I’m at the end of this blog series. I’ve compared Triana, my time traveling mermaid, to Princess Leia. I’ve also traveled through history as I introduced the historical women Triana met in my books, Travelers and Settlers (Release date TBA). You can go back through my previous blogs to read about Cornelia Fort, a World War II pilot; Sacagawea, the American Indian who helped Lewis and Clark; Margaret Brown (A.K.A. Molly Brown), who survived the Titanic tragedy. Elizabeth Burgin Elizabeth Burgin is my final historical character in Settlers. Her story has some conjecture around it according this article: https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/09/elizabeth-burgin-helps-the-prisoners-somehow/. Supposedly where historians didn’t have specific details, they filled in the blanks and reported it as fact. It seems the information that we do know about Mrs. Burgin came from letters. Where the story isn’t clear is how she aided in the escape of over two hundred American prisoners. It is also unclear if they fled the New York prison ships or some other prisons in the same area. The correspondences about her bravery doesn’t specifically say how she assisted in the escapes. However, whatever she did, caused the British to put a two hundred pound reward out for her capture. That was equal to about twenty years of pay for a British soldier. The price on her head forced her to flee New York and leave her children behind with trusted friends. Since Elizabeth was a widow, the risk she took caused her to be homeless and penniless. When George Washington learned of what she had done, he gave her lodging and food for her and her children when they were finally reunited. Elizabeth didn’t want to be a burden to the United States Government. In a letter to George Washington, she thanked him for the food and shelter the government provided, but she also asked to be given a job to earn these provisions to take care of her family even after the war. Here’s the letter: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-01137 Washington was so impressed by her request that instead of giving her a job, he and Congress agreed to pay her an annual pension of fifty-five dollars during her lifetime. Because Elizabeth wanted to end the suffering of the men rotting in brutal prison conditions, she put her life in peril. The men she helped were the ones who fought for freedom from what Patriots viewed as a tyrannical British king. She didn’t let the fear of catching a disease from the prisoners or the fact that she was a female in a male dominated world stop her. How many of us take our freedoms for granted? Most people living in the United States don’t have to sacrifice anything to have the simple pleasures in life. We also don’t have to be afraid of being executed as a traitor for voicing our opinions that may be contrary or against our President. Freedom isn’t free. Not only men, but a variety of women sacrificed greatly to give you the right to say whatever you want on social media or in a protest. Don’t let the price they paid be in vain. “Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace.” -Dwight D. Eisenhower
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I like the Disney Ariel just as much as I like Princess Leia, and my current blog series isn't about criticizing one over the other. It is more about how Triana, the mermaid in Travelers and Settlers, is her own unique mermaid princess. The blogs are also my way of introducing to you some of the fascinating historical characters Triana meets or cohabits with in the stories. These women are their own variation of a princess. My hope is that my book characters help to inspire greatness in all of us no matter how it manifests itself. Seek to be your own type of hero or heroine. Whether you need to be brave like Leia or reach for a special dream like Ariel; pave your own path. Margaret Brown Since I was raised on musicals, I must admit the reason I originally knew anything about Molly Brown was because of the movie Debbie Reynolds starred in, The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Once I researched the real woman, I realized I underestimated how incredible she was. Molly Brown came from Colorado, my home state. I discovered Hollywood gave her that name, and that she was never called Molly. Her nickname was Maggie. The more I found out about her, I was thankful I chose Margaret to be in my next book, Settlers. She did many extraordinary things beyond surviving the sinking of the Titanic, and I will mention only a few in this article. Margaret Tobin was born on July 18, 1867 to parents who were Irish immigrants in Hannibal, Missouri. At the age of eighteen Maggie moved to Leadville, Colorado with her sister, which is where Maggie met her husband James Joseph (J.J.) Brown. The Browns were married in Leadville where they lived until they became wealthy. Maggie was part of the feminist movement in her town and the Women’s Suffrage Association which sought for women to have the right to vote. The Browns became rich from the mine J.J. had stock in and worked, but Maggie didn’t forget her poorer roots and sought to help those less fortunate throughout her whole life. She founded the Denver’s Women Club which advocated literacy, education, suffrage, and human rights in Colorado and throughout the United States. Margaret also raised money to build a Cathedral and St. Joseph’s hospital. She worked with Judge Ben Lindsey to help impoverished children and founded the first Juvenile Court in the country, which eventually became the basis for today's U.S. juvenile court system. Margaret was also the first woman to run for a political office in the United States. She ran for Senate eight years before women had the right to vote. She was a woman ahead of her time. Margaret's life endeavors remind me that sometimes we limit ourselves because we think we are too ordinary. When I look at Maggie, I don’t see someone with a prodigy’s talents. She was an average girl who didn’t let anything stop her from doing what her conscious led her to do. Sometimes we view celebrities with their money and attractive looks as having the edge on making a difference in this world. I think if we all strive to be the best versions of ourselves, and reach for our dreams, we may find what we can accomplish far outweighs the boundaries we set for ourselves. For more information on Margaret visit these links: https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/molly-brown.html http://blogs.denverpost.com/titanic/2012/04/11/5-1912-brown-writes-story-titanic-disaster/ This is called the Molly Brown House where Margaret lived with J.J. in Denver, CO.
