Reading books as a child started me on a lifetime love affair with stories. My father and I would go to estate sales and look for books. We crawled under tables and pulled books out of drawers to put in a carton sold to us for a dollar or five at the most. My father was interested in history. I read anything I could hold in my hands. I had not yet decided what I liked to read. As I began choosing books and authors, I found I was branching way out of my rural Southern roots to learn from my reading. I realized I was looking for stories that could leave me thinking about the characters long after I finished the book. I wanted to know who they were and why they did what they did. Now that I am writing historical novels, my goal is to create my characters the way I like to read.
Tag Archives: writing
Leara’s Lore #18: Where Do Writers Write?
To have a place to write is part of the writing process and takes consideration. My
writing place was not chosen haphazardly. I thought long and hard when I was
beginning to write as to where I could write. I tried many different scenarios. Ultimately, I
discovered that I could write just about anywhere I have a surface, a window, and time.
Leara’s Lore #17: Why There Are Book Clubs
The December meeting of the book club I attend is the one meeting when the women really dress up. There is the Christmas sweater bought in travels to Germany, a swanky scarf gotten at a local fair, a dress held for special occasions, and a red jacket with a Christmas wreath pen attached to the lapel. The hostess decorates every corner of the house with wreaths, angels, and even Christmas plates in the dining room breakfront. A collection of nutcrackers guards the stairs leading up to the bedrooms from the front door.
Leara’s Lore #16: Storytelling
Storytelling is central to why I write. My father told me stories as a child. He would ask for me to choose something in the room and then he would make up a story about that object. To test his abilities, I once chose a speck on the tile floor. I heard a story about how the mark got there and why it was important for the mark to stay as a way of remembering what happened on that day. Though I can’t remember the details of the story, I remember the message and the enjoyment of hearing my father share his creativity. He was my first storyteller.
Leara’s Lore #15: I’m Learning to Fly
As a girl of eight, I studied a flying squirrel. In my back yard I attempted to leap from a wooden table and try my wings. I wanted to fly, to soar through the sky and over the trees. I wanted Tinkerbell to sprinkle fairy dust and include me in the nightly flights to Neverland. In my dreams I flew. I glided. I soared.
But, in the light of day, I realized that I cannot fly..
Leara’s Lore #11: For the Love of Horses
Writing a novel was hard work. The research needed to learn how to care for horses in the late 1800s was difficult. I did not have a lot of time. I began writing Spancil Hill in 2018. I finished it in 2023. It was published in 2024. I was teaching full time at UGA until 2020 so I could not devote time to the book until 2021. I enjoyed the research, learning about Irish history and culture in the late 1800s, and Shire horses.
I had finished the book and reread it to discover that I had to get four Shire horses from Galway to Boston and then New York in forty days
Leara’s Lore #10: Writing Friends for Decades
Forty-five years ago, Chuck Conner and I met at a writers’ conference held at Epworth-by-the-Sea on St. Simons Island, Georgia. We were both working full-time jobs and trying to write on the side. Chuck attended Emory at Oxford College and was accepted into Emory University School of Medicine on a full scholarship and graduated with..
Leara’s Lore #9: Book Signing at AthFest
As summer temperatures climb in Georgia, gardening and getting a much-needed walk must be done in the morning. Afternoons are set aside for writing, editing, and housekeeping, inside with air-conditioning. Saturday afternoon, though, I requested a slot during AthFest to sign copies of Spancil Hill between noon and two.
Leara’s Lore #8: Book Launch in Words and Pictures
My task as a writer is to create images out of words, to set scenes, to choose dialogue that will tell more of the story. I tossed about in my head for several days the argument of is “a picture worth a thousand words.” My resolution is that both writing and photos are important. As I display photos from the book launch, which are wonderful and have meaning mostly for me, I must attach context of the people and the photographers. There is more of a story here than just the photos.
Leara’s Lore #6: SPANCIL HILL By Leara Rhodes | Published by Old Fort Press
When I turned in the key to the university office that I had occupied for nearly three decades, I had no idea what my future may hold. I had an academic routine that one could count on. Now I had endless days to fill. I began with a plan.
Leara Rhodes 