Well, its been a long time since I’ve posted much. And since I’ve promised to post photos (just click on them to enlarge) of my trip, I figured I’d better do it before the season has passed.

About a week and a half ago, we took the boys to my hometown. But instead of staying locally, we headed an hour or so north to the Finger Lakes. Growing up in the region, I had no idea there were wineries. Not until I brought my future husband home years ago and my parents took us north on a wine trail….

Getting ready for NaNoWriMo, I decided to set my new novel in the Finger Lakes region. Well, what with a lot of school vacation days and the boys driving me nuts, I had a bright idea. My husband cashed in a vacation day, and we headed off on a ‘research’ trip (some things about writing are fun and my husband hoped on board this project willingly enough).

Its been a while since we’ve been back, but this past weekend had those perfect fall days that start off cold, but warm to a pleasant 70 degrees. The sun was out and a recent frost had caused the leaves to break out in brilliant color, but the rain and wind had yet to knock the leaves off their trees…

On a Saturday, we took the boys to Glenora Wine Cellars, mostly for the tour (but we did sample the wines and walk off with a few). They showed us the machinery that separates the grapes from their stems, extracts the juice, then filters out the sludge. Then it was off to the barrel room.

Here’s a photo of a barrel. Note the plaque? You can buy your own barrel, visit it (I kid you not, the guide says people do), and at last, collect the wine AND the empty barrel.

Here are the fermentation tanks.

The bottling/corking machinery.

By the end of the tour, the boys were getting a bit wild, so we took them to Watkins Glen. Nothing like about a thousand steps to wear them down. Unfortunately, it did us in too.

The next day, my parents kept the kids at home and we set off to sample the wines of those wineries between the lower halves of Lake Cayuga and Seneca. Our favorites? Lucas, Lamoreaux Landing, Wagner, and Standing Stone. The photos below are from Wagner.

On our way out, we passed a ‘limo’. You can sign up for tours that include a driver. No need to sip discreetly and dump the rest (or spit). Those individuals debussing had definitely not been dumping their tastings. They looked to be enjoying themselves thoroughly… Wiffer Wine Tour anyone?

Originally, the argument against women in medicine was based on our menstrual cycles. It was first argued that we would be unable to function during the menstrual flow or that the hormonal fluctuations would damage the quality of our work. Later a man named Clark would argue in 1873 that, “The most dangerous threat… stemmed from the mistake of educating females as if they were males. Since the uterus was connected to the central nervous system, energy expended in one area was necessarily removed from another.”

Despite this bias, women continued to train as physicians.

In 1870, there were 544 female physicians.

1880: 2,432

1890: 4,557

1900: 7,387

1910: 9,015 (6% of all physicians)

As it turns out, the number of female physicians peaked in 1910 only to drop precipitously shortly thereafter. Why? In 1893, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine admitted the first ever co-educational class of medical students. Women declared the ‘battle’ for equal education won, and woman’s medical colleges began to close with the expectation that medical schools would be open on an equal basis to both sexes.  For a time, they were.

Then slowly, as women’s liberation movements focused on winning the vote, those numbers eroded. The men in control of the schools began to accept only a handful of women into their class, the bare number necessary to claim co-education. Then, women were denied access to nearly all internships and residencies after graduation, particularly the ones at prestigious institutions. Those women who continued in the face of blatant discrimination earned far less than their male colleagues and were denied positions of influence and power within the medical community (based on their ‘lesser’ internship/residency).

And so the enrollment of women in medical schools dropped precipitously.

Although women continued to apply to medical school in the face of nearly certain rejection, the number of women physicians wouldn’t begin to recover until during the second world war when medical schools recruited women out of sheer necessity. Not until the 1970s would women finally begin to be admitted on equal footing with men on the basis of academic merit alone.

Today, most medical schools admit an equal number of women and men.

I was in the middle of moving.

But now the boxes are unpacked, curtains are up, and most of the pictures are hung (don’t ask about the cellar, we’re pretending its not there). Its time to start writing again.

