Romancing History

Look, Ma! A real website!

2011-04-21T07:15:00.003-04:00

I'm so excited! I have a new website and, of course, it came complete with blogging capabilities. Which means I'll be closing this blog within the next few weeks.

I have moved all the links I had here over to the new site. Please stop by and take a look. I admit, it's a little sparse right now, but I love it. It's just so different from anything else I've seen, and so very ME (which is what comes of having a critique partner who knows you so well she can almost read your mind!)

My CP and I spent most of yesterday putting it together so, while there's been little time to accumulate content, I'm sure that won't be a problem for long.

I hope you'll stop by, take a look, and leave a comment at www.gwynlynmackenzie.com (I tried to put in a link, but for some reason, Blogger ignores my attempts although they show in the draft.)

To make copy and paste easier, here it is with the http:
http://www.gwynlynmackenzie.com

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

2011-04-17T17:09:00.004-04:00

I hate being caught between choices. Sometimes you're going to stumble no matter which direction you choose.

Nasty truth, but true nonetheless.

I long to attend RWA's National Conference. I've attended before, and there is nothing quite like the energy one absorbs when surrounded by like-minded individuals. Also, GH finalists are often sought out by editors and agents. A nice change of affairs, I assure you.

Circumstances, however, may preclude making use of that pastel pink finalist's ribbon.

(Which leads me to ask, don't you think a finalist's ribbon should be a less insipid color? I mean, really. Baby-girl pink? We aren't writing nursery rhymes. Wouldn't a vivid, vibrant color that speaks of dashing heroes and intrepid heroines, shouts the joy of accomplishment be more appropriate?

Random survey concluded. Back to the blog.)

Those circumstances include the anticipated birth of our first grandson less than a week before conference. If our daughter didn't live 1200 miles away, that would be a no-brainer. But she does.

I could fly down, but I would go alone. My beloved would never weather the trip. Twenty minutes in the car has him huffing "cleansing breaths" to control the pain. Two or more hours stuffed into an airplane seat would be tanamount to torture.

Even so, he'd suffer through it (with the help of pain meds)for her, but our dear daughter has made it clear she would prefer to bring the child to us; she confessed she'd rather we didn't see the home they're currently renting. (If that's not enough to set a mother's inner alarms buzzing, I don't know what is!) Of course, that homecoming could happen anywhere between six weeks and six months after the birth--if we're lucky.

She is so adamant, however, she encouraged me to go to conference. Now, that might not seem like much to you, but this is the child who has resented my writing and the time it commands from the moment I decided, once she,the youngest, entered Middle School, the children were sufficiently independent to permit pursuing my own deferred goals.

The 180 only makes the Mom reflex jerk harder.

Then there is the cost. NYC is extremely expensive. The good news is I needn't fly to get there. The bad news is, well, NYC is extremely expensive. I know I'm not alone debating the wisdom of incurring additional debt in this economic climate with the future uncertain and no guarantee of professional advancement.

The choice seems clear enough, doesn't it?

It is---until you consider the networking, the contacts, the personal recommendations and face-to-face interactions that could be the catalyst that sells the books languishing on your hard-drive and improve your financial outlook.

So here I am, caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, a brick wall and a hard place, the irresistible force and the immoveable object. (Did I miss any?)

I've been a finalist twice before and didn't capitalize on the distinction because of my sweetheart's health problems. After five years, I've been forced to accept their impact on our lives. What I will never accept, however, is giving up on the future.

That insipid ribbon could make a world of difference to that future. Then, again, it could just be another accolade hung on the wall.

Either choice, whether professional or financial, is a risk.

Thank heaven I can pray---and swim.

Taken at a Glance

2011-04-03T23:13:00.015-04:00

It's amazing how deep, and often erroneous, an impression is made by a swift glance, and we all know first impressions are lasting impressions. This holds true whether you're meeting people or ideas.

Ideas?

Yes.

Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Madame Currie, Albert Einstein all had what were considered outlandish ideas in their day, ideas that garnered ridicule and mockery from those who didn't, or couldn't, grasp the new-fangled concepts or see past their own limitations. Yet history applauds these visionaries, and their contributions effect us even today.

These people didn't allow the opinions of others to derail them despite repeated failures. They had a goal, a vision, and they did whatever it took to see that goal or vision reach fruition.

Lately, I have seen much discussion on indie publishing. I'm not talking vanity press, I'm talking publishing via ebooks or print-on-demand without benefit of a publishing house of any kind.

I'm an old-fashioned girl, and at first glance, I thought the idea outlandish, just like those folks who though Bell, Edison, Currie, and Einstein mad. But numbers don't lie.

Yes, there are people publishing Musings on My Left Big Toe; those people have always been with us and have always found a way to get their foot fetish into print somewhere. I have also, however, read some excellent books that would have found a home in the major publishing houses in the time before bean-counters ran the show.

The sad truth is there are a lot of good books being dismissed in deference to a hill of beans.

I understand the need to make a profit. I understand marketing's need for neat little niches to make selling easier in a fluctuating marketplace. It makes me sad, however, to see excellent books given the go-by because they don't slide neatly into a nice round hole. So, indie publishing it is for many books with unique and unusual concepts.

Personally, being an old-fashioned girl, I hope the day never comes when publishing as we know it ceases to exist. That would be tragic. Yet I fear the day may, indeed, come because the old-fashioned way of doing things is losing ground to advancing technology.

While I can hope eyes will be opened and changes made before it's too late, it might just be time consider an altered perception and take a second glance.

Yes, I Did It Again.

2011-04-02T12:37:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm back. I've been busily writing the prequel to my previous GH finalist, and am quite happy with the result. So, apparently, are others since my prequel is a Golden Heart® finalist this year!

Please God, let three be a charm!

Accountability

2010-01-10T00:21:00.002-05:00

Writing is often a lonely profession, and working at home has pitfalls by the dozen. The dustbunnies yodel from under the bed, daring you to ignore them, the family thinks you are available for whatever their needs are whenever they arise, and that one friend---and yes, there is ALWAYS at least one---who thinks you have nothing better to do than chat on the phone are just a few of the things that have us looking at the clock aghast, realizing we've wasted yet another day.

One way to circumvent these things is accountability. We resolve to be accountable to others striving for similar goals.

For the next few months (or longer, depending upon the need), Romancing History will encouraging accountability. There will be no bullwhip, no punishments, no lectures, but there will be support, encouragement, and help if you need it.

Interested? Then tell us a bit about yourself and what you hope to achieve. You will be asked to post your progress, status, and goals at least once a week (you can do it more often, but once a week is the minimum) and offer encouragement and support for others as the need arises.

Happy 2010!!!!

2010-01-01T20:13:00.002-05:00

It's 2010. How did that happen? Must have blinked.

As promised, Romancing History will, for the time being, be open for those wishing to have some accountablility. Christine? Kate? Are you out there?

As before with getting our GH entries ready, we'll work on a system of reporting our progress, status, and goals. No pressure, but beginning on 4 January 2010, it's time to do our ABC's (Apply Butt to Chair).

That said, anyone interested in joining us is welcome whether you are polishing or working on a draft. All that is required is a desire to be held accountable for the goals you publish at least weekly. This way, those of us polishing will be able to take our heads out of our work for a bit and, hopefully, divert ourselves enough for a fresh perspective without halting the writing process. Those who are in draft mode will have an opportunity to taste the editing phase (in the event this is their first attempt) or be diverted with benefits as well.

So, a new year, a new goal, a new challenge.

Everybody ready?

2 December GOALS

2009-12-02T04:22:00.002-05:00

Well, it either arrives today or I threw over $100 in the toilet. *sigh*

What an exciting ride. Exhausting, but exciting. Back at the end of October when this thing started, I thought it would be easy. Words have never been a problem for me, and my word counts can be quite impressive when I set my mind to it. Piece of cake, I told myself.

I really shouldn't lie to me like that.

Last time I had to spew, I didn't have my beloved totally incapacitated, he could drive, we didn't have doctor appt's over 100 miles away, and the demands on my time, while annoying, were much less demanding. I was also younger---and yes, that is a factor.

This time, my tenacity got a workout.

