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I hate to ask, but in the world of computer algorithms, reviews really matter. It’s been a great month since “When He Was Gone” was published. So many friends, family, and others I haven’t even had the chance to meet in person, have been so supportive. We had a great day at the Author &…

I am excited to have the opportunity to share my newly published novel at a locally oriented event in Travelers Rest! I’ll be at As the Page Turns bookstore along with other local authors and artisans from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday September 14. I’ll have paperbacks and hard copies available. and will…

The city of Greenville has become a mecca for coffee lovers, with dozens of independently owned coffee shops and several local roasters, not to mention more than a dozen Starbucks and other chains. Some local shops have garnered national acclaim. Methodical, for instance, has been designated one of the “Best Coffee Shops in America.” Bon…

In the 1960s, Virginia Slims cigarettes popularized the tag line, “You’ve come a long way, baby,” but in truth, the road to women’s rights in the United States has been a long and often rocky one, and one in which setbacks are still being faced.  Elizabeth Garraux’s personal success in the late 1800s, as recounted…

We are very fortunate to live in the lovely city of Greenville, South Carolina. I moved to the city in 2007, after years of living in several cities around the country, working as a broadcast new journalist, and eventually, a digital news managing editor. We ended up living in a neighborhood just north of the…

July Fourth celebrations, including parades and fireworks, have been a part of American life in Greenville and all across the country since the 18th century. Drinking has also always been a component of the holiday, since the 1700s, when local pubs were filled with rowdy toasts to independence, the Constitution and the president. George Washington…

I took a break from researching, writing, and querying my novel over the past several weeks to undergo very successful spinal surgery. Less than eight weeks later, I am, so to speak, back in the saddle again! My genius surgeon, Dr. Stephen Swinford, of the Southeast Neurology and Spine Institute, looks like a teenager, and…

Elizabeth Garraux planted a wisteria vine at the family’s homestead in Greenville that grew so outstandingly, it was mentioned in newspaper articles several times. Initially, the vine was written about as having a stem as big around as a man’s boot. Later it was described as having a woody trunk that was “as thick as…

Elizabeth Garraux, the central figure of my novel, “When He Was Gone,” became well-known for being a great cook during the late 1800s in Greenville. A newspaper article even mentioned the tantalizing smells of freshly baked bread, and meats slow-roasted in brown sugar and spices coming from her kitchen. So, what was cooking and dining…

It’s super fun to see a magazine article about my book, “When He Was Gone,” before its even in print! Lila James, with the North Main magazine, is a history buff, and she’s excited about the impending publication of my historical fiction novel. Elizabeth Garraux, the main character, whose true life story is the basis…

Wineries have recently begun popping up in the Upstate, though most either import bottles of wine from California or elsewhere, or they use grape juice from other locations to make wine.  Only a few of them, including Eagle Mountain Vineyard and Winery, in Travelers Rest, and City Scape Winery, in Pelzer, have planted their own…

As each person as a life story, so does every old building. Elizabeth Garraux, whose true story is told in my historical novel, “When He Was Gone,” probably shopped in this grocery store in the 1880s and ‘90s when it was the Ferguson & Miller Grocery.  Even back then, the stout brick building was fairly…

Greenville is the setting of my historical fiction novel, “When He Was Gone,” which is focused on the remarkable true story of Elizabeth Garraux, one of the city’s early settlers. So, what was Greenville like back then? The city is now the state’s sixth largest, with a population of 74,000. But in the 1890s, Greenville…

The site of the old Greenville News building has recently been transformed into spiffy Camperdown Plaza, but long ago, it was the location of one of Greenville’s early successful businesses. George Heldman was a contemporary of Elizabeth Garraux, whose life story is the focus of my novel, “When He Was Gone.” George was a saddlemaker…

You may have ridden in or have at least seen the free trolleys that run through downtown Greenville, but you may not know that trolleys started moving people around the city almost 150 years ago. The Street Railway Company laid the first trolley tracks in 1875. There were seven cars pulled along the 2.25 miles…

With Christmas weeks away, poinsettias are already beginning to show up in stores — but you may have also noticed that the name Poinsett is common in Greenville.  There’s the Poinsett hotel, bridge, highway, apartment complex, and the upcoming Christmas parade that bears the name. Since flower growing was a dominant part of Elizabeth Garraux’s…

When the Garrauxs built their farm on what is currently Garraux Street (that runs from North Main to Bennett), the dirt road that was Greenville’s Main Street ended at about Stone Avenue. Elizabeth and Frederick Garraux cut in their own dirt road to their home and farm in the 1800s. It is likely they planted…

The iconic Wyche Pavilion in downtown Greenville was built in the mid-1800s by a contemporary of the Garrauxs, the subjects of my book, “When He Was Gone.” The big, brick structure was built as a paint shop for the highly successful Gower, Cox and Markley Carriage Company (the wooden building in the foreground). The carriage…

Can you imagine leaving your home and only being able to take with you whatever fits in a large suitcase? What would you pack, knowing it would be all you could carry into your future life? Like all immigrants to America in the 1800s, the Garraux family of 10 left Switzerland with only what would…

From 1855 to 1890, before Ellis Island opened, about 8 million immigrants were processed through Castle Garden. My book, “When He Was Gone,” includes the story of the Garraux family’s journey to America and their arrival at Castle Garden. It was originally a fort built to defend NY against the British in the War of…