to wear a veil for her wedding. It was essential but in my research I discovered that veils had fallen out of fashion in 1774. So how do I justify wearing it?

Own it. I had her sister say, “Most brides don’t wear veils.” She states the norm for the time period. Then Meg replies. “Well, this bride is wearing a veil.” She shows that she is not doing something normal for that time period but makes it her choice.

Owning something works for other stories. Most people believe vampires cannot go out during the day, but you can create a reason why your vampire can tolerate day time. Twilight created a friendlier vampire. Admit the norm and create the exception. People will accept it.

No matter how much research you do or how careful you are, you’re going to make a mistake, but don’t beat yourself up over it. You’re writing a work of fiction. Few people will notice your mistake. Forgive yourself and your mistakes and move on.

If in doubt, leave it out. In my Impending Love and Lies story I knew from my research that Clara Barton received permission to take supplies to the battle of Antietam. I couldn’t find out if her nurses were all male or if some female nurses went. To be on the safe side I had my heroine Colleen and her sister Jessica dress as men, Cole and Jess. I checked recently and found that in fact Clara took male helpers. So by disguising their sex, my story is more believable.

If you use nicknames, stick to that name throughout your story. A modern novel has most people using first names. The exception is a boss, teacher, or elderly person. I struggled with “Sailing into a Storm because of the British nobility titles. Aristocrats are addressed by their title not their surname. Also older people or more important people are addressed more formally. Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bennett and the adults in the group are addressed formally throughout Pride and Prejudice. But I would change to the first name to show a shift in the relationship to something more personal.

A word of warning about names. Avoid names ending in S because of the possessive apostrophe. Avoid using main names that start with the same letter. In Sailing Into a Storm I needed the names of two characters to be similar. Originally, they were Margaret Katherine and Mary Catherine and called Meg and Mary. My editor kept mixing up the two women and wanted a name change. Simple solution. I changed Mary to Cathy. Similar formal names but different nicknames.

Your story is yours. You choose what to include and what to leave out. Focus is essential so you don’t lose your reader down a rabbit hole or info dump. If an interesting fact doesn’t work, don’t use it. Everything you include in your story should advance the plot, characters, or theme of your story.

Add personality to your characters by asking “why” they are doing something, wearing something, or saying something. Research personalities and note what people you are drawn to and those you don’t like. What do you look for in a friend? What can someone do that makes you want to avoid them? What turns a friend into an enemy? Or an enemy into a friend? What is their vulnerable point and why? This is all research. If you want your readers to understand your characters, you have to understand them as well. Think of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. The movie shows what drives couples apart. Use that knowledge.

The history, setting, and culture are background. They add to your story. I have read too many stories that could be located anywhere any time. They are basic without any other level of interest. You want to elevate your story to a higher level.

Give your characters something that grounds them in their time period or occupation. They need to be a friend to the reader. They need to connect. Pride and Prejudice is grounded in the Regency period not because of clothing or manners but the fact that Mr. Bennett has no male heir and their home will go to a Mr. Collins, the nearest male relative, and leave the women in his life homeless. That is what drives Mrs. Bennett to find husbands for her five daughters. It’s the urgency that drives the characters.

Most towns have a police, fire and safety center. Take advantage of the open house events. They are a great opportunity to see a police car up close. I knew I would be using a police car in Raining Tears so I sat in the car, I took pictures of the interior, and I looked to see how the spotlight worked. Put the reader in the story, let them experience it. That is what research allows.

Have you ever sat in on a trial? Gone to a city council meeting? Gone a guided hike? Go to public places and take notes, pictures, and look for inspiration for your stories. Don’t trust what is on television. In most TV courtrooms, the witness stand is next to the judge. Not in my county courthouse. The witness stand is to the left facing the jury. Also the jury seats are really comfortable. Take advantage of public buildings but ask if you can take photographs or ask for a guided tour.

Look for classes at schools and universities.

I also was invited by Kent State University to attend a forensic class on a Saturday morning. It was great. I learned so much. She had us age someone. She had skulls to explain how they identified someone’s age by the cranial sutures and how to determine sex by the shape of the skull, slope of the forehead and other features. Take advantage of schools, organizations, and speakers available, especially when it’s free. Educate yourself.

If you write murder mysteries, you should consider Sisters in Crime. They visit medical examiners and have speakers that can give you vital information to make your stories more realistic. If you don’t want to join an organization, you can visit the same spots on your own or take other writers and friends and ask for a tour. Form your own research group.

Knowing a doctor, nurse, or paramedic is also helpful to answer medical questions. If you can’t find someone, go online but always double check information. There is a lot of garbage out there and you don’t want it in your book. Try to confirm information with two or three sources.

Even basic first aid or CPR classes can be helpful in writing a story where someone is injured or stops breathing.

I am lucky in that my brother was a paramedic, police officer and detective. And he likes answering my questions.

Network with police officers, dispatch, and nurses. At these events talk to the officers and personnel. Find contacts you can network with. Ask if you can take a tour of the police station, dispatch center, or medical examiner’s office. Don’t overwhelm them, respect their time, and have questions prepared. Ask for an email or phone number for follow up questions.