On 5 November, I did the Nobody Writes It Better blog with a piece entitled "Can't Never Did Anything---And Other Mom-isms where I told everyone in the 2007 group---and anyone who stopped in to read the blog---about the challenge. Very public forum. No way out but failure. I don't do failure.

Kate's blog at the Ruby-Slippered Sisters mentions fear of success. Ah, I know that one. What if I can't maintain? What if it's a fluke? And all the other what ifs that plague the newly accepted/published/contracted writer. Or the one who, like me, would rather not take a chance on any of those what ifs coming true. I know I can write well. But to make it only to screw it up? Nah. Not for me.

This challenge changed that. I CAN do this. I won't fail. I can meet deadlines and pull dialogue out of a sinus stuffed brain. (Not necessarily good dialogue, mind you!)

So to both Kate and Christine I say thank you. Had you not taken me up on my challenge, I would not have learned several much needed lessons. I offered the challenge to push you to achieve your goals, but got so much more out of it than ever anticipated. And I owe it to you.

Now, this will be the last daily post for now. Once the holiday's are over, if you are interested, we can do this again for revisions. Goals are good things, and having someone to whom you are answerable---even in the loosest sense---has proven useful. So let me know what you think. Until then, I wish you the joy and peace and love that are the foundation of the Christmas season.

1 December PS&G

2009-12-01T11:12:00.001-05:00

Today is it. My local (?) Fed-Ex office assures me if I get this puppy to them before 5:30 this afternoon, it will be in Houston before 5 p.m. tomorrow so right, wrong, or indifferent, I will be putting paid to this baby today.

30 November PS&G

2009-11-30T08:57:00.002-05:00

Added over 10K yesterday. Printed out requisite copies of first three. Still have a bit to go ere this POS is finished, but I'm still going---although I shall have to sleep soon. (Danged sinuses!) VA appt for dh today. Anything to cut into these last hours.

This was so much easier a couple of years ago. How did I get so old so fast?

29 November PS&G

2009-11-29T14:00:00.001-05:00

It's not looking good for the Gipper, but I'm still going. Dh has a doc appt again tomorrow, so another bump in the road. But I'm still going. I WILL prevail.

28 November PS&G

2009-11-28T14:26:00.002-05:00

It's time to sprint---and I have no energy. Dinner last night was fun but exhausting, and this sinus thing is draining me further. However, I'm going to push through. Too close to stop now. More words left than I'd like, but tenacity (and coffee and sinus pulls) is a good thing. I can sleep after Monday.

27 November PS&G

2009-11-27T00:19:00.002-05:00

I hope you both ate too much and had a wonderful day yesterday!!!

Today is another cooking day for me. Years ago, my dh complained there were no Thanksgiving leftovers at our house (although I always made the pies and rolls to take to Mom's) and thus began a tradition. I cook Thanksgiving Dinner (pared down a bit, but not much!) on Friday. The kids always brought a "waif" or two home to share our meal and that hasn't changed. Somebody's friend always fills another chair or two at the table.

This year our Patty won't be here for the first time. Bound to happens sooner or later, but it leaves a hole. No matter where they were in years past, they made it home to eat. But times change, and so must we, so I shall take pleasure in what can be and try not to bemoan what was and can be no more.

Christine, hugs to you and your dear FIL. May God smile on you and yours.

Kate, same to you and your family, especially your daughter. May God send angels to protect, support, and encourage you this holiday season and into the New Year.

25 November PS&G

2009-11-25T01:10:00.002-05:00

Today is pretty much a bust. Doc's (5 hours round trip), pies, and hopefully transcribing whatever work I managed to do while waiting.

Safe Journey to both of you.

24 November PS&G

2009-11-24T02:29:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was pretty much a bust. I'm so scattered, I'm getting in my own way. Not good. Worse, I've lost track of things within the story---something that unsettles me because that has never happened before---and keep finding myself scrolling back to check things. Very time consuming.

Picked up the rental, and had some youngster trying to caution be about the size of the vehicle. I just gave him what my kids call "the LOOK." He actually stepped back. Then it dawned on him. I'd hit the deer with a TRUCK. Short of a semi, pal, chances are I can drive it. (And a couple lessons from my dad, and I could do the semi too!)

Anyway, some errands later, then it's back to work. Doc's Wednesday will shoot that, but I'll resort to tablet and paper to play with the synopsis.

Had my sweetie look into Fed-Ex. I really need to sleep, so that option may save my neck.

23 November PS&G

2009-11-23T14:10:00.002-05:00

After today, I may have to change the title since both of the other ladies plan to mail their entries today. YAY!!

My dh is currently looking into a Fed-Ex location somewhere here in plaid-shirt heaven since, in my push to make deadline, I hit the hay at 7 a.m. and the phone started ringing at 7:25 (Son telling us about our rental car since his friend works for Enterprise.)

Promptly at 8, the phone rang again, the tow company. Fifteen minutes later, the rental car company (who was kind enough to inform me they didn't have pick up service at their location. So much for that ad campaign.) And it seemed to go on ever fifteen to twenty minutes until, at 10:30 I rolled out of the rack as surly as a hungry grizzly. (Trying to give direction to the towing service when you're half zonked and flat on you back is disconcerting to say the least.)

So, now I wait for our son who will take me to fetch the rental. I can't wait to see what other "bumps in the road" await me as I continue to push toward deadline.

It's been an adventure, that's for sure!

22 November PS&G

2009-11-22T02:42:00.002-05:00

Well, it looks like, after Monday, I will be on my own, but I have to say I'm thrilled with the fact. Whether I can make it or not, both ladies who took the challenge will be safely entered.

Whew! Now to channel Yoda: There is no try. Just do or do not.

Time to get 'er done.

21 November PS&G

2009-11-21T04:58:00.002-05:00

Managed to add another 6K to the manuscript despite my misadventure. Need some sleep now, though. Both physically and emotionally drained at this point.

Tomorrow I'll be pushing for 15K. Time has become the enemy.

20 November PS&G

2009-11-20T10:52:00.003-05:00

So it's November, right? And three times yesterday I had to shut down my computer for THUNDERSTORMS! What's with that? Three hours of no production, but when we lost power at one point, I was so glad I didn't tempt fate.

Meeting sis and niece at Tannersville today for some shopping. It's nieces b-day. Because of the storms, I'm a little behind with goals, but family first in my world.

I told them I couldn't stay long, but I think the break might scrape the burnt bits off my fried brain.

Have a wonderful day, ladies.

19 November PS&G

2009-11-19T01:24:00.002-05:00

This little crew of go-getters is on a roll! With Butter!!!

I am so pleased by the progress everyone (but me) is making. Actually, my progress isn't so bad, but I'm rueing the time I spent going over the first three so thoroughly. And I'm still not thrilled with them. But, with my mind set on speed, such is as it is.

We are running out of time, ladies. Home stretch and VICTORY here we come!

18 November PS&G

2009-11-18T03:47:00.003-05:00

5200 new words today. Not great, but better. Still miles behind. I know I have commitments that will put a crimp in my writing time over the next two weeks, but gotta keep on keepin' on.

Right now, however, my tush hurts, and the ache runs down to me left knee for some reason. That means time to get up and do something or hit the hay.

Hay gets my vote. Gonna be another long one today, but sleep is a must. I hope I don't run out of clean duds before this is done. I keep putting off the laundry...

17 November PS&G

2009-11-16T23:12:00.004-05:00

I know. I forgot the 16th, but I was writing until 4:30 a.m. and was falling asleep in my chair. Got a few hours sleep and dh said, "We have to go... (he can't drive yet)so off to the bank and the VA hospital. I never even got on the computer until late this afternoon. Still didn't hit me I'd forgotten to post the day, however. Sorry.

Too late to do the 16th now so onward and upward!

15 November PS&G

2009-11-15T02:25:00.002-05:00

I'm so stoked!!! I have this really NASTY villain, the puppetmaster one, that I hate to write. He is so dark, getting into his head knocks me for a loop. HOWEVER, I introduced him tonight from the POV of one of his cohorts and it worked BEAUTIFULLY!! His basic motivation is evident---as his his reptilian nature.

