Happy month of July, everyone! Now that I've told you what inspired my writing of Memphis in our Hearts (so what if thirty plus years went by before I got started on it?) There is so much information available on the net it's just mind-boggling. How did we ever get along without it? FYI, fellow writers (most of you already know) all you have to do when you want information on something is 'think yellow pages.' Type in the very thing you're looking for and if that exact thing doesn't come up, you will at least be pointed in the right direction where to look further. I looked up some of the history of the city of Memphis itself, of things that were happening in the period of time I was writing about, and of course, about the particular things as I came to them. One wonderful thing I came across, the reason I said the research is as interesting as any fictiion novel, is the history of the Commercial Appeal in Memphis. Always an admirer of this great paper, I was fascinated by the things I read about it. As for what was happening in and around the time I was writing about, it's a matter of public record. I'll list just a few related things here. When my heroine, Jamai Allen, came home from school in England the war had been over long enough to breed chaos and danger in the transition from war to peace and it was in spots an uncomfortable peace. When the Yankees (the editor said I had to put a capital on this- he! he! he!) took Memphis, the Commercial Appeal that pro-south, tell it like it is (and in some cases like we feel it) newspaper, grabbed up their presses and ran to Grenada, Mississippi. It wasn't far enough. They'd been so outspoken they were on the 'dangerous' hit list if there was one at the time. The Union troops chased them all around the South (this capital was my own idea), caught up with them in Georgia, and smashed their presses. Meanwhile, with the Commercial Appeal gone a few weekly newspapers sprang up. One of the three families Memphis in our Hearts is about owned one of those newspapers and supplied news and 'social glue' to hold the community together as well as to supply the need and hunger for a newspaper. The whole time I was writing this I pictured Hal Holbrook as Sam (smart, sarcastic, warm hearted and sometimes funny along with it - I guess you're just going to have to read the book to tell if you picture Hal Holbrook as Sam too : - )) I know all of you are busy whether it's with your own writing, reading, or just living - I'll take up here tomorrow. Please come back. Break's over!