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Trust A Cop? Not The Amish!
Guest Blogger: Karen Harper
Unless you know Amish thinking as well as I do, after studying and visiting them for twenty years and writing nine suspense novels set among them (or, OK, unless you remember the classic movie WITNESS,) you probably don't realize the Amish usually "have no truck" with any form of law enforcement. Besides their desire for privacy, this is mostly because their people were hunted down and persecuted for their religion in Europe by those who were law enforcement officers there.
The Plain People have very long memories. Basically, they don't trust anyone with a badge. And that has been one of the big challenges of writing thrillers set among these nonviolent people.
When I began FINDING MERCY and other books set in the same area (FALL FROM PRIDE and RETURN TO GRACE,) I knew a cop character would be needed to help solve serious crimes. My nephew had held such a post in rural Ohio, so I used him for a source. Jack Freeman, my fictional county sheriff, has had to work hard to earn the trust of the Amish. His love interest, also non-Amish who runs the local, popular country cookin' restaurant, helps build this trust with Amish patrons and especially with her Amish staff. So, although the Amish heroine of each book works to solve a lethal crime, the local Plain People slowly learn to trust the sheriff during these novels.
Why do the Amish, after all these years away from persecution by the state churches of Europe, but now living in "the land of the free" which has protected their religious rights, still mistrust law enforcement today? Their past during which they were imprisoned and many burned at the stake (or often tied to wooden ladders and roasted) is part of their heritage they keep alive, so that they can encourage their young people to remain "a people apart." Each Amish home has an illustrated BOOK OF MARTYRS with stories of their persecutions for their belief in adult baptism rather than infant baptism. And many of their current practices are directly related to those days of mistrust and terror.
Why do the Amish wear beards but not mustaches? Because their law enforcement enemies of earlier times had mustaches. Why do they refuse to use buttons on their clothes? The uniforms of their persecutors had many "prideful" buttons. Why have church services in different barns or homes every other Sunday instead of building a church? Because moving their worship service around in the old days meant a better chance of not being arrested. (Their services are still in High German.) The past among the Amish is still alive in more ways than just using horses-and-buggies.
This mistrust of law enforcement today makes for great tension in a thriller novel as does the setting itself. An area with no electricity, few phones to call for help and slow-moving buggies which make it hard to escape an enemy work well in a suspense plot. And there is nothing like a chase scene or the depth of darkness in a pitch black barn or a tall corn field to ratchet up suspense and fear.
I love to take my readers into this world of contrasts and crime. The Amish have a saying that "Life is not all cakes and quilts." I think FINDING MERCY and my other Amish books take full advantage of that truth.
Karen Harper is the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of contemporary suspense and historical fiction. A former secondary and university (Ohio State) English instructor, she now writes full time. She is the winner of the Mary Higgins Clark award for her Amish suspense DARK ANGEL and has written eight other thrillers set in Amish country. Karen and her husband divide their time between Ohio and Florida. Please visit her website here.
Janice Gable Bashman November 6, 2012 May 30, 2014 blog, Creating Characters, Fact in Fiction, Mystery, Researching Fiction, Storytelling, Suspense, Thrillers, Uncategorized, Writing Advice, Writing Tips adult baptism, Amish, Amish country, Amish fiction, Amish suspense novels, Amish thriller, Book of Martyrs, burned at the stake, Dark Angel, earning trust of Amish, Fall From Pride, fiction set among Amish, Finding Mercy, High German, historical fiction, horse and buggies, Janice Gable Bashman, Karen Harper, Life is not all cakes and quilts, Mary Higgins Clark award, mistrust of law enforcement, no electricity, nonviolence, persecuted for religion, Plain People, protecting religious rights, racheting up the tension, Return to Grace, rural Ohio, solving crimes, tension in thrillers, Witness 1
Where Stories Come From
Guest Blogger: Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban
Sometimes the inspiration for a story comes from an event in the writer's past.
That was the case for my young adult fantasy TWO MOON PRINCESS. Andrea's journey from her medieval kingdom to modern day California and back parallels my own between Spain and the States, even though Andrea travelled through an arch in the beach and I, by plane.
A journey, an emotional one this time, is at the core of my second novel THE KING IN THE STONE. A journey through love and loss as devastating for my protagonist in an eighth century Spanish village as it was, in real life, for me.
In both cases, the outline of the story was in my mind before I wrote it. My latest book, IMMORTAL LOVE, on the other hand, evolved in a totally different way.
Back in the fall of 2010, I had just finished my third YA fantasy and was querying agents to represent it. At the same time, with the excuse of doing research, I was reading many YA novels. As you may remember, vampires, demons and fairies, were big those days in the YA world —no complaint here for I love the genre— but after a while all these stories started to blend in my mind: the good guys were always young and beautiful, the bad ones, old and ugly. Not being either young or beautiful myself, this started to bother me.
So, I decided to write a book where an older woman, a single mother of two teens as I was at the time, is the one in charge of saving the world, and because my favorite paranormal story of all times is BUFFY, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, the bad guys became vampires.
I posted the story at first in weekly installments in my blog Dare to Read as Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did in the magazines that were so popular in their time.
But no sooner had I started writing that my unconscious wish to find an agent became my protagonist's and my vampire antagonist morphed into the perfect agent. A perfect agent who could be no other than Becquer, the most romantic of the Spanish poets whose poems of unrequited love I, and every other teen in my class, had memorized the first time a clueless boy broke our hearts.
Becquer was the perfect agent because during his life he tried and failed to be recognized as a writer, and had to work odd jobs to make a living. Who better than him to understand my struggles to get published? Besides he was handsome and had but a short life. A fact, this last one, that I decided to change by making him an immortal in my story.
As I wrote, Becquer's personality I had gathered by reading his letters and his stories took over my character and make him act in ways that were his own. His interaction with my alter ego, Carla, became an intimate dance between them of which I was only an observer for, in the magical way every author will recognize, my two protagonists had become alive and were telling me their story.
To keep this paranormal story believable for my readers, I chose real settings like the ones represented in these pictures taken in Bucks County, PA where I live.
But even in beautiful places, evil lures and Carla and Becquer must fight both internal and external demons before making the ultimate decision that will seal or break their relationship.
As you can see by my examples, personal experience and real places are always an integral part of my stories.
What about yours? Where do your stories come from?
Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban is the author of the young adult fantasy TWO MOON PRINCESS (Tanglewood Press) and the paranormal romance IMMORTAL LOVE (Crimson Romance). The amazing Ginger Knowlton at Curtis Brown represents her YA novels.
Originally from Spain, she lives in Bucks County, PA, where she works as a freelance writer, editor and translator. Visit her for more information at www.WriteEditPublish.com.
Janice Gable Bashman October 2, 2012 May 30, 2014 blog, Creating Characters, Storytelling, Uncategorized, Writing Advice, Writing Tips, Young Adult Becquer, broken heart, Bucks County, buffy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban, character journey, Charles Dickens, Crimson Romance, curtis brown, eighth century Spain, emotional journey, Ginger Knowlton, Immortal Love, Janice Gable Bashman, medieval kingdom, paranormal fiction, paranormal stories, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Spanish poets, Tanglewood Press, The King in the Stone, tips for writers, Two Moon Princess, unrequited love, vampires in fiction, where do stories come from, where do writers get ideas, where do you get your ideas, Writing Advice, writing fiction, writing paranormal fiction, writing process, writing young adult fiction, young adult fantasy, young adult fiction, young adult paranormal fiction 9
How Characters Change With Real Life
Guest Blogger: Eric Van Lustbader
When I created the character of Jack McClure for FIRST DAUGHTER, I made him very much like me. He was a dyslexic. My dyslexia is far less severe than Jack's is, but nonetheless it created both challenges and advantages for me. I kept exchanging letters within words, exchanging some words for others. On the other hand, my mind works exceedingly quickly, and my dyslexia allows me to concentrate almost preternaturally on my writing—as well as whatever else I set my sights on.
In the beginning, Jack's main relationship was with Allie Carson, the president's daughter. Jack's own daughter—and Allie's best friend—had been killed in an auto accident. Allie was estranged from her parents, so it became logical that the two of them should forge a father-daughter relationship. This relationship perfectly mirrors the one I have with my god-daughter, whose relationship with her own father was never good. I became her second father. When I started thinking about FIRST DAUGHTER, I knew I wanted to explore that unusual and rewarding relationship.
But time marches on and everything changes. Last year, my wife and I took our god-daughter to Paris, making good on a promise we had made to her years before. In Paris, she met a guy, they fell in love, and now they are married, living in Geneva, where he works at CERN as a particle physicist. An amazing story, but also an end to the first part of my relationship with her.
So, too, with Alli. In FATHER NIGHT, her story arc comes to a most satisfying conclusion, closing the book, so to speak, on the first four novels in the series. As with my god-daughter, Alli will be moving to Europe—Paris, not Geneva—to take a position with Interpol. She may get her own series one day, but for the time being Jack's new main relationship is with Annika Dementieva, whom readers first met in LAST SNOW, the second novel in the series.
For me, the most exciting and rewarding aspect to writing is to mold the relationships and futures of my main characters in the same way those things change in real life. In the Jack McClure series, readers are given the opportunity to experience these changes in much the same way I do. It's something I know they appreciate.
Eric Van Lustbader is the author of many New York Times bestselling thrillers, including FIRST DAUGHTER, LAST SNOW and BLOOD TRUST. Lustbader was chosen by Robert Ludlum's estate to continue the Jason Bourne series, and his Bourne novels include THE BOURNE LEGACY and THE BOURNE BETRAYAL. He and his wife live in New York City and on the South Fork of Long Island.