14 November Progress, Status & Goals.

2009-11-14T15:19:00.002-05:00

I'm so late putting this up. Sorry. Thought I'd done it before going to bed.

From now on, the title will be date PS&G. I know. Sounds like your local utility comapany, but typing it out, I have to refer back to see what order I used (you will notice, when I first started this, the order changed almost daily!)

Not as much done as I'd hoped. Have to take care of some chores today, too, but I won't be able to write if things are too disordered. (Danged dustbunnies cry without attention, dontcha know.) Still, will push forward. Gotta get 'er done.

13 November Progress, Status, & Goals

2009-11-13T03:11:00.002-05:00

Not a lot of words today, but a lot of work done. I don't know that I've ever done this much "pre-writing" prep before, but I feel there will be fewer stumbling blocks as a result. Only one way to find out, however.

Need to get another 15-20K done between now and Sunday. If I can start rolling it out, then all will be well.

12 November Progress, Status, & Goals

2009-11-12T02:23:00.002-05:00

Well, I had a major EUREKA (or, maybe, it was more like a DUH!) moment today; while working on my characters' GMC, to make sure all my ducks were in a row and packing howitzers, I realized my VILLAIN's needed work. I had absolutely no concrete reason for his behavior. How had that happened? And, since he shows up in three books (each book has its own primary villain. This guy becomes the primary in the third book,)it would be nice if he had, if not a method, a MOTIVATION for his obscenely obsessive behavior.

It's the synopisis' fault. All of it.

11 November Progress, Status, & Goals

2009-11-11T04:09:00.002-05:00

My CP made only a couple of suggestions for my first three chapters! YAY!!! I printed them out and will let them sit for a bit before I take another look at them.

The synopsis is slow going, but I am making progress. If nothing else, I've discovered some shortfalls in character conflict before getting too far into the story. Not good news, but fixable and, since it's still early going, not too onerous.

10 November Progress, Status, & Goals

2009-11-10T02:42:00.003-05:00

My first three are done and sent to my CP. YAY! The hook at the end is better than I could have hoped. I hope she agrees.

On to the synopsis. Waterloo. Good thing I'm not French!

9 November Progress, Status, & Goals

2009-11-09T04:05:00.003-05:00

Mya and Kaycee went home. Thank heaven. I don't know which drove me crazier: having two more dogs in the house or dh hollering when Mya's and Wicket's playing included barks and growls and other things that interrupted his football viewing.

Am redoing the end of chapter three. It doesn't feel right, but I now realize why I had to write it. Necessitated going back and making a couple of other minor adjustments so here's hoping Laurie doesn't shoot me--she like the first two chapters just as they were.

Gotta write today. No excuses.

8 November Progress, Status, & Goals

2009-11-08T03:46:00.002-05:00

Thought I was actually making progress today, despite the pups, only to realize the story took an unexpected turn that has left me asea. I know forcing my stories to go the way I want is usually a recipe for disaster, but do I have time to explore where this one is taking me? Seriously debating the wisdom of just going with it. So much at stake. Still, experience says to do so. Just what I need, more decisions.

7 Novermber Progress, Status, & Goals

2009-11-07T03:12:00.005-05:00

It's 3 a.m. The pups are sleeping, and my secondary characters are asserting themselves. I know my CP will have thoughts about that, but I'm going to keep pushing forward. Perhaps the secondaries will be moved. Perhaps they are being so adamant for a reason. I don't know yet---one of the joys of "pantsing". One way or the other, what will be will be. And I have miles to go before I sleep...

6 November Progress, Status & Goals

2009-11-06T01:19:00.002-05:00

Didn't get as much done as I would have liked. I took out a chicken, some sausage, and a chuck roast to thaw and forgot them. They thawed in the sink all night, so I had to cook them today. Not a lot of writing, but 12 quarts of Veggie Beef and Barley soup, one roasted chicken (that will make several meals before it, too, goes into the soup pot since the last batch of chicken soup is nigh gone), and sausage in tomato sauce (cheated a bit; used canned tomatos) so my dh had Ravioli and Sausage for dinner and is set for the next few days while I dwell in my office.

This would be so much easier if he could do for himself, but the inability to bend at the waist or pick up more than 5 lbs puts the kibosh on that! Still, when the going gets tough, the tough get going, and we're tough!

5 November Progress, Goals, and Status

2009-11-05T01:45:00.002-05:00

Not much progress today. Forgot I had to blog over at Nobody Writes It Better. Had it written and posted in under three hours even fighting with putting in the pictures.

Laurie called about the two chapters I gave her. Good news across the board, thank heaven, since I haven't much time to play with it.

Well into chapter three, but the word count has me behind. Still, best to spend time on the "show" chapters. Can write like mad and not worry about the finer points to finish. Besides, that's what January and February are for---serious editing.

4 November Progress, Goals and Status

2009-11-04T03:42:00.001-05:00

Not a good writing day yesterday. Trying to avoid too much "vomit" in the early chapters. Will spew toward the end so I can finish in time.

3 November, Progress, Goals, and Status

2009-11-03T13:03:00.002-05:00

Sorry this is is late on. I've lost my mind and can't seem to find it!

Today I pay bills and finish the yard work and stuff I started yesterday so I can concentrate on getting words on the page without that annoying "You know this NEEDS to be done" whispering in my ear and flummoxing my concentration.

Onward and upward!

2 November Goals, Status, and Progress

2009-11-02T01:11:00.000-05:00

1 November Goals, Status, and Progress

2009-11-01T07:40:00.001-05:00

31 October Status, Goals, and Progress

2009-10-31T00:41:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween, Ladies. May all your tricks be card tricks and all your treats fun and sweet!

30 October Progress, Goals, and Status

2009-10-30T01:11:00.000-04:00

29 October Progress, Goals, and Status

2009-10-29T02:01:00.001-04:00

28 October Progress, Goals, Status

2009-10-28T13:51:00.000-04:00

27 October Status, Goals, Updates

2009-10-27T00:25:00.000-04:00

26 October progress, and a bit on the NJRW conference

2009-10-26T00:16:00.007-04:00

Sometimes the generosity of our published authors astounds me.

On Friday night, after the awards ceremony, I realized I'd entered my story in a total of seven contests: two in 1996, before an incident had me shelving the story and turning to other writing outlets, and five since 2005 where it reached the finals four times. The best it ever placed was third, however, and it did that twice. Always the same kind of comments (and I must add, some of them have me wondering whether the judge actually read the work or skimmed so missed some salient points. I mean, if someone is faceless, chances are you haven't seen his/her face, right?): Excellent writing skills, beautiful imagery yadda, yadda, yadda. BUT . . .

So, on Friday night, I threw me, myself, and I a huge pity party, cried my eyes shut (and paid in spades Saturday morning!), and debated tossing the %*&@ manuscript in the trash. Those kinds of comments give no direction. WHAT is behind the incessant "but?" Where was I---and I didn't fool myself the story was at fault (although blaming it would have been so much easier)---falling short?

Saturday morning, I talked to a friend who is a NYT best selling author. She asked if I'd read her comments. What? It turns out she was my published judge. She told me she'd written extensive comments (which, the contest coordinators promise, I shall have by email tomorrow) and knew what the story lacked. Then she talked to me and put a face on that elusive "but."

She didn't have to do that. The woman has a career many of us would commit some kind of felony to have. Even so, she took the time. I am so grateful.

I told her about the challenge, too. She thinks it's a great idea, but told me to trash the prologue I'd written, and then told me why I should. (Okay, I'm cringing here, but I have to say this:) After thinking about it, I have to agree, she's right.

So everything I've done so far goes into the circular file, but it'll be worth it for a stronger, more saleable manuscript.

What other profession gives so freely of its time to those that would follow?

Writing is a lonely, often discouraging profession, but there are hands out there ready to help, encourage, even slap, if need be. How can we not offer the same to each other and, in time, those who will follow us? I must say, I feel honored and privileged to be counted among such amazing, selfless women.

Now it's on to keeping my part of this challenge bargain. I'm excited. Scared, but excited.

Time to get to work!

