About Me

Saturday, May 31, 2014

George Didn't Chop Down That Cherry Tree

We're all familiar with the story - "I cannot tell a lie" - George's response when his father confronts the boy about his destructive use of a brand-new hatchet. But repetition to the contrary, there's no evidence this incident ever took place.

The anecdote was first published by the biographer Parson Weems in 1809, ten years after Washington’s death. Parson Weems, wrote a book called "The Life of Washington" where he created this myth as a way to show Washington's honesty. His nineteenth-century bestseller depicted Washington's virtues and provided an entertaining and morally instructive tale for the youth of the young nation. 


The Weems text was widely reprinted throughout the 19th century, even included in McGuffey Readers.

Reportedly, the story came from an old neighbor who’d known Washington as a boy. Weems attributes the tale to "...an aged lady, who was a distant relative, and, when a girl, spent much of her time in the family..." who referred to young George as "cousin."

However, it is the only historical source of the story, and as a legitimate source, it isn’t very credible.


When doing research for the writing of my fictionalized biography for young readers, George Washington Surveyor, Soldier, Leader, I had access to a copy of George's diary which he kept while growing up. Within its pages, I found no mention of this incident ever having took place.



If you want to get insight into our first president's life between the ages of eleven and twenty, I suggest you pick up a copy of my soon-to-be-released book, George Washington Surveyor, Soldier, Leader. 



Monday, May 26, 2014

World-Wide-Writing-Process-Blog-Tour

  • Conversation started today
  • Don't do this often enough, but today I'm taking part in a blog tour with Charles Sutherland, a fellow author who writes Antediluvian Steampunk. Don't know what that is? Check out his blog at: http://cdsutherland.blogspot.com


  • What am I working on?
  • At the moment I am eagerly anticipating the release date for not one, but two new books. Well, actually only one is brand new. My Civil War novel, Troubled Times, about some free black families that migrate from Kentucky to Indiana is being readied for a re-release with brand-new material. 
  • My second soon-to-be-released is a fictionalized biography, George Washington, Surveyor, Soldier, Leader. It's written for Young Readers but I think adults will find it an interesting read. I focus my book on his life between the death of George's father and his first Army commissioning.
  • 2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
  • I've never considered myself a genre author. I've published both fiction and non-fiction; my novels are all over the map, genre-wise. In fiction, I've written romantic suspense, senior romance, and a couple historical fiction.
  • 3) Why do I write what I do?
  • Primarily, I say I write about ordinary people experiencing extraordinary circumstances. For instance, Twist of Fate is about a young girl in pioneer times who is captured and raised by American Indians, then rescued and returned to white civilization later when an adult. Second Time Around features a woman whose husband of twenty-five years recently died and she has a chance encounter with a man who could be her first love, a man who supposedly died in a train wreck on his way to ask her to marry him. Morgana's Revenge is about a young woman whose parents were killed in a house fire and because she doesn't get answers, agrees to help the law agency by going undercover as a private tutor.
  • 4) How does the writing process work?
  • It usually begins with a character making him/herself known to me. My most recent completed novel (still in editing format) came about when a young Chinese girl entered my thoughts. What made her extraordinary was she experienced and survived the San Francisco earthquake/fire of 1906. 
  • I'm presently working on a fictionalized biography of Harriet Tubman. She intrigued me when, in the researching of Troubled Times, I learned that besides being known as 'Moses' to the over 300 slaves she helped escape to freedom, she was also a spy for the Northern Army in the Civil War. And so it goes - that spark of interest leads to research, extensive research, because I'm adamant about my stories being historically correct.
  • I hope you found this peek into an author's mind interesting and that you'll take the time to check out all my books at http://amzn.to/QoFN2n and thank you to Charles Sutherland http://cdsutherland.blogspot.com for giving me this opportunity to meet his blog followers.
  • Now let me introduce some fellow writers who have interesting things to say on their blogs.
  • Cyndi Lord lives in NE Texas with her husband on a 150 acre ranch. Her Best-Selling novels are versatile, beginning with They Call Me Murdered, Book One of the Sandra Derringer Series, Nick The Owlet's Adventure,a young readers picture book, and A Plain Wish. This first of an Amish theme series is Amazon's Number One Best Seller in Religious Inspirational. 
  • You can learn more about her at http://cyndilord.wordpress.com/


  • Jean Lauzier is an award-winning author living in East Texas. She’s been making up stories as long as she can remember and has finally gotten around to writing them down. Jean has always been an avid reader and loves curling up with a good book. When not writing or reading, Jean enjoys taking care of her family, trying to train the cat, growing bonsai trees, and spending time with her Doberman Pinschers.
  • You can get to know more about Jean's penchant for dragons at www.jeanlauzier.com.
  • Thank you to all the followers of Charles Sutherland who took the time to check out my blog. I hope I've introduced you to new reading adventures and you'll visit me again in the future.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Plunge into America's Past

If you follow me on Facebook, you know I'm eagerly awaiting the publication of my latest work, George Washington Surveyor, Soldier, Leader. I got word this week it's been sent off to the publisher, so be
patient my heart, it's coming soon.

This book is a bit of a departure for me as I wrote it with Young Readers in mind, but find adults are interesting in learning more about those years in his life between the death of George's father and his first Army commissioning. In my writing, I found these to be critical years for the boy who would one day be our first president.

Another exciting development I haven't said too much about as yet is a novel that first was published in 2002. White Bird Publishing will be producing a new version of Troubled Times later this year with additional content not in the first version.

Now that both of these projects have moved beyond my control, I hope to find the time to devote to this blog.
Question? What would you be interested in reading about here. I'm open to any subject, especially if you're interested in American History or writing.

In the meantime, if you haven't caught my weekly blog on http://venturegalleries.com/author/gayingram/, take a look-see and learn some fascinating history about this great country we live on.

And stay tuned for more news coming soon.