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Monthly Archives: March 2008

Everyone Is Irish On St Patrick’s Day

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Growing up, I always loved St. Patrick’s Day with its celebration of all things Irish. To me, the Irish people were plucky, brave and proud–survivors of terrible adversity. I lapped up tales of the potato famines, of how the Irish emigrated to America, and of how they battled discrimination when they landed. I cheered the triumph of Irish Americans in our society. Countrywide celebration of St. Patrick’s Day is evidence of a hard battle won.

I was, therefore, very proud of my Irish heritage. Whenever I heard my mother’s maiden name spoken, I could envision the rich, green countryside of our ancestral home.

I was well into adulthood when I happened to ask my mother and aunt, “During which potato famine did our ancestors flee Ireland?”

Their response:

“Ireland?”
Long pause.
“Well, I suppose we might have an Irish relative somewhere but we came from Alsace-Lorraine.”

I was devastated.
Not only was I not Irish, but I had concocted a history for myself that was totally false. How could I do that?
I was writing fiction even before I knew it!

Nonetheless, what I love about the Irish and Ireland I still love about them, even if the connection is only in my heart. I like to hint at the attitude about the Irish during the Regency. There was a lot simmering under the surface.

I tried to show a little of this in Innocence & Impropriety My hero and heroine of that book are Irish.

Many important figures in English history around the Regency time period have Irish roots. Castlereagh and Wellington, for example, were descended from Irish landowners, although they were anglicized protestants, more English than Irish, you might say. There were also several Irish literary figures within a hundred years or so of the Regency, also anglicized protestants. Jonathan Swift, Oliver Goldsmith, Bram Stoker, W. B. Yeats, Oscar Wilde, to name a few.

It will be exciting to read Amanda’s Grand Central books set in the time of the Irish rebellion, even if we do have to wait until 2010. In the meantime, we can get our fill of Irish Medievals from Michelle Willingham.

By the way, go to Harlequin and click on the clover. You can purchase Michelle’s Her Warrior King for 40% off.

Can you think of any other Irish Historical romances that we should put on our TBR piles?

And who out there is Irish today?
I am!!!

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My Mind Has Blown

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Last week, I talked about word-of-mouth and two books that topped the AAR Annual Poll. So, as promised, last week I started to read If His Kiss Is Wicked by Jo Goodman.

So now my mind is blown. I’m on page 152–152!!–and the hero and heroine have not had any sexual contact, not a kiss, even!

AND Jo Goodman has a few sections that seem to be in double point-of-view at the same time, in other words, you can hear both sides of the h/h’s brain. Double Mind-Blowing!

Common wisdom, by which I mean every single writers’ workshop, says the current trend is to have sex, or a sexual encounter, within about the first ten pages. Also, agents and editors and writers will all warn about multiple POVs, following it up with the Nora Caveat, by which they mean “Nora Roberts has multiple POVs, but she can do it, you can’t.”

And this book got tied for the Best Romance in 2007?!? Yow! I don’t argue as to its merit, it is excellent, and compelling, and has intriguing characters and a great set-up, etc., but I am amazed that a book that broke two of the most steadfast Romance Writing Rules won.

So, yay! Yay for Rule-breakers! Yay for Adventurous Readers! And for you Adventurous Readers, what rule do you like to see broken? For Adventurous Writers, what rules do you like to break?

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Herschel revisited

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I found out just today, that (1) it was a Thursday and therefore my day to post and (2) on March 13, 1781, William Herschel discovered Uranus. This is very fortuitous, because the Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath is one of my very favorite places–I blogged about it long ago on September 8, 2005, when we were all brand spanking new here; and Elena blogged about Herschel’s sister Charlotte a couple of years ago. Search the blog for Herschel and you’ll find all sorts of references–his name just keeps coming up.

So who was Herschel and why was he so important? In the words of Patrick Moore, patron of the Herschel Museum, William Herschel was the first man to give a reasonably correct picture of the shape of our star-system or galaxy; he was the best telescope-maker of his time, and possibly the greatest observer who ever lived.

And his achievements were all the more impressive because Herschel, a refugee from Hanover (Germany) was self-taught and became an astronomer more or less by accident. He was a musician by training, who received a telescope in lieu of payment, looked the instrument over and decided he could create a better one.

The Museum, at 19 New King Street in Bath, is a modest building in the sort of street where artisans lived. It’s beautifully and faithfully restored to the period, and filled with Herschel’s telescopes and books. Sadly, the Octagon Chapel nearby, one of Bath’s most fashionable churches in the eighteenth century, where Herschel held the position of organist, was closed and badly in need of restoration. (Or at least it was when I last visited two years ago. The organ itself, pictured here, no longer exists. And people in the museum were hopping mad that the city was pouring money into the new Thermae Bath Spa.) Does anyone know what the latest on the Octagon Chapel is? Jane Austen–you may have heard of her–was one of the many visitors to Bath who attended services there.

