@davetabler

Appalachia in my bones. Delaware's growing on me.

 Dover DE
davetabler.com
Joined May 2007
  • Tweets45.1K
  • Following1.3K
  • Followers2.1K
2.9KMedia
The guests checked out. The stories stayed. Cover reveal! DELAWARE HOTELS: The Private Life of the Public Room arrives June 2027. I’m opening the doors on colonial taverns, grand resorts, roadside motels—and centuries of scandal. What’s your favorite old Delaware hotel/tavern?
1
153
Gulls astern. Oilskins at the rail. A culling board heaped with oysters. My next book: Delaware Oystermen. The families of Leipsic, Little Creek, Port Mahon, and Bowers Beach, and the beds that fed them for two centuries. Coming 2028. Photo: Bowers Beach Maritime Museum
26
If you're in the Delmarva WBOC viewing area, check out my latest book interview; today at 5 pm
159
Delaware's witchcraft laws stayed on the books until 1953. The year Stalin died. The year Watson and Crick published the DNA paper. "Delaware Behaving Badly" iRead Book Tour starts today at Cover Lover Book Review. coverloverbookreview.blogspo… #DelawareHistory
47
Summer 1923: The Klan staged a cross-burning outside New Castle. They didn't expect the Catholics to charge. Fifty injured. One Klansman fled town and was never seen again. It was the beginning of the end for the Klan in Delaware. full story here: tinyurl.com/kkk-riot
35
Harley G. Brown had a foolproof plan to get his railroad job back: stage an obstruction, play the hero, get rehired. One problem. He didn't know about the express train. Four men died near Claymont, DE in 1878. tinyurl.com/Train-Wreck-Stor…
17
She ran a brothel under police protection—until they crossed her. Then she talked. 'Delaware Behaving Badly' drops January 1. tinyurl.com/DelawareBehaving…
36
Grateful this Christmas for Delaware's indie bookstores: Browseabout Books, Huxley & Hiro, Delaware Shoppes, Hockessin Book Shelf, and Bethany Beach Books. More than shops—they're community anchors keeping local history alive. 📚
1
36
In 1963, at age 8, I sent an ink sketch to a local TV program. My mother wrote: "They have been showing children's drawings in between cartoons and Superman episodes... we are waiting for it to be shown." The thrill of possibly reaching strangers through my art? Exhilarating!
13
Dover, DE residents! Delaware Shoppes on The Green is stocked with "Delaware at Christmas" - exploring how Delawareans celebrated the holidays from colonial times to today with stories, traditions & vintage photos. Skip the holiday traffic to the beaches or up-county bookstores!
37
My first "publication" was December 1958, age 3: a letter to Santa read on the radio. I asked for a fire truck and doll buggies for my sisters. The thrill of having strangers hear your words? That feeling never gets old.
13
Pull up a cozy chair by the fire, dog at your feet, cocoa in hand. You supply those. I'll supply "Delaware at Christmas," packed with centuries of First State holiday traditions. Available now online & at Delaware bookstores.
34
🎄 An Evening with Dave Tabler at Huxley & Hiro Mon, Dec 9 | 6-8 PM 601 N Market St, Wilmington Join us for a festive conversation about Delaware at Christmas: The First State in a Merry State 📚 Book signing | All ages | Free w/ registration at tinyurl.com/89bjkfv3
39
Thrilled to be featured in Coastal Style Magazine discussing 'Delaware at Christmas'! From our state's role supplying plum pudding to British royalty to Milton's holly wreath boom—our history lives in the decorations and memories we bring out every year. Available at Amazon, B&N
38
Gatekeepers love to claim that using an em dash means AI wrote the text. False. I’ve been transcribing my mother’s 1950s letters—full of em dashes. Writers used them for rhythm and breath long before algorithms existed. AI learned them from us.
Some self-appointed gatekeepers now claim that the presence of an em dash in a piece of writing exposes it as AI-generated. It’s a convenient accusation—but a false one. I’ve been transcribing my mother’s letters to her mother from the 1950s, and they are filled with em dashes. She used them for cadence, for contrast, for breath. Writers long before her did the same—from Emily Dickinson to Mark Twain. AI didn’t create the em dash; it absorbed it from generations of human expression. What we call “AI style” is often just our own language, reflected back to us.

ALT Some self-appointed gatekeepers now claim that the presence of an em dash in a piece of writing exposes it as AI-generated. It’s a convenient accusation—but a false one. I’ve been transcribing my mother’s letters to her mother from the 1950s, and they are filled with em dashes. She used them for cadence, for contrast, for breath. Writers long before her did the same—from Emily Dickinson to Mark Twain. AI didn’t create the em dash; it absorbed it from generations of human expression. What we call “AI style” is often just our own language, reflected back to us.

44
Meet me at the Delaware Author Fair, Oct 26 at The Queen in Wilmington. I’ll be signing Delaware at Christmas—your guide to four centuries of holiday traditions. 🎄📖
50
Join me on the virtual book tour for my new book, Delaware at Christmas / The First State in a Merry State! From October 20 to November 7, follow along for book reviews, author interviews, and giveaways. tinyurl.com/rs2zk8dp #Delaware #Christmas #BookTour #HolidayTraditions
Join me on the virtual book tour for my new book, Delaware at Christmas / The First State in a Merry State! From October 20 to November 7, follow along for book reviews, author interviews, and giveaways. #Delaware #Christmas #BookTour #HolidayTraditions

ALT Join me on the virtual book tour for my new book, Delaware at Christmas / The First State in a Merry State! From October 20 to November 7, follow along for book reviews, author interviews, and giveaways. #Delaware #Christmas #BookTour #HolidayTraditions

1
1
1
2
66
📸 Research day at the Delaware Public Archives—digging into historic photos of Delaware’s lighthouses for my next book. Every image is a story waiting to be told. #DelawareHistory #Lighthouses
📸 Research day at the Delaware Public Archives—digging into historic photos of Delaware’s lighthouses for my next book. Every image is a story waiting to be told. #DelawareHistory #Lighthouses

ALT 📸 Research day at the Delaware Public Archives—digging into historic photos of Delaware’s lighthouses for my next book. Every image is a story waiting to be told. #DelawareHistory #Lighthouses

2
22
🎄 Exciting news! 🎄 The cover of Delaware at Christmas was featured in #BookLife’s Cover Crush! Full feature 👉 booklife.com/news/create/art… Book link 👉 davetabler.com/ 📚✨ Thanks @booklife for supporting local history!
1
2
86
🎄📚 Thrilled! "Delaware at Christmas" accepted into @DelawareArchives permanent collection - joining my other Delaware history books in the official record! 📖 Get it: Barnes & Noble (print) or Amazon (ebook) #DelawareHistory #FirstState
🎄📚 Thrilled! "Delaware at Christmas" accepted into @DelawareArchives permanent collection - joining my other Delaware history books in the official record! From colonial customs to "Christmas in July," exploring how diverse communities shaped our unique holiday traditions. 📖 Get it: Barnes & Noble (print) or Amazon (ebook) #DelawareHistory #FirstState

ALT 🎄📚 Thrilled! "Delaware at Christmas" accepted into @DelawareArchives permanent collection - joining my other Delaware history books in the official record! From colonial customs to "Christmas in July," exploring how diverse communities shaped our unique holiday traditions. 📖 Get it: Barnes & Noble (print) or Amazon (ebook) #DelawareHistory #FirstState

2
23
Load more