Fay asked Katherine Howe:

I very much enjoyed your first novel and have become an avid historical fiction reader. My attraction to your book was that my brother-in-law is a HOWE and has traced his ancestry to Elizabeth Howe. Thus, the possible link between you and him brought be to your writing. I hope you continue to do such good and interesting work for a long time to come. Have you followed up on your geneology on the Howe side?

Katherine Howe Hi Fay, Thank you so much for this wonderful note. It's always exciting to hear from other far-flung Howes. A lot of families started getting into genealogy in the late 19th Century, largely in response to ethnic anxieties about European immigration. Our family was no exception, unfortunately, so that's when a lot of our research dates from. The cool thing about family research now is that it is so much easier to do, given how many online resources there are. It's become much more accessible for people from all different backgrounds, including those - like African Americans - who are harder to track in the archive. We're living in a golden age of history research, and I think it's very exciting.

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