But back to Herschel. The small house on New King Street was flooded with visitors including the King, after whom Herschel named the new planet, Georgium Sidus, but the name never caught on. He was awarded the Copley medal and elected a member of the Royal Society, and then appointed Astronomer Royal in 1782, which necessitated a move to Slough, near Windsor. His descendants, some of whom were also astronomers, lived in the same house until the mid-twentieth century. Guess what happened to the house…


How do you feel about preservation vs. modernization? If you were in charge of a historic city, what would your priorities be? How would you reconcile commerce with history?

And has anyone visited the Thermae Spa? When I was in Bath they were selling very expensive products connected with it, but it wasn’t yet open.

Can you pronounce Uranus with a straight face? (The official museum pronunciation is you-RIN-us which isn’t much better).

Send an e-mail to riskies@yahoo.com with NEWSLETTER in the subject line to be apprised of the movements of the Planet Risky.

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AUSTEN TREK: Tribble and Prejudice

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AUSTEN TREK: or, if Jane Austen wrote Star Trek…

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single captain in possession of a starship, must be in want of a tribble.

However little known the feelings or views of a captain may be on his first entering a space station, this truth is so well fixed in the mind of a con-artist like Cyrano Jones, that the captain is considered the rightful property of some one or other of the tribbles.

“My dear Captain Kirk,” said Cyrano Jones to him during his first day on Deep Space Station K7, “have you heard that I possess a miraculous cure for high blood pressure?”

Kirk replied that he had not.

“But it is true,” returned the trader; “for Doctor McCoy’s tricorder has just been here, and confirmed it beyond all doubt.”

Captain Kirk made no answer.

“Do you not want to know how I cure it?” cried Cyrano Jones impatiently.

“YOU want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”

This was invitation enough.

“Why, my dear captain, you must know, I have in my possession a rare and invaluable creature, the like of which none but the wise ancients of Organia have ever before possessed.”

“What is it called?”

“Tribble.”

“Is this tribble a group, or a single creature?”

“Oh! Single, my dear Captain Kirk, to be sure! A single tribble, but with a large capacity for reproduction: it will yield four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for your crew of four-hundred and thirty!”

“How so? How can it affect them?”

“My dear James Kirk,” replied the trader, “how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of you purchasing a tribble for them.”

“Is that your design in speaking to me?”

“Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that you MAY fall in love with one of them, and therefore you should look over my stock carefully.”

“I see no occasion for that. You may send the tribbles away, or you may choose to accompany them, which perhaps will be still better, for inasmuch as you are as annoying as they are silly and ignorant, I am less likely to end by striking you if your face is not in the same room as my fist.”

And the question for today is: Do you like Austen Trek? Hate it? Do you want to see variations on it (e.g. Bronte Trek, Heyer Trek, Austen of the Lost Ark, etc)?

And if you want to read previous installments of Austen Trek, just click on the words “Austen Trek” at the bottom of this post!

Cara
Cara King, going where no Regency writer has gone before…

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Promotion

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Deb Marlowe’s question about book trailers on Amanda’s post Saturday got me thinking about promotion. Believe me, after you get that magical, most-sought-after, long desired book contract, you immediately start agonizing about promotion. After wanting so desperately to get the book published now you want the book to do well. That means promotion.

I haven’t a clue what promotion really works so I’m asking our Risky Regency community. What works for you?

I’m not talking about reviews or word-of-mouth or bookcovers or backcover copy, because we really have no control over those things. I mean the promotion we do have control over, the kind that helps you remember the book or the author.

Are you influenced by Book Trailers?
Here is one I think is great! So clever. Done by Diana Holquist.
Speaking of clever, you can’t beat these by fellow Wet Noodle Posse Noodler Jill Monroe, for her Primal Instincts and another for Gena Showalter’s Savor Me Slowly.

What about websites? We’re told a website is an essential promotional tool. Last year I made a big investment in a new website. Do you think a website is important? If so, why?

Do you think the cover of Romantic Times magazine helps you remember a book or its author?

How about an ad in RT?

What about banner ads? I don’t do many of those but I wonder if they are good advertising.

How about promotional materials? Totes? T-shirts? Here are some I did through CafePress.com as contest prizes.


This is my absolute favorite promotional item that I’ve ever done. I only gave away a limited number and I didn’t care if they were effective or not. They were sooooo much fun. (Get it? It’s a “Reputable Rake”)

What about things like magnets, Do Not Disturb signs, mirrors, emery boards (love those!), chip clips, pens, pencils–all those thing we get in conference goody bags and goody rooms? I’ve never done any of those.

And last of all—Bookmarks!!
I always do bookmarks for my books and I really love them, because you can carry them with you easily and you can give them out at booksignings or anywhere! I often give them out like business cards.

Do you like bookmarks?

Sometimes photography is used in promotion. Like this promotional photo from PS I Love You (Gerard Butler reclining, Keira!)Lots of questions here, Riskies…..Tell me what you think!

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