In your opinion, what is the definition of history? History is what happened in the past to whom and why. It’s much more than dates and places, but a record of the lives of the people who lived before us, what they accomplished or failed to accomplish and why they tried to do what they did. It’s the lessons learned through that experience so that others don’t make the same errors or so others will have the courage to attempt great things.
What is your favorite period of history? I’m fascinated by daily living in Colonial America through the Early American Republic (1700-1820 roughly). For example, how did people go about their lives while wars were being fought around them?
Colonial American History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_history_of_the_United_States
Early American Republic History
https://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/Americanhistory1/earlyrepublic
When did you know you wanted to be a writer? I’ve been writing all my life, or at least since I learned to spell when I was five. I wrote reports for myself on horses and dogs and other topics I’ve since forgotten. I also wrote short stories, usually involving horses. I figured out I wanted to write (and edit) professionally when my hubby’s job kept moving and I wanted a portable career.
What is your first memory of writing? You’ll laugh… My first memory of “writing” is sitting at my dad’s desk in his photography studio, typing on his Underwood manual typewriter the current weather report based on the view looking out the picture window. By the time I was in fifth grade, I was writing short stories about horses and cowboys.
Can you give a specific experience that occurred while at Cowpens Battlefield that made such an impression on you that you now view history differently? I remember standing out along the roadway where the troops met, listening to a man talk about what occurred during the battle, and being able to experience it in my mind as he described the battle. Being on the road made history come to life for me in a way it never had by reading a book about it. Thereafter, when I read history I tried to put myself into the scene more, to experience it virtually.
Can you give me a bit of history of your life from high school to adulthood when you first read Lynn Sherr’s and Jurate Kazickas’s “Susan b. Anthony Slept Here: A guide to America’s Women’s Landmarks? Gracious, an awful lot happened during that time! After high school I applied to work for a government agency but couldn’t be hired in until a hiring freeze was lifted. So I got a job working at Hecht Company in Columbia, Maryland, as a salesperson. Then worked for 2 years for the government before leaving to work for IBM and then BDM corporations as a secretary. After a while I grew tired of the long commute. I floated the idea of working from home and my hubby agreed, so I started a freelance word processing business from home. I also worked as a temp doing word processing to help with expenses since our first child had been born. I took classes at the local community college since attending college full time was never an option for me at that point in my life. When my hubby’s job moved from Virginia to Indiana, so did we. Our second child was born shortly after we moved there. In the early 1990s, my father moved in to live with us and he continued to do so for 17 years, until he needed to move to assisted living; he died in 2011. Back in the 90s, I enrolled at Indiana University and graduated with a BA in English in 1995. It was while attending IU that I read Susan B. Anthony Slept Here and started pondering how youths impacted history.
Was there a specific story or person you were fascinated with from the book mentioned above (Susan B. Anthony Slept Here)? Honestly, it wasn’t one person in the book, but the vast number of women who had made significant contributions to America that opened my eyes to women’s studies. I don’t consider myself a feminist, but I am very interested in how women have shaped America. I have a lot more to learn, I’m sure, about the subject of women in history but now I’m more aware of the ways in which women influenced or directly changed the course of our country.
When did you decide to write a book on these girls/young women? Was it before, during or after your research? The idea came after I had compiled files on over 100 youths from around the world who had left their mark on the world. I realized I had to narrow the focus down to something manageable, and thus Hometown Heroines, the first edition, came to be.
How long did it take you to research and write Hometown Heroines? The research phase started in 1994 and ended in 2000. Writing the stories and biographical snapshots overlapped somewhat and wrapped up in 2001, when I chose to self-publish the original edition. In 2012, I revised the original, smoothing out the writing and removing outdated Internet links, and re-released it through ePublishingWorks as Hometown Heroines: True Stories of Bravery, Daring, and Adventure, both in print and digitally.
Did you receive any surprised about any of these girls that you wrote about? It amazed me how much impact little Grace Bedell (Below Left) had with her letter to Abraham Lincoln. Imagine writing to a presidential candidate suggesting he change his appearance and then receiving a letter from him saying he’d consider making the change. That little girl wrote a very powerful letter which prompted a future president to act in accordance with her suggestion. Wow.
Who is you favorite girl of these stories? That’s a hard question! I think about Vinnie Ream (Below Left) a lot because of the diversity of her artistic accomplishments, including the life-size marble statue of Lincoln still standing in the National Capitol’s Rotunda. But Lucille Mulhall’s (Below Right) trick riding abilities were so impressive it’s hard to believe that she could actually use her mouth to pick up a handkerchief from the ground while riding a galloping horse. Such strength and courage is astounding. Each of the girls made an impression on me, which is why I chose to share their stories with others.
What made you decide to include fictional stories as one of the sections for each of these girls? That’s easy. My target audience is middle school and high school students, so fiction seemed a more accessible format to share what the girls experienced during the event that made them famous. But I also wanted the reader to know where the line was between fact and fiction and have an idea of where they could find more information if the story made them curious.
What other projects are you working on? I am writing book 4 of the Fury Falls Inn historical fantasy series, Fractured Crystals.
Anything you’d like to add? Thanks for sharing my enthusiasm for these tales of daring and courage. I hope these girls will inspire others as much as they inspired me.
Betty Bolte is Best-selling, award-winning Author of Historical Fiction with Heart and Haunting, Bewitching Love Stories Recent releases include Becoming Lady Washington: A Novel, Notes of Love and War, and Desperate Reflections (Fury Falls Inn Book 3
This feature was originally published on the Chris Rice Cooper Blog Spot Dot Com on September 17, 1993.
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