I bravely sent out queries via email just before moving. Mostly I’ve been rejected or simply ignored, but one agent requested the first five pages! I’ve claimed office space in the new house (it has a door I can shut) and today I shall at last get those five pages off to the agent.

They built an ell. It means exactly what it sounds like – the addition was built at a right angle to the original house forming an ‘L’. They didn’t always stop with just one addition – if the family grew, then so did the house.

During my trip to Historic Deerfield, MA earlier this spring, I took these photos of two houses with ells. I think it gives a rather rambling look to the house and makes me wonder why each addition always seems smaller….

As a writer, I like to think about the history behind why the additions were built and the conflicts it might have caused. Were the children separated from visiting adults? Were people sneaking around in secret passageways placed between the two structures? Did a new bride find herself under the thumb of her mother-in-law? Was a crazy old relative housed in the new attic?

What does the building of an ell make you think of?

For me, it was a box set of six mystery books by Wylly Folk St. John including The Secrets of Hidden Creek. I can still remember some of the plot line (and I still have the box set).

From there, it was off to the Nancy Drew mysteries and countless more. Years later, I discovered Mary Stewart and all other gothic romance mysteries. But it was my discovery of Elizabeth Peters a.k.a. Barbara Michaels and her books that first made me think about writing my own novel.

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In the photos below (taken at Old Sturbridge Village, MA), you can see a potter with wet hands turning what appears to be the beginning of a mug. The next step is to let the clay dry for several days before dipping it in a reddish brown glaze. When enough pottery is accumulated, it will be stacked inside the large kiln. The opening is bricked up and the pottery is fired by building a fire at the base of the kiln until a temperature of 1850 degrees F is reached. In the last photos, you see some of the finished products.

For more information about redware visit Old Sturbridge Village.

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1) Where were you born? Where did you grow up? Where do you currently live?

I’m a California girl. I was born in LA and grew up in a small suburb about forty-five minutes from the city. At the time, all of my parents’ friends thought they were crazy for living out in “the boonies.” It was a brand new housing development far from my dad’s place of work, but back then there was no traffic. (Don’t even ask me about traffic now. It’s practically at my front door.) I currently live about ten minutes from my childhood home (my parents are still there), so I haven’t strayed too far. I’m lucky. It’s a great place to live and raise my kids.
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2) What has been your biggest challenge (so far) raising two boys?

Hmm…I have to say I’m thankful I’ve got boys in this day and age and not girls. The biggest challenge is probably all the testosterone in my house! I get to be part of all those wonderful male qualities we know and love, while at the same time making sure my boys are well mannered and know how to be respectful to others.
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3) Do the reptiles in your house keep anyone away (my mother-in-law would never visit again)?

LOL! I wish. (Just kidding.) They’re very nice reptiles and honestly, rarely make an appearance outside of their enclosures.
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4) Do you remember the moment when you decided to write a novel? And is this your first one? What kind of romance novel is it?

I remember the exact moment! In a nutshell, I was working freelance for a website, writing letters from a bride’s perspective about her wedding. The letters pushed the envelope on the heat level (per my instructions) and when I’d finished them (about 25), one of the writers on staff emailed me and asked if I’d ever written a romance novel, and if I hadn’t, I should. A bell went off in my head at that moment, and I decided that’s exactly what I should do. (I had actually thought about writing a novel before that, but didn’t know when or if I really would.) I started reading some romance novels (I never had before, she says, hiding under the chair) and shortly after that sat down to start writing. That was a year and a half ago and I’m having the best time! I just finished my first single title and have written three category and one novella. I write contemporary, but am trying my hand at a paranormal right now.
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5) Your posted excerpt is from the male point of view. Did you have any problems getting into the head of a guy?

Good question! And one I’d love to hear other’s perspective on. I don’t have any problems other than the fact that I do find it harder than writing from my heroine’s POV. (Ha! No problem there, huh?)
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6) Did you spend any time with a veterinarian as ‘research’? If not, how did you research this character?

