I have a bit of news to share today - it's not really Vintage Goodness news though. It is more Mitzi news - in fact, it is so completely Mitzi news that the new blog I am launching is actually at
MitziSwisher.com! :) I wrote a lengthy explanation over on
the About page of the new site, and I'll go ahead and post it here for you all, to help you decide if this new project is something you might be interested in following along on... I don't blame you if you aren't though - I realize that I am venturing into waters that are fairly far away from my comfortable vintage geek world on this one... ;)
In the spring of 2012, out of sheer curiosity (and after watching one
too many episodes of Who Do You Think You Are), I joined Ancestry.com
to see what I could find out about my family tree. Little did I know
that it was the first step of what now looks to be a very long journey,
that will culminate not only in a (hopefully) correct accounting of my
genealogy, but also in a historical novel based on the lives of my 5x
great grandparents, Ambrose and Ailsey Coffee.
I’ve wanted to write a book since I was a kid, but I never had an
idea, never found a story that I felt was mine – and mine alone – to
tell. The more I learned about the life that Ambrose Coffee led in the
early days of Kentucky, the more interested I got. He came from Ireland as an indentured servant at the age of 12, joined
the Virginia Militia, and ended up at Boonesborough, where he fought
with the one and only Daniel Boone.
Boonesborough Fort
All that is fascinating enough, but even more interesting, at least
to me, is that while I have a first name for his wife, I have no history
for her. There are a few theories floating around, but nothing concrete
– nothing that can be verified with absolute certainty. While she isn’t
the only “brick wall” on my family tree, for some reason she has really
captured my imagination – her husband’s life is somewhat well
documented, which is a blessing, but her life must have been equally as
interesting, yet we have no documentation of it at all (at least not
that I have found, as of yet). Other than the fact that she was
Ambrose’s wife, and they had 9 children together, she is a mystery.
The little part of me that has always wanted to write a book began to poke me repeatedly.
“There’s a story to tell here, lady! You’ve always loved
historical fiction, so here you go, there’s no reason in the world not
to do it. I don’t want to hear about how you don’t have time – make
time. Oh and by the way, you better start a blog about it all too – the
research for it is going to be intensive, so you might as well share it
as you go along. And don’t forget, you’ve never written a book before,
so you have a TON to learn about writing – you might as well share that
stuff as you go along too. Now get to work!”
Boy that writer part of me sure has an attitude… so here I am!
Here’s a little breakdown of what I plan to talk about here on the
blog, just to give you a general idea. All is subject to change, and my
own whims, of course.
Historical Fiction – I’ve always loved
reading it, but now that I want to write it, I am reading it even more. I
figure there is no better way to learn than to read what other people
have done and take what I can from it. I’ll be doing book reviews, and
sharing whatever sites and resources I come across that might appeal to
other historical fiction fans.
Writing Fiction – I’m a novel writing
newbie, so as I go along I’ll be talking about the ups and downs of
writing my first book, and sharing what I learn along the way. This will
likely include lots of reviews of, and discussion about, books on
writing – my library of them is already off to a great start and I
expect it will only grow!
Indie Publishing – My inclination as of now
is that I will be publishing the book myself when it is finished. So, I
will be dipping my toes in the water of independent publishing – I want
to learn how it works, read what is out there that is being published
by independent authors, etc. etc.
Coffee Family Ancestry & Genealogy – I
want to make sure all the research I do on my Coffee family ancestry
gets put out there for other Coffee researchers to find. I am so
grateful for everyone who has already done work on it, and have shared
what they know! I have to do the same. I’ll likely be talking about
genealogy in general too, for those of you out there who have gotten bit
by the bug like I have, or think you might want to.
Kentucky History – My book will be set in
18th century Kentucky, and there is a LOT to learn about this
fascinating time and place in American History. Believe me, I had very
little knowledge of it before I figured out my ancestors played a role
in it, but once I started to discover all that was going on back then, I
was hooked!
Etc. Etc. Etc. – Because, you know – it’s my blog, I’ll do what I want…
So there you have it - I'm going to write a book! :) I'm fully expecting it to take months, if not years - but I'm on the path now, so I know I will get it finished eventually. The research involved is fairly overwhelming - but very interesting. Plus it is nice to be trying something completely, 100% NEW - something I haven't really done since I started Vintage Goodness back in 2007. I'll still be here too of course, you won't be rid of me that easily! ;)
I set up
a Twitter account that, for now, is going to be my main social media outlet for the new blog - so if you want to, you can head on over there and give me a follow. I'll probably set up a Facebook page closer to the time I am ready to publish the book - honestly, I just don't want to have to mess with yet another page right now when I have so much else going on! I guess if you all show enough interest, I could post on the
Vintage Goodness Facebook page when I post things to the new blog - I'll just see how it goes I guess. :)
~*~*~*~ Wish me luck!!!! ~*~*~*~
Hope all of you who are snowed in are having a fun snow day! I snuck a few photos of Will and Shadow out in the snow... the rest are on Facebook. :)
Better Homes & Gardens? Really? I was happier when I thought I would be getting Traditional Home. BH&G is an ok mag from what little I've seen, but pretty far off from what Country Home was. I'll reserve final judgement until I've gotten a few issues, but let's just say I'm not really looking forward to them.
Left to Right - my uncle, Bob - my Dad, Steve - Mrs. Stratton (my aunt's boyfriend's Mom), my Mom, Mary Jane - my aunt, Joyce (Bob's wife)
My cousin Debbie talking to my cousin Kevin, who wouldn't let me get a picture of his face!
See? Well, at least I tried. That's my cousin Taylor's boyfriend and little baby boy in the background, whatta cutie!
My little brother, Darrell.
My brother's girlfriend, Tonya, who also wouldn't look at the camera - what is it with these people?
Here is Tonya's daughter, Jordan, trying to hide from me.
I found one person who couldn't hide - my aunt Gayla, snoozin in the recliner! hehe
There you have it - 7 random things about Mitzi. I'm going to do to you what Gab did to me though - tag, you're it!
This article was posted on the Etsy Vintage Street Team's forum, and I thought it was important to pass it along.
