Preorder my Latest Book: “Yankees in the Courthouse”

https://www.amazon.com/Yankees-Courthouse-Florida-Reconstruction-Biography-ebook/dp/B0FXHLH6H5

OLD AGE IS NOT FOR SISSIES

NOTHING IN LIFE IS TO BE FEARED

Four Days in Málaga: Alcazaba Views, Old Town Wanders, and the Soul of Semana Santa

by Filed Under: Travel 2 Comments

Greetings from Malaga, Spain. I’m taking a holiday with my oldest daughter for some much needed R&R! Because I love history and different cultures, we are in Spain. I’ll share what I see, but this was the view from our plane at arrival. We are in a mountainous area.

We are in southern Spain, where the Moors invaded and stayed over 700 years. They weren’t completely routed until 1492 by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Yes, about the same time Christopher Columbus got to the New World.

What makes this area so interesting were all the invasions. There were Phoenicians, Romans, Visigoths, Moors, and several other peoples in between. Each stayed a while and left their mark.

We spent four days in Malaga. In those four days we saw a Roman Theater.

But notice what was above the theater. That is a Moorish fortress. We visited it, too.

So Malaga delivers a story-rich atmosphere where you can see history side-by-side throughout the city.

Malaga is a walking city where many of its downtown streets are closed to autos. Jamie and I grew to love the 2-3 hour siesta period when everything closed down except the bars and restaurants.

Lunch is late, around 2 to 3 pm. People linger at their tables, around 1.5 to 2 hours. They talk, and I see less people on their communication devices.

Dinner is 8 to 9 pm or later. This tour that we booked through Collette usually doesn’t begin daily until 9 am. It is a different life here.

I loved their market.

We spent one day touring the 11th century Moorish fortress called the Alcazaba. We had great views of the city below.

The outside of Moorish buildings are rather plain but the beauty and pageantry are inside. Alcazaba means citadel, and it was built on a hill in the center of town.

Inside are individual rooms, palaces, and courtyards.


On the way back to our hotel we learned about the city’s holy week, which they just had. It is called the Semana Santa. Here’s a short film on the one here in Malaga.


https://youtu.be/N-EzhFOI5XU?is=wjMBC2VD9hkNOe5j

Next, we visited a building where one of these thrones is kept.

Malaga was a great visit.

Why the Alhambra Feels Like the Forbidden City: A Surprising Connection Across Cultures

by Filed Under: Travel

“How charmed was I with this fairy palace! Everything here appeared as if just raised from the ground… and yet centuries had passed away.”—“Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving”

Irving’s writing blends history with a romantic, almost dreamlike atmosphere. He sees the Alhambra not just as architecture, but as a living memory of a vanished world. From the outside, though, it is not impressive. Once inside, though, that changes.

The Alhambra in Spain reminds me of The Forbidden City in China. They feel similar because both were designed as enclosed royal worlds, where power is expressed through ordered space,


controlled movement,

and rich decoration.

Both are a mix of fortress,

palaces,

and an inner city.

“The silent and deserted courts… the fountains murmuring in the midst of solitude… all conjure up visions of the past.”—Washington Irving

Each pathway lead you through courtyards,

halls,

and gardens.

This is a gardener’s paradise.

The Moors were from places that lacked water and vegetation. Here they could have both and did so with unbridled energy.

Plus, there is symmetry and balance that is turned inward,

focusing beauty inside its walls, integrating nature with water, light, and gardens.

It creates a sense of harmony and paradise.

The Alhambra and The Forbidden City differ in styles. The Islamic geometric and calligraphic artistry versus the Chinese use of bold color, symbolism, and imperial image.

Yet, they feel surprisingly connected.

Tracing the Old Magnolia Road: A Forgotten Route Through Georgia and Florida

by Filed Under: Following Old Trails, Palmetto Pioneers, Travel

I recently spent some time researching aa road known as the Old Magnolia Road. I had tried to locate it before while working on my Palmetto Pioneers series. In the book, I suggested that the road may have passed east of Metcalf, Georgia, before crossing into Florida. As it turns out, I was wrong.

A few weeks ago, I found a document tucked away in the Keystone Genealogical Library in Monticello, Florida. The author is unknown, but the document suggested the road actually runs west of Metcalf. So a few weeks ago, Chuck and I set out to follow those directions—and this time, we found it.

What is the Old Magnolia Road?

