Thank you to fellow Soul Mate Publishing author, Joanne Guidoccio, for inviting me to be her guest blogger today!
Indigo Sky was inspired by Bierstadt’s 1867 Domes of Yosemite. A trip across nineteenth-century America, two men were tied together by a passion of discovery. Words and images of the vast West made news back home. Below, find how it all began.
In 1867 LeGrand Lockwood commissioned Bierstadt for $25,000. Albert Bierstadt Domes of the Yosemite, 1986 oil/canvas (10’H x 15’W) Gail Ingis Domes of Yosemite Ode to Bierstadt acrylic/canvas (24″ x 36″)
In the mid-19th century, 1863, LeGrand Lockwood purchased parcels of land in Norwalk, Connecticut and built his sixty-two room county cottage in 1863. He hired artist Bierstadt for $25,000 to paint an American West theme. Painters of the day were producing murals on canvas.
Domes of Yosemite, 10’H x 15’W hung in the mansion’s Rotunda (ballroom space) in 1867. In the panic of 1873, Lockwood lost his business in shipping, railroads and gold. Four years later he died from pneumonia. Lockwood’s death prompted his wife to dispose of the furnishings and furbishings. Mrs. Lockwood then made an arrangement with Cornelius Vanderbilt to purchase the mansion. The painting, among other Lockwood possessions, was sold to a New York auction gallery for $5000. Three years later Horace Fairbanks, inventor of the platform scale, paid $5100, and trucked the painting up to his family home and business in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. He built a gallery customized to accommodate this huge work. It’s still there to this day! The short story—I called the director of the athenaeum and asked him if he knew the painting once belonged to Mr. Lockwood? He said, “Yes, it is thrilling to be the owners of this treasure. “Shamelessly, I asked if the athenaeum would consider donating it back to the mansion?
Since he, of course, said a flat “NO,” I asked if he would give me permission to paint a copy? He said, “Of course.” A simple straight 4 ½ hour drive north to Vermont took Tom and me to the St Johnsbury gallery in November, 2008. With my photography and materials from the athenaeum, I had solid information to create my painting.
The painting was spectacular, even with the damage caused by extreme temperature changes and humidity. Finally, the gallery was renovated a few years ago. What was it about this painting that inspired me to write my book? Precipitated by Bierstadt’s journey. For the story, visit blog Nights of Passion on Friday 8/5/16 hosted by Stacy Hoff.
Indigo Sky, now an Amazon eBook, print book and audiobook.
One liner: A dream marriage becomes a trap of addiction, lies and women.
Back Cover: In a whirlwind romance, a lovely New York socialite marries a fêted, debonair author. But beneath the charm is a cheating husband addicted to hasheesh. Her dream marriage turns sour and the simplicity of her life runs amok when a handsome stranger, her husband’s business partner, threatens her staunch loyalty to her wayward husband. When she faces the ugly truth about her marriage, her need to finalize her divorce sends her on mad chase across the wilds of nineteenth century America with a handsome stranger—she learns hard lessons of murder, kidnapping and more that almost destroy her.
Trailer
Where to find Gail Ingis…
Website | Artist Page | Amazon | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter
Gail Ingis is offering a free eBook download Indigo Sky to one lucky commenter today through Monday August 8st 12:00 p.m.
While I enjoy attending workshops and lectures, sometimes I need inspiration in smaller doses.
Winona Kent was born in London, England. She immigrated to Canada with her parents at age 3, and grew up in Saskatchewan, where she received her BA in English from the University of Regina. After settling in Vancouver, she graduated from UBC with an MFA in Creative Writing. More recently, she received her diploma in Writing for Screen and TV from Vancouver Film School. Winona has been a temporary secretary, a travel agent and the Managing Editor of a literary magazine. After a career that’s included freelance articles, long and short fiction, screenplays and TV scripts, Winona has now returned to her first love, novels. She currently lives in Vancouver and works as a Graduate Programs Assistant at the University of British Columbia.
The first stage of my adult life was all about family and animals, animals, animals. The animals included rescued racehorses, cats, and dogs. Luckily, I convinced my husband to move to a farm in rural Virginia against his wishes. At one point we had 28 rescue horses, 12 cats, 10 dogs, and a cow. And it’s not like we were rich. My husband was a Lieutenant JG in the US Navy. I was a stay at home mom raising two young kids, but I soon began running horse shows to help with our finances. We were also very fortunate to have two wonderful teenagers spend their time with us, trading babysitting for riding lessons. They quickly became part of our family.
A fall from grace costs Lexi a position at a top New York financial institution. She ends up in a job at a small private bank in Beverly Hills. But that’s okay, she still gets to work in her favorite field – catching white collar crooks. At least that’s what she tells herself. But when Karista, the daughter of one of the bank’s principal investors, runs into danger while traveling in Indonesia, Lexi’s job comes to depend on her ability to save her. Even worse, Lexi will have to baby sit Steve, her boss’ well-meaning but spoiled son, while going undercover to reach the heiress. Lexi’s cushy tropical assignment soon spirals into chaos as she has to outrun fashion-forward Batak natives, outwit an arrogant FBI agent, help Steve find his stolen Air Yeezy sneakers, and figure out why her ardent former lover and debonair gentleman thief, Andre, is staying at the same resort. Lexi will have to be very good or very lucky to survive it all.
In The Reluctant Farmer of Whimsey Hill, opposites attract; for better or for worse. That is what troubles animal-phobic, robotics engineer Smith who just got married. He learns that his bride’s dream is to have a farm where there are lots of animals and she can rescue ex-race horses to retrain and find them new homes. But according to a Meyers-Briggs Personality Test that they took for fun, their marriage is doomed. There is only one problem: the newlyweds took the test after the wedding.
Last week, I treated myself to a Dairy Queen banana split. I tried not to gasp when the clerk told me the price was $6.77 (CDN). I inquired about the other prices and discovered that, like everything else, Dairy Queen treats had risen in price.
I can honestly say that I am not the same person I was over thirty year ago, when I got married. I have always been a bubbly person. Not your glass half empty, kind of person. A few years into my marriage we decided to start a family. It took a while to get pregnant and at first I didn’t think it was going to happen. I conceived my first child and looked forward to my first bundle of joy.
The Crossing Realms series takes place in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Having grown up about thirty minutes north of the city, there’s so many things I love about the ‘Burgh I knew I wanted to use it as a setting for the series. It’s small enough to be familiar, and big enough to be mysterious.
I’m sure my journey to become an author is similar to many writers. I was twelve, living in the country, always looking for some kind of adventure with my friends. My first story came to me while exploring an unoccupied property in the neighborhood. We were certain it was haunted, and when gusts of snowy wind seemed to follow us wherever we went, it only reinforced our beliefs. What a great idea for a book series—three kids who solved mysteries and battled ghosts and ghouls.
Twenty-two months ago, I faced a frustrating and unexpected health challenge that forced me to curtail my usual activities.
Joanne Guidoccio 