Discover Richmond

Posted on October 17, 2017October 17, 2017 by vlaw759

Grab it. Read it! When this RTD insert came with your paper a few days ago, you might have been tempted to pitch it. It’s very heavy on ads, especially in the first half. But take a closer look.

I found several people, places, and things I can already connect to. For example, Amy Black. When I decided to redecorate rather than repair after breast cancer surgery, my oncologist recommended Amy. You may have read my In My Shoes essay about it in October of last year. I can’t praise Amy too highly. She is tough but gentle, accepting, and truly believes every body is beautiful. We both grew up in Ohio, so there is that cultural connection as well.

Amy is best known, perhaps, for her work with breast cancer patients, but she is an artist beyond that.

I can’t appropriately show you what she did with my scars. I can only say that it was so appealing, I decided to have a “wrap-around” including both breasts and my back. And imagine my surprise when I discovered that during the year my youngest daughter (the only one with tattoos) lived in Richmond, on the recommendation of a Colorado tattoo artist, she sought Amy to create the tattoo honoring her daughter’s birth.

Amy is just one of 22 local people highlighted in this issue.

A place I particularly connect to is Hollywood Cemetery. I love cemeteries and graveyards. Hollywood is the third oldest garden cemetery in the country, inspired by the first, Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

I am so taken with Hollywood Cemetery that I set my first short story mystery there (“Death Comes to Hollywood Cemetery”). Brief as it is, the Discover Richmond article manages to mention half a dozen interesting features of Hollywood.

Among the 31 destinations described, some of my favorites are Library of Virginia, the VMFA, and Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. Some of the destination I’d like to visit include Unsung Sites of Black History and Meadow Farm Museum. Numerous neighborhoods are mentioned, including Short Pump and Ashland (The Center of the Universe).

There is a guide to craft breweries, regional wineries and distilleries, and restaurants, and 15 pages of resources, from museums and historic homes to art galleries, music groups, theater and dance groups, hobby and special interest groups (including James River Writers, Sisters in Crime/Central Virginia, Virginia Romance Writers, Virginia Screenwriters Forum, and Virginia Writers Club).

This compilation does a good job on things I know well, so I trust the info when learning about the things I don’t know so well. It entices me to explore and to revisit past pleasures. My point here is that you should read—and keep—Discover Richmond.

Sex in the Civil War

Posted on September 10, 2015 by vlaw759

Sometimes things just come together. I’ve had a long-standing interest in graveyards and cemeteries. My all-time favorite is Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The primary picture on my website was taken there! It is the first garden cemetery in the United States, established in 1834.

book cover of Auburn Cemetery by Blanche M.G. Linden — Silent City on a Hill by Blanche M.G. Linden

So, of course, when I moved to the area, I visited Hollywood Cemetery, the third garden cemetery in the United States.

Hollywood Cemetery-With Skyline and River.jpg — “Hollywood Cemetery-With Skyline and River” by Andrew Bain – Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons.

At that time, I lived in the McMurdo house in Ashland, built in 1858. Apparently Stonewall Jackson headquartered there briefly during the battles around Richmond—briefly meaning only a few hours. But it piqued my interest in the Civil War.

After touring the White House of the Confederacy, I visited the gift shop there. After visiting historic sites or museums, I always check the gift shop for off-beat books. In this instance, I found The Story the Soldiers Wouldn’t Tell: Sex in the Civil War.

Book cover of "The Story the Soldiers Wouldn't Tell: Sex in the Civil War" by Thomas P. Lowry, M.D. — The Story the Soldiers Wouldn’t Tell: Sex in the Civil War by Thomas P. Lowry, M.D.

So when the call went out for stories for Virginia Is For Mysteries, it all came together. I wrote “Death Comes to Hollywood Cemetery.” My amateur detective is Clara, a good natured prostitute who plies her trade with fetishists in Richmond and the surrounding area during the Civil War.

I love it when everything comes together!

Anthology Virginia is for Mysteries - From 14 Sisters in Crime Writers — Virginia is for Mysteries

Day 10 at Nimrod Hall Writers’ Workshop

Posted on July 29, 2015August 2, 2015 by vlaw759

NIMROD HALL TRAVEL LOG

Day 10

One of my favorite walks up Nimrod Lane passes this tiny graveyard. Three members of the Smith family are buried here–gone and forgotten?–and several mornings each summer, I pay my respects.

I’ve always loved graveyards and cemeteries. I have a favorite tree in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA. In fact the main picture on my website was taken there, in the first garden cemetery in the US. And as some of you may know, my story in Virginia Is For Mysteries is “Death Comes To Hollywood Cemetery”— which is in Richmond, VA, and is the third oldest garden cemetery in the US.

But enough, before I get carried away sending pictures of my skull jewelry. BTW, skulls are also a symbol of transformation.

My work today had nothing to do with death or cemeteries, though my new novel will have much to do with transformation. I spent the morning trying to apply the structure used for “Brokeback Mountain” (by Annie Proulx, in Close Range: Wyoming Stories) to my novel. In that story, only 30 pp, I saw how a story spanning decades can be compelling while (by?) leaving out a lot.

The two writers “on” today were widely divergent and wonderful.

Foust is a writer, cartoonist, and print maker who lives in Richmond, VA. She is seen here on the Square House side porch with her two new books. Six Of One, Half-Dozen Of The Other is a book of cartoons. Sins of Omission is a collection of stories. Foust specializes in short-shorts, so many of these are only a couple of pages with enormous punch.

Foust, author of Six Of One, Half-Dozen Of The Other and Sins of Omission — Foust

Amelia L. Williams is a prize-winning poet from Afton, VA. Her language is both lyrical and gripping. She has done–and is continuing to develop–an amazing installation of in situ art with integrated poems.

Author Amelia L. Williams — Amelia L. Williams

This picture of Amelia was taken shortly before her workshop and reading. Obviously, Nimrod writer weeks are pressure cooker sorts of events.

Nimrod Hall, established in 1783, has been providing summer respite from everyday stress since 1906. It has been operating as an artist and writer colony for over 25 years. The Nimrod Hall Summer Arts Program is a non-competitive, inspirational environment for artists to create without the distractions of everyday life. The 2015 Writers’ Workshop writers-in-residence are Sheri Reynolds, Cathryn Hankla, and Charlotte G. Morgan.

NIMROD HALL TRAVEL LOG POSTS