Janice Gable Bashman September 18, 2012 May 30, 2014 blog, Creating Characters, Mystery, Storytelling, Suspense, Thrillers, Writing Advice, Writing Tips Blood Trust, character development, creating characters, dyslexia, dyslexic, Eric Van Lustbader, famous people with dyslexia, Father Night, father-daughter relationship, First Daughter, Jack McClure, Janice Gable Bashman, Jason Bourne, Jason Bourne series, Last Snow, president's daughter, Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Betrayal, The Bourne Legacy, thriller, Thrillers, tips for writers, writing, Writing Advice, writing fiction, writing process, writing thrillers, writing tips 1
Why I Wrote LAST TO DIE
Guest Blogger: Tess Gerritsen
When I was ten years old, I got a fingerprint kit for my birthday. I'd been obsessed with Nancy Drew mystery novels, and I was convinced that I, too, could be a spunky girl detective and track down all the dangerous criminals lurking in my suburban San Diego neighborhood. The fingerprint kit consisted of a brush and a baggie of black powder. I practiced by dusting various surfaces in my house, blowing off the excess powder, and using Scotch tape to capture the patterns. I never nabbed any dangerous criminals, but I did discover the interesting fact that fingerprint powder is really hard to clean off white walls and furniture.
Thus ended my career as spunky girl detective.
The years passed and I grew up to become a doctor and then a thriller novelist, but I never forgot my childhood fantasy of being a crime-fighter. I realize now that it was a variation of a universal fantasy we all share: that even ordinary people can do extraordinary things. It's a theme we see often in fiction and in movies: Harry Potter, the despised boy living under the stairs, becomes the world's greatest wizard. Luke Skywalker, a farm boy, becomes a Jedi knight. So why couldn't a mere kid help catch a criminal?
In my newest novel LAST TO DIE, that's exactly what happens.
It's the tenth in my Rizzoli and Isles crime series starring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles. This time they're on the hunt for a killer who's stalking three surviving orphans of different family massacres. Assisting Jane and Maura are a few brilliant young sleuths who belong to The Jackals, a student forensics club at the remote and mysterious Evensong boarding school. The three threatened orphans — Claire, Will, and Teddy — are now sheltered at Evensong, where frightening new events at the school make Jane Rizzoli wonder if the killer has tracked the orphans to the isolated sanctuary that was supposed to keep them safe.
But Evensong is no ordinary school, and Evensong's students are certainly not ordinary children. Among the students is sixteen-year-old Julian "Rat" Perkins, who saved Maura's life in my book Ice Cold. As president of The Jackals Club, Julian leads this oddball group of amateur detectives, and they have more than a few tricks up their sleeves — tricks that may save the lives of Jane and Maura.
I never fulfilled my childhood fantasy of being a girl sleuth who catches bad guys. But I can finally bring that fantasy to life in LAST TO DIE, where it just might be the kids who bring down the killer.
Tess Gerritsen is the internationally bestselling author of 24 novels, including the "Rizzoli and Isles" crime series. Her books have been translated into 37 languages and 25 million copies have been sold around the world.
Janice Gable Bashman September 11, 2012 May 30, 2014 blog, Creating Characters, Mystery, Storytelling, Suspense, Thrillers catch a criminal, crime series, crime-fighter, dangerous criminals, female detective, fingerprint kit, Harry Potter, Harvest, Ice Cold, Jane Rizzoli, Janice Gable Bashman, Jedi knight, Julian "Rat" Perkins, Last to Die, Luke Skywalker, Maura Isles, Nancy Drew girl detective, Presumed Guilty, Rizzoli and Isles, Tess Gerritsen, The Bone Garden, The Silent Girl, writing suspense fiction, writing thrillers 2
Sex and Secrets: THE OTHER WOMAN
Guest Blogger: Hank Phillippi Ryan
Who would be "the other woman?"
The dentist's office was a strange place to consider that. I was in having a root canal—sigh—and reading an old PEOPLE magazine in the waiting room. (That's what you do, right, when your face is puffy and the dentist is late?)
I happened on an article about Mark Sanford, the now-ex-governor of South Carolina, and his bewildering story. He'd told his wife, staff, and constituents that he was out hiking the Appalachian Trail—when he was really off on a tryst with his Argentinean mistress.
I was fascinated. Because—who would do that? It's an absurdly terrible decision. It's career endingly, reputation-ruiningly dumb. Did he think he could get away with it? From Dwight Eisenhower to Gary Hart to Bill Clinton to John Edwards—it's clear you can't. It's clear you're on the road to disaster and humiliation.
Just as intriguing to me—who would become the other woman? What kind of person would agree to play that role—and why? Love? Lust? Power? Delusion? Certainly you're going to ruin the live of the man you ostensibly love—that's a bombshell conflict. You'll make his wife and family miserable—who would be able to deal with those emotions? In this case, the guy was the governor of a state—so you'd also be creating a situation where his constituents—the voters—would become even more cynical and dismissive of politicians and their situational ethics.
I've worked in many political campaigns—and was a staffer in the US senate for a few years. I've watched—and participated it—politics from behind the scenes. As a TV reporter for the past 30-some years, I've covered how politicians and their entourages behave, and what they say, and what they do—and what they look like when the lie. I've watched them manipulate and rationalize—and I know how some who feel so entitled and powerful, they think they can get away with anything.
As I got into the world of Mark Sanford's indiscretions—and the fallout, and the repercussions and the crashing dominoes—I began to wonder: Who would be the other woman? And would there possibly be a reason that would be—acceptable? Understandable? Even—sympathetic? And if so…what if…
And there, as any mystery aficionado recognizes, was the beginning of the book. At the end of the PEOPLE article, one person says: "You can choose your sin, but you cannot choose your consequences."
And at that moment, I got goose bumps. Soon my tooth was fixed—and so was my future! I spent the next year finding the story that became THE OTHER WOMAN—a story of reporter Jane Ryland, who thinks she on the trail of a senate candidate's secret mistress, a mysterious woman who keeps appearing in the campaign rally photographs. It's just before a pivotal election—if Jane's wrong, she could ruin people's lives—not to mention her already-rickety career. Even if she's right—should she tell?
I wanted THE OTHER WOMAN to be a page-turner of a suspense thriller about sex and secrets and duplicity and power—about how far a person will go to get what they want—and most of all, about consequences. And now BOOKLIST's starred review calls it "The perfect thriller for an election season."
Are you interested in a candidate's private life? And if you were a reporter with some inside scoop on an illicit affair—would you tell?
Hank Phillippi Ryan is the on-the-air investigative reporter for Boston's NBC affiliate. A TV reporter since 1975, her work has resulted in new laws, people sent to prison, homes removed from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in restitution. Along with her 28 EMMYs, Hank's won dozens of other journalism honors. She's been a radio reporter, a political campaign staffer, a legislative aide in the United States Senate and an editorial assistant at ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE working with Hunter S. Thompson and Richard Avedon.
Her first mystery, the best-selling PRIME TIME, won the Agatha for Best First Novel. FACE TIME was a BookSense Notable Book, and AIR TIME and DRIVE TIME were nominated for the AGATHA and ANTHONY Awards. Hank's short story "On the House" won the AGATHA, ANTHONY and MACAVITY.
Her newest thriller, THE OTHER WOMAN (an Indie Next Great Read) came out in hardcover September 4 from Forge. Hank is president-elect of national Sisters in Crime and blogs at Jungle Red Writers. You can also find Hank on Facebook and Twitter.
Starred review for THE OTHER WOMAN from BOOKLIST:
Ryan knows her way around politics at high levels, and she uses that knowledge to fashion a revenge-fueled plot that twists and turns at breakneck speed. Political skullduggery and murder make a high-octane mix in this a perfect thriller for an election season.
Starred review for THE OTHER WOMAN from LIBRARY JOURNAL:
Ryan, the Anthony and Agatha Award–winning author… employs her much honored investigative reporting and political background to craft a dizzyingly wild labyrinth of exciting twists, turns, and surprises. Readers who crave mystery and political intrigue will be mesmerized by this first installment of her new series.
Janice Gable Bashman September 4, 2012 May 30, 2014 blog, Creating Characters, Fact in Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thrillers, Voice in Fiction, Writing Advice, Writing Tips Air Time, Appalachian Trail, Bill Clinton, Charlotte McNally, Drive Time, Dwight Eisenhower, Face Time, famous mistresses, Forge publishing, Gary Hart, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Hunter S. Thompson, illicit affair, Indie Next Great Read, investigative reporting, Jane Ryland, Janice Gable Bashman, John Edwards, Jungle Red Writers, lure of power, Mark Sanford, On the House, People magazine, pivotal election, political affairs, political campaigns, political candidate's private life, political indiscretions, political power, political scandal, political thrillers, Prime Time, Richard Avedon, Rolling Stone magazine, secret mistress, sex scandal, sex secrets, Sisters in Crime, suspense thriller, The Other Woman 2
What is smart?
Guest Blogger: Kathleen George
Sometimes a panel—even one you're on—makes you think about it a whole year later. That was the case for me long ago, after the 2011 Thrillerfest.
Joseph Finder took a lot of abuse for coming up with our panel title, "Can a Thriller Be Both Exciting and Smart?" We insisted, "Of course it can!." David Liss, moderator, had written to us that he would have preferred the title, "How Can a Thriller be Both Exciting and Smart?" But we stuck with the original title/question and complained about it a bit during the panel.
Yet Finder's original question is still with me and I'm not sure it's such a bad question because I'm still tossing it around. When I'm writing a character who is in danger and acting quickly, it's fair to ask, is that person being smart, too. Is that character's mind engaged? Sometimes yes (because logic apparently kicks in, even in split second decisions), sometimes no (the character can't think, is out of control). But are we also talking here mainly about what happens to the reader? When thrilling scenes cause a reader to feel heart-pounding and to turn pages rapidly, is there time for the reader's more philosophical self to be engaged? Possibly not. And this then goes back to the writer. Does she or he have time to play with thoughts?
Philosophical thinking is of course only one kind of smart. There's street smart and word smart and history smart and human behavior smart. And how-machines-work smart. And where do the smarts in each case reside–in the author or in the characters that author creates? Erg. All right. Can we take Hamlet as an example? He is philosophical-smart. He's not street smart, not a survivor, but wow does he have a lot of metaphor making going on. He sees associations everywhere. His leaps of the imagination are a wondrous kind of smart. The grave diggers are smart. They say dumb things that come out smart and true. And Shakespeare was smart that he could put these different versions of thinking together. And yet it doesn't take an especially gifted person to enjoy the play.
