Talent Time Two from Illinois

Illinois, my Home State, Fiona McGier

Ah, Illinois, home to Chicago, and everything else. Where every-so-often the everything else folks start insisting they want Chicago to secede, so they can create their own state of small towns with more cows than people. Illinois is where you can drive a few hours south of Chicago and find people with a thicker southern drawl than you'll find in the actual south. It's the state where, as I joke to high school seniors as I register them to vote, "You too, can help choose our next governor to go to jail." Yes, we're equal opportunity, jailing governors from both parties. When my dad moved here in 1948, from Glasgow, Scotland, the folks back home worried about him because of the reputation of Al Capone and the proliferation of guns and crime they associated with Chicago. Dad only thought of the blues clubs that hosted the musicians he wanted to hear live, so he ignored their fears, and lived much of his life in his adopted hometown of Chicago.

When I wrote my first book, over 10 years ago, it was because my father had passed away, leaving me in charge of caring for my mother, whose dementia he'd been covering up for many years. I desperately needed happy endings somewhere, and chose to write books that had them. When she could still read, Mom devoured romance novels by the bagful, trading them with her sisters. But I can remember her drop-kicking a book across the room, yelling at the author, "All of that build-up and no sex? I'm never reading you again!" So I kept Mom in mind as a reader when I wrote my first book, Never Too Old for the Game of Love.  

Since I've always lived in the suburbs west of Chicago, officially a part of the Chcagoland area, that's where I set my book. This allowed for me to use actual places I was familiar with, like local hospitals, as settings. It was only supposed to be one book. But then the heroine's best friend started telling me her story, so I thought it would be a set of two books, when Recipe for Love came out. Then the children of some characters in the ensemble-type books started wanting to get their stories out, and I ended up with six books, to date, in the series, one of which is a free download on Smashwords. But when I wrote Love Therapy, the sixth book, it had a crucial early scene at a high school reunion, so I had to choose a high school. I set it in West Chicago, a small community a couple of towns over from where I live. I looked up what the mascot was, and what the school colors were, and finished the book.

Flash forward a few years, and I added another high school district to the 2-school one I was already subbing for. I applied to, yes, the West Chicago high school district, and now I sub for WeGo, as well as for my other district. A school that was merely a part of my fictional book series, is now an actual part of my life. But since I don't write under my real name, I'm hoping that I can keep my secret book-relationship with their high school from the students and faculty. After all, the books I write are for readers over 18, so I want to keep my two personas separate. But it does amuse me sometimes, to walk down the halls, and imagine my Reyes characters being in the same halls.

How about you? Have you ever been in a place that was a setting in a book that you read? Did you find yourself imagining running into one of the characters there?

Contest: Let me know which of my Reyes Family Romances you'd like to read, after you check out the details about them on my website: http://www.fionamcgier.com. If you have any questions, like how long the books are, or which one has the most or least naughty bits, I'd be glad to answer your questions. Leave your response here, and I'll choose one reader to get the Reyes novel of their choice. You can either get a PDF, or a paperback. If you choose an actual book, I'll toss in a Reading is Sexy button--because it is. I'll choose a winner after a week, maybe two, to give people time to respond. Happy reading!

(Don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win  Fiona McGier's great prize!! Leave a form of contact, or use the tab at the top of the blog and email Annette so, if you win, she can find you!)

And: The Great River Road through West Central Illinois with Dori McCraw

I thought I would share a bit about the towns in West Central Illinois. Farming was/is the primary industry in the region. There is also a fair amount of commerce associated with the Mississippi River which runs along the western border of the state between Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. This is also along the route of the Great River Road that runs along the Western border of the state of Illinois. Here then is a look at some of the history of the towns between Quincy and Nauvoo Illinois, with a little side trip to Carthage, Illinois, the county seat for Hancock County. 

The town of Carthage was founded around 1833 and platted in 1838. In 1858, Abraham Lincoln, then running for the Senate, visited Carthage and spoke to the crowds in the square, where the County Courthouse now stands. Recently research has brought to light that Lincoln’s second cousin, Thomas Jefferson Lincoln was one of the early settlers in the county. Carthage is also the sight of the death of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saints movement. The conflict between the followers of Smith and the established settlers played a part in the growing pains of the region.

Going from North to South, I’ll start with Nauvoo, for the section in West Central Illinois. Nauvoo was a town that the Mormon’s moved to after leaving Missouri. It had other names prior to the arrival of the Mormons. It began life as Quashquema, named for the chief of the Sauk and Fox tribes whose lodges numbered around five hundred. It then became Venus, then Commerce which was the name of the town when the new settlers from Missouri changed the name to Nauvoo. Even after the Mormons left the town retained the name of Nauvoo.

Next is Hamilton, also in Hancock County, was platted in 1852, incorporated in 1854 and again in 1859. It sits across from Keokuk, Iowa with the Keokuk-Hamilton bridge connecting the two across the Mississippi River. Prior to building the bridge a ferry took people across the river. A town known as Montebello near the present site of Hamilton was the casting off point for the ferry, which began in 1829.

Warsaw, also in Hancock County, is one of the older settlements in the area. It began as a fort around 1814. That original fort burned, and another fort in 1815 was founded nearby. The town itself was a prosperous one, being dependent on the river trade. As the river trade died down, the towns fortunes fell also. Warsaw was also involved in the conflict that surrounded the death of Smith.

Finally we stop at Quincy in Adams County. Originally called Bluffs, the name was changed to Quincy in 1825 in honor of the newly elected president John Quincy Adams. Because of its location on the Mississippi, and its nearness to Missouri, it became a part of the underground railroad prior to the Civil War. Quincy also thrived due to river and railroad commerce and at one time was the second largest city in Illinois. Also of note, the sixth Lincoln-Douglas debate took place in the city’s main park in 1858.

So as you travel through this part of Illinois, pause and think of all the rich history this area has to offer along with some amazing views, especially in the fall when the trees display their amazing colors.

  

Angela Raines is the pen name for Doris McCraw. Doris is an author, historian, poet and actor/musician. She moved from the historically rich region of West Central Illinois to the equally history rich Colorado. Many of her works focus on the history that has surrounded her all her life. You can find her fiction work on her Amazon author page: https://amzn.to/2JqANcU. 

(INFO PROVIDED AND RELEASED BY AUTHORS)