Hey, everyone! I’m back with another writing post! Today, I want to share a little bit about naming characters. Personally, I think this is one of the hardest parts of writing! Some characters have names that just jump out at you; you can’t imagine them having any other name. Others cause you to go from name to name trying to find the one that fits them. Some just don’t come at all.

Let’s take a look at a few ways I’ve found names for my characters.

1. Dreams- Now, please don’t think I’m telling you to let your subconscious lead you! But sometimes, a person in your dream may have the perfect sounding name. Don’t be afraid to use it! That’s where the names for Richard and Dixie Mason came from, as well as the names for Tyler Nace and Brandon Tanner. (Brandon’s original last name was Walker…Tanner fit him better.) The names just fit the characters I had planned on. I repeat, there’s nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from a dream, just don’t try to start thinking your dreams are prophetic. 😉
2. People you know- Don’t do this for spite! I would not recommend naming the character the exact same name as someone you know, unless you’ve been given permission. Joseph Richardson in my book is named after an employee at a hardware store who helped my mom when the van overheated. I asked permission to use his name and he said that was fine. Never saw him again. But using his name was a way of allowing our family to remember the man who helped us out back in 2011. Another character, Capt. Beasley, is named after a dear friend of mine and Army National Guard Veteran, Bro. L. Beasley. He served two tours in Iraq towards the end of his career. He is one of those one in a million people and such a blessing to me and my family. Capt. Beasley is my way of saying thank you to one of my heroes.
3. A name you don’t like- Yes, I did it. One of my favorite characters, Lana Brewster, was named this way. At the time, I couldn’t stand the name. I decided to experiment and see if it would become a favorite name because I liked her, or if I would dislike her because of her name. I now like the name Lana a whole lot. The sweetness of her personality won me over. (Characters have a way of doing that 😉) I also took a name I wasn’t too fond of and gave it to one of my bad guys. It made it easier for me to not like him, lol!
4. Baby Name books- I collect these…literally! I have five! I love looking through lists of names for a specific time era, location or profession. Inspiration is a baby name book with 200 lists of names!
5. Websites- The internet is always a good source of names. Sites like Nameberry and Babyname.com are good resources.
6. Bonus! Last Names- Address books, church directories and movie credits work great! Or use a variety of names from your community. Writing exclusively about a certain state or country? For the state, use state counties; for the county, use towns and cities within the county. You can find inspiration everywhere!
   

Something to Think About: Do you have a special way you find names for your projects? How did you do it? Did you use any of the above ideas? Which one are you most prone to try out? And what is the best name you’ve ever come up with, and how did you find it? Share your ideas with a struggling friend!

Until Next Time,
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Good morning, afternoon or evening, where ever you are and whenever you’re reading this! I’m thrilled to have you back here at Life of Heritage Corner! This post was originally supposed to be put up next month, but on a whim, I decided to do it now. It has been requested that I share some of the books that I get my information from, specifically for my series, The Battle for Heritage, set during the War Between the States. 📚 So today, I’m going to share 6 of the books that really helped me get my series together, specifically for The Land of Cotton!

Very early on in my work, a dear man gave me over a dozen books from his personal collection. These books have helped me a lot! In fact, three of them made this list! So, here are my top six research books.📝

1. The Civil War by Bruce Caton ©1988 by American Heritage Inc. edition.

Now, I disagree with Mr. Caton on his view of the War Between the States, but the main thing I used this book for (which was very well researched; he’s known as the Civil War Authority of his day) was the special bonuses at the end of the book. Part 1 is a Chronology of the Civil War, dividing the events up by year, month and day. I relied heavily on this while plotting my series and still refer to it constantly. Part II is the Index to the Chronology. This listed all the battles alphabetically, then in small print listed the month, day and year it took place, so you could look it up in the chronology. Very helpful! Part III is The Leading Participants. Alphabetically, the political and military leaders of both sides are listed, with a paragraph telling who they are, what they did in the war, when they did it, if they were wounded and when, what battles they fought in, what command position they held and when, and when they died (if applicable). It is a gold mine! To be honest, I’ve yet to actually read the book…I’ve only used the bonus indexes!😆

2. The Time-Life History of the Civil War (I don’t have my copy down right now, so I’m not sure what edition it is, but click here to see it.)

