Two Hundred Fifty Years of Education, Especially in Missouri

By Elaine L. Orr

When early white settlers came to what is now the United States, they generally lived in groups in what would become great cities. Coming from nations with established education systems, they knew the value of collective learning. 

Education in the First Colonies

New College (later Harvard University) was founded in 1636, The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1693. Both started as colleges and their university designations (which says they give degrees beyond what we call today a bachelor's degree) came later.

Free public education below that level was not available and did not emerge until well into the nineteenth century. There were initially some religious schools, mostly for (white) boys; if girls were educated it would have been at home, taught enough to run a household. Families were expected to pay a fee as there was no government role in schools.

Petty schools in Massachusetts reached more children and were open to those who could pay a fee. "Every Massachusetts town held meetings and voted on how many schools to build...how much public funds to use, and how much the students would pay to attend." Had there been no Harvard, these schools would not have been widespread. The Masachusetts Bay Colony required towns to fund schools so local boys could qualify for Harvard.

Slaveholders in the south did not permit Black children or adults to be schooled, fearing it would lead to rebellion. Even teaching them to read the Bible was almost always forbidden -- and punished. The Bray School in Williamsburg educated 400 free and enslaved Black children between 1760 and 1774.

Schools on the Prairie

My personal interest is more focused on the Midwest and the stories I heard were about schools in Southwest Missouri, which was fairly typical of how sparse country towns approached education. 

In a nutshell, Missouri's early public education started with small, fee-based town schools. In 1817, St. Louis opened the first public school west of the Mississippi River. The state legislature passed a law allowing public school districts in 1839. A strong statewide system was finally built under the new state constitution in 1865. (Thanks to  AI for this summary.)

My Orr family, led by William Orr and Jane Adams, went to what is now Lawrence County, Missouri in 1837. They came from Ireland, which had a strong primary education system. When brother George Orr and his wife Elizabeth Brown arrived in 1862, he had served as a teacher in Northern Ireland, some in Belfast. When the children of sister Isabella arrived in 1863 (Isabella and her husband Ephraim Campbell died en route or soon after) they became the branch of educators. (More later.)

Early public education in Lawrence County began in the 1850s when the state set up township school districts. The tiny one-room school houses were not limited to towns. The ones my ancestors attended were on the prairie and teachers would live with one of the families. 

School and Church Connection

First priority, though, was creating a church commnity. For the Orrs, it was Ozark Prairie Presbyterian Church, founded in late 1837. I don't know if any of my family was at the first service, held in a private home. They provided many elders, men and women, and helped construct what is now called "The Brick" in 1872, about three miles from the county seat of Mount Vernon. 

Churches brought Sunday Schools, which meant (for many) learning or expanding their ability to read. The year 1840 saw the first in Lawrence County (some say the first West of the Mississippi River). Its first location was at the "Head of the River Schoolhouse" south of Verona. The Shady Grove School was built on that site in 1861. Families rose  early and brought their Bibles, likely a dictionary, and dinner and stayed for much of the day. (See the reference for Down Turnback Trails.)

Women in the Early Schools

No women, no rural schools; it's that simple. The communities built their one-room schoolhouses, generally with donated wood and labor. Early ones had dirt floors, but most had wood. No electricity, of course, and an old wood stove for heat. Teachers sometime brought the wood each day.

By the  mid-to-late1800 through early 1900s (and sometimes later), children attended through roughly what we think of at eighth grade. All in one room, though teachers might divide the students into groups. The rural school year was shorter than today, often broken up by planting and harvest seasons.

The Mount Vernon High School was on the original town plat in 1845 and the "Old Main" part of the modernized school was built in 1900. My father and two brothers graduated in 1933. The youngest was with the two older because he was the only one in his grade in the earlier one-room school house, so the teacher bumped him up a year.

Girls (usually not boys) went to 'normal' school, which was for teacher training. My Aunts Mary Frances (Tancy) Orr Schnake and Elizabet Orr Seneker attended, though Lib married a minister and didn't teach too long. 

Tancy taught for 30 years, including at the one-room Liberty School (shown with students 1948/1949) and later at the modern elementary in Mount Vernon. Later in life, she earned a Master's Degree in Education. Teachers usually had the same many family responsibilities as others. Tancy and her husband had a farm in Stotts City, MO and helping her feed the chickens was a big treat.

Education Varied by When You Arrived on the Prairie

The earliest Orr families in Lawrence County found no schools and children would initially learn from their parents, starting with reading the Bible. They were smart, inquisitive people, and I've read stories about my GG Grandfather, Paul Orr, becoming an expert, through reading, on many topics. He went through a time of opining on the importance of bees, which we've all come to appreciate even more as their numbers dwindle today.

