Writing

A Writer’s Desk

on November 15, 2021

If you’ve made it here from the SHINE Facebook Group, WELCOME! You not only get a view of my desk (actually a dining table from Pottery Barn), but you get to see my late, great, beloved Belgian Sheepdog Traveller. He was not always an under-the-table kind of dog, but as he got older, he liked… Read More


1919 Lingerie, Anyone?

on November 2, 2021

Not for nothing (another way of saying “My Work-in-Progress takes place in 1919 San Francisco”, I’ve done a lot of research about WWI-ish American women’s lingerie. To keep my research together, I’m collecting together some of these newspaper advertisements today. First, I like to know how much everything costs. Don’t you?   And then, I… Read More


Coroner vs. Medical Examiner

on October 26, 2021

Coroner or Medical Examiner, do you know which “death professional” your city has? It’s a big thing, when you’re writing crime fiction, to make sure that you have the facts straight: does your story setting have a Coroner or a Medical Examiner? Because they do different things, these guys. It’s also important to know when… Read More


Sanborn Maps, List Links, & Hidden Research Resources

on June 23, 2021

Author C.V. Lee recently interviewed me about my love of Sanborn Maps, List Links, and Hidden Research Resources. It’s all here on the PLW YouTube Channel. And for more info about Sanborn Maps, check out my Unlocking the Secrets of Historic American Cities with Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps.  


Sixty Sensational Online Historical Archives

on June 11, 2021

From Gertrude Käsebier to Buffalo Bill to African Americans in WWII to Abigail Adams’ letters to John, there’s something fascinating for everyone in my Sixty Sensational Online Historical Archives on today’s Paper Lantern Writers’ blog. Come on by for Postcards of Peoria, Heart Mountain Relocation Center Records, King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani photos,  first-person narratives… Read More


Thirteen Book Design Cover Contests!

on May 14, 2021

Think you’ve got a great book cover? How about finding out for sure? Today on Paper Lantern Writers! Ever Judge a Book by its Cover?


It’s time to SHINE with Paper Lantern Writers

on April 24, 2021

As a founding member of the Paper Lantern Writers Historical Fiction Author Collective (whew! what a long title!) I’m excited to invite you to join SHINE, our new Facebook Group. SHINE is for readers and writers, editors and researchers, and anyone else who loves to talk about books, especially our favorite historical fiction. Here’s the… Read More


Bathing Beauties, Anyone?

on April 21, 2021

Here’s an absolutely GREAT PHOTO that I couldn’t fit into my Fifty Fabulous Online Library Historical Collections post. It’s titled “Bathing Beauty Pageant, 1925, Huntington Beach, CA” and it’s courtesy of the Library of Congress.