Laurel Anne Hill

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Laurel Anne Hill

Author and former
Underground Storage Tank Operator

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Laurel And Hidalgo: Part III

Welcome to the third episode of On the Hidalgo Treaty Road: the twisted path leading into and out of the Mexican-American War in the Nineteenth Century.

The Mexican half of my father’s family didn’t immigrate to California until sometime in the 1850s, or a little later, in the case of Great-Grandpa Emigdio Medina. By then, California had already “traded” the golden eagle of Mexico for Uncle Sam’s bald one. A war of US conquest, actually.

Great-Great Grandma Francesca, a Tejada by birth and an Orendain by marriage, made the journey as a widow with her two young daughters. All that happened long before the now-famous Orendain tequila existed, at least as a commercial product. Who knows what the Orendains served in Mexico way-back-when as the guys got together to boast, debate or commiserate? Several varieties of my family’s tequila are now available for sale on my side of the border. At my age, I rarely consume hard liquor. Still… When I die, do I really want any of the Orendains to give me a bad time?

“You mean, YOU devoured hundreds of bran muffins baked by the Swedish-English side of your family, but you never even tried one single sip of our unbelievably incredible tequila?”

Those of you familiar with my novels and short stories already know I recommend staying on the good side of spirit entities, particularly members of one’s family. I think I’ll take the proactive route now and avoid potential embarrassment in the future.

Which brings me to today’s actual subject: Mentioning two of the many books I read while researching to write my new YA/historical fantasy/magical realism novel about sixteen-year-old Catalina Delgado. If you’re wondering why I haven’t yet revealed my manuscript’s title, Sand Hill Review Press only recently accepted the book for publication. Now we’ve figured out the title: Plague of Flies: Revolt of the Spirits, 1846.

Hint for those of you drifting toward a semi-conscious state as you read: A revolt of spirits spells trouble.

Reference Book #1 in my bibliography: The Decline of the Californios: A Social History of the Spanish-Speaking Californians, 1846-1890 was first published by the Regents of the University of California in 1966. The copyright was renewed in 1994 by author Leonard Pitt. Please don’t confuse this Leonard Pitt with Leonard Garvey Pitts Jr.—the American commentator, journalist, novelist, and winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Leonard Garvey Pitts Jr. was born in 1957. I don’t know the birth date of Dr. Leonard Pitt, but he was definitely older. The Decline of the Californios was not the first book I read about Alta California, nor was it the most informative, but it’s a good place to start the discussion.

As an aside, I love reading newspaper columns written by Leonard Garvey Pitts, Jr. He is amazing. On the other hand, I’ve heard Dr. Leonard Pitt (no “s”) has been criticized for his sometimes “romantic” portrayal of California’s Nineteenth-Century days. Yet Pitt (no “s”) describes the world he writes about according to his viewpoint and overall message to convey. True, his style of writing is almost too entertaining in places. Melodrama creeps with ease into the pages. Regardless, Pitt (no “s”) left me with a lot to ponder as I planned and wrote my novel. Thank you, sir!    

Which leads me to Reference Book #2 in my bibliography: Benjamin Madley’s An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, published in 2016. This is an excellent and compelling (if sometimes stomach-twisting) work of nonfiction for those ready to face the more horrific details of Nineteenth-Century California’s history. On a number of pages, I had to stop and go get a breath of fresh air or a drink of water before I could continue. Once I needed to put the book down for several days. And the most unsettling part? I truly believe Madley did NOT exaggerate the word-pictures he painted.

Turn to page 60 of An American Genocide. Dare to read how John Augustus Sutter (upon whose land the California Gold Rush began) fed the Native Americans effectively enslaved under his command. He fed his forced laborers a disgusting mess of offal and bran in long troughs, as if they were pigs. Read it! Go read it! Then enlist others to read the same. And Sutter did this when slavery was illegal in Mexico.

Of course, the needle on Sutter’s moral compass had lost some of its magnetism years earlier. He must have enjoyed spending money more than earning it. Threatened by creditors and imprisonment, Sutter had deserted his wife and children in Switzerland before heading for the New World, picking up a couple Hawaiian gals for his entertainment on his circuitous route to Alta California.

One might even claim that Yankees (Yanqui may be a Twentieth-Century spelling) only continued the dehumanization and abuse of Native Americans in Alta California begun by the Spaniards and Mexicans (and to a lesser extent, the Russians). As we all know from history and the daily news, two-tiered legal systems can and do light the grim pathway to the beating, sexual assault, torture and death of those in the lower tier. For your next instructive throw-up moment, turn to page 34 of An American Genocide. Carefully read the indented paragraph, the one explaining the fate of some Native American runaways recaptured by the Spaniards in Alta California. Let’s just say it involves the hide from a newly slaughtered and skinned calf.