I read parts of this book, depending on what battle I was currently working on. It gave quotes from soldiers as well as times and places when things happened. But mostly, I used it for the pictures. There were drawings✏, photos📸 , and paintings🖌, some more modern and some made during the war. I used these for inspiration for characters, activities and battle sequences.

3. A Civil War Treasury of Tales, Legends and Folklore, Edited, with an Introduction by B.A. Botkin ©1960 by B.A. Botkin, 1993 Promontory Press Edition

Warning: It does need some editing…there are a few bad words and a few stories that need to be taken out!

This book is exactly what it sounds like, Tales, legends, folklore, letters and journals written by the people who actually experienced the war! Now, the title insinuates that not everything in the book is 100% accurate, which is true, but there really isn’t a lot of “Tall-Tales”. Most of the content is history written down by the multiple authors. You get a great look at what the men fought for, what camp life was like, what it was like back home and what was going on in the officers and politicians’ heads. There are news articles as well. It’s a great way to immerse yourself in the time period, the language and the mindset of the people. You hear from both the famous and the unheard of, and that’s one of the reasons I enjoy it!

4. Beloved Bride by Bill Potter ©2002-2012 by Vision Forum (Read a full review here!)

This book is beautiful! 😍 It’s one of the books that made me fall in love with General Stonewall Jackson. And yes, most of what I wrote about Stonewall came from reading this book (his dialogue is based off his actual patterns of speech, things he really said and the way he responded to situations.) It’s one of my very favorite non-fictions! Read it, just go read it! ❤

5. A Pocket History of the Civil War by Martin F. Graham ©2011 by Martin F. Graham Osprey Publishing Edition

Oh, wow! I found this book at Ollie’s on sale and it was truly my pocket guide! Again, I didn’t agree with this author’s take on the war, but I found for the most part, it seemed pretty neutral. The statistics were very helpful as well as the breakdown of how to load a rifle. If you read The Land of Cotton, the scene where the boys are going through the process of joining up and the scene where one of the boys is loading his gun, both came from this book. It’s a very comprehensive guide. I also got a lot of information for my Soldier Life // Privates post from this book! Definitely a book to pick up if you are writing about the War Between the States or if you want a little more than a basic overview of the war. My only hang up with this story is that they say the only reason the South went to war was over slavery, which wasn’t a reason at all. Otherwise, I can’t think of anything…

6.The Civil War for Kids by Janis Herbert ©1999 by Janis Herbert, Chicago Review Press 1st Edition

This book gave me the idea to include loading the rifle in my book, though I used #5 to get a clearer understanding. It also inspired me to include espionage in my book. Even though it’s biased for the Union, you’ll find it jammed packed with information and activities. 📒There’s also fun bonus facts about the war, like what names of places mean, who named what battles, biography sketches, etc. If you’ve read Our Heritage to Save, you may remember the scene where Titus dives into the breakdown of the army’s companies, regiments, etc. I got all that from this book. I highly recommend it!
 
So that’s it for now! Hope this has given you something to springboard off of. In the future I hope to tell you about some of my Confederate resources, more histories and even some documentaries that help me! If you have any questions about these books, please let me know and someone from my team (aka me or my family!) will answer them for you!

Until Next Time,
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22
*Emoji provided by Emoji One

Hey y’all!

I did it! Ryana Lynn, did you see that! I am actually typing! Y’all, this laptop thing is so interesting! I’ve never seen anything like this before and I’m surprised at how easy it is! Oh…I suppose I should introduce myself! My name is Dixianna Mason of Four Tree Springs, N.C. Ryana Lynn told me she has written a series of books about my family, but not all of you have read them yet. She thought perhaps you should meet me and get to know me a little better. Well, I’m nothing special, just, well, me! I just happen to live during a war…just like you!