Paul was born in Ireland in 1829 and the eighth child, John Adams Orr, was born in Missouri in 1846. There were thus local school to attend. One family history said it was a family tradition to educate (beyond perhaps eighth grade) one child. He was sent to St. Louis and returned to Lawrence County very interested in all aspects of agriculture, including creating hybrid plants. He ran his parents' farm for many years and moved into Mount Vernon later. While most of his siblings were in industries related to farming, one of John's sons son was a physician, another joined the Farm Services Administration, and a third ran the local hardware store and funeral home. 

As time went on, families moved to professions besides agriculture. One had many who attended Drury University in Springfield and my first cousin, Don Seneker, taught at Southwest Missouri State. 

The Orr siblings who stayed longer in Ireland (George and Isabella) brought childen to the US. who had gone to established schools there, and George was a teacher in Ireland. One son had a law degree, two moved to Colorado to homestead, and a daughter married a local merchant and had several daughters who taught in Missouri or Oklahoma.

Isabella's children settled mostly in nearby Jasper County and bloomed with educators and librarians, generally women. John Adams Orr was close to these families (who were also younger than his siblings, closer to his age) and had similar education levels to his. 

All work is good work, but it's interesting to see that education, to some extent, leads to work outside of agriculture. Of course, as the U.S. economy expanded, so did Orr descendants' professions. There probably would not have been an Orr Reunion Association wthout John Adams Orr. He encouraged his sons to find a way to keep bringing the broader family together and  they did (in 1937), almost immediately after his 1936  death. Orr descendants from across the USA attended for 90 years.

A Very Few Sources

Hamlets and Schools of Northern Lawrence County by Willie Washam. Independently Published, 2014. Among contributors was the Lawrence County Historical Society, in which several cousins have had leadership roles for many years. (amazon.com/dp/1500583804 )

Down Turnback Trails: A Sketch Book of Lawrence County, Missouri, edited by Kathy Seneker Fairchild and published by the Lawrence County Historical Society and the Lawrence County Record, 1992. The 2018 'revisited version', is available at amazon.com/dp/1974535169.

Ozark Prairie Presbyterian Church is still a site of worship though with dwindling membership -- as is the case for many rural churches. It is at 15032 Lawrence 2077, Mt Vernon, MO 65712, with Sunday service at 9 AM. My father was baptized there in 1915 and the Orr Reunion Association (founded by Alfred and George Orr, sons of John Adams Orr and Frannie Scroggs) met there for 90 years, ending in 2026. It still maintains a Facebook Group at: facebook.com/groups/278132529600112.

If you want an appreciation of strong women running one-room schools, read about Minnie Freeman, who saved her thirteen students from the "Childrens' Blizzard" of 1888. With no forecast of the storm and plunging temperatures, to stay in the unheated schools or to try to make it home could be deadly. She tied her Nebraska students together with twine and (carrying the youngest) managed to walk them to a farmhouse. 245 children died, hers lived.

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To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

The Chesapeake Bay is in My Blood

By Elaine L. Orr

As a child, we visited beaches along the Bay -- much closer to Washington, DC metro area than the ocean beaches. I remember the beaches had nets around them to prevent sea nettles (small jellyfish) from stinging us. 

In the 1970s, my friend Barbara and I bought a cottage on the Western Shore of the Bay in the town of Chesapeake Beach. At the time it was a sleepy place, though it's been built up since then. 

The photo here reflects questionable judgment on our parts. We bought this cottage on the Western Shore in the late 1970s. It had been built in the days before indoor plumbing (though someone had added a cinderblock supplement in the back) and desperately needed a new roof. 

Turns out it had seven (yes, seven) layers of roofing. A wonder the place hadn’t flattened under the weight. This is us hammering shingles. The picture was taken from the house behind us by a horrified neighbor.

I'm not sure my thinking has gotten a lot saner, but I no longer climb on roofs.

Now you know why I'm writing the Bay View Harbor Mystery Series!

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To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

Writing Choices

 By Elaine L. Orr

This week's Cozy Crime Weeky newsletter (by Marian at CozyMystery.com) talked about authors moving from cozy mysteries to other genres, and said she would miss them but wished them well. Then she added: "Now, if you treat cozy mysteries like the minor leagues, just a place to hone your skills before you move onto bigger and better, we’re going to have a whole different conversation."

Several times through the years, someone has asked me when I planned to write tougher mysteries or more complex mysteries. I don't punch their lights out (not much violence in my books), but I do find it insulting. 

I  like amateur sleuths, though it can be hard to find a good reason for them to be involved in crime solving sometimes. Do they live in a crime capital? Are their lives so dull they look for trouble? Cozy mystery writers will sometimes joke about the Cabot Cove Effect, a reference to the long-running TV show with Angela Landsbury as Jessica Fletcher ("Murder She Wrote").