GFTG 25 October

2009-10-20T00:07:00.008-04:00

GFTG 24 October

2009-10-20T00:07:00.007-04:00

GFTG 23 October

2009-10-20T00:07:00.006-04:00

GFTG 22 October

2009-10-20T00:06:00.003-04:00

Word counts and goals for 22 October!

GO FOR THE GOLD Challenge

2009-10-19T23:19:00.010-04:00

Meet the Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood, the 2009 Golden Heart Finalists.

For anyone who is interested, The Sisterhood is currently posting daily blogs with hints to make your potential Golden Heart(R) entry shine. Check it out. They may have exactly the advice you need.(http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com)

**********************
Go For The Gold

I adore my sisters, both the 2007 Bond Girls and my 2009 RSS sisters, and look forward to expanding my GH family in 2010(if you're going to dream, dream BIG,) but didn't want to recycle the story that has already finaled twice. What to do?

I have a story eating a hole in my brain. It is the prequel to the one I've entered previously. Needless to say, I've been thinking about this story, these characters, for a while. They want their day in the sun, and now's the time to give it to them.

Projected length 100,000 words.

So far, I have five. You read that right. Five. The first line.

The Golden Heart deadline is 2 December 2010. Although registration remains open until 16 November, once I finish this post, I'm on my way to the RWA web site to register (nothing like having something to lose to push you to the limit.)

THE CHALLENGE

Anyone needing (or wanting) to finish, edit, or polish a manuscript for the GH is welcome to come along for the ride. The only caveats: You must register for the GH (That something to lose weighs heavy on committment.) You must try to keep yourself healthy despite the pressure: Stretching, walking, bathroom breaks at least once an hour. (Very hard to function with your blood pooled in your butt, folks. Get it circulating.) And you will post, first, your goals on this blog, then report your progress---whether daily, every other day, twice a week, or weekly is entirely up to you.

The object is to help each other achieve, to know we aren't alone. My 100K is the catalyst. Surely knowing I have so much more to write than many of you will get you doing your ABC's (Apply Butt to Chair) and reaching for the prize.

Good luck ladies.

On your mark.

Get set.

GO!!!!

Putting RH on hiatus for a while

2009-09-24T18:23:00.007-04:00

First, let me say THANK YOU to all the lovely people who took the time to read and comment on this blog. Your time and thoughts are appreciated more than you know.

Second, life has done what life does while we're planning, and there are insufficient hours in my world to produce blogs worthy of your attention at this time. So, after much soul-searching, I have decided to close up shop for the time being. Anyone interested in what I have to say will still find me on two group blogs peopled by the 07 and 09 Golden Heart(R) Finalists:
Nobody Writes it Better (007s) http://www.nobodywritesitbetter.com

The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood (09s) http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com

(I've tried to put the links in, but they won't take. Please just cut and paste the urls. The group blogs are worth it, I promise.)

Again, my thanks. I hope Romancing History will be back very soon.

What's the Alternative?

2009-08-21T16:26:00.039-04:00

As some of you know, I've spent a lot of time in doctors' offices and hospitals during the past almost three years now courtesy of my sweetheart's back. He had operation #4 the week after I returned from DC and, this time, has made it as far as PT.

I'm seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. (Please, God, let it not be a train!)

Many years ago, I wanted to be a pediatrician. I worked in hospitals, nursing homes, and a school for mentally and physically handicapped children pursuing that goal. Then life stepped in, goals changed, but I never lost interest in the field.

I have always written, in one form or another, but a few friends convinced me to try my hand at fiction. Loving history as I do, I began writing a story set in the 15th century. It seemed natural for me to include a healer and delve into medicants of the time.

Brother Cadfael's Garden spearheaded my research and led to an insatiable curiosity about the medicines that mankind used for millenia versus the synthetic versions offered by today's medical establishment.

Hearing doctors, whose pharmacopoeia is less than a century old, refer to their practices as Traditional Medicine while labeling the herbal remedies used since the dawn of man Alternative Medicine struck me as off kilter considering herbals have few adverse side-effects compared to current prescription drugs which have literal laundry lists of potential problems, some of which are deadly.

Don't misunderstand: nature's pharmacopoeia can kill, and the poisons plants provide are well documented in literature as the murder weapon of choice--especially during the Renaissance. Chemical compounds are what they are, whether natural or man made, and some don't play well with others so negative interactions are a potential danger. Add that these medicants aren't standardized, and your results could be disappointing, at best, or life-threatening, at worst, if you don't educate yourself first.

A Brief Evolution of European Medicine

In the beginning, the vast majority of healers were women who harvested and used the local flora to bring their tribes or villages relief from pain, illness, or injury. Healers were treasured, often passing their knowledge from mother to daughter.

Enter Christianity.

Because healing traditions found their roots in pagan cultures, the Church was quick to accuse the practitioners of "congress with the devil." Some of these practitioners, accepting the new religion, entered nunneries and practiced their skills under the auspices of the Church within sanctioned infirmaries.

Those who retained the secular life became easy pickings for patients unwilling to pay for services or unhappy with the results of those services.

Witch burning became a spectator sport.

Medieval men had a problem with nuns (women) controlling such essential information. Women were chattel, they had no rights outside those allowed by men so leaving such knowledge in their hands gave them a degree of power over their lords and masters. Monks soon took care of that, first as overseers, then as practitoners themselves, adding to their arsenal remedies and treatments provided by those returning from the various Crusades.

Travel was less than convenient, so every castle had its stillroom. The lady of said castle was responsible for having the medicants her people needed, harvesting, drying, mixing, distilling and whatnot, with the help of her servants. Among these servants one might--and often did--find a hereditary healer who undertook some of the more onerous duties, although many a lady stitched flesh and cleaned wounds. Since most castles had resident priests or monks to conduct the daily religious offices and perform whatever rituals the castle required, and of course, the lady fell under the authority of her lord, the accusations of witchcraft at this level were few---but not unheard of.

In the 15th century, the Renaissance, with its more humanistic thinkers, blossomed on the European continent. Along with its music and art, new ideas about illness and the human body emerged. While the four humors /four element system dates back to the ancient Greeks, it became common practice throughout Europe to bleed or cup sick folks to balance these humors. (The elements are a whole other post!) Needless to say, blood loss often killed the patient before the disease since bleeding involved nicking or cutting a vein and could be required several times over the course of an illness. Cupping involved using a glass to cause bruising, thus bringing bad humors to the skin. Leeches were applied to drain them away.

The physician and his inevitable shadow, the quack, now take center stage.

The root of physician is physic, a medicine that purges; cathartic; laxative. As such treatments were primary tools of the time, the name seems appropriate.

Physicians began to travel, bringing with them their new ideas. There was no formal schooling, although the better phyisicians apprenticed under older practitioners, some of whom were herbalist monks. Still, without any kind of oversight, the rise in what we would call Snake Oil Salesmen proliferated.

In the latter part of the 15th Century Anton van Leeuwenhoek, after laboriously hand grinding various lenses, discovered a new world, earning the title Father of Microbiology. The word germ entered the lexicon meaning disease carrying agent as opposed to being simply the heart of a seed.

We had the word, but little else.

Medicine didn't change much during the course of the next four centuries. Grave robbers did a brisk business securing cadavers as surgeons and physicians sought understanding of the human body. The distillation of poppy juice into laudenum improved--and resulted in addiction for many. Bleeding and cupping, while still done, became less prevalent. Forceps came into being as did chloroform, just in time for the American Civil War, and in 1898, Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre, discovered radium, giving Rontgen's mysterious X-ray a viable source.

The 20th century saw medicine become something one trained for, whether doctor or nurse, and the initiation of medical oversight. A chance encounter with bread mold led to penicillin. Jonas Salk discovered a vaccine for the scourge, polio. Medical knowledge advanced in leaps and bounds.

Medicants did the same. The willow bark tea grandma used for her aches and pains was distilled into aspirin. Foxglove revealed its heart-regulating digitalis. Opiates became available in stronger, more concentrated forms. But taking these things from nature was costly and time consuming.

Now the chemist commands the limelight.

Dickering with different compounds, chemistry expanded the parameters of many drugs, but still had to overcome the expense. So they began working on synthetic, easily mass-produced alternatives that made medicants more affordable.

Affordable, yes, but at what cost to overall health?