My community offered a Citizen Police Academy. Great information. I visited the police stations and dispatch center for Stow, Tallmadge, Cuyahoga Falls and Silver Lake. Each police department is different so you can create your own station and staff to suit your needs. They demonstrated K9 units, gave us access to the shooting range, and talked about making an arrest, warrants, how police obtain evidence, use of force, dispatch, how to be a good witness, medical examiner, DUI stops, shooting protocol. You can learn a lot from one of these programs. I took notes and refer back to them when I’m writing a police scene.

I don’t write about murder cases I covered, but I use details that reveal the why of what they did in fictional characters. A man murdered his two children and buried them in Hudson.

One thing that stood out for me was the father picked a shady spot to bury his children because it was hot in July, and he didn’t want to be uncomfortable. His selfish concern for himself painted a picture of how cold-hearted he could be.

A true story can inspire us in different ways. If we can capture the inspiration and transfer it to your reader, they can connect not only with the story but the emotions we felt. And a story needs to connect on an emotional level. If it makes you cry, the readers will cry. If it makes you laugh, the reader will laugh.

Respect people you know or meet that you base a character on. Flattery can turn into an insult. Combine characteristics of two or more people to create a fictional character so others don’t recognize themselves in your writing.

Pick details from your research that work for your story. Be creative.

But avoid mental illness as an excuse for a crime. That will get your story rejected. Research and discover a valid reason someone commits a crime such as greed, power, revenge, or anger. In a romance the couple need to consent before sex.

A series is harder to write than a stand-alone book because what you write in the first book impacts the remaining stories. I made the rookie mistake of using a C or J for names in my Impending Love series. Looking back, it would have been better to make the names different like in Little Women with Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. I also used their nicknames instead of full names with Cory, Jem, Cole, Jess, Cass and Jules but some sounded like boy’s names and may have caused confusion. I learned my lesson but had to go with the names mentioned because they were a series and mentioned in the first book.

I count myself lucky my Impending Love series worked so well. I did a lot of research before the first book, but only completed the first one because why write more if I don’t get published? Once published, I wrote each book in order one at a time. Scary. How I managed to have each new book match up with previous stories is a miracle, but it helps that each book is an independent story with its own main characters and subgenre.

I’m working on a four-book series now and each book is independent in its story, but I’m writing a good portion of each story before I submitted the first one just to be safe. I also have the names Deidre, Liny, Chauncy, and Olivia for the heroines. No name starts with the same letter. Learn from your mistakes.

Writing is a lot of work but that is what makes it rewarding. I like a challenge and try to write something different in each of my books. No two are alike even in the series.

Impending Love and War has a love triangle and focuses on a runaway slave. Impending Love and Death is a quest in search of answers. Impending Love and Lies is about a jilting and dealing with betrayal. Impending Love and Capture is about courage in the face of defeat. Impending Love and Madness deals with Lincoln’s assassination and the chaos after the war. Impending Love and Promise is a thriller as a madman seeks revenge while the heroine rescues her orphaned cousins.

Research adds details and can elevate your writing by adding authentic information about the place, people, and culture. It applies to the past as well as the present. And life, events, and technology are constantly changing. Research makes your story accurate and interesting for the reader.

I hope you will take a few ideas and apply them to your own writing. If nothing else, try a new experience and be inspired to add it to a story you’re writing. Make your writing fun and enjoy it.

Purchase and read the beginnings of my novels at https://goo.gl/B7lKMs

Researching Your Story – Part 2

This is the second of a three-part series.

Document your research with photographs and written records. I keep one notebook for police related information. Describe a scene with detail to use in a book.

Organize your research materials so you can retrieve the information when you need it. I have a bookcase for any reference books that also includes grammar and writing advice. I have a filing cabinet with folders based on topics in one drawer and centuries in another with extra folders for the Civil War and Colonial period. Use notebooks to gather information on visits.

Print off calendars of the year you’re writing about and create a calendar to document what happens during the course of your story.

Capture the visual in words.

What about researching titles and words? Although book titles are not copyrighted, I research a potential title. When I entered “Sailing into the Storm” as a title + novel, another book showed up about Christian controversies and a children’s book, A Wren and Frog Adventure. They were nothing like my book, but by changing “the” to “a” I had my own unique title.

Another thing to research for historical books of any time period is the origin of a word. The farther you go back in time, the more likely a word you use in your story will not have existed in their vocabulary. Just enter the word in a search and + origin to find out what year it came into common use. Canoodling came into use in 1850. It can be used for kissing in the Civil War but not colonial times. everything can be found in a book. I like personal visits to a location. I visited Williamsburg several times and gathered information about colonial life to write Sailing into a Storm.

Hale Farm portrays life in the 19th Century and has Civil War reenactments.

Goldsmith House at Hale Farm and Village is the floorplan I used for Impending Love and War. It’s easier to describe a room when you know the layout.

