I'm finally a "Freelancer," writing, Consuelo Vanderbilt, and other Musings...

Well, I'm finally a "paid" writer for the website Examiner.com!!! My sole focus is writing about entertainment for families in and around the Des Moines area. So far I wrote two very short articles. One is about the Harlem Globetrotters coming to perform their basketball tricks at Wells Fargo Arena, the other about the Adventureland Fire and how the park will be opening on time. Oh, and I have been working on my third novel...yes, I have another idea I'm working on right now...so I need to put my scribbles on to my "Writeway" writing softwear. I need to get my butt in gear about that!!!! This story just "jells" with me...it's coming out naturally, where my other stories felt "forced." This time I'm writing an historical fiction novel about Consuelo Vanderbilt and her best friend...a character I made up. I've been reading and researching Consuelo and her mother Alva recently...and I've had this story on my mind for sometime...so I'm finally putting pen to paper. The other stories, or my "rock and roll" stories I will pick up at another time.

Charles, 9th Duke of Marlborough, with Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough, and their sons John, the 10th Duke of Marlborough, and Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill, painted by John Singer Sargent in 1905

I'm obsessed with the time in History called, the "Gilded Age" a term that was coined by one of my favorite authors, Mark Twain. Twain and Charles Dudley Warner came up with the term for the title of their book, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.

It was a time of opulent houses (the Vanderbilts were notorious with trying to "out do" even each other - The Breakers anyone?!!!!!!) and how the Robber Barons basically owned America. After watching stories about the houses that were built for these wealthy Americans on the A&E program America's Castles I was hooked!!! I wanted to know more about them...esphially the wives and children. How they either were married or born into such wealth and how they handled it. Consuelo, I feel is the best example of this. She was a beauty...someone who exude wealth, beauty and high profile that we now call celebrity. Her wedding to the Duke of Marlborough caused quite the sensation. It was all because of her wealth and being pushed to marry well by her mother, Alva. Another reason why I'm so interested in this time in our American History was it was an era of yellow journalism as well as sensationalism in the press...something I have a studied to get my degree in journalism.