September 21-22, 2019: Traveling After my flight from California landed in Salt Lake City, I had a 2-1/2 hour layover. Then I boarded the red-eye to Heathrow. We arrived about 11:00 a.m. on the 22nd. Jet-lagged and bleary-eyed, I checked into my Bloomsbury hotel—too drained for more than a foggy scout for supper. I had … Continue reading Footsteps Through Time: A London Diary of Discovery and Dust
Historical Fiction
Experiencing York: A Writer’s Journey
As an 18-year-old art student in New York, I began the process of learning to “see.” More than 30 years later, when I landed a contract as a designer with an architectural firm, I learned what it means to “look.” Up until I was hired to be part of the team developing a multi-million-dollar entertainment … Continue reading Experiencing York: A Writer’s Journey
A Changing World: Last Day in London
Less than a week after I returned home from London in March 2020, the covid travel restrictions hit. It had been strange to see my fellow readers in the National Archives slinking around, warily keeping their distance from one another. Women in the public restroom peered over their masks with glazed eyes, as they washed … Continue reading A Changing World: Last Day in London
The Legacy Continues
When I am working on a novel, I have no time for recreational reading. Since I write historical fiction, I burn up many hours poring through source materials: newspaper archives, biographies, letters, memoirs, military records, insurance policies, genealogy charts, maps, history books, etc. My mornings and afternoons are consumed doing research and crafting prose, and … Continue reading The Legacy Continues
Life and Legacy
What is a legacy? If you look to the dictionary for an answer, the first definition that pops up is money or property left to someone in a will. The second definition is somewhat abstract, but it is the more interesting one. A legacy is something we inherit from a predecessor. In this second scenario, … Continue reading Life and Legacy
The Tacky Tie
The medical receptionist at the other end of the phone did not want to schedule an appointment for me. She insisted that I needed to see a specialist. “But it was the specialist who referred me to Dr. X,” I pointed out. “Yes, sweetie, I know that. But you need to see the specialist.” This … Continue reading The Tacky Tie
The Unforgotten
After I finished writing the manuscript for my first novel, A Moon Garden, I found myself in the unaccustomed state of having free time. One morning, I sat down at the computer and did a web search, to see if I could find a portrait of an aristocratic British soldier from the 1780’s, who looked … Continue reading The Unforgotten
Then and Again
“Turn right on Highway 20, and go about a half mile. When you come to the Taco Bell, take a left.” My co-worker may as well have given me directions to Mars. What was she talking about? Taco Bell? Did our town have a Taco Bell? Although I had lived here for a couple of … Continue reading Then and Again
A Time and a Place
“Maybe she doesn’t speak English,” said a short, chubby, middle-aged woman. “Or maybe she’s deaf,” her friend observed. “Hello? Hello? Can you understand me?” shouted the first woman. I was just coming to the statue of Charles James Fox at the north end of Bloomsbury Square, when I stopped and turned my head to the … Continue reading A Time and a Place
Blooming and Bearing
All of the roses in my garden have been in full bloom for at least a couple of weeks, but it was just this morning that I noticed there were several red and white blossoms on the guava tree. The olive tree is loaded with tiny off-white buds, and one of my pomegranates has several … Continue reading Blooming and Bearing
Roxane Gilbert 