Don't Disturb - Author at Work!

This is what an author does at the cottage in the spring. Bundle up, sit outside and let the waves and wind be your muse.

Working on the second draft of my new genealogical mystery novel "A Grave Secret" Hoping to have it published this year as a second in the Janie Riley series.

My first book featuring Janie was "Death Finds a Way" where Janie was lucky enough to be in Salt Lake City on a research trip.  But being Janie, many more adventures awaited her beyond just looking for her 3rd great-grandmother.

This time Janie flies to the most haunted village in Kent England to search for her 4th great grandparents, John and Susanna Philpott. What will she stumble on this time? Ghosts? Murders?

Sorry but you'll have to read the book to find out!

Be sure to bookmark my author site LorineSchulze.com for updates.

2018 Goals and a Recap of 2017

2017 GOALS RECAP

My goals for 2017 were easy to formulate. I planned to focus even more on my writing. I was 3/4 of the way through a first draft of Janie Riley's second adventure which I hoped to publish in 2017. "A Grave Secret"  follows Janie's journey to the most haunted village in England as she searches for her 4th great-grandparents.

Of course I planned to continue my genealogy research as well.

2017 GOALS - HOW DID I DO?

I did finish the first draft of "A Grave Secret" but sadly was not able to publish it in 2017. I was laid up with quite a bit of pain for 6 weeks last year and that impacted my writing greatly. As well my health issues and physical issues continue to challenge me. But 2018 is around the corner - a new year and as always, I will continue to forge ahead as best I can.

2018 GOALS
 

We bought a cottage on an island last fall so I could have a writing retreat and I can hardly wait for Spring so I can get back full time to my writing! Yes, that's my main goal for 2018 - write, write, and do more writing.

My New Netherland Series of books on 17th century settlers in what is now New York is also going well so I plan to publish several more in that series in 2018.

You can see the list of New Netherland books I have published so far, on my New Netherland section of my Olive Tree Genealogy website.

And now it's your turn! What are your goals for 2018?

Born 100 Years Apart But Will Their Paths Cross?

Katie Donnelly had no idea of the twists and turns her life would take when she left Ireland for New York in 1878. 

Janie Riley, born almost 100 years later, was only going to Salt Lake City to research her 4th great-grandmother. She too had no idea of what other adventures awaited her.

Will their paths cross? What, if anything, will bring them together?

Janie Riley has a habit of stumbling on to dead bodies. Once in Salt Lake City, her search into the past leads her to more than she bargained for. The discovery of a dark secret brings her closer to danger. Can she solve the mysteries of the past and the present, and untangle a web of lies before disaster strikes? 

Find out in my new Genealogy Mystery Novel "Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery" now available on Amazon.com 

But first read a bit of Katie's story: 

The Steamer Baltic, April 5, 1878 

Sixteen-year-old Katie shivered in the cool morning air and pulled her woolen cloak tighter as she nudged her brother. Tendrils of glossy blue-back hair escaped from her hood and she impatiently pushed them back. “Joey!” a soft cry escaped Katie’s lips. “Look! That must be New York!” 

Brother and sister were standing on the deck of the ship that had brought them from Queenstown Ireland. The bow plunged through the murky water and the shoreline loomed closer. “Finally,” muttered Joey, “I can hardly wait to get off this damn thing and on to solid ground again!” 

The passage had not been an easy one. Joey had been ill for most of the voyage across the Atlantic. They were both happy to be on deck where the smell of salt air filled their nostrils. Being stuck below in steerage was miserable. Katie wasn’t sure she would ever get the smell of urine, vomit, and other body waste out of her nostrils. Babies with colic screamed long into the night, hungry children cried for hours, and passengers who were sick moaned and retched with horrible gagging noises. Women cried out in fear on hearing the ship groan and creak as its wooden hull protested with every wave that hit. Katie had taken to wrapping her cloak around her ears at night so that the dreadful sounds were muffled.

She shivered again, partially from the cold and partially from nerves. They were starting a new life in a foreign country. She remembered vividly the day Joey came in from the fields and she had to tell him that their beloved ma was gone. Pa had died of the fever just a few months before and their ma had followed not long after. 

Now here they were here in a city where they knew no one. Joey had a few pounds to see them through until they could find work but Katie was terrified it would not be enough. She hoped that the emigration agent had been telling the truth when he said jobs were there for the taking in New York City. She prayed she could find a position as a maid or downstairs kitchen girl in a good home, while Joey figured that with his strong muscles and young back he’d work on the docks or help in a stable. He was good with horses and even though he was only 18, no one knew more about gentling or taming a horse than he did. 

The cool wind had reddened Katie’s cheeks and they felt numb. She was glad the bad weather had finally lifted and she had something to look at besides waves and gray water. The sun was just coming up and Katie imagined she could feel a slight warmth from it already. She could hear the cries of gulls overhead, this sign of land bringing comfort to her.

Joey nudged her. “Katie, look! I think we’re coming into the harbor.” He pointed to an island on one side, mainland on the other and the narrowing gap of water between them. Their excitement, coupled with apprehension, built. What would happen now? How long would it take to get off the ship, find their baggage, and get on their way? But on their way where? [Excerpt from "Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery" by Lorine McGinnis Schulze]


Information on the author and her books, articles and interviews can be found at LorineSchulze.com

20 Reasons Why You Should Write Your Family History

Recently I spotted an article in a friend's Facebook feed. It was published in February of this year on the New York Public Library's website. It's called 20 Reasons Why You Should Write Your Family History and I encourage my readers to have a look at it.  