What…?

Oh, Ryana Lynn says I’m rambling -What’s that thing you write when you laugh? Oh! - lol! That looks so cute!

Sorry, I digress. Anyway, you may wonder why I’ve taken over the blog! Well, today is my Birthday! Yes, I am a Valentine’s baby! And as a present to me, Ryana Lynn has sweetly allowed me to fulfill a dream of mine since…well, since I met her…lol! (I’m getting this!) If I lived in your year, I would be 173. But I’m not in your time, I am in mine. The year is 1864 and I just turned 18! And officially an old maid…like I said, there’s a war on, so…I’m waiting patiently.

Huh? Oh, all right, apparently, I need to end this introduction and get into my main topic. So, The End.

My topic today will be…me! I am going to tell you a little bit about myself and hope you find it interesting…

My Favorite Instrument. As you can see on the photograph above…wait, it’s not a photograph?...oh, the “blog graphic” above, I play the fiddle. I play hymns, folk music and patriotic pieces, usually with my brothers. I can play the piano, but fiddle is my passion…how do you…oh, there 😉 I love those little faces!

Okay, back to the fiddle. My fiddle was made in 1812 by my great-grandfather, Richard MacIntyre, for my grandmother, Dixianna Rose MacIntyre Mason, only she wasn’t married at the time. She was named for her parents, Richard (Dixie is a nickname for Richard, don’t ask me how that got started) and Anna. Maw-Maw has always gone by Anna, because she felt, when she was young, that Dixie was too masculine. How things do change!

Maw-Maw gave the fiddle to my father when he was thirteen, and he passed it along to me when I was thirteen, though I was playing it by the time my arms were long enough to hold it.

My Horse. Do any of you like horses? I do! My horse is a slate gray Mustang Stallion named Confederate 😉 My Papa Rains (My mother’s father) bought him for me right before the war began three years ago. Confederate is quite playful, though if you had seen him when I first got him, you wouldn’t have thought so. He had a rough life, poor baby, but now, he gets all the love and attention I give him and plenty of pasture to run in. His favorite treats are apple peels and carrot skins. I know, I’d love to give him the whole thing, but with the war on, we need all the food we can find and there’s no money for extras. Not that I’m complaining.

My Favorite Color. Contrary to what one might think, my favorite color is purple. Many assume it’s green, because of my eyes and my red hair and the fact that green looks the best on me, but purple is my favorite. My favorite dress was purple…my brothers bought me the material for my birthday…sure miss that dress. Ryana Lynn says you should read book 3 if you want to learn more about what happened to it…

My Favorite Sibling…

Just making sure you were paying attention! I don’t have a favorite sibling and Ryana Lynn says I can’t tell you much because of something known as spoilers. But I will tell you this: Growing up in a house full of boys is difficult, but also quite the adventure! I used to loath the slamming of doors, but with the war on now…I kinda miss it.

One more fun fact and then I shall…how did she put it…oh! I shall “Wrap-up” this post. You people of the 21st Century sure have some interesting ways of expressing yourselves! But it’s also quite intriguing!

I’m rambling again.

My Favorite Song. Hymn wise, it would be What Wondrous Love is This? So hauntingly beautiful. Patriotic wise, I like The Homespun Dress and of course, Dixieland 😉 And I was born on a frosty morning! I also love the North Carolina War Song. It’s to the tune of Bonnie Annie Laurie, a Scottish folk song that my Maw-Maw Mason adores. It’s not well known outside my state and Ryana Lynn said that in your time, most people have never heard of it. It’s so pretty though…now I think I’m gonna cry!

I suppose this is where I “wrap-up!” I hope you enjoyed my very first (and probably only) blog post! I thoroughly enjoyed it! But, I must rush back to my world…the troops are still in winter quarters, but soon, the fighting will resume…I encourage you to take a moment to thank God that the war your country is fighting now isn’t being fought on your home soil. I’m not so fortunate…

Have a blessed day,
Farewell!
Dixie Mason

P.S. Below is my favorite Psalm. I hope you enjoy!