The show's writers would take her out of Cabot Cove sometimes. A segment took her to New York City where she taught a writing class for a season. Her immersion in other people's lives seemed almost seamless. And that is what it takes or watchers (and readers) would say she was a nosy biddy.

At some point, she became someone residents or the (bumbling) local sheriff turned to for help. That moved her closer to a professional investigator, but not quite.

I plan to stick with cozies and have been exploring different settings. I've learned it's hard to leave the characters I like, so I need to keep writing in the existing series. Plus, as an entrepreneur, it's important to give readers more of what they've liked.

As a reward as I wrote the second book in the Bay View Harbor Mystery Series, I've started the sixth in the Family History Mystery Series. Take a look, and feel free to send comments.

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To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

Books as Barometers

By Elaine L. Orr

In 2007, I had a day job and continued to work on the first three books of the Jolie Gentil series. Like most readers, I liked to do anything with books and I had A TON OF BOOKS, so I started selling some online through Alibris. I kept a small stock of 200 books and they were mostly popular ones, so I made between one and two hundred per minth.

Then came the fall and orders fell off the proverbial cliff. One description of the situation was: Beginning in August 2007, pressures in the financial markets turned into a panic, freezing the global credit system when investors realized the extent of bad subprime mortgages. (AI generated) 

Everyday folks may not have been able to predict the decline that would become the 2008 recession (which officially started in December 2007), but they were pulling back spending bigtime. After a couple of months of almost no sales, I donated most of the books to the local library and Goodwill.

Here we are in 2026 and Barnes and Noble is opening new stores because reading is "in" again. Yay! 

But the economy has had some tremulous moments, housing prices are off the charts, and the U.S. is in another war we can't seem to get out of. Will that affect book sales?

I've now published nearly forty books, mostly genre fiction, and generally make enough each month to be happy. That meant a few hundred dollars and quite a bit more when I have a new book. This is June 9th. On Amazon, I have made $12.79 so far. 

Excuse me? I had a new book in May, so my expectation would be a steady stream of buyers for that book (and usually others) for a few months at least. I have not had a month this bad since early 2011 (when I had one book out).

I checked with a few friends I know well enough to ask if they are having similar experiences. Pretty much the same. I sell what the industry calls 'wide,' meaning at all online retailers. I also have my books with IngramSpark which gives bookstores and libraries a place to order. Those retailers seem to be about the same as Amazon.

Economic woes may not be the sole issue. Bowker (which issues ISBNs) reports an increase of 32.5% of books with ISBNs between 2024 and 2025. That's remarkable. Publisher's Weekly reports a rise in traditional and self-published books in the past three years.

So more books mean more competition -- even if some are AI-generated. But that would not lead to such a recent dramatic drop in sales for me. People say, "Amazon must have changed their algorithm." 

I looked it up. Google said: "The core of Amazon's search engine (often referred to as A10) has completely shifted. If you are a buyer, you are seeing search results curated by an AI that prioritizes profitability and off-platform engagement."

My reaction is not printable. I don't even know what off-platform engagement is. If it's book signings and such, mine are lower after two years with cancer (now seemingly cured) and several orthopedic surgeries. But still... It must mean that AI looks for authors who are visible in the news and on social media. Maybe?

It's ironic, because AI firms used published authors' work to teach themslves about books and writing. To see what it knew, I asked ChatGPT to write a short story similar to "Elaine L. Orr's Jolie Gentil cozy mysteries." In two seconds it described the series and its characters and in a few more seconds wrote a roughly 2,000 word story. It was not good, but still... Again, my reaction is not printable.

So, time to adjust. I have to figure out how, because the current situation is nuts. 

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To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

Paperbacks at Barnes and Noble

By Elaine L. Orr

Beginning May 14^th, all paperback books published through Barnes and Noble Press were required to be priced at $14.99 or more. BN Press is the in-house publishing firm that self published authors use for ebooks and paperbacks at Barnes and Noble. I suppose some smaller publishing companies use it, too.

The rationale is that BN needs the higher price to run a quality business. (That is my shorthand.)

 I have taken down all of my standard-sized paperbacks, which I sold for $9 or $10.99 – less for shorter books or novellas. I love my books, but I don’t feel right about selling them for 9.99 on Amazon and then upping the price by $5 just to have them on Barnes and Noble. I will start putting my large print books on BN. They are longer books and I don’t mind selling them for that price. They will still be cheaper on Amazon.

I expect that Barnes and Noble will pick up my books via Ingram. At least I have not heard that they are trying to tell Ingram what to do! Ingram’s price point was a bit higher than my Barnes and Noble prices because that’s what they required. However I don’t think anything was as much as $14.99.

 So sad. I have listed books on BN since February 2012. My ebooks will always be on BN for Nook.

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To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

Make the Words Act for Your Characters

By Elaine L. Orr

Words on a page do bring stories alive. Action words give them a reason to keep living.