One of Madley’s points, however, is that the USA took a giant step over the dividing line between murder and genocide. Their goal became extermination of Alta California’s Native American population. Between 1846-1873, that population dropped from 150,000 to 30,000. Less than 17,000 remained by 1880.

Madley’s book was the last one I read during my ongoing research which I’d begun around 2005. Only 7-9% of my DNA is indigenous. An American Genocide made that 7-9% scream within 100% my brain. But even the 91-93% non-indigenous part of my DNA duplicated orders and posted them in my gray matter. Finish your novel, Laurel. Your country—supposedly somewhat civilized—slaughtered thousands upon thousands of real people. Innocent people. Men. Women. Children. Babies on cradleboards. WRITE.

And so I have written. Did my ancestors dictate my choice? Frankly, I’m not sure. My desire for personal sanity certainly contributed.

Laurel And Hidalgo: Part II

Welcome, readers, to the second episode of On the Hidalgo Treaty Road: the twisted path leading into and out of the Mexican-American War in the Nineteenth Century. Once again, I’m focusing on good old California.

Raise your hand if you can define the word, “Californios.” Do I detect some uncertainty out there? Do words stumble out of your mouths? No problem. My mouth stumbles and bumbles like it was going out of style.

I went online and found all sorts of definitions for “Californios,” some based on ignorance, some on snobbery, some on political correctness, and others on the actual geography of what was once called Alta California, which extended way beyond California’s current borders. For purposes of this blog, let’s just call “Californios” those Mexican citizens living in what is now US California between the time Mexico declared independence from Spain in 1810 until it ceded Alta California to the US in 1848. If my simplistic (and inaccurate) working definition blasts smoke out your ears, shake your head in dismay and mentally substitute your words for mine. I’m cool with that.

Today’s subject is General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, one of California’s most distinguished citizens in the 1800s. Definitely a Californio by my working definition or yours. In a time when the Mexican government’s poor choice of Alta California governors and lack of support pissed off the Californios, Vallejo and others realized a powerful country (such as Britain or the US) could ultimately annex their territory. Vallejo favored the US. Plenty of others didn’t. Hold that thought.

When I fell and broke my hip at work in 2006—on my way to give a safety lecture about slips, trips and falls—I ended up stuck in a hospital for a few days. My physician pinned my hip in place, so to speak, which meant minor surgery instead of major. There were only so many times I could hobble out to the nursing station to chat. My husband, David, brought me Alan Rosenus’ award-winning biography of General Vallejo to read, to keep my mind occupied and my nurses sane.

General Vallejo wasn’t what we in the US today would classify as a “general.” You know, like General Colin Powell or President Eisenhower. I believe Vallejo’s top military rank was colonel of cavalry. He did, however, become commandant general and military governor of Alta California. Now that’s a mouthful. Thus, he became known as General Vallejo. Hold onto that thought, too.

The landowner-peon relationship on most of the 19th Century Mexican-California ranchos has bothered me for ages, ever since I learned too many of the servants had a status far too close to slaves—despite the fact Mexico abolished slavery in 1829. Additional research on General Vallejo, however, helped me to identify with him and his parents in one way. Didn’t most of us as youths try to push the limits? Don’t we as parents want our kids to behave as we think they should? According to more than one source, the Catholic Church unofficially excommunicated Vallejo as a young man for refusing to turn over a banned book—likely by Voltaire—to a local priest. Imagine the horrified expressions on his parent’s faces! In comparison, me hiding my library copy of Peyton Place from my mom back in 1959 didn’t even come close.

I’ve incorporated the juicy Voltaire possibility into my latest novel (a book under consideration by my publisher), if only in the background. A single quote from Voltaire affects the life of my protagonist, Catalina Delgado.

Which reminds me, Catalina’s grandfather has taught her to read, a skill that many in early California—particularly women—didn’t have. (When I hold up the audience-response placard, please shout “boo.”) To be fair, whether or not wives in Mexican California could read, they had half-way decent property rights when compared to their US counterparts at the time. Remember, a lot of US laws originated from British ones. Under “coverture,” US women back then lost all control over their property and money once they married. In the US, coverture was discarded only state-by-state. The final US sackful of coverture didn’t hit the legal trash can until 1880.

Excuse me, I digress. Back to the Hidalgo Treaty Road.

Enter the “Bear Flaggers” in 1846: Mostly a rag-tag bunch of “Yankees” (that is, from various parts of the US) who wanted to claim Alta California for the US. They created their own flag, one picturing their rendition of a California bear—a feeble attempt on the level of early elementary school art.

Remember that first thought I told you to hang onto? Many of the Californios knew General Vallejo’s positive feelings toward the United States. Apparently, a fair number of the Bear Flaggers didn’t. Or they let their leaders whip up their emotions into a rabid froth. Recall that second thought you’re holding, the one about Vallejo’s true title? The Bear Flaggers probably thought a “general” would have a stash of military weapons they could confiscate and use against Mexican soldiers.

