The economy is sadder than the Prince Regent confronting an empty larder.

And although the romance genre isn’t hurting as much as other genres, publishing houses are facing economic downturns.

Already, book retailers are warning that only the big names will be moving significant numbers, and houses taking chances on new names are decreasing. Random House is trying to combat the book malaise by launching a new campaign to spur sales: “Books=Gifts,” promoting the value of books as holiday gifts. Several big name authors such as Dean Koontz and Maya Angelou are lending their names and their words to the campaign, and Random House is not limiting its promotion to its own company’s books. The campaign reaches both old and new media outlets in its ad buys.

I love giving books, although I like best giving them TO ME. I find, however, that gift book giving is an idiosyncratic notion, because asking someone to read a book is a serious commitment. You can’t just toss something at them and expect them to jump right in.

How do you decide who to buy books for? What kinds of books do you buy? Do you always sneak in a book for yourself? Do you need help with suggestions for books for anyone on your list? What’s the oddest book someone has ever gotten for you?

Happy Book Buying!

Megan

Is demum miser est, cuius nobilitas miserias nobilitat.

(Indeed, wretched the man whose fame makes his misfortunes famous.)

Lucius Accius (170 BC – 86 BC)

When did we start getting so fascinated with other people? Is the obsession with famous people one that is only a modern conceit? Well, of course not–people have always been interested in other people, and we know from our own books that scandal, chatter, talk and tittle-tattle can make or break a person’s reputation.

And, according to one researcher, the cult of personality didn’t start in the 19th century, but even before that, in the 18th.

Elizabeth Barry of the University of Warwick in England says the phenomenon of celebrity “can be traced back to the rise of newspapers and magazines and the popularity of obituaries of unusual people, published in what served as the gossip sheets of the era.”

Begging the question, who would write these obituaries? That would probably be a good living for a creative hero or heroine, hm? And deciding which to spotlight, would that prove to be a position of influence?

“Obituaries were one of the most-read sections of newspapers and magazines of the 1700s. They were intended to provide an account of the life of someone who had recently died as a way of illustrating how the life you led would be rewarded or punished in death.

However, the rise in popularity of obituaries actually came because the deceased were regarded as objects of scandal and public fascination — in other words, Great Britain’s first celebrities.

For instance, the Gentleman’s Magazine in 1789 gave an account of the life of Isaac Tarrat, a man known to hire himself out to impersonate a doctor and tell fortunes in a fur cap, a large white beard and a worn damask night gown. Another subject, Peter Marsh of Dublin, was made famous by his convictions about his own death in 1740. After being hit by a mad horse which died soon after, Marsh convinced himself that he would also go mad and die. The Gentleman’s Magazine reported that he duly died “of a conceit that he was mad.”

Are you fascinated with certain celebrities? Which ones? Which of the Regency-era public figures are most interesting to you? Do you like it when those real people end up in our fictional books?

Thanks!

Megan

Happy Halloween! My little Gene Simmons is off at school, coming home tonight so Mommy can apply face paint and rhinestones.

I am looking forward to Falling Back, that is MY treat this year.

In writing news, I am considering changing my heroine’s name. Right now, it’s Alys, which seemed to suit her when I started, but now I am not so sure. I thought about Hyacinth–courtesy of some spam email–but that seems too frilly for my heroine. Perhaps you have some thoughts?

She looks like this picture here, she is smart, knows what she doesn’t know (in other words, is well aware she is out of her depth dealing with her current situation), is wryly witty and interested in new experience (enter: The Hero). She has freckles, too, and I am considering adding other ‘flaws’ so she’s not divinely, perfectly beautiful.

Until I have the name right, I can’t write the character. I will be browsing through name books, mainly Withycombe‘s Oxford Dictionary of Christian Names, but I wouldn’t mind some help.

Do character names jar you if they don’t seem right? What’s your favorite name for a character? How important is a character’s name in terms of defining the character?

Thanks!

Megan

Oh, yikes, it’s Friday again.

Today I am heading to New Jersey for their fabulous conference. I will be the sole Risky in attendance (and yes, I am bringing buttons, fellow Rs!), and I look forward to hanging with old friends and making some new ones. Oh, and attending a few workshops, of course.

But this week, in personal terms, has been a dud. First off, although I wrote–and wrote well–this week, I only managed one day of writing. And one day of exercising. And I regained the two pounds I had lost the week before (to which I say, WTF?). So last night I made some Bad Choices and should have done some things and did others instead. I have to run around like a crazy person packing for Jersey and stressing because there’s just never enough time, except for when I waste it.

So now I hate myself.

Which means you all have to suffer, too.

No, not really.

Yes, you do.

No, not really.

Ye–anyway, I am always up for a resolution, especially if it is public, so I am resolving to make Good Choices and try to write, even though sometimes it seems as though I am writing only for me (can you tell I haven’t heard anything yet from my agent about my submission? Yeah, like that.).

And exercise, because it’s good for my heart and stuff.

And I do feel good about going to Jersey, and I hope not to be a ninny, and get some benefit out of going. I am looking forward to Halloween (my son is going as Kiss’s Gene Simmons, his idea, not ours!), and pumpkin ale, and cute sweaters, and getting to 25,000 words, and visiting with relatives, and lots and lots of tea.

Okay. Hold onto those good thoughts, Megan.

What is your surefire way for getting out of the doldrums?