December Tea Party - Tamera Lynn Kraft and Dina Sleiman!!!

Hello and welcome to the lovely Shield's Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg. For a glimpse of our town and wonderful Christmas decorations on your way in, please see the previous post by our friend Cynthia. Once inside the tavern, pull up a chair and enjoy some festive Christmas treats along with our normal fare of beef pasty, tarragon chicken salat, potato-leek pye, and wild berry crumble. We also have a special selection of nice warm beverages, since I know most of you will be traveling far in your carriages in this brisk winter weather. So have a mug of mulled cider, chocolate, or coffee. We also have some "fortified beverages" in case you brought your men folk along. And since it is a tea party after all, we can offer some local herbal varieties like mint, lavender, or chamomile, but no imported British tea today!!!!

Our serving maid, Constance Chambers, is adamant on this issue. She is quite the patriot, and has made a real fuss over the issue. We're celebrating the release of two very different novels today, and Constance makes a brief cameo appearance in Dance from Deep Within, a contemporary by Dina Sleiman. But Contance's bold, independent spirit and the backdrop of Colonial Williamsburg inspire a young Muslim (Saracen or Mussulman to those of you from an earlier era) lady in the book to search out her own American identity and to seek true freedom in her life. Here's a little more about it:

Despite her conservative Muslim heritage, Layla Al-Rai longs for a chance to earn her degree in engineering and perhaps even...dare she dream...to choose her own husband. But young women from her background rarely enjoy such freedoms. When she finally talks her parents into letting her attend college, she is drawn to fellow twenty-something students, Allie and Rain, over a class project. Allie, the blonde ballerina, faces her own struggles as she deals with an ex-fiancé and a church she had hoped to leave behind. Rain, the bi-racial hippie chick, longs for something to believe in, but her questioning could cost her the love of her life. When Layla s childhood sweetheart reenters her world, it seems her dreams might become real. Until everything falls apart. When she meets truth face to face, will she find the courage to accept it even if it requires the ultimate sacrifice?

Join these three unlikely friends as they learn to dance to the song of the spirit. You can order Dina's book in print or for one of those new fangled ebooks here. Especially take note of the ebook price of $3.99. Not bad, even by Colonial standards. And Constance says to tell you that they'd make great Christmas presents too!

Our other featured novel today, A Christmas Promise by Tamera Lynn Kraft, is a traditional colonial novel, and perfect for the holiday. The main character, Anna is here from Schoenbrunn Village, Ohio to add her Moravian touches to this Christmas party. She has brought the sweet buns and coffee she’ll serve at the Moravian Christmas Eve Lovefeast. And she brought some wild roast turkey, potatoes, cabbage, turnips, sweet corn bread, and squash pie. 

She’s been boiling syrup for months to make sure she had enough sugar for the Christmas feast. And she decided to decorate the tavern with Moravian traditions such as a Christmas tree and candles and verses to hang on the tree. She brought a putz with a manger and the Bethlehem village to place under the tree. No Moravian Christmas would be complete without them. Here's a little bit about her story.

During colonial times, John and Anna settle in an Ohio village to become Moravian missionaries to the Lenape. When John is called away two days before Christmas to help at another settlement, he promises he’ll be back by Christmas Day. When he doesn't show up, Anna works hard to not fear the worst while she provides her children with a traditional Moravian Christmas. Through it all, she discovers a Christmas promise that will give her the peace she craves.

This title is part of Pelican's Christmas Holiday Extravaganza novella collection. It's also a great price at only $.99, and you can order it here. Be sure to snatch up a copy and curl up by our hearth to read it. We'll provide blankets and a rocker if you like. 

So again, welcome. We are so glad to have you. Please introduce yourselves and share with us where you hale from and what brought you out to Williamsburg on this blustery winter day. Let Constance and Anna know which refreshments you'd like. They'll be happy to serve you. 

Moravian Star ornament

Anna has also brought along some great prizes, so be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of A Christmas Promise and your own Moravian star Christmas ornament.  It looks beautiful!

We also have a lovely mob cap from Colonial Williamsburg for one of our guests! Please leave a comment (in character preferably!) to be entered for the prizes!

White mob cap from Colonial Williamsburg

For more info on today's authors, please visit their websites:
Dina's http://dinasleiman.com
Tamera's http://wordsharpeners.wordpress.com/

Colonial Williamsburg's Christmas Decorations by Cynthia Howerter

Colonial Williamsburg’s Christmas decorations are legendary. Arriving in the colonial capital last week to celebrate Thanksgiving, I was delightfully surprised to find many doors and windows already adorned with beautiful Christmas wreaths, swags, and decorations. Not to mention that the people in Williamsburg are among the friendliest and most hospitable I’ve ever met! Please join me on a stroll through Colonial Williamsburg.

On my way to a tea at Christiana Campbell's Tavern, I met these lovely colonial ladies. Three beautifully-dressed generations of the Rapp-Agnew women traveled across Virginia to attend the tea! Please meet my new friends Betty Rapp, Pam Agnew, Katherine Agnew, and Elizabeth Agnew.



