A Twist of Tobacco

IT'S HERE A Family is like a twist of tobacco, layered, folded and twisted until each leaf becomes inseparble. Every individual carries within them a bit of family members who have gone before.  Scoundrel and Scallywags! Saints and Sinners! Discover who was real and who was fictional in the A Twist of Tobacco Trilogy. Explore the history and heritage of six American Colonial families. Tennessee to Texas contains 300 images and encompasses more than 350 years. Genealogy research and family stories for the Ownby, Cheek, Winstead, Blankenship, Taylor, Penn and Canaday families. Available at Fountain SpringPublishing   Amazon    

When you are one of many at a convention, Sales show or multi book signing you want something to grab the casual lookers attention. But ... it also needs to relate to your product. In my case, these days that product is my book series "A Twist of Tobacco"  . Last week I spent four days at the Sons of Confederate Veterans National Reunion and knew that I would be competing for the attention of the attendees. There were antique arms dealers, reenactment clothing dealers, and more books about the civil war than you could shake a stick at. I really needed something to draw attention to my fact based historical novel. Here's what I came up with.... Of course the eye catcher is the red white and blue quilt which was made by my great-grandmother who is also featured in my book series. Then people notice the display board. It contains photos of my ancestors; newspaper clipping of thre brothers who fought for the confederacy in the Civil War; The United Daughters of the C...

Exciting news........ or at least for me it is exciting. As I was getting ready for the Sons of Confederate Reunion last week I wanted a table covering that was indicative of the Civil War era. I dug through my old family quilts to see if there was anything that would work. I saw this red, white and blue that satisfied my needs. It was from my fathers family, on which the " A Twist of Tobacco " series is based. All of the years I have assumed my grandmother made the quilt. She married in 1913 and died in 1959.   It looked really nice and distinguished my display from others. As I sat there for 4 days I became fascinated by the blue print. Now, I have bought and sold vintage and antique fabrics for more than 15 years but I just couldn't place any of these prints. I took these photos while I was sitting there and posted them to one of my vintage and antique chat boards and can you imagine my surprise when they told me this is a 1860-1880 ...

I really like your book! Tears were running down my face yesterday when I was reading it! I am not even half way through! I received this message today on a completely unrelated thread. Authors depend on reviews to generate sales but also to keep us motivated. We need to know that people are reading and getting our message, what ever it might be. Notes like that really make my day. Get your copy today   A Twist of Tobacco  

In our research quest for A Twist of Tobacco, my husband and I visited the Tennessee Confederate Soldiers Home Cemetery located in Hermitage Tennessee. The home and subsequent cemetery was built on the grounds of Andrew Jackson's plantation The Hermitage. Built in 1892 the home closed in 1933. Residents of the home are buried in the Confederate Cemetery. My great uncle Cahal Knox Polk Ownby was a resident there and was buried in 1918. There is a large monument and the soldiers are buried with a simple stone engraved with their regiments. The graves were placed in an outward spiral. the nearest stones were the first and the farthest stones were the last. The last confederate veteran resident died in 1941.

When people say Southerners before the Civil War it automatically brings to mind Tara and Scarlett O'Hara, sweeping lawns and massive garden parties.  The truth of the matter is that the majority of southerners were simple farmers or merchants. In researching A Twist of Tobacco I visited a wonderful working farm museum near Dover Tennessee. Homeplace 1850's Working Farm   was absolutely fascinating and gave me much background for the daily life of my ancestors before the war began.   Typical Two Pen House with detached kitchen at rear   Parlor with bed and trundle for visiting company. I am standing in the front door of the Pen and you can see straight into the kitchen. Smokey the house cat. Making tomato sauce in the hot kitchen. Stairs to the loft and upstairs bedrooms Loft room As you can see, these people lived a life far different from what is often portrayed in movies and TV sh...

The United Daughters of the Confederacy  To honor the memory of those who served and those who fell in the service of the Confederate States. To protect, preserve and mark the places made historic by Confederate valor. To collect and preserve the material for a truthful history of the War Between the States. To record the part taken by Southern women in patient endurance of hardship and patriotic devotion during the struggle and in untiring efforts after the War during the reconstruction of the South. To fulfill the sacred duty of benevolence toward the survivors and toward those dependent upon them. To assist descendants of worthy Confederates in securing proper education. To cherish the ties of friendship among the members of the Organization I am proud to have six family members so honored.  First and foremost is my great grandfather Watterson Knox Polk Ownby