“The steel tank of molasses collapsed. A wave of thick, sweet liquid flooded the waterfront and roared into the surrounding streets. At the same time, pieces of metal from the tank hurled into the air, raining down on unsuspecting sailors. The flood of boiled sugarcane syrup soon gushed for block after block. The wave of molasses raced over walls, collapsed wooden houses, and menaced the firemen who fled from their inundated firehouse.”
-“Bitter Sweets,” a historical mystery story
Truth can indeed be stranger than fiction. Since my history teacher father first told me the story of the 1919 molasses flood in Boston, I have always been intrigued by it. Later, when I saw the green commemorative plaque marking the area of the molasses tank collapse, I thought to myself, “Now there’s a moment full of stories.” A historian would turn to the interesting facts of the unique disaster, and happily a good one already has. I recommend Stephen Puleo’s well researched history of the event, Dark Tide. It’s informative but also well written and even at times, despite the sad subject matter, entertaining. Find it at your local indie bookstore or library: http://www.stephenpuleo.com/book/dark-tide-2/
I am a fiction writer by vocation (it is more than a job), so I started thinking about what stories might intersect with the bizarre flood. Possibilities percolated. In the midst of all that sweet death, were there other dangerous dramas? That’s how my historical mystery story of family loyalty and murder, “Bitter Sweets” started growing in a far away part of my mind. For a long while, it was just a scribble in my battered, coffee-stained, story ideas notebook. Then finally, it’s time arrived. I am so very pleased to now be able to share my story with you as part of the new collection, Eve’s Requiem. Spider Road Press is offering a special, pre-order discount on the collection between now and 10/5/14. It is only $8.99 and 5% of the proceeds will go to charity. If you like history with a dash of murder, please check it out…
We at Spider Road Press are excited to announce that readers can now pre-order “Eve’s Requiem: Tales of Women, Mystery, and Horror” for the discounted price of $8.99! American readers who pre-order a copy of this compelling collection from our website by 10/5/14 can enjoy these stories of peril and survival at this special rate.
http://www.spiderroadpress.com/Book_Store.html