Triana becomes more like Princess Leia and less like Ariel in my second book, Settlers. Throughout the story Triana meets some interesting historical figures that prove courage comes in all different types of people. Just when you think you don’t have anything special to make a difference in the world, you can look back in history to see how average people accomplished amazing feats. Sacagawea is one of Triana's historical acquaintances in Settlers. Sacagawea Sacagawea was best known for helping out Lewis and Clark, but I learned a few things about her that I didn’t hear discussed in history class. For starters, I thought she was a grown woman, but she was only a teenager. Lesson: Don’t let your age prevent you from doing great things. Also she lived in a world where women didn’t have a lot of control over their lives, especially a Native American woman. Yet Sacagawea found a way to forge her own destiny among the greats in the history books. Lesson: We may not be able to governor our circumstances all the time, but we can control how we react to them. At the age of 12 Sacagawea was captured by Hidatsa Indians, an enemy of her people, the Shoshones. A French-Canadian trapper, Toussaint Charbonneau, bought her and made her one of his wives. Think about what you would do at that age if that was your fate? Could you become a useful hero or give up? Sacagawea didn't have any other options and accepted her path with dignity. Sacagawea was the only woman to accompany Lewis and Clark’s group of thirty-three men. Her familiarity of native plants, the terrain, and different languages helped the mission succeed. The communication among the people who traveled with Lewis and Clark and those they encountered wasn’t a simple task. Sacagawea’s husband knew three languages: Hidatsa, Minataree, and French. Sacagawea knew Shoshone and Hidatsa. When they met people from the Shoshone tribe, she would have to interpret the message in Hidatsa to her husband. Then Charbonneau interpreted to another person in French so that they could tell Lewis and Clark the message in English. I don’t think I would have had the patience for all those interpreters. Seriously how did they not miscommunicate? It must have worked in its own way, because they kept their encounters with other tribes peaceful. They even managed to gain more supplies from some of the tribes. Sacagawea was a true wonder. I’m directional challenged so it is hard to grasp how her knowledge of the land even from her childhood helped those on the expedition navigate. I’m also a wimp, so I can’t imagine having a baby as a teenager traveling with a group of older men. She wasn’t given maternity leave from the journey. She wasn’t even given a bouquet of flowers to congratulate her. Her courage went beyond even what was expected of her. Sacagawea saved Lewis and Clark’s journals, scientific instruments, and specimens when their boat almost overturned. Members of the party struggled to paddle the waterlogged boat while she reached out to retrieve most of the men’s valuable cargo. When they decided to build a fort for the winter, they allowed Sacagawea to vote where Fort Clatsop was going to be built. Was she the first American female to vote in the United States? Even if not, that showed me they respected her opinion enough to give her a say in their decision. She had proven her value without expecting accolades like people often do on social media when they post their “successes”. While at the fort, a local Indian told them about a beached whale. Clark assembled his men to go retrieve what they could from the whale and Sacagawea insisted she accompany them, because she had traveled a long way to see the great waters. They let her go, but I imagine women in those days didn’t usually insist on their own way. Princess Leia would have been proud of Sacagawea. Who cares what Luke and Han says you can and can’t do, you’re going to do things you’re own way. Sacagawea may have felt like an average girl, but she proved you don't need magical abilities to accomplish great things. I left out a bunch of interesting things about this incredible woman. You can read more on these links: http://www.biography.com/people/sacagawea-9468731#synopsis http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/saca.html http://montanakids.com/history_and_prehistory/lewis_and_clark/sacagawea.htm Why is my mermaid, Triana, more like Princess Leia from Star Wars than Ariel, The Little Mermaid? She uses her brain and abilities to save two worlds despite the risks. In fact, Triana endangers her life to help those she loves, and takes the chance of losing her happy ending, which includes a guy. Writing stories in the fantasy genre is my passion, but I’ve always enjoyed history. That’s when the idea to write about a time traveling mermaid hit me. Though I want readers to escape realism, I also hope that they learn a few things too. Maybe they will be inspired to be the next hero or heroine this world needs. While researching for the historical parts of my books I discovered: 1) I really don’t know enough about history and 2) There are many amazing women in history! Cornelia Fort Cornelia is the first historical person I wrote about in Travelers. The other characters lived in actual places and eras of history, but they are strictly fictional. (Although their names may seem slightly similar to characters from famous books and television.) Miss Fort came from a wealthy family that lived in Nashville, Tennessee. She wasn’t prissy like girls of her status were expected to be, but rather she was a tomboy. She looked for adventure outside the debutante and society scene. In 1940 she took her first flying lesson from a friend’s boyfriend. In 1941 Cornelia received her pilot’s and instructor’s license. She proved to those who thought women shouldn’t or couldn’t fly that they were full of bologna. Her new career led Cornelia to Colorado to teach flying, but she wanted to do more for her country, so she ended up at Andrews Flying Service in Honolulu, Hawaii. Many of those she taught were in the military stationed at Hawaii. The day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Cornelia was in the air with a student. She even wrote an article about it for a magazine, and she gave a few interviews about her experience. After the near miss with the Japanese fighter pilot, Cornelia was asked to join the Women’s Auxiliary Ferry Service (WAFS). Her main job was to deliver planes to the military so the men could fight in the war. Cornelia was the first WAFS to die on a mission. She didn’t die because of enemy fire, but rather because of her adventurous spirit. Cornelia was trying out some forbidden formation flying while delivering aircraft from Long Beach, California to Dallas Love Field. Her risky move caused her to collide with another plane on the same mission, and she died in the crash. She didn’t follow the rules and some could say that is what killed her, but Cornelia wasn’t meant to color inside the lines. She set out to prove she was capable to reach far beyond what others thought was possible for women. Cornelia, like my character Triana, wanted to make a difference. They didn’t let fear or the boundaries stand in their way. To read more on Cornelia, here are some sources I found interesting and insightful: http://www.lostaviatorsofpearlharbor.org/the-aviators/cornelia/ https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/women-in-aviation/fort.cfm http://www.tnhistoryforkids.org/people/cornelia_fort http://offbeattenn.com/cornelia-fort-woman-time-etched-history/ http://www.wingsacrossamerica.org/assets/twilight-2.pdf |
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December 2023
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