A blend of folklore and fact explains how Samuel Clemmons became Mark Twain, another byproduct of the famed author’s time as a riverboat employee. The most validated tale revolves around captain Isaiah Sellers and his pragmatic descriptions of the Mississippi River—its water levels and favorable, or not, sailing conditions. In the margin of his logs, it’s said that Sellers embellished the dry waterway notes, detailing the river with more interesting and less perfunctory information. He’d sign his all his findings—exaggerated and unadorned—“Mark Twain.” And so was born the identity that Samuel Clemmons chose for his own writing. The words he saw as extensions of the truth, or the fiction we know as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Oh, the Drama!
Writers—romance writers in particular—require drama. I mean, if it weren’t for conflict, books would be rather boring things. In real life it’s not so black and white, as no one likes endless jags of drama, fits of jealousy or continuous battle rounds—unless it’s The Voice. Still, whether drama is found in your living room or a novel, occasional emotional anarchy is unavoidable.