Love: Immortal and Mortal

UPDATE #2: After posting this in the comments, I realized I should've put it up here. It's Monday...can you tell :)

I'm back...finally! What a mess. Of course it had to happen on the week I blog. We didn't get our service back until Saturday afternoon - and the cable is still strung out across our front lawn, which will probably prompt a nasty letter from the HOA. Such is life. Our provider said a different crew will come out to bury it within two weeks.

I'll be by to visit you this week. Better late than never :)


UPDATE: My wifi is out and will be until Friday at the earliest. The cable is broken under our street. I may make it to visit some of you this week, but most likely I'll be visiting most of you next week.

September? Really? I'm not ready for September, but I suppose I better hustle and get ready or it'll go on without me.

September is a great month for releasing books. I have a new one to share with you by Murees Dupe. I love this cover!

The Amaranthine
(Thelum series)
by Murees Dupé
now available

Claire is sassy, human, and an outcast of society―who only wants to know where she belongs.

Alex is arrogant, selfish, and an immortal warrior―who thinks he’s prepared for everything.

Claire knows the world of immortals is where she belongs. As her guide and guardian, Alex finds it hard to resist Claire’s subtle charm. Can the two overcome their differences and embrace their passion for each other, or will the possibility of true love be lost to both forever?

You can find it here:
Kindle * Nook * Ibooks * Kobo *Amazon (paperback)

Sending you good wishes for much success, Murees!

Now that I've shared the news about The Amaranthine, I want to give you an update on my trilogy progress. I'm about two-thirds finished drafting the second book. I hope to be done by the end of the month, or no later than mid-October if the story runs long. Then there's the third book - the ending. I love writing the ending :)

I can say for certain that I really miss chatting with all of you throughout the month. But . . . since I am a writer, I've gotta, you know, actually write.

Before I go back to drafting fiction, however, I have a story to share. A true story, as it turns out, about my totally mortal family. I'll try to make it interesting - so you don't feel as if you're chatting with your aunt's grandmother's third cousin twice removed. If there is such a thing.

I do a little bit of family tree reading because I'm curious about where I came from. While I love to do research, not so much on family. It's too time consuming.

I learned  way back when that It doesn't take but a couple of generations to produce a whole lot of people and paper. Especially when a family is prolific.

So buckle up - here we go.

You've probably heard me say that I'm mostly German and English. English on my mom's side. German and English on my dad's. There's a stray Irish lass on Dad's side and a randy Frenchman on Mom's. Plus one Viking or more way back when.

My uncles and cousins have been able to trace many of these lines back to colonial times in our country, and then my ancestors moved west. So I come from a long line of independent vagabonds.

A few weeks ago, I got a notice that the family tree was updated. So that night I went over to look, figuring someone I probably don't know either died or had a baby.

But no. A cousin had connected the dots on my paternal grandmother's side. Until the addition of this new information, we believed all of Grandma's ancestors initially arrived in Virginia.

Turns out, that's not exactly so. One happily married couple arrived in Massachusetts. Plymouth Colony, to be exact. She via the Mayflower with her parents and siblings. He on the Anne (the third ship to arrive - I think).

That's all cool and gives me fodder to chat about at gatherings. But here's something even cooler for me. The original arriving male ancestor wasn't who he said he was.

I love that!

He created a new identity for himself and no one was the wiser, until some genealogist somewhere started tracing the lines back. The person he said he was had died as a young child back in England. At this point, there's little chance of finding out who this magnificent impostor truly was.

Was he a hardened criminal? A scoundrel? A poor man who saw an opportunity to better himself? A royal without a future? Whoever he was, a drop or two of his blood runs through my veins. That's as fantastic as the drop of Viking blood from my mom's side!

More speculation . . . did this mysterious man confess his secrets to his wife? Did one or a combination of their children bear his real name? Or the names of his parents? Did he fear someone learning of his secret? Did he have a plan if they did?

I've seen movies about this kind of thing. Read books. But this is real life. And my family. Amazing!

