Author name: Sayling@@Away

As a run-up to the publication of The Last Pilgrim, I am re-posting blog pieces I wrote earlier about the Separatists. Remember, they were not called ‘Pilgrims’ until named that by William Bradford toward the middle of the 17th century. When the Separatists finally settled on what is now Plymouth to be their home, their food supplies were spoiled and running low. They had long before run out of fresh water, which they were able to renew from springs they discovered in their explorations of Cape Cod. One of the things this site offered was a brook with good water, which teemed with spawning fish once a year. The was no livestock on the Mayflower. The only animals mentioned in any historical reports are two dogs, an English mastiff and an English spaniel. However, they must have brought some chickens because chickens wandered freely in the early village and were fed worms because grain was in short supply. Here were possibly some goats and pigs. By 1623, a visitor to the colony reported there were six goats, fifty pigs and many chickens. The Fortune was the second ship to reach the Plymouth Colony, but other than the passenger manifest, I’ve been unable to find any mention of animals aboard. The first cows arrived on the ship Anne in 1623, and they were nicknamed the ‘Great Black Cow,’ the ‘Lesser Black Cow,’ and the ‘Great White-Backed Cow.’ By 1627, two of them had had calves.  Onboard the Jacob in 1624 were four black heifers. By May 1627, there were 16 head of cattle and at least 22 goats living in the colony. So the Pilgrims initially had a source of eggs, possibly some pork (after the pigs had offspring) and maybe a bit of goat’s milk; however, they had no butter, milk, cheese or cream. I’ve found no mention of goat cheese. They had no flour, except for what they brought with them, and that would undoubtedly have been moldy after so long in the Mayflower’s lowest deck. After the first year’s corn harvest, they had corn flour for making bread. They did plant barley (for beer) and peas in the spring of 1621, but the plants did poorly, possibly because, unlike the corn, they lacked fertilizer. The Pilgrims were taught how to grow corn by the Wampanoags, specifically Squanto – two fish were planted with a few corn kernels, and squash was planted around the corn stalks and twined around them as the corn grew, providing the corn with shade from the sun. The Indians also taught them how to fish and hunt. Remember that the Pilgrims were not farmers but craftsmen and tradesmen, used to purchasing their food, and they knew little of survival skills. How amazing is it then, that they survived? In his journal for the year 1622, William Bradford, the second governor of the Plymouth colony, recorded the landing of new colonists from England. Bradford confessed that he and his fellow colonists were humiliated because with their limited food resources, that they had little  better to offer the newcomers than lobster.                                                              from www.Plimoth.org One thing I’ve found is that Plymouth Harbor teemed with fish of all sorts, and the nearby streams had eels. In fact, I used to play in one of them (aptly named Eel River) when I was a child. There were abundant wild turkeys, swans, geese and ducks, and deer and rabbits in the forests. Plus there were mussels, clams and lobsters – the latter so common that they could be plucked by the bushel from the nearest tidal pool. In considering what the Pilgrims ate, you must consider what was normal for the time: beer, bread, meat and cheese. English settlers looked on seafood – except for oysters and eels – with scorn.  The Pilgrims wanted meat, not anything from the sea. They weren’t trained as fisherman and had brought the wrong size fish hooks. They had to fashion some when it was clear they would need fish to fertilize their corn and feed their pigs.                                                              Myles standish’s cooking pot With regard to drink, beer was the preferred drink for the whole family, even children. It is possible, from some of what I’ve read, that a few families in Plymouth brewed a small amount of beer from corn in the first years. Most had to drink water, which at that time was considered unhealthy! Eventually the colonists realized their children remained healthy, despite drinking water instead of beer. Cow’s milk was not considered good to drink either, and when it was eventually available it was usually made into butter or cheese, or cooked with grain to make porridges. From all this, it is clear that one of the Plymouth colonists’ main goal was to get food on their tables, in order to survive. Most of the work that they did — hunting, fishing, farming, gardening, cooking, and taking care of their animals — had to do with getting and preserving food, enough for the whole year. The women had brought a few spices with them, and they grew onions, garlic, lettuces, carrots, parsnips, squash and pumpkins during their first year in the New World. But imagine a diet without dairy products, flour, sugar, oil, vinegar, wine and barley for beer. While these staples eventually arrived yearly on ships from England, the Pilgrims’ first two years were hard! And yet, after the first winter, they were a hale and hearty population – perhaps because of a healthy diet? 0 1

