My dear friend Kathy, a celebration of life and crazyness, by Diane Scott Lewis

 

“A rich plot with building suspense, the writing is perfect and flows well. I loved this story.”   ~History and Women~

To purchase Ghost Point: Ghost Point

To purchase my novels and other BWL books: BWL

On January 3rd I lost a dear friend to cancer. She flew into the realm of the gods and goddesses, the fairy world we often spoke about. She liked to envision chants around bonfires and other mystical rituals.

We met in an on-line critique group, nine years ago. When my mother passed, Kathy was there for me, understanding the difficult relationships we both had with our respective families. We spoke almost every day over the internet after that. Her loss, her advance to a higher plain, is a big hole in my heart.

We almost met in person, while three hours apart when I attended the Historical Novel Society conference in Portland, OR, six years ago. She was to drive down from Seattle to meet. But that was when she'd found out her cancer had returned after fifteen years in remission. She cancelled to set up doctors appointments.

But I want to celebrate our dark humor, talk of witches, and fairies, the pagan souls we both shared.

Kathy was a dedicated Pagan, in her thoughts, not her actions. Our bon fires were metaphorical, as well as our flying away on brooms to cure the world of its ills. We had the 'what's the matter you-snap out of it!' attitude, and laughed at the craziness of life, the perilous political scene, and the irony of so many things. Her father had soured her on religion, so this was her 'feel good' place.

We had a third witch in our imagined coven, but for privacy reasons, I won't name her. We Three had a ball whirling through the flames of the pretend bon fires, stirring our cauldron. Imagining we had some control over the insanity of the world.

I'd send her funny jpegs to cheer her, though Kathy rarely complained about her own health. She was the strongest woman I knew.

When the doctors had to put a new port into her for her chemo, I sent her the above jpeg and she loved it. When things got iffy in the world around us, we'd say 'gird your loins' because that phrase is often found in historical novels and people scratch their heads about it.

Her last completed novel was a fictionalized tale of when, after a divorce, she took her two boys to England to research another novel. Her bravery to do that amazed me. (also available at https://bookswelove.net/pym-katherine/  )

It's difficult not to mourn such losses, but I need to celebrate what we had, short though it seems now. I'm girding my loins! I'd like to think that she's flying about the stratosphere on a magic cloud, laughing at us mere mortals. We never did get to meet in person, and only spoke once on the phone (she sounded so young). But maybe that's how we kept the mystical part of our friendship intact. I was blessed to have her as my friend. We made each other laugh right to the very end.

A funny, brave woman with wit and talent, the gods must have needed her wry and steady advice. She told me she wasn't afraid of dying, she said 'energy' never dies, but she often wished she could stay longer. 

Fair winds, my dear sister of the heart! And strength to your loving husband who also had to say goodbye.

Kathy's expertise was the seventeenth century; check out her other wonderful historical novels.

Katherine Pym Novels

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty dachshund.

She's trying to set up a new website on Blogger: wish her/me luck!

Dare I write about a troubling incident in recent memory, by Diane Scott Lewis

 

To purchase Ghost Point: Ghost Point

To purchase my novels and other BWL books: BWL

When I worked at the Dahlgren Naval Base, Virginia, in the 90s, a woman told me tales from the little beach town where she lived about a half hour away. Colonial Beach, Virginia, had been a huge tourist destination in the early twentieth century, when boatloads of steamships came down from Washington, D.C. to visit the beach every summer. 

Amusement Pier Colonial Beach 1912

But in the late nineteenth century it was the scene of murder of boat crews; I blogged about this previously.

Fishing Pier Colonial Beach

My friend told me the true story of the Potomac Oyster Wars, which took place in the 1950s. Her boyfriend lost a brother in that fraught time, and he hesitated to speak of it. But I was able to talk to him and he showed me photos of the friends he had who were involved. Many who lost loved ones were still skitterish about this history.

But my friend insisted I had to write the story. 

Since colonial times, Maryland owned the Potomac and policed the waters where Virginia fisherman plied their trade. Since the end of WWII, times were lean, and the Oystermen snuck out at night to rake "dredge" up oysters. This process destroyed the beds but brought in a larger catch. Tonging for oysters was the approved manner.

Well known people in the town got involved, and a prominent man was killed by the dreaded Maryland Oyster Police. His relatives still reside in the community. Would I step on their toes?

Me with my friend in Colonial Beach

I published my novel, Ghost Point, on this era and tentatively put the info on a FB page called "Memories of Colonial Beach." I thought people would be upset about me, a non native, writing about their history. Instead, they were thrilled, and one woman said she knew the niece of the man who was murdered. They were happy to purchase my novel and speak of those events.

A very generous community. My main characters are fictional, but I used several actual residents of the town.

I plan to do a book signing next year at the Colonial Beach Museum. It seems the younger generation is anxious to learn about this era.

Colonial Beach Museum,
drawn by Christine Valenti

Sunset on Monroe Bay, Colonial Beach

To find out more about me and my books, please visit my website: DianeScottLewis

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty dachshund.

Real Events! Ghost Point - murder on the Potomac, a tale of the Oyster Wars by Diane Scott Lewis

 

NEW RELEASE, based on true events. A Marriage in turmoil-their lives in danger. A story from 1956 that took place in Colonial Beach, Virginia. The notorious Oyster Wars where Maryland and Virginia fought over the Potomac River and shot to kill.

To purchase Ghost Point, paperback or Kindle: Ghost Point

To purchase my novels and other BWL books: BWL

"A tale fraught with intrigue, hardship, murder, and a marriage in turmoil.  The author paints a vivid picture of life on an oyster boat and a fishing village on Virginia's Potomac shore."

