DEBORAH CROMBIE: How perfect is it that we have a new book from Jess Montgomery right smack dab in the middle of Women's History Month? You certainly had to be a strong woman to be a sheriff in Ohio in 1925, like Jess's character Lily Ross. And I absolutely love the connections she's made in her new book, THE STILLS, to a real-life powerful woman.
Here's Jess to tell you more! (And what a stunning cover!)
JESS MONTGOMERY: Since I’ve been writing the Kinship Historical Mysteries, I’ve received many comments that they feature strong women. Hurrah! I love to write, and read, about strong women.
The heart of the series is Lily Ross, the sheriff of Bronwyn County in 1925, in the Appalachian region of Ohio. Lily is inspired by Ohio’s true first female sheriff, Maude Collins.
In THE STILLS, the third outing set in 1927, Prohibition comes to the forefront of the story, with Lily's nemesis--bootlegger George Vogel--setting up a dangerous, deadly operation right in Bronwyn County. Lily's co-narrator for this novel is Fiona--George's new wife, and a former member of the Kinship community. Though Lily and Fiona have very different means, and thus on the surface are complete opposites, they desire the same end: control over their own lives.
Into this volatile showdown, I couldn’t help but include another real-life woman: U.S. Assistant Attorney General Mabel Walker Willebrandt, the highest-ranking woman in federal government in her day. And she wasn’t an obscure figure. Partly because of her unusual role as a woman (Mabel was the second woman to receive an appointment to Assistant Attorney General, but the first served only a few months, and Mabel served from 1921 to 1929), and partly because she spoke frequently and made the news often, Mabel was very well known across the country.
Her job was to ensure that the laws of the Volstead act, set up to give teeth to Prohibition, were enforced. That included, in part, overseeing the newly formed Bureau of Prohibition. (Previously, a Prohibition Unit fell under the Bureau of Internal Revenue, but in 1927, the unit was elevated into its own bureau.)
Though Mabel personally opposed Prohibition, she did believe in the rule of law, and that it should be enforced for everyone. Her virtuous view didn’t win her a lot of friends—in spite of some spectacular successes in taking down bootleggers and crime bosses—even among those who supposedly, as far as the public was concerned, supported the law. She was given some fairly harsh nicknames at the time—Prohibition Portia and Mrs. Firebrand among them. (The latter was particularly unkind, given that she was divorced—another unusual act for a woman back then.)
Because the Anti-Saloon League was headquartered in Westerville, Ohio (where there is now a museum for the league), which is not too far northeast of where Lily lives and works, it occurred to me that it would be viable for Mabel to have a speaking tour that would include Kinship. And since Lily is working with a Bureau agent in her confrontation with George Vogel (and in real life, Mabel came into conflict with George Remus), I delighted in bringing them together for a brief meeting.
Even at the start of THE STILLS, Lily is nervous about meeting Mabel. And yet, though Lily also believes in the rule of law, she is uncomfortable with how the particular laws of Prohibition are carried out:
“Lily thinks of a quote from Wayne Wheeler, an advocate from the Anti-Saloon League, headquartered just northeast of here near Columbus, Ohio’s state capitol. He’d said, The government is under no obligation to furnish the people with alcohol that is drinkable when the Constitution prohibits it. The person who drinks this industrial alcohol is a deliberate suicide. . . .
The quote, reported far and wide and in her local newspaper just last month, had so horrified Lily that it stuck with her, word for word. It could only be deliberate if the drinker was fully informed. She finds the law requiring deadly methanol to be added to industrial alcohol to
be reprehensible, no matter the twisted logic defending it. Maybe, when she meets Mabel Walker Willebrandt, she’ll ask how a government that’s supposed to help and educate people could do such a thing.”
Does Lily confront Mabel with such a question? Well, you’ll have to read THE STILLS to find out!
In the meantime, it’s clear that Lily, Mabel, and even Fiona, are all strong women in their own, unique ways.
One reason I like to write about strong women (and strive to be one, myself) is because of the role models of strong women in my family I still look back on: My Aunts Opal and May, my Grandmother Lou, to name a few. And there are celebrities who I admire as strong women—Dolly Parton immediately comes to mind.
How about you? Do you think of strong women from your family, your community or even history or popular culture when you need a dose of encouragement and strength?
