5 Topics to Know About Before You Read THE LAST CROSSING

The Last Crossing

Book 3 in The Finger Lakes Mysteries

Release date: Nov. 30, 2018

Paranormal mystery, paranormal romance, mystery

Click to order

What was going on in Jesse Graham’s world in 1969, the setting for The Last Crossing? Vietnam War protests were at an all-time high, lots of people were getting high, the Women’s Liberation Movement was making gains, though meeting with derision in many quarters, and Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon.

 

Amid all this social upheaval, people were still pursuing normal things like …

 

Books

Jesse is an English teacher, so, of course, she loves to read. In one scene, when she and Maggie visit a bookstore, Jesse buys Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain. (I taught that book in a high school class—love it!) According to Publishers Weekly, The Andromeda Strain ranked number five in the top ten books of 1969.

 

 

 

 

 Music

Jesse’s favorite musical group is the Beatles. Ironically, they did not have a top ten song in 1969. According to Billboard, the highest-ranking Beatle’s song that year was “Get Back” at number 25. However, Rolling Stone places their album Abbey Road in the top ten, and some sites have it as number one.

TV Shows

Jesse is not given to using all the slang we associate with the 1960s. Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In was the top TV show for 1969, and it was a hotbed of popular phrases such as, “Sock it to me,” “You bet your sweet bippy,” and “One ringy-dingy.” I chose not to use campy phrases like that in Jesse’s dialogue because she’s in her late twenties, and those phrases would have been used by teens. Plus, it felt artificial and likely to interrupt the flow of the story. I do include words/phrases like, “groovy,” “right on,” and “cool.” Especially spoken by Marty .

 

Movies

So, what movies would Jesse and Joe see on a Friday night date? Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid led the top ten movies of 1969. I think Jesse and Joe would enjoy that one. Especially Joe. He’s got that kind of laid-back-cowboy appeal. And Jesse? Well, there’s that whole “Helen’s cowgirl jacket and pistol” in The Cavanaugh House.

 

Top News Stories

Amazing events occurred during 1969. Here are some of the top ten new stories. The Women’s Liberation Movement had intensified, and Jesse would definitely march with them. I was surprised at a reviewer’s complaint about so much “women’s lib” stuff in The Cavanaugh House. That comment would have been popular and what women often heard when the movement was new. Jesse is a feminist and proud of it. Joe had served in Vietnam, but he doesn’t talk about it. Neither did my brother, Bob, who had three tours of duty there. Just look at the line-up of historical events that year:

Richard Nixon becomes president

Vietnam and the Protest Movement

The Women’s Liberation Movement

Neil Armstrong walks on the moon

Manson murders

Woodstock

Chappaquiddick

Stonewall riots

Sesame Street debuts

Amazing Mets win the World Series

So, Jesse’s world was rocking, not only in her personal life, but all around her. Maybe this context will help you enjoy The Last Crossing on a deeper level.

The Last Crossing releases this Friday, Nov. 30. If you haven’t already pre-ordered your copy, you can do so here. Still haven’t read The Cavanaugh House and Buried Secrets? Click on the titles to order your copy, or a give a copy as a gift.