Oh, and it turns out there's also a French Connection on Grandma's side. In this same line. One of the early female descendants of the impostor married a descendant of a documented Huguenot in Virginia.

So I am officially a teeny bit more French than I originally believed. Sadly, I did not become automatically skinny and develop an impressive fashion sense upon learning this news.

But I did suddenly crave French fries :)

p.s. - In the interest of transparency, I need to tell you that I have no idea if this family history has been verified. I'm just sharing what I read. So maybe. Or not.


See you back here on Monday, October 5.
Have a great September!



Comments

Murees Dupè said…
I think it is so cool that you can trace back your ancestry. To this day I still don't know my family's history. My family didn't believe in asking questions, or keeping past documents. Thank you so much for featuring me on your blog and for helping with The Amaranthine's release. You are amazing!
Misha Gerrick said…
Congrats to Murees!

Very interesting that you have an impostor in your family, Carol. It does definitely call for some sort of story. :-D
Very happy for Murees!
You have quite the mystery in your family. Maybe he was just a poor man trying to better himself.
We do miss seeing you around, Carol.
Luanne G. Smith said…
Love the cover of Murees Dupe's book.

And now you possibly have some new story fodder to work with via your own family history. :)
Anonymous said…
Congrats to Murees. How fascinating. I always wondered how people do family trees. I imagine that there were many impostors back then since it was so easy to disappear and start fresh elsewhere, unlike today where everyone is tracked.
Leandra Wallace said…
Congrats to Murees! And I hope you got those French fries. ;)
Bish Denham said…
I LOVE learning about family history! What a fabulous historical novel your story would make. My great-great grandfather arrived here in Texas from Scotland, apparently on his own, at the age of 12 or 13. Why? Did he run away? Was he a younger son with nothing to inherit? As it is, he was here before the Texas revolution AND he and my great-great grandmother were the second couple to be issued a marriage license in the little frontier settlement called Dallas.

I love the cover for The Amaranthine. The green is stunning.
Ava Quinn said…
That's so fun to find a scoundrel in your past. Though, who knows what his motivations were. It's cool!

Happy writing on your trilogy!
Rachna Chhabria said…
Congrats to Murees!I love the cover for her book and also the book's title. The Amaranthine has a nice ring to it.
H. R. Sinclair said…
That is a gorgeous cover. Congrats Murees!


Carol, what fun you have been having. Sounds like Grand's had the wild side. ;)
Carol Kilgore said…
Murees - It's my pleasure to be part of your release. There are a lot of genealogy websites. If you have names, you can begin there.

Misha - It would certainly be fiction, LOL!

Alex - I may be around a little more next year. Depends on how the editing goes.

L.G. - Everything is fodder :)

Medeia - You're probably right about impostors back then.

Leandra - Not yet! I need to go to McD's :)

Bish - Cool about your ancestor! Age 12 ... imagine the furor that would cause today. Yet he managed to take care of himself just fine.

Ava - Remember that old movie "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" with Michael Caine and Steve Martin? Maybe my ancestor was like that, LOL! I think it's fun, too - maybe we're warped :)

Rachna - Same for me. I love all the good wishes Murees is receiving.
Big congratulations to Murees. It sounds intriguing, though on a personal level immortality fills me with horror.
Love that snippet from your family tree. And suspect it is more common than we realise. Lots and lots of untold, and undreamed of, stories.
Melissa said…
If that's what it takes, I'll click my heels and say 'merci' over and over. LOL

What a cool story! That is fodder for fiction for sure! (Say that 5 times fast. :P)

Congratulations, Murees. Lovely cover!
Another great sounding book
Jemi Fraser said…
The Amaranthine sounds terrific!! Good luck to Murees!

Love that he created himself from scratch! Family histories are full of characters :)
Janie Junebug said…
Your ancestors sound fascinating. Thanks for featuring Murees' book. It's quite good.

Love,
Janie
dolorah said…
I love all this ancestry stuff. Yours sound interesting.

