An Excerpt from Dangerous Hearts

This is part of the story from Dangerous Hearts that tells about a bittersweet romance and how a priceless diamond and emerald necklace came to belong to Caroline Dupris’s great-grandmother. In this scene Caroline is explaining to Rob events that happened nearly a hundred years earlier near the turn of the twentieth century:

"According to Daddy, the crown prince of a small European country came to the United States on a visit and somehow met my great-grandmother, Maria LaFitte. As young women of her day often did, Maria would go to meet her friends in the ladies area of the Jefferson Hotel near her home in Richmond."

"Yes. I have heard the prince sometimes stayed there."

"The young women would dress up in their finest clothing and visit over an elegant lunch," she explained.

"Legend held that during one of those lunches, Maria, who was supposed to have been a real beauty, encountered the prince. During the rest of the prince’s stay, Maria, without telling her parents, returned to the hotel where the young couple fell in love.

The prince vowed to take Maria back to his country where he planned to marry her," Caroline continued. "But when he told his family of these plans, they refused to approve his marriage to a commoner and ordered their son to return home immediately."

"Did he go?" Rob asked.

"Because he honored his parents, he had no choice but to obey them," Caroline said. "But the last night the prince was in Richmond, he reserved a portion of the Jefferson Hotel. In front of the splendid staircase, he dined with Maria while nearby a group of musicians serenaded them."

"What an amazing scene that must have been," Rob said.

"Yes. I have stood many times by the huge stairway that many people still believe was part of the "Gone with the Wind" movie. I always think about my great-grandmother and her bitter-sweet romance."

Caroline sighed. "That night the prince presented Maria with the priceless diamond and emerald cross."

"According to the story, he said, ’With this cross we shall be together always. Leaving you will haunt me forever.’"

"I had no idea so much romance was connected to the cross." Rob appeared visibly moved by the story.

Caroline shrugged. "The prince returned to his family, and years later, Maria LaFitte heard of his suicide. Maria married my great-grandfather and raised a family, but she never got over her first love. All her life, she kept the box with the necklace in it close to her, but no one ever saw her open it.

Then shortly before her death she put on her best Sunday clothes, placed the royal cross around her neck, and went to the Jefferson for one last visit."

Tears came to Caroline’s eyes as she remembered the look of wonder on her father’s face when he repeated the story to her. 

"Daddy was with her that day. He watched her shuffle slowly to the bottom of the grand staircase where she stood as if waiting for an invisible partner to take her hand for a dance."

Copyright 2010 Mary Montague Sikes

Jefferson Hotel Staircase Makes Dramatic Statement

 Anyone who has ever seen the staircase at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia knows it makes a dramatic statement. For a long time, many people believed it was the staircase where a segment from Gone with the Wind was filmed. It wasn't, but that staircase was modeled after the one at the Jefferson.

Ever since I was a child visiting the Jefferson with my parents, I've been fascinated by that long, wide staircase. It's such an amazing attraction that it eventually became part of the storyline in my new book, Dangerous Hearts. Here are some of my thoughts as the story developed:

What if a pretty young woman in the early 1900s meets a charming young prince while visiting the Jefferson? 

What if he is forbidden to marry her but gives her a gorgeous diamond and emerald necklace as a symbol of their forever love?

What if my heroine inherits the priceless necklace that once belonged to a European royal family?

Suppose two murders are committed that may be connected to a quest for the necklace.

Suppose my heroine is the intended victim in the latest murder.

Suppose she is on the run and fears for her life.

Suppose the man she is depending on is after the necklace as well.

 

Who can she trust?

These thoughts eventually grew into the plot of my mystery/suspense novella.

And my story is linked to the awesome staircase at the Jefferson.

End of Baseball Season Marks a Sad Day

As some of you already know, I am a fanatical baseball fan. Today is the last day of the regular baseball season, and I feel very sad to have the season end.

The St. Louis Cardinals are my team and they didn't even make the playoffs--which would prolong the season for me. On paper, they were a great team. They have two of the game's greatest hitters--Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. They had three of the game's best pitchers--Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Jaime Garcia. Wainwright is up for consideration for the Cy Young Award. Garcia might get consideration for Rookie of the Year.

Still, that was not enough. The team had injuries--lots of them, to their pitchers, and to their third baseman, David Freese who was eventually out for the season.

The Cardinals were expected to win their division championship. Instead, team members are headed back home. As in other things in life, if you are going to be a champion, you have to play the games and you have to win them.

Fate got in the way. I'm counting the days until the start of spring training!

Travel - How to Avoid Checked Baggage Fees

Fall weather always inspires me to make travel plans. Between now and the first part of December, there are quite a few weeks when you can visit excellent destinations at economy prices and also avoid heavy crowds in the airports. Unfortunately, that travel is now marred by the hefty fees people have to pay to check their luggage with most airlines.

Southwest Airlines and Jet Blue are making a lot of friends with their policies of letting bags fly free. That's two free bags on Southwest and one on Jet Blue. Southwest is making the most of its policy with an ad I've seen run over and over the past few days on TV.

According to a segment on the CBS Early Show this morning, frequent fliers who travel with some of the major airlines can qualify for free checked baggage. I believe they mentioned fliers with 25,000 miles. However, when I spoke to someone in the airline industry she thought the frequent flier would need to be at a higher mileage level than that to qualify. It's worth checking into.

I still believe that traveling light with one carry-on bag and a personal item is the best way to go. It's still free (except for Spirit Airlines) and you know where to find your luggage!

 Mary Montague Sikes

Making a Positive Difference for Others

Diana Cosby wrote a significant comment on my last blog post. She has as a life goal, making a positive difference in the lives of others. She has even combined that goal with her writing life by using a percentage of her royalties to start a scholarship in a high school in her area.

We, as writers, have an opportunity to make important differences in the world. We are capable of using words in many diverse and wonderful ways to influence people. We have the opportunity for positive thinking and writing.

Do you have a goal to make a positive difference with your life and with your writing? How do you plan to go about making this difference?

I would love to know more about the thoughts and actions of other writers.

Monti