"Where do you think writers go wrong when they go wrong?" Liss prodded. I didn't have a chance to answer, but my list of warnings comes from where I go wrong when I go wrong. 1. Wrong: When you find yourself writing and writing about motive, the motive isn't clear or believable. When it is, you don't have to explain it. You have that feeling that in the circumstances set out, you would likely do exactly what the characters do. 2. Wrong: Thinking in terms of "and" instead of "but." But is better. "She is tired of her husband and she also wants to start a whole new career " is not as interesting as "She loves her husband, but she wants to start a whole new career that will make her leave him." 3. Wrong: Adding red herrings and surprises making your work suspiciously formulaic. When you get the plot right, you don't have to add them. They're there.
Joseph Finder's question was actually pretty reasonable and we could have talked for hours. Thriller writers get made fun of (Witness Dwight Garner's New York Times article in which he suggests a game of imitating the bad lines of thrillers.) It makes us look unsmart.
My next novel is SIMPLE which . . . may or may not be smart.
Kathleen George is the editor of PITTSBURGH NOIRand the author of TAKEN, FALLEN, AFTERIMAGE, THE ODDS (Edgar finalist, best novel), HIDEOUT, and the forthcoming SIMPLE. The novels are set in Pittsburgh. The author teaches theatre and writing at Pitt.
Kirkus starred review for Simple:
George's Pittsburgh cops (Hideout, 2011, etc.) investigate a robbery-murder that's a lot less routine and more sordid than it looks.
Gubernatorial hopeful Michael Connolly can't keep his hands off Cassie Price, a new paralegal in his father's law firm. But as he tells Todd Simon, his campaign manager, his need to maintain a squeaky-clean family image means that he can't acknowledge her either. So Simon takes Cassie out for a margarita to find out how dangerous she is. By next morning, she's no danger at all, because she's been killed in the house she's been fixing up in the low-income neighborhood of Oakland. Witness accounts and other evidence send Detectives Coleson and McGranahan to Cal Hathaway, the son of the Connolly housekeeper. Damaged as a child by a concussion and subject to blackouts, Cal seems tailor-made for the role of Cassie's killer, and after hours of interrogation, he says he did it, or he didn't, or he can't remember. That's good enough for the cops, who lock him up and get ready to move on. But Cmdr. Richard Christie, dissatisfied with the case against Cal, keeps playing devil's advocate, urging that Detectives John Potocki and Colleen Greer look at other scenarios and other suspects. As they painstakingly build a second case against an unsurprising suspect, Cal makes friends and enemies in jail, raising the distinct possibility that even if the police arrest someone else, his vindication will be posthumous.
George's all-too-familiar story is so richly observed, subtly characterized, precisely written—her syncopated paragraphs are a special delight—and successful in its avoidance of genre clichés that you'd swear you were reading the first police procedural ever written.
Starred Review Booklist
The case seems simple from the start. When Cassie Price is strangled in her home, handyman Cal Hathaway, who found the body, soon confesses to the crime. But as the reader knows from early on, Cassie, a beautiful and promising paralegal about to enter law school, was having an affair with her law firm boss, married gubernatorial candidate and golden boy Mike Connolly, whose handlers considered Cassie "unreliable." Pittsburgh PD Homicide Unit Commander Richard Christie, a self-confessed meddler, is troubled by the confession obtained (and soon recanted) after hours of questioning from a man who suffers from brain damage and blackouts, the results of a childhood beating. So the investigation starts anew, led by Christie; his partner, Artie Dolan, and the team of Colleen Greer and John Potocki, whose ever-closer personal relationship is leading to their professional breakup. What most distinguishes this police procedural, the sixth in its series, after Hideout (2011), is its fully realized cast of characters, a close-knit group of detectives who deal with shades of gray in crime-solving. George's deft prose, skillful plotting, and winning characters are reminiscent of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series, and her fiction is almost as praiseworthy
Janice Gable Bashman August 21, 2012 May 30, 2014 blog, Creating Characters, Storytelling, Suspense, Thrillers, Voice in Fiction, Writing Advice, Writing Tips AfterImage, bad thriller lines, can a thriller be exciting and smart, character development, creating characters, crime fiction, crime writing, David Liss, Dwight Garner, Ed McBain, emotions during action scenes, Fallen, formulaic writing, getting the plot right, Hamlet, Hideout, history smart, human behavior smart, Janice Gable Bashman, Joseph Finder, Kathleen George, leaps of imagination, New York Times, philosophical smart, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Noir, police procedural, red herrings, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Simple, street smart, Taken, The Odds, Thrillerfest, tips for writers, where writers go wrong, word smart, writing, writing about motive, Writing Advice, writing fiction, writing process, writing thrillers, writing tips 5
Researching the Amish
Guest Blogger: Julie Kramer
For my latest thriller, I decided to go Amish.
At that time, I didn't realize that Amish fiction was on an upswing. I just needed another Minnesota-based adventure for Riley Spartz, the reporter/heroine in my series set in the desperate world of TV news. Minnesota has one of the fastest growing Old Order Amish communities. And it's not far from the family farm where I grew up and where my ancestors farmed corn and cattle for more than 130 years.
Much of the Amish fiction in the news these days falls in the genre of inspirational or romance. Mine is more along the line of mystery and suspense. While my books don't contain explicit sex or violence, they do have a higher body count than many Amish stories. Although in my defense, only three people die in SHUNNING SARAH. In previous books, I've killed as many more characters. Fictionally, of course.
SHUNNING SARAH enabled me to combine two parts of my life in one story: flashy TV news vs. the reclusive Amish. In the world of the Amish, a TV antenna is the devil's tail; while a TV screen is the devil's tongue. So this guaranteed conflict, the key to any intriguing story. When a homicide victim is recognized from a forensic sketch as a local Amish woman, Sarah Yoder, her family objects to the picture being broadcast because of the biblical ban on graven images.
I hadn't had a lot of contact with Amish since I left the farm. My novel is set in the real life community of Harmony, MN. So I ventured there for further research, touring the countryside, staying at an Amish bed and breakfast, and buying potatoes, baskets and cashew crunch from Amish families. While Amish tourism is a booming business in Ohio and Pennsylvania, it's just getting a toe hold in Minnesota. I asked questions, but didn't mention my interest was in the name of research. So in my book's acknowledgments I didn't list the name of any real Amish, because I didn't want to cause trouble over any misunderstandings.
I most enjoy in the field research like this, but I also needed to understand the Amish faith and learned that it dates back to the sixteenth century. While Mark Luther was leading the Protestant Reformation, another movement was underway to change the Catholic Church: the Anabaptists. They ended up being persecuted by mainstream theologians and had to practice their faith in secret. Many scholars believe the withdrawal of the Amish from society came from this oppression.
As far as reviews go, I especially appreciated ones that cited my research like this one from the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Kramer's research into the Amish realm is impressive and integrated skillfully into the plot."
The more research I did the more I realized the Amish – while they shun electricity and modern society for a simpler life – suffer discord within their own communities, just like the rest of us. And that became the basis of SHUNNING SARAH.
Investigative television journalist Julie Kramer turns novelist writes a series of thrillers: STALKING SUSAN, MISSING MARK, SILENCING SAM, KILLING KATE and SHUNNING SARAH – set in the desperate world of TV news. Julie won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Mainstream Mystery/Suspense, RT Reviewer's Choice Award for Best First Mystery as well as the Minnesota Book Award. Her work has also been nominated for the Anthony, Barry, Shamus, Mary Higgins Clark, and RT Best Best Amateur Sleuth Awards. She formerly ran the acclaimed I TEAM for WCCO-TV before becoming a freelance network news producer for NBC and CBS.
Janice Gable Bashman August 7, 2012 May 30, 2014 blog, Creating Characters, Fact in Fiction, Mystery, Researching Fiction, Storytelling, Suspense, Thrillers, Writing Advice, Writing Tips Amish fiction, Amish tourism, Anabaptists, creating a series character, creating characters, crime fiction, Daphne du Maurier Award, heroine in a series, Janice Gable Bashman, Julie Kramer, Killing Kate, Mark Luther, Missing Mark, network news producer, Old Order Amish communities, Protestant Reformation, Riley Spartz, Shunning Sarah, Silencing Sam, Stalking Susan, television news, tips for writers, world of TV news, Writing Advice, writing fiction, writing thrillers, writing tips 1
Caitlin Strong: Action Hero!
Guest Blogger: Jon Land
Female action hero. For many thriller fans, that's an oxymoron. And you can't really blame them. A woman capable of mixing it up with the likes of Lee Child's Jack Reacher? Come on, no way, right?
Wrong. Caitlin Strong, who returns this month in STRONG VENGEANCE, is a Texas Ranger capable of mixing it up with just about everyone. Her past three adventures have pitted her against a villainous Haliburton-like company responsible for torturing her husband (STRONG ENOUGH TO DIE), a renegade Mexican colonel about to launch a guerilla war against the U.S. (STRONG JUSTICE), and a radical right-wing militia intent on starting a second civil war (STRONG AT THE BREAK). Now in STRONG VENGEANCE she's up against homegrown Islamic terrorists planning to wipe out the United States as we know it. Those plotlines may seem more fit for Steve Berry's Cotton Malone, James Rollins' Sigma Force, or Vince Flynn's wonderful Mitch Rapp. Only difference is they're men . . . and not Texas Rangers either.
See, it comes down to credibility. Building a believable female action hero starts with a foundation the audience will buy into and the Texas Rangers form the perfect basis for that. These lawmen (and now lawwomen!) have been legends for nearly two centuries now, coming to exemplify the lone hero so vital to the development of American fiction in general. The Rangers' exploits have reached a mythic, virtually iconic level and they remain to this day symbols of standing up for what's right no matter the odds. Which describes Caitlin dead solid perfect.