Long ago, there were no highways or railroads like today. There were Indian footpaths, but not much else. People needed roads to move crops and supplies by wagons. The Old Magnolia Road was an early travel and trade route in south Georgia and north Florida. It was a dirt road used in the early 1800s.

It connected inland farms to the river port town of Magnolia on the St. Marks River. Farmers and planters used the road to haul their goods, especially cotton, to be shipped out by boat to markets elsewhere.

Starting in Thomasville

Chuck and I began in Thomasville, where Magnolia Street crosses South Hansell Street. From there, Magnolia Street becomes the Old Magnolia Road as it heads south into the Red Hills.

The Red Hills region forms a triangle between Thomasville, Monticello, and Tallahassee. It is known for its rolling red clay hills and historic plantations. The drive is beautiful, but before long, the road meets Metcalf Road just south of Thomasville.

At first, I assumed Metcalf Road had been built on top of the Old Magnolia Road. Once again, I was mistaken. The old road actually slips off west into the woods, turning south and running roughly parallel to Metcalf Road.

Finding the Road Near Metcalf

Because much of this land is privately owned, the road disappears for a time. It becomes visible again where it crosses Beachton Road, a little more than a mile west of Metcalf. That crossing is still easy to spot.

Old Magnolia Road, running north from the Metcalf/Beachton Road

If you look on satellite view in Google Maps, you can trace the path of the old road back toward Metcalf Road. The crossing is near 2249 Metcalf/Beachton Road west of Metcalf, Georgia.

From there, you can try to follow the road south on the map, but it becomes difficult to track as it nears the Florida line. Again, this is posted land. No trespassing.

Old Magnolia Road running south from the Metcalf/Beachton Road

The Old Coffee Road Connection

Before crossing into Florida, the Old Magnolia Road meets another historic route—the Old Coffee Road, one of the earliest roads in south Georgia.

You can find this crossing by driving south from Metcalf on Metcalf Road for a little over two miles. There, you’ll see a closed road branching off. It forks on both sides of the main road but is gated and on private land.

The Old Coffee Road running West from the Metcalf Road

This is the Old Coffee Road. At some point, it joins the Old Magnolia Road, and from there, the Magnolia Road appears to follow the older route.

The Old Coffee Road running east from the Metcalf Road

Crossing into Florida

The exact point where the Old Magnolia Road crosses the Georgia–Florida line is unclear. However, it becomes visible again where it crosses T. S. Green Road.

To find it drive about four miles south, turn left onto T. S. Green Road, and take the first dirt road on the right.

The Old Magnolia Road running south from the TS Green Road

This is the Old Magnolia Road again, and it is well worth the drive.

Driving the canopied Old Magnolia Road between the TS Green Road & US 90, Mahan Drive.

The Duelling Oak

As you follow this “old road” stretch, you’ll come to a large oak tree standing in the middle of the road. This is the Duelling Oak, also called the Ring Oak.

Before dueling was outlawed, men met here to settle disputes. One of the last duels fought here was the famous illegal Reid–Alston duel—a small but fascinating piece of Florida history. Google it!

Toward Magnolia

From here, the road continues south toward the old river port town of Magnolia, near the St. Marks River.

To follow it:

  • Cross US 90, where the road becomes State Road 59
  • Continue under I-10 to the town of Lloyd
  • Turn right onto the Lloyd/Capitola Road (another scenic road)
  • Continue to Chaires Cross Road and turn left
  • Cross US 27, where the road becomes Old Plank Road (still part of the Old Magnolia Road)
  • Follow this road south past the Natural Bridge Battlefield area until it turns into a sandy dirt road.

Follow this road south past the Natural Bridge Battlefield area until it turns into a sandy dirt road.

Magnolia Springs and the Lost Town

A few miles farther, you’ll see the old sulfuric Magnolia Springs on your left. Just north of the springs once stood the town of Magnolia, a busy river port on the St. Marks River.

Today, very little remains—only an old cemetery, but the land is privately owned. Again, no trespassing!

At its peak, this road was vital. Farmers from south Georgia and north Florida used it to haul cotton to Magnolia, on which 30,000 to 40,000 bales were shipped each year.

When Magnolia Faded

Magnolia’s decline came with the railroad. A mule-drawn wagon railroad was built from Tallahassee to Port Leon, making transport easier and faster. The third railroad built in the US and Florida’s first.