Leave a comment, and one Jungle Red reader’s name will be drawn at random to receive a copy of THE STILLS.
Jess Montgomery is the author of the Kinship Historical Mystery Series published by Minotaur Books. The Stills is the most recent title in the series, inspired by Ohio's true first female sheriff in 1925. Set in the Appalachian region, the series draws on themes of workers' rights and women's roles, and has garnered several awards, including the Ohioana Book Awards Readers' Choice in Fiction for 2020. She is also the Level Up Your Writing (Life) columnist for Writer's Digest Magazine, and the Literary Life columnist for the Dayton Daily News.
There's more about THE STILLS here.
Ah, Jess, you’ve piqued my curiosity [as if I needed any particular incentive to read “The Stills”] and now I am intrigued about the meeting between Lily and Mabel . . . I’m looking forward to reading your newest book . . . .
ReplyDeleteStrong women? My mom and my grandmother were both strong women . . . and wonderful examples for all four of us children . . . .
Thank you, Joan! Your mother and grandmother sound awesome!
DeleteThe Stills sounds like a great read, Jess. I'm always amazed at the women who were actually able to gain non-traditional roles for women almost a hundred years ago now. They are there in history, and I love reading about them. It's truly astounding how they were able to navigate a world that was so against their participation in it as anything other than wives and mothers. And, that your book is about prohibition interests me, too. It's hard to believe that our country outlawed liquor at one point. You have a great combination of winning elements for this book.
ReplyDeleteStrong women for me would be my mother and my aunts, plus some teachers I had growing up. My mother's father died when she was just twelve years old, and she and her mother had a hard time getting by. But, my mother finished high school early, went to college and got a teaching degree. She was a wonderful teacher and took great care of her mother while getting married and starting her own family. I'm sure my grandmother was strong, too (she had to be), but all my grandparents were dead by the time I was born. Then there were my father's sisters, the aunts, who were tall women with iron wills. They weren't afraid to say what they thought.
Thank you, Kathy. It is fascinating to excavate history to find the often hidden stories of powerful women. So lovely to have your mom, aunts and teachers as role models!
DeleteJESS: The Stills sounds like another great read in this series. It's wonderful that Lily was inspired by the real Maude Collins.
ReplyDeleteThe main strong woman in my family was my mom. She was the eldest of 4 children. Her mother died at the age of 39 from TB so she took over the role of mother. Then my mom was married off in an arranged marriage and emigrated to Toronto, Canada in the early 1960s. She had to learn English and how to run a North American-style household and raise a family.
And at work, one of my early bosses at Environment Canada in the 1980s was a woman named Linda. She had graduated from the same environmental studies program at the University of Waterloo as me a decade earlier. There were only 4 female professional staff in a directorate of 130 men, and she was a section head with 5 staff. Linda had one much older male technician among her staff who really gave her a hard time. I guess he did not like being told what to do by a much younger female supervisor. Linda had a lot on her personal plate with 2 young children (4 years, 6 months old) and she had a brutal 2.5 hour commute from Milton to Toronto each workday. Thanks to her, I ended up changing the direction of my career in climate change research. She was a great mentor and friend to me.
For my mom, I should had added another story. A few months after I left Toronto to go study at the University of Waterloo, she shocked both me and my dad by getting a full-time job working for an haute couture designer in trendy Yorkville. My mom had always made my childhood clothes but she learned how to make her own custom patterns (based on a photo a client showed them). She ended up making all my custom business suits the same way. Each one was classic but had unique variations to make them stand out. I have kept all the suits in my closet although I can only fit into 2 or 3 of them since she passed away suddenly from a brain aneurysm in 2003 at the age of 66.
DeleteBoth your boss and your mother sound like women who forged their own way, in different arenas but with good success. Your mum's design and sewing skills are enviable. What a wonderful way to be artistic and creative.
DeleteAMANDA: Yes, my mom felt "free" to explore her creative passions once I left the nest at 19. And she probably did not want to be stuck at home all day with my dad for company.
DeleteAn arranged marriage! I can't imagine how wrenching it would have been to have to suddenly change every single aspect of your life in such a way, and without any control over it. Sounds like your mother made the best of it, Grace. What a strong role model for you.
DeleteKAREN: It was common in Japan, and frankly my other grandparents tried to hook me up with a guy from a "good family" when we visited Japan in 1980. I was 14 years old.