Of course, some will say that casting female Caitlin in the all-male Texas Rangers strains credibility in its own right. So I made her not just a Ranger, but a fifth generation Ranger with her forbears all being veritable legends in this exclusive community. That helps lead to her being accepted but, ultimately, she has no problem proving herself against bad guys every bit the equal of those run down by Caitlin's father Jim and her grandfather Earl Strong. That's why I decided to frame all the Strong books by featuring them in subplots set in the past that inevitably turn out to be connected to what and who Caitlin's pursuing in the present. In STRONG VENGEANCE, for example, Caitlin has to solve the thirty-year-old mass murder of five college students, a case her legendary father and grandfather never solved, in order to stop those homegrown terrorists from wreaking havoc on the nation.
Stephen King once said "it's not the tale, it's the telling." Well, for me it's not the gender, it's the person. And Caitlin Strong can stand toe-to-toe with any of her contemporaries, even though that doesn't necessarily mean eye-to-eye!
Jon Land is the bestselling author of thirty thrillers, most recently the Caitlin Strong series that includes STRONG ENOUGH TO DIE, STRONG JUSTICE, andSTRONG AT THE BREAK. The next entry, STRONG VENGEANCE, was published by Forge on July 17. He's also bringing back his longtime action hero Blaine McCracken in PANDORA'S TEMPLE for Open Road Media in November and this past year published his first ever nonfiction book, BETRAYAL. BETRAYAL is currently being developed as a television series by Fox for Denis Leery and Jon is on the verge of inking a deal with Sony to bring Caitlin Strong to the small screen as well. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island and can be found on the Web at jonlandbooks.com.
Janice Gable Bashman July 24, 2012 May 30, 2014 blog, Creating Characters, Storytelling, Suspense, Thrillers, Voice in Fiction, Writing Advice, Writing Tips action heroes, Betrayal, Blaine McCracken, Caitlan Strong, character development, Cotton Malone, creating characters, credible characters, Denis Leery, female action hero, Haliburton, homegrown terrorists, Islamic terrorists in fiction, It's not the tale it's the telling, Jack Reacher, James Rollins, Janice Gable Bashman, Jon Land, Lee Child, mass murder, Mitch Rapp, Open Road Media, Pandora's Temple, right-wing militia, Sigma Force, Stephen King, Stephen King quote, Steve Berry, storytelling, Strong at the Break, Strong Enough to Die, strong Justice, Strong Vengeance, subplots, Texas Ranger, thriller, Thrillers, tips for writers, Vince Flynn, Writing Advice, writing fiction, writing process, writing strong protagonists, writing thrillers, writing tips 0
For Honor's Sake
Guest Blogger: Merry Jones
Thrillers and mysteries are supposed to entertain. I write with that in mind. But sometimes, in the course of writing those entertaining books, I come across information that affects me. For example, while doing research for BEHIND THE WALLS, I learned about the following:
Case 1: In 2008, a woman in Saudi Arabia was killed by her father for chatting to a man on Facebook. The killing aroused public outrage, but not for its brutality; rather, for Facebook's role in causing family strife.
Case 2: In 2002, a Kurdish man in London stabbed his daughter to death because, after hearing that a love song had been dedicated to her, he suspected she had a boyfriend.
Case 3: In 2010, a Sikh man murdered his daughter for being too "westernized" in her attitudes and style.
I've mentioned only three, but the list of killings of girls and women by their family members goes on and on. It spans decades, centuries, even millennia. It crosses cultures, religions, countries and continents. But, despite their differences in time, place and ethnicities, the cases are basically alike: They are all honor killings.
Honor killings. No doubt you've heard of them. I had, but never paid much attention until writing a book where a victim's family is suspected of killing her.
In my research, I learned about "honor killings," a specific set of homicides in which a member of a family or social group is murdered by others in the family or group in order to avenge perceived dishonor or shame brought upon them by the victim. Mostly, these crimes occur among Middle Eastern and Southwest Asian cultures. Each year they claim over 20,000 lives.
Over 20,000 fathers killing daughters, brothers killing sisters.
So, what sort of dishonor is so unbearable that it leads a father, brother, mother or uncle to kill a daughter, sister or niece?
Well, there are many. The victim can be guilty of:
Dressing in a manner disapproved of by the family.
Associating with men independently.
Opposing an arranged marriage.
Desiring to marry by choice.
Wanting to end a marriage—even an abusive one.
Adopting behaviors of another culture.
Engaging in sexual behavior outside marriage—even being raped.
Engaging in homosexuality.
Historians suggest that these killings originated in patrilineal cultures, which sought to control parentage. Only by controlling the sexual/reproductive behavior of women could men ensure that their children were actually theirs. Killing a wayward wife set a harsh example for other women, controlled the bloodline and prevented outsiders from polluting the tribe.
The attitudes behind today's honor killings are ancient. These crimes were committed way back in Hammurabi's time, 1200 BCE. Aztecs and Incas performed them. Ancient Romans killed rape victims as acts of mercy. Some Chinese husbands cut off the hair of adulterous wives and had them stomped to death by trained murderous elephants. Some Native American tribes punished adulterous women by cutting off their limbs and mutilating their bodies. Persians left such women to die in a well. And all of these murders, throughout time, have been conducted without stigma or apology. They have been regarded as justifiable, even rewarded–as their name suggests–with honor.
Today, with multicultural populations worldwide, honor killings have been reported in the US, Canada, Germany, Russia, the UK, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Latin America, Pakistan, India, the Congo, etc.
More than 20,000 victims each year. Many of the deaths unreported, invisible, unpunished. Un-mourned by their own families.
The injustice and betrayal are staggering. BEHIND THE WALLS certainly doesn't come up with a way to end a tradition that precedes the Bible. But maybe, by presenting the topic within an entertaining plot, the book will raise awareness about these killings. And if awareness is raised, change might follow. Someday.
At least, we can hope.
Merry Jones is the author of the Harper Jennings thrillers, SUMMER SESSION and BEHIND THE WALLS, as well as the Zoe Hayes mysteries, THE NANNY MURDERS, THE RIVER KILLINGS, THE DEADLY NEIGHBORS, and THE BORROWED AND BLUE MURDERS. She has also written humor (including I LOVE HIM, BUT…) and non-fiction (including BIRTHMOTHERS: WOMEN WHO RELINQUISHED BABIES FOR ADOPTION TELL THEIR STORIES.) She is a member of The Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America, and Philadelphia Liars Club. Visit her at MerryJones.com
Janice Gable Bashman July 18, 2012 May 30, 2014 blog, Fact in Fiction, Mystery, Researching Fiction, Storytelling, Suspense, Thrillers, Writing Advice, Writing Tips Ancient Romans, Aztecs, Behind the Walls, Birthmothers: Women Who Relinquish Babies for Adoption Tell Their Stories, Hammurabi, Harper Jennings, honor killing, honor killings, Incas, Janice Gable Bashman, killed for chatting on facebook, Merry Jones, Middle Eastern culture, Native American tribes, Philadelphia Liars Club, Southwest Asian culture, Summer Session, The Borrowed and Blue Murders, The Deadly Neighbors, The Nanny Murders, The River Killings, Zoe Hayes 3
I, Judas: Faith & Reason
Guest Blogger: Bob Mayer
What if Judas is still alive and it appears the Second Coming is upon us?
That's the basic premise of my latest release, I, Judas: The Fifth Gospel. The story takes place in the present and the inciting incident is the sudden appearance of an object on a collision course with Earth. Two very powerful groups take this event two very different ways: The Brotherhood views the object as Wormwood, one of the signs the Rapture is near. The Illuminati view is as a threatening object that needs to be destroying.
Further muddying up the issue is the rumor that Judas Iscariot, cursed by Jesus to wander the world until the Second Coming, is hiding somewhere in the Amazon and he's written a Fifth book to Bible, one that tells a very different story.
As nations scramble to try to stop the Intruder, as they call it, the Brotherhood seeks to implement the Great Commission: sending the word of God to every person on the planet; and their mode of doing that could a threat by itself.
I use two timelines in the novel, which is always difficult to pull off. I spend time on the last day with Judas and the survivors of the team sent to assassinate him as he educates them about what the Second Coming really is; and then I move back three days to when the object is first sights and how the world reacts to it. Both timelines merge at the end.
To me the key to the book is the danger of believing one has absolute knowledge about something. I think there is a balancing act between knowledge and faith. However, other people believe faith has to be absolute and not questioned.
What do you think? Should one question their faith and does the very act of doing that, destroy that faith? Should one question what they think they know and open their minds up to the infinite possibilities of the universe?
Bob Mayer is the NY TIMES Bestselling author of factual thrillers. He steeps his stories in military, historical and scientific facts, then weaves those facts through fiction creating an exciting ride for the reader. He's a West Point graduate, former Green Beret, and author of more than 50 books that have sold over 5 million copies in print, digitally and in audio. He's been on bestseller lists in thriller, science fiction, suspense, action, war, historical fiction and is the only male author on the Romance Writers of America Honor Roll. He is one of the top grossing indie authors in the world. He is the CEO of Cool Gus Publishing, which has earned over a million dollars in just eighteen months after selling only three eBooks the first month in business. He is a leading expert on digital publishing and the eBook market. He will have a new major release from 47North of Amazon on 11 December 2012: AREA 51: NIGHTSTALKERS.
Janice Gable Bashman July 3, 2012 May 30, 2014 blog, Fact in Fiction, Publishing Tips, Storytelling, Thrillers 47North, Area 51, Area 51: Nightstalkers, Armageddon, Atlantis, balance between knowledge and faith, Black Ops, Black Ops Section 8, Bob Mayer, books of the bible, Cool Gus Publishing, digital publishing, digital publishing expert, Dragon Sim-13, factual thrillers, future of the human race, Green Beret, historical thrillers, I Judas: The Fifth Gospel, infinite possiblilities, Janice Gable Bashman, Judas, Judas Iscariot, military thrillers, multiple timelines in fiction, rapture, science thrillers, scientific thrillers, Second Coming, selling ebooks, storytelling, The Green Berets The Eyes of the Hammer, top grossing indie authors, top indie authors, weaving fact into fiction, West Point 1


Full sun to part sun. [30-36" tall]. USDA Hardiness Zones 4-6. Blooms early season.