I was introduced to Tony Riches when I read his Tudor Trilogy and reviewed all three books. I loved them and wasn’t sure whether I would enjoy another series from this author quite as well. I’m pleased to say that the first in the Brandon Trilogy – Mary, Tudor Princess –  is very much up to what I’d hope for.  The author creates plausible and well-rounded characters against the background of detailed and true history. His writing engages the reader’s interest and doesn’t let go. Another draw for me was that the central character here is not Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, but Mary, his sister. In literature, she is eclipsed by the charisma and outrageousness of her brother and one might think Mary would be cunningly used by Henry as a pawn in his machinations to maintain and increase his power. As it turns out, Mary is as clever a Tudor as Henry. As drawn by the author, Mary’s life is not an easy one. Her mother and father both died when she still young, and she knew her brother would use her marriage for political gains. Mary was first betrothed to Charles, the son of Philip I of Castile, who would become the Holy Roman Emperor. But when Henry sees a better opportunity for himself, the engagement is called off, and Henry sends her instead to France, where at the age of 18, she marries the elderly and ailing King Louis XII. She treats the king with kindness and respect, but when he dies, she wants to marry the man with whom she is already in love, Charles Brandon, the first Duke of Suffolk. The author creates in Mary a clever, loyal and sympathetic woman, who risks the king’s anger to marry and raises both children and step children in a loving household.  But the Tudor world is turbulent and dangerous, and she must carefully balance her affection for Queen Catherine against the machinations of the ambitious and calculating Ann Boleyn. Keeping her family and her husband safe against the predations of the royal court and Henry’s demands is occasionally overwhelming, especially later as she deals with a progressive illness. I delighted in the detail of the court and was impressed with the difficulties from the political maneuvering and complex drama of Henry’s court that Mary had to manage. Mr. Riches draws a colorful web against the history of the time. Mary – Tudor Princess is quite different from the books of the Tudor trilogy, and it took some adjustment on my part. It lacks in the head-long action of those trilogy books, seen from a male point of view, but this book presents Tudor history through a woman’s eyes – totally different, just as revealing, and just as much a compelling read. Kudos to the author. I highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction, and especially to those enamored with the Tudor era, as something quite different in the telling. About the author Tony Riches was born in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, and spent part of his childhood in Kenya. He gained a BA degree in Psychology and an MBA from Cardiff University and worked as a Management Consultant, followed by senior roles in the Welsh NHS and Local Government. After writing several successful non-fiction books, Tony decided to turn to novel writing. His real interest is in the history of the fifteenth century, and now his focus is on writing historical fiction about the lives of key figures of the period. His novels Warwick, The Man Behind the Wars of the Roses and The Secret Diary of Eleanor Cobham have both become Amazon best sellers. Today Tony has returned to Pembrokeshire, an area full of inspiration for his writing, where he lives with his wife. In his spare time he enjoys sailing and sea kayaking. Visit Tony online at www.tonyriches.co.uk Tony Riches Author on Facebook and on Twitter @tonyriches. Mary – Tudor Princess can be found on Amazon: 0 0