If only Google had existed.

The Yankees should have done their homework, then approached Vallejo for his advice on annexation, worked with him. Instead they captured and tortured him, threatened and scared his entire household. Either some of the Bear Flaggers weren’t the brightest candles in the dining room chandelier, or their leaders had already decided to confiscate the lands of all Californios for themselves—and to exterminate most of California’s remaining Native American population in the process.

At any rate, I bet a lot of Californios mumbled “We told you so,” when hearing the news about Vallejo’s imprisonment. But that’s for another entry.

Respectfully yours,

Laurel Anne Hill
Author and Former Underground Storage Tank Operator

Laurel And Hidalgo: Part I

All right, readers. Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard of the Hidalgo Treaty. Keep them raised if you have a clue what that treaty was all about. And keep your device’s camera on so I can take a tally.

Just kidding. No surveillance going on at this end of your web connection. However, I suspect the majority of hands out there are NOT raised.

Interesting fact #1 about the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: The document was signed on February 2, 1848. Ground Hog Day—at least since 1877. Please hold that thought until later.

I’m neither a lawyer nor historian. I’ve read the treaty, but I’ll leave interpretation of the actual wording to experts. Officially, the treaty ended the Mexican-American War. Actually, it facilitated a huge land grab in the favor of Uncle Sam. The basic history of much of the western US sums up to the following: Spain stole the “New World” western lands from the indigenous tribes. What became Mexico declared independence from Spain. Then the US essentially annexed (stole, with the help of “The Bear Flag Rebellion”) a huge chunk of Mexico. Those Mexicans deciding to remain in what is now known as California and parts of nearby states were supposed to have their land titles protected. Fat chance of that. A historical example of “white privilege.”

You may agree. You may protest. Hey, what gives lily-white Laurel Anne Hill the standing to talk about anything?

My father was half Mexican, as was my first husband. My indigenous DNA isn’t much, only 7-9%. But my Mexican ancestors have been giving me lots of dreams and advice for 30 years. That’s one reason why it took me 20 years to write my award-winning spirits-meet-steampunk novel about a young Latina, “The Engine Woman’s Light.” I didn’t dare make a mistake. That’s one reason why I’ve spent the past 15 years working on a “spirits meet the Bear Flag Rebellion” novel. Sand Hill Review Press, the publisher of “The Engine Woman’s Light” is reviewing my latest manuscript. Please keep your fingers crossed for me and my main character, Catalina Delgado.

I grew up in poverty. In many of my stories—no matter where or when they take place—one of my themes (like Ground Hog Day) keeps returning. The lower classes of society can make a huge positive difference.

Stay tuned for Part II. I’ll delve into my personal experiences and some of the books I’ve read while researching the Bear Flag days.

With warm regards,

Laurel Anne Hill
Author and Former Underground Storage Tank Operator

 

Creating YouTube Content: Animoto vs. Filmora9

I’d been using Animoto for a number of years to produce my short promotional YouTube videos—my collections of still images set to music in an animation template. Animoto was easy to use. I could choose from a selection of templates, although the limited template variety eventually became problematic. One big problem beyond template variety? I couldn’t select the display time appropriate for each visual component of my video. Still, I figured out how to make things work and was mostly happy with the results. Thank you, Animoto, for being there for me. You got me started.

To deal with the limited template issue, I chose the frameless one (no inner animation), adding video clips as well as still images to bring my creation to life. Then everything changed, and I couldn’t figure out why. The sound volume dropped during some—but not all—segments containing footage versus those containing still images. I attributed the problem to the sound track itself: offered by Animoto at no additional cost. Before, I’d paid for sound tracks, mostly from Sounddogs. Then I realized the problem might be related to Animoto’s design limitations and not its provided music.

Desperate to produce a quality video about why it took me 20 years to write “The Engine Woman’s Light,” I asked a friend for advice. She was using Wondershare Filmora9. So I shelled out the money for Filmora9, a program for weaving sound and visual content into finished video products. It took me a full day—mid-morning to late night nonstop—to figure out the basics, starting with a couple of instructional YouTube videos. As I recall, figuring out the basics took a bottle of wine after dinner, as well. And many, many, additional trial-and-error hours in subsequent days to deal with the quirks in the Filmora9 system. Determined, I accomplished my task to produce “Writing Steampunk” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUro1sD-ItY), which now has over 156,000 YouTube views.

Comparing my best Animoto video to my first Wondershare Filmora9 production was like comparing an early draft of a story to the one going out for final editing. The difference in quality amazed me. And working on my second Filmora9 video, “Steampunk Romance,”  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZduXoZuQJk) taught me a number of important lessons I’d like to pass on to prospective and new Filmora9 users.