Lupinus polyphyllus 'Woodfield Hybrid Mix'. Gorgeous dense spikes of pea-shaped flowers in a mix of blue, purple, orange, red, pink and bicolor combinations rise impressively above textured mounds of palmlike leaves. This is a very unique mix of lupine colors.


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Creed (5/10)
Your legacy is more than a name
2015Drama
The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.
Title Creed
Director Ryan Coogler
Director of Photography Maryse Alberti
Producer Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin King Templeton, David Winkler, William Chartoff, Charles Winkler
Certification PG-13
Release Date 25 November 2015
Tagline Your legacy is more than a name
IMDb Id tt3076658
Homepage http://creedthemovie.com/
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Graham McTavish, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashād, Hans Marrero, Will Blagrove, Tony Bellew, Ritchie Coster, Jacob 'Stitch' Duran, Malik Bazille, Wood Harris, Gabe Rosado
Full disclosure: I have never been a fan of any of the Rocky movies. So now we have instalment 7 of the Greatest Boxing Legend of American Cinema. It does however have several things going for it before even seeing it: it is the first movie in the franchise not written by Stallone, and Rocky is now only a supporting character rather than the lead. Well, both Stallone and Rocky are in their 70s now so indeed instalment 6 was already taking things well beyond credibility.
Before watching Creed, I rewatched the original Rocky. I hadn't seen it in over 20 years, and it has not stood the test of time well. It is extremely slow and the script is full of poor dialogue and acting, with of course a known finale, but actually that final fight is not as great as people seem to claim it is in terms of directing and cinematography. But of course it is not fair to compare a 1976 movie with today's standards. So I was kind of keen to watch this new incarnation of Rocky to see what they would do with that kind of story with 2015 filmmaking capabilities. I was expecting it to at least rival Warrior in the fight scenes, and hopefully beat it in storyline. But it doesn't even come close.
'Creed' refers of course to Apollo Creed, the guy Rocky fought in Rocky I and II, and who trained him in Rocky III and who got killed in Rocky IV. Turns out Apollo had an extramarital child, Adonis. Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) is a natural fighter – having picked fights from a young age, he hasn't been able to leave his fighting needs behind when he finds himself in a regular day job in financial services. So he hands in his resignation, and tracks down Rocky to convince him to train him. Rocky is of course initially reluctant, then won over, then trains him, then a fight with the world champion presents itself out of nowhere (just like the original Rocky script), and we see Adonis training, leading up to the Big Finale.
The best bits are actually the predictable bits: the training montages do the job, and The Big Fight is decent, if somewhat rushed (we only really see the highlights, not the full fight). Then there are various subplots which are hit and miss; best is Rocky struggling with his health which allows Stallone to show something different than just his ability to utter platitudes as trainer ("you are fighting yourself – it's just you against you, he's just in your way" … oh lawdy); worst is the love interest with Bianca which, other than being a seemingly required element, adds little to nothing to the story or its outcome.
The directing and cinematography are also hit and miss. There are a few scenes that look like they were thought up over a few beers when after enough of them everything starts to sound like a good idea, but on the big screen they miss the point. Notably an unexplained scene where Adonis is shadow-boxing in front of a projection of the fight between Apollo and Rocky looks, well, just silly. And in an attempt to recreate or hommage Rocky's running around Philly montages someone decided it would be cool to have Adonis do something like that with a random bunch of motorbikes following him. Wut?
I am sure for fans of the Rocky franchise, this movie delivers, as it is actually not worse than most of those. As a standalone movie it is not very good. Thin characters, poor dialogue, and hit and miss directing weaken the movie significantly and for me after an hour was well on a way to a score of 4. It was then salvaged somewhat by just giving up on the story and watching the second hour for the training montage and final fight which are not bad.
In Greek mythology, Apollo was the son of Zeus (the supreme God), and was God of the Sun. Adonis, whilst remembered as a a pretty boy first, and God of fertility and rebirth second, was actually the product of incest between his earthly mother and grandfather (the King of Cyprus). Not quite of the same stature indeed.
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Bart Hartgring
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Access SQLWarnings called via StoredProcedure.execute() in Spring I am calling Stored Procedures by extending StoredProcedure class in Spring. My Stored Procedures are generating warnings which I want to log.
This will remove the effort needed to re-execute StoredProcedures with dummy values to see what warning is coming and what needs to be fixed.
Is there a way to do this ?

A: Warnings are already logged by default by the JdbcTemplate. Drawback is that you would have to enable debug logging for that class.
For log back adding this to your logback.xml will enable it.
<logger name="org.springframework.jdbc.support.JdbcTemplate" level="DEBUG" />

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


John Burgee Architects and Philip Johnson, in coordination with developer Gerald D. Hines began working on the Transco Tower complex in 1982, and completed construction of the office tower 18 months later in 1983. The Waterwall was fully and regularly operational in 1985.
Construction and maintenance cost figures were never released, but at the time of completion, Johnson and Hines made public vital statistics about the wall, including measurements and water volume.
Plaque describing the Water Wall.
The architects' design for the Waterwall was to be a "horseshoe of rushing water" opposite the Transco (now Williams) Tower. The semi-circular fountain is 64 feet (20 m) tall, to symbolize the 64 stories of the tower, and sits among 118 Texas live oak trees. The concave portion of the circle, which faces north toward the tower, is fronted by a "proscenium arch" shorter than the fountain itself. The convex portion, its backside, faces south onto Hidalgo Street.
Water cascades in vast channeled sheets from the narrower top rim of the circle to the wider base below, both on the concave side and on the convex side. This creates a visually striking urban waterfall that can be viewed from various buildings around the district.
46,500 square feet (4,320 m2) of water cover the interior, while 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2) cover the exterior. The main building material of the fountain is St. Joe brick. However, the Romanesque arches are made of Indiana Buss limestone, while the wall's base is black granite. The entire fountain's water supply, consisting of 78,500 gallons is recycled by an internal mechanism every three hours and two minutes.
Known simply as "The Waterwall" to locals, the fountain is a popular backdrop for tourists and locals alike. The Waterwall is considered a central part of the Houston landscape and is often host to picnics and concerts.
On the night of September 23, 1987, former Oiler quarterback Dan Pastorini married Dena Kindred at a private ceremony at the wall.
The wall was an "official sight" during the 1992 Republican National Convention.
In 2001, the made-for-TV movie The Way She Moves was filmed in Houston and contained scenes shot in front of the Waterwall.
The Bollywood song "Dilbar Dilbar" from the film Sirf Tum was shot here.
In 2013, the made-for-TV movie The Preacher's Mistress was filmed in Houston and contained a scene shot in front of the Waterwall.
The 1992 Chuck Norris film Sidekicks had a portion filmed at the Waterwall.
Originally the "Transco Waterwall", the waterwall was renamed the "Williams Waterfall" to correspond with the renaming of the adjacent office tower due to the merger of Transco Energy Co. with the Williams Companies. The City of Houston renamed the site again on December 17, 2009 honoring Gerald D. Hines for his impact on Houston architecture during the last six decades.
^ a b Mark, Steve (December 17, 2009). "Houston Landmark Now Bears Creator's Name". West University Examiner. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
^ Dawson, Jennifer. "Hines to pay $271M for Williams Tower." Houston Business Journal. Tuesday March 25, 2008. Retrieved on November 23, 2009.
^ a b Spies, Michael. "Water Sculpture Makes Big Splash." Houston Chronicle. Thursday July 25, 1985. Weekend Preview Page 1. Retrieved on November 23, 2009.
^ Johnson, Philip."Transco Tower and Park."
^ Mesinger, Maxine. "Pastorini, Kindred wed at the Wall." Houston Chronicle. September 24, 1987. Section Houston, Page 1. Retrieved on November 23, 2009.
^ Staff. "Filmed in Houston." Houston Chronicle. Sunday August 26, 2001. Section Television, Page 2. Retrieved on November 23, 2009.
^ "A Houston preacher's daughter becomes a Lifetime TV star: It's better to direct ." CultureMap. Friday November 29, 2013.
This page was last edited on 21 April 2018, at 16:19 (UTC).


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Mystery Thriller
Past-Present
Rainy Daze
The Secret History: A Novel of Empress Theodora by Stephanie Thornton
23 September 2017 by Tracey
When their father dies suddenly, Theodora and her older sister are forced to support the family by becoming actresses which ultimately leads to a life of prostitution.
When Theodora is courted by Hecebolus, a court official, she believes she has the means to make a better life for herself but it would mean leaving her young daughter behind in Constantinople while she travels to Libya. Believing it is for the best, Theodora agrees to travel with Hecebolus but she realises she has made a grave error when the man's cruel nature reveals itself. Fleeing for her life, Theodora eventually makes her way back to Constantinople where she comes to the attention of Justinian, nephew and heir of Emperor Justin I, the Eastern Roman Emperor.
Although Justinian is aware of her past and the existence of her daughter, he's forbidden from marrying an actress and has to wait until the death of the Empress before his uncle feels able to change the laws and bless the marriage to which the Empress was so opposed. After the wedding, Theodora's hopes of providing Justinian with an heir are immediately dashed when her husband admits he suffers from a rare medical condition that has rendered him infertile. The news is a huge blow for Theodora, particularly since she is hiding the fact she gave birth to a son not long after escaping Hecebolus. The presence of her son at court would complicate matters in regard to the line of succession and place the child in grave danger from rival claimants so Theodora decides to continue to keep him a secret even though it weighs heavy on her conscience.
