Heritage Tourism: One of my passions
Dr. Bill has a passion for Heritage Tourism and more
Heritage Tourism encompasses many of my interests, based on my interest in family, family history, genealogy, the historic context of my ancestors and an appreciation of our natural environment (having been born and raised on a farm).
I have also published four family saga novels, to date, and five non-fiction family history related books. I also write multiple series of historical fiction family saga stories on HubPages.
I write for Examiner.com regularly as: Ozark Cultural Heritage Examiner, Springfield Genealogy Examiner, and Springfield Heritage Tourism Examiner.
I have creating lenses on Squidoo that have now been transferred to HubPages and am developing an interest in Pinterest. I have been creating web pages since 1995 on one platform or another. I was an early County Coordinator for the USGenWeb project, for example.
I chose the photo, here, from Wikimedia Commons, to represent my Heritage - this statue stands in Salem, Massachusetts; this is Roger Conant, a founder of Salem, and my ninth Great-Grandfather. The statue stands near the Salem Witch Trial Museum; though he had been deceased for a number of years by that time and was not involved in that activity. He is probably my most famous ancestor. My daughters have traveled to Salem; it is still on my wish list. ;-)
Read my family saga, historical fiction short stories as well
- Historcal fiction combined with ancestral places and stories
These stories are fiction, but also incorporate my family history research by having ancestors as fictionalized characters in the stories. - The Kings of Oak Springs and more
These stories began as supplements to my "The Homeplace Saga" novels - recently we've added "The Kings of Oak Springs" series of short stories set in 1876
What do you think? - Privy on the Mountain - just a fascinating photo! ;-)
Back to the Homeplace - A family saga novel
Author: William Leverne Smith
This family story is set in the southern Missouri Ozarks in 1987 on a farm near a small, rural community. The original land was settled in 1833, and the same family has owned the land for over 150 years. To insure the land that has been accumulated is not split up among her four children, Mildred (McDonald) Bevins leaves an unusual, video will.
While the four siblings seek to learn what their inheritances will be, the younger generation is more interested in love and acceptance. These conflicts lead to some unexpected consequences... will they all come "back to the homeplace?"
Novels on Amazon
Video Book Trailer
"The Homeplace Revisited"
Author: William Leverne Smith
"The Homeplace Revisited" follows "Back to the Homeplace" by nine years, it is 1996. This novel shares the story of Christopher and Jennifer as they return from college with their professional degrees to seek their place in the family business operations and relationships.
Love stories, family history, and current conflicts intertwine in this continuing story of a family in a small town with roots going back over 150 years.
Click on the photo to activate a link to more details.
The second book in the series
Video Book Trailer
Useful link related to the novels above
The link below takes you to the Official Blog that is the home of "The Homeplace Saga" that supports each of the novels mentioned, as well as applicable HubPages articles, a development wiki and other related information.
Learn more about "The Homeplace Saga" series of family saga historical fiction stories
- The Homeplace Series Blog
This blog provides additional background information about the setting, characters and updated information on the series.
Link to non-fiction family history books - Author: Dr. Bill (William L.) Smith
There is one "how-to" book and four family history books. Be sure to check out the 13 ways book... ;-)
- My Author Spotlight site on Lulu.com
These five books are available in print and several electronic versions - see the details at the site to see exactly what choices are available.
Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories - A GeneaBlogger Blog
- Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories
This blog shares my family history research and uses the Daily Theme blogging concept from GeneaBloggers.com Check the left sidebar link to my other blogs.
Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories
This is a screen shot of the blog one day when I was reporting on the 1940 US Census images... ;-)
Heritage Tourism links of interest
My articles related to Heritage Tourism now all reside here on HubPages. Simply go to my Profile here, and look for the states in which you may have interests. I've not yet done all of the states, but will continue to add them as I have time. Thank you for your interest.