Busy blog this month. Here is what’s going on:
1. This year for the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I’m writing about the 1800s. In particular, I’ll be focusing on the events surrounding Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s race around the world in 1889 in celebration of my new novel based on this adventure, Liz and Nellie.
2. And for these first few days, I’m also participating YASH 2016 (Young Adult Scavenger Hunt) which includes a Rafflecopter giveaway for one of four copies of the book (scroll down for the YASH post.) YASH ends April 3.
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Nellie Bly was a stunt reporter who worked for the New York World newspaper. She was bold and daring and really the one responsible for starting the type of undercover reporting she was famous for. To earn her job, the very first thing she had to do was get committed to a mad house to report on the ill-treatment of the patients. She came up with the idea to race the fictional character Phileas Fogg from Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days.
Elizabeth Bisland was also a reporter. She freelanced for a number of newspapers, including the same paper as Nellie Bly, but at the time of their race, Bisland was working for Cosmopolitan magazine, primarily as their book reviewer, though she did write other types of articles. She was not a stunt reporter, had no intention of being a stunt reporter, until her boss offered her a permanent position if she went around the world.
At the time of the race, they were both single and in their twenties.
They make today’s reporters sound very dull! A really interesting read.
‘Nothing Ventured’ – a short story embracing 3 neglected B words
I know! I don’t know that I would have trusted the editor to get me out of the mad house once I worked my way in as a patient. That was risky.
Wow! I love that age! I will looking forward to all your posts and of course the book! Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Nikita. I’ve been enjoying learning more about the 1800s.
I love your theme! I worked as a reporter and features writer for years and oh my, how I would have loved for my boss to ask me to go around the world. Those were the days of real journalism.
Then you can really relate to these two!
Wow, what an adventure. Looking forward to reading your blog!
Thanks for stopping by, Heather. It’s going to be a fun A to Z.
This is a bit of history I’ve never heard before, going to make for awesome reading about real women doing amazing things… yay for you!!
Josie Two Shoes from Josie’s Journal
I hadn’t heard of this bit of history either, until a few years ago. It caught my attention and hasn’t let go 🙂