Why I wrote Charles and Anne…

Hello Dear Reader,

 

As promised, I wrote another Howard Family Story, just not the one most of you asked for. Most people who read William and Hannah want to know about their kids. Most of all, they want to know what happens to Ezekial and Peter. I definitely want to tell you all about them, but first I felt like I needed to tell you about someone who had a profound influence on William, his grandfather Charles Howard. This book is all about him. When I was researching William and Hannah I found a lot of information about Charles Howard. The real Lord Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, was an important historical figure. He built Castle Howard, raised a large family and had an impressive political career. At one point, Lord Charles Howard served as the Lord Justice of the Realm in between the reigns of Queen Anne and King George I. I have always been fascinated with Lord Charles Howard. I wanted to know what motivated the man to accomplish so much in his lifetime. I imagined that his upbringing must have had a profound influence. As I researched, I found out that one of the most influential figures in the life of Lord Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, was his grandfather, Lord Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle. Lord Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle was a famous diplomat, and he wanted his grandson to follow in his footsteps. I don’t know a lot more than that, but I have a good imagination, and a lot of this book is me imagining how that could play out during the 1680’s in England. The late 17th century was a very tumultuous time in England and France. In France, King Louis was persecuting the Protestant Huguenots and in England, King James was the Catholic King most English Protestants didn’t want. All of this culminated in the Glorious Revolution, which you can read about in my book. You could also Google it, but I guarantee the book is better. Anyway, that’s what happened while I was researching William and Hannah and after I got done with that book, I couldn’t let this idea go and I just had to write it down. I know people usually like sequels more than prequels, but I hope you will stay with this series of Howard Family Stories. I promise that I’m done with prequels for now. The next book will definitely be a sequel to William and Hannah, but hopefully you will learn some things about the Howards in Charles and Anna that will help you understand William a little better and appreciate the next Howard Family Story even more.

The picture at the top of this page is me on the last day of a three day adventure hiking the Appalachian Trail with my youngest daughter. I was tired. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I’ve always thought of myself as a hiker because my grandfather Howard Franklin Buhrman, hiked the entire Appalachian Trail when he was in his sixties. I’m only in my fifties, and I was only doing three days, so I thought it would be a piece of cake. Apparently genetics alone is not a good predictor of hiking ability.

However, being an eternal optimist, I am sure that if I keep working at it, I will hike more of the trail in the future. Maybe I’ll see you out there!  To all the thru hikers I met on my little three day excursion: Good Luck! You’ve Got This! A special shout out to Otter, Col. Sanders and Nessie.