Ask questions of portrayers but double check information.

Actual visits can inspire writing. I visited Antietam which is a long narrow battlefield. The 7th Ohio fought in the northern section in the cornfields by Dunker church. The corn was full height when I visited the first time and it wasn’t hard to imagine soldiers marching through the cornfield. Visiting places can inspire your writing. Small details can stick in a reader’s mind. I had the men putting their “vices” in a bag which some men did before a battle.

I did a lot of research on the canal and canal boats until I understood how the locks and boats worked. Research until you are comfortable about the topic and can share it with others. I talked to demonstrators about a working lock at the Canal Exploration Center in Valley View. I found a “homemade” book about canals at the Akron Public Library. I visited the different locks along the towpath until I felt confident about my subject. Because I researched it so much, I used the canal boat in more than one story. Don’t waste all your research. Just change it up or make it background information in another book.  

Research until you have no more questions. But when in doubt, leave it out.

Keep names fictional for the main character and locations but research historical figures and sites. I spent years researching my family tree and took a DNA test. A lot of the names I use in my books are family names but mixed up or placed in a different period of time. My great uncles John, Art, Ed, and Harry served in WWI but I have them serving in the Civil War. My brothers and cousins get a kick out this.

In my Impending Love series I used the name Beecher. I use a lot of names in my family tree and Beechers were abolitionists. That was perfect. In the first book Cory has to decide whether to hide a slave. Dr. Sterling Beecher (a real family name) had six daughters and a different sister is the heroine in the six books.

It’s better to keep the names of people and places fictional, but you’ll have to use real names to give a location or if the person was famous. In my Impending Love series, I mention people like Abraham Lincoln, Clara Barton, Salmon Chase and generals during the Civil War because it can’t be avoided, but my story doesn’t focus on them, and I try to avoid too much conversation with them. Keep it short. Keep it simple. But I research them to make any thing I say about them as accurate as possible.

I read an article about archeologist exploring Barton’s apartment in Washington and finding socks in the walls. You never know what information you may be able to use, but I avoid what’s well-known and try to find that rare nugget that will surprise people.

Maps are great, but I went in person to nearby locations I used in my story. When I visited Bull Run or Manassas, the topography was important to the battle.

Narrow your focus when writing about something that spans time and space. You don’t want to cover too much.Look at detail on a smaller concise scale.

I focused on the 29th and 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in my stories to keep something as big as the Civil War from being overwhelming. Those regiments had recruits from the area where my characters lived. The women learned things through letters or witnessed the battle as a nurse. The POV of a character limits their knowledge. I don’t describe any battles directly except when the hero is a soldier in Impending Love and Capture. Sometimes you have to have a know-it-all character to fill in information.

As a reporter I had to only write the facts and use the comments of authority figures. In fiction, your opinions and ideas can be shared. I wanted to know why the Union lost the first battle of Bull Run and in Impending Love and Death I explore that question as Jem tries to find her missing husband and Logan is asked by Chase to find out why the Union lost.

Share your opinion through a character but don’t be preachy.

Research culture. What were the unofficial rules during a certain period? How did these rules affect your characters? Own the tradition or culture and then allow your character to change it.

I could describe a young woman in a pink and white dress. It’s accurate but boring. But what if I said “A young woman in a new pink and white checkered dress carried a deep basket armed to battle the merchants at the market over the price of eggs.”

What do you learn about her? She is going to the market, she has limited funds and needs to barter over the price of eggs. You also learn about her personality. She’s a fighter. No one is going to overcharge her. And she isn’t above using her beauty to flirt and barter for a bargain.

Make your descriptions count for something. Keep a list or sheet on each important character and include growth and what incidents impact their life.

Now in your research you’re going to hit a snag or a roadblock. In Impending Love and Death I had three men join the 1st Ohio, and in my story I needed one to be wounded, one to be captured, and one shot. So I have my story plotted out and everything is going along when I realized the 1st Ohio never fought in the battle. Ooops. Now what? The two Ohio regiments arrived early at the battlefield and were stationed near the Stone Bridge. They were in reserve and never fought. One of the reasons I give for losing the battle is the same soldiers fought from 6 a.m. throughout the day. Later in the war they would rotate lines every two hours. So how did I solve my dilemma? Keep reading your research material. An answer may present itself.

I discovered that the 1st Ohio was assigned to guard the rear when the Union and spectators were retreating from the battlefield. They would be the last regiment to leave the area. This was perfect. As the last ones out, no one would see what happened to them. Record keeping was bad for the first battle. They didn’t even take roll call to get a count of the men marching into battle and many deserted in the march because their three-month enlisted expired. I found out the details through research but a writer often has to figure out the why.

Guarding the rear gave me the answer to my dilemma. I had one of them wounded in the afternoon, and they put him in an ambulance and send him back to Washington. This is the neighbor who tells Jem about the battle but doesn’t know what happened to her husband and friend.

The retreat was chaos. The Ohio soldiers did their job and gave them time for the Union soldiers to escape. In that retreat, I had one man captured and one shot. Problem solved. Not every detail in history is recorded so you can be creative when necessary.

