My
husband’s addiction to The History Channel can be a good or bad thing. Bad when
it’s a seeming replay of war and all its related weapons (in much too much gory
detail) but good when it sparks a story idea. Some time ago, a feature about
the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco caught both our attentions.
Like
most story ideas, it gelled in my brain awhile, niggling at me to learn more.
Being the research addict I am, I trolled the Web and found a treasure trove of
stories waiting to be told. Stories of real-life heroes and heroines who
overcame immense odds to rebuild the city after its worst tragedy to date.
Before
the great quake, San Francisco was one hot city. The ninth largest in the U.S.,
it was home to 400,000 people, and rife with crime, prostitution, opium dives
and most any vice you can imagine, mostly concentrated in the Barbary District.
There, the city’s Vice Squad – for a price, of course – turned a blind eye to
the scandalous dance halls, peep shows and whorehouses. More tame fun awaited
at the Chutes and Zoo, an amusement park, or the Golden Gate Donkey Rides,
where children could ride in goat carts or on donkeys.
Ragtime
music was in its heyday, and Enrico Caruso enjoyed immense popularity – he was
actually in town during the quake, having performed the night before at the
Grand Operahouse.
While
Enrico survived the earthquake, not much else in the city did. The Richter
Scale had not yet been invented, but geologists estimate the quake to be equal
to 7.8, and more than 270 miles of the San Andreas Fault ruptured. More than
3000 people lost their lives, either during the quake or in the resulting fires
that destroyed what the quake had left.
The
Golden Gate Bridge had not yet been constructed, so residents used the ferry to
get back and forth to outlying islands. Trying to crowd onto that ferry to
escape the devasation, more lost their lives.
How the
survivors managed to carry on, I don’t know. But they did, in an incredible,
roll-up-your-sleeves and get-down-to-business way. After President Teddy
Roosevelt sent the military with wagonloads of rations, people set up tent
cities, food lines and began cleanup efforts. Businesses reopened within days,
as shopkeepers were determined to rebuild. Again, every single story told of
actual heroes, many who never found recognition for their amazing courage.
In real
life, such disaster is heartwrenching. In fiction, it’s fodder for a great
story, especially when it has such a hopeful aftermath. I loved placing my
heroine and hero in these circumstances. Already down and out, Norah Hawkins
and Gerard “Mac” MacKenzie are looking for a better life in San Francisco. Do
they find it? Well, you’ll have to read the story to find out. :)
And as
of today, you can! It's release day for my historical novella Betting It All!
Woot! :)
Here’s
the blurb:
Norah Hawkins wants a
new life as far from her old one as possible, but where can she ever find that
chance? When a letter arrives promising her the deed to property in San
Francisco, Norah packs her bags and flees the broken shards of her troubled
past.
With its
anything-goes atmosphere, 1906 San Francisco suits Irishman Gerard MacKenzie
just fine. He loves tending bar in Norah’s saloon, and verbally sparring with
the shrewd businesswoman for more privileges and work. Her beauty, wit and sass
make his blood boil with need.
But disaster looms over their promising new lives when
a terrible earthquake buries their dreams and threatens to shatter their
future. Norah and Mac must rebuild their lives from the ruins and they’ll need
each other more than ever, but can their ties to each other save them or tear
them apart?
Available from:
Decadent
Publishing: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=823&osCsid=hdmana51khc0lq5rr15a5sl3i5
Barnes
and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1116477095?ean=2940148442585
About Cate
Cate Masters has made beautiful central
Pennsylvania her home, but she’ll always be a Jersey girl at heart. When not
spending time with her dear hubby, she can be found in her lair, concocting a
magical brew of contemporary, historical, and fantasy/paranormal stories with
her cat Chairman Maiow and dog Lily as company. Look for her at http://catemasters.blogspot.com and
in strange nooks and far-flung corners of the web.
Cate loves to hear from readers! Email her
at: cate.masters@gmail.com
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