DeleteAlso, I should have mentioned in my original post that my mom was very sick from her 30s. She had kidney failure at 34, went on home dialysis for 3 years, and got a kidney transplant at the age of 37. She had 100% more energy after that but the anti-rejection drugs she had to take during the rest of her life had nasty side effects. I was just glad to have her in my llfe for as long as I did.
Grace, thank you for sharing the story of your mother. What an amazing woman. She certainly lived a creative and inspiring life. I love that she found such a creative career later on. I can't imagine designing patterns from photos! And how lovely that she designed and made your suits. I also loved reading about your boss. Our younger daughter was an outdoor educator, and is now in law school focusing on environmental law!
DeleteGrace, your mom sounds like an amazing woman!
DeleteJESS AND DEBS: Thank you for your kind words about my mom. I just wish I had inherited a smidgen of our sewing talent. I have trouble doing any basic hand stitching to repair a tear or replace a button. And I remember almost flunking Home Economics in grade 8/9!
DeleteJESS: And your daughter's journey to environmental law is inspiring. We need more of them, now more than ever.
I'm so excited about this book and need to get over to my indy bookstore where my copy is waiting!
ReplyDeleteThank you for introducing Mabel to us - I'd never heard of her.
So many strong women. My grandmother, who drove a car across country at age 17 in 1918. My late friend Annie, who grew up in the racist south, became a Quaker during college to the rage of her minister father. She never stopped being a peace activist - and never lost her delightful southern accent. My blind friend Jeanne. So many women!
Edith, thank you for getting my book, and at an indy bookstore! Your grandmother and friends sound inspiring and delightful!
DeleteJess, welcome to JRW and congratulations on The Stills. I love historical fiction and know very little about that part of our country and less about that time frame. It is always amazing to hear that there were women in powerful positions during my grandmother's day. We had just won the right to vote 7 years before the setting of your book. I think there are many people who still do not take women seriously nor want one in a position of power.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother ran the family business, a small grocery store, while raising 6 children. She also took her sister's children in after her sister's early death. Grandma's daughters all went on to college, earned degrees and became professionals way before that was the norm.
Attending college in the 1960's, it was easy to see that things were changing dramatically for women. They are still changing, two steps forward, one step back. The frustrating part is having to convince other women that we deserve to be at the table where decisions are made.
I look forward to reading your series and learning more about Ohio during prohibition.
Thank you, Judy! I agree--it's frustrating that too many still don't take women seriously, including some women. We definitely deserve to be at the table! I hope you'll enjoy reading my series.
DeleteI have learned so much history and so much about other times and places through well-researched fiction. Thanks for adding to your series, Jess, and congrats on your new book.
ReplyDeleteIn my life, strong women come in all different guises, including teachers, friends and relations. And, I like to think that I am one, too.
Amanda, I'm sure you are a strong woman! And thank you!
DeleteCongratulations on the book, Jess. I love how you've combined real women and modeled characters on others (like Mabel).
ReplyDeleteMy mother and my grandmothers were all strong in their own ways. I think of them often.
Thank you, Liz! How lovely that your mother and grandmothers live on in your heart and memories.
DeleteCongratulations on your new release!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother and her two sisters were orphans, raised by their grandfather and his second wife in upstate New York. They all went to college to train for professions: a librarian, a high school principal, and a teacher. Strong, successful, dedicated career women.
Thank you, Margaret! Your grandmother and great-aunts sound like strong, inspiring women. So lovely they had their grandparents to take them in and rear them.
DeleteWelcome Jess, and congrats on the new book in this wonderful series! Was that true about methanol added to alcohol? That's crazy. I think of two very strong women, my grandmother Alice, and my mother-in-law, Dorothy. If I'm acting particularly bossy, my hub calls me Dorothy Alice LOL.
ReplyDeleteROBERTA: I love it, Dorothy Alice!
DeleteThanks, Lucy! It's absolutely true re: methanol. I wrote an article about it for History Reader (just google History Reader to find the website, which is published by the history book division of St. Martin's Press). And... that's still why you don't want to drink industrial alcohol (wood grain alcohol) or use it to do your own brewin'. (Well, and also, it has to taste incredibly awful, right?) The effects of Prohibition linger, in so many ways. Also, I love that you can be particularly bossy at times AND get your own special nickname for it. Hah!
