Genealogy: Finding My Roots

Chasing My Roots: New World Finally Meets Old World

By Louise Hathaway

Do you love genealogy? If so, then this story is for you. I am the grand-daughter of a Belgian immigrant who came to America in 1910 and this eBook is about my efforts to find and reunite with his family in Belgium after a breakdown in communication for twenty-five years. When I made a pilgrimage to meet my relatives in the old world, they pulled out all the stops and treated me like a movie star. 

The second part of this book is about my father’s family. My ancestors on his side of the family traveled to America with Quaker William Penn and one branch on the family tree supposedly had buried treasures of gold coins that were never found.  They fought Indians, were homesteaders, and later owned slaves. I couldn't believe it when I found out that they owned slaves in Missouri and were involved in that shameful chapter in American history; but that's what happens sometimes when you start looking into family history.

If you are interested in buying this eBook that only costs 99 cents and has several FIVE STAR REVIEWS, it is available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Smashwords, Oyster and Scribd.

First Day of Autumn!

Happy First Day of Autumn.  This is my favorite season of the year.  It's a time when I long for fall leaves in Lake Placid, white, steepled churches in Vermont, and covered bridges in New England. So many images come to mind: pumpkin people on the porches of old-fashioned general stores, maple syrup, caramel apples on a stick, cinnamon scented candles from Bath and Body Works, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and cozying up to the fire with a good book.

When it comes to autumn, this California girl lives on the wrong coast.  The temperatures here are still in the 80s and some days, even the 90s.  It's our season of fires and Santa Ana winds.  I'll never forget the time my husband and I planned a Halloween party that was supposed to take place in our back yard, but had to be moved indoors because ashes from a nearby fire were raining down on us and our decorations.  Forget about small paper lanterns lining the patio; we didn't want to burn our house down.

Autumn also reminds me of the radio show "A Prairie Home Companion" which my husband and I have religiously listened to for over thirty years. The Fall is the time when the sun is getting low enough for us to light our candles and turn on our space heater that looks like an old-fashioned coal fireplace.  We lose ourselves in the stories that Garrison Keillor's low, mesmerizing voice weaves.  I love his world of bachelor farmers, Pastor Liz, Dorothy's caramel rolls, The Sidetrack Tap, and the Chatterbox Cafe.  Maybe there really are some places like the Chatterbox Café? Wouldn’t it be fun to go find out?

So after all the years of talking about this town where "the women and strong, the men are good looking, and the children are always above-average," my husband and I finally went to Minnesota on a pilgrimage to find the real Lake Wobegon.  This book is the result. I hope you will enjoy this story about a precocious teenager who talks her father into taking her to Minnesota on just such a quest. Her father  wants to go on a Bob Dylan pilgrimage while there, but she has other plans when a "bachelor farmer" (who was last seen at the "Chatterbox Cafe") goes missing and they join the search party. Part travelogue, this book also contains pictures.  It's only $1.99 and available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Google Play, Kobo, Smashwords, and Scribd.  Also available in paperback at Amazon.

The Missing Bachelor Farmer:

A Nancy Keene Mystery

by Louise Hathaway

Jane Austen

Do you like Jane Austen? Do you wish you'd lived in the Regency era? Can't get enough of Mr. Darcy? If so, perhaps you'll like my books:

The Forgotten Sister: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice:

http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Sister-Sequel-…/…/B00S04BKX4

Marriage in Pride and Prejudice (this is a literary essay I wrote in Graduate School):
http://www.amazon.com/Marriage-Pride-Prejudice…/…/B00PYYS8U6

Nonsense and Sensibility: A Modern Austen Variation:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/nonsense-and-sensibility-louise-hathaway/1122360779

Also available at iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Smashwords and Oyster

Where Were You on 9/11? I Was In A Plane

What a sad anniversary we Americans must face each year when September 11th comes around again.  It was a day I'll never forget, on so many different levels.  My husband and I were on a plane in London, strapped in our seats, and ready to come home after two weeks in Europe. We hadn't heard about the terrorist attacks yet until the pilot got on the intercom and told us that two passenger planes had just crashed into two towers of the World Trade Center.  Everyone on the plane was stunned!  It was too awful to be true!  Then, the pilot told us that the airspaces have been closed and we'd have to get off the plane and collect our luggage.  We didn't know where to go or what to do.

This was a special service attended by the Queen, Tony Blair, the American Ambasador,

and me along with hundreds of other commoners

I tell more about this experience in my eBook "Destination Europe: The Summer the World Changed."  This travelogue is a compilation of my happiest memories and favorite places to visit in London, Paris, Rome, and Belgium.  It also covers a literary pilgrimage I went on in England.  I haven't been back to Europe since 9/11.  In a lot of ways, those earlier days were "The Golden Age of Travel" for me. After the attack, I didn't want to ever fly anywhere again for a long time.  I hated the idea that passenger planes were used as "weapons of mass destruction".  Who would do such a horrible thing and how did they get away with it?  September 11th has definitely changed my feelings of safety in the rest of world; but what a glorious time I had in Europe before that fateful day.  Come along with me as I follow in the footsteps of the Caesars, marvel at the beauty of the Sistine Chapel, and see Monet’s garden at Giverny.

Available for $1.99 at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes,  

Google Play, Smashwords, Oyster and Scribd

Destination Europe

Destination Europe:

The Summer the World Changed

by Louise Hathaway

Based upon the writer's real experiences in Europe, this travelogue is about the adventures of two librarians who go to Europe. For 30-year-old Nicole, it’s her exciting first trip there. For 40-year-old Isabella, it’s a chance to recover from her husband’s recent death. Come along with them as they follow the footsteps of the Caesars, marvel at the beauty of the Sistine Chapel, see Monet’s garden at Giverny, and go on a literary pilgrimage in Great Britain. Feel their frustration and grief aboard a plane on September 11, 2001 where they first hear about the terrorist attack. Where will they go and when will they be able to come back home?

This eBook contains three travel essays previously published:

England in the Footsteps of its Literary Giants

Chasing My Roots: New World Finally Meets Old World

Where were you on 9/11?

Only $1.99

Here are the direct links to purchase this book:

To purchase at Amazon
To purchase at iTunes
To purchase at Barnes and Noble

To purchase at Google Play

To Purchase at Smashwords