I am a huge fan of Mae Clair, having wandered happily through pretty much everything she’s written. Take a pinch of history, a curse or time-traveling threat, a touch of the supernatural and a whole lot of mystery and you have one of her books! A Desolate Hour is the last in her Point Pleasant series, but you don’t need to read the first or second to enjoy this one – the creepiness is nicely explained as the story unfolds. This book is a superb ending to the series. Something happened in the area in 1777 – the brutal murder of a Shawnee Chief who cursed the town of Point Pleasant with his dying breath. At the same point in time, a man named Obadiah Creech (great name!) performed a ceremony of evil incantation in revenge for the death of his wife, and Jonathan Marsh happened upon it. Over the years, the town has been devastated by a series of catastrophes and is barely managing to stay alive as a result. Adding to its sad history are the sightings over the centuries of a supernatural being the townspeople call the Mothman, an enormous alien being with huge wings and dazzling red eyes. Living now in Point Pleasant is a descendant of Obadiah Creech – Shawn Creech, former winning dirt-track racer but now a day laborer and a drunk, being divorced by his wife for domestic violence. Quentin Marsh, a descendant of Jonathan Marsh, arrives in town to see if he can determine why, when twins are born into his family, one of them always meets disaster. His sister is carrying twins and wants him to discover the nature of the curse and why their family is involved. Was his ancestor involved in the killing of the Shawnee Chief? Sarah Sherman, a historian working at the town library, helps Quentin in his search. Although she doesn’t believe in curses, she feels compelled to use her knowledge of Point Pleasant to uncover the long-buried truth, perhaps because she and Quentin possess eerily similar family heirlooms. As the two of them dig into the past, Shawn Creech become possessed by an evil spirit linked to Obadiah’s hunting knife. The deeper Sarah and Quentin go in their search, the more the ancient mystical forces surrounding Point Pleasant become enraged. I’d love to say more, but I want the reader to discover the enjoyment of a good read for themselves. As I’ve said with previous books, Mae Clair has crafted a gem of a creepy thriller about supernatural occurrences and a centuries-old monster. The tale is chilling, but not particularly gory. I loved the characters, so well-drawn, and the author is supremely talented at physical descriptions, which add color and atmosphere to the overall tension of the story. There are many twists and turns in the plot, and I couldn’t wait for the author to resolve all the questions she created for me. This is one book a reader cannot put down, and I highly recommend it. About the author A member of the Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers, Mae loves creating character driven fiction in settings that weave contemporary elements of mystery and suspense with urban legend and folklore. Married to her high school sweetheart, she lives in Pennsylvania, and is passionate about writing, old photographs, a good Maine lobster tail and cats. You can find her On twitter: @maeclair1 On the internet at: https://maeclair.net/ And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maeclairauthor/ A Desolate Hour is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Desolate-Hour-Point-Pleasant-Book-ebook/dp/B01MDPY2A5/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=A+Desolate+HOur+by+mae+clair&qid=1583510716&s=books&sr=1-1 0 0

A new arrival on February 11, Elias James. ‘Nuff said! 0 0

I am re-posting this from Maureen Johnson, who writes on CRIME READS and who has this warning for all fans of Midsomer Murders. I found it on Nicholas Rossi’s blog. ****** It’s happened. You’ve finally taken that dream trip to England. You have seen Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Hyde Park. You rode in a London cab and walked all over the Tower of London. Now you’ve decided to leave the hustle and bustle of the city and stretch your legs in the verdant countryside of these green and pleasant lands. You’ve seen all the shows. You know what to expect. You’ll drink a pint in the sunny courtyard of a local pub. You’ll wander down charming alleyways between stone cottages. Residents will tip their flat caps at you as they bicycle along cobblestone streets. It will be idyllic. Unless you end up in an English Murder Village. It’s easy enough to do. You may not know you are in a Murder Village, as they look like all other villages. So when you visit Womble Hollow or Shrimpling or Pickles-in-the-Woods or Nasty Bottom or Wombat-on-Sea or wherever you are going, you must have a plan. Below is a list of sensible precautions you can take on any trip to an English village. Follow them and you may just live. ___________________________________ PLACES TO AVOID ___________________________________ The village fête The village fête is a fair, a celebration on the village green. They toss coconuts, judge cakes, drink tea, and whack toy rats with mallets. It’s a nice way to spend a summer’s day and thin out the local population, because where there is a fête, there is murder. If you enter a town while the fête is happening, you are already dead. The tea urn is filled with poison. The sponge cakes are full of glass. There’s an axe in the fortune telling tent. The coconuts are bombs. It’s like the Hunger Games, but dangerous. You can read the rest at:     It’s hilarious! Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village 0 0