Think of the commercials for pharmaceuticals. They're scary. There are pills for everything and, while none of them tout a cure, all appraise the viewer of myriad hazards. Face it, there is no money in a cure. Healthy people don't need pills. Thus, they prescribe maintenance, keeping folks dependent until they shed this mortal coil. As a result, some have become disillusioned by the medical profession and its partner, the pharmaceutical industry, and are seeking the knowledge that was once handed down mother to daughter, looking to regain natural curatives.

So which is the Traditional Medicine? And which is the Alternative?

Have you considered or tried herbal remedies? Did they work?

I had planned to add a list of various healing herbs and their uses to this post, but even abridging the exhaustive information available didn't shorten it enough to allow for that. Thus, the list will appear next time---a week from now, if dh continues to improve.

In closing (and I'm being outrageously facetious here), picture this:
(Beautiful young woman approaches Young Hunk. When she begins to speak, he wrinkles his nose, waving his hand before his face.)

Young Hunk: Geez, Mary, haven't you heard of Breath Gone?

(Young Hunk grimaces and walks away. Mary turns her sad, puppy-dog eyes to the camera.)

Disembodied voice: Don't despair, Mary. Just one Breath Gone tablet will put an end to all your problems.

(A hand holding a little pink pill---that looks suspiciously like a breath mint---appears. Eyes wide with excitement, Mary grabs the pill and pops it into her mouth. Smiling smugly, she again approaches Young Hunk.)

Young Hunk: Hey, Mary. Something's different. You want to go someplace where we can talk?

(Young Hunk winks at the camera and the two fade into the crowd while the disembodied voice races through the disclaimer.)

Disembodied Voice: Do not take Breath Gone if you are nursing, pregnant, may become pregnant, have kidney, liver or eye problems, bleed red, or walk upright. Call your doctor if swelling of the tongue or throat occurs as this could be a sign of a serious problem which has, in rare cases, resulted in death by suffocation.

(Crescendo of Violins)

Disembodied Voice: Breath Gone. The sure cure for problem breath.

And a Child Shall Lead Them

2009-07-11T13:49:00.011-04:00

Yes, yes, I know I didn't post last week, and this will be it ere I head off to DC with hope in my heart and a lump in my throat, but there are just so many hours in the day, so here is my "off the cuff" offering---which happens to contain more than a smidgen of sense (imagine that!)

Children's Books. Yep. That's it. When I start any research project, the first thing I look for is a book written for children centered on the era or subject matter. Why? These books are full of general information that often provides stepping stones to the more nitty-gritty stuff that makes our work shine. AND they often contain snippets that our adult minds might overlook.

One of my favorites is a pop-up book, Castles---Medieval Days and Knights by Kyle Olmon. Love it. Three dimensional overview. (The little pull-out tabs that make the blacksmith work and the spinning wheel go are fun too!) I love the pop-up of the banquet hall (shown above---poorly, I admit. I'm a writer, not a photographer) with the knight kneeling to be dubbed because, when writing a scene within such a hall, I can set it up so everyone stays seated where they belong. (There was a protocol to such things!)

DK books (http://www.dk.com/) has an Eyewitness series with available workbooks. Some come with DVDs of Clip Art or posters and other visual aids. The books are informative and well-written and hold a surprising wealth of information

I won't bore you with the extent of my "Children's Book Library" but will encourage you to build one of your own. These books don't go into the extensive detail of more intensive research, but they're priceless for general information and direction. I have one that is specifically geared to a child's life in a medieval village that has proven it's worth time and time again as I write beyond the castle walls.

So set your inner child free and go play in the kids section of your favorite bookstore, whether virtual or physical. It's a treasure trove waiting to be found.

World History at a Glance

2009-06-20T19:55:00.010-04:00

I've touched on words from the Medieval era and the Regency, and didn't scratch the surface of either. The Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian eras await, as do ancient Celts, Picts, Romans, and Greeks, the American Civil War, The Jacobite uprisings, The Spanish Inquisition--the list seems endless.

Many of these eras overlap because they took place in different parts of the world. Trying to keep what happened when in any viable order can be confusing and time consuming. However, through most of history, events worked like ripples, pushing out to effect other parts of the globe. Knowing what was happening elsewhere can add dimension to your writing.

At one point, I had a timeline taped around the perimeter of my office. I added things to it as I ran across them and soon found myself running out of space, taping up more paper, adding more info until I could find nothing. When I'm working, the inability to find what I want chews my last nerve. I tore the thing down, spent hours putting it in order, only to find more bits to add later. Soon, I found myself tearing it down yet again.

Then I stumbled upon a real treasure: The Timechart History of the World--6000 years of world history unfolded. (ISBN-13:97807607-6507-6534-0 & ISBN-10: 0-7607-6534-0)

It does, in fact, unfold. Eyeballing it, I would say it is about twenty inches tall by twelve inches wide, but only about 1/4 inch deep. When working on an era, I open the book, unfold the pages, and see what other world events occurred about the same time and how, if at all, they might effect my characters.

For instance: 1000 A.D. finds the 19th Song Dynasty ruling China under Emporor Tching-Tsong (Yes, that's really his name). Egypt has become an independent Kalifate, while the Califate (yes, they're spelled differently) of Bagdad is ruled by Kader. Persia is ruled by Mahmoud, first Sultan of Chizni, who conquers India. Meanwhile the Seljukian Turks are rising in power.

In the eastern empire (Greece) Basil II and Constantine IX both claim the throne. In the western empire (Rome) Sylvester rules. Lower Italy is still retained by the Greek emperors while Naples, Sardinia, and Corsica remain under Rome. At this time Venice, which became independent of the eastern empire in 997 A.D., acquired Dalmatia and Istria. (During its illustrious history, Venice has had 122 Doges (Dukes), the first, Anefesto, in 697 A.D., the last, Luigi, in 1797 when Bonaparte gave it to Austria.)

We are about 1/4 of the way up the page.

I deliberately chose to start at the bottom because most of us who write in this era write European history. These rulers and events have nothing to do with our work. Or do they?

The first Crusade began in the latter part of the eleventh century. How many knights answered the call to free Jerusalem? Who did they fight? And why? How did they travel? Who did they meet? What events would effect them and the outcome of their crusade?

By looking at this timeline, you have a starting place. A map of the Crusaders' route will show you which of these rulers might have helped or interfered with their quest. Having names give you a toe up on your research.

Part of writing history is understanding it. To get a good grip on world events, I recommend this book. I have other timeline tomes, but they haven't the "at a glance" advantage.

With its classical maps, use of both Biblical and Scientific timelines, pages dedicated to the ruling powers and a host of other information, this book is a gem in any library's crown. It is "based on the famous and now very rare Victorian wallchart with much material specially reproduced from the world famous British Library held in the British Museum London" according to the back cover.

I hope some of you will find it as invaluable and thought provoking as I have.

A Peek at Regency Cant

2009-06-13T21:59:00.009-04:00

As I said before, it is my goal to make Romancing History a place for writers and readers of Historical Romance--not just the medieval variety. Since my current wip is medieval, restricting the blog to that era would be easy and, since this is a new undertaking, wrong.

My first historical was set in the Regency. That disaster ended life feeding my roses (did you know paper blocks weed growth?) which was, in truth, a mercy. If I missed one contrivence, one tired plot device, one ANYTHING a story shouldn't have, trust me, it was purely accidental.

However, as a result, I own A Regency Companion by Sharon Laudermilk and Teresa L. Hamlin. This little treasure is no longer in print and holds pride of place on my shelves. It's a fun read because these writers named the characters they used to illustrate proper address with Regency cant. Names like Lady Cheese-paring, a stingy sort who would count the oats lest the servants ate too much porridge, and Lord Nipcheese, the miser, who not only counted the servants' oats but those of his family as well!

Cant is the language of the rabble. Polite society frowned on it--in public. Gentlemen using it in mixed company displayed ignorance of the social niceties. Ladies? No lady would lower herself to speak such rubbish--at least not where a chaperone or mother could hear.

For a society who found discussing money distasteful, they had a number of slang words for it.