As I wrote Rekindling Motives more than two decades ago, I concurrently took an online class in outlining a book -- something I don't do well. The instructor read portions of the book and thought the opening wouldn't grab a reader. Here's the original opening.

I had not intended to go to the Ocean Alley High School reunion.  Wait, that’s too mild.  I would have preferred to walk barefoot on the boardwalk in January.  However, Scoobie and Ramona combined their charms, and I was in the so-called ballroom of Ocean Alley’s largest hotel, Beachcomber’s Alley.

Here's what evolved based on the instructor's comments. (He may have said something about walking on glass, but I don't remember back to 2005. I'm lucky to have stored an early manuscripts in my Yahoo Mail account.)

I WOULD RATHER HAVE WALKED barefoot over shards of glass on the boardwalk in January than go to the Ocean Alley High School reunion. However, Scoobie and Ramona combined their charms, so on the Saturday after Thanksgiving I was in the so-called ballroom of Ocean Alley’s largest hotel, Beachcomber’s Alley. I'm such a wuss.

Several things changed, as you can tell.

• There's no reason to highlight the intention and then say Jolie's preference for an activity. The uncomfortable action she would rather not take is what counts.
• Walking barefoot over shards of glass on the boardwalk in January is a much better visual image than simply walking barefoot in the cold.
• The opening now indicates when the reunion takes place -- Thanksgiving weekend. 
• "I'm such a wuss" tells you that Jolie knows she can't always resist being browbeaten, but also that she can laugh at herself.

That lesson stayed with me and I reevaluate the first paragraph of each book many times.

More Ideas for Fresh Writing

Every author has her style and every character their distinct way of speaking. That said, we sometimes overuse words or use less precise ones. Not a crime, but here are some things to think about.

My critique group pointed out that I use 'look,' 'walk,' and 'and' a lot. I now do word searches for 'look' and 'walk.' You don't want to sound as if you swallowed a Thesarus, but someone who trudges up the steps after work conveys something different than the person who bounds up the stairs. (And not just that the bounder has better knees.)

As she reviewed draft chapters of The Handyman's Last Bite, my colleague Sue Ade counted the word 'and' 200 times in one chapter. Yikes! Upon review, I changed some longer independent clauses into two sentences, so no need to connect them with a conjunction. 

I also used 'and' when an infinitive could be used. For example, "She turned and hustled away," could be "She turned to hustle away." Either way is fine, but if you use 'and' 200 times in fifteen pages, look for at least some alternatives.

About that Outline...

All that outlining? As I got to the last couple of chapters of Rekindling Motives, my fingers flew as they do when I am very certain about my ideas. I didn't consult the outline, just kept moving. As you might imagine, the ending was different than I had outlined it. I liked the new ending. I might have liked the outline a bit better, but I wasn't going to rewrite two chapters that I thought worked well.

The moral could be: "Don't outline." It could also be, "It's OK to run with a good idea." My own habits have evolved such that I make notes before I start to write and I do bulleted summaries of each chapter as I go. At the bottom of my chapter summaries I have notes about continuing the story. Not an outline, but I do see my ideas on paper before I write the full text. I find that helpful.

As many writers say when asked for advice, stop talking and put your tail on the chair and do it.

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To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

More Attention to Shore Shenanigans

By Elaine L. Orr

In July of 2025 I published Fired up and Feisty, the first book in the Shore Shenanigans series. It is in the same Jersey shore town in which the Jolie Gentil series takes place. Ocean Alley, so named because the town is long and narrow.

I'd been preparing for the series for some time, which I don't always do. (I'd like to say I always plan ahead but it's not my best quality.) In this case, the character George in the Jolie Gentil series was a newspaper reporter who was fired in book 7 (of the 14) because he showed compassion in covering a story. He then worked for an insurance company as an investigator for two years, which helped him qualify to be a private investigator.

So, here comes PI George Winters.

Each book in the Shore Shenanigans Series features small groups of visitors to Ocean Alley, all of them staying at Mayor Madge's Cozy Corner B&B. As the primary sleuth, George discovers whatever is churning. 

He's usually paid to investigate more mundane things (think background checks for big corporations), so he's quick to dive into issues B&B guests bring with them to the Jersey Shore. A few familiar faces from other Jersey Shore books stroll in from time to time, but you won't see as much of them as in my other mystery series.

Fired Up and Feisty puts that year's Ocean Alley High School Reunion front and center. The Golden Grads (alums from long ago) end up at the Cozy Corner B&B after a fire at the hotel. Well, not all of them -- one is found on the floor in the room where the fire started. 

Did smoldering high school resentments lead to Preston McKinley's demise? Or maybe his prior business dealings? George Winters is pulled into the fray, assisted by Cozy Corner B&B owner Aunt Madge (a.k.a. Mayor Madge). With lots of input from snooty and down-to-earth seniors. 