In response, the people of Magnolia tried to compete by laying wooden planks along parts of the road—creating what became known as the Old Plank Road. But it wasn’t enough.

The railroad won, and Magnolia slowly faded into a ghost town.

*One can also find the document I used on a webpage. Ed Cone may be the author. You can find it here.

A Journey to Virginia’s Northern Neck — and a Walk Through Our Own History

by Filed Under: Following Old Trails, Genealogy, Travel

My sister and I just returned from a trip to the Northern Neck of Virginia.

Most of you are probably wondering. Where in the world is that?

Until recently, I might have asked the same question.

Where Is the Northern Neck?

The Northern Neck is a long, tapering peninsula in eastern Virginia, shaped entirely by water. It is bordered by two broad tidal rivers, the Potomac River to the north and the Rappahannock River to the south, both flowing eastward into the Chesapeake Bay.

Screenshot

The land is gently rolling, not mountainous. Low bluffs overlook wide marshes. Pine and oak forests stretch inland. Creeks and inlets lace the shoreline. Herons lift from the reeds. Bald eagles and osprey circle overhead. Working farms sit beside colonial-era churches and family cemeteries that have watched centuries pass.

It is quiet there. Spacious. Unhurried.

The tides still seem to set the rhythm of life.

What Is There Today?

The Northern Neck remains rural and lightly developed. Small towns and historic villages are connected by winding two-lane roads. Fishing, crabbing, and oystering are not museum demonstrations. They are still livelihoods.

Large portions of shoreline remain untouched by modern sprawl, something increasingly rare along the East Coast. In many places, it feels as if the 18th century never fully left.

And that’s part of its magic.

Why It Matters

For such a quiet corner of America, the Northern Neck has an outsized place in our nation’s story.

It is the birthplace of George Washington, born at Pope’s Creek in Westmoreland County. It is also home ground for:

An extraordinary concentration of leadership emerged from this slender peninsula.

Why?

Because the rivers were the highways of their day. Wealthy landholding families had access to education, transatlantic trade, and political discourse flowing in from the Atlantic world. From that environment came men accustomed to governance, debate, and responsibility.

Today, Virginia is marking America’s 250th anniversary with the motto: “America — Made in Virginia.” After walking those shores, it is hard to argue otherwise.

Why We Went

We came because we believed the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding was reason enough to visit where it began.

But we also came for something more personal.

In the 1600s, our ancestor William R. Wroe settled in this very region. He is my eighth great-grandfather, a merchant from Lancashire, England. He married Judith Brown, who was born in the Virginia colony. Her grandfather, Henry Brooks, purchased land on the Neck directly from the crown, land that would eventually pass through descendants and be sold to a family named Washington.

Yes! That Washington.

That land became Pope’s Creek, the birthplace of George Washington.

Our “25 seconds of fame” is recorded on a kiosk at the George Washington Birthplace National Monument. My sister and I stood there, took our picture beside it, and quietly let that sink in.

We did not know any of this while my father was alive. It was only through DNA testing of my father’s brother — and connecting with Roe descendants from William Wroe’s son Benjamin — that the story came together.

John Wroe, the eldest son and our direct ancestor, later changed the spelling of his name to Roe. From Virginia, he moved his family to Pendleton, South Carolina. In 1832 they relocated to North Georgia. In 1920, my grandfather Roe moved from North Georgia to South Georgia, married my grandmother, and eventually settled in Monticello, Florida — my hometown.

From the Northern Neck… to Florida.

From colonial Virginia… to us.

A Mason Connection

There is one more thread.

After his first wife died, William Wroe married Hannah Mason. The Mason family was deeply rooted in Tidewater Virginia. From that same extended family came George Mason, often called the “Father of the Bill of Rights,” author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a direct influence on our U.S. Bill of Rights.

It is humbling to realize how closely family lines once intertwined in those early days.

Why It Matters to Us Now

For those of us over fifty, something shifts in how we see places like this.

We begin to understand that history is not just dates and textbooks. It is bloodlines. It is migration. It is courage and loss and starting over. It is names spelled one way in one century and another way in the next.

Walking the Northern Neck felt like walking backward into time and forward into gratitude.

This old trail follows not only the birth of our nation, but the settlement of our earliest ancestors. It reminds us that the American story is not abstract.

It is personal.

I’ll be sharing more photos and updates on my “Old Age is Not” Facebook page. A link can be found on this web site.

