What Writing a Novel Taught Me About Breast Cancer

Sometimes I feel too much attention is given to breast cancer over other deadly cancers.

Then while researching the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of breast cancer for Call of the Siren, I came upon this paper from 2000: Breast Cancer in the 20th Century: Quest for the Ideal Therapy.

As I scanned the research looking for particular information, I read this. The statistic for 1990 was sobering to say the least:

"Medical history will record that breast cancer was one of the most significant health threats facing women in the 20th century. 

"In the 1990s alone, more American women died of the disease than all the U.S. lives lost in war from the Civil War to Vietnam. 

"It has been (conservatively) estimated that 1,000,000 women died of breast cancer in this country between 1950 and 1990 (21). 

"From 1930 to 1990 there was NO improvement in cure rates; however, in the mid-1990s a clear trend towards better survival was noted."

To read the entire study, visit https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3117557/

Five Facts From History the BryonySeries Taught Me, Part Two

In the first post of this kind, I'd mentioned how part of the fun of writing novels with a historical basis is, well, learning the history behind them.

Here are five more facts about history I didn't know before I wrote the BryonySeries prequel, Before The Blood.

1) I learned A LOT about one of the most brutal wars in human history, a war of which I had almost no knowledge before the research.

And that war is the 30 Years War.

2) A variation of vichyssoise can be made with two other ingredients - and now I want to try this version.

The ingredients are almonds and grapes.

3) I learned the lyrics more cowboy songs I ever knew existed - and two lines to one from the Civil War won't leave my head.

The lines are:

 I'm lonesome since I crossed the hill

And over the moor that's sedgy

Such lonely thoughts my heart do fill

Since parting with my Betsy

And I discovered the music to many of them on YouTube.

4) I can name a number of restaurants that no longer exist in Chicago - and tell you what they served.

Here's one: Henrici's.

5) I had never heard of cordgrass - but now I know what it is and where it grows - and why (even though the "why" didn't make it into the story).

You can see a photo here.

Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."

Five Facts From History the BryonySeries Taught Me, Part One

Part of the fun of writing novels with a historical basis is, well, learning the history behind them.

Unfortunately, the research involved can also greatly lengthen the time it takes to write said novels.

For one, the research must get done. What did people of French descent eat on Christmas Eve in the late nineteenth century (I know this answer to this one!).

Also, it's simply too easy to get lost in the enjoyment of the research itself, which leads to another click of the mouse to this site and to another one over here.

Here are five (for now) facts about history I didn't know before I wrote the BryonySeries prequel, Before The Blood.


1) Ellis Island was not the first immigration center.

It was Castle Garden, now known as the Castle Clinton National Monument. The site was originally a fort, then a theater (where P.T. Barnum once brought Jenny Lind to sing), the immigration center, and an aquarium.


2) Old St. Patrick's Cathedral (not the "new" one) has an interesting tourist attraction.

Catacombs.


3) A company still around today started the pension system.

American Express, followed by railroad companies, such as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company.


4) New York was home to two interesting industries.

"Rogue" slaughterhouses was one of them. The other you probably already know: opium.


5) A certain "cocktail" was used both as a stimulant and a poison, depending on the amounts. In fact, it used to be a favorite of Olympic athletes.

Strychnine and brandy.

Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."

Finally Figured Out Why Progress is So Slow

Yes, it's true fiction-writing these days is mostly confined to a day (or two) - the actual writing part, I mean, not the mental writing and note jotting.

It's excruciatingly slow progress for most of the chapters in Before the Blood, which has left me wishing for ways to speed it up.

Then I had this "aha!" moment while working on a scene Thursday afternoon. It won't fix the problem, but it did provide much-welcomed insight.

It's not overall lack of time that's ultimately slowly my progress and dampening the muse. It's the research, not the overall research, but the picky little research that's needed as I write a scene.

Consider a nineteenth century Thanksgiving potluck in the basement.

1) What might be under those dishes, not just for the time period, but for the region? Would a remote area of northern Michigan around 1870 have potatoes? Apples?

2) If food is brought already prepared, how is it kept warm during services?

3) The "furnace" was upstairs. Was the basement heated?

4) So if the men are passing around the alcoholic beverages, what are they drinking?

5) Entertainment? What kind?

6) And let's not forget some authentic text for the service itself, for atmosphere, if nothing else.

And these are just the ones that come to mind at five a.m. Monday morning,

Furthermore, everytime I stopped to browse, I got sidetracked into something interesting and only remotely related. And another hour would pass.

BUT, it's worth it.

Last night, I sent about130,000 words to Sarah for a beta read. As I scrolled through the chapters I'd composed over the last year, I was amazed at their depth: in setting, time, character development and voice, plot.

Plodding along on the first draft road is tedious and laborious, but, oh!

Oh, the progress, the satisfying, exhilarating progress!