I loved my 11th grade history class. It was taught by that teacher, you know the one – the woman or man who connects with his students (a he in my case) so completely that every moment in class is unforgettable? Well, okay, I don’t remember his name, but I do remember his enthusiasm. And I blame him for my book shelves in the latter part of the last century, which were filled with titles by James Michener, Leon Uris, James Clavell (Shogun, A Noble House, etc.), Harper Lee, and of course, Alex Haley (Roots and The Autobiography of Malcolm X) and Alice Walker (The Color Purple). And yes, I know a lot of other important authors are missing from this list, but I didn’t read that much literature – always a popular fiction gal.
When I start developing backstory for a character, I get all into their history. I love fleshing out every nuance of their lives, and probably need to start a new publishing craze called My Heroine’s Backstory that would sell millions of copies, right? Anyway, I enjoy the process of creating my character’s history, and I thought I’d share some discoveries I’ve made recently. And if everything looks like the 1920s for a while, then you’ve got a glimpse into what I’m working on now…and yeah, I think they call them historical romances.
Most of us have heard of Josephine Baker, the African-American entertainer who earned stardom in the 1920s by leaving the USA and establishing herself in Paris. Well, there was another entertainer who was as big a star in the USA and worldwide – her name was Florence Mills. I’m not going to give a history lesson here, but I must admit, I’d never heard of Florence until I started researching my historical romance. She was born in the Washington, DC area in 1895, and was one of the most successful vaudeville entertainers of the 1920s, and known as the Queen of Happiness. She started when she was 14, with her sisters. They called themselves The Mills Sisters (and for Sleepyheads, not the Mills sisters from Sleepy Hollow:)…
Tragically, Florence Mills died in 1927 at the age of 32. The photo to the far left is of the crowd that gathered in Harlem outside the funeral home where her body was interned.
Her photos inspired a character in one of stories, a secondary character – the best friend of the heroine. Hopefully one day, you’ll read about the fictional characters these photos inspired. In the meantime, Happy Black History Month!