I didn’t spend any time with a veterinarian. Nate’s occupation is important in that he loves animals and my heroine, Grace, hates them. When they meet, he’s in New York visiting friends so is away from work. Grace is strapped with pet sitting for her best friend and the only thing that makes it bearable is running into Nate and receiving his help with her pet obligations. By the way, I tried to get a little creative with the pet. It’s not a dog or a cat. And it’s not a reptile.
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7) If we wouldn’t let you have romance books on your desert island, what kind of books would you take? (Remember, we must torture the MC.)

That’s easy! I’d take mystery/suspense novels. Until recently, that’s all I read. And embarrassingly, not that often (hiding under the chair again). Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels are a favorite, as well as Sue Grafton, Tony Hillerman and Sujata Massey. And I’d bring all of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files books.
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8. Pantser of plotter? And have you tried it the other way?

I’d say 75% pantser, 25% plotter. I love it when I’m writing and the story takes me in a direction I didn’t see coming.
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9) Given unlimited funds and two weeks, where would you go on vacation?

I’d go to Europe. Since I’ve never been, I can’t pick just one spot, so I’d forget sleeping and see as much as I could!
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10) How did you find ‘Will Write for Wine’?

The wonderful Book Lady, Caryn, introduced it to me.

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Pam of the new Pam Writes Romance blog has taken a few moments to answer my ten questions. Before we got down to the questions about writing, I had to start by clarifying a few quirky tidbits she’s let drop. See her bio for more.

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1) Where were you born? Where did you grow up? Where do you currently live?
I was born in the middle of a 3-day blizzard. Some might say this was a portent of things to come. They might be right… I grew up in lovely small towns that really were ideal. I have fond memories of my childhood because of those towns, but sadly, they’ve grown to a point they’re no longer what they were. Currently I live in Arizona–it just shows what happens when you say never. (The gods laugh.)
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2) What made you decide to ‘decorate’ your mixer?
I hate to say this, but that’s actually not my mixer. The gentleman who pimps mixers lives in Arizona and I’m waiting for a road trip to visit him and see if I can get something custom. I do have a white KitchenAid and I would like the blue flames, so I guess it’s a picture representing my mixer in my mind.
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3) How exactly did a motor manage to fall on the back of your head?
Dad was cleaning out the rafters in the garage and I was standing at the base of the ladder. (I was 8 and we were going to be moving soon.) I don’t remember it happening, it didn’t hurt–all of a sudden Dad was rushing down the ladder saying he was sorry and asking if I was okay. I’ve got a scar on the back of my head that looks like an itty-bitty bald spot.
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4) Do you remember the moment when you decided to write novels?
Yup–I tried to write poetry (it really, really, really sucked, and my husband, an English major and poet himself, gently suggested I start by writing something I know. (I did not know poetry!) I knew romance. Started in August 1996 and never looked back.

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5) What kind of paranormal do you like to write about?
Light and funny. Different.
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6) What time period(s) have you set your historical novels in?
Book #1 is 1883, Book #2 is 1217, Book #3 is 1780, and Book #5 is 1883. I don’t know why I’m gravitating towards Victorian. I love the other periods just as much.
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7) If you couldn’t write romance, would you pick another genre? Which? Why?
Yes, though I’d still write romance. (I don’t think anybody could tell me I couldn’t in a way that I’d believe them.) Plus, the genres now are mixing so much where does one start and another begin? I wouldn’t/couldn’t write mysteries–too much to plan out and have it be believable. SF/Fantasy maybe, same with Westerns. I could do women’s fiction and a kids book. Are all authors this ambitious?
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8. Pantser or plotter? And have you tried it the other way? How did it work?
65% panster, 35% plotter. I tried plotting and the book had other ideas–it ignored my plans and created new characters. Now, I have ideas and turning points and make the in-between parts up as I go.
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9) Given unlimited funds and two weeks, where would you go on vacation?
British Isles. Amen, end of sentence, no question about it.
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10) How did you find ‘Will Write for Wine’?
I’m a cherry and Lani advertised it on the Cherry loops. If you go back and look at one of the very first posts, I suggested a tagline of “Like your writing and your wine–bottoms up!” They went with “If you can’t write for money, write for wine.” Don’t know who came out ahead on that one.
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