South Carolina Gold Rice Cultivation, A Woman's Experience

From findagrave.com

Elizabeth Allston Pringle was a Southern belle at the time of the American Civil War and the daughter of the Governor of South Carolina. When the Civil War ended, leaving her family impoverished, she and her mother opened a school. Motivated by sentiment, Elizabeth bought the plantation she grew up in, White House, and the plantation, Chicora Wood, where she lived as a married woman until her husband's untimely death. Both plantations still exist in Georgetown County, South Carolina, an area known as the Lowcountry. It was in hopes of paying the plantation mortgages that in the early years of the 20th century, she decided to re-cultivate old rice fields that had long since succumbed to the encroaching wild. She was a farmer, a foreman, and an entrepreneur at a time in history when women did not hold such positions.

We might have forgotten Elizabeth Allston Pringle if her journal hadn't been serialized in the New York Sun. This was another way Elizabeth made money to pay the mortgages on her beloved properties. The Sun journal was later published in a book called A Woman Rice Planter. The 1992 edition, published by the University of South Carolina press, is illustrated by famed artist Alice R. Huger Smith (whose paintings are in Charleston's Gibbes Museum of Art) and has an introduction written by South Carolina historian and writer Charles Joyner.

Reading A Woman Rice Planter, you may find the humor in some stories involving black characters to be condescending. I believe the Jim Crow era in which it was written had an unfortunate but partial influence on the author's outlook. However, if you read it thoroughly, I believe you'll also see Elizabeth's respect for blacks rising through this surface attitude. I get a sense that she felt they were all in this together, enjoying the bounty of the Lowcountry and enduring the caprice of its climate with faith and cheerfulness. I read A Woman Rice Planter as research while writing The Bad Death, an antebellum vampire novel set on a Lowcountry rice plantation. Two things stay with me from repeated readings.

Rice Barn at Chicora Wood

One is its detailed description of old rice-growing practices. Second is Elizabeth's love for the beautiful world around her. She was an excellent writer. Her descriptions shine through, transcending ink and paper and time. Here's an entry from June 1, 1903:

"The evening is beautiful; the sun, just sinking in a hazy, mellow light, is a fiery dark red, the air is fresh from the sea, only three miles to the east, the rice-field banks are gay with flowers, white and blue violets, blackberry blossoms, wistaria, and the lovely blue jessamine, which is as sweet as an orange blossom. Near the bridge two negro women are fishing with great strings of fish beside them. The streams are full of Virginia perch, bream, and trout; you have only to drop your line in with a wriggling worm at the end, and keep silent, and you have fine sport. Then the men set their canes securely in the bank just before dark and leave then, and almost invariably find a fish ready for breakfast in the morning. There is a saying that one cannot starve in this country and it is true."

Elizabeth's accounts of her workers' labor, their hunting and fishing, socializing, and storytelling helped me give life to The Bad Death's Gullah heroine, Anika, and her friends and neighbors. The Bad Death's antagonist, Julian Mouret, relies on his working partnership with his mother, Elisabeth. She shares her son's respect for the Lowcountry's wild strength. I'd be lying if I said Elizabeth Allston Pringle didn't partly inspire me when writing Elisabeth Mouret. Elizabeth Pringle was strong, independent, spiritual, and wise. So is Elisabeth Mouret. Anika finds in Miss Elisabeth a formidable foe and improbable ally. Miss Elisabeth is one of my favorite characters in The Bad Death. And Elizabeth Allston Pringle is one of my favorite characters in US history.

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Monsters in Gullah Folklore

The Boo Hag by Ashere http://ashere.deviantart.com/art/The-Boo-Hag-339906658

I guest posted at M.R. Gott's Cutis Anserina's blog as part of his month long Halloween Bash of guest posts. You can read about the great monsters of the South's Gullah folklore here. See you back at my blog soon!

