In Uncivil Defense, the latest book in my mystery series featuring 1940s private eye Maggie Sullivan, a woman wears a snood. It prompted one early reader to ask, “What’s a snood?” My first impulse was to say it’s sort of like a fancy hairnet. Half a second’s reflection, however, made me realize that many under […]
Continue readingWhile I polish the final draft of the next Maggie Sullivan mystery, which will be out this fall, I’m pleased to have another fine guest column about a group mentioned in the novels. The group is the one-of-a-kind Inland Children’s Chorus, and the author is Gerald (Jerry) Alred, Professor Emeritus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. […]
Continue reading(Writer Rosi Mackey, long-time fan of the Maggie Sullivan mysteries, provided this wonderful look at how people in Ohio, and other parts of America, got their news during World War II. Thanks for sharing, Rosi!) by Rosi Mackey Sipping my name-brand triple decaf espresso, I watched a mother trying to hustle her five-year old twins […]
Continue readingby M. Ruth Myers Mothers working in factories to support America’s war effort while their children roamed the streets at night provides a minor plot thread and a stroke of historical color in Dames Fight Harder, the sixth Maggie Sullivan mystery. It’s grounded firmly in the reality of 1940s Dayton, Ohio, where the detective series […]
Continue readingThe Pledge of Allegiance we recite today is different than the one recited by the characters who populate the Maggie Sullivan mysteries, and by America’s real-life citizens throughout the 1940s. Do you know how it differs? It’s a matter of only two words. Those words, and the change, were drilled into my brain because of […]
Continue readingStories of ordinary families are what bring history to life. In this second of two guest posts, retired Dayton, Ohio, police sergeant Stephen C. Grismer tells how his family’s automobile business survived World War II when cars — and tires — were rationed. Steve serves as secretary-treasurer of the Dayton Police Historical Foundation. He has […]
Continue readingHistory comes to life through individual stories. This two-part guest post by retired Dayton police sergeant Stephen C. Grismer gives a wonderful view of how one family’s business changed and adapted in the course of more than a century, reflecting life in the community around it. Steve serves as secretary-treasurer of the Dayton Police History […]
Continue readingby M. Ruth Myers While working on my current Maggie Sullivan mystery, I wanted to make sure when World War II blackouts went into effect in the United States, especially in Dayton, Ohio, where the series takes place. After all, private eyes wouldn’t be private eyes if they didn’t do a great deal of creeping […]
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