Don't the cheerful decorations at Christiana Campbell's Tavern make you want to go inside for tea and scones?



 





One of the trademarks of the Colonial Williamsburg wreaths and swags is their incorporation of locally-found items. Note the oyster shells and colonial clay pipes on this wreath at the Christiana Campbell Tavern. I'm sure many a patron enjoyed oysters and a pipe at a leisurely supper inside this historic restaurant.



The entrance to the John Greenhow Store uses an old Williamsburg favorite - the half-moon swag decorated with apples, pineapple, boxwood, and magnolia leaves hangs above the doorway.  Unadorned pine roping outlines the door frame. 



 



The fruit and greenery on this traditional colonial swag are actually mounted on a wooden board with protruding nails that hold the fruit in place.

 



For their oval swags, which hang to either side of the entrance door, the John Greenhow Store used pine, pine cones, apples, dried orange slices, and dried lotus pods. The fragrance was divine!











The entrance to this shop couldn't be simpler. A plain pine swag surrounds the door frame while two small wreaths accentuate the top corners.





A Christmas wreath can be simple and inexpensive yet visually appealing. Can you smell the fresh pine and apples?  Mmm.



This shop on Duke of Gloucester Street used a small swag on the porch's corner post. 















The designer used vivid colors to make a bold statement on this simple swag composed of wheat, larkspur, yarrow, dried flowers, and lotus pods covered with a green substance.





The Tarpley, Thompson & Company Store used fragrant pine roping and a wreath loaded with fruit to help put its customers in the Christmas spirit.







The large Tarpley-Thompson Store wreath uses apples, pinecones, pomegranates, oranges, artichokes, yarrow, and pine.

The vibrant colors of this wreath draw the eye to the door of this private residence. Surely a crackling fire and hot wassail await inside!





This homeowner took advantage of the porch's distinct architectural features to accentuate it with two unique swags.





A variety of dried flowers - all grown in Williamsburg gardens - adorn this beautiful swag.

This highly colorful but small window swag shouts cheerfulness. The grain, Chinese lanterns, yarrow, and sunflowers are all grown locally.







The owner of this private residence chose two matching swags on either side of their front door for their Christmas decorations. Can you see the pheasant feathers protruding from the tops and bottoms of the swags? 












I love the way this swag uses sunflowers, oyster shells, boxwood, bittersweet, pine, and greens. I'm sure the sunflowers will be a hit with the local feathered friends once they find them!



I hope you’ve enjoyed strolling through Colonial Williamsburg with me! Why not plan to visit this beautiful, friendly town over the Christmas holidays? 

All photographs ©2013 Cynthia Howerter

Award-winning author Cynthia Howerter loves using her training in education, research, writing, and speaking to teach and inspire others about a time in America that was anything but boring. A member of the Daughters of the American revolution (DAR), Cynthia believes history should be alive and personal.

Visit Cynthia's website: Cynthia Howerter - all things historical

Secret Colonial Tunnels Beneath Wilmington

While researching my next novel, For Love or Country, book 2 in The MacGregor Legacy, I came across some interesting information regarding real secret tunnels existing under the historic district of Wilmington, NC to the Cape Fear River. Some of these tunnels date back to before the American Revolutionary War made of brick with vaulted ceilings.

Lots of legends and rumors have surrounded these tunnels such as pirates stashing their booty, escaped prisoners, and the Underground Railroad. Most historians agree that none of these legends can be verified, but most likely the tunnels were used for sewage and drainage.

Burgwin-Wright House (Flickr, NCBrian)

The existence of these tunnels gave me the perfect opportunity to use them in my story during the Revolutionary War. One tunnel is known to be under the Burgwin-Wright House built around 1770 and is the location where General Cornwallis set up his headquarters for the British when he took command of Wilmington in
1781. According to one of the legends, Patriot soldiers escaped while being held as prisoners in the Burgwin-Wright House. Since the foundation of the house was built over an old jail, the brick basement was a perfect place for the British to hold Patriot prisoners. Therefore, this house plays a significant role as a setting for several scenes in my novel. To aide me in my research, I found transcribed descriptions written by the family that lived there when Cornwallis took over the house.

Of all the tunnels, Jacob's Run is the most famous named for Joseph Jacobs, a prominent merchant tanner. In 1775 he and his brother Benjamin built St. John's Masonic Lodge, now the Children's Museum of Wilmington. According to an April 28, 1967 newspaper article that appeared in the Wilmington Morning Star, contractors once again discovered the tunnel while digging the foundation of a new restaurant they were building in the former Theater Manor building. Fittingly, they named the restaurant, Jacob's Run. The tunnel ran beneath the building and all around it following the flow of natural spring water. City engineers state that there are no authentic records documenting when the tunnel was built or for what purpose--yet they obviously exist and can be dated back to the colonial period.

Mitchell Anderson House

Another setting that I used in the story was the Mitchell Anderson House built around 1739, the oldest surviving house in Wilmington. When Lord Cornwallis took over the Burgwin-Wright House in 1871, Major James Craig of the British Army was forced to vacate the premises and took over the Mitchell House.