Why Write About Fired Up and Feisty Now?

I've learned (the hard way?) that my books featuring amateur sleuths sell better than those in the two series with professionals -- Shore Shenanigans and the Logland Series, which has a female college town police chief as the main player.

Why? There is an established audience for cozy mysteries. There are not such audiences for private investigator and police chief mysteries written with a cozy feel. That's my marketing tagline. The books are certainly read and they get good reviews. But they are not purchased as much as my cozy series, and I like to sell books. That isn't being crass, just a reflection of wanting to put my time to good use.

But here's the thing. I never did a blog post about Fired Up and Feisty. Why not? Perhaps some subliminal messaging that told me it would be hard to write about a series that is a harder to categorize  Not too bright, right? Plus, I didn't notice until recently when I looked for such a post and didn't find one!

There's no time like the present. Fans of the Jolie Gentil series will enjoy the Shore Shenanigans series. Similar humor, occasional appearances by Jolie and Scoobie and their four-year-old twins, as well as George's long-time girlfriend, artist Ramona Argrow. Aunt Madge and her husband Harry, however, are very much front and center because much action takes place in their Cozy Corner B&B. 

In fact, I originally called it the Senior Shenanigans series, but I decided that was too narrow a group of reprobates for the stories.

Come back to Ocean Alley from a different perspective but similar mischief. Here are some places to find Fired Up and Feisty.

                     Amazon  Apple Nook  Everand  Google  Kobo  Smashwords

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To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

Picking a Profession for a New Sleuth

Elaine L. Orr

For my mystery series I have used a variety of sleuths. The long running Jolie Gently series has a real estate appraiser. I deliberately picked that so the job would put my amateur sleuth among people from all walks of life. Not just her homeowner or small business customers, but also real estate agents, local government officials who dealt with property law, merchants, and almost anything else you can think of.

For early stand alone books I learned lessons about limitations of given professions. For example, A teacher is tied to a classroom much of the time. Archeology is a fascinating profession, but it requires a lot of research on the writer's part. I like to do research, but I also like the story to flow easily.

The landscaper in the River's Edge series and the graphics artist in the Family History mystery series are also involved in many aspects of their communities. I like rural communities and I'm a family historian myself, which made those series especially interesting to me. 

Cozy Mystery readers expect an amateur sleuth. My two series without them are the Logland Mystery series, which features a female police chief in a small college town; and the Shore Shenanigans series, which introduced a private investigator (a man!) in a Jersey Shore town. Both of these series have many features of a cozy mystery series -- the murders occur off screen, the sleuth is involved in the community, and there's a fair bit of humor.

I learned that even though these two series are essentially cozies with a professional crime solver, readers aren't as likely to pick them up. I actually find them easier to write because the police chief and private investigator have a reason to delve into the crime. The amateur has a harder route to crime solving. But, I have to think hard about writing more books in the series. I love to write but I also love to sell.

As I was creating the Bay View Harbor series I needed a sleuth who had reasons to interact with a lot of people and yet had flexibility in her schedule. I always avoided professions that involved cooking, crafts, or (believe it or not) books. So no bakeries, yarn or other craft stores, or libraries or bookstores. I thought there were so many options already, and I also have no talents or cooking, sewing, or anything else that requires true talent. Libraries and bookstores seemed redundant -- I'm in them all the time.

In a small Maryland Eastern Shore town there aren't as many options as in a larger community. Thus came a former event planner turned bakery owner. I set it up so that she has a partner, which makes it easier to get around town, and the partner is actually a talented cook. I finally realized that a baker can get into as much trouble as a real estate appraiser or landscaper. I don't really have to know how to cook. I do have to like what I'm writing about, and Maryland's Eastern Shore is one of my favorite places on the planet. So, here we go.

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To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

Watch Out for Weak Words

By Elaine L. Orr

Some authors write gently, even with deep drama. I'm thinking of Ann Tyler. Others pack every metaphorical punch with swinging fists. Think James Patterson or John Sandford.

What's not good for either style is diluted text, especially verbs. "I was walking up the stairs after work" connotes a clearer image as, "I trudged up the steps after a long day at work." 

Another generic verb is look. We can look at a piece of paper or study it. Look at the sky or glance at it with deep concern. I now do a word search for 'look' at the end of my first draft. 

For my writing style, gerunds have a specific purpose. I like to use them to convey immediacy -- "walking into the deserted house confirmed my fears" puts you with the character more than "I walked into the house feeling fearful." You can edit either of those sentences, but I think constant use of gerunds dilutes their sense of immediacy, perhaps even intimacy, with a character.

My critique mate, Sue, pointed out that I used 'and' a lot. I didn't think so until I counted -- almost 200 times in one chapter. I had some longer sentences that could be separated without making the text choppy. But a big part was using 'and' rather than infinitives. Any style can work, but overuse becomes apparent.