From Frontier to Reconstruction: The Final Palmetto Pioneers Story

by Filed Under: Books, Entertainment Reviews, Family History Writing, Genealogy, Palmetto Pioneers

I launched the latest book in the Palmetto Pioneers series late fall, and the book sales have been wonderful. Several readers told me that this is the best book of the series.

Though I earlier introduced the book to this blog, I still wanted to tell you a little more about its storyline.

Yankees in the Courthouse: A Florida Civil War & Reconstruction Biography

Sunlight filters through tall pines and rambling live oaks. Palmetto fronds crackle in the wind. A wagon creaks down a sandy, clay road toward a future both uncertain and full of promise. Their faith is strong, tempers simmer, and survival demands everything. Thus, all describe Florida and its palmetto pioneers.

The Palmetto Pioneers series captured the essence of frontier Florida—its beauty and brutality, its heart and history. Think weathered wood porches, cattlemen in the swamps, cotton fields after rain, courthouse steps heavy with secrets, and women whose strength is quiet but unbreakable.

Jefferson County, Florida’s 19th Century Courthouse

The palmetto pioneer’s story is an aesthetic of grit and grace—where faith collides with conflict, families hold fast through loss, and the human spirit endures beneath the Southern sun.

The long-awaited third and last book in this series was released last fall. Entitled Yankees in the Courthouse, the reader returns to Florida deep into the Civil War, when she sends her boys and men north to fight far from their homeland. 

Using faith, family, and fortitude, the palmetto pioneers shaped and tamed terratorial Florida’s wild frontier in the first book. It is a quintessential American frontier saga. By the second book the pioneers increased their progeny and prosperity during Florida’s first significant peace time, but by the end of the book, the winds of a war threaten far to their north. This book returns the reader to just before the height of this war, when the South fights to retain Tennessee and Virginia.

All together, all three books are rich in historical detail and rooted in real 19th century Florida events. The trilogy brings to life the spirit of early Florida–its trials, its triumphs, and the legacy it leaves behind. 

Yankees in the Courthouse covers several tropes.

Tropes, more commonly used by our younger people, quickly describe a recurrent theme in literature, film, and other forms of storytelling. Some of those more common are coming of age, enemies to lovers, and a cozy mystery. The first book in the Palmetto Pioneers series was a “coming of age” story for both its main character Mary and for the state of Florida as well.

For ease, I’ve encased the following tropes in quotation marks. Yankees in the Courthouse weaves together several historical and dramatic tropes. For example, it is  “postwar reconstruction” as Jefferson County struggles to rebuild after the devastation of the Civil War. The narrative also embodies a “divided town with divided loyalties,” where neighbors, friends, and even families find themselves torn apart by competing convictions and lingering wounds. 

As a “Southern Reconstruction drama” the novel follows the tension that rises when outsiders–Yankees–arrive to enforce new laws on a community still reeling from loss. And central to it all is the “courthouse confrontation,” where justice is tested in the very square occupied by Union soldiers and where the secret of a small-town scandal arises.

There are character and relationship tropes, such as “enemies to allies,” where former foes find common ground for survival or justice. The series’ main character Mary Adeline Walker Andrews brings one trope to life, because she becomes a “strong female protagonist,” a woman who navigates hardship and loss using her moral compass. All of the characters, though, have “faith tested by fire,” where they wrestle with forgiveness, justice, and God’s will. It all adds up to their “family legacy,” where generations are shaped by their past choices.

When you read Yankees in the Courthouse, you’ll get an emotion and theme of “redemption and renewal,” a rising from ashes, personally and collectively. There are instances of “cost of conscience,” where the pioneers do what is right even when it comes at a price.

All in all, the book is about tradition vs. change, when Old South values collide with new realities. It describes how pioneers heal from their war wounds through forgiveness, reconciliation, and by rebuilding their community.

Most of all, the reader will understand the small town of Monticello itself as a character, where its courthouse and town square embodies the heart of the conflict and the overall story.

The pioneers had weathered the wilderness, survived division, and endured war. In this last book, they faced the uncertain years of Reconstruction, when their town was occupied, their freedoms curtailed, and their future clouded by mistrust. Yankees in the Courthouse tells the story of resilience in the face of loss, and of ordinary families struggling to rebuild when history itself seemed against them.

