by Jess Montgomery | Apr 16, 2020 | History, Inspiration, Story Behind the Story, The Hollows, The Widows
My protagonist, Lily Ross, is inspired by Ohio’s true first female sheriff in 1925, Maude Collins. In real life, Maude’s husband, Fletcher, was killed in the line of duty as sheriff of Vinton County, Ohio. Maude worked as his jail matron. After his non-mysterious but...
by Jess Montgomery | Jul 27, 2019 | Book Clubs, Gratitude, The Widows
I love visiting Book Clubs–in person, on Skype, even on Facetime! I also love hearing about Book Clubs getting together to discuss THE WIDOWS even when I can’t be there. I’ll admit it–there’s some pride involved. Yayyy! A Book Club is...
by Jess Montgomery | May 3, 2019 | Inspiration, On the road, The Widows
Last week, I had the great honor of visiting Scarlet Oaks Career Campus, a high school in the Cincinnati area for juniors and seniors who study both traditional academic subjects and specific career skills, such as construction, culinary, nursing aide, emergency...
by Jess Montgomery | Feb 22, 2019 | On the road, Pie of the Month, The Widows
I’m a bit (OK, a LOT) late this month with my “pie of the month.” But I have a good reason! It’s been quite a whirlwind six weeks since THE WIDOWS came out into the world on January 8, 2019 from Minotaur Books (order with this link). On that...
by Jess Montgomery | Nov 29, 2018 | Music, The Widows
THE WIDOWS, my first novel in my Kinship Historical Mystery series, is set in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio in 1925—and I couldn’t have written it without music. By that I mean both music to keep me energized while writing, and music as part of the story. Music...
