Maryland's History Reboot: Margaret L. Carter

A Naval Career Leads to Maryland for Margaret L. Carter

My husband’s Navy career brought us to settle down in Maryland. This relatively small state spans geographical and cultural regions ranging from the rural areas of the Eastern Shore, famed for seafood harvested from the Chesapeake Bay, to the mountains of the state’s far western counties, with the urban centers of Baltimore and the Washington, D.C. suburbs in the middle. As celebrated in James Michener’s novel CHESAPEAKE, set largely on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the Bay provides crabs, oysters, and rockfish as well as perennial controversy over environmental and economic issues.

Historically, Maryland claims distinction as the birthplace of our national anthem, written during the War of 1812 by Francis Scott Key at the battle of Fort McHenry, near Baltimore. Earlier, during the Revolutionary era, the Maryland State House, the oldest continuously used state capitol building in the country, served as the new nation’s capitol. There, in the Old Senate Chamber, George Washington resigned his commission as a commander-in-chief of the Continental army. In the same room, the Treaty of Paris was ratified, ending the American Revolution. The Maryland Inn on Main Street, a short walk from the State House, houses a restaurant named the Treaty of Paris after this event.

Annapolis, has claims to fame besides being the seat of three levels of government. It’s a major boating center, with annual sailboat and power boat shows downtown at the City Dock. Annapolis is the home of the United States Naval Academy, established in 1845. Across the street from the Academy stands the campus of St. John’s College, known for its unique Great Books program, in which all students study the same curriculum based on the foundational texts of Western civilization.

In Annapolis, walk through its eighteenth-century historic district, filled with phenomenal restaurants and tour the Naval Academy. The Academy’s magnificent chapel holding the tomb of John Paul Jones is a must see.

I’ve set several works of fiction in Annapolis, notably two vampire novels, Dark Changeling and its sequel, Child of Twilight, and a werewolf novel, Shadow of the Beast. My werewolf heroine works for the Maryland General Assembly in the same department where I do--fictionalized to protect the innocent, of course.

At the end of the week I’ll give a free PDF of SHADOW OF THE BEAST to one randomly chosen person who comments on my post. Please include your e-mail so I can award your prize.

I’m also a member of several groups and you can find me at any of them:

Explore love among the monsters! www.margaretlcarter.com
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter for interviews, book reviews, and excerpts:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/margaretlcartersnewsfromthecrypt
Visit www.JewelsoftheQuill.com for monthly giveaways.

For more info on Maryland, visit http://www.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Maryland Book Bank in Baltimore

First, Happy Mother’s Day to all of you out there in the Mom roll.  I’m a Mom, a step-mom, a grand-mom, an exchange mom-a mom to friends of my kids and it’s been a joy, most of the time.  There are always those days but most of them, aside from diapers and grounding situations, are way more than I expected. 

Yesterday my four kids were all home celebrating graduation of one of our Italian kids and I got this hibiscus and its beautiful.  Just wanted to share it. 

Now to Maryland:

The Maryland Book Bank is a nonprofit organization committed to cultivating literacy in children from under-resourced neighborhoods.

For more than 20 years, the Book Bank has distributed over 1.8 million free children’s books throughout Maryland.

They have thousands of titles, all sorted by volunteers and distributed books are donated by people and organizations all over Maryland.

They welcome everyone to visit the storefront  at 1794 Union Avenue in Baltimore but you can also support the project in lots of ways.  Its easy.  Just visit the website to learn more

https://www.mdbookbank.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjwiN_mBRBBEiwA9N-e_prfmUHTFn3gYtmtqywd5KZYhqwwyOptcEAK9AXrdGg6-NHnA4D_yxoCnKMQAvD_BwE

The websites well done and the organization sounds exemplary.  The store looks amazing so if you’re in the area, or plan to be, stop over and check them out.

(All info downloaded from Maryland Book Bank https://www.mdbookbank.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjwiN_mBRBBEiwA9N-e_prfmUHTFn3gYtmtqywd5KZYhqwwyOptcEAK9AXrdGg6-NHnA4D_yxoCnKMQAvD_BwE )

Maryland Revisited with Jaye Valentine

Although I've been living in Massachusetts for several years now, a part of me will also be a Marylander and, more specifically, a Baltimorean. I grew up in a small, blue-collar neighborhood in the northwestern section of Baltimore, and when I was a kid, we used to walk to the old Memorial Stadium to see the Baltimore Orioles play. When they announced that the Orioles would build a new stadium in the Inner Harbor area, I was nervous that the spirit of the old place would be lost. The architects did a great job, and the new facility—Oriole Park at Camden Yards—turned out better than I had hoped, with the look and feel of an old-fashioned ballpark.