I'll use another blog post to talk about how much more a colorful word conveys than a neutral one. Dropping to the floor is one thing. Crashing is something more. And louder.

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To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

From Both Sides of a State

By Elaine L. Orr

I'd written for decades before I decided to set a mystery series in Maryland, the state where I grew up and lived until my mid-forties. I didn't make a conscious choice to avoid my state of oceans and mountains. I suppose other venues seemed more interesting because I didn't know them as well.

Now I have not one but two series set in Maryland. The Family History Mystery Series is in Garret County, as far West as you can get. Living in the DC suburbs when I was a kid, people went to Garrett County to ski. I have friends who live in the Rockies who think 4,800 feet is not much of a mountain, but it's pretty tall when you're standing on a couple of pieces of wood going downhill. 

You don't have to go to the top of a mountain. One of the best ways to view the county is on the Capital Limited, the train that runs from Chicago to DC's Union Station. You ride along the water, seeing vistas that hikers or white water rafters could access -- but not the rest of us!

My hobby of genealogy research led to creating an amateur sleuth who is an active family historian and active with other local historians. What's been fun is to get to know the region and its Civil War history better. That isn't part of every book, of course. The Maryland battle of Antietam early in the war stopped the Confederate Army advance into Maryland, essential to prevent Washington DC from being surrounded by enemies of Lincoln's Union.

Heading to Maryland's Eastern Shore

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. If you're on a boat in the middle of the bay you might as well be on the ocean -- no shore in sight. 

The Western shore is readily accessible from the DC suburbs, which is why a friend and I bought a cottage there in the mid-1980s. It's beautiful, but has a sense of being anchored to the land that you don't get from the Eastern shore.

I selected Talbot County for the fictional town of Bay View Harbor. It's midway down the western part of the Eastern shore with plenty of shoreline. Lots of history to learn about, and I like to blend local history into much of what I write. I planned to spend time re-exploring the area, but a back injury marred the plans. I have a strong sense of the culture of the places from past visits and now a good excuse to spend more time there (with a healed back).

The books are cozy mysteries and the focus of town life is a bakery. I never thought I'd pick that profession, but when I was looking for a job for a new sleuth, it offered a way to interact with a lot of people and still have time to get into trouble and investigate. The Handyman's Last Bite comes out in May. 

I'm excited to work on The Art Critic's Last Forgery, I love art museums and relating artwork to the history of the period. If you look at the covers, you'll see they show the interior of the bakery with the harbor in the background. Now, on to learning more about forgeries.

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Elaine now has two mystery series set in Maryland. To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

Maryland Looking Back and Forward

By Elaine L. Orr

Montgomery County, Maryland was a great place to grow up. Beaches to the east and mountains to the west. In the 1950s, the DC suburbs were growing rapidly as veterans and their families used the GI Bill to buy their first homes. Schools surged and the Catholic parish we belonged to got so big a new one was created down the street from us. My father, a Presbyterian, was a parish scout leader and oversaw the Sunday donut time.

It didn't seem odd to me to have Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish neighbors, a family that had recently arrived from Germany, and a native of Costa Rica who worked at the Organization of American States. It was only after I moved to the Midwest in the 1990s that I fully understood that most suburban neighborhoods were not as diverse. 

We didn't have Black neighbors in the 1950s and early 1960s, though my parochial school had a few Black students and I had Black teachers in high school. When my nieces and nephews played on the teams or cheered at my old high school, they would have thought it weird beyond belief not to have Black fellow students, friends, and teachers.

Our immediate neighbors included two families of Japanese descent. I didn't realize until I was an adult that they must have been interred during the War. Among my memories are that the family next store bought the same set of Golden Book Encyclopedias that our parents bought for us. Their very bright son read them cover-to-cover, while we referred to them on occasion.

The family across the street had an immaculate lawn and some neighbors grumbled that the family, especially the dad, didn't want people running across it. I remember my father saying very directly to another neighbor that it was their lawn and they could have it any way they wanted. Again much later, I realized my dad knew that they had likely had homes and possessions taken away and no one should criticize them for decisions about their property.

My parents bought their small house for $13,500. The homes in the neighborhood, Garrett Park Estates, now sell for millions. Of course, applying the concept of present value of money would mean the house (based on just that calculation) would have been worth more in 1951. But not that much!

In fact, my parents' former home was just sold and torn down so a developer could build a McMansion. The old home sold for $1.9 million. The new one has not been on the market, but I've seen pictures. In today's economy, I would assume $3.5 million or more.

Clearly, this would not be a neighborhood for first-time homebuyers today. Nor would the area near the  house I sold in Takoma Park, MD (for $194,000) in 1994. It's estimated to be work about $900,000 today. 