The Secret History: A Novel of Empress Theodora reveals the story of Theodora, the revered Byzantine empress who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most powerful women in the world. The main source of information on Theodora's life comes from a manuscript called The Wars of Justinian, written by Procopius, an historian, who presented Theodora as a courageous and influential empress. However, Procopius also wrote a second biography called Secret History which offered a far more salacious account of Theodora's life, concentrating on her life as a prostitute and presenting her as a vulgar social climber. It is this dubious account Thornton has used to depict much of Theodora's early years, particularly her time as an actress and the fame she gained with her hedonistic version of Leda and the Swan.
Although Thornton has chosen to explore the more colourful aspects of Theodora's life as presented by Procopius, she has been fair in how she attributes Theodora's lifestyle as a means of benefitting her family and how she has exhausted all other avenues. Theodora falls into prostitution with great reluctance but her naivety results in the birth of a daughter which makes her even more determined to make a better life for herself. Believing she has found a worthy patron in Hecebolus, Theodora makes the difficult decision to leave her daughter behind while she travels with him to Libya in the hopes he will marry her. However, Theodora's illusions are soon shattered when she realises he never had any intention of making her his wife. After Hecebolus throws her out, Theodora makes her way to Egypt where she gives birth to his son and then travels back to Constantinople where she is reunited with her daughter.
There is no evidence Theodora ever had a son and it seems Thornton has merely used his existence to inject more drama into Theodora's life as his secret is eventually used to blackmail her. I'm quite disappointed this became the main focus of Theodora's life as empress because there were plenty other aspects to explore and we never get to understand why Justinian felt confident enough to call Theodora his "partner in my deliberations". While the episode where Theodora was instrumental in saving Justinian's throne by persuading him to stay while the populace was rioting is there, there isn't much else to highlight her wisdom and her fight for female rights. Theodora was responsible for passing laws prohibiting forced prostitution and was also known for buying girls in order to free them from this lifestyle. Considering the focus on Theodora's early years, this would have been a nice theme to explore, even though Procopius did later maintain Theodora forced prostitutes into convents.
Theodora and Justinian were also credited with turning Constantinople into one of the most impressive architectural cities in the world but this is only mentioned briefly in the novel when Theodora talks about how the Hagia Sophia is being rebuilt. Instead, the latter chapters focus on how Theodora is duped into believing a servant is her long lost son by her enemies.
In the same way, a large chunk of Theodora's religious beliefs are never properly explained and I had to look up monophysitism for myself to figure out why it was even being mentioned. What it is to Theodora is never properly explored and I find this strange since her beliefs were in direct opposition to those of her husband's which would have created plenty of conflict in their marriage. The subject of monophysitism is a complicated one for me since I'm a non-believer, but if I'm understanding it correctly, Theodora believed Jesus Christ only had one nature which was either divine or a perfect blend of both divine and human. On the other hand, Justinian supported the Chalcedonian Creed whereby Christ had two natures, one divine and the other human, which is the definition still supported by most Western churches. While Theodora was often accused of heresy for supporting Monophysite leaders, it is barely mentioned in the book.
I like how Thornton explores the lives of historical females who are often forgotten but I can't help feeling this was a missed opportunity because Thornton has chosen to ignore many aspects of Theodora's life that went a long way into making her the person she became. Real historical facts have been ignored in favour of soap opera elements, mainly around the empresses's guilt over the abandonment of a child that never existed to the detriment of the one who did exist. The language is also a little too modern with one character in particular referring to her "pocketbook" which threw me completely out of the story.
While I didn't hate The Secret History, I'm not sure it would have given me enough reason to want to continue reading this author's books, namely The Conqueror's Wife and Daughter of the Gods which would've been a shame since Thornton obviously improves the more she writes.
American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt by Stephanie Thornton
Daughter of the Gods by Stephanie Thornton
The Conqueror's Wife by Stephanie Thornton
Filed Under: Historical Fiction Tagged With: Stephanie Thornton
I'm an avid reader of historical fiction and crime thrillers, but I also love reading about exotic locations.
All books reviewed on this site have been purchased by me. I do not accept review requests or incentives to read books.
"I have lived a thousand lives and I've loved a thousand loves. I've walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time. Because I read."
"Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book."
"A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading."
Copyright © 2021|Rainy Daze| Hello You Designs


Greenform planters feature a modern, European sensibility and lightweight "fiber cement" fabrication. Noted for its natural and durable traits, fiber cement is an enduring and versatile material. Fiber cement is 100% recyclable, and well-suited for hot and cold temperatures, resisting heat and fading. Base colors for all pieces are anthracite and gray, and custom colors from the RAL series can be made to order. Additional finishes and design options are also available upon request.
The company's showroom is in Los Angeles, California, while its manufacturing facility is in the Swiss towns of Niederurnen and Payerne, where timeless fiber cement products have been produced for over 100 years. Greenform takes pride in being the sole U.S. provider of containers created from fiber cement.
As a privately owned company, Greenform works exclusively with the professional trade to provide distinctive solutions for commercial, hospitality and residential projects.
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The website is not only a platform that will help you put your services and products at the display for your clients. Nowadays, the website is a vital resource for any business that can help businesses to stay in contact with their customers on a daily basis irrespective of time and duration. It is because of Chabot that are being included in the business website that can help customers ask queries without any restriction of time. These chat-bots have evolved to a great deal and can perform various actions like answering common customer queries, helping in a transaction or searching for particular information. Thus, incorporating these chat bots in the business website can make a noteworthy impression on the potential customers irrespective of the size and type of your business.
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Every digital marketing acknowledges the significance of the Flash in the website development. This trend will also sustain in the year 2018 as with the help of Flash the websites can be added with life. However, the Adobe has announced that no new version of Flash will be available after two years or so. Therefore, development and marketing companies are replacing Flash with HTML 5 at rapid speed. HTML 5 is highly flexible and allow adding motion to the business website.
Everyone knows that video is an effective way of communicating one's point of view to another. This is one of the basic reasons behind the success of YouTube channel. Recognizing the trend of the market the marketing companies are adding business videos to the business websites valiantly. The integration of YouTube channel into business websites enables the marketers to capture the attention of users efficiently and effectively.
Above mentioned trends in website development can enable digital marketing companies to enhance the website traffic and also enable them to retain business customers for long durations. Thus, knowing these trends and incorporating in marketing strategy is important for every digital marketing.
Info Technology Ideas is a renowned digital marketing company offering diversified services for active marketing of small-scale businesses in the cost-effective way. You can not only avail website development services that ensure competitive marketing of your business integrating it with latest trends of 2018. Along with the web development services also offers domain hosting, content management, Social Media Marketing, and Search Engine Optimization. You can avail all these services in a single package in most affordable prices. Now, even if you do not want to continue to pay for support services your website will remain online without any hindrance in performance, however, support services will be drawn until you are intended to continue. So, to get your business equipped to deal with challenges offered by 2018, Info Technology Ideas.com visit for updated and quality internet marketing services.


Swan Magazine is the first magazine of its kind to go purely digital. We are happy to report that the change has been well supported with a substantial rise in numbers and diversity of readers.
Swan Magazine was founded in 2000 by Dr. Douglas Sutherland-Bruce when he saw a lack of a readily available forum for local groups and people to air their views or make other people aware of events and organisations that might be of interest.
Swan Magazine limits the percentage of advertising space to 33% percent, making each advert more effective.
Swan Magazine carries so much editorial in the way of articles of general interest readers often tell us they read the magazine 'from cover to cover', with feature poetry and fiction submissions dispersed between articles.
Swan Magazine converted to purely electronic editions in May, 2015 and as a result the magazine is substantially larger due to the low costs of production and the extra space, allowing us to give the reader more stories, more articles, more reviews, more exciting features, all for the low, low price of FREE.
Understanding our carbon footprint made the move to digital all the more worthwhile. Between 2000 to 2010, Swan Magazine had printed on more than ten million A4 sheets of paper. Even using re-cycled paper bleached with oxygen, not chlorine and vegetable dyes, this was too big of a carbon footprint to sustain.
Electronic copies are available two ways – through email subscription or online.
To subscribe via email, go to the 'Contact Page' page and send us an e-mail with 'Subscribe' in the subject line.
To read online, click the link above and you can read this months' magazine on your tablet, smartphone or desktop.
In either case the copy can be downloaded and printed off if you prefer a hard copy.
Please consider recommending us to your friends if you enjoy the Swan Magazine - all you have to do is send an email with the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.
We look forward to any comments, suggestions or feedback you may have.
Welcome to the home page of Swan Magazine, a monthly digital publication of general interests available electronically on the website Issuu.
If you would like to receive a copy delivered into your inbox as a pdf or a link, fill out the contact form below, with 'subscribe' in the subject line.
The magazine is published on the 10th of each month.
This website is designed to provide you, our reader, with information about us, details of how to subscribe and advertising rates as well as how to contact us.
Douglas Sutherland-Bruce is a former Gold Plate Judge and a long-time food writer (since 1987) as well as a many times published writer and author. He has been a lecturer (University of Western Australia), professional genealogist and armorist (designed and petitioned the arms for the City of Wanneroo), a broadcaster, after-dinner speaker and has an abiding interest in community theatre, notably with the Darlington Theatre Players, and has won several awards as an actor, director and playwright. He founded the Sherlock Holmes Society of Western Australia in 1983 and is now Patron, after serving many years as President.
We limit the amount of advertising in every edition to no more than 33% to give the contributors more space to allow them to be able to expand on each subject to the length each topic deserves. We have talented contributors and experts in their field and we permit them to express their views fully. A full listing of advertising rates can be found below.
Swan Magazine is a big supporter of the Arts in Western Australia and we have regular reviews of community theatre, professional theatre, movies, DVD's and books as well as promoting these shows beforehand.
We have a stable of experts in their field that regularly contribute to Swan Magazine on a variety of topics.
We are proud to be independent and free of all influence. We are not part of any chain of publications, have no overseas investors and are entirely based in Western Australia.
