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| Hoag Family Plot - Alabama Center Cemetery, Alabama, NY |
SETUP: (Alabama, NY) In November of 1855 Polly Hoag had her fortune told when her and her husband Henry attended an election party at the Alabama Hotel. She was told two members of her family would die, and she would not be one of them. Henry decides he wants to give up being a shoemaker and try farming. This meant they would be moving away from the conveniences of village life, her friends ... and someone else. We will begin in the spring of 1856 (which is somewhere in chapter 2).
Why was Polly protesting so much? Henry would not find out the real reason until right before the move. The answer would not come from Polly, but from her then nine-year-old son Albert.
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BLURB:
In 1856, in the rural town of Alabama, NY one woman's family suffered from multiple unexplained deaths. The town folk grew suspicious of the now remarried Polly Frisch. An investigation commenced, bodies were exhumed, an affair—exposed. Polly would be arrested for the murders of her first husband and daughters. Her fourteen-year-old son would testify against her. If found guilty, the punishment for such a crime was the gallows. Bread & Butter is the true story of Polly Frisch who poisoned her family with arsenic and the five trials it took to convict her.
The Sunday Snippet writer's on Facebook are here. Between the two there is something for everyone. Thank you for any comments you leave me. Much appreciated!
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The above excerpt is from Bread & Butter: The Murders of Polly Frisch, a book I co-authored with my friend, Ellen Bachorski. We are re-releasing it into the modern world of POD and Kindle, etc. It has had an edit make over and new info added. The copies of the first edition which we printed through Morris Publishing in 2000 are still available. You can see it over on the right in my blog. I did a mock up for the new cover below. What do you think?
Awesome! Are there any pics in the book, Cindy? With your excellent writing, you do paint a vivid picture.
ReplyDeleteGood 8! (I do miss the Milk Carton Murders though) ;-)
Thanks Teresa. Yes there are some pictures in the book. When this is done I'll be doing the edit finishes and Kindle etc. for MCM. :)
ReplyDeleteTeresa is correct, it's a great snippet. I love reading historical non-fiction, especially when it's a book about a person the history books don't cover. Can't wait to put this on my kindle. Good luck with your edits and release!
ReplyDeleteSuch an interesting snippet and yes it creeps me out that's all true, lol. The cover is fabulous.
ReplyDeleteI'm digging it. Psycho mama from the 1800's! Real life can be far crazier than fiction. Ready to download to kindle : )
ReplyDeleteWow, quite the chilling story and the fact that it's all true adds another layer of horror. Fascinating choice for today's snippet!
ReplyDeleteooo, non-fiction, gonna love this too :-) Perfect excerpt to pick, Cindy. Really looking forward to more of this.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great! And I love the way you left us hanging with the snippet...
ReplyDeleteEr, maybe "hanging" was a poor choice of words...
Ooh interesting...Especially the last line about Albert. I'll be checking into this book. :)
ReplyDeleteThis works for me, not to worry. And where do many stories come from but real life? Thanks for an excellent taste of what comes next. Shivers here as to what evil lurks in the hearts of man/womankind.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! I'm definitely intrigued by this story and looking forward to more.
ReplyDeleteYou've got my attention with this book.
ReplyDeleteI reads like fiction - truth is stranger than fiction as we all know. My history teachers in school never made history live. but this snippet is alive and well
ReplyDeleteInteresting true story. (I'm here, by the way; just forgot to sign up.)
ReplyDeleteScary true crime. I remember hearing about this story somewhere (possibly here?). It's crazy what people got away with sometimes--in this case, several murders before anyone caught on.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, all her complaints would sound suspicious, if anyone was paying attention. And clearly someone should have been!
I adore historical true crime! And I like how Polly's voice seems to come through, even without dialogue.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how anyone could do this, but clearly it happened.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fascinating. Sort of like Lizzy Borden.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing story. Polly sounds like a real piece of work. Hard to imagine such a thing being true, fascinating.
ReplyDeleteWow! Fascinating. I'm hooked. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a heavy & dark true story, gives me chills. You have my admiration for handling such a feat as retelling it.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are ready to start your blog tour, give this page a look: http://ccepotourri.wordpress.com/be-part-of-the-potpourri-parlor/
An intriguing new story there.
ReplyDeleteIntense scene. I definitely felt her emotional state. Great snippet.
ReplyDeleteI am sure there were many incidents and people who did things like this way back then that we never heard about. I bet a lot of people got away with murder, literally.
ReplyDelete