Frances R. Schmidt

Novel Receives International Recognition

It is an honor to share FRED: Buffalo Building of Dreams international recognition for receiving an Independent Press award as Winner/Distinguished favorite in the Historical Fiction category for 2022.

Best,

Frances R. Schmidt, Author

www.francesrschmidt.com

SECRETS

I’ve learned many secrets in my lifetime. Some are too hot to handle. To me a secret between two people is sacred. Only sometimes they reveal themselves in unexpected ways. I believe we all have secrets and some we never share with anyone except ourselves.

I don’t think secrets are bad if they keep people from despair. I was a secret for a hundred and twenty years. Now many of my historical secrets have been revealed while others will remain hidden within my walls. They can be happy or sad depending on one’s circumstances. They can even be serious or embarrassing. Sometimes saving lives or destroying them.

To tell or not to tell a secret is a question I’ve often asked myself while telling my tenants tales. I’ve learned  what it is to be a human, although I’m really only a building with a human perspective. I’ve tried to be understanding and kind when privy to secrets. They have sometimes inspired and disillusioned me. I’ve learned to respect and at times fear knowing them.

Most of all I believe secrets can help us to survive tragic situations. And if the bearer of a powerful secret can make the world a better place, it would be worth sharing…

Best,

FRED

Message to FREDs friends, followers and post viewers. Wishing everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022 filled with hope

Hope warms the heart in times of need. Hope helps us survive to face our fears. Hope transcends our thoughts of loss. Hope is an invisible thread of steel that can be tapped into for a lifetime…

Best,

Fred

 

Hope is Priceless

Greetings to FREDs Friends and Followers:

FRED has had an extraordinary surprise and wants to share it. My author, Frances R. Schmidt, received a NYC Big Book Award for FRED: Buffalo Building of Dreams in the historical fiction category as a 2021 Distinguished Favorite.

The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copy writers. Selected award winners and Distinguished Favorites are based on overall excellence.

The New York City Big Book Award announces the 2021 Winners & Distinguished Favorites!

First Podcast Interview

I am happy to announce my first Podcast interview about FRED: Buffalo Building of Dreams on the Penny Wolfgang On Target Show.

 

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My Post Publication Adventure Begins

My new adventure is underway and my goal is to publicize heartwarming tales, memories, and experiences of twelve decades of life as a modest apartment building. I’m destined to share my tenants lives. They were culturally and ethnically diverse and came to America from all over the world to be free.

My mission is to pass on the power of hope my tenants displayed under stressful circumstances, during their historical lifetimes filled with unpredictability. Freedom was the common denominator and the glue that allowed  tenants from many cultures to become lifelong friends and acquaintances.

During the past nine years I have gathered many friends and supporters who believed in me because many of their parents and great grandparents were immigrants, refugees, internal immigrants and descendants of enslaved peoples of Africa. They were Italian, Sicilian, German, Irish, Polish, Canadian, Jewish, Puerto Rican, Hungarian, and African Americans.

I believe “Everyone is special and deserves a life of freedom, truth, and choices.”

Mission Achieved

Dear LinkedIn Contacts and Supporters,

FRED: BUFFALO BUILDING OF DREAMS, a historical novel, has been published today, on April 19, 2021. Thank you for your interest in this special project. My mission as FRED’S author has been achieved after many years. He would like to share an important message with you. “ In the past hundred and twenty years I’ve witnessed the tragedies, joys, hopes, and dreams of my treasured ethnically and culturally diverse tenants and their families. I observed their lives first hand and learned that it takes never ending hope to thrive and survive in America in the 20th Century and beyond. Their legacy inspired this novel.” ~FRED

FRED’S New Memory of Hope

During the past several years FRED: BUFFALO BUILDING OF DREAMS 2021 struggled to survive long enough to be published, What FRED has learned most from his culturally and ethnically diverse tenants is hard to believe and often harder to maintain.

It is the power of HOPE in the middle of desperation that kept generations of Fred’s immigrants, refugees, internal migrants, and descendants of enslaved peoples of Africa survive and thrive in America. Their hope helped them survive long enough to face their fears and cope with many losses. Fred learned first hand that hope is a powerful force that can last a lifetime.

Best,

FRED

Journey Back in Time

Dear friends, my long journey from back in time taught me to be a good listener and silent observer of human behavior. My historical novel is a glimpse into the lives of generations of tenants from various parts of the world in search of personal and economic freedom in America.

My observations helped me understand what it must be like to be human and shaped my destiny to share their legacy with current and future generations. They no longer have a voice. My author’s words speak on behalf of all of us.

My tenants’ personal tales enriched my life beyond belief. They became family to me. I held their secrets, disappointments, grief, and was fortunate to share their many moments of joy and success within my walls. I was a silent member of their families, entering their lives without their knowledge, with the exception of one special young boy who grew up protected within my walls.

I was able to connect with my tenants and their families, whose lives were impacted by historical events beyond their control. My firsthand history lessons are vivid and extensive as I imagine them in my mind’s eye, filled with unbelievable actual events. I learned about the Civil War, the Hooks, the Great Strike of 1899, the Suffragettes, World War 1, the right to vote, the Buffalo Children’s Aid Society, the News and Black Boot Boys, and major events that took place around the world during this 120-year period.

You might ask me “Why is this story important?”. And, I will tell you.

I am a survivor, a modest apartment building with a heart and soul and tales to tell. I’m still standing proudly like my tenants were when they first moved into my building.

My hope is that readers will be able to step back in time and see themselves in the struggles and hopes, the heartaches and dreams, and the common humanity that all my tenants shared – and share with you.

In a way I’m like my tenants. I have ups and downs, fears, unknown challenges, only I have no control over what happens to me. My fate is in my owner’s hands. How I wish I had the free will to make the types of choices my tenants made to survive and thrive.

FRED: Buffalo Building of Dreams (Publication in 2021: BookBaby Publishing)

 

A Note to All Fred’s Friends and Followers

We know this is a difficult time for everyone during the Covid 19 pandemic; author Fran Schmidt sends you a heartfelt message of hope and a sincere message to please stay safe and well.