Comments on: Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader: A Source of Inspiration?

By: Lynn

Lynn — Fri, 27 May 2011 01:26:26 +0000

Lorna, I grew up, went all through school in Kansas and don’t recall learning about Miss Clifford Mitchell. I Googled her and found a lengthy article written in 1901 about her and her family.

Oddly enough, she was the firstborn and had a brother and sister. Her parents came from Ohio to KS and her ancestors before that came from VA. This is a history very similar to my ancestors who came from VA and then Ohio.

I couldn’t find whether she ever married or not, but I didn’t look any further. Very interesting. I will look at my ancestors now in a different light to see if there could be any stories there. Thanks.

Lynn

By: Linda Fulkerson

Linda Fulkerson — Tue, 10 May 2011 14:04:09 +0000

Thanks for sharing your story sources with us! I love newspapers and reading about what happened “way back when.”

By: Shannon Taylor Vannatter

Shannon Taylor Vannatter — Tue, 10 May 2011 13:24:05 +0000

I’ve never heard of Uncle John either. Never would have imagined.

On names, Shannon used to be a man’s name. I know two men named Shannon.

By: Lorna Seilstad

Lorna Seilstad — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:44:16 +0000

Thank you, Judy! And I’m sure I can loan you a few Uncle John’s if you need some inspiration.

By: Judy Miller

Judy Miller — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:44:48 +0000

I may have to be purchasing some of those Uncle John books once I finish writing my current ideas. And for anyone who hasn’t yet read A Great Catch, you’re in for a treat that’s better than a ballpark hot dog!

By: Regina Merrick

Regina Merrick — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:23:15 +0000

Hmmmm. I keep thinking about that western I started where Jack . . . Um, I mean anOTHER Jack . . . is a US Marshal in Wyoming Territory . . .

By: Lorna

Lorna — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:16:13 +0000

Hey all, I just found an article at http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/10-most-popular-professions-for-romance-novel-heroes_b28447 about the 10 most popular professionas for romance novel heroes. After analyzing 15,000 romance novels, here are the results.

1. Doctor
2. Cowboy
3. Boss
4. Prince
5. Rancher
6. Knight
7. Surgeon
8. King
9. Bodyguard
10. Sheriff

Now, in the interest of stirring your imagination, does that make you want to write about one of those carreers or make you want to find a different one? Personally, I’m partial to baseball players, sailing instructors, and roller coaster designers (and FBI agents, of course).

By: Lorna

Lorna — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:50:47 +0000

Regina, maybe Clifford and Carol could get married. Wouldn’t that be a fun story to write.

Jerri, a Yankee? Well she was from Kansas and they went both ways. I think you’ll find the Chronicling site quite fascinating.

By: Lorna

Lorna — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:49:03 +0000

Kav, the children’s section? What a wonderful idea! I’ll have to check that out.

And I’m glad you enjoyed the baseball research. While I was writing A GREAT CATCH, I asked for a baseball history book for Christmas. My hubby got it for me and said, “I never in my wildet dreams thought I’d ever be buying YOU this.”

By: JerriLynn

JerriLynn — Mon, 09 May 2011 16:48:29 +0000

History is so rich with story ideas. I didn’t know about the Library of Congress’s Chronicling of America. That does sound like an interesting resource if I ever start to work on something that needs a little historical fact.

And Miss Clifford Mitchell? She sounds like a Yankee to me.