Old Age Is Not for Sissies… but Walking Tours Can Be Delightful

by Filed Under: Family Life, Travel

The Perfect Season for Listening to the Stories Around Us

I’ve often said that getting older has its challenges—knees that argue, reading glasses that wander off, and the firm realization that Old Age Is Not for Sissies. But I’ve also learned that it’s the perfect season for slowing down and truly listening to the stories around us.

That’s exactly what I had in mind when I created The Palmetto Pioneers Monticello Historic Walking Tour, now available through VoiceMap.

This hands-free, GPS-enabled audio tour takes you through the historic streets ofMonticello, Florida—a town that seems to remember who it is. Nestled among rolling hills and moss-draped oaks, Monticello has long been a place where faith, family, and community mattered deeply. Generations have lived, worked, worshiped, and weathered great change here, leaving behind stories etched into its homes, churches, and public squares.

The tour highlights historic stops inspired by the second book in my Palmetto Pioneers series, From Harmony to Hostility. As you walk, you’ll hear how Monticello’s real places and real people shaped a community tested by hardship, division, and perseverance—much like the characters in the novel.

Best of all, you don’t have to keep stopping to read signs or fumble with your phone. Just press play, put the phone in your pocket, and let me guide you along. I’ll be your narrator for the journey, sharing both historical insight and the heart behind the story.

If you’re hosting visiting family or friends during the holidays—or if you simply want a reason to get outside, move at your own pace, and connect with Florida’s past—this tour is a wonderful way to do it. No schedules. No crowds. Just history, fresh air, and a good story in your ear.

If you’d like to experience the Palmetto Pioneers Monticello Historic Walking Tour for yourself, you can find it on VoiceMap here:


👉 https://voicemap.me/tour/monticello-florida/the-palmetto-pioneers-a-monticello-walking-tour?_gl=1*15aab4e*_up*MQ..*_ga*MjYxMTAxOTUuMTc2NTc3MDYxMA..*_ga_QHMB8LEQTM*czE3NjU3NzA2MDgkbzEkZzEkdDE3NjU3NzA2MTgkajUwJGwwJGgyNDA2MTczOTA.

Step back in time and experience Monticello, Florida through story, history, and a gentle walk—no guidebook required.

After all, while old age may not be for sissies, it’s still a fine time for a walk through history.

The Final Palmetto Pioneers Novel – Yankees in the Courthouse

by Filed Under: Books, Entertainment Reviews, Family History Writing

Yankees in the Courthouse: A Florida Civil War & Reconstruction Biography

Sunlight slips through tall pines and sweeping live oaks, while palmetto fronds crackle in the rising wind. A wagon creaks along a sandy clay road, carrying its passengers toward a future both uncertain and full of promise. Faith holds them together, tempers threaten to pull them apart, and survival asks more than any of them expected. This is territorial Florida before statehood—home of the palmetto pioneers.

The Palmetto Pioneers series captured the essence of frontier Florida—its beauty and brutality, its heart and history. Think weathered wood porches, cattlemen in its swamps, cotton fields after rain, courthouse steps heavy with secrets, and women whose strength is quiet but unbreakable.

The palmetto pioneer’s story is an aesthetic of grit and grace—where faith collides with conflict, families hold fast through loss, and the human spirit endures beneath the Southern sun.

The long-awaited third and last book in this series is here. In Yankees in the Courthouse: A Florida Civil War & Reconstruction Biography, the reader returns to Florida deep into the Civil War, when she sends her boys and men north to fight far from their homeland.

Using faith, family, and fortitude, the palmetto pioneers shaped and tamed territorial Florida’s wild frontier in the first book. It is a quintessential American frontier saga. By the second book, the pioneers increased their progeny and prosperity during Florida’s first significant peacetime, but by the end of the book, the winds of a war threaten far to their north. This book returns the reader to just before the height of this war, when the South fights to retain Tennessee and Virginia.

Altogether, all three books are rich in historical detail and rooted in real 19th-century Florida events. The trilogy brings to life the spirit of early Florida—its trials, its triumphs, and the legacy it leaves behind.

Yankees in the Courthouse covers several tropes. Tropes, more commonly used by younger people, quickly describe a recurrent theme in literature, film, and other forms of storytelling. Some of the more common are coming of age, enemies to lovers, and a cozy mystery. For ease, I’ve encased the following tropes in quotation marks.