Many small community groups have no voice in the wider community. The likes of The Eastern Districts Machine Knitting Group; Mustard Seed Computer Training Group; Zonta; community theatre groups, individual Scout Groups and community based associations often do not have the expertise or resources to advertise their meetings, aims or even existence to the public at large. This is where we can help with inexpensive or free advertising and editorial space to promote good works and worthy causes.
Voltaire may not have actually said 'I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it'. But it certainly summed up his beliefs. Beliefs we share. Out magazine is open to all sorts of opinions and points of view. We will publish any argument - pro and anti vaccine; Liberal or Labor; Royalist or Republican. We have given considerable space over the years to alternative, non-traditional, medical modalities. Our sole restrictions are civility and respect. We will also tackle sensitive subjects that other publications won't for fear of offending advertisers or religious groups if we feel that the subject is one that readers would benefit from knowing more about.
Swan Magazine offers space for local writers to display their talents. We accept poetry, short fiction, creative writing of all sorts. From time to time we hold literary competitions such as 200 word fiction; six word fiction; Shakespearean sonnets and so on. We are also one of the very few outlets for never-before-published authors to get a platform. We work with the Peter Cowan Writers Centre and KSP Writers' Centre to promote their efforts and competitions and publish winning entries.
Our readership has grown by 300% since going digital and while most of our readers are in the Perth Hills and Swan Valley, going digital has meant that readership now comes from all over the metropolitan area, rural Western Australia and a comparatively small number of Eastern States and international readers. While this number is constantly changing, we have some 2,000 direct subscribers, another 1,200 who read each issue via our Facebook page and a further 6,000 receive it through networks of like-minded groups such as the Swan Valley & Regional Networks; the Guildford Historical Society, Mundaring Arts Centre and so on. However most readers follow us on Issuu, the electronic publication service. We estimate readership at nearly 100,000.
An advertisement flashed onto a cinema screen lasts perhaps 30 seconds and few patrons take pen and paper with them to jot down your phone number in the dark. Through the Swan Magazine your message is delivered directly to your customers and potential new customers.
Any published advertisement lasts only until the next issue. A weekly newspaper lasts a week at best and in most cases a single reading only. We are a monthly magazine and so any advertisement lasts at least a month until the next issue. We have many, many examples of advertisements lasting and working much longer than that since, because of the nature of the Swan Magazine, readers - your customers - retain copies of the magazine and refer back to it.
In addition, past copies remain on the publishing website Issuu and we know that they are referred back to on a regular basis.
Swan Magazine severely limits the percentage of space devoted to advertising, making each one more effective. We have all seen newspapers with pages and pages of advertisements with nothing else on the page to tempt the reader to linger, notice and read your advertisement. Because we carry so much editorial in the way of articles of general interest readers often tell us they read the magazine 'from cover to cover'. We are also the only, freely-distributed, medium to carry both fiction and poetry.
Puff pieces like this are ineffective because they are unread, irrelevant and regarded, quite rightly, by the reader with scepticism. If you sell pools, for example, readers do not care to read about the excellence of your staff or your knowledge. But an article, by you, about how to prepare a pool for winter will be read and will attract customers since it demonstrates that you know what you're talking about rather than simply claims it.
Our advertisements are more effective on a dollar for dollar basis. A business card board advertisement in full colour in the Swan Magazine can cost as little as $25 per month. Can you get a 9 centimetre by 5 centimetre advertisement in colour for $25 a month in your current publication?
A final point to consider is that Swan Magazine places advertisements on appropriate pages - health product advertisements appear on those pages devoted to health; financial consultants' advertisements on the finance pages and so on - these advertisements are not just bundled together wherever there is space or it is convenient - each is placed in a relevant, effective, spot.
ANY OTHER COMBINATIONS OR SIZES AND THE FRONT PAGE MUST BE NEGOTIATED INDIVIDUALLY WITH THE PUBLISHER - DOUGLAS SUTHERLAND-BRUCE.
Should you require our services to design your advertisement, there is a nominal fee of $25 regardless of the size of the advertisement. This ensures that you own the rights to the artwork and may reproduce it anywhere.
Once completed, artwork errors will be corrected free of charge, but alterations to design and changed wording will be charged at $25 per proof.
Supplied artwork must be in the form of a print-ready CMYK 300dpi (minimum) PDF, Jpeg or Tiff. Linked here is a .pdf document that explains about the benefits of advertising with the Swan Magazine.
Douglas Sutherland-Bruce has been a professional food writer since April of 1987 when his first review (of Chalet Rigi) was published in the Echo. Moving from there to The Hills Gazette when it was owned and under the editorship of Howard Gaskin, he honed his writing skills and before long was writing restaurant reviews and food columns for Destinations (the in-flight magazine of SkyWest Airlines) the Albany Weekender newspaper as well as ArtsWest Magazine, The Hills Gazette the Swan Magazine and the website Weekend Notes. He served for some years as a judge on the Catering Institutes' Gold Plate Competition and has a considerable following for his writing.
A truly surprising number of people ring him before deciding on where to eat.
Steve Blizard is an Authorised Investment Adviser with Roxburgh Securities & a Life Broker with Investwest Life Brokerage.
Steve commenced his financial planning career in 1988. He is a member of the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals and the Financial Planning Association of Australia. Steve has undertaken further studies with Kaplan an ASIC compliant provider, completing further studies at Curtin University Business School. His experience ranges from administration of Superannuation to advice regarding insurance, retirement, remuneration and investment planning. Steve is an accredited Remuneration Consultant, specialising in salary packaging.
For many years Steve has been an active volunteer with the WA based drug rehabilitation organisation Shalom House, mentoring men of all ages. He has had the privilege of seeing the lives of countless men, affected by life controlling issues such as Ice/Meth, Alcohol and other addictions; being totally transformed and their families healed. Steve has served on several boards, including Swan Christian Eduction Association as Finance Chair, and the Bendigo Community Bank, Mundaring. Steve currently serves on the global board of Challenge News.
Steve's articles on finance and superannuation strategies in the Swan Magazine are highly regarded and often re-published in Business News.
Book reviews and general fiction.
Karen Treanor has been writing about animals since the age of six, when she first made the acquaintance of a chipmunk in her back yard in New England. While working in Southern Africa, she wrote several reading books based on local folk tales for the Ministry of Education in Swaziland, and a number of radio scripts for the English Language program of the Ministry of Education in Lesotho.
Since settling in Western Australia and meeting the original Bounce and Pounce bandicoots in her own backyard, Karen has been dedicated to improving public awareness of these charming little native animals of Australia, which often suffer for their superficial resemblance to rats. She thinks bandicoots would have been a more appropriate State Animal for Western Australia than numbats, "who got the job because of their flashy suits". She started Quenda Books, which publishes the Scoot, Scoot, Bandicoot® series for children, in 2003. The website is http://www.bandicoot-books.com.
Karen writes books for older readers, including The Angelus Ghost, Death in the Sea of Grass, A Tree in Mundaring, and the 'malice domestic' series featuring amateur sleuth Geneva Bradford, Bitter Bones, Long Bones and Blessed Bones. Several of the books are available from www.fidopublishing.com in electronic formats.
She is much in demand as a reviewer of mystery and detective books, many of which are published in the Swan Magazine.
Glennys Marsdon, The Idler in the Swan Magazine, is a Consumer Psychology Consultant, Author and Speaker. Telstra Business Women's Award nominee Glennys Marsdon's passion for people saw her train as a consumer psychologist and spend over twenty-five years exploring why we do what we do, before opening her own consultancy, The Customers' Voice, in 2001.
Her research was instrumental in high profile campaigns such as the HBF Ted Campaign (for 8 years), Edith Cowan University (7 years), Australian Defence Force (Accomplish) and the Health Departments Speed Catches Up With You, along with explorations into the lives of multi-drug users, domestic violence survivors, perpetrators, indigenous communities, elite SAS members, CEO's, celebrities and the most challenging of all … teenagers. Such board experience has resulted in positions on two Ministerial Advisory Boards.
An award winning writer and guest speaker her writing regularly appears in several outlets including Visit Perth City (City of Perth), Tweet Perth, The Weekly Review (Melbourne), as well as her blog The Ponder Room which aims to 'help people get the most out of life'.
Her first book 50 Ways To Grieve Your Lover, has been used during international disasters and as a result she was profiled in a worldwide competition about people making a difference, run by US marketing guru Seth Godin. Her follow up book Me Time: 100 Strategies For Guilt Free Me Time is currently in demand, with a related guest speaking spot winning a People's Choice award.
She also assists the Australian Society of Authors as the Professional Development Officer in WA, and her own personal branding and marketing courses have proven popular.
Gordon is widely recognised as one of the most prolific theatre reviewers in Perth. He patronises all kinds of live theatre productions, from professional to amateur, and has probably been to more opening nights than The Queen.
Brendan Murphy is a qualified Chef, Commercial Cookery Teacher and Freelance Travel Writer and also also an experienced traveler and author. As a young lad growing up in the North of England Brendan was fascinated by the world outside of where he lived, so as soon as he was old enough, he put on a back pack, joined forces with a couple of school mates and explored that nearest of continents; Europe. He did it on a shoestring but had a ball! The sense of adventure, the music, the scenery, and oh yes, the cuisine! What a huge variety of delicious foods! But what really enthralled him were the people and the way they lived their lives! Soon, he was back in England at Catering College training to be a Chef, but still working his way around his own country to again discover much great food and culture. Brendan qualified as a Chef in 1985 and went off again on his travels, first back to Europe to work, then further a field to Asia and Australia.
Brendan created the concept that is 'The Chef-Explorer' about 10 years ago as a business name in which he catered as a chef, taught as a lecturer and wrote cookery columns. Prior to that I had been teaching as a Chef- Lecturer in a variety of TAFE colleges in Western Australia and England and qualified as a TAFE (College) Lecturer at Curtin University in 1996.