My stories—both my solo creations and the collaborations with my partner, Reno MacLeod—have locations that range from small towns in Massachusetts to the exotic man-made islands of Dubai. We have managed to squeeze my hometown into a few of our stories though, and I have to admit they were a real treat for me to write. "Firecracker" features the downtown neighborhood of Mount Vernon, which is central to the gay community in Baltimore. In our "Let Them Try" series of paranormal novellas, our heroes are a Baltimore City police officer (who lives and works in the neighborhood in which I grew up) and his demon lover. While it can be fun to research new places and write about exotic locations that I'll never see in person, there's something equally as satisfying in writing about a place I know so well.

As the seventh state admitted to the Union, Maryland has a long, rich history, and some of the more interesting places to visit have paranormal elements. Ghosts have long been reported to haunt the grounds of Fort McHenry, the bombardment of which during the War of 1812 inspired Francis Scott Key to compose "The Star-Spangled Banner." In September of 1862, the North and the South waged one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War outside of the picturesque town of Sharpsburg, Maryland, called the Battle of Antietam. Angry apparitions reportedly haunt the so-called Bloody Lane there. And of course, how could a house once occupied by Edgar Allan Poe not be haunted?

Although Maryland is the ninth smallest state in area, one of the state's nicknames is "America in Miniature" due to the wide range of topography. Sandy beaches on the Atlantic Ocean, oak forests on the Piedmont Plateau, wetlands and marshes on the Chesapeake Bay, and dense pine groves in the Appalachian Mountains to the west are just some of the myriad features of the state. The weather also runs the gamut, from hot, humid summers to cold winters with a fair amount of snow. A lot going on for such a small state, and I hope to revisit Maryland in future stories.

Jaye Valentine lives in a small New England town with his partner, Reno MacLeod, and their menagerie of cats, freshwater fish, and dust mice. Jaye enjoys writing, watching movies, and is shamefully fond of competitive reality shows.

In addition to the gritty, not-for-the-faint-of-heart urban fantasy, horror, and sci-fi novels Jaye co-writes with Reno, Jaye also writes short stories under the pen name of Acer Adamson.

Visit Jay Valentine here: http://www.macleodvalentine.com/  where you’ll discover all about this talented author and his writing partner.

(re-posted from archives)

Flashback to Maryland-2012 with Margaret Carter

My husband’s Navy career brought us to settle down in Maryland. This relatively small state spans geographical and cultural regions ranging from the rural areas of the Eastern Shore, famed for seafood harvested from the Chesapeake Bay, to the mountains of the state’s far western counties, with the urban centers of Baltimore and the Washington, D.C. suburbs in the middle. As celebrated in James Michener’s novel CHESAPEAKE, set largely on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the Bay provides crabs, oysters, and rockfish as well as perennial controversy over environmental and economic issues.
 

Historically, Maryland claims distinction as the birthplace of our national anthem, written during the War of 1812 by Francis Scott Key at the battle of Fort McHenry, near Baltimore. Earlier, during the Revolutionary era, the Maryland State House, the oldest continuously used state capitol building in the country, served as the new nation’s capitol. There, in the Old Senate Chamber, George Washington resigned his commission as a commander-in-chief of the Continental army. In the same room, the Treaty of Paris was ratified, ending the American Revolution. The Maryland Inn on Main Street, a short walk from the State House, houses a restaurant named the Treaty of Paris after this event. 

Annapolis, has claims to fame besides being the seat of three levels of government. It’s a major boating center, with annual sailboat and power boat shows downtown at the City Dock. Annapolis is the home of the United States Naval Academy, established in 1845. Across the street from the Academy stands the campus of St. John’s College, known for its unique Great Books program, in which all students study the same curriculum based on the foundational texts of Western civilization.