I’ve been the beneficiary of a number of new followers in the last few months. Since I can’t thank them individually (as you know I am STILL editing my book), I decided I would tell you about them as a way of giving them a group hug. THANK YOU! Abe Box Blog at https://abebox.wordpress.com/    A site about naturopathic medicinehttps://itinerant-scribe.com RamblingGrandma – I couldn’t find her web site, but I think her for following me https://eluminoracreations.wordpress.com a blog site whose author writes short stories, poety, reviews books and a talented pen and ink artist Diego D. Loamx at https://ddlomax.wordpress.com who describes himself  as a child of the 80’s, a teenager of the 90’s, and a huge fanboy; a hopeful writer who has created a trilogy called Dream of Dragons.  I know some of my blog followers might like his books. https://lifenvi.science.blog/ created in 2019 and covers broad topics such as science, economy, politics, entertainment, culture, and how they relate to the climate change (climate crisis) issues – and eco-conscious living. https://violatogon.wordpress.com created to create awareness in its followers about living with epilepsy https://eproductresearch.com which researches the best online shopping websites in India (Barb Taub might like this one!) MJ on https://mjquotes.blog Inspirational quotes and writing https://sivuyiledaniel.wordpress.com/ whose author is Sivuyile Daniel,a South African author of Rough Diamond in the Rain, music teacher and founder of Eight Notes Academy Brainy Janey at https://anticipatience.home.blog  This blog specializes in book reviews – some pretty good ones from the looks of it. You might want to visit. Rain Alchemist at https://creativepoetrycollection.com/ Its author is Vinayak and writing has been his passion from a long time. There is a collection of his poems there, quite lovely. Abigail Mercy at https://abigailmercywrites.wordpress.com is a writer from Ghana. Her blog is also entitled Black Ink, and concerns technology, motivation,travel, and politics accompanied by some spectacular photographs. Lou des Anges at https://spacetimebae.wordpress.com writes a very popular blog called Space Time Bae filled with poetry. She describes herself an insatiable poet, who likes writing, feeding her brain, cooking vegan recipes, nature, ducks, road trips, listening to the same song until her soul can’t take it anymore, funny people, authenticity, and throwing her soul into the cosmos. Jehanne at https://itinerant-scribe.com. Her blog is a lot like mine, with offerings in history, events, family, and travel along with calligraphy, illumination, materials and tools (these last are not found in mine). Great medieval illustrations! R Duncanheart at https://heartsshare.blog/  who is the wife of a Software Engineering Director, mother of 3 grown daughters and recently a grandmother. She has a degree in Business Administration focusing on Organizational Management, and enjoys writing to encourage others with epilepsy and other chronic illnesses/ disorders to which she can relate. paris100@orange.fr Frank at https://frasecillas.com He write in Spanish and if my translation is correct his blog contains phrases, poetry, short stories and other writings. Jack Black at https://jackblack.home.blog – a new blogger just blogging about his life. Urban Vyass blogs at https://maharajagar.com. For more than ten years, he got around on a boat, but now he gets most of his utilities by magic just like everyone else who lives on land. He has published a book The Beginning: A Multicultural Tale of Transformation (The Maharajagar Book 1), a mash up of adventure, metaphysics, science and history. It sounds pretty interesting. 0 0

