You may have been wondering why I haven’t blogged in a while. It’s not because I haven’t been writing. On the contrary, I’ve been writing a lot. But instead of focusing on Richard Harvey Wright, I’ve been researching the life of Brodie Leonidas Duke.
You see, after I finished writing A Story of Durham: Told the Wright Way, I was unsure how to proceed. I spent a great deal of time researching what happened to Richard’s estate. A topic I was personally interested in, given I would’ve been an heir to his fortune. In my research, I discovered that most of the estate was lost to the greed of Richard’s nephew Mack Ball as well as to the self indulgent lawyers circling the family like vultures after Richard’s death.
I’ve been studying a lot about writing and how to create an interesting story. One authority spoke of the importance of letting an idea chase me down instead of trying to chase the idea. So while writing about Nannie, Richard’s sister I came upon the idea of writing about Brodie Duke.
When people think of Duke University, they will always speak of Washington, Benjamin and James Buchanan. But very few authors have delved into the life of Brodie. So I decided to take the idea of writing about Brodie and see where it would lead me. And let me tell you, it has taken me down a very interesting path.
Some would say that Brodie’s story can be summed up as a man who struggled with alcohol, gambling, and women. I, on the other hand, believe there is much more to this man than meets the eye. And so if you are wondering what I’m doing, I’m writing about a man who made his own unique mark on the history of Durham, and loving every moment of it.