Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

“I have never written a word that did not come from my heart. I never shall." Nellie Bly, The Evening-Journal ; January 8, 1922 The young woman who helped launch a new kind of investigative journalism was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864. Her father’s death when she was 6 changed her life irrevocably. He left no will so all his assets were sold and the money divided amongst his fourteen children. In the blink of an eye, her family went from living in the largest house in town to having to live in straitened circumstances. Her mother remarried but the marriage was not successful. When her mother took the unusual step of filing for divorce from her second husband, Nellie testified in court about her step-father’s abuse. The experience left her determined to be self-reliant. Forced to leave school when money ran out, she moved with her mother to Pittsburgh, where they ran a boarding house. Her journalistic juices were piqued in 1885 when she   read a newspaper c...

Hello everyone! I know it has been a long time since I have blogged but I have an exciting giveaway that I couldn't wait to share with you. ETERNA AND OMEGA, the 2nd book in Leanna Renee Hieber's exciting new series from TOR. It seemed only fitting since Halloween is just around the corner.  If you love the novels of the Brontes and Mary Elizabeth Braddon, if Northanger Abbey, Frankenstein, and Dracula are your jam, then you will love Leanna Renee Hieber. From the back cover: Leanna Renee Hieber's gaslamp fantasy series continues and the action ramps up in Eterna and Omega. In New York City, fearing the dangers of the Eterna Compound--supposedly the key to immortality--Clara Templeton buries information vital to its creation. The ghost of her clandestine lover is desperate to tell her she is wrong, but though she is a clairvoyant, she cannot hear him. In London, Harold Spire plans to send his team of assassins, magicians, mediums, and other rogue talents...

One of the wonderful things about living in New York are the museums, big and small.  The Neue Galerie on 5th Avenue is one of my favorites, particularly because of this painting. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I Neue Galerie, NY This lovely lady in gold is Adele Bloch-Bauer, painted in 1907, by this gentleman, Gustav Klimt, one of the foremost painters of fin-de-siecle Vienna. The painting was bought by Ronald Lauder for $135 million dollars in 2006 after the painting was finally released by the Austrian government to the relatives of  Adele Bloch-Bauer who fought for over 8 years to have the painting and 4 others returned to the family.  From the moment that I saw the painting in the museum, I've been curious about this beautiful woman with the rather sad eyes who was painted by one of my favorite painters.  It turns out that I'm not the only one who has long been fascinated by the subject of the painting. Lauder stated that as a young ...