Congrats Murees; and well done on your own progress Carol.
Liza said…
Sounds like if you wanted to change genres you could write a story about your ancestor...there is definitely one there!
L. Diane Wolfe said…
You had an adventurous and mysterious ancestor. I've never traced my roots back very fall. I know the Wittmeyers on my father's side were kicked out of Germany.
Julie Flanders said…
Ooh, what a fascinating story! I love this kind of stuff. And I have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower too so it's fun to think that maybe they knew each other!

Congrats to Murees!
Helena said…
That is indeed a gorgeous cover on Murees' book, and it's a delicious sounding story!

What a mysterious twist on your name-changing ancestor! Seriously, being descended from a Mayflower Puritan is hot stuff in some blueblood circles, and I love how you yourself are so not a Puritan, except for maybe your work ethic!
Murees Dupè said…
Thank you again for the help, Carol:) Also, thank you to everyone for your kinds words. You are all very wonderful.
Carol Kilgore said…
I'm back...finally! What a mess. Of course it had to happen on the week I blog. We didn't get our service back until Saturday afternoon - and the cable is still strung out across our front lawn, which will probably prompt a nasty letter from the HOA. Such is life. Our provider said a different crew will come out to bury it within two weeks.

I'll be by to visit you this week. Better late than never :)
Carol Kilgore said…
Elephants Child - I suspect you're right about things like that happening more often than we think.

Melissa - I'm guessing that story will come out in one form or another one day. It's too good not to use :)

Jo-Anne - I think Murees' book sounds great, too.

Jemi - Lots and lots of characters, LOL!

Janie - There are a few of my ancestors I'd like to meet, but wouldn't it be weird - much more so for them than me. They would probably think I was a witch.

Dolorah - Most of mine are run-of-the-mill regular people. There are a few, though, who are pretty interesting for one thing or another.

Liza - I'm sure I'll never write a historical - way too much research involving too many facts. But his story has for sure inspired me to write about him in some way.

Diane - Cool! One of mine on my mom's side was kicked out of the church.

Julie - Fascinating! I'm going to email you.

Helena - I'm neither blueblooded nor puritan. Thank you for recognizing that :) As to the work ethic - I got a double dose: German and Puritan. Ugh :)

Murees - Thanks for letting me participate!
Carol Kilgore said…
Southpaw - Internet went out write after I responded to people last week. Your comment arrived while I was responding, so I wasn't able to comment back then. And today I started after my comments and totally missed you again! My bad. You're so right about some of my ancestors having a wild side. Some of it may have trickled down :)
Christine Rains said…
How awesome is that about your family! I find that stuff so fascinating. Glad to see that you're back and that you're making excellent progress with your writing. :)
Carol Kilgore said…
Thanks, Christine. I miss everyone more every month, but I gotta keep writing or it won't get done.
Unknown said…
Love the family history story. Of course, I know that little disclaimer was for me…about verification. lol Okay, so you didn't know if I'd read the post or not. What? This world isn't all about me? Tell me it isn't so.

Hey, I borrow liberally from my family history. Actually, the one I'm working on now is because those rascals didn't leave good records. If they don't leave me the records I need to find out who they are, I'll just make stuff up and put it in a novel. So, there. :-)
Sounds like you have all the makings for a new "Mystery With a Kiss" series after your trilogy is complete! What a fascinating story!

Congrats to Murees!

Julie
Congrats to Murees! Gorgeous cover!
Sounds like you've been having a great time with the family tree, Carol!
I always imagine that every family tree has a stray branch somewhere along the line... even the royal families have 'skeletons'...
Carol Kilgore said…
Jody - You and every serious genealogist out there. Plus there's tons of stories, too.

Julie - You never know :)

Michelle - Strays and skeletons keep life interesting!


Congrats to Murees.
And welcome back, Carol! If I lost my wifi, I'd be most upset and put out! Ha, what an interesting ancestry. Love the mysterious man.
Congrats to Murees on her new book. You're right; great-looking cover!

