Perrysburg Journal

LITERARY NOTES.
Mrs. May Futrelle, author of Secretary of Frivolous Affairs, is preparing to take a trip to Europe with her husband, Jacques Futrelle, spending the remainder of the winter in Italy. It is said that Mrs. Futrelle used to be known as "Mrs. Jacques," but since Secretary of Frivolous Affairs proved such a success that its author was immediately thrust into the literary limelight, the tables have turned and Mr. Futrelle is now known as "Mr. May."
Of the many gift books issued during the holiday season, The Princess, illustrated by Howard Chandler Christy, has been universally selected by the critics as being perfect in every way. Mr. Christy seems to have grasped the historical significance of the scenes presented and every detail has been worked out with absolute correctness. It might be suggested that this book does not lose its luster with the passing of the Christmastide. It is a gift book for all occasions as well as appealing to the artistic sense of the regular book buyer.
Harris Dickson, author of the Old Reliable stories, recently returned to his home in Vicksburg, Mississippi, after a visit in New York. Mr. Dickson says that he enjoys a trip to New York every year, but he never attempts to work there. Last year he made a trip to Egypt in order to acquaint himself with the locale for his new series of Old Reliable stories, but he could do nothing but make notes of the things he desired to retain in mind. Every line he has ever written has been written in Vicksburg, and the author says there is something that seems to stop his flow of inspiration as soon as he leaves his home.
Wells Hastings has been asked many times why he conceived the idea of making his thoroughly likable hero in The Man in the Brown Derby have a pair of blood-red hands. "One time," says the author, "I took a trip across the continent, and one of my fellow passengers on the Pullman from Chicago to San Francisco always appeared with his hands encased in a pair of gray gloves. He wore them in the dining car and in the smoking compartment. He was well educated and an interesting talker, but he made no reference to his peculiar habit of always wearing gloves. The curiosity of everyone was aroused, but, naturally, no one questioned him about it. The incident always remained in my memory, and there was a certain fascination about this mysterious stranger. I promised myself that some day I should use him in a novel, and I have done so in The Man in the Brown Derby."
THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY, January, 1912.