DeleteThe Stills sounds like a fabulous read.
ReplyDeleteI love books about strong women. My paternal grandmother was a strong woman who saw her course and steered her path without deviation. Another who gives me inspiration was my friend Jean Raines. She was like a mother to me and is still serves as my bell weather sixteen years after her passing.
Kait, how awesome to have a friend like Jean who lives on in your heart, giving you advice and guidance just from who she was as a person. So lovely.
DeleteToo funny, Roberta!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jess, for bringing strong women into fiction. And especially for highlighting historic figures who were ahead of their time, like Mabel Willebrandt.
So many strong women in my life. My great grandmother, whose husband either died in a West Virginia coal mine collapse or wandered off after. She packed up her children and took them to Ohio and opened a dry goods store. Her daughter, my grandmother, who raised nine children of her own plus a young man from the Philippines. My mother, a 3-pound preemie in 1930, who just survived Covid-19 and celebrated her 91st birthday two months ago. And my own three strong and successful daughters, all of whom have taken on challenges that would have been unthinkable to me. It's humbling.
KAREN: You definitely do have an amazing roster of strong women in your family! Your three daughters also had you as a great role model on how to live a full life.
DeleteKaren, what strong and admirable women in your family, from so many generations! And Grace makes an excellent point--YOU must be a great role model to have three awesome daughters. I understand how you feel, though. I have two daughters, and I sometimes just look at them in awe for the challenges they take on that would leave me shaking in my boots. I'll stay humble, but take a bit of credit too for being a good role model!
DeleteI come from a long line of strong women, and I hope I do them justice. Sometimes I think it takes extraordinary strength just to hang in there from day to day. I'm going to guess that most of the women we know are much stronger than we think.
ReplyDeleteI've heard great things about this series, Jess. It's clearly time to move it up on my TBR list. I always find it interesting to see how law enforcement officers sort out the personal and the professional. It sounds like Lily has much on her mind and much on her hands in that department.
I learned about Mabel through Karen Abbott's book, "The Ghosts of Eden Park," which was a fascinating true crime read. What a woman! I highly recommend the book, for anyone who wants to know more about the Prohibition era.
Oh! And can you tell us about the quilt in the background of your photo?
DeleteHi, Gigi! I'm honored to be on your TBR list, and delighted to being moving up the list! Lily does have a lot on her hands, balancing career and personal life.
DeleteI love Karen Abbott's book! I found out about it as I was researching and writing THE STILLS. Her book is a fascinating look at George Remus, who is the inspiration for my series "arch villain," George Vogel. Now, if we could just convince Karen to write a biography of Mabel...
Oh, and as for the quilt... it was made by my Grandmother Lou (my dad's mom). She loved quilting, and I have quite a few of her quilts now, including one passed along to me by my Aunt Roz, a quilt that includes pieces of fabric from my aunt's nurse uniform and my Uncle Jimmy's Navy uniform. But the quilt in the background is one of my favorites, even though I don't know the provenance of the fabric, because I just love the colors! I'm a huge fan of anything that is teal, turquoise or royal blue.
DeleteSorry--one more reply. Quilting is a metaphor in the fourth novel in the Kinship series, which I'm currently working on.
DeleteQuilts that come from family members are their own storybooks, if we know how to read them. As you said, a piece from this person, a piece from somebody else. When I make a scrap quilt, using fabrics from when I was in college and made most of my clothes, I can tell you where every piece came from.
DeleteHooray, Jess! You know I love this book, and you can all read my rave reviews on bookclub and Goodreads.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of strong women – – how about you? Your research astounds me, and I would love to know more about it if you get a chance.I love the idea of a fictional character meeting a real character – – how careful are you to keep the real character absolutely authentic? And how do you immerse yourself in writing about another time? That must be absolutely transporting. Congratulations on a fabulous book!
Good morning, Hank! I have read your rave reviews, and I am so, so grateful. Not to mention honored that you love my book so much! <3
DeleteLily is inspired by Maude Collins, but very much her own character. I honestly would never have thought to write a novel about a female sheriff in 1920s Appalachia if I hadn't learned of Maude. Without Maude, the idea would not have seemed plausible to me. So Lily is authentically plausible, and like Maude, worked at first as her sheriff-husband's jail matron, then became sheriff after he was killed in the line of duty, and then ran for office in her own right--all while raising children. But Lily's cases, relationships, emotions, and so on are strictly from my imagination.