A Note From Ryana Lynn: Here's Dixie's song, The North Carolina War Song. She couldn't figure out how to post it, lol ;)

Welcome to my fourth post of the year! I am so excited to be bringing you another installment of my Soldier Life series…the sixth in this series I found out. So for those who are unfamiliar with this series, I am compiling information that I came across while researching for The Battle for Heritage Series. I am not an expert on the War Between the States, but I thought these posts might be helpful to other authors researching the same time era.

With that out of the way, let’s see what life in the army was like for a private, the lowest ranking member of the army.

Most of the army is made up of privates, even today. They are the boots on the ground, the common soldier you know and love from novels and movies. Back in the old days, the private did not have any insignia on his uniform. And another thing about these fellows that I suppose is common knowledge is that the private never gave orders. He’s not over anyone, he’s at the bottom of the totem pole. But what exactly was expected of him? Let’s take a look.

Drill. If you’ve read any book on soldiering in any time period, I’m sure you’ve read about the incessant amount of drilling they did. This wasn’t just a mundane task they had to complete. This was life and death training. It also helped to fill time in the day that otherwise would have left the men idle…and more prone to get into trouble.

KP. Ah, yes, Kitchen Patrol. While this is more of the WWII name for the job, soldiers did take turns helping the army cooks. Peeling potatoes (when they had them) was one of their jobs, as was washing dishes, stirring pots, serving food and dumping food waste., They would have to do anything food related when their turn came around.

Policing the Grounds. Just as today, this task had to do with keeping their living quarters neat and clean. Clearing debris away from the walking paths, organizing their gear, stacking the wood piles neatly, it all had to do with keeping things tidied up.

Horse Duty. Even if they didn’t serve in the Cavalry, their unit had horses for pulling supply wagons, riding dispatches, and transporting officers. So, the privates would feed the horses, clean up after them and if needed, make sure they had been exercised for the day. Grooming needed to be kept up as well to insure the horses’ health and appearance.

Guard Duty. There were two types of guard duty. The first was what you would expect from the name, guarding prisoners, both enemy and fellow soldiers who had disobeyed some military rule. The other was known as Picket Duty, which simply meant they were guarding the outskirts of the camp from intruders.

Camp Duties. This could be anything and everything. Chopping wood, digging latrines and trenches, delivering messages from the officers, hauling water, doing laundry, shooting game/butchering…you name it!

Drummers and buglers as a rule were privates as well, but I can’t say dogmatically that they all had this rank. I would have to look into that a little deeper.

Privates also helped in the hospitals. They often helped hold a soldier down during surgery, volunteered to help the doctors when there was a shortage of nurses and helped remove the wounded from the battlefield. (They weren’t the only ones to do this, but since there were more privates than the other ranks, they were the majority of the ones gathering the wounded.) They also served on burial detail.

Hope this was helpful! I’ll see you next week with a writerly post that I can’t wait to share with you!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

It’s 2019. I am in shock! 2018 passed so quickly and so much has changed! Can you believe it’s the start of a new year? It’s already January! At this point, you are probably thinking, “Wow, Ryana Lynn, did you just now notice? We all saw it coming.”

Okay.

I will move on from this totally random rant, the perfect way to start this year’s blog calendar!

Let's start over.

Hello everyone! Welcome to Life of Heritage Corner! We are rolling into our 4th year on the web and it’s been so encouraging to see the growth! For all of you that are new, I thought it would be fun to give you an introduction to me and my blog. I wanted to do a tag, but I couldn’t find one I liked…so anyway, here we go!

1. My name is Ryana Lynn Miller. I go by Ryana Lynn, even though I have never gotten up my nerve to introduce myself to anyone in person by that name. I hope to change that this year though!
2. I am a born-again, Independent Baptist PK. That’s Preacher’s Kid, lol! My family represents the Fundamental Broadcasting Network, out of Grace Baptist Church in Newport, N.C. We travel full-time, spreading the news about FBN. We have free apps for Apple and Android devices, so give a listen and let the station know what you think! You can find more info @ www.fbnradio.com!
   