As I think about moving back to Maryland someday (so I can annoy my family) I realize buying or renting would be almost impossible. Unless I sell a lot more books. When you live in a place with reasonable prices (Springfield, IL for my husband and me), you get used to, well...living comfortably on retirement incomes.

I didn't intend to write a morose post! Perhaps it's a version of be grateful for what you've had and have today.

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Elaine has set two of her mystery series in Maryland. To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

What on Earth are We Doing?

By Elaine L. Orr

For the first time since I began the Irish Roots author blog in 2011, I did not post anything during a month (February 2026). If I want an easy excuse I could say it's because I had back surgery on the 19th and it's been tough before and after. (Successful, but not what you want to do for fun.)

While that may be a factor, the bigger issue is that I am overwhelmed by the U.S. actions to start a war that will kill a lot of people and cannot be won. We focus, appropriately, on the US service members who were killed and I wish I could bring them back for their families. We seem to gloss over the fact that we are killing many hundreds of women, children, and men with our bombs and drones. Some are in the military, most are not.

Have we become immune to sorrow because we see killing all the time in movies and on television? Or are we simply trying to ignore bellicose chest-beating from political leaders?

The Secretary of War recently bragged about the March 4th sinking of the Iranian IRIS Dena with a torpedo in international waters off the coast of Sri Lanka. This was the first sinking with a submarine-fired torpedo since World War II. Think about it for a moment. Eighty-seven young men either died immediately or drowned. (The Sri Lankans recovered their bodies.)

These sailors signed up for service in their country's military for some of the same reasons men and women sign up for service in the U.S. They may have been motivated by patriotism but also simply needed a job. They have families who relied on them. They may have had pictures of their children taped to the bunk above theirs in their sleeping quarters just as US submariners do.

I accept that the US military did not purposely bomb a school full of young girls, but lack of intent doesn't make it better. Have you seen the pictures of the girls' bodies separately wrapped in sheets awaiting burial? I can't get that image out of my head any more than I can remove the one of people covered in grit running from the collapsing Twin Towers in 2001.

This is not a game. We are sending our young people into horrific danger and causing the same for millions more. Where is the outrage and sorrow?

Before you think that I'm anti-military, be assured I am not. I visit my parents in Arlington National Cemetery and fly a flag on Memorial and Veterans Day. The two charities to which I give monthly are World Central Kitchen and Armed Services YMCA. In case you've never heard of the latter (and especially if you want to donate), they help "junior enlisted personnel and their family members. The Armed Services YMCA empowers military families, no matter who they are or where they’re from, by ensuring access to resources, relationships, and opportunities for all to grow and thrive." That includes food for families whose budgets can't be stretched far enough.

One of the questions asked of current military and political leaders is if we will run out of bombs and drones. I told my doctor yesterday she needs a magic wand to make growing chronic back issues better. That need pales in comparison with our nation's need to feel empathy for our own service members and those whose lives we end and uproot.

Don't be afraid to pray and cry for an end to the carnage.

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Eaine's favorite book (of hers) is Falling Into Place, a story of grace as a World War II vet struggles with his wife's death...and life since he served. To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

What Draws Us to Family History Mysteries?

By Elaine L. Orr 

Among the broad topics that fascinate mystery readers, genealogy or family history mysteries have gained fans in the last few years. They vary from cozy mysteries to forensic mysteries so a reader can take their pick on level of gore, though in general there is far less of it in these books than, for example, thrillers.

Historical mysteries may delve into a family's past but the focus is on solving a mystery that occurred in the past rather than using census data or family heirlooms and diaries to get the clues. There could be some of that but it's not the main focus.

As I was looking at books for this blog post, I noted there are also some contemporary romances with a genealogical theme.

What is it that captivates us? Is it that old secrets refuse to remain buried? Sometimes the past collides with the present so there's no way to ignore it.  Essentially, what happens when ancestry holds dangerous secrets?

As an author I delve into some of the other series, but it takes time to write so I would probably be reading more of them if I weren't writing a lot! There are very different choices when you ask for genealogy mysteries versus family history mysteries. I don't know what Amazons criteria is for the varied search results.

The series noted below are simply a smattering. Personally, I love English history, so I especially enjoy Nathan Dylan Goodwin's books. These are the Amazon links. Some books are only on that site, others are also sold elsewhere.

The Lost Ancestor (The Forensic Genealogist series Book 2) by Nathan Dylan Goodwin 2014. Eleven-book series set in England. This book is on Kindle Unlimited.

Family Secrets (Ellie McLellan Genealogy Mystery Book 1) by Beth Farrar. Ten-book series set in Quebec. The protagonist works with her genealogy group. Looks as if all books are on Kindle Unlimited.

Paging the Dead (A Family History Mystery Book 1) by Brynn Bonner. 2013. Four-book series set in North Carolina. This series may be finished, but you don't want to miss looking at the gorgeous covers.

