Remember When . . . TURN Gets Creative?

by Roseanna White | Apr 16, 2014 | 17th-19th Centuries, Remember When Wednesdays

Well, I was a week behind, but I did finally watch Turn on Sunday, both the pilot and the second episode. And thus far I’m enjoying it! I think I have an immunity to on-screen violence, at least when it’s Hollywood style (Which is to say, home videos that involve people getting hurt make me wince and look away and refuse to look back. But I can handle zombie or wartime on-screen violence without any trouble. Consider that a disclaimer for anyone with a sensitive stomach, LOL.), though I know it was a bit much for some of my friends.

And of course, I spent much of my time comparing their version of events with the history recorded by Alexander Rose in Washington’s Spies, which I used for my research in Ring of Secrets.

Overall, I really love the creative license they’ve taken. They’re building tension in a way that translates well to the screen, which is crucial. The actual tension was merely (merely–ha!) in the fear of being discovered by random troops while getting word to Washington, but that doesn’t exactly keep viewers on the edge of their seats, right? So they instead put the actual big-players of covert operations together, though they weren’t in reality.

Some differences I noted and approve:

Rogers. Rogers Rangers really were the menace of the northern campaign. They were ruthless, successful, and feared universally by the Patriots. Was Rogers ever in Setauket? Not that I recall. Did he recruit Abraham Woodhull to work for him? Um, no. Does it play well on TV? Absolutely! Love that they found a way to draw him into their story. I was going to mention him in Ring of Secrets, but he had resigned (or rather, had been forced to resign) by the time my story took place.

Anna Strong. One of the TV show’s most vital threads thus far is the relationship between Anna and Abraham. The show has billed them as formerly-engaged, still in love despite both of them being married to other people. This is an incredibly compelling element, and I do approve of how they’re using it (so long as they don’t introduce an affair. I really, really, really hope they don’t go there–hear that, AMC??). BUT–Anna was in fact a decade older than Abraham, not a former love-interest. Abraham’s wife, Mary, was a relative of Selah Strong (Anna’s husband). They were neighbors, yes, and Anna helped him in his covert activities, yes. She in fact posed as his wife when he was transporting letters to Brewster. You see, single men traveling alone were stopped and searched–couples were not. So Anna volunteered to go with him, and no one thought to ask if she were his wife.

That is, alas, were their relationship ended. But that’s not nearly interesting enough for TV, LOL.

Mary Woodhull. Quite simply, Abraham wasn’t married at this point in history, LOL. There was no Mary Woodhull yet. They wed in 1781, after the war, and had three children–two of whom ended up marrying Brewsters.

Which leads us to…

Caleb Brewster. Brewster is one of my favorite historical characters from the Culper Ring, though I didn’t get to mention him much in Ring of Secrets. This guy was a Colonial daredevil, always seeking an adventure. He’s the one member of the Culpers who refused a code name–and the perpetual thorn in the side of Rogers and others like him, always evading them. So far as I recall, he never beat the snot of Simcoe. Nor did Tallmadge face court martial for such an act. But you know–their Simcoe deserved it, so no arguments from me. 😉

So those are my early observations on where fiction lives in Turn. I can’t wait to see how they introduce the other historical figures that took on roles in the Culper Ring!

Remember When . . . She Forgot Nothing?

by Roseanna White | Mar 12, 2014 | 17th-19th Centuries, Remember When Wednesdays

Well, here we are. March 12. That means 19 days until the official, in-stores-everywhere release of Circle of Spies. My copies arrived on Monday. And when I looked it up, I saw it was in stock already at ChristianBook.com (woot!!!!).

EXCITING!!!!!!!

A book release is always fun–and funny. Because though this is the latest book the public sees, the author hasn’t been working on it for months. The last I saw of it was Thanksgiving, when I did my galley edits. I turned it in back in July. My mind has spent months in first-century Rome, and now it’s moving on to 1910 England. That’s where my thoughts are…but then these beautiful books show up, all the promo stuff starts appearing, and I get to shift gears.

Which is cool. Because I love Marietta and Slade. Love them. It was so much fun to write about a these two far-from-perfect characters. Even after agonizing over edits that required I cut 20K from the manuscript, even after reading through it three times in the course of two weeks back in November, I love this book. Sometimes I get sick of my books, LOL, but not with this one. I’m so, so happy to welcome Circle of Spies to the world.

So I thought today I’d talk a bit about one of my favorite aspects of the book. If you look at that back cover, the blurb beings with A glimpse was all she had. A glimpse was all she needed.

The line is taken almost verbatim from the book and is a key point. Marietta, which we learn in the first chapter (click here to read the first chapter!), has a perfect memory. As in, perfect. She can recall everything she has ever read. Everything she has ever seen. Everything she has ever heard. Every minute of every day. Every Joy.

Every pain.

Every laugh.

Every scolding.

Can you imagine? There are documented cases of people with these unbelievable memories, but their stories vary. Some are great academics, capable of so very much because of this remarkable gift. Some of them are so overwhelmed by it that they in effect do nothing.

As I developed Marietta in my mind, I already had some of her figured out by necessity. I knew her role in the story–she was a widow, one who has to covertly help an undercover agent without him knowing. At first I thought she would rather hermit-like, but as the plot came to me, I saw that wouldn’t work. No, Marietta Hughes had to be a southern belle to put southern belles to shame. She had to know how to flirt. She had to know how to manipulate. That was how she would pull off the task assigned to her.

Those of you who read Whispers from the Shadows will no doubt remember that Gwyneth had a pretty amazing memory too. She could recreate with pencil or brush anything she had seen. A glimpse was all she needed. That’s what started me on the thought of memory. That’s what made me remember the stories a coworker at my college used to tell.

See, St. John’s College is a place where you read. All classes are conversation-based, on the assigned texts. Twice a week are the big classes, the seminars as we call them. Where we discuss philosophy. To every class, the students and professors (whom we call tutors) come in not with text books but with original books. Conversations about the texts obviously require a lot of flipping through pages to hunt up that section you just have to quote to refute someone’s point…even though half the time, by the time you find it, the talk has moved on to another topic.

I worked in the Admissions Office, and one of the counselors was named Dave Cherry. Dave was a talker. He loved to tell us all about…everything, LOL. One of his favorite stories was of his days as a student at St. John’s, and of another student in his class. I don’t remember the guy’s name, but he had perfect recall. This was how he read a book: he opened it up, he flipped through the pages one by one, just glancing at each page. Then he’d put the book away, lay back on his bed, close his eyes, and read. Read, from the images of the pages in his mind.

???!!!!

How cool is THAT??

I never forgot those stories. Never forgot about how he never once took a book to class but could quote from anywhere in the book, perfectly, at will. How he wowed all his classmates with his ability to do this on command.

That, I decided, was a trait worthy of a heroine. But it could easily make a character too perfect, right? Too amazing. Too unbelievable.

So I decided it would be pretty darn fun to give it to a girl who just wanted to have a good time. Who wouldn’t appreciate the gift for many years. Who, in fact, viewed it as a burden.

Which it would be, if it were as extended as I made it. If she could forget nothing, including the bad things. If, as Marietta puts it, her mind were always filled with the march of meaningless facts, always so overwhelmed with the past, how could she help but want to just live in the moment? She cannot forget–so she ignores. And she has become a master of it by the time the book opens. Until Granddad Thad gives her a shake to her foundation and says it is time to use this gift of God for His purposes rather than her own.

Yes, I had a lot of fun working this gift into the story, and recreating those stories I heard. I always love to hear of the amazing, miraculous giftings the Lord sometimes gives.

Have you heard of any awe-inspiring stories of the human mind?