3. My favorite Scripture is Jude 22, my favorite chapter is John 3 and my favorite books of the Bible are 1&11 Samuel and the Book of Luke.
4. I am a redhead 😉 I also have blue eyes, making me part of the rarest hair and eye color combination in the world!
   
5. I am one of seven kiddos! I’m the third oldest and the oldest at home. I am also aunt to six amazing little ones that I love to the moon and back! And only one of them is redheaded, just like me 😉
6. I am Pro-Life and that is reflected in my site name, Life of Heritage. I value life as the battleground of Liberty and a sacred right given by God. Without Life, there cannot be Freedom. I am thankful for my country, the ancestry God gave me and the mission He has entrusted to me. I try to reflect that through the atmosphere here at Life of Heritage.
7. I love to write, lol! I have published three Novels in The Battle for Heritage Series (there are two more to go!) and one Novella, Coffee Shop Christmas.
8. I am a History Buff and will enthusiastically squeal over how amazing the Founding Fathers and Stonewall Jackson were with like-minded friends 😉 The War Between the States is my favorite time era, followed by WWII and The Revolution.
   
9. I have a deep respect for the military (used to live near Cherry Point) and hope to someday write a series spring-boarding off of 9/11. I was 5 when that tragedy took place and it has impacted me deeply.
   
10. I love our First Responders and think that just as we thank our servicemen for their service to our country, we should do the same for the Police, Firemen, and EMTs.
    

Before we go farther, I would like to invite you to subscribe to my blog! You will receive an email every time a post goes live, get insider information, a chance to give feedback for the blog and exclusive content!

I’ve worked out a schedule for the blog that will give you an idea of what to expect here at Life of Heritage Corner!

One the 1st of the month (or close to it, depending on my schedule) I post my monthly wrap-up, an overview of our ministry, life events, reading/book reviews, writing updates and goals for the upcoming month.

On the first Friday of the month, I will post a devotion, either something all-encompassing or specifically for young ladies. My apologies to any guys who may read this blog 😊

2nd Friday of the month will be a bookish post! Either a book tag, book list, book review…you name it, it’s possible, lol!

3rd Fridays will be dedicated to something History related. It might be something from my ongoing Soldier Life Series or 10 Totally Random facts, a bonus book review, or a totally new series…something I have in the works! Mostly, I am posting about the War Between the States, since that is my current setting for my novels. But, I may stray from it here and there with something from another period, like WWII. It all depends on my current mood, lol!

4th Fridays are going to be writing days! I love writing and these posts will be series I start on the subject, updates on my current WIP (Work-in-progress), or Writing Tags. I have some fun stuff in the making, so stay tuned!

There are 4 months with an extra Friday in them. So, these posts will not have a specific theme. Also, there are times when one of the Fridays runs into a holiday, historic event or my monthly wrap-ups. On such days, I will do my utmost to either bring you two posts that week or combine the topics in some way. Bear with me, I’m still figuring out my calendar, lol!

You can check my Writing Updates page for monthly updates on my current WIP. I’m thinking of changing up the page a little, so keep an eye out!
 
Now, people like the choose a word or phrase as their theme word for the year. I am late jumping on board this bandwagon, but I think it sounds so neat! So, without further ado, my word for 2019 is…

In these days we are living in, it is so important to stand up for the cause of Christ. To not allow ourselves to compromise just to please the crowd. Of course, we are not to go looking for a fight, but we are not to back down from the standard God has given us. This year, I want to stand up for what I believe in, in a Christian, feminine way. Will you join me, ladies? And to any gentlemen who may be reading this, will you purpose in your heart to Stand like the men of the Bible who faced hardships, giving us someone to look up to for an example? I challenge you, be a man or woman of God and Stand up for Jesus!

This conversation isn’t over! Join me on Friday for a devotion on the topic!

Well, I think that’s everything for the time being! Happy 2019!
Have a blessed day!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22