The Attic's Deadly Secret  (The Heritage Mysteries Book 1) by Lyra Embrerlyn. 2025. A five-book series. Novella set in New England.

The Unscheduled Murder Trip (The Family History Mystery Series Book 2) by Elaine L Orr. 2021. A five-book series set in the mountains of Western Maryland. Not in KU because the books are at all sites, but a box set of the first three is.

Even if you don't like ancestry research when it's talked about around the Thanksgiving table, take a look at some of these. I think you'll find some favorites.

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Note: The photo of trees in a forest is from Depositphotos_135536030_XL.

To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

When You Start Writing too Soon

 By Elaine L. Orr

When an idea comes to me it's exciting and also tempting to put words on paper. I may start with a few sentences but then graduate to a few pages of notes. If I'm in the middle of another project, I can stow those pages in a computer file or paper folder and have enough information to continue when I go back to it.

It's not necessarily a good thing when I have time on my hands. I may start a book immediately. After a few chapters I realize I don't know the characters, setting, or or perhaps plot well enough to continue. What I have may be good but the phrase "now what?" enters my mind too often. That's OK if you're writing an outline but troublesome if you're in the middle of a chapter.

I have finally learned that what I omit if I make an early start is showing the normal world. In most mysteries, an event propels a sleuth (professional or amateur) into action. They may get involved reluctantly but eventually there is enough at stake to push to find a killer, kidnapper or embezzler. Take your pick.

Having a period of time before the inciting event lets the reader know something about the sleuth as well as their town and some of the other people in it. Without that first chapter, or however long it takes, every time the author introduces a character or they visit a place, the reader will want an explanation.

I started a new book before Thanksgiving, The Handyman's Last Bite, and I was considering introducing a couple more characters so the pool of red herrings could be larger. (How's that for a pun?) Then I did a forehead slap and realized I should have mentioned those people in an earlier chapter. They need to be part of the Ordinary World before it turns upside down.

Cozy mystery authors are familiar with the four-part structure discussed for that genre (and others). 1) The Ordinary World, 2) Reactive Phase, 3) Proactive Phase, and 4) Confrontation. If you search for "four-act structure for mystery novels" you'll fund a number of very good articles. If you want more, you can go to The Creative Penn, a multifaceted site that deal with writing, publishing, marketing and more.

I don't want to "have" to use a certain structure, but the concepts are helpful. Plus, the new Ordinary World chapter in The Handyman's Last Bite provided some good ideas for other parts of the book.

If you want to become familiar with the thought process of a writer who is a meticulous outliner, get to know William Kent Krueger. I've read many of his books -- intricate and firmly ensconced in their environment.

Back to my handyman to be sure he doesn't mess up the project.

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To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

Ye Gads, Another Year

By Elaine L. Orr

I stopped making lists of New Year's resolutions a few years ago and substituted telling myself one or two things I needed to do better. I stopped the lists because too many things appeared year after year. I'm not going to lose 25 pounds. I should. Maybe if I aim for five and a commitment to keep it off..

I do want to keep writing, though it gets harder to focus and all of my fingers hurt. So, I have started dictating more. When I do a Facebook post I don't pay attention to capital letters, which is why they appear throughout the post in odd places. I do pay attention for the blog and my books. As helpful as dictating is in preserving my joints, you have to edit a lot. 

I'm also trying to learn to use AI in ways that benefit my publishing work. Note I don't say my writing, though I have asked ChatGPT a number of questions about research and plotting. If I didn't work by myself I'd have someone to talk to about those topics, and I enjoy occasionally asking questions.

What is on my mind fifteen times a day is what is happening in our country right now. It might not be so prominent if there weren't constant news stories about using the federal budget process and other policy options to decrease access to food, medical care, and now clean water. And to silence disagreement, of course. (Look at the recent vetoes of Colorado water conservation or water quality legislation. Bipartisan bills, I might add.)

I think the thing that bothers me the most is the belief that retribution and vindication are policy options. No, it's not that. It's that so few people speak up about it. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert stated, correctly I think, that Trump vetoed the bills because she (who represents Colorado) wanted the Epstein files released.

We've gotten through other difficult times before. When I say the Pledge of Allegiance in classrooms in which I sub, I don't say the line, "under God." It has nothing to do with my religious beliefs. In the McCarthy era of the 1950s, that line was inserted into the pledge as a test of loyalty to the US. I'm a big fan of separation of church and state.  

The students never ask about it. I was secretary of a Lion's Club in Iowa and sat in the front of the room. We also said the pledge. Someone asked me about it. They didn't do it to imply that my choice was wrong, they were simply curious.

The other thing about dictation is when your mind wanders you talk about something and it appears in the text. I should probably make a resolution to stay on point.

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To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.