Similarly, George Vogel is inspired by true life gangster and bootlegger George Remus (a genuinely terrifying man.) Again, Remus's actions as a gangster inform the plausibility of Vogel's actions. But I wholly made up Vogel's childhood, emotions and so on.
As for Mabel, all the facts revealed about her in my novel are true. The part I made up was the meeting between her and Lily, although that too is entirely plausible as Mabel went on speaking tours and was a huge supporter of the Anti-Saloon League, headquartered in Westerville, which is just northwest of where Lily/Maude live/lived.
I love immersing myself in writing about another time! Kinship and Bronwyn County, as firmly grounded in reality as they are, have become another world to me. And I have to admit, especially this past year, I find myself looking around at current events and every now and then thinking--nope! I can't handle this right now; off to Kinship I go! Not that life is particularly easy in that time or place, but I do love escaping to it. I've always been fascinated by the 1920s and 1930s for whatever reason, and I like exploring those decades from a rural perspective.
Jess, over the past year we have all been escaping to other places in the books we are reading. I sure have and we've talked about it over and over on the JRW blog.
DeleteOh, what a thoughtful wonderful answer! Thank you, dear Jess!
DeleteThe Stills sounds great! I am very curious as to whether Lily confronts Mabel.
ReplyDeleteFor most of my life, if you asked about strong women in my family I would have mentioned only my paternal grandmother, who certainly qualified. Raised in a holler in West Virginia, she married young and had two sons with an abusive drunk. She stayed through the beatings, but left when he got her little sister pregnant. She left the boys with her father for a short time while she went to Ohio and found work and made a new life for them. Even in her 80's, when I remember her, she was a force to be reckoned with.
But in recent years I have come to appreciate that in her own, different way, my mother was a very strong woman. She had a comfortable upbringing in Louisiana, but during WWII she met and fell for a military man from Ohio and left everything she knew to move north and build a life with him. She actually made the move while he was overseas, travelling on a train, pregnant, to stay with a mother-in-law she had never met. She had four kids with my dad and managed raising them on very little income, with him working away through the week more often than not. Then he died when she was in her late 40's, and she had to reinvent herself and work outside the home (with only a high school education and no work experience except back in high school.) Mom was a tiny little woman and had lots of nervous mannerisms, so she always seemed so fragile and vulnerable. I guess that's why it took me most of my life to realize that under those matters of style, there was a core of carbon steel.
Susan, what a fascinating and clear picture you've given us of your mother. I love that--under her nervous mannerisms, there was a strong woman. I think sometimes we need years to see people, especially those closest to us and our elders, in a different perspective, and more for who they really were or are. How wonderful you've come to an appreciation for your mom with time and perspective (which speaks to your own depth!) And yeah--I wouldn't mess with your grandma. I have a few women like that in my family tree!
DeleteSusan, I randomly pulled your name as the winner of my giveaway of THE STILLS! <3 Please email me at jessmontgomeryauthor@gmail.com with the best postal mail address for you, and I will get your book to you as soon as I can! Thanks!
DeleteThis series sounds wonderful. Have to check it out at my library. My two grandmothers were the strongest women I know. raising large families through the depression and World War 2, they worked side by side with their husbands in the face of impossible hardship, never complained, always looking for the bright side of life.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jackie, and I hope you do find it at your library! (I love our libraries!) Your grandmothers sound fantastic!
DeleteI'm so excited to learn there's a new Jess Montgomery book out! I'm delighted you've made it up to Prohibition - it's such a fascinating, complicated time that's been simplified in the public imagination to Jazz age bathtub gin and Eliot Ness.
ReplyDeleteAs for strong women, my background is full of them, from my great-great grandmother who raised her 8 kids after her husband took to his bed as an invalid, to my grandmother, who survived the Great Depression by taking in laundry, to my own mom, who was 21 with a small baby when she was widowed, and who moved to Alabama from her native upstate New York so her husband's parents could know their granddaughter.
As a matter of fact, I suspect in real life strong women have been the norm, if only by necessity...
Julia, I suspect you're right! And yet, strong women's stories often get washed aside.
