Family Stories

So, how did Olive's story come about? you ask.

When I moved to Newcastle Ontario in 2006, I joined the Newcastle Village & District Historic Society. Their first newsletter (delivered to my home in person - joys of a small community) featured an article about the death of Olive Wilmot in 1903 at her home in Newcastle. I was intrigued.

But normal life took precedence; I had a business plan to implement; a store to open and run and years of single-minded purpose.

It was only after closing the store that I suddenly faced endless empty days ahead of me.

A membership to Ancestry.com; online research and personal visits with Olive's great-niece kept me occupied for months which turned into years.

When I began the eight year journey of Olive Wilmot's story, I had no intention of publishing a book. I simply wanted to discover as much as I could about her life and, for her family and mine, present an alternate view to the gossip told about her in her home village of Newcastle Ontario. As I said in the summary of the story; her life turned out to be far more interesting than the gossip about her death that  I had heard. 

I wrote and re-wrote more times than I can count, eventually coming to a linear tale of her life as I had come to know and imagine it. A personal goal was achieved. 

It was a neighbour who, after reading the draft, said it was a compelling story and suggested I hire a ghost writer to turn it into a novel. 

A ghost writer? Really? After eight years of living Olive's story, surely I was more than capable of writing it as a novel. Had They but Known Her was born. 

With great hesitation, I decided to self-publish the novel and send it out to the universe. The response I've received, and continue to receive, is rewarding and carries me along as I work on my next project.

In the immortal words of Nike, I encourage everyone who has ever thought they'd like to write a book, "Just Do It". 

Look to your own family for ideas. Olive's fell into my lap (literally) but I've learned from readers that most have an interesting character or situation within their own family. Some I've been told about are almost unbelievable and yet true. Others are the history of a family's journeys and growth. All are worth reading.

I sincerely regret not capturing my own grandmother's story. She was born in 1889; had seen most of the changes of the 20th century and yet still cooked on a wood stove and had an outhouse (by her own choice) when she died in 1972. Although her life was standard for her time, her story would be unimaginable to the young women of today. 

Even if you just document it for your own family, as I originally intended, do it. 

Middle Age = Middle Sight

Yesterday morning, as I exercised on the floor, our dog, Molly, lost her ball under a dresser near me. I could clearly see the ball no more than 3" under the dresser. Molly, however, couldn't.

Molly is an extremely healthy eleven year old Airedale (yes, the same pup I introduced in an earlier post). Our Vet said to consider her a Cougar with plaque on her teeth. But despite her good health, I can see aging creeping up on her.

I could tell she knew the ball had gone under the dresser; she nosed around it for a while. But, at no time, did she get down on all fours to actually look under. I pointed and said "It's there" but she just pranced around the room checking other corners to see if it might just appear.

After a few minutes of this, she finally laid down in front of the dresser, reached a paw in and pulled the ball out triumphantly!

Now, I'm not one to go on about the antics of our pets but this one reminded me of my husband looking for something in the fridge. If the object of his desire is not at the front of the shelf at eye level, it doesn't exist. He wouldn't consider bending down (or moving things around) to search.

This is not a comment against his gender since I am just as guilty of losing things in the fridge (funny how we rarely notice our own lapses though).

I believe, rather, that this is an age thing. The older we get, the less we're willing to bend down or stand on tippy toes in search of things. Eye level rocks when you pass 60!

I see an upside down fridge coming this year! 

For poor Molly, I see more balls around the house to replace those that she can no longer see. 

Oops - now I see a tripping hazard waiting to happen.

Hello Again

Hello again. 

OK, I know it's been a while and 'Hello again' seems a tad inadequate. To be truthful, I'm returning to the blog at the request of readers of my book. Yes - I said My Book!

In the intervening years since last I wrote here, life has ticked along as it does for everyone. Marriages have taken place, grandchildren have been born, a job and then retirement filled those years.

But through it all I wrote. Researching Olive Wilmot's short but remarkable life was initiated after I closed The Village Linen Cupboard in Newcastle. At that point, it was more of an occupation to fill time than anything but I quickly became determined to present an alternative view to the salacious stories told about her in Newcastle. 

Had They But Known Her is the outcome. Self published in 2018, the book has enjoyed a level of success I never dreamt possible. 

Oh, it's never hit the Best Seller lists but I am continuously surprised and delighted by the interest and enjoyment readers express. Thank you. You have invited me to speak at your Book Clubs (leading to a guided tour of Newcastle 'Olive' sites for one eager club) and to give a talk at St. George's Church in Newcastle. Each individual or group I hear from is a new surprise. All of the attention so far has been by word of mouth; one reader to another; one book club to another.

There is nothing more flattering than to have your book make its way around by personal recommendation. But, apparently, I'm not easy to find for those who would like to know more about me. I thank Linda at the last Book Club I spent time with for letting me know this. 

That's where this blog comes in. Since I am an amalgam of all of my life experiences, I thought it might be interesting for readers to catch a bit of my history so decided to continue on here rather than beginning new.

For those of you who are wondering, I continue to write. Although my first novel (and current one underway) explore historic fiction, my writing style is generally narrative, a touch philosophical, and reaches into the many corners of my life as a women of a certain age. While I'd like this blog to be all about Olive, my thoughts here will be more expansive I think, although it's early days. 

So, que sera sera. What will be will be. 

BTW - for those who stumble on this blog and haven't yet read the book, Had They But Known Her is available from Amazon.ca and .com 

If you'd like to reach out to me, I'd love to hear from you, the all important Reader.