Yankees in the Courthouse weaves together several historical and dramatic tropes. For example, it is “postwar reconstruction” as Jefferson County struggles to rebuild after the devastation of the Civil War. The narrative also embodies a “divided town with divided loyalties,” where neighbors, friends, and even families find themselves torn apart by competing convictions and lingering wounds.

As a “Southern Reconstruction drama,” the novel follows the tension that rises when outsiders—Yankees—arrive to enforce new laws on a community still reeling from loss. And central to it all is the “courthouse confrontation,” where justice is tested in the very square occupied by Union soldiers and where the secret of a small-town scandal arises.

There are character and relationship tropes, such as “enemies to allies,” where former foes find common ground for survival or justice. The series’ main character, Mary Adeline Walker Andrews, brings one trope to life, because she is a “strong female protagonist,” a woman who navigates hardship and loss using her moral compass. All the characters, though, have “faith tested by fire,” where they wrestle with forgiveness, justice, and God’s will. It all adds up to their “family legacy,” where generations are shaped by their past choices.

When you read Yankees in the Courthouse, you’ll get an emotion and theme of “redemption and renewal,” a rising from ashes, personally and collectively. There are instances of “cost of conscience,” where the pioneers do what is right even when it comes at a price.

The book is about “tradition vs. change,” when Old South values collide with new realities. It describes how pioneers heal from their war wounds through forgiveness, reconciliation, and by rebuilding their community.

Most of all, the reader will understand the small town of Monticello and sparsely populated Jefferson County—home to over 6,000 recently freed freedmen. You will recognize the town itself as a character, where its courthouse and town square embody the heart of the conflict and the overall story.

The pioneers had weathered the wilderness, survived division, and endured war. Now they faced the uncertain years of Reconstruction, when their town was occupied, their freedoms curtailed, and their future clouded by mistrust. Yankees in the Courthouse tells the story of resilience in the face of loss, and of ordinary families struggling to rebuild when history itself seemed against them.

After months of research, writing, and anticipation, the paperback and hardcover editions are now live on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and more. Books will be available at local bookstores by December 5th.

Discover the true story behind a powerful, little-known moment in Monticello, Florida’s past—when the courthouse became a symbol of occupation and reluctant change during Reconstruction.

The palmetto pioneers’ journey shaped a community. Now, discover how it all ends in the concluding chapter of the “Palmetto Pioneers” series.

Get your copy today! Click below! And please share the word! I will be so thankful!

“As I Am Now, So You Must Be”: A Haunting Night in Roseland Cemetery

by Filed Under: Family Life

There is a particularly unsettling epitaph on a grave in my hometown’s city cemetery. It has been a gathering place for years. Here is one of those stories.

My ex-husband Johnny and I climbed high into the boughs of the large old cedar tree, bracing ourselves in order to be tucked away, hidden from anyone below. It is cool, and the moss is drifting softly back and forth in the breeze. It is mostly dark; but also a little hazy in the moonlit night, a perfect scene for the coming event.

z19

Johnny has with him a large restaurant-sized metal can from which he removed one end. At the other end he poked a hole through its middle and threaded a rope through, tying a knot so that the rope remained attached. Then he ran the other end of the rope through the can and out the can’s open end.

To the rope he applied rosin, something that rodeo bull riders used to maintain a firmer grip on the bull rope. Johnny tried this eight-second sport as a younger man and had some rosin on hand. It is made from the resin of pine trees, which we have in abundance here in North Florida, where this event took place.

I have been coming here with my family since I was a young girl. My paternal grandparents’ graves are nearby.

I cannot remember the first time I visited this grave with its etched grey metal monument and epitaph. It sits in our city cemetery on the north side of our small rural town called Monticello. In the moonlight all around us are the graves of families long since departed, but whose surnames are very familiar to me. Many are kin, but not all.

The City's "New" Cemetery

The City’s “New” Cemetery

The old one, with its above-ground graves dating back to frontier Florida before Florida was admitted to the union as a state, sits next to this graveyard that we call the “new” cemetery. Over there, which Johnny and I can see from our seats in the tree, are the older graves dated before the Civil War, that war which my family members never referred to except by other names, such as The War Between the States or the War of Northern Aggression.

The Old City Cemetery

The Old City Cemetery

This town became like so many other towns around it, a place where wounded soldiers from both sides were brought after the Battle of Olustee, which was fought over a hundred miles west of here and over a hundred and fifty years ago. Many died, and they are buried in the “old” cemetery. If there is a haunted place, then this is it.