The reason I like best, and the same reason I have been saying for years now is this one: 

"You are an important person. You have things to pass on, to your children, to your local history society, to unknown future generations"

That reason was the basis of my weekly Meme called Sharing Memories which I started in 2009. 

 Over  100 Sharing Memories prompts have now been published in an ebook Writing Your Memoirs For Descendants: Prompts for Recording & Preserving Your Family Stories and Memories

PS You do not need a Kindle to read an ebook. Amazon has the free Kindle App. Download the app then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

 

Where (and Why) Are Canadian Genealogists Hiding?

In Gail Dever's blog post Some of the great Canadian genealogists we have lost she mentions that since the results of the Rock Star Genealogist contest, many of us in the Genealogy Community have been disappointed that very few Canadian Genealogists were recognized.

Why is this? Are we Canadians not good at self-promotion and getting known? Are Canadians so Americanized by our Television Shows and Movies that we automatically (and subconsciously) assume that if it's from an American Genealogist it's got to be better?

I should make it very clear that I am not trying to start a turf war of "us against them" - Canadians against Americans! I am merely advocating that we Canadian Genealogists need to get our game faces on and get to a level playing field with (not against) our American friends and neighbours. 

I believe part of the problem is that we Canadians are just not very well known, even in our own country. We don't promote ourselves and we need to do that. 

It was also obvious that it was mostly Genealogy speakers who were finalists in the Rock Star Genealogist contest. There are many excellent speakers and it's terrific that they are being recognized but what about the bloggers and writers? I'd like to see all of those who contribute to Canadian genealogy recognized, not just those who speak at Conferences. 
 


STAND UP AND BE NOTICED

It's time to stand up and be noticed if you are a Canadian genealogy blogger, speaker or author. Are Canadian Genealogy bloggers aware of, and using, Social Media to its full potential? Are they on Twitter, Instagram, Periscope, Facebook, Google+ and Instagram? How about YouTube - do they have their own YouTube Channel? Do they have a mailing list or newsletter? Do others in the genealogy community instantly recognize their name, their logo, or their slogan? 

Branding is the same as advertising. If you want to be known you have to advertise yourself. But that does not mean you have to spam Facebook groups or mailing lists with your posts! Be discreet. 

THE POWER OF PROMOTING OTHERS

We need to promote others. Co-operate with the rest of the Genealogy Community. It's much like the adage "win friends and influence people". We bloggers should not ignore our fellow bloggers  - we need to promote others as well as ourselves.

One of the things I did recently to promote other Genealogy bloggers was to invite several from different countries to respond to 10 Interview Questions I devised. I was happy to feature them with a photo on my blog. Any opportunity to be featured on another blogger's blog or in a newsletter or any other advertising media is a golden opportunity and should be jumped at.


But interestingly enough of the dozen genealogists I reached out to, one was not interested in participating, one never replied to my initial email, two never sent me their Interview Responses after expressing interest, and one told me I would have to remind them periodically as they were "busy" and would "probably forget". Wow. How rude is that response? 

First it implies that I am not busy and have all the time in the world to act as their (unpaid) personal assistant. Secondly it implies that they consider themselves far more important than me. Third they blew any chance of me ever offering to promote them again. I suspect they will lose many opportunities if they treat all offers of exposure and promotion as they did mine. And no, I did not remind this person. If you want to see which genealogists were featured, you can read their biographies here.
  
SOCIAL MEDIA IS YOUR FRIEND

Every Canadian Genealogy speaker, author and blogger should be on all Social Media  sites and should learn how to use them correctly.  There are lots of great articles with tips for using Social Media well. There are rules. There are protocols and there are etiquette expectations. If you are interested in my Social Media presence you can follow me by clicking on the icons below:

             
 
I confess that I almost certainly am unaware of all of the great Canadian genealogy talent that is out there. In fact when I discussed this with my friend Gail Dever, she gave me names of a few Canadian genealogists I had never heard of.



CANADIAN GENEALOGY PERSONALITIES

So here is my list of Canadian Genealogy personalities - and please, if I missed you, leave a comment or write to me and I'll add your name and website or blog. I'm sure there must be more. We live in the second largest country in the world. Why can I only come up with 19 names, one of them my own!

Denyse Beaugrand-Champagne of Histoquest
Fred Blair of War of 1812 Canadian Stories 
Ruth Blair of Blair Archival Research
Elise Cole of Librarians Helping Canadian Genealogists Climb Family Trees  
Gail Dever of Genealogy à la carte
Yvonne Demoskoff of Yvonne's Genealogy Blog
Allison Hare 
Kathryn Lake Hogan of Looking4Ancestors
Janet Iles of Janet the Researcher 
Ken McKinlay of Family Tree Knots
Brenda Dougall Merriman
Janice Nickerson of Upper Canada Genealogy
Dave Obee
John D. Reid of Canada’s Anglo-Celtic Connections
M. Diane Rogers of  CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt' 
Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy  website and blog
Diane Lynn Tibert of Roots to the Past 
Christine Woodcock of Scottish Genealogy Tips & Tricks
Glenn Wright

THE CHALLENGE 

Fellow Genealogists - here's a chance for you to promote a Canadian Genealogy Speaker, Blogger or Writer - who are they? Where are they hiding? Please provide their names and a link to their website or blog in the comment section below. Let's all get to know our Canadian Genealogists. I'm going to add one "rule" regarding bloggers - I only want names of those who are actively blogging and who post fairly regularly.  So please - only add a blogger who has posted within the last 2 weeks.

Fellow Genealogy Bloggers - here is my challenge to you. Promote one Canadian Genealogist on your blog, website, on a Facebook group, or in a Tweet next week. It's not always about self- promotion, it's about co-operation and promoting others too.