Hello, ! I’m Elisabeth Carson-Williams, but you can call me Lis.

A Virginian by birth, I’ve spent my adult life traversing the planet, meeting people and learning about other cultures first-hand. My whole reason for travel is to meet people, hear their stories, and share their food. So much can be learned from just sitting with someone and sharing a meal. And it’s this experience that informs my fictional work.

My writing focuses on the untold stories of women. In my monthly newsletter/blog, Revisiting History, I have a feature entitled Women & Girls. I share the lives of females rarely mentioned in school, the women who did the work but never got the credit. I feel a responsibility to acknowledge them, honor them. My latest short story continues my quest to bring the stories of women to the forefront. 

“Just Desserts” is my contribution to Feisty Deeds II: Historical Tales of Batches and Brews. Two things that inspired this story: a holiday trip to the United States Botanic Garden and a pedicure. 

Visiting the United States Botanic Garden in Washinton, D.C. during the winter holidays is pure magic. Most of the gardens are devoted to holiday exhibits made from organic material. There’s a train that runs around the perimeter of one wing, reproductions of landmarks, and an impressive live poinsettia display. The holiday exhibits are the same every year, but the exhibition in the opposite wing changes regularly and, while educational, may not continue the childhood charm of the Santa train. The year I visited the gardens the exhibit was Poisonous Plants. 

As evidenced by the nearly empty room, it was not a topic holiday visitors were keen to explore, but I was overjoyed. I wandered the room unabated, free to take my time as I read the placards and viewed specimens of killer plants. Some, such as hogweed, mandrake, and hellebore were familiar to me. Others, like the Manchineel tree, were not. This tree, with its “little apples of death”, is so poisonous that gloves must be worn just to touch the bark. During rainstorms, nothing underneath will live as its droplets are like acid. And of course, don’t eat the fruit from this tree as you’ll blister from the inside out. I knew immediately that this little apple would someday make an appearance in one of my stories. It was too juicy a fact not to incorporate. 

The second inspiration for “Just Desserts” came from talking to friends about moonshine during a pedicure. (I did say I’m from Virginia.) I learned about female moonshiners—very successful moonshiners, who supported their families through their earnings. My story explores how one woman came to be a moonshiner and used her position in the community to dispense her own brand of justice. While there was a research component, I did enjoy speaking with women who shared stories of the female brewers in their families. 

Happy reading!

Lis

Everyone has a story to share and none are ordinary. Please join Lis at:

Lis's Research, Women and Girls

It’s been a long, cold winter for many of us, but Spring is in the air (or at least on the calendar). With flowers and sunshine comes Mother’s Day, and Feisty Deeds II: Historical Tales of Batches and Brews is an ideal gift for a mother, a grandmother, an aunt, a daughter, a daughter-in-law, a friend. Order your copies now, alert your friends, and be ready with presents for the season!

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