But we are in the “new” cemetery, where graves of our townspeople, buried after the Civil War, are located. Below us is the grave of a man by the last name of Sloan. He was buried in 1880, and his epitaph is the reason we are here tonight.

z30

I’m getting a little chilled until finally, two cars pull into Roseland, the name of this “new” cemetery. They drive one following the other on a grassy road between the family plots—their lights shining across the graves creating ghostly shadows — until the cars reach about 20 feet from Mr. Sloan’s grave. Out come a dozen people, both young and old. The young include about ten teenagers and pre-teens, mostly giggling, huddling together as they walk toward us.

z23

The two adults have been drinking a little, maybe a good buzz. My dad and his red-headed cousin Patsy, who is visiting from North Georgia, are straggling along behind the mass of teens. The group makes their way to Mr. Sloan’s grave; and the kids move around, allowing enough room between themselves so the car lights can shine on the epitaph.

Dad says to no one in particular, “Read it”; but none of them wants to get too close until my sister Linda’s friend Tina steps forward and reads. Johnny and I can clearly hear her voice as she utters the words slowly.

Remember reader, as you pass by.
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you must be.
Prepare for death and come with me.

Z21

There is a pregnant pause as the teens contemplate the interesting verse. And then Johnny pulls on the rosin-coated rope.

The homemade device makes a God-awful, unearthly sound that echoes and reverberates throughout the moonlit cemeteries. It is a lonesome, growling, yet howling sound; and below the crowd of teens shriek, turn, and stampede towards the waiting cars in a cacophony of noise that could surely wake the dead.

The kids ran into and over Patsy, who was standing behind them, knocking her down. Several joins her on the ground, tripping over her.

And then some of them begin to hesitate and try to stop the group, because surely the noise must be explainable; that is until Johnny pulls the rope again. The kids erupt a second time and run back toward the cars.

Tina the epitaph reader, the one who turns out to be Tina the brave, turns around and comes back cautiously. This time she notices that there is someone up in the tree over the old grave.

She points up toward us, because Johnny and I are about to fall out laughing. Down below, Dad is laughing so hard that he is doubled over. Tentatively, the kids come back, a few here, a few there.

Patsy is back on her feet, confused and disoriented. Later, we learn she didn’t know what was about to happen—only Dad, myself, and Johnny knew. Dad never let his younger cousin in on the joke. There are footprints on the back of her white blouse.

Today, Daddy and Patsy are no longer with us; and one of my nieces, who was there that night, has too since passed away. I visit this cemetery often, where both Mom and Dad are now buried and where someday I, too, shall be.

Dad

Dad

Sometimes, I wonder if by now Dad and Mr. Sloan have met on the other side. Surely they must have, since they have so much in common. Both seemed to get so much pleasure out of scaring people.

I will never forget that fall night in Roseland Cemetery! It wasn’t Halloween, but I don’t have a better story to tell for this time of year than the events of that night over thirty years ago.

What I Didn’t Know About Book Pre-Orders—and Why It Matters Now

by Filed Under: Books, Palmetto Pioneers, Writing and Publishing

I’ve been told that a successful book launch relies on strategically combining pre-orders and promotions. Together, they build excitement and momentum. Yet, I did not do pre-orders for the first two books. Frankly, publishing the first was time-consuming, and I simply didn’t feel I had enough energy left to do it.

By the second book in the Palmetto Pioneers series, I considered it again; but after three failed computers and a deadline pushed back over two months, I skipped it again. That book came out with blisters on its feet.

Still, I kept reading that pre-orders could trigger algorithms on sites like Amazon, making a book more visible and increasing its chances of success. So with Yankees in the Courthouse, I gave it a try.

First, another deadline is looming and causing problems. Christmas is a wonderful time of year to launch a book. My best book sales have been each Christmas since I published the first book in 2022. This meant that my pre-order window had to be shortened to about 2.5 weeks. The good standard, though, is 6-8 weeks.

So, out of necessity, I am planning a shorter, more intense campaign. I set my pre-launch for November 1, and I have already met it with one version of the book. The e-books are already online for pre-order. I have not announced this yet to any of my other readers except all of you. This blog is announcing it to you readers only! I’ll get to everyone else by this Saturday.

