If you traveled back in time to an American city in 1918, one of the first things you’d notice is hats. Lots and lots of hats. At any outdoor gathering there would be a veritable sea of hats! Walking along city streets men and women would be wearing hats – many of them the white straw boaters popular during that decade. In my forthcoming novel, which is set largely in 1918, you’ll notice how pervasive they are. Hats continued to be common until the mid-twentieth century. But

My next time travel novel is set in Atlanta in 1918. America has entered WW1 and women are stepping into previously all-male jobs. It was a time of growing freedom for women who would finally get the right to vote the following year. Here’s a (fictional) account of what it was like by a young woman working as an elevator operator in 1918. "My name is Cassie Owens. Not to brag or anything, but I’ve been on the job as elevator operator for two weeks. I wear a blue uniform with

Would you pay to watch Connie the Contortionist? If you were an average American in 1918, chances are the answer to that question would be ‘yes!’ Because Vaudeville was at the peak of its popularity, filling seats in theaters where audiences paid good money to watch trained animals, tap dancers, comedians, and yes, contortionists, do their thing. A couple of characters in my next time travel novel work at a Vaudeville theater in Atlanta. And while you may shake your head at s

In early 1900s Atlanta, street traffic included trolleys, automobiles, horse-drawn wagons and lots and lots of pedestrians who crossed the street wherever and whenever they pleased. While we may have faster traffic now, (unless there’s gridlock,) the streets of Atlanta and other cities were a heckuva a lot more chaotic back then. The amazing video above was shot in San Francisco a year before the great earthquake of 1906. It gives you a feel for how wild it could be. Interest

It’s always exciting when I begin doing research for a new novel. I have to find out information on the setting, the culture, the styles – all kinds of things. And that, in and of itself, is a fascinating journey. My next novel will be another time travel story, partly set in the present day, and partly set in the year 1918. That year was hugely important in American history because that’s when American soldiers began shipping off to fight in World War One. At the time, it wa

I’m thrilled to announce publication of my second Time Travel novel, “The Going Back Portal.” This one features a producer for a TV investigative news team who travels back to 1840. There, along the banks of the Broad River in rural Georgia, she interacts with a young Cherokee Indian woman. As usual, there’s a dollop of romance – or two dollops in this case – and some important issues that Kathryn and Forest Water must deal with. There are also some grandmothers who play an i

Publication of my seventh novel is just weeks away. It's my second time travel novel. The Going Back Portal is set in present-day Atlanta and Athens, GA, and 1840s northeast Georgia. Here's a very brief excerpt from early in the book to whet your appetite: "A light breeze rustled the leaves above me. Together with the whoosh of the river, it was like phantom voices whispering. Which made the hairs stand up on my arms. No wonder Nana was having delusions. I could almost feel

It’s August. Hot as blazes here in Atlanta. Boy, howdy, am I thankful for air conditioning! I’m also thankful I don’t have to wear long dresses with bloomers and petticoats underneath, maybe a corset too, and lace-up boots. No wonder women used to faint! Nineteenth century women’s clothing has been on my mind as I write my latest novel, half of which is set in the summer of 1840. Because they certainly didn’t have AC back then. They didn’t even have electricity, so they could