DeleteYou're also right that the 1920s and Prohibition have been over simplified. Prohibition is fascinating and incredibly complex, even nuanced. As I mentioned to Hank, I love looking at this time period from a rural perspective.
It's stunning to realize Prohibition was federal law for almost 14 years (Jan. 1920-Dec. 1933), and was local law in many place before that, and is still local law by default in several places today (with provisions to vote in exceptions.) So Prohibition is definitely in the background of all the Kinship books thus far, but it was time--especially with 1927 being a particularly fascinating year in Prohibition history--to bring it to the forefront of a plot!
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ReplyDeleteA new Kinship book is certainly good news! Looking forward to reading it. I think I come from a family of strong women - my mother certainly was one. I believe my father's mother was, too. I can't think of any heroics from either to talk about, other than how they persevered in hard times; they saw what they needed to do and got on with it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Judi! Perseverance is heroic in itself, and I love that practicality--seeing what needs doing, and getting on with it!
DeleteHi Jess. I have The Widows sitting in my shelf of TBRs but missed the second book coming out so I have some catching up to do.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about the term "strong." Do I know strong women or are women, who have been in my life, strong because they endured life? Those Widows at young ages, my mom acknowledging gay family members in a public discussion, or the women who stay home as mothers. It takes guts to be a stay at home mom in this day of being taught that one has to have a profession outside the house.
Hi Deana! I hope you enjoy reading my books and catching up. (Honestly, it seems in some ways to me like THE WIDOWS just came out, not like it was two years ago!)
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ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful stories here today! I loved reading about The Stills, and Lily and Mabel, and am putting the book on my TBR list now (still want to know about the snake handling, Jess!) Jess, you must have so much fun doing the research for this series.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother certainly wouldn't have struck anyone as "strong." She was soft-spoken and self-effacing. By the time I was born she'd come to live with my parents and served pretty much as cook, bottle washer, and child minder for my mom, who was working with my dad in their business. My grandmother, however, was widowed young and raised four children on her own during the Depression. At one point she even had to sell her wedding ring to put food on the table. When her children were grown, she moved from Texas to California to teach school. I wish I knew more about that part of her life, but she never wanted to talk about the past. Her name was Lillian, so close to your Lily, and she was not only my grandmother but my best friend.
The more I think about this, the more I think that most of the women I know are strong women, even if they haven't done visibly ground-breaking things.
Oh, and Jess, do tell about the quilt in your photo!
Now I see you answered Gigi, above!
DeleteThank you! And thank you for hosting me! Ah yes, the snake handling... it does form a key element of the plot... Just for the record, Reds, though I take my research quite seriously, all my snake/serpent handling research was done through reading and YouTube videos.
DeleteI think you make a great point--visibly ground-breaking things aren't necessary markers for strength. Your grandmother Lillian sounds so wonderful. And how lovely that she was your best friend, too.
My mother's uncle supposedly ran booze into central Michigan from Canada during Prohibition. The family story is that he supported various parts of the family with the money he made doing this.
ReplyDeleteEmily, hi! The history of transporting booze between Canada and the U.S. (including the northern shore of Ohio--which sounds funny to say, but we do have a shore!) is fascinating, and one I'm exploring for another book. I hope you got a lot of fascinating stories out of your mother about her uncle!
DeleteMy grandmother who was widowed at 35 with 6 small children and had to work through the depression with menial jobs but succeeded as a milliner and then a cook at a summer camp. She never remarried and was strong and capable.
ReplyDeleteShe does sound quite strong! How fascinating to be a milliner--a nearly lost art.
DeleteWhen I think of strong women my grandmother was able to forge ahead with her life after her husband died and she had two young girls to bring up alone. With her wits, strength and ability to be creative she started out as a seamstress and was able to be the sole breadwinner. I amazed that women can withstand the difficulties and never complain but make a new future.
ReplyDeleteI love that phrase... "withstand the difficulties... make a new future." That's what Lily is trying to do! Your grandmother sounds awesome.
DeleteJess, I'm curious as to which Ohio county Bronwyn is meant to be. Lawrence, Scioto, Jackson? And is there a reason why you made up a county, instead of using a real one?
ReplyDeleteI applaud you for using the Appalachian area as a setting, by the way.