Announcing my pre-orders gives my readers a chance to commit early to buying my book. Currently, though, I have been working on the promotional part of this equation. These promotional tactics to drive pre-orders included posting regularly on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and this blog. For example, last month I ran a post here announcing the launch of this book. You can read it below in case you missed it earlier.

Yankees in the Courthouse – Book 3 of the “Palmetto Pioneers” Series | Launching Nov. 15, 2025

I ran several earlier posts on Old Age is Not to share my author’s journey. The post described how self-publishing works, how I created timelines of historical events for my research and writing, how I used location research, and much more. Likewise, I also created countdowns for ordering the earlier books at a discount and posted them on Facebook and through Amazon Ads. All of this was designed to drive pre-orders for book 3.

In addition, I’ve been running Facebook posts to gather names for my email list, which is collected through my Palmetto Pioneers website. I plan to send out an alert for pre-orders and to announce the formal launch of the book itself. The signup for this email list is through my website, which is below.

Please sign up if you haven’t already to keep up to date with pre-orders, launches, and discounts. Twice a year I run a $.99 special for ebooks on the first book in the series. I will announce those dates through this email list. Click on the address below to sign up. A gift to sign up follows in the next paragraph.

https://www.palmettopioneers.com

By signing up this week on my email list, I’m giving away a free chapter from the book. Chapter 6 has the title “A Gift from William-July to September 1863.” William gets to come home from the war on leave, but that is not the gift.

Finally, I have been trying to promote the book in one other way. I would like to partner with other bloggers, reviewers, and authors to cross-promote our books. This one is a little hard to do. Everyone else out there is just as tired as I am. I frequently say that launching a book is much like giving birth to a baby. Let me explain.

Conception is when a book starts as a spark—an idea that takes root quietly and grows inside the author long before anyone else can see it. Like pregnancy, it’s deeply personal at first. The author nurtures it in secret and is unsure how it will turn out, this thing that is a part of them. This was also when I researched the historical portion of the story.

Next is gestation. Authors spend months (almost a year in my case) shaping, revising, and refining the manuscript. Sometimes it is thrilling, and sometimes exhausting, similar to the waiting, discomfort, and anticipation of carrying something so precious. It just isn’t ready to be revealed yet.

Then, one finds oneself in labor. For me, it is the editing, proofreading, formatting, cover design, and distribution. It is where I am right now in the process. I’m tired. I ache. Deadlines loom, and I wonder sometimes if it is worth it. I think this is why it is so hard to collaborate with others in the process. They are exhausted too.

Finally, I am about to be in the vulnerable moment of birth. Releasing Yankees in the Courthouse to the world feels like placing a piece of my heart in others’ hands. I’ve labored over every word, and now all of you will read it (hopefully), judge it, and love it! Or not! There is both joy and fear in saying, “It’s published.”

Yankees in the Courthouse – Book 3 of the “Palmetto Pioneers” Series | Launching Nov. 15, 2025

by Filed Under: Genealogy, Palmetto Pioneers

I’m thrilled to share some exciting news—Book Three in the Palmetto Pioneers series, Yankees in the Courthouse, is almost here!

This latest installment continues the sweeping story of the hardy settlers who carved a life out of the Florida frontier. If you’ve followed along from The Emigrants and From Harmony to Hostility, you know the journey has been filled with hardship, resilience, and the forging of a community against the odds.

Now, in Yankees in the Courthouse, the story moves into the turbulent years during and following the Civil War, when families who had already endured so much must face new upheavals, struggles, and questions of loyalty and justice.

📖 Mark your calendars:

  • Pre-orders will open by November 1, 2025
  • Official launch date: November 15, 2025

If you’d like to be the first to know when Yankees in the Courthouse becomes available for pre-order—and get behind-the-scenes updates as I move through the publishing process—I’d love for you to join my mailing list. Sign up below to have news delivered straight to your inbox, so you’ll never miss an announcement or a launch day surprise! I do not share this list with anyone!

I can’t wait for you to step back into this world and see where the next chapter of the Palmetto Pioneers’ journey leads.

If you’ve enjoyed the series so far—or if you’re just discovering it now—this is the perfect time to catch up before the release of Book Three. Stay tuned here on the blog for more updates, behind-the-scenes stories, and a few sneak peeks as we get closer to launch day! You can find the books on my website or on this site on the Booktable.

https://www.palmettopioneers.com

Thank you, as always, for reading and walking this journey with me. Your encouragement and support mean the world.