Genre-Jumping

I’ve been writing toward publication for about twelve years, but had only considered writing romance for the past five. Although I’d read a few romances here and there, the genre really didn’t turn me on.
As a teenager, I was preoccupied with science fiction and read that genre voraciously.
Yeah, I was geek!
Although I’d dabbled in [...]

2007 Goals

Susan (who’s always on top of these things) gave me the jolt I needed to examine my writing goals. I wish I hadn’t. And we were doing so well, too, on vacation. In the sun, with the view, and no disctractions.
Does it work if they’re accomplished anytime in 2007? Or should I be adding new [...]

Serviettes, Important as Fans for Flirting and Function

Ruminating with friends about Arbor Day and the Green Movement, I was reminded that the Victorian Societies relied upon the precursor to the napkin — the serviette.The larger the better, in the case of the indispensable table setting pieces of cloth that matched the other table linens for the more formal occasions. The most formal [...]

Randomness

He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it. ~ Douglas Adams (1952 – 2001), The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
For some reason this quote made me think of the late 1800s when the Occult was so popular. It hasn’t [...]

The Arranged Victorian Marraige, a Conundrum

My Victorian era manuscript underway utilizes an obstacle of an arranged marriage. In today’s world, marriages are dissolved easily enough that the idea of one standing in the way of true love is less onerous than in past eras, such as during the 19th Century.
Arranged marriages were still a norm of the Victorian era. Politics [...]

Batter Up!

We’ve just started a new season of baseball. I knew baseball was played in camps during the Civil War and decided to do some research into how it was played and how widespread it was during the war years.
I had recently watched the movie, Glory, and noticed a scene near the beginning where a soldier [...]

New Year’s Goals Revisited

It’s April and we’re now more than one quarter into the new year. I thought I’d revisit the writing goals I made in January on this blog to see how I’ve done so far.
1) Finish rewrite of Erin’s Rebel.Not only did I finish, but the full manuscript is now on the desk of the acquisitions [...]

Behind the Looking Glass of the Victorian London Scene: a Glimpse of London Society

Unarguably, the height of the Victorian era Society gathered around London during the reign of Queen Victoria. Ladder-climbers – socially or politically – were represented in London or were in attendance at court-and-function, themselves.
Why, is obvious. The fact that the British Empire was expanding to the largest domination in recorded history missed the attention [...]