Purchase and read the beginnings of my novels at https://goo.gl/B7lKMs

Researching Your Story – Part 1

I made a presentation to fellow authors and will share it in three parts.

Elevate your writing through research and create rich narratives that educate, inspire, and resonate with readers.

Research begins with yourself and expands to family, friends, experts, and experiences.

Write what you know. You’ve all heard that, but what does that mean? We have a lifetime of knowledge but some of it can be faulty. Research confirms the facts and eliminates errors. Look up everything. It can be something as simple as what movie was popular a particular year.

Writing is like a puzzle. You have to put together the pieces in order to see the full picture. Research creates the pieces.

Some of you may say I write fantasy and make everything up. Why do research? Readers connect to something familiar. You have to establish that foundation. J.K. Rowling researched witches, wizards, spells, potions and everything else in her stories. Then she put a twist on it. Instead of witches and wizards being old and ugly, they were students at a wizarding school in a castle. They rode brooms to play Quidditch. Sometimes potions blew up. She took the familiar and made it fun. Readers could identify with a teen becoming a good wizard and facing evil Voldemort. Her story connected with readers and research helped to do that.

Create your unique spin on a topic to give it a fresh look.

How do you begin research with yourself? What are your interests, talents, hobbies, occupations. What in your life do you enjoy talking about or sharing with others? Make a list and keep adding to it. What you don’t use in a current story, you may use in the future.

I played ice hockey for nine years on a women’s team at Kent State University. In “Tackling Molasses Crinkles” my heroine plays ice hockey which puts her on the same level as the football-playing hero. Balance and equality are important in a romance or mystery. The hero and heroine need to respect and trust each other. In a mystery the detective needs to be challenged by the villain or criminal. The more equal they are, the tougher it will be for the hero to win. Tension is stronger, and the result will be more satisfying.

Use your job experience to describe your character’s job.

I have had many different jobs: waitress, cashier, accounts payable, data recovery, secretary, computer operator, patient registration in the ER, and a journalists and photographer.

In my book “Tangling a Web of Deceit” Emily works part time as a computer operator in a hospital. This was the job I had for six years. I was familiar with the setting so I didn’t have to create the room or the devices. I knew the job duties my character would do and the layout of the hospital. I used the same hospital layout for “Raining Tears” where one of the characters worked as an RN.

Draw on your own personal experiences and then expand out to family and friends’ experiences using their homes, jobs, and activities. Use the things you are most familiar with and can write in detail. A word of warning. Don’t write three pages about stamp collecting. Simply drop in a few lines or have the character doing something that establishes their interest and knowledge. By picking information that is not common, you help to educate the reader. Who hasn’t read a book and said “I didn’t know that.” Look for those precious gems of knowledge to put in your story.

You are only going to use a small portion of your research so choose wisely.

Don’t forget to interview family members. Record it or take notes. Parents often don’t tell children any family secrets to protect them but as I got older, my parents talked about themselves and family more. When interviewing people, let them talk. Be friendly. Guide the discussion. Begin with simple questions and work toward more difficult topics. Make notes of anything they say you want to follow up on. Interrupt when they go off on a tangent or begin to repeat themselves but otherwise, listen.

Let an expert read the pages you’ve written and get feedback on what needs to be changed.

One of my characters in Raining Tears tried to commit suicide, and I had the paramedics put an oxygen mask on her. My brother, a former paramedic and police officer, asked if she had thrown up. I said yes. Water. He said they wouldn’t use a mask because it would capture the vomit. I changed the oxygen mask to nose plugs. Little details make a difference. Readers hate it when they spot a mistake.

I also needed a gun to go off when dropped. The same brother said newer guns have safety features that would prevent a gun going off when dropped, but an older gun could go off. I made sure to point out that the gun in the story was old and had been bought at a flea market. Problem solved. Research allows you to fix potential problems.

Research now expands to things you don’t know. Always look for opportunities to educate yourself about things that interest you or you think you would like to use in a story. In “Sailing into a Storm” I wrote about a 18th century sailing ship. I loved ships and wanted to include one in a story. I had written a local story about two brothers in Tallmadge who had spent the summer on a sailing vessel and saved the information. I visited the tall ships when they came to Lake Erie. I helped man the lines on a ship in Chesapeake Bay, and I did a lot of reading before and while writing the story. Videos helped me to know what the crew did on deck. My book isn’t an instructional on sailing, but the research makes the story more believable.

I also took a class on knot tying at the Naturealm. It was fun and informative. Hands on activities allow you to use all your senses to describe what you experienced.

“Sailing into a Storm” takes place in 1774, and I made the setting a fictional town called Riverside. Change the names to protect the innocent. Riverside is based on New London, Connecticut but by making it fictional, I can create the streets, shops, and homes that I need for my story. Draw a layout of your town and identify the buildings and owners.

Share experiences through the characters in your books. Take your readers whitewater rafting or skating across the ice to score a goal. If you enjoy it, your readers will enjoy it. But make sure it advances your story.