Historic homes like this and real existing tunnels with lots of legendary stories surrounding them are great fodder for an author's imagination. Therefore, I used what real historic information that we have about them and took creative license with the rest to fit it into the storyline of my novel, For Love or Country set in 1781, Wilmington, NC. 

A Cup of Christmas Cheer - Winner of Blog Hop Announced!

A Cup of Christmas Cheer, Volumes One Tales of Faith and Family for the Holidays and Volume Two Takes of Joy and Wonder for the Holidays, from Guideposts Books

Susan Fletcher is the winner of the A Cup of Christmas Cheer Blog Hop.  We had over 20 readers who commented on EVERY blog: Carrie Fancett Pagels', Carla Olson Gade's, Ashley Clark's, Anita Mae Warren's, Julie Carobini's, and Johnnie Alexander Donley's.

Congratulations SUSAN from all of us!  THANK YOU to all the wonderful readers who stopped by the blogs.

And we have WONDERFUL NEWS!!!  Guidepost Books sold out of the first run (reported to be 28,000 copies!) and has done ANOTHER print run already even though they were only released this month!  Praise the Lord and may these stories bring encouragement and inspiration to the readers.  Copies are available for order only through the Guideposts Books' website. Click here to order.

Susan will receive, as part of her gifts, this antique reproduction colonial tea set from the Yorktown Victory Center in Virginia!
She'll also be receiving several gift cards, special cocoa packets, tea, and the A Cup of Christmas Cheer book set!!!

Carrie and Carla, both members of Colonial Quills blog both have their stories in Volume One of the hardcover book set.

Once again, congratulations to SUSAN FLETCHER and THANK you to those who came by all the blogs!

Colonial Roots Cross Cultures

by Dina Sleiman

My newest novel, Dance from Deep Within, is not Colonial...or even Federalist. So you might wonder why I'm here today. This contemporary style book takes a look at the lives of three young women today: a veiled Muslim, a bi-racial hippie chick of the post modern persuasion, and a blond ballerina. Not exactly the classic colonial subject matter.

But isn't that so typical of America. Even in colonial days we were a melting pot of religions and ethnicities. At some point each of our families began as strangers in a strange land. With Thanksgiving coming, we can't help but remember how the Pilgrims drew from the strengths of the Native Americans to survive in this strange new land.

Gina Welborn, Dina Sleiman, C.J. Chase, Deb Marvin, and Carrie Pagels in Williamsburg

Diversity is a hallmark of American culture. Yet when we think of Colonial Days it is easy to focus on the white, Anglo-Saxon side of the story. Last year when I visited Jamestown with my son's class, they presented a very different portrait. A picture that included American Indians and African slaves as very important parts of the Early-American tapestry. The Europeans never would have survived here on their own. If any of you read my last novel, Love in Three-Quarter Time, you got a glimpse at how these groups all worked together in 1817 Virginia.

But in my new novel, it is Layla Al-Rai, the Muslim-American character, who is still in many ways a stranger in a strange land. Although she was born in America and holds an American passport, she has spent most of her life in a little Muslim bubble in the area of Detroit. She is much more connected to her Lebanese roots and history than to her American roots. Yet she longs to discover the land of her birth and typical American culture.

Part of Layla's journey in the story is learning about the individuality and freedom that are as much a part of the American culture as diversity. Her love interest Mo, a recent convert to Christianity, whisks her away to visit Colonial Williamsburg. There she takes off her veil and lets the breeze flow free through her hair for the first time in many years. Walking its streets alongside horses, carriages, and workers in historical garb, she begins to truly contemplate her American roots. She recalls a novel she read as a child about a young girl, Constance Chambers (roughly inspired by the American Girl novel Felicity), who walked those same streets. She had admired Constance's spirit and her willingness to stand up for a mistreated slave. Suddenly Layla gets it. She wants that sort individuality in her own life. She wants her own relationship with God, not just the religion her parents have dictated. And she wants to stand up for women who are being oppressed by radical Islam.

She wants to experience freedom in the truest sense.

In that moment, a waving flag of red, white, and blue comes to represent everything she is searching for. And later in the story Layla gets to enjoy her first real Thanksgiving among a colorful cast of multi-ethnic characters. It really doesn't get any more American than that.

So if you'd like to explore your American roots through new eyes over this holiday season, check out Dance from Deep Within. And be sure to come back next week for the tea party when we will be celebrating this book at Williamsburg's Shield Tavern.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite her conservative Muslim heritage, Layla Al-Rai longs for a chance to earn her degree in engineering and perhaps even...dare she dream...to choose her own husband. But young women from her background rarely enjoy such freedoms. When she finally talks her parents into letting her attend college, she is drawn to fellow twenty-something students, Allie and Rain, over a class project. Allie, the blonde ballerina, faces her own struggles as she deals with an ex-fiancé and a church she had hoped to leave behind. Rain, the bi-racial hippie chick, longs for something to believe in, but her questioning could cost her the love of her life. When Layla s childhood sweetheart reenters her world, it seems her dreams might become real. Until everything falls apart. When she meets truth face to face, will she find the courage to accept it even if it requires the ultimate sacrifice? Order here