In Annapolis, walk through its eighteenth-century historic district, filled with phenomenal restaurants and tour the Naval Academy. The Academy’s magnificent chapel holding the tomb of John Paul Jones is a must see.

I’ve set several works of fiction in Annapolis, notably two vampire novels, Dark Changeling and its sequel, Child of Twilight, and a werewolf novel, Shadow of the Beast. My werewolf heroine works for the Maryland General Assembly in the same department where I do--fictionalized to protect the innocent, of course.

I’m also a member of several groups and you can find me at any of them:

Explore love among the monsters! www.margaretlcarter.com
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter for interviews, book reviews, and excerpts: For more info on Maryland, visit http://www.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx

MARY-LAND of Adventure-Cari Marsi

Let’s get the Maryland stats out of the way before we get to the fun stuff.

Maryland consists of 12,193 miles, ranks 42nd in the nation and includes the Chesapeake Bay, America’s largest estuary (source: Maryland Geological Survey) Chesapeake Bay is 185 miles long, 30 miles wide at its widest, 174 feet deep at its deepest and holds 18 trillion gallons of water.

Maryland has 9,844 square miles of land, 623.35 square miles of inland water, 31 miles of Atlantic Ocean coast, including Assateague Island, almost 4,000 miles of shoreline, 400 lakes, all man made.

Wikipedia.com

Now for the fun stuff.

For a small state, Maryland is big in resources with lots to see and do. I live in the neighboring state of Delaware. Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia make up the Delmarva Peninsula. Because the states on the East Coast are small and close to each other, travel between them is easy. Visiting Maryland, for me, is like traveling to another part of my state. 

Maryland has a great beach—Ocean City—situated along the Atlantic

coast just south of the Delaware beaches. The soft, white sand and the long boardwalk make Ocean City a popular destination. Although Ocean City is a tad too built up for my taste, with a proliferation of high-rise hotels, it’s a fun place, always awake and exciting during the summer months.

Then there’s Baltimore, a gritty urban city with a kind of downhome flavor. Inner Harbor is close to downtown Baltimore, and a bit touristy, but very pretty, especially in summer. Inner Harbor has an abundance of terrific restaurants, a world-class aquarium, and good shopping. If you’re looking for something with a little more edge, visit Fell’s Point, a gentrified, trendy area near Inner Harbor. I once stayed at an inn there called Admiral Fell Inn. The name still makes me chuckle.

Annapolis, home of the U.S. Naval Academy, is a quaint little town filled with bars and restaurants, and some cool shops too. My husband and I once spent a weekend there on a friend’s sailboat. Finding a spot to dock your boat is easier than finding a parking spot for your car. When in Annapolis, go to Middleton Tavern, established 1750, and try their oyster shooters. For me, it’s worth making the one hundred mile trip just to have a few oyster shooters. 

Wikipedia.com

A nephew attended the Naval Academy. For four years, I dreamed of attending his graduation and seeing all those hats flying in the air. Graduation day arrived, in the middle of a week-long deluge that wouldn’t stop. We sat in the stands wrapped in garbage bags made into rain gear. It was awful, and to make it worse, the graduates couldn’t toss their hats. 

St. Michael’s, Maryland, derives its name from the Episcopal Parish established in 1677. It’s a fun town with quirky shops and restaurants, perfect for a summer day excursion. On a weekend trip there with a group of boaters, we took over an inn. Great food, lots of wine. My husband and I aren’t boaters, but we were

friends with people who owned boats. Those boaters know how to party!

I’ve enjoyed Maryland through the years, but the best trip there was one that was unplanned. The road less traveled can be the richest. Some time ago, my husband, son, and I took a road trip through Maryland and

West Virginia, with no particular destination in mind. It soon turned into a Civil War Battlefield journey. We stayed overnight in Hagerstown and visited Antietam, site of the bloodiest single day of war in U.S. history.

During the Civil War, Maryland was a border state with split loyalties (as was Delaware). The infamous Battle of Antietam took place Wednesday, September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg,

Washington County. The combined forces at Antietam totaled just over 114,000, of which 22,717 either died, were wounded, or were lost.