Be authentic. Use a real room or house and describe it in your story. Hale Farm is a great resource in our area. Williamsburg is another source for the colonial period. Note the structure of the house, the layout, the wall decorations, and the furnishings. Notice what is on the mantle. Photos provide a starting point so you don’t have to start from nothing. You can move furniture around, change colors, add more items. You are creating the world.

This works whether your room is historic or modern. Where is the couch, television, favorite chair? What is the focal point of the room? Where do people gather? What objects reveal the interests and values of the occupants?

Use visual aids like pictures, maps, and actual objects. Create a floorplan so you know how your characters move from one room to the next.

Go to your local library for research. Find books on topics that interest you and don’t skip children’s books that have great photographs on a wide variety of topics. Buy books at sales, flea markets, and yard sales. Find reliable information online and print it or save it to a research file. Keep it with your book file or duplicate information for general file.

Focus on books that interest you whether about history, hobbies, or an occupation.

I have lots of Civil War books, but I like the ones with pictures. When I can see the uniforms and equipment, it’s easier for me to describe it in my story. A picture is worth a thousand words.

I also have books on herbal medicine, dancing, boats, music, and science. In addition, I have classical books by Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Robert Louis Stevenson. I often have a character reading a book or reference something in a popular book for that time period.  

In a book I’m writing now, Inheriting Love’s Secrets the hero and heroine rescue two sisters from a brothel during the July 4th fireworks in 1876. As they’re running away in the darkness, he says “all we need is a dead cat and a cemetery” a reference to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer which was published in June of that year. She tells him not to say another word because she hasn’t read it. Think of how everyone was talking about Harry Potter in 1998 and each year a new book came out. People talk about popular books, music, politics, and current events in their time. Research to find out what were the popular topics during the time of your story. What are your characters interested in?

I mention books and songs that are popular for that time period, but only the titles. Be careful not to mention song lyrics and infringe on copyrights.

Don’t copy anything written in a book. I use reference books for the Civil War more to know the location of my characters and what battles they participated in. I described their actions and reactions to fighting in a battle from my own imagination. Your research should not become your writing.

‘Sailing into a Storm’ is here!

My books have arrived!

#Newrelease Jan. 8, 2025 of women’s fiction/historic romance novel “Sailing into a Storm” by Laura Freeman at https://goo.gl/B7lKMs

I was inspired to write this story to show the effect of primogeniture, which is still practiced in Great Britain. In order to keep the wealth in the hands of a few lords, only the eldest son inherits or entails the title, estate, and wealth of the estate. Any other children may receive an allowance and money not connected to the estate. It accomplishes the purpose of keeping wealth and power limited with one heir, but is unfair to the other children. The royal family is a prime example of how the heir receives the lion’s share while everyone else is lucky to receive a small portion.

Also, illegitimate children cannot inherit and causes the tension in my story.

Here are the characters:

Lady Margaret Katherine Culbertson is known as Lady Meg. She is the daughter of Lord John Culbertson, the Earl of Whittington and Lady Katherine Culbertson, the Countess of Whittington.

Lady Whittington died two years ago in 1772 when Lady Meg was enjoying her first season in London society. She was hit by a runaway wagon on Market Street where she planned to visit the family solicitor about some irregularities in the finances overseen by Lord Whittington’s steward and illegitimate son, Owen O’Leary.

Lord Whittington is known for drunkenness and his many affairs. Besides Owen, he has an illegitimate daughter, Lilibet Dugan, who is Lady Meg’s companion.

Lady Meg is 20 and does not want to marry the honorable Eliot Richmond, a man she has never met. But when she refuses to sign the betrothal agreement, her father uses his whip and convinces her to sign and travel to Riverside, Connecticut to be wed. Owen will go along to confirm the marriage. Lady Meg suspects her father will keep the trust her grandfather established instead of paying her dowry, which Eliot’s father has already waived.

Captain Banner Youngblood is the second son of the former Earl of Stonebrooke. His older brother Wilbur Youngblood has inherited the title, lands, and wealth. A victim of primogeniture, he accepted his status and joined the Royal Navy.

Banner’s mother, Gabriella, died five years ago and left him an inheritance to purchase his own ship, which he named Gabriella. He ships his own goods and the merchandise of Eliot’s father, Lord Dudlee, who is a wealthy merchant and inherited the title of Baron of Dudlee. He and his wife, Eugenie are happy to have connections to an earl through their son’s marriage to Lady Meg.

Blurb: Lady Meg bears scars on her back, reminders that she has no choice but to marry a stranger in the American colonies at her father’s command. He insists the marriage is for a family alliance, but she suspects a darker motive and resolves to escape her fate. Intrigue and betrayal surround Meg and her siblings, and her attraction to the handsome sea captain delivering her to her future husband complicates her plans. Will her determination to find the truth set them all free?