Bean - a guinea

Blunt - money

Brass - money (or brazeness)

Canary - a sovereign

Groat (not in this book but used usually as, "I don't give a groat.") a 12th century English silver coin equal to four pennies.

Guinea - (also not in this book, but used not only as currency but to discribe color) a gold coin of Great Britain issued 1663-1813, worth 21 shillings. (fyi: a pound was worth 20 shillings or 240 pence until 1971 when it became equal to 100 new pence.)

Monkey - 500 pounds.

Pony - 25 pounds.

Plum - 100,000 pounds

Ready (or the ready) - money

Then, of course, since money was of no consequence (at least not in public) you had:

Cent per cent - usurer

Ten in the hundred - a usurious money lender, more than five percent interest was considered excessive.

Some words and phrases took root and are still in use today. Here are a couple of them.

Take-in - a hoax

Rig out - Clothing

sport - to display

spout - to speak theatrically

Spree - a bit of fun, a romp

jaw - talk

Cake - a silly, foolish person

Black book - A black book was kept in most regiments, and the names of all persons sentenced to punishment were recorded there. To be in someone's black book still means someone is unhappy with you for some transgression.

Floor - to knock someone down

Fob - fob off; to put off with a trick. And did you know that a fob is not the ornament or pendant hanging from the end of the watch, but the small pocket in a man's breeches where he kept it?

Fuss - much to-do about unimportant matters

There are more, but I've rattled on sufficiently for now.

In the future, I hope to cover other topics like marriage and property--the laws for which would have today's woman looking for a meat cleaver--entertainments, fashion, and a host of other things. The Regency era is fascinating on so many levels, but mostly, IMHO, because it is an era unique to history, the likes of which we shall never see again.

Timely words

2009-06-07T11:53:00.006-04:00

Warning: I don't edit blogs. What I think is what you get. Proceed at your own risk.

In the previous blog, I mentioned a word that I thought too modern for my time period, but didn't give it as I couldn't recall it at the time. Going over my manuscript, I found the word, and, just to be certain, checked it again. Still fits.

The word is mitigate. My fifteenth century heroine wants to mitigate damage done her lord by an unthinking (and uncaring) woman. My etymology dictionary assures me that, used to mean lessen in severity; make milder, came into being in the fourteenth century. Works for me.

But not all words are as accommodating. One of the funniest I've found is the word hussy.

According to the Medieval Word Book by Madelieine Pelner Cosman (page 124), a hussy refers to a household bound woman--the female counterpart of a husband, shortened from housewife. It only took on the meaning we use today, loose woman, harlot, in the Renaissance age.

Of course, we won't tell the networks this, or they'll be doing a new reality series: Desperate Renaissance Hussies.

Another word that changed it's meaning is dun.

In A Dictionary of Medieval Terms & Phrases by Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams, a dun is defined as an Irish fortified dwelling. Perhaps it is the color of said dwellings that led to things being called dun-colored. (Unfortunately, the etymology doesn't make this clear so this is pure supposition on my part.)

Regency writers, however, are more accustomed to using dun as a repeated demand for payment, a seventeenth century usage.

Why this word evolved from a fortified dwelling to a creditor's demand is obscure. It may have been a blending of languages that made one word perform disparate tasks, but there is no way to be certain.

Many words we use are derived from names. These are called eponyms, and they pepper our language. Something jamesian refers to a styling or reflection reminiscient of either the novels of Henry James or the philosophy of William James. Why do I mention this? Because a word very common in schoolrooms harkens back to a name.

A thirteenth century theologian by the name of Johns Duns Scotus finds himself the unwitting origin of the word dunce. It seems his views fell out of favor in England during the Reformation, especially his defense of the papacy. William Tyndale first used the word Dunsman as an epithet, but it, like so many words, was shortened over time to the form we use today meaning ignorance and stupidity. (A Dictionary of Medieval Terms & Phrases. Pg 108)

And, last, I'll include the word precinct. While still in use, commonly in conjunction with the jurisdictional boundaries of law enforcement, in medieval times a precinct meant a cathedral close (Cathedral lands, usually walled) with all of its auxiliary buildings.

Of course, canon law had long tentacles, so perhaps this usage isn't so different after all.

Have you discovered any words like those above? Please share. We strengthen ourselves when we share knowledge.

Blogging with purpose

2009-05-31T02:18:00.006-04:00

Warning: I don't edit blogs. As I think them, you get them.
Proceed at your own risk.

I love books. I love reading them. I love writing them. I love owning them. I love holding them in my hot little hands and anticipating where we will travel together.

To me, books are treasures.

I love words. Large, small, strong, gentle, meaningful, vague, it doesn't matter. The power of words, whether written or spoken, holds endless fascination.

Words are tools, and like all tools, serve their purpose best when used properly. No one uses a hammer to drive in a screw--unless they don't mind the curtains falling because the wallboard or plaster crumbled.

As I've perused various blogs, I realized most had a theme of some sort, something that drew people to them. Mine tends to be comprised of random bits of thought (I don't know that I've had a WHOLE thought in quite some time) rattling around looking for a place to light so the posts are, at best, disjointed and sporadic.

That's going to change.

Romancing History will do exactly as its name implies; it will provide information on books and words with historical significance.

Yes, historical novels will be mentioned here as will research materials dealing with various eras. There is such a wealth of information available these days, and many people are more than happy to bookmark 999 web pages, but some are like me and prefer a book they can mark (I use colored post-its--a different color for each work or, sometimes, character--with a word or two on them to tell me what's relevant on that page rather than mark in the books themselves) and have in hand when the need arises.

Etymology will also play a part, as will whatever I can find about strong verbs and other word choice topics. Why? Because in my WIP, I used a word in dialogue I felt certain fit my time period. However, being an anal sort, out came the etymology dictionary. It seems both my hero and heroine would have been dead for more than two centuries ere this "perfect" word hit the lexicon. (In case you're curious, the word in question is naysayer.)

Another word that I thought too modern wasn't (can't recall right off which word. Sorry.) and in yet another instance the word actually changed its meaning over time. So, while the word was in use, it didn't mean then what it does now. A modern reader would understand, true, and had the word been used in narrative, it might have stayed, but not in dialogue. Readers aren't dumb; someone would have called me on it.

My hope is to make Romancing History a viable tool for other writers so, when the reader closes the curtain on any historical work, the hardware holds, the walls stay solid, and everyone has a satisfying experience.

Assume nothing. Check everything.

Getting the Call

2009-03-25T13:24:00.003-04:00

Today I got the Call.

No, not The Call, but the Call telling me my manuscript had made the finals for RWA's Golden Heart.

With my plate a bit full, working on my story is relegated to the wee hours of the night, so--since I tend to lose track of time when with my characters--the clock said 6:50 a.m. before I hit the rack. When the phone rang a bit after 8, my first thought was "Let the machine get it." My second? "Oh no, today's the day!"

I've been awake ever since.

Truth be told, I didn't expect getting the Call to be quite as exciting the second time, but . . . Okay, I admit it; I shrieked like a banshee on drugs. Amazing what a little vindication can do.

Watching while finalist's names were posted to a fellow writer's blog made the excitement linger, each new revelation like opening a Christmas gift or Birthday present.

You see, telling friends and family who aren't romance writers and have no idea what being a GH finalist means tends to leave you flat. You have to explain. It's rather like one of the Manning brothers saying, "Yeah, I won the Super Bowl" (okay, so only to a wannabe does this equation work, but you get the drift) only to be asked, "What's a Super Bowl?" But tell another romance writer and squeals and shrieks and happy dancing abound. Writers tend to work alone, for the most part, so the chance to share with others who understand makes any accomplishment that much more amazing.

So here's to all the writers, whatever their genre, stranded in worlds far removed from the real world, hearing voices only they can hear, telling tales as only they, individually, can. The writing community is a wonderful, supportive place filled with people as unique and individual as the stories they tell.

Thus, I offer a heartfelt "Congratulations!" to all the Golden Heart finalists driving hard to find the elusive onramp leading to highway of success and to the RITA finalists who are already on the road--and some who have paved the road--to their dreams. What an awesome bunch you are. Thank you for letting me share the ride.

Wishing you a Magical Christmas

2008-12-02T14:48:00.003-05:00

Christmas means different things to different people. Traditions abound. Family traditions are as different as the families who have them.