My Scottish Gaelic class is challenging and when I’m not struggling with verbs and learning vocabulary, I am on a third edit of my book. Here is a picture of the final, wrap-around cover: And a teaser – an excerpt from a chapter in The Last Pilgrim, when the Plymouth colony is hit by a well-documented and destructive hurricane. I wrote this from personal experience, knowledge, because my family hunkered down in the living room when Hurricane Hazel passed over Plymouth, including  – if I remember the event correctly – the  eye. ***** A great storm buffeted Plymouth in late August of that year. It began with a darkening of the sky with huge clouds rolling by at great speed, followed by steadily increasing winds. In anticipation of the storm, we drew buckets of water from the well to drink and brought our goats and the chickens inside along with their feed. We left the pigs and our new cow to fend for themselves. Soon the fierceness of the wind confined us within the house. We gathered by the hearth as the noise of the wind increased to where we couldn’t hear each other speak, and streams of air blew in through cracks and under the door. How was Thomas? Where was he? I feared for his life with each buffet of wind that shook the house. We heard the ripping of splintering wood as the clapboards of our roof tore off. I wondered if the thatched roofs of some of our neighbors would survive at all. Joseph cried out with the quakes of the house, and I tried to distract the children with stories from the Bible. We took turns praying for salvation. After some hours of terror, when the winds had calmed a little, Master Bradford ventured out, even as his wife implored him not to. He returned visibly shaken by what he had seen, telling us the water along the ocean shore was many meters higher than normal, and enormous waves pounded the sand. He had had to pick his way there, so many trees had fallen. This exited the boys and they pleaded to see for themselves, but Master Bradford settled them with a thunderous, “No!” The winds then increased again, and until the storm passed, there was little to do but milk the goats and make sure the chickens were fed. Eventually, after a hasty meal of cornbread and dried meat, the children fell asleep, and eventually the rest of us did as well. During the night, we heard a crash when as part of our chimney fell into the fireplace, wind sweeping from the chimney hole into the house along with some rain. Master Bradford told us there was nothing we could do about it and to go back to sleep. Still, I slept fitfully, waking often with the noise of the wind and the fearful thought that Thomas may not have survived. When we arose the next morning, we walked out into a new world. Now longer did a palisade surround the farm, and the chicken house and lean-to for the goats, along with most of the fencing, had disappeared. The cow and the pigs were gone. Mistress Bradford’s garden lay flattened, and in the distance we saw the naked roots of many overturned trees. Pine trees had broken off at various heights. The roof had sustained serious damage with the loss of clapboards, and of course most of the chimney was missing. Viewing this destruction made us even more grateful for our survival. Before breaking our fast, we knelt and gave thanks to God for keeping us all safe. Mistress Bradford expressed some unease about cooking over the hearth with the chimney gone, but her husband reassured her it was possible. After the boys removed what had fallen into the hearth, she lit a fire, but it generated so much smoke in the house that we all fled outside, coughing violently. After that, she had the boys build a fire-bed in the yard. Thomas Constant brought out the iron tripod from which to hang a large kettle, along with the smaller kettle with legs and a flat fry pan to place on the coals. For the next few weeks, rain or shine, this is where Mistress Bradford cooked, until the chimney was rebuilt. Thomas Cushman arrived right after we ate our first meal cooked outside. He was out of breath and anxious, but broke into a smile when he saw me unhurt. He wrapped me tight in his arms, right in front of Mistress Bradford, telling me, “Thank God. I prayed you were unharmed and came as soon as I could.” “Tsk,” I head from my mistress. “Did you not pray for us too, Thomas?” She smiled broadly as she said this. “And you should be more reserved in your affections in public.” “I’m glad to see you all are well,” Thomas quickly replied. “And I will.” “Have some food. You must have set out early to be here so soon.” “Thank you, Mistress Bradford. I’ve not eaten since yesterday morning.” Taking me aside, he brought me close to his chest and whispered, “I feared for you, Mary. I didn’t sleep for worrying.” His words had my emotions soaring. “You was worried for you as well, Thomas. But thanks be to God, we both survived.” I reached up and touched his cheek in affection. After Thomas had eaten, the governor announced he was going to the Plymouth settlement to see how it had fared. Thomas proposed to go with him and promised they would return before nightfall. The governor had dragged the boat far up the bank when the storm first began, and it and its sail had survived, so we all went to the river bank to watch as Thomas rowed the boat down the swollen river and raised the sail. Nathaniel, young William, and Constant and Thomas Southworth then left in search of remains of the palisade, fencing, and

Happy New Year to everyone and failte oirbk back to my blog.  That’s welcome in Gaelic. I decided to take a class in beginning Gaelic at UNC and I must say the first class was daunting. It’s a challenge to find the significant amount of time each day required to  master the pronunciation and vocabulary. I’m just auditing but the class is full of linguistic majors who are very quick learners. Why did I do this?                                                                   I am nuts! At the same time I am doing two edits of The Last Pilgrim – now finishing up the last third of the book following comment from my editor (thank you, Alison Williams)  and going over it yet again before I send a few chapters at a time to my copy editor. So I’ve sort of dropped off the radar….sorry. I do read blog posts but have so little time to comment, even when I’m itching to do so. I will post another clip for you to read shortly, but in the meantime, here is the beginning mock-up of the cover, FYI. You may hear a HELP! from me soon! 0 0

This is my favorite story of the birth of Christ. It is the Gospel of St. Luke, and I have heard it so many times I can recite it by heart. This Gospel fills me with peace and joy. ***** In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” ***** Wishing you all the peace and joy of this season, no matter your religion. 0 0

I am re-blogging this from Sue Vincent’s blog, Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo: Sue has a really charming dog named Ani, with whom hundreds if not thousands are in love. Ani writes books and posts, so check her out! ****** Dear Santa, here’s my Christmas list, It’s just about that time, And as an Indie writer Thought I’d submit mine in rhyme. I know you’re overworking And your mailbox must be full, So maybe a poetic list Might have that extra ‘pull’? ….You can read the rest at: https://scvincent.com/2019/12/03/anis-advent-calendar-2019-an-indie-christmas/ Available from Amazon UK , Amazon US and worldwide for Kindle and in Paperback. 0 0