#aristocraticheroine #americanhistorical #forcedmarriage #kidnapped #inheritance #sassyheroine #danger #wrpbks #primogeniture

Review in Akron Beacon Journal

‘Sailing Into a Storm’ makes waves in Historical Fiction

Barbara McIntyre – Special to USA Today Network – Ohio

            The heroine of Laura Freeman’s historical romance “Sailing Into a Storm” is a “little hellion.”

            “She lies, she spies, and she has no shame.” That’s according to the hero.

            Lady Meg Culbertson is not opposed to marriage, but she’d prefer to meet the man first. That’s not necessary, according to her father, Lord John, whose years of drinking and inattention to his English estates have left him heavily in debt in the late 18th century.   

            His solution is to marry Meg off to Eliot Richmond, a baron’s son who lives in Connecticut, importing and exporting goods and making a fine profit. People in the American colonies are still buzzing about that Boston Tea Party thing.

            When Meg declines the offer, her father persuades her by use of a whip; he orders 20 lashes but Meg is able to withstand only seven before she gives in. She’s happy that she will be accompanied by her half-sister Lilibet, a “natural child,” another word for illegitimate. Meg is not happy at all her half-brother Owen will come along; he’s also a natural child so will inherit nothing and is bitter about it. The best he can do is serve as his father’s steward and toady.

            Owen’s role is to see that Lady Meg carries through with her promise to marry Eliot, taking home the marriage certificate to prove it.

            When Meg meets Banner Youngblood, Eliot’s best friend and captain of the ship that will take the party to America, she sees an opportunity to learn about Eliot. She uses a mixture of straightforward questions, flirting and eavesdropping. Banner assures Meg that Eliot is a man of good character, but she senses a secret.

            Meg and Banner’s mutual attraction deepens on the voyage, with both bound by duty not to act. A raging storm threatens to capsize the ship, and the passengers and crew are fortunate to make land. Owen continues his sneaky ways and Meg discovers another adversary and two new allies.

            The boondoggles that Meg pulls off in America are delightful, and Owen’s duplicity is appropriately villainous. The romance is moderate and tasteful.

            “Sailing Into a Storm” (326 pages, softcover) costs $20.99 and is published by The Wild Rose Press. Freeman, a former Ohio journalist, also is the author of the 2014 Civil War-era romance “Impending Love and War,” set in a town that resembles Hudson, and its five sequels as well as two mystery novels and a holiday novella.

Sailing into a Storm

“Sailing into a Storm” is my latest novel published Jan. 8, 2025 by The Wild Rose Press and available at Amazon https://goo.gl/B7lKMs and other book dealers.

Tea dumped in Boston Harbor isn’t the only trouble brewing in 1774 as Lady Meg prepares to leave London and travel to Connecticut to wed a man she has never met. She has two months at sea to hatch a plan to escape the marriage and gain her independence. She doesn’t need the complication of falling in love with the handsome sea captain during the voyage.

Blurb: Lady Meg bears scars on her back, reminders that she has no choice but to marry a stranger in the American colonies at her father’s command. He insists the marriage is for a family alliance, but she suspects a darker motive and resolves to escape her fate. Intrigue and betrayal surround Meg and her siblings, and her attraction to the handsome sea captain delivering her to her future husband complicates her plans. Will her determination to find the truth set them all free?

Captain Banner Youngblood is a second son and made his home in Riverside, Connecticut, while his older brother inherited the title and family wealth in England. His duty is to deliver Lady Meg to her future husband Eliot who oversees the family merchant business. But why is she determined to marry his friend when she knows he is in love with her? How can he keep his promise to stand beside them during the wedding ceremony and not interfere?

Excerpt: Captain Banner Youngblood wished his friend Eliot had a backbone and had journeyed to London with him, but they were both victims of primogeniture. His older brother, Wilbur, had inherited the title, lands, and wealth of their father and had produced two sons. Banner’s options had been to join the military or clergy for an income above the allowance granted by the estate. He’d chosen the Royal Navy and had fallen in love with the sea but not the violent atrocities officers inflicted on sailors. Three years ago he had left British naval service at the age of twenty-five and purchased the majority share of a merchant ship.

Banner had concluded business during the past weeks, and his men would continue to load his cargo and the portion belonging to Lord Dudlee for the journey across the Atlantic. He would collect the betrothed bride of Eliot when he was ready to sail. He prayed his friend would make the necessary preparations for his future wife before his return. The man had been reluctant to vacate his mistress and child from his home.

#aristocraticheroine #americanhistorical #forcedmarriage #kidnapped #inheritance #sassyheroine #danger #wrpbks

Being an estate executor

Someday someone may ask you to be the executor of their estate. It is an honor and requires an honest and diligent person, but it can be overwhelming and requires months of work.

This is what I learned about being an estate executor when a relative died, who I will refer to as Loved One.

If lucky, the Loved One has given you copies of the will, power of attorney, power of healthcare, and a living will. These documents along with other information will make it easier for Executor to navigate through the legal requirements. The schedule listing days is what I experienced and yours may be shorter or longer depending on how quickly the courts process probate and assets are sold or distributed.