Working with Beta Readers to Write a Better Novel

By the time a writer has polished the manuscript, he's lived inside the story so long he's lost objectivity. It's time for someone with fresh eyes. An editor will examine your work from a production perspective, but it saves a lot of time if you've first identified and fixed your story's weaknesses. That's where beta readers can help.

To paraphrase Wikipedia's definition, a beta reader is a person who reads a novel manuscript with a critical eye. A beta reader may highlight plot holes or problems with continuity, characterization or believability; and assist the author with fact-checking.

Many writers request fellow writers to be beta readers. I chose readers who weren't writers because I wanted the customer's reaction. I focused on readers interested in elements present in my novel, such as paranormal romance, the Gullah culture, or ballet. A few curious friends volunteered. I emailed nine potential beta readers. Here's an excerpt:

I'm contacting you because your interests and experiences give you the unique view I'm looking for in a beta reader for The Bad Death. Essentially, The Bad Death is a vampire slayer novel with a Gullah heroine and is slated for publication in summer/fall 2013. The details below give the cover art and synopsis; an explanation of a beta reader's contribution; my novel's characteristics such as length and similarity to its genre sisters; and particulars of the beta-reading period. I also attached the first few chapters. If you say "yes", I'll contact you again May 1. 

I made a similar appeal on a Goodreads discussion thread, with the moderator's blessing.

I wound up with eight readers (three from Goodreads) who had a month to read and review. Five gave feedback. The most valuable input was constructive criticism. For instance, some said my heroine was too passive, too much of a victim. Her identity was revealed way too late, and a couple of readers just gave up on her. Ouch – but thanks! I thought of a way to reveal her identity much earlier. I gave her a mission from the start and made her active instead of reactive. This required changing other characters' interactions with her. It really strengthened the first 3rd of the book. Other input affected how many Gullah words I used in dialogue, chapter length, and the additions of a Gullah dictionary and a list of characters. My revisions per beta feedback resulted in my editor getting a much better manuscript. And readers got a much better book! Though it isn't for everyone, The Bad Death is getting good reviews.

In addition to my heartfelt gratitude, I gave each beta reader an autographed copy of the published version, in the format of her choice.

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The Bad Death

by Naima Haviland

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Frenemies in The Bad Death

Charlotte, Jane Eliza, Eugénie

Oh, the complicated nature of female friendships. One's a murderess. One's using black magic to get pregnant. One's the product of her big brother's OCD. They're besties as long as no one tries to best the others. Each has a unique relationship to Anika, the plat-eye slaying heroine of The Bad Death. Here's a short bio on each.

Charlotte Mouret - As close to perfect as Julian could make her, Charlotte was educated in a schedule that never left time for idle (or independent) thought and married off at seventeen to the family's financial manager. Though Julian assures her their field hand is an idiot savant, Charlotte suspects there's something unnatural in Anika's sudden talents.

Jane Eliza Farmington - Cherished daughter of a retired slaver. Society beauty. Poisoner. All magic that turns a profit is good magic, and Jane Eliza's murders are just business. As a witch doctor's delivery girl, Anika must avoid becoming a toy in Jane Eliza's deadly games.

Eugénie Mouret - Julian's sister-in-law knows full well the power of magic. She'll pay any price for the charms that guarantee a pregnancy. Anika promised her a son destined for power. But if the magic works, who -- or what -- will live in Eugénie's womb?

Sally Hemings and Interracial historical romance fiction

Sally Hemings was an enslaved woman believed to have been Thomas Jefferson's mistress and the mother of five children by him. It was a great scandal when Jefferson was President. For centuries, historians denied it, but rumors persisted. I heard recent DNA tests actually proved it. Historical observations of Sally Hemings suggest that she would have appealed to Jefferson for reasons beyond the physical. And there was much about Jefferson that would tempt a woman to see beyond the obvious injustice of his lifestyle. Two films bring their personalities to light and focus on their relationship. Both run on plot lines and dialogue that are mostly conjecture, as no documentation, such as personal letters, exist to prove the depth of their attachment. I'll give mini-reviews of each, briefly review two books, and then tell you the main reason why I'm on this kick.