I'd like to share one of ours. We call it The Cookie Tree.

Each Christmas, my mom's dad and brothers would go get a tree. They unfailingly got one too large for the house. Gram, a firm believer that waste was a sin, would roll her eyes, heave a huge sigh, cut off the top (giving the tree a "flat top" long before the hairstyle became popular), and set it in a bucket of sand. When we visited a Christmas, that tree top would be decorated with cookies and candy canes and other edible goodies just for the grandchildren.

One year, Gramps and the uncles got it right. There was no Cookie Tree, just lots of disappointed kids.

It never happened again.

When I married, we lived far from the Grands, so I bought a wee artifical "Cookie Tree" for my children. We'd bake cookies, using a straw to make the holes for ribbons to hang them. Stringing popcorn became a contest to have the fewest holes in their fingers. Finding ways to hang "good for them" things became a game. (Fruit Loops on clear fishing line make a festive garland.)

The children would, of course, be up with the birds, but they weren't allowed to touch anything until we joined them, so, of course, they woke us---but not until after they raided the Cookie Tree.

That tree allowed my sweetheart and me to catch a few extra winks on Christmas morning.

Life took a turn, and that little tree--and most of what we owned--ended up in storage for a while. The children were teens the first Christmas in our new home, yet the very first thing they pulled down was that scraggly tree.

My son married. A must have purchase? A Cookie Tree.

And so a tradition continues.

Traditions should create wonderful memories. I know ours do (and the Cookie Tree is just one of many.)

Please feel free to share your traditions here. Who knows? It may become a tradition elsewhere and you will have given a gift of smiles.

Wishing you and yours a Blessed and Joyful Christmas.

VOTE

2008-11-04T02:12:00.002-05:00

History will be made this day. Regardless of your political affiliation, the choice made will have far reaching effects.

As an American citizen, it is your RESPONSIBILITY to vote. Don't hide behind the weak excuses that plague every election: It's not chosing the best candidate---it's chosing the lesser of two evils. My vote doesn't count anyway, why bother? It's cold. There are lines. The list goes on and on--and not one of those excuses is worth the breath it takes to utter it.

Our founding father's declared us a nation "by the people, for the people", but the people have become lazy, taking the rights and privileges of our citizenship for granted. Life gets in the way. That's understandable. Our economic climate has our minds reeling with fears and uncertainties, and in our fast food world, we all want a quick fix. Well, I fear this mess, over a decade in the making, will require more than a bit of Neosporin and a Band Aid. It will require staunch and steadfast government, the responsibility for which falls to you and me under the very constitution that granted us the freedoms we hold so dear.

So quit surfing the internet and reading blogs. Go Vote! It's time to stop reading history and make a little.

Looking beyond History

2008-10-17T10:56:00.005-04:00

How easy is it to make history? Very.

When I started this blog, I promised myself I would post weekly. As you can tell from the posting dates, that didn't happen, so my promise is history.

Anything that is in the past can be qualified as history. It doesn't have to be earth-shattering. It just has to have been.

Historical, on the other hand, requires more impact. Let's face it, no one cares if my wee promise is history UNLESS the impact in some way, shape, or form changes the future, whether that change is global, continental, national, or personal (Think Mary Todd Lincoln's mental instability vs. Abraham Lincoln's assassination.)

Our historical records tend to focus on life or world changing events. Everyone has heard of Waterloo--even if its ABBA's version--and understands the decisiveness of that battle. But how many know of the smaller skirmishes that laid the foundation for Britain's victory? Waterloo didn't stand alone, but iced a cake assembled ingredient by ingredient. It is the quality of the ingredients, or the lack thereof, that determines success or failure.

These small bits, the ingredients, are the recipe for historical writing success. These are the things that can set your book apart. Instead of another rehash of what has been done before, there is freshness, a new flavor.

The major battles, controversies, famines, political upheavals, felons, inventions, philosophies, etc. of any era are well documented. The things building them, swirling within them, and resulting from them are less so, yet they are pivotal because, without them, the greater event would never have happened.

While war scenerios are the best documented so are easiest (there are myriad books available dissecting the battles and strategies), they are not all.

A small farming village in a bucolic countryside finds itself host to a nest of radicals. This cannot help but color the lives of the villagers. Some will agree with the politics. Others will not. Some will go blithely through their days ignorant of the political bomb ticking beneath their feet. Others will simply ignore it, hoping it will go away before it explodes. This is true regardless of era, and it is how the people react to the circumstance that makes a good story.

To put it in a nutshell, look past the obvious. As you search, you will have a "Eureka!" moment (sans running down the street naked, one would hope), finding something that, while small within the context of time, meant success or failure in that moment. Things that happen everyday will suddenly become important: a dog bite that sidelined a messenger with vital information. A thrown horseshoe that put someone in the right or wrong place at the right or wrong time. A flippant comment that fanned the flames of revolution (Let them eat cake, anyone?)

Open your eyes to what lies beyond the big picture. See the vignettes. Remember, people make history. (Yes, it's been said before, and it will be said again.) Their pictures may be small and blurry, lost against a sweeping backdrop of epic proportion, but they are there. And they have stories to tell.

It's up to you to tell them.

Editing -- not for dummies

2008-10-06T23:33:00.003-04:00

First, I need to warn everyone that I don't edit this blog. Whatever pops into the over-ripe melon perched atop my neck is what you get--seeds and all.

I hate to edit my own work. Sad, but true. With so many stories camped within the limited confines of my skull screaming to get out, once a story is written, I'm ready to get onto the next.

I wrote "THE END", but I guess nobody got the memo.

Or maybe it's just that it took me a long time to realize "THE END" is really "THE BEGINNING" of the work phase of writing.

There are several kinds of editing--something I learned to my abject horror. There is the editing one does for contests: remove bits to fit the page count, make sure hooks are pithy and enticing, get that stellar paragraph from a later chapter and weave it into your entry (because you know that's the deal-maker), sex it up if they want hot, and tone it down if they don't. The final judge is an editor or agent who likes a certain theme or spiciness (you know because you checked the appropriate website or read it in the RWR), so you tweak a bit more, hoping to make the cut, get the request, make the grade.

From my previous blogs, you know I'm no contest diva. Not my style. The very idea of sculpting my manuscript to fit someone else's parameters seemed dishonest, a betrayal of muse, talent, and story, prostituting them for the payoff.

High ideals. The moral high road. Rising above the throng---and the muse, talent, and stories languished having no opportunity to strut their stuff.

Yeah, my reality check got cashed in a big way.

After conceding to the wisdom of a seasoned contest entrant, the changes were made, the contests entered, and people wanted to read more. The stories had an audience, the characters could begin to live for someone other than me.

Ethically, the whole sculpting idea still doesn't sit well, but the results speak for themselves. And the stories that went out were not the bastardized versions--those were keys to closed doors--but the real deal complete with the permanent addition of some of the best contest changes.

Editing for publication requires an entirely different mind and skill set. Yes, the hooks are still integral, the pacing essential, the character arcs--goals, conflicts, motivation, all the way to the happily ever after--indispensible, but there is more. This is not three chapters and a synopsis. This is the whole book, and the quality must stand throughout. No getting by with three chapters polished to high gloss while the rest wears a primer. All or nothing at all.

Abridged editions, specific audience requirements, different media, all require specialized editing--that someone else gets to do if we're lucky.

Editing someone else's work is rarely a problem. There is no personal investment. The characters aren't near and dear. Objectivity comes easily.

Not so with your own work.

I envy those who can stand back and, with a truly objective eye, slice and dice their manuscripts, stripping meat from the bones, rendering the fat, and come away with something wonderful. It is amazing to think that a person who can pour that much passion into a work can be so dispassionate in their evaluations.

I can't--yet. But I'm trying because the rest of the stories are clamoring for their turn, and they must wait until the work in progress is done.

Winners never quit, and quitters never win. Since failure is not an option, quitting is out of the question.

Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's true.

So I hate editing, but I'll do it, and then I'll do it again, and again, and again if need be. Those voices banging at my cranium will not be silenced until they live between the pages of a book. They tell me they deserve that.