Executor may have power of attorney also but that ends when Loved One dies. The power of healthcare and a living will help doctors and family decide when any life prolonging care should be ended.

Day 1 – Loved One has died. Make sure the hospital has any insurance and funeral home information. Prepaying for the funeral and burial is a big benefit for Executor. Call family and friends about Loved One’s death.

Day 2 – Call credit cards and obtain a balance due which will be paid by Loved One’s estate. Until Executor has Letter of Authority from Probate Court, the money will have to come out of Executor’s funds and will be reimbursed by the estate. Meet with the funeral director to make arrangements. If Loved One planned the funeral, everything but flowers and who speaks at the service or graveside should be completed. Changes may result in additional costs. The funeral director will want to know how many death certificates Executor wants. Overestimating is better than underestimating but many groups will take a copy.

Day 3 – Call Loved Ones bank. They will close any accounts and require a death certificate to open an estate account. POD or Paid on Death allows distribution of funds without probate. If possible, all assets should have PODs. That includes all checking, savings, certificate of deposits, money markets, IRAs, investments, the title to any cars and the title to the house. If everything is designated, probate is simplified and can be completed quickly. Probate court recommends a lawyer handle paperwork if the assets total more than $35,000 (in Ohio). This will slow everything down.

Day 4 – Call Loved Ones health insurance representative or number on card who can confirm how much medical costs will be. Some plans have a daily cap on in-hospital expenses.

Day 5 – Visit Loved Ones home. If empty, check on it daily or as often as possible. Begin the work of cleaning out clothing, food, and items that have no value and prepare to donate them. 

Day 6 – Call Cemetery and make arrangements for burial. Executor may have to sign a paper. The court requires proof of payment for both the funeral and cemetery expenses.

Day 7 – Place obituary in newspaper with service and burial information. Cancel phone and streaming services. May have to return modems or equipment. Cancel subscriptions.

Day 9 – Received death certificates. Go online and obtain an EIN number for an estate account. The bank and others will need this. The estate of Loved One is considered a business and requires this number. The form can be filled in, approved, and printed in less than an hour.  

Day 10 – Call pension provider if Loved One received a pension. The pension provider will want death certificate faxed. The bank can do this. Call any annuities and fax death certificates. They will send paperwork to beneficiaries listed on contracts. Once the paperwork is returned, they should receive a check directly. Check when car and home insurance expires. Home insurance will not renew for an empty house. Timing the sale of the house is important to avoid no coverage.

Day 13 – Funeral.

Day 14 – Contact lawyer and deliver original will; EIN; the value of the house; car’s blue book value; bank accounts; and list of beneficiaries with addresses and social security numbers. PODs will exclude much of this work. This Loved One had no PODs and had to go through probate, which is interested in making sure the funeral, any debts, and the courts are paid. Funds should not be released until the estate of Loved One has paid everything. Executor is entitled to a fee but it will be taxed. Executor cannot sell the house, car or valuables until appointed officially by the court, but family can have some items if the attorney gives permission. Clean and prepare house for sale. Find out what can be placed with trash or where to recycle items.

Day 21 – If medical bills arrive, make sure they have gone through insurance and if not, have them resubmit before paying anything. Contact insurance representative if unsure. Loved One had a $260 deductible for the ambulance and a maximum of $310 per day for the hospital. Even though Loved One’s hospital bill was over a million dollars, the estate only paid $260 for transportation plus $1550 for the five days in the hospital. Find out when property taxes are due. Taxes and the medical bill are usually the largest debts.

Day 27 – Meet with the lawyer to sign documents for Executor to receive Letter of Authority and begin probate of will. Creating forms and going to court takes time. The sooner legal paperwork is started, the sooner it will be completed. More paperwork may be required for Social Security, pensions, and annuities.

Day 48 – Executor receives Letter of Authority from lawyer. Can open estate checking account and transfer funds from Loved One’s personal account, which is then closed. Fax Letter of Authority to any group that requested one such as pension. Any repairs on the house can now begin if needed for sale and Executor can write checks from estate to reimburse for any previous personal funds spent on bills for the estate.

Day 58 – Contact realtor to sell house if repairs competed and household items sold, donated, or stored. Some furniture may remain to stage the house, but find someone to buy them before closing.

Day 60 – If car is not sold and Heir wants it, the court must grant a waiver to give an asset to the heir for free instead of selling it. Executor and Heir must sign paperwork and return to lawyer who will deliver it to Probate Court. The title will need to be filled out and signed by Executor and notarized and given to Heir along with court-signed waiver to put the car in the Heir’s name.

Day 70 – Bids on house reviewed and one accepted. Closing sale will take several weeks but Executor’s work is nearly done.  

Day 76 – Appraisal on house, confirmed medical bills paid.

Day 86 – Transfer or sell car; remember to cancel car insurance

Day 92 – Pay any remaining bills on house

Day 93– Closing on house

Day 94 – Cancel home insurance and city utilities to cancel

Day 111 – Signed inventory list for attorney

Day 139 – Drop off funeral and burial information to prove paid for if not done earlier.