After re-settling in Western Australia with his family, his writing developed further when he studied for the 'Diploma of Travel Photojournalism'. Meanwhile, his regular local newspaper cookery columns developed into true short stories published by the Swan Magazine and it was with them that 'The Chef-Explorer' seemed to take on a more definitive role.
He now also records a regular cookery segment on The Couch TV series, (www.thecouch.com.au) on YouTube, which is also broadcast on Aurora TV-(Foxtel Australia & NZ).
Jay Crisp Crow is a writer squeezing joy from life in the Perth Hills with a scrumptious husband and a tribe of children. She fell in love with words and their magic while reading Little Golden Books at the age of two and continued the affair through schooling and University; studying Musical Theatre at WAAPA and later Literature with a Creative Writing Major.
Now an award winning intuitive copywriter and editor, she excels at 'getting under the hood' of her clients. With a special knack for uncovering the voice of a brand, she weaves her storytelling around a business message and helps clients create brilliant, compelling, and authentic content.
Bringing a certain social media savviness to the table, Jay has been the best first port of call to many local, interstate and International solopreneurs, companies, creatives and not for profits.
James Forte is the pen name of a professional mathematician who writes plays for local community theatre and radio and reviews films for the Swan Magazine. James is a great lover of the Golden Age of Detective fiction and in particular the 'Locked Room' mystery as propounded by writers such as Edgar Allen Poe, Carter Dixon and others.
His stage plays have been produced by the Darlington Theatre Players and others and have won awards. His reviews are witty, insightful and charming and his knowledge informs them wonderfully.
Kirsty, Swan Magazine's Style Editor, ia a country born gumboot princess, she has been leading what she calls a 'colourful life'.
After the complete shock of a surprise divorce, Kirsty looked for her silver lining. Something to awaken her senses. She made the conscious decision to live with purpose. That's how her business Shop and Style Specialists was founded. With a great sense of purpose to help women look and feel amazing and authentic, every single day.
Kirsty had experienced her own disconnection and knew that if she had, other women had too. Knowing that our clothes are the first thing we put on every day to tell people who we are, Kirsty developed a method to help women understand their personality traits in relation to their wardrobes. How their self worth and self expression is weaved intrinsically through their outfits. She helped women who said they had no style understand that that WAS their style. And if you have to get dressed anyway you may as well do it on purpose.
In her journey back to self Kirsty also found the love of her life, and at 45yrs old became a mum for the first time to twins Leo and Lilly. Even juggling her new family and business, SaSS was awarding winning within it's first operational year. A testiment to the passion and purpose Kirsty puts into everything she does.
Now a popular personal and editorial stylist, fashion contributor and speaker, Kirsty continues to help women find the 'you' in your style.
Jess Sutherland-Bruce holds one of the very few Bachelor of Writing degrees granted by Edith Cowan University. Jess is now at Curtin University where she is currently studying a further degree. In partnership with her husband, James Sutherland-Bruce, she runs Hawk's Web Workshop and is au courant with the latest thinking in web design, social media marketing and innovative methods of public relations.
Voice of the Swan Hills.
As the Member for Swan Hills Frank has a history of community service beginning in 2003 as a Councillor for the City of Swan and culminating a year later as the Representative for Local Government on the National Trust of WA.
Hon Alyssa Hayden MLC was elected to the Western Australian Government as a Member for the East Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council on 6 September 2008. She was re-elected on 9 March 2013, and is currently serving her second term.
Appointed in March 2013, Alyssa is currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier; Minister for Tourism; Science. Having lived in the East Metropolitan Region all her life, Alyssa holds a deep passion for her Electorate. She is focused on ensuring the Region receives its fair share of both State and Federal Government support and assistance in order for it to grow and the community to prosper.
Alyssa sees Transport as an important industry and a significant employer, especially within the East Metropolitan Region. Alyssa has devoted a lot of time to improving the standards and conditions for truck drivers and the industry as a whole.
With over 10 years' experience as a local small business operator Alyssa is a driving force to reduce red tape for small business. She works to ensure business is enhanced by government rather than restricted. Accordingly, Alyssa is a strong supporter of the Swan Chamber of Commerce.
As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Tourism, Alyssa has the passion to encourage tourism and promote Western Australia to attract international and interstate travelers; as well as encourage West Australians to "Holiday at Home". With Tourism generating 91,000 jobs and over $8b for this State, Alyssa is an avid supporter of this sector and has a vision to see Tourism become one of this state's biggest assets.
Donna Faragher is the youngest Liberal woman ever elected to the Western Australian State Parliament and was the youngest female Minister appointed in Western Australian political history when she was promoted to the position of Minister for Environment and Youth in the first Cabinet of Premier Colin Barnett on 23 September 2008. Mrs Faragher is presently Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier and Minister for State Development and Science. She has particular responsibility for assisting the Premier in the Science portfolio.
Mrs Faragher was born in Middle Swan in 1975 and educated at Guildford Grammar Preparatory School and Perth College. She graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Masters of Education with Honours, and completed a Graduate Diploma in Education (school psychology and education) and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Psychology.
She was elected to represent the East Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council on 26 February 2005 at the age of 29, and won a second and third term in 2008 and 2010 respectively.
During her time as Environment Minister, Mrs Faragher implemented a number of practical initiatives to maintain and enhance WA's unique environment for current and future generations.
Mrs Faragher delivered conservation strategies for two of Western Australia's most environmentally significant regions. With the Premier, she launched the Kimberley Wilderness Parks under the Kimberley Science and Conservation Strategy and launched a conservation strategy for the Great Western Woodlands.
Mrs Faragher is married with two children, Clare and Harry, and her recreational interests include cooking, football, rugby and music.
Helen is currently serving her second term as the Upper House Member for East Metropolitan Region. The East Metropolitan Region stretches from the Bullsbrook to Keysbrook and covers 3697 sq km with over 311,000 electors and 10 local governments. Helen shares this region in government with Hon Donna Faragher MLC and Hon Alyssa Hayden MLC.
Helen is now the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Water; Mental Health, charged with assisting primarily in the area of Mental Health. Mental Health is Helen's passion and as Parliamentary Secretary she is currently working on the state-wide suicide prevention plan. In her second term, Helen belongs to the Standing Committee on Legislation and the Standing Committee on Procedure and Privileges. She has also been appointed as a Deputy Chair of Committees.
Helen commenced her working life as an Occupational Therapist and has spent many years in senior executive positions within the West Australian Health service including: Regional Director of Central Wheatbelt, Midwest and Gascoyne Health Services; Director of South Metropolitan Health Authority; General Manager Finance and Resources, Health Department of Western Australia; General Manager Armadale Health Service; Chief Executive Officer of Kalamunda Community Care.
Helen was born in Kojonup – one of 7 children. She has lived in the Kalamunda area since the early 1970s, is married to Allan and has 3 children and 3 grandchildren. Helen and Allan have a property near Pingelly where Allan breeds horses and where Helen escapes to when she gets the chance!
Stylist and Wedding Coordinator, Megan Ziersch, is a home-grown Perth girl. After travelling to study in Canada, Megan returned to Perth, equipped with an Arts degree, and certifications in dance and performance. Megan has since been mentored by Kate Sanders-Tye of Verge Studio to become a Stylist of International standards.
After her own wedding in 2008, Megan developed an intense passion for all things Wedding, and loves working alongside clients to create beautiful artwork and help their vision come to fruition. Her articles on weddings and the editorials on behalf of Verge Studio are charming and wonderfully illustrated by the Verge Studio's work.


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Edward B. Sellers
Edward Breathitte Sellers is the first known college graduate of color of Wheaton College and one of the first African American graduates in the state of Illinois. He appears in the 1860 census for DuPage county and is listed as a laborer born in Mississippi. His race is noted as white (whereas two other Sellers in Shawneetown, IL were listed as mulatto). The 1870 census for Suffolk County, Massachusetts (Sellers was a student at Andover Seminary) cites his birthplace as Illinois. When he matriculated to Wheaton College he listed Shawneetown, Illinois as his home. In the 1862 Wheaton College Catalog, he is shown to have entered the Collegiate program and is listed as a Freshman, previously he was enrolled in the preparatory program. That same year he joined the Beltionian Literary Society. Founded in 1856, the crimson-clad Belts championed the cause of "striving for the greater and better." It was in the literary society that Sellers was able to hone his oral and written communication skills as he debated his fellow students on topics ranging from economics to ethics, such as the lawfulness of slavery. Sellers held leadership positions within the society and gained a reputation as "one of the leading disputants" on campus.
During his junior year at Wheaton College, Sellers joined several of his classmates and heeded the call of the Union Army for "hundred-days men." Sellers, along with his friends, enlisted May 18, 1864 in the 132nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. This regiment was organized at Camp Fry, Chicago, Illinois, and mustered in for 100 days service from June 1, 1864. and encamped and trained near Paducah, Kentucky - not far from his Shawneetown home. Sellers didn't seem to have seen any skirmishes. He was mustered out October 17, 1864.
After his summer soldiering, Sellers returned to school and graduated in 1866, the sole graduate that year. With the help of Wheaton's president, Jonathan Blanchard, Sellers moved to Boston and enrolled at Andover Theological Seminary. According to the above mentioned 1870 census, while a student he worked as a store clerk, living not far from Boston Commons and the Massachusetts State House. He is race is listed as "white" born in Illinois in this census. He is listed in the junior class in the 1872 Congregational Quarterly. He earned his bachelor of divinity in 1874 and was ordained that November at the Congregational Church in Selma, Alabama. Afterwards, he was appointed by the American Missionary Association to a pastorate in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
After two years in this pastorate, Sellers' life takes a twist and begins to become unclear. In 1876, he moved back to Boston for a year. From 1877-1883 he lived in Taunton and Worcester, Massachusetts. The 1880 census lists him as a black patient in the Taunton Lunatic Asylum suffering from "mania." This census lists his birthplace as Mississippi (he may have been born on Andalusia Plantation in that state). One record indicates that he died of "insanity" at 41 years of age on June 4, 1883 in Worcester.