How did a girl born in Forth
Worth, Texas, end up writing historical Southern Gothic novels set in
Louisiana? Annette Snyder’s kind invitation to write a piece for 50 Authors
from 50 States got me thinking about the influence of my home state on my
writing.
Texas is big, offering plenty of
scope for imagination. Mine was captured at an early age by ponies. My father
used to turn me loose to ride around the Benbrook Lake area, while he played a
little poker and drank a little whiskey in the Fort Western Saloon. All that
unsupervised time I spent exploring fields and woods, talking to a pony, and
living my make-believe adventures helped shape my writing destiny.
When Six Flags Over Texas opened
in 1961, I saw my home state’s history become a theme for amusement park rides,
which I thoroughly enjoyed. Of course, Texas was populated by numerous
indigenous tribes long before the various flags were hoisted. Flags of Spain,
France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States of America, the
Confederate States of America—and back to the USA—have all served as banners over
the clashing and combining of diverse cultures.
While the colorful history of
Texas interests me, it is a way of life for my friend Jack Edmondson. For as
long as I’ve known him, he has made pilgrimages to the Alamo, and he re-enacts
history and portrays Texas heroes. Jack sent me this recent photo of him with his
beloved horse Jake, ready to welcome tourists and lead the parade at the Fort
Worth Stockyards. Fills me with nostalgia!
From Fort Worth, I moved to
Austin for college and got to know a bit about the famous laid-back lifestyle
of the Texas Hill Country—wildflowers and Willie Nelson.
Then I moved on to the sprawling international port city of Houston to work, raise
a family, and begin writing novels. There, I also became active in Mystery
Writers of America’s Southwest Chapter, which includes the Gulf Coast states of
Texas and Louisiana.
While the Sabine River forms the
border between the two states, Interstate 10 links them and bridges the gap for
travelers driving back and forth between Houston and New Orleans. On many such
drives, I’ve thought the piney woods of East Texas look a lot like the forests
of Western Louisiana and have been charmed by the water birds and the wetlands
in both states, where cypress trees are draped with Spanish moss and live oak
branches hold resurrection fern.
Houstonians and New Orleanians, alike, understand
the effects of humidity and the perils of hurricane season and can find much to
appreciate in one another’s cities. New Orleans—with its unique history, culture,
and cuisine—has certainly called to me in the writing of four novels, but for
the fifth, I’m heeding a call from the Texas coast. Time to look homeward.
Rosemary Poole-Carter explores
an uneasy past in her novels Only Charlotte, Women ofMagdalene, What Remains, and Juliette Ascending, all set in the post-Civil War South, and
her plays, including The Familiar and The Little Death.
Fascinated by history, mystery,
and the arts, she is a member of the Historical Novel Society, Mystery Writers
of America, and the Dramatists Guild of America.
A graduate of the University of
Texas at Austin, she was a long-time resident of
Houston, where she practiced her devotion to reading and writing with students of a college system. She now lives and writes by the Eno River in Durham, North Carolina.
Houston, where she practiced her devotion to reading and writing with students of a college system. She now lives and writes by the Eno River in Durham, North Carolina.
Visit Rosemary Poole Carter here:
(all info provided and released by author)
Hello fellow author, Rosemary! Thanks for such an informative post! I, too am an author who grew up in one place yet set my novel where I am now. Getting around gives so many opportunities for ideas, doesn't it? Thanks for sharing! Cheers! SJ Francis
ReplyDeleteWe are gypsies at heart! Thanks so much for your kinds words. I adore Annette's blog (Thank you, Annette!) for providing the chance to travel around the country, visiting other writers (while I stay in my comfort zone/writing room with pets). Cheers!
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