At the core of my being is an “I want to know” characteristic that drives me to obsessively research, not only my family’s history, but obscure or forgotten pieces of local history like the British Colony of Chetwynd that led to the writing of the Chetwynd Chronicles. Perhaps my inspiration came from my seventh grade teacher in Colorado Springs, Barclay Watson, who made history fun and tantalizing.
Although enrolled at Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, as a history major, my attention soon shifted to music and then to marriage before graduation. Two decades later, however, I graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, North Carolina, with a business degree. On a mountaintop over-looking beautiful downtown Valdese, North Carolina, I worked alongside my soul-mate, Larry, as business and chemical consultants. He died just before the 1997 publication of my book, Amazing Grace, the 150 year history of Grace Episcopal Church in Morganton, North Carolina.
Prompted by an advertisement touting a retirement community where one can “play golf free for the rest of your life,” I and my four cats moved to The Villages, Florida, in 2000. And I joined a church in Fruitland Park, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church—formerly in Chetwynd. And the rest is history!
Perhaps there’s wonderment with the author’s name. I’ve noted that some authors of the latest best-selling books seem to prefer using three initials instead of their given name. Three initials, after all, seem more sophisticated that two. So I decided to apply that format too—for a reason. Because three initials preceded most surnames of the Chetwynd settlers I’m honoring them by adopting the same tradition—if only for a time. All other times I’m called Donna, Bottsky, or just plain Bott.
The Chetwynd Chronicles 