Day 140 – Review Account documents. Lists assets and distribution, lawyer’s fee; Executor’s fee. Sign and file with court.

Day 150 – Final Account approved by courts. Pay lawyer and distribute funds to beneficiaries. Pay executor fee and close estate checking account.

Tangling a Web of Deceit review

My latest novel “Tangling a Web of Deceit” received a five star ***** review in Goodreads!

After stepping in dog doo, Emily Stevenson finds a body in the canal. The dead woman turns out to be the mistress of her co-worker’s spouse. She’s determined to keep her friend from taking back her cheating husband but becomes tangled in a web of deceit and danger.

Officer Travis O’Toole wants to become a detective but not only is Emily a charming distraction, she and her friends keep interfering with the case. He tries to keep her out of trouble only to realize she’s a better partner than adversary. #wrpbks #romance #mystery #newrelease #medical #crime #detective

The mystery romance novel can be found at different book sites including Amazon in print or ebook format at https://goo.gl/B7lKMs 

The full review is on my blog at https://authorfreeman.wordpress.com

Certainly! Let’s untangle the web of deceit surrounding “Tangling a Web of Deceit” by Laura Freeman.

In this mystery novel, after stepping in dog doo (not the most glamorous start, I admit), our protagonist, Emily Stevenson, stumbles upon a body in the canal. The deceased woman turns out to be the mistress of her co-worker’s spouse. Talk about a tangled love triangle!

Emily is determined to prevent her friend from taking back her cheating husband, but as she delves deeper into the case, she becomes ensnared in a web of deception and danger. Meanwhile, Officer Travis O’Toole, who aspires to become a detective, finds Emily to be both a charming distraction and an unexpectedly effective partner in solving the mystery.

The book promises intrigue, suspense, and perhaps a touch of romance.

(This information is about an illustrator with the same name as me, but it attached to my site in error) Laura Freeman, the author, has illustrated more than thirty books for children, including the New York Times bestseller “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly. Quite the versatile talent!

If you’re into mysteries with unexpected twists, “Tangling a Web of Deceit” might be right up your alley. You can find it in paperback, and it was published on February 5, 20241. Happy sleuthing!

Also, if you’re interested in another intriguing mystery, check out “Tangle Tower.” It’s a delightful game with gorgeous art, animation, and full voice acting. While the ending might feel a tad rushed, Detective Grimoire and Sally’s sleuthing adventures are definitely worth exploring! 2

Feel free to ask if you’d like more recommendations or have any other book-related queries!

Secrets by Fern Michael

Secrets by Fern Michaels, Mystery, 2022

Cullen Bodman restores furniture and receives an old locked trunk with payment and instructions to restore it. His sister Luna has a sixth sense which has helped her find missing children and helps clients make decisions in their lives. She wants to discover the secrets of the trunk.

When Cullen opens the trunk, Luna senses a young boy in distress and a woman running. They think the owner of the trunk is looking for someone, and Luna finds people with her dog, Wiley.

Luna does her readings in a factory center where she is friends with Chi-Chi who has a jewelry shop and Ellie Stillwell, who owns the building where artists can create and sell their works. Jimmy Can-do is a metal sculptor who no one has seen. He relies on the honor system for buyers of his work.

Tori is in an unhappy passive-aggressive marriage and pregnant at 38 after raising their son who is in the military. She needs to take control of her life and seeks help from Luna.

In addition, Luna is hoping to change her work relationship with U.S. Marshal Christopher Gaines to a personal level. Others are experiencing new romances or changes in their lives.

Michaels weaves different threads as each person’s story unfolds and then wraps them together in the final chapter. This writing takes some skill and Michaels has the experience to pull it off, but the reader has to be patient as she builds each subplot.

#mystery #supernatural #romance    

The Sudoku Murder

The Sudoku Murder by Shelley Freydont, Mystery, 2007

Katie McDonald, a member of the Institute of Theoretical Mathematics and master puzzle solver, returns home when her mentor Professor P.T. Avondale, writes that he is in trouble. His museum is being threatened as a developer buys up properties in the small town of Granville, New Hampshire. Soon after her arrival, she finds P.T. stabbed in the neck at his desk and gives him CPR, but he dies.

The Chief of Police Brandon Mitchell is a newcomer to town and disliked by everyone, including her Aunt Pru because he cited her for rolling through a stop sign. To complicate matter, Pru arranges dates for Katie with men in town who have steady jobs.

Katie is Brandon’s number one suspect, and Katie begins asking questions to discover who killed P.T. The more she gets in trouble, the more time she spends with Brandon who looks more appealing over time.

In a cozy mystery, the police have to be inept or think the amateur sleuth is guilty. Brandon is good at his job but lacks people skills, something geek Katie can sympathize with. Also included is a cat, puzzles, and a secret compartment. The supporting cast of characters are zany and fun or evil and suspicious.

Freydont does an excellent job of moving the story along as she adds more and more layers to the story and gives the reader a satisfying ending.  

#mystery #cozy #sudoku #bookreview