Genealogy Tips & Quips

In 2007 a twelve-day trip to Ireland-my ancestors' homeland-turned out to be the most significant turning point in my life. I never dreamed when I embarked on my adventure it would lead to me becoming a genealogist, meeting dozens of Irish rellies, writing two fiction book series set in Ireland, and buying a renovated 1887 schoolhouse in my Coffey ancestors' townland.

Since that trip, I've researched more than twenty-five of my maternal and paternal Irish lines as well as several Scottish ones. I've also assisted friends and family members with ancestry research in Austria, Canada, England, Germany, Hungary, and the United States. Besides conducting online research, I have visited numerous historical archives, traipsed through hundreds of cemeteries (many now situated in sheep-filled fields), and located several family homesteads.

In 2018 I began writing a genealogy column for my monthly author newsletter about my personal research experiences. Because I was writing articles faster than I was publishing newsletters, I decided to compile them into a book. Genealogy Tips & Quips includes:

• twenty-five newsletter articles
• twenty-five brand-new articles
• a case study about how a paternal DNA test revealed my family's royal lineage and my quest to uncover family secrets
• an extensive case study on tracing my most difficult family line back to the 1700s in Ireland

Be prepared for a lot of unexpected twists and turns as I share my mistakes, lessons learned, and tips for getting to the roots of your family tree