Hi, Friends and Readers,
Let me tell you how the notalgia series (New Orleans in the 20s, 30s, 40s etc.) got started. I never intended it to be a series at all. Like most writers, I wanted to record the memories of my childhood. I wanted to share recollections of the City Park swimming pool, which seemed so gigantic to me as a child; of the concert stage where dancing schools performed in glittered costumes and Ruby Keeler tap shoes on Sunday nights; and of roller skating in the Peristyle. I wanted to tell those too young to remember how shopping downtown was a dress-up affair, and how the now cold, forbidding hotel exteriors that stand shoulder to shouder on Canal Street were then beehives of activity, with stores like Maison Blanche and D.H. Holmes offering everything from ladies wear to sewing notions to haircuts, Heavenly Hash, toys, and books. "Dime stores" like Kress and McCrory's sold ladies' underwear, cosmetics, and instant photos, four for a quarter. The "Thirties"book was a hit and I was asked to do "The Forties" and so the series was born. Today, there are six in the series: New Orleans 1900-1920, N.O. in the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. They are available at retail stores, Amazon.com, and through me at mlwidmer@cox.net. $24 + postage. All liberally illustrated. Email me. I'd love to hear your memories.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Mary Lou Widmer
Hi, readers and friends,
Blogging is new to me, so please forgive mistakes and aborted attempts at putting my blog together. I want to keep you posted on my activities since there are several new things going on in my writing life. Today, I'll talk about my most recent release by Pelican Publishing Co. in September, 2007, the book "NEW ORLEANS, 1900-1920," a non-fiction panorama of life in New Orleans in the first years of the 20th century, when plumbing and electricity came into the homes and street lighting brightened up Canal Street at night. The book tells of the last yellow fever epidemic, the hurricane of 1915 (unnamed, but the worst in our history until then), the great influenza epidemic, World War I, fashions, architecture, developing neighborhoods, and amusement parks. The story comes to life with vintage photos of families on porches and touring cars, of cotton bales on the riverfront and camps on Lake Pontchartrain. It is available at all retail outlets, through Amazon.com, and through me at mlwidmer@cox.net. Take a trip down memory lane. Cost $24.00 plus postage. Keep watching for more news.
Blogging is new to me, so please forgive mistakes and aborted attempts at putting my blog together. I want to keep you posted on my activities since there are several new things going on in my writing life. Today, I'll talk about my most recent release by Pelican Publishing Co. in September, 2007, the book "NEW ORLEANS, 1900-1920," a non-fiction panorama of life in New Orleans in the first years of the 20th century, when plumbing and electricity came into the homes and street lighting brightened up Canal Street at night. The book tells of the last yellow fever epidemic, the hurricane of 1915 (unnamed, but the worst in our history until then), the great influenza epidemic, World War I, fashions, architecture, developing neighborhoods, and amusement parks. The story comes to life with vintage photos of families on porches and touring cars, of cotton bales on the riverfront and camps on Lake Pontchartrain. It is available at all retail outlets, through Amazon.com, and through me at mlwidmer@cox.net. Take a trip down memory lane. Cost $24.00 plus postage. Keep watching for more news.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Mary Lou Widmer
Night Jasmine, a love story set in New Orleans in 1906-1920 ia the story of a first generation Italisn girl who flees the slums of New Orleans and becomes a domestic servant in the home of one of the city's most prestigious families. In time, both sons of this wealthy, aristocratic family, fall in love with her and are willing to abandon family and fortune to be at her side. The book can be purchased through www.Authorhouse.com for $14.20 plus postage or in retail outlets for a higher price. This book has been out of print snce 2006 when Hurricane Katrina flooded 2500 copies, but is once again available. Contact www.Authorhouse.com or mlwidmer@cox.net. It was on the required reading list of several girls high school for many years and became a local favorite. More news about the author to come.
Mary Lou Widmer
This is my first entry into my new blog and I'd like all you readers out there to know that I a a New Orleans published writer, whose most popular book over the past 25 years has been NIGHT JASMINE. In 2006, when Hurricane Katrina flooded away my last 2500 copies, I was out of business. No, I am not a self-published autor. This love story was originally published by Dell, but when the first edition was sold out and local readers kept calling me and asking where they could get the book, I decided to invest my own money in reprinting it. I did this twice, and the book was still in demand. It was on the required reading list for seniors in six New Orleans high schools, and through those young ladies, word spread and the story became a local favorite. After Katrina, I had to wait until I was financially able to put it back on the market, but it is now available once again.
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