My brother has been researching our family's history for quite some time now, and some of it is quite interesting. Like an Italian fella way back on my paternal grandmother's side who worked for a watchmaker, and got caught stealing some of the wares he was supposed to be repairing. Ended up getting sent to a penal colony in Australia, where a whole 'nother branch of the family took root. I knew most of our family roots were scattered throughout Europe, but it was kinda cool to find out how the Aussie part got started.

Mais non! French fries? How about some French wine, woman?

Happy weekend!
Carol Kilgore said…
Lynda - Yes and Yes. I was both.

Susan - Okay . . . French Fries dipped in French Dressing and washed down with French Wine :)
Anonymous said…
Very cool, Carol. I'm such a mutt, I'd have a rough time tracing my lineage back too far. But am I proud to be an American? On most days.

And way to support a fellow writer -- that's a nice-looking cover.
Carol Kilgore said…
Milo - You'd be surprised. I always thought that about myself, too. Plus, I had no idea most of my family had been on this continent for so long.
Unknown said…
I'm sorry about your net troubles and hope you get them fixed soon. (You probably already have since I'm REALLY LATE in visiting you.) I'm about three quarters German and the rest French plus English and Scottish. Or so I've been told. We don't have any genealogists in our family. That's startling that your ancestor was an imposter! Food for the writing muse!
Jennifer Shirk said…
Love Murees' cover!

That's so interesting about your history. Good book fodder! I keep meaning to do that ancestory.com. I think it's free at my library.
I love learning about family history. An impostor is just so fascinating, criminal/scoundrel or not. Our family name completely changed when my great ancestor came to America and they butchered the spelling of his name. And thus since then no one has ever been able to pronounce my name properly, ever. The end.
cleemckenzie said…
I hope all those connectivity issues are resolved. It's very frustration when you can't get work done. Congrats to Murees on her book. I wish her the best of luck. Here's to those French ancestors and French Fries. Yum.
Carol Kilgore said…
Lexa - Definitely food for the writing muse! So far so good on the internet.

Jennifer - Ancestry.com is free at our library. It's fun every so often :)

Beer - So many names changed when people arrived here. I imagine it still happens, but probably not as often.

Lee - Oui :)
Denise Covey said…
Oh I hope your cable is soon fixed. We do rely on our wifi so much. I love the sound of Muree's book and I love the cover too. Great to find where you come from!
DMS said…
Hope your wi-fi problems are a thing of the past. :)

I loved hearing about your impostor relative. Now that has the makings of a variety of wonderful and fascinating books. So many different ways for it to have come about and each would bring something different to the character. Thanks for sharing!
~Jess
Crystal Collier said…
Okay, so I know I commented. Where did it go?

Anyhow... What an amazing discovery! I love it. So are you going to use that history and build it into a story?
Carol Kilgore said…
Denise - Cable is fully restored and currently lying across our front lawn. They're supposed to be back to bury it sometime this week. Time is short now LOL.

Jess - I agree. A never-ending list of options to choose from.

Crystal - I hate when comments vanish! I'm sure I will use it in a more contemporary setting. A couple of ideas are already percolating :)
Mark said…
Very cool:) My wife's family found out a few years back that they're descended from the Mayflower settlers too. So every Thanksgiving we've got plenty of 13th generation Pilgrims out our table now;)
Carol Kilgore said…
Mark - Awesome! If I can find your email, I'm going to contact you to talk about ancestors :)
That's so cool to have a mysterious impostor in your family line - and that's never a line I thought I would write for a blog comment. :) The storytelling possibilities are immeasurable. I love your thoughts on how he could have used his real name for his kids, told/not told his wife, and come from a variety of backgrounds.

Thanks for the update!
Carol Kilgore said…
Tyrean - You never know what you'll find me writing about at the Tiki Hut :)
VR Barkowski said…
Hmm, an ancestor with a secret history and hidden identity. Sounds like story material to me, Carol

Congrats on your trilogy progress, and best of luck to Murees on her release!I

VR Barkowski
Carol Kilgore said…
VR - Most likely. Also most likely it will take a different form, too :)

.