*History and Women*

My friend, who lives in Colonial Beach, Virginia, told me about these events. Her boyfriend was a waterman during the 50s, his brother killed during this time, and he gave me vital details.

The 1785 Compact gave control of the Potomac to Maryland but Virginia had fishing rights to use the river. The beach town of Colonial Beach was once a thriving tourist destination for people in Washington D.C. But the Great Depression and WWII finished it off and the town fell into decay.

By the 1950s, watermen struggling to survive, illegally dredged with basket-like scrapers for the ever-popular oyster. The dredgers destroyed the beds, but the amount gathered paid off well. Maryland Marine Police patrolled the Potomac, searching the misty nights for dredging boats. They mounted machine guns on their boats and fired on the Virginians. 

Men were murdered over oyster rights. My story uses fictional characters along with historic ones to convey the dangerous occupation. Plus a love triangle that could destroy a marriage. It's a wild ride through history.

Novel Blurb:

Luke becomes tangled in the fight over the Potomac River rights in 1956 Virginia. He and his wife clash over his illegal dredging of oyster beds. His life is under threat from Maryland’s notorious Oyster Police.
Yelena, the once pretty, popular girl, struggles to rise above her dull existence. She defies Luke and takes a job in a used bookstore. A mysterious older man is interested in her, or is he simply after her husband for his unlawful activities? She's tempted to plunge into intrigue and more. 

Can Luke and Yelena rekindle their love or will both become victims of the sinister acts on the river?

To find out more about me and my books, please visit my website: DianeScottLewis

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty dachshund.

Paying off at the Boom, murder in 1800s Virginia by Diane Scott Lewis

 

In my upcoming novel, Ghost Point, my characters are involved in the Potomac Oyster Wars, which took place in the 1950s. Men were fired on and killed in the quant town of Colonial Beach, Virginia.

I bring in an earlier grisly practice called "Paying off at the boom."

My hero Luke, is already 'dredging' oysters, an illegal practice that destroys the beds. The Oyster Police commanded by Maryland are constantly patrolling to arrest the Virginians out on the Potomac River.

Luke is desperate for the extra money to support his family. But soon dead bodies are found at the Point off Monroe Bay, and the Virginian's worry this old practice is again being used.

"Throughout the 1800s and well into the 1900s oyster shucking and packing houses could be found all along the shoreline of Maryland and Virginia. Newly freed slaves, whites, and immigrants labored side-by-side working long hours with little pay to fill the demands for oysters from as far away as Australia. Even the shells themselves became a commodity as farm fertilizer and for use in mortar.

"Watermen, often known as a rough and bawdy lot, made their living from the water often under harsh conditions and amidst several major wars. It was hard work harvesting oysters, and often men were tricked into working on boats only to be left along the shoreline with no pay. Another more sinister method of payment was called “paid by the boom,” meaning that after a stint aboard a boat, the worker would mysteriously fall overboard, never to be heard from again."

 Kathy Warren Southern Maryland-this is living

Though these events never happened in the 1950s during the notorious Oyster Wars, where Maryland Oyster police fired on Virginia watermen dredging oysters, I 'imagined' a revisionist reoccurrence of this terrible practice. 

Storm over Monroe Bay
picture by Alleyne Dickens

The skeletons would wash up at the area called the Point, which formed a hook at the end of Monroe Bay. Thus it became known a Ghost Point.

Don't forget to pick up a copy of  Her Vanquished Land, my latest release; a story of the American Revolution, told by a young British loyalist. A woman caught up on the losing side.

"Rowena is a star. Bless Derec Pritchard who loves Rowena for who she is. Their chemistry is fabulous. Readers will love to read this alternative view of American history." InD'tale Magazine

To purchase my novels and other BWL books: BWL

Find out more about me and my writing on my website: Dianescottlewis

Diane Scott Lewis lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty puppy.

A War and Murder over Oysters? by Diane Scott Lewis

When I lived and worked in Virginia I had a friend who went over my first novel with me. A story which became Escape the Revolution. She lived in the small town of Colonial Beach and told me of its history. She urged me to write a book on the Potomac Oyster Wars that took place in the 1950s. Then she brought up another historical fact, the Paying off at the Boom. This event took place in the late 1800s when new crew were hired to work on fishing boats. Instead of paying them, at the end of the season, they'd kill them and throw them into the Potomac. Their bodies would wash up at The Point, which became known as Ghost Point.

Potomac River off Colonial Beach
Photo by Alleyne Dickens

I began my research into the Oyster Wars. In 1785, the Potomac River, which spills into the huge Chesapeake Bay, and that into the Atlantic, was given to Maryland to police. Oysters were a popular meal, and both Maryland and Virginia fished the river to bring up bushels of oysters to sell.

Tonging oysters was the kindest method, plucking them up, and not damaging the beds. Dredging scooped up the bi-valves and ruined the beds, giving the oysters no place to repopulate. Unfortunately, dredging brought in much more oysters, thus more money.

By the 1950s, Maryland had imposed so many restrictions on the Virginians, the Virginia watermen grew furious. Out of defiance they snuck out on the river at night and illegally dredged. The Maryland Oyster Police mounted guns on their boats and shot at the Virginians. Seaplanes swept over the river, searching for dredgers. People were chased down and killed.

Maryland and Virginia fought in the courts as well as the river for their rights.

I had a critique partner once tell me, 'no one would act like this'...when I was writing exactly what did happen.

In my novel Ghost Point, due out in September, I explore this volatile time in Virginia's history with fictional characters mixed in with the actual people who were there.

The Paying off at the Boom will be addressed in a future blog.

Ice on the beach, Colonial Beach
Photo by Alleyne Dickens

To purchase my novels and other BWL books: BWL

Find out more about me and my writing on my website: Dianescottlewis

Diane Scott Lewis lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty puppy.