Sally Hemings: an American Scandal shows how the relationship between Jefferson (Sam Neill) and Sally (Carmen Ejogo) developed and how it matured over decades. It's even romantic at  times. The film focused a lot on Sally, her extended family, and fellow slaves and the cruelty they faced from racists and legal racism. I like that this film portrays Sally as spunky and outspoken, yet also a tactical thinker. The screenplay made her a total person with difficult decisions to live with.

By contrast, Jefferson in Paris showed Sally Hemings as a cross between Prissy from Gone with the Wind and ...oh, I don't know ... Lolita, maybe. Nick Nolte plays Jefferson; Thandie Newton plays Sally. It's kind of creepy, actually. Watch it yourself and tell me what you think. It's a typical Merchant Ivory film -- a visual feast of period costumes, sets, and scenes that brought joy to my eyes. The film ends with the biggest decision of Sally Hemings' life.

That decision is the main reason I find Sally Hemings one of history's most poignant and compelling women. In her teens she literally held freedom in her hands and made the conscious decision to relinquish it. The Hemingses of Monticello: an American Family examines her decision, as well as the lives of her extraordinary family. This nonfiction account by Annette Gordon-Reed is a thorough and compassionate book.

The Slave Master's Son by Tiana Laveen is an interracial romance set against the backdrop of the Civil War. In my opinion, it needed an editor. I applaud the writer for taking on such a tricky topic, though. And the cover's dead sexy. The Slave Master's Son has many favorable reviews on Amazon, so don't let mine be the last word. Download the free sample and tell me what you think.

Which leads me to why I'm on this kick as I ready my novel for publication later this year. The Bad Death is an antebellum vampire-slayer novel. Its heroine, Anika, is a slave on a South Carolina rice plantation in the late 1700s. Her love interests are Marcus, the enigmatic slave driver (who is himself, a slave) and Julian, Anika's master. How not to fall flat on my face with an interracial, slave-era love triangle? It's important to get this right. I know I can't please everyone, but I want to know my subject and live inside my characters in order to tell their story in a way that does them justice and is respectful of the history underlying fiction and fantasy.

One Foot Up

Last night, I started writing and it was tough going, at first. I played solitaire, listened to music, and browsed through blogs about 18th century fashion. Then a line of dialogue occurred, taking me in a direction I hadn't anticipated. The next thing I knew, I had a good couple of paragraphs of dialogue that showed Julian's confusion and difficulty accepting the unreal new reality that's in his face. "What does she want?" he asked Anika about Malinde. "Blood," Anika said. "Is that all?" he demanded. "What is there to gain by killing me?" He can't fathom violence for any other goal but power. His question foreshadows the end of the third novel. So -- yay, brain! Thanks for throwing me a curve ball from out of the dark reaches. Also, last night I started this scene from Julian's bedroom, rewriting it from its earlier setting of the drawing room. Now, Julian is in bed, in total disarray, when Anika comes in. As the scene unfolds, Julian is being groomed and dressed. Gilbert comes in half way through this and has a wild, scared conversation with Julian, which Julian handles with aplomb, having been revived by medical attention and grooming. By the time the mayor arrives, Julian is completely dressed and sitting in the drawing room, impeccable and perfectly in control. Remember, yesterday I didn't know how I would pull Julian out of his vulnerability. I'm going to do it by dressing him. It'll happen physically as it's happening mentally. Cool, huh? Also, I can bring in the food shortages brought on by the apparently dead epidemic. Anika will have very little garlic for Julian and when he asks why she'll tell him there's very little of anything to buy in town because healthy farmers aren't coming to Charleston and Charleston has quarantined the low country plantations, which means food isn't coming in. She can't hang garlic around the windows and doors. They have to eat it.

So, I wouldn't say I'm over the hump, but I have one foot up.