Hi Karen! Thank you for your comment about an Appalachian setting. Bronwyn is a little bit of Vinton, Athens, Hocking and Perry. Just think of it as overlaid on top of those four actual counties, where they come together. I have several reasons. One is I wanted to pull in the terrain of bits of those counties--buckwheat and other farming, coal mining, and the gorgeous Hocking Hills area. The other reason is that I didn't want anyone to think I was attempting to write actual history from a particular county. So, I made up Ohio's 89th county--hah! Good question. Thank you for asking!
DeleteI enjoyed your first two books about Lily and am eager to read the new one! My family has had its share of strong women. My mom grew up in the Depression, took jobs to earn money for school, and went to junior college, then trained to be a medical technologist. She learned to dialyze my youngest sister so she wouldn't have to haul her to the hospital three times a week. Her mother did all her work and sometimes Grandpa's too when he was away looking for work or too ill to work. That included hitching up the mules to plow the field. Dad's Aunt Rose was a missionary in China between the world wars, interned during the second one, and continued her work in Japan after WW2. She was a remarkable woman. This is Pat D. I can't comment for some reason; I keep getting kicked out!
ReplyDeleteHi Pat! I'm glad you were able to leave a comment! The strong women in your family sound amazing. Aunt Rose must have had some incredible stories to tell!
DeleteWhat a fascinating story, both the fiction and the facts. Sad how a woman can do a better job than men, become well-known for awhile, and then fade out of history until someone like you does the research. Can't wait to read this.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It is sad... but a joy to unearth these nuggets of women's history and include them in fiction!
DeleteJess, The Stills sounds fabulous. Congrats on you release - I can’t wait to read it. I love strong female leads and I adore Dolly Parton, too.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenn! Have you listened to Dolly Parton's America, the podcast? It is SO good!
DeleteJess, congratulations om THE STILLS! *Loved* Book#1 i this series, THE WIDOWS.
ReplyDeleteOn looking to strong women for inspiration...I am truly inspired these days by Stacey Abrams. And Sonia Sotomeyer. And Deb Haaland, who was just approved to run the Department of Interior.
Thank you, Hallie! I appreciate your enthusiasm! Yes, Stacey Abrams--what a role model and inspiration. I agree as well re: Sotomeyer and Haaland.
DeleteThe Prohibition era and a female U.S. Assistant Attorney General sounds like a great book. Looking forward to reading the book.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's a fascinating era, particularly once you start digging below the surface images we all have of the 1920s.
DeleteCongrats on your latest book, Jess! Lily Ross sounds like a great role model. My own mom and grandmother were definitely strong women, who needed to make a way in America after immigrating here.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jennifer. I like the notion of Lily as a role model! I think her daughter will end up feeling that way. (These characters are so real to me!) Your mom and grandmother sound very strong and inspiring, indeed!
DeleteMy grandmother raised 5 children after her husband died before WWII. She was strong and I regret I never got to meet her. Congrats on the new release, it looks good!
ReplyDeleteYour grandmother sounds really strong! I'm sorry you didn't get to meet her. I hope you have some stories about her. And thank you!
ReplyDeleteMy great grandmother spoke several languages, including English. When my grandmother started school in Chicago, her teacher tried to force her to write with her right hand instead of her natural writing hand, which was left. My great grandmother marched to school and made it very clear to the teacher that she was to allow my grandmother to write with her left hand! My grandmother always wrote with her left hand, which came naturally to her.
ReplyDeleteDiana
Good for your great grandmother! A force to be reckoned with!
DeleteJess, thanks! She was definitely a force to be reckoned with!
DeleteUnfortunately both of my grandmothers had passed on before I was born. Both raised their families during the Depression. My maternal grandmother had nine children to take care of while my paternal grandmother (who was widowed when my father was young) had three children. Both did not work out of their homes but I believed they were both strong women to be able to care for their children during that time. I enjoy reading books with strong female characters and even more so when they are set in Ohio. Thanks for the introduction to Jess Montgomery and her fascinating book.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Robin! My great grandmother also had nine children, and my great grandfather left her after she said she would not have a tenth, thank you very much. (He remarried and had three more children.) She reared at least the younger of the nine on her own, in a small house with no running water or electricity. Whenever I feel whiny about how hard it is to can tomatoes/green beans/veggie soup etc each summer, I remind myself I'm doing so on an electric stove, with the air conditioning running!
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