By Tom Grace
Cooperstown News Bureau
August 16, 2008 04:00 am EDMESTON _ When she's writing her historical stories, Dorothy Blackman says, she searches for the unvarnished truth, then adds a little color. ``I like to write about real people of the past, but who knows exactly what they said and did?'' said Blackman, 72, wife of the Rev. John Blackman, pastor emeritus of Edmeston's Second Baptist Church. ``You have to do a lot of research, then guess about some of the details,'' she said. Without the guessing, the filling in, some histories are dry, she noted, and ``not the kind of book that most young readers would enjoy.'' That is her target audience, so she takes a few liberties to keep the story flowing. But even though she writes with young adult readers in mind, her latest work, ``New York Patriots,'' has drawn more interest from men, she noted. ``A number of men have told me they like these stories," she said. "I think it's something about the Revolutionary War era that they like. And I do, too.'' ``New York Patriots,'' published earlier this year, features glimpses of Ethan Allen, Nathan Hale, George Clinton and their contemporaries at a time when the United States of America was forming. All 15 characters are based on actual lives, for which Blackman, manager of the Edmeston Free Library, did ``tons of research.'' When asked her favorite, she quickly said, ``Adam Helmer, because he was from around here, and I wanted Edmeston to be included in our history.'' In 1778, Helmer, a messenger for Patriot troops, ran from West Edmeston through Richfield and Jordanville to German Flatts in Herkimer County, to warn of a pending Tory and Indian attack led by Joseph Brandt. ``Adam Helmer saved lives,'' said Blackman. ``He got there first and warned the town, so people were able to get into the fort before the attack.'' After reading about the exploits of Helmer and others of his era,. Blackman focuses on a pivotal moment in the person's life to illustrate, in a short story, what it might have been like. This part, the writing, is a challenge, she said. For years, she wanted to write, but as the mother of four she had little time to devote it. She did complete two children's stories, however, and is currently at work on a novel set at the turn of the 20th century. Along the way, she's learned a little about the book trade, she said, research that led her to North Country Books, Inc. of Utica, which published ``New York Patriots.'' The book, which has been purchased by local schools, is available at local bookstores and at Amazon.com.
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