  1. Filmora9 has three areas for content. Think of the first one as a supply cabinet where you import and store your images and footage into the overall program. Think of the second area as your worktable, where you arrange materials from your supply cabinet to draft videos. The third area is the preview screen, to determine if you’ve arranged your materials in the way you actually wanted, or need to return to the worktable to make adjustments. When your draft product meets your expectations, you export it to produce the final product. All is not lost if you later decide your final product has a blemish. You can go back to the draft program in Filmora9 and make additional modifications, producing a new “final” product.
  2. As with working in Animoto, all your still images must be “ready to use” before importing them into Filmora9. I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 to make image modifications, such as cropping, layering or adding text. As for footage, I use the simple photo/video editor in Windows 10 to isolate the segments I’ll place into my supply cabinet. If last minute trimming needs to be made on the worktable, footage clips can be shortened at the end in Filmora9 (see #4 below).
  3. Back to the supply cabinet. It helps to import your images and footage clips into your supply cabinet in the same order you intend to place them onto your worktable. This is not essential, but it does make for a smoother production process. When moving your images and footage clips to the worktable, do so in the sequence you want them viewed, starting on the left-hand side. Your closing image (often used for showing licensing credits) will be on the far right. When I haven’t used this transfer order, ghost images and flickering have crept into the final draft product. THE BEST WAY to remove ghost images and flickering is to clean off the entire worktable and input the content again. It’s painful, but it’s worked for me, at least so far.
  4. Use the viewing screen to preview your draft video. Decide which images and clips are viewed for too long. Adjust them by right clicking on the corresponding section on the worktable and clicking on “Duration” or “Speed and Duration.” For the type of videos I create, I run most images and video clips for four seconds each, at least to start. My max has been eight seconds, and my minimum three seconds. Obviously, if you are speaking to your public, your video clip will be longer. DO NOT adjust the position or length of the images/footage, by trying to drag their edges to the left or right. This can result in “ghost images” and flickering. Plus, start at the beginning of the video you are creating, moving one image/video at a time from left to right to modify the time duration of each component.
  5. Now you are ready to add your sound track, including any music you have licensed and any verbal comments needed. I use Audacity to create my sound tracks. I started using Audacity (a free program) around ten years ago and have never encountered a reason to change to another program. The length of the sound track should be about the same length as your video run time. However, you’ll also need to consider if the variations in the music coordinate with the starting points of each image and video clip. This is not a hard a fast rule. Artistic imagination should always prevail. The best way to see what works is to import your sound track mp3 and move it to the worktable, below the assembled images/footage clips. Then run the preview multiple times. Does the action on the screen coordinate well with the sound track?
  6. You can also add the sound track during the basic video design. The music can provide inspiration. However, I’ve accidentally messed up the sound track while doing other manipulations. If you add sound beforehand, be ready to delete it and add it again—not a problem for me, but might be for others.
  7. Remember that final adjustments can be made so that the video/image track matches the sound track. Four seconds per image can be reduced to 3-1/2, or increased to 4-/12, or whatever is needed. An image containing more than a few words of text might need five seconds viewing time. Coordinate the ending so that the video and sound end where you want them to. This could happen together with a fade out of sound during the credits, or the sound could end before the credits do. Again, art applies.

Best of luck to you in creating YouTube videos! If you have questions regarding this blog, leave a comment at https://laurelannehill.com/contact/. I’ll do my best to make a helpful response.

With warmest wishes,

Laurel Anne Hill
Author and Former Underground Storage Tank Operator  

The Author Learning Center Interviews Laurel Anne Hill at WC2

Hello Readers,

In February of this year, I served as a faculty member at the California Creative Writers Conference in Culver City, California—one of the West Coast Writers Conferences (WC2). At that event, the Author Learning Center interviewed me. I’ve never used the services of the Author Learning Center, but felt that my comments might be useful to other writers. After all, “Writers Helping Writers” is the motto of California Writers Club, San Francisco Peninsula Branch—an organization in which I’m quite active.

Soon after the February conference, COVID-19 changed my focus and that of millions and millions of other people. I forgot about the interview until my recent discovery. The Author Learning Center has divided my interview into a number of short segments. They have published five on YouTube so far. A few more may follow.

Laurel Anne Hill on Getting Started and Evolving as a Writer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvj-iY64iec

The Benefits of Awards and Accolades in Building a Reputation as an Author
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED78uWOzRJ4&t

Things to Consider When Creating an Author Podcast or Blog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVqiTJsjaOg

Laurel Anne Hill on Writing and Researching The Engine Woman’s Light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P4fR2_YZMs

How a Character-Driven Story Differs from a Plot-Driven Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeQMSs7JmoA&t

I hope you have a chance to listen to my comments. Feel free to ask questions. I’ll do my best to respond to them.

With best wishes,
Laurel Anne Hill
Author and Former Underground Storage Tank Operator