I believe them.

Apology

2008-09-30T12:15:00.002-04:00

I hate to apologize, but this needs be said: I'm sorry.

My historical writing spans several eras. While not a family saga per se, the stories follow two families (One Yorkist, one Lancastrian) that join in the first novel, diverge into the White Rose Trilogy and the Red Rose Trilogy, following different branches of the family, and join again at the end of the two series. As a result, I'm constantly second-guessing and double-checking myself on the details of each era. And therein lies the reason I need to apologize.

I never rely on a single source when doing research. Experience has taught me not all sources are trustworthy despite their credentials. My assertion that chausses are ringed armor is supported by Webster's College Dictionary (with etemolgy for obvious reasons) and Writer's Digest's Everyday Life in the Middle Ages, among others. However, while double checking another fact about masculine attire, I used a book just recently aquired, History of British Costume by James Robinson Planche. Within I read that 'They consist of hose or long stockings (the Norman chausses, in fact) tied by points,' (pg 230).

Grrrr.....

Okay, so one book could be wrong. I had another recent purchase titled A History of Costume, by Carl Kohler so pulled that one out. Although the passage is contained within descriptions for 14th century attire (my story is late 15th century), it gave me pause. On page 153 it states: This period saw a great improvement in the dress for the lower limbs, called les chausses.

Hmmm.

Two sources, both credible, both at odds with previous sources. Now what?

Out comes book #3. (I did warn you I can be anal about facts in an earlier blog.)

On page 174, Medieval Costume in England and France by Mary G. Houston states: The shoes are very long and pointed, and the hose or chausses are jointed together at the top by a gusset back and front to form one complete garment which is attached by small laces tied at intervals to the garment above.

(Oh, and just for the record, all three books disagree on other garments, both on the time of their appearance and their names. Ain't nothin' easy.)

So that's three to two on the chausses. I lose.

So I most humbly apologize, and while within the context of my own work chausses will appear only in relation to armor--hose is more easily recognizable to readers for daily wear--I promise to desist from tossing books that have naked heroes jumping from their beds and pulling on their chausses.

However, I still reserve the right to wince.

2008-09-16T23:17:00.000-04:00

Thank you.

2008-09-16T22:13:00.004-04:00

I posted a picture of me and my girls dressed in Ren costumes, and it got me to thinking (yes, I recognize the hazards, thank you very much) about what tomorrow's writers will say about those of us living today. It's fine to attach cutsey names to particular demographics, i.e., Baby Boomers, Gen X, but what kind of legacy will today's writers leave the historical writers who follow?

When I started reading romance, the choices were few. Mills & Boon dominated the contemporary market, such as it was, and Barbara Cartland reigned as the historical genre's Grand Dame. Readers of romance became familiar with torches and boots and bonnets (Brit speak for flashlights, trunks, and car hoods) because that's what there was--until Silhouette came onto the scene. Regency romance was the province of Georgette Heyer unless one chose, as I did, to read Jane Austin or the Bronte sisters.

The pickings were slim.

Then came Bertrice Small, Rosemary Rogers, Sylvie Sommerfield, Laurie McBain, Shirlee Busbee, and Kathleen Woodiwiss, just to name a few. Historical romance as a distinct genre had no guidelines, no signposts, so these intrepid ladies made their own, defining, refining and redefining them as they went along. They are our history, the pioneers of the historical genre.

(I know, I know. I can hear fans of Johanna Lindsay, Julie Garwood, Phoebe Conn, Cassie Edwards, and a host of others asking why their faves (and a few of mine) aren't listed. The reason is simple; I'm not getting any younger, and I have a book to finish. To list all of the ladies who've influenced historical fiction would be a herculean task. Even were I to try, I'd most likely forget someone I admire, hear about it later, and feel like an idiot, so a sampling seems prudent.)

I happen to have the honor of an acquaintance with Bertrice Small. She's a lovely woman and as strong-willed as Skye O'Malley ever dreamed of being. In 2007, after the finalists for the Golden Heart were announced, Bertrice asked me about my story. As soon as I said "War of the Roses" she began telling me why Richard III couldn't have been the monster history painted him.

Such is the power of history. Five hundred plus years after the fact, people still debate the veracity of the "accepted" version. There are Richard III societies that will denounce ad nauseum Henry VII's claim to the throne.

History is, in fact, the province of the winner, so there is always another side of ANY story, but there I stood, confronted by a woman I have long admired, unwilling to debate the issue. I explained that, for the purpose of my story, the heroine took the Yorkist view, the hero took the Lancastrian, and I tried to present both sides. I'm happy to say, being the gracious lady she is, Bertrice smiled and spoke of other things (whew!)

The ladies who are our past--some of whom are still going strong--deserve our thanks. They "suffered the slings and arrows" so we might write the types of books we do. They opened the doors (windows, dog flaps, whatever it took) so we could--if not walk through--stick our toes in and make someone listen to us. Yes, many of their books earned the appellation "Bodice Ripper" which continues to haunt the genre to this day, but they were feeling their way through the dark, lighting torches so we could follow.

Thank you, ladies. Thank you for braving the wildnerness, fighting the dragons, raising the standard, and for the hours of enjoyment found in the stories you created and the characters you gave breath. You have set a sterling example of intelligence, creativity, and tenacity.

Let us hope, someday, the same can be said for those of us that follow you.

Romancing History

2008-09-12T19:35:00.001-04:00

Bear with me

2008-09-11T14:09:00.003-04:00

Hello,

Glad you stumbled in. I know you didn't intend to come here because this is a very new blog and a very new experience for me.

New experiences have been rife since my 2007 Golden Heart final, but the other finalists are such lovely ladies, they just keep herding me along into places I never thought I'd dare tread. Thus, the title for this first entry. I promise to get better once the scope of this new territory doesn't tie my belly into little tiny Gordian knots. Of course, after this comes the dreaded "web page," but not today. As Neil Armstrong said (with a bit of a paraphrase from me), "One small step for chicken kitty, one giant leap for scaredy-cats everywhere."

I called this blog Romancing History because, truth be told, history isn't, in and of itself, romantic. It's dirty, unsanitary, bloody, and a host of other unpalatable adjectives. Learning history in school required memorization of mind-numbing facts, dates, and names.

The names caught my attention.

People make history. Not dates, not battles, not rivers of slops flowing unfettered down horse manure festooned cobbled streets. People who laughed, cried, danced, bled, changed their babies, yelled at the dog. Biographies became my preferred reading.

I wrote my first romance--and I use the term loosely--sitting at a cafeteria table in junior high with a group of friends. I still remember the high-perch phaeton the hero swooped to a halt before my startled, and inappropriately named, heroine. We'd discovered Barbara Cartland, you see. It was all downhill from there---at least for me.

Writing historical romance requires research, and since learning about people still intrigues me, that's no hardship. I am, however, anal about facts. So many books have inaccuracies within that are, despite being SO wrong, accepted. Since when does accepted equate to correct?

I once entered my manuscript in a contest where the judge marked me down because I didn't call the heroine's home a "keep." Duh! Keep, as in fortified holding, donjon, castle, etc., is a Renaissance term and the Renaissance didn't come to England until the 1500s--more than a decade after my story takes place.

Chausses. Ah, yes. Several times now I've read about naked heroes bounding from their beds to don their chausses. Must have hurt. And the succession? Forgeddaboudit. Chausses are made of small metal rings. Webster's defines them as medieval armor of mail for the legs and feet. Chausses were worn atop thick, quilted hose for obvious reasons.

Why am I telling you this? Because there is no way to ascertain exactly--especially in the areas of clothing, armor, and personal items--what things populate a specific segment of time within an era. Folks I know were sporting elephant bells and tie-dyed shirts from the seventies before current fashion went retro. By their very nature, some things overlap. However, if I were to make a glaring mistake, I'd want someone to tell me, or at least caution me to check it out. Thinking of my stories thrown against a wall or into the dust bin---which is where inaccuracies end up in my world---doesn't sit well.

So this is an invitation to gently (I hate qualifiers too, but you know how it goes) correct me if you find an inaccuracy in my work. I will, sometime in the future, post some bits from my current WIP and will welcome your feedback.