I find that one of the greatest joys of writing a novel or screenplay that takes place in the past is finding out what was happening in the time period you are writing about.

There is a scene where the main character is baking cookies. No big deal, right? I had decided she would make peanut butter cookies. Wrong! These were first baked in the 1930's.

Why did I choose 1903 for my story? There were certain historical events I needed to occur, such as Wounded Knee. I also wanted a time of change in the country. Some areas had phones, electricity; others did not. I also wanted the book to happen before the San Francisco earthquate and the stock market crash.

Some interesting tidbits I found out:

• 1/19/1903: The new bicycle race, "Tour de France," was announced. It began with 60 cyclists competing in a 2,500 kilometer, 19-day race.
• 3/2/1903: The Martha Washington Hotel opened for business in New York City. The hotel featured 416 rooms and was the first hotel exclusively for women.
• 3/23/1903: The Wright brothers obtained an airplane patent.
• 6/18/1903: 1st transcontinental auto trip began in San Francisco and arrived in New York 3-months later.
• 7/23/1903: The Ford Motor Company sold its first automobile, the Model A.
• 10/1/1903: The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the home team Boston Pilgrims (Red Sox), 7-3, in the first World Series game. Boston, however, went on to win the series, five games to three.
• 12/9/1903: The Norwegian parliament voted unanimously for female suffrage.
• 12/15/1903: The British Parliament placed a 15-year ban on whale fishing in Norway.
• 1903: William Harley and the 3 Davidson brothers: Arthur (20), Walter and William (21), started out in a Milwaukee basement to produce their first motorized bike.
• 1903: Rasputin, the Russian monk and confidant of the Romanovs, came to St. Petersburg as an ascetic holy man and claimed to be inspired by visions of the Virgin Mary.