Author: dholman472
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Becoming a Detective: The Research Behind “Countess of Cons”
People often ask how I know what Catherine Seeley was thinking. The truth is, I don’t. That’s one of the greatest challenges—and greatest responsibilities—of writing narrative nonfiction. I can’t invent conversations or emotions simply because they make a better story. Everything has to grow from evidence. Sometimes that evidence comes from a court transcript. Sometimes…
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Why Didn’t They Go to Jail?Crime, Aliases, and Opportunity in the Gilded Age
I have been reading The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum, because who wouldn’t want to read about a Gilded Age woman who rose from immigrant housewife to the leader of New York’s largest crime syndicate? As I read, I’m thinking: Geez, this woman makes Catherine look like small potatoes. (For those who don’t know, Catherine Seeley is…
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Things That Make Me Twitch: Unconfirmed Birthdates
NOTE: I am cross-posting this to my other platforms as the topic may be of interest to all. I am on the very last read of my forthcoming novel, Countess of Cons: The Story of a Gilded Age Grifter. Yes! The last read before I hand it off for one final round with my beta…
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In Honor of April Fools’ Day… Let’s Play a Dangerous Little Game
It feels only appropriate, given my subject matter, to celebrate April Fools’ Day with a bit of deception. After all, if anyone appreciated a well-executed ruse, it was Catherine, the protagonist of my forthcoming novel, Countess of Cons. She was also my husband’s great-grandmother. Below are five “facts” drawn from her life. Some will sound…
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New Cover, New Format, Same Story That Refuses to Let Go
I redesigned the cover of Nothing Really Bad Will Happen—and yes, I did it for the most modern, unromantic reason possible: I want people to actually notice the book on Amazon. Not because the story needed a makeover. The story is the story. It’s lived in my family for generations, in silences and fragments and…
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Where I Am Now: Restructuring Countess of Cons After Beta Reader Feedback
It’s been almost a month since I received all my beta readers’ feedback on Countess of Cons. You know that moment when you realize you weren’t as close to the finish line as you thought? Not exactly a surprise, but still… The gist: readers needed neck collars to recover from the whiplash caused by too…
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Polished-but-Dead: Editing With AI (It’s Complicated)
Remember that song, “Video Killed the Radio Star?” (If you don’t then I’m pretty pleased—that means younger people are reading my blog!!) Lately, while editing Countess of Cons with Scripty McPromptface in the room, that song has been looping in my head. Because the way MTV changed music in the 1980s—suddenly it wasn’t just the…
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Gemini Is an Ass: The AI Hallucination That Invented ‘The Wickedness of Catherine Seeley’
I was driving home the other day—minding my own business and trying not to launch my car over our condo’s speed bumps—when my sister Jeanne left me a text. (Siri read it to me—I follow the laws!) “Have you ever published your book, Countess of Cons, under another title?” My brain immediately went to worst-case…
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A Small New Thing: My Newsletter
I’m starting a newsletter. If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I already share updates on my blogs, and I’m not exactly shy about posting when something is brewing. So why add a newsletter? Because the internet has become a scavenger hunt. Between social media algorithms, disappearing posts, and the general…
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When Your Editing Software Loves You… Then Tries to Ruin Your Life
Me vs. ProWritingAid This morning, I made a terrible mistake: I ran two ProWritingAid reports back-to-back. If you’ve never done this, imagine getting a standing ovation and a slap across the face in the same ten seconds. That’s the vibe. I started with the Virtual Beta Reader report for Countess of Cons, which basically sent…
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