Lilly's blog
Jan. 20, 2023
Elisabeth and the Nobleman, a romance, is live on amazon.com! I don't recall when I began to write it, but it's a long time ago. Look for book signings coming up. I know I'll be at a book fair in Bishop Hill, Illinois, on April 1st. I will need readers to review my book. Meanwhile, I will plug along proofing and editing two volumes of "Pioneer Women," and plan for a third volume.
Book Release, Wednesday, March 22, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Midwest Writing Center, Rock Island Public Library, 401 19th Street. Rock Island, IL Ground Floor. Lilly Setterdahl will read from her newest book, Elisabeth and the Nobleman. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and buy autographed copies. Light refreshments. Everyone welcome.
www.amazon.com/Lilly-Setterdahl/e/B001K8FWDG
April 17, 2023
On Saturday, April 15 (the date of the Titanic sinking), I had the pleasure of giving a presentation at Karpeles Library and Museum in Rock Island about Swedes on the Titanic. The museum showed a small but interesting exhibit about the passenger liner that foundered on its maiden voyage in 1912. Visitors could get a ticket to "board" that showed the name of an actual passenger. Then they could also find out if they had survived or not. At 5.30, I spoke about both survivors and victims and how two Swedish families had to decide what to do when they found out that the husband and father had to stay behind and go down with the ship, according to the marital rule of the time, "Women and Children First." Unfortunately, there weren't lifeboats for everyone and if there had been enough, there wasn't time to launch them before the Titanic sank. The liner Carpathia arrived several hours later and picked up about 700 survivors shivering from the cold in the lifeboats, rowing toward the distant lights of a ship. Carpathia's Captain Rostron was born in London to Swedish parents. If he hadn't decided to come to change his course and come to the rescue, no one had been saved. The images below show the sign outside Karpeles, me in my Titanic outfit, and my four Titanic books. See more about these books on my blog, http://lillysetterdahl.blogspot.com and amazon.com, and my Facebook page.
Titanic presentation and book signing: East Moline Public Library, May 8, from 2 pm. to 4:00 p.m., 745 16th Avenue, East Moline, IL, 61244.
July 30, 2023
Current work in progress: Pioneer Women, which I hope will become a trilogy.
After reading a draft of Volume I, one evaluator wrote: Pioneer Women by Lilly Setterdahl is an epic journey that recounts the struggles for survival from the pre-civil war era of utopianism to the years after when men and women fought the ravages of nature to maintain their foothold on the midwestern prairie. The story spans generations and bridges the hardscrabble past to the coming of age in more modern times. Hardships abound but so does the resilience of the pioneer spirit of those who came looking for a new life. Hard work becomes second nature for these immigrants on their way to becoming Americans. (Mary Davidsaver).
November 1, 2023
I'm at the end of Volume III, so Pioneer Women is already a trilogy on my computer. It still needs to be proofed and edited.
Christmas Walk Book Signing at the Gift Box, 301 W. State Street, Geneva, IL 60134
One day only. December 2, 2023, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Come and browse the store, watch a demonstration of Rosemaling, and look at my books on display. I'll be glad to dedicate one to you or as a very affordable Christmas gift to someone else. Choose between fiction and nonfiction, Swedish-American history, the Titanic, drama, romance, or historicals, usually in a Scandinavian or Swedish-American setting. See my latest books on this site and a list of previous ones. Be entertained and learn something at the same time. I will be glad to chat with you in Swedish or English. Welcome! http://www.amazon.com/Lilly-Setterdahl/e/B001K8FWDG/.sv
January 2, 2024 I'm happy to report that my book, Elisabeth and the Nobleman, has been selected as the book-club-book for February, 2024, by the Swedish American Museum. Here's the link:
https://swedishamericanmuseum.org/events/
It's an online event on February 24 so it should be easy to join wherever you live. Registration is not open yet. Topic: Book Club "Elisabeth and the Nobleman"
Time: Feb 24, 2024 02:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Here's the link:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82168655630?pwd=SWxYNVRxYVovaVVQMFRGUUU1VHA2Zz09