The men who fell at Antietam that day haunt the battlefield, just as the dead haunt Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which we’ve visited several times. The indentation for the ditch at Antietam where so many died is still there. Walking through Antietam, I could feel the spirits of the brave men who gave their lives that day. The feeling got stronger at the ditch. I get chills even now thinking about it. There are a total of seven Civil War battlefields in Maryland, but Antietam is the most famous, the most deadly, and the most haunted. We visited other battlefields on that trip, but the haunting sadness of Antietam has never left me.

Visit Maryland and enjoy all it offers. Their crab cakes are without equal. Fresh seafood is abundant on its Eastern Shore. Swim in the ocean and take in the night life of Ocean City. Shop in the quaint towns and explore its rich history, especially the Civil War battlefields.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little excursion through Maryland. 

 As a thank you for visiting Fifty Authors from Fifty States, a giveaway!!

June, the month of weddings, is near. To celebrate, I’m giving away a print, autographed copy of the bestselling anthology, The Marriage Coin Boxed Set, to one commenter chosen at random. Don’t forget to leave your email address.

“Flowers make the perfume of love stronger.” 

A mysterious coin is passed down through the centuries to those deserving of Luck and Love. Five couples in different eras each come into possession of the coin and enter into a marriage-of-convenience. Will the coin lead them to love as well as luck?
Five original sweet romance novellas by three award-winning authors and two talented debut authors. 

Violet-Any Earl Will Do by Gwendolyn Schuler 
Lilly-The Bronze Talisman by Martha Schroeder 
Rose-The Power of Hope by Kate Welsh 
Poppy-Her Forever Husband by Cara Marsi 
Dahlia-A Gypsy’s Flower by Daria Grady

 http://www.amazon.com/Marriage-Coin-Gwendolyn-Schuler-ebook/dp/B00KTJOV3O/?tag=carmaraut-20

 

Cara Marsi, an award-winning author and self-proclaimed TV junkie, is a former corporate drone and cubicle dweller. Freed from her fabric-covered cage, she can now indulge her love of all things romance. She craves books with happy endings and loves to write about independent heroines and the strong heroes who love them. And she loves to put her characters in dangerous situations or situations merely dangerous to their hearts and watch them fight for the happy endings they deserve.

An eclectic author, Cara is published in romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. She has also published numerous short romance stories in national women’s magazines and online. When not traveling or dreaming of traveling, Cara and her husband live on the East Coast in a house ruled by a sweet, formerly homeless cat named Tortie and a fat black diva of a cat named Killer.

Find out more about me, and my author life, and sign up for my newsletter here: www.caramarsi.com

The Maryland Writers Association

I’m a big advocate of working together for betterment.  In my own life, I’ve been blessed to know the full advantage of having a strong support system.  When my kids were small and I worked ninety hours a week to keep food on table, shoes on feet and tires on car.  There’s no way I could have survived without the great support system of my family and friends.  

I feel the same way with my writing.  Joining together with others of like mind helps me improve and, as well, help others.  

It’s that way with this blog, my business networking and my membership to the Nebraska Writers Guild which offers support and educational conferences and material for a minimal yearly membership. 

 

I’ve found such writer support groups just about everywhere and Maryland is no different.

The Maryland Writers' Association (MWA) is a voluntary, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the art, business, and craft of writing in all its forms. MWA strives to: 

• Bring together aspiring, emerging, and established writers of all genres and disciplines
• Serve as an information and networking resource
• Help members make contacts that lead to publication
• Encourage writers to reach their full potential, and
• Promote writing within Maryland communities

MWA's diverse membership ranges from professional freelancers and published authors, to writers aspiring to be published and those who write as a creative outlet.

Members produce both nonfiction and fiction, including novels, short stories, poetry, plays, scripts, speeches, feature articles, and essays. Some work in specific genres such as romance, science fiction, thriller, fantasy, children's literature, travel writing, or biography.

Among MWA's activities and services:

• Monthly chapter meetings featuring guest speakers, open mic readings, workshops, and more
• Annual writers' conference
• Member newsletter, Pen in Hand
• Critique groups throughout the state
• Literary contests
• Writing projects for children

Members of MWA have access to:

• Free attendance at monthly chapter meetings
• Forums to present your creative work
• Reduced fees to MWA-sponsored events
• Participation in MWA's annual conference
• Marketing opportunities at art and literary festivals
• Links to your website(s) from the state and chapter websites

 Go here: http://marylandwriters.org/index.php to learn more. 
(Info found on website above.)