Here are some of my favorite sources of information and inspiration:

Historic Sites and Sources:

Belair Mansion - elegant house museum and stables depicting private occupation from 1747-1957.

Catonsville Historical Society -a treasure trove of local history with a variety of events scheduled throughout the year.

Ft. Frederick - built for action in the French and Indian War, but probably has seen more shots fired by reeanctors. Lots of information in the museum and great living history events.

Gunston Hall - site with renowned workshops and a number of outstanding online resources including probate inventories.

Hays House - a delightful small house museum with a variety of historic programs and activities.

Jerusalem Mill Village- a beautiful 18th c. site in Gunpowder Falls State Park.  Living history interpreters are on hand every Sunday.

Open Hearth Cooking - Mercy Ingraham offers fabulous and fun instruction in the art of cooking over an open hearth.       

Old Salem - a wonderful historic Moravian community with a vast array  of living history demonstrations  

Riversdale Mansion - lovely and well-documented federal-style mansion and museum near Washington, DC.

Authors and Websites:

American Christian Fiction Writers - organization for readers and writers of inspirational fiction.

Beau Monde - writer's organization centering on English culture during the Regency period.

Catherine Asaro - she creates alternate worlds with amazingly interesting social structures

Catonsville Times - I wrote the "At the Churches" column for this weekly newspaper for almost ten years. 

Catonsville Web - Information about the history of and current events in my hometown. 

Christie Kelley - page-turning romance stories -- once I start, I can't put them down.

Cindy Lynn Speer - entertaining blog, intriguing books and informative guest interviews.

Eighteenth Century Women's list - discussion of 18th century social history including clothing, manners, mores, status, condition, and more.

Heartsong Mysteries Blog - comments from the authors and readers of the new line of contemporary cozy mysteries from Barbour publishing

Historical Novel Society - a group for writers and fans of all types of historical fiction.

Janet Mullany - historical romance with refreshingly accurate settings and and hysterically funny characters.

Kate Poole - beautifully written stories with evocative period flavor (and hunky Scottish heroes).

Kathy Love - contemporary and paranormal romances with characters that come to life and stories that (trite, but true) make me laugh and cry. 

K.D. Hays - the site for my alter ego, geared toward contemporary Christian fiction.

Literary Liaisons - website devoted to research for historical romances with articles, bibliographies and links.

Maryland Romance Writers - organization that supports and educates writers of romance and other commercial fiction.

Muzzleloader Magazine - a publication with well-researched articles on 18th and early 19th century frontier life.

No Quarter Given - a publication for aficionados of pirate history

Old and Interesting - a great source of documented information on all types of household stuff and its usage

Pirates and Privateers - information and links to all things pirate

Romance Writers of America - organization to support and promote writers of romantic fiction