My life changed substantially when I left Sacramento, CA—a fairly simple, rural place at that time-- for Wellesley College, which put me in competition with women who had enjoyed a much better education from the early grades. It was truly a bath in fire, requiring me to spend 14 hour days in the library to avoid academic probation. I learned how to read deeply, evaluate sources, and think critically. By my junior year I was editor of the literary magazine, a position I held for two years. We put out a sophisticated journal of essays, short stories, poetry and art work.
I earned my MA in literature at Tufts University where I was also a teaching assistant for three years, active in the antiwar, civil rights and environmental movements. I published in a number of small journals which have since disappeared. Then, with a small group of other Sierra Club members from the west coast, I helped to establish the Club in New England. I was editor of the New England Sierran, which grew from a subscription base of about 3000 to one of over 30,000. I also moderated a radio show: “Earth Crisis” on station WTBS hosted by MIT at first and then by the larger station WBUR of Boston University. While I was pregnant with my second child, I taught for a semester at Harvard University in the Natural Science Department, a section called Biology and Urban Problems. In California I am certified to teach secondary biology, physics and general science as well as English language skills.
I was an adjunct professor at Sierra College for 20 years and was awarded Faculty Member of the Year in 2003. During this time I was on the board of Sacramento Wildlife Care and editor of its monthly magazine, The Nestling. In exchange for teaching in the literacy program at Folsom Prison, I was able to get The Nestling printed for free. Earlier, the newsletter had been a major expense for the organization.
Following my husband’s death, I began to travel—to clear away the shadows and to find out who I was on my own. An inexpensive way to explore a culture intensively is to become a student at a community college and enroll for semesters abroad. Yes, seniors are allowed to do this—in fact they are welcomed. One must have a tough hide and a sense of humor to live and travel with 18-year-olds for three months, however. I did it twice: once in Madrid, Spain (2006) and once in Florence, Italy (2007). In 2010 I became a student again for a month of intensive Spanish in Costa Rica. I have also spent several weeks in Mexico.
In 1987 I started a writers’ group which we named Arlington Quiller. It held weekly meetings for 15 years. I began work on several projects at this time: a five-novel science fiction series, a murder mystery set in the foothills outside of Sacramento, and numerous short stories, some of which were published in the Sierra Journal, and some of which were finalists in the Writers of the Future contest, though not published. After my husband’s death I thought I would at last finish the larger projects. A dream of a young girl in 15th century England hijacked me. What began as a short fairy tale has evolved into the novel that I am currently writing. Charged with delivering her best friend, a Frisian stallion named Oak, to her brother in London, she is forced into a long journey, interrupted in several unintended directions which places her in the company of gypsies, pirates, a false priest and other scoundrels and takes her to Scotland, Ireland and Wales. At long last she reaches London where she meets the young Henry Tudor who makes her first his jester and then his spy. For a Yankee to take on such material is cheeky, to say the least, and obviously requires many trips to the UK. Oh my!
My first research trip was amazingly rewarding. People I met were enchanted with the tale and full of suggestions for places to go, things to see. So many of these mini-adventures found their way into the story, even changed the plot.
The research side of this project, in fact, may turn into a separate book, or at the least into an extended series of blogs. I think it could be useful to other writers of historical fiction who may be deterred by fear of the research involved. So far it has been great fun for me, much more so than Elizabethan research done for my MA.
See my recent article:
Using the PHEV (Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle) to Transition Society Seamlessly and Profitably From Fossil Fuel to 100% Renewable Energy. 17 July 2015. (http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/07/20150717-frank.html)
