We all have our tastes, our preferences, our prejudices. (I know I do.)

And one thing I’ve figured out: sometimes I have a preference (or, if you prefer, a prejudice) that has a clear reason for being — a motivation, if you will — but I haven’t figured out what this reason is. (This leads to those “I really hate romances set on Greek Islands but I have no idea why” moments.) (You might also think it leads to those “I can’t understand why you enjoy sugar in your tea” moments, but that’s quite a different thing. I need no subtle motivation to know that sugar in tea is just a sad, sad thing.)

Why is this on my mind? Because I’ve just reasoned out the reason for one of my prejudices preferences.

And this makes me happy. Any sign that even the smallest part of my brain (or, indeed, any part of the world) is organized by something approaching logic makes me feel warm and snug and smug.

Now, I have mentioned that one might prefer to call this preference of mine a prejudice, right??? And I have made it clear that this is just my taste, my bias, one of my likes and dislikes??? (And I do have lots and lots of dislikes, particularly concerning vegetables and blue eye shadow.)

Because I honestly mean no criticism of anyone’s books (even books I may have read). After all, my refusal to eat cauliflower in no way implies that I dislike, disparage, or disrespect the cauliflower on your plate! And I particularly don’t disapprove of you for eating it (or reading or writing it.)

So…here it is.

I realized quite a while ago that I get surprisingly annoyed at reading historicals in which there exists perfect birth control… You know, the book where the virgin aristocratic heiress has a naughty aunt who teaches her (or provides her with) a fool-proof way to fool around with some hunky fool for as many months as she wants, with zero chance of pregnancy.

Now, it’s not like I always insist on perfect historical authenticity or total realism…after all, I’m a big fan of Shakespeare and Georgette Heyer. (Yes, I know that when Viola and Rosalind and Leonie dressed up as men they would still have looked like girls…but I just don’t care!)

So…why this great irritation on my part? Why does the better-than-the-year-2008 contraception in 1808 in just get under my skin? Well, I finally figured it out.

The way I see it, a huge amount of the psychology, sociology, laws, economics, and fashion involving middle and upper-class women in 1808 Britain was based on the fact that reliable contraception did not exist.

After all, think how much the invention of the pill affected social norms and behavior involving everything from cohabitation to premarital sex to middle-class wives working outside the home to romance novels to adoption.

So, for me, reading a historical with foolproof contraception is as bizarre as reading some of the science fiction written in the 1950’s — the kind where the fifty-year-old workaholic hero’s wife has all her housework, shopping and entertaining done by robots, but she still doesn’t have a job or even a hobby. (I’m sorry, but what does she do all day???)

So there you have it. When it comes to reading about perfect contraception in 1808 (or mindless housewives in 2828)…I simply would prefer not to.

Cara
Cara King, who once wrote an essay arguing Bartleby the Scrivener was a ghost

As anyone who’s paid even passing interest to my posts lately knows, I’ve just moved. After 13 years of being in the same apartment.

So writing? No, not so much lately.

But I have set up my office, sort of; when Amanda was visiting, she helped me lug boxes of research and Regency books up to the second floor, where I sit typing now. Last week, I managed to get them onto the shelves.

I have a lot of books, especially for someone who admits she’s not much of a researcher. What I do get from my vast collection, however, is inspiration; for example, I have a book I snagged from my dad’s even vaster collection:

The Hell-Fire Club by Donald McCormick

I haven’t even opened it (mostly ’cause it smells funny, the way old paperbacks do), but how inspiring is it, even from the cover? The top line on the book reads “The Weird Story of the Amorous Knights of Wycombe.” Come on, how awesome would it be if one of our heroines snuck into the Hellfire Club? Or the hero was a member?

I also have on my shelf a book I’ve mentioned here before, the Regency Underworld by Donald A. Low (do you smell a trend? Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be writing about a traditional debutante and her Season anytime soon. My new agent likes it that I’m edgy, which is cool).

Another book that will be way useful, when I actually open it, is The Great North Road by Frank Morley, which my dad (my research partner) left notes in after writing me a huge document on all roads leading to London (I am writing a “Road To . . .” series, so my characters are traveling to and fro).

Mostly, though, I sit here and look up and smile because the two shelves look like they belong to a Regency Author’, which is what I am.

What are your favorite history books? Besides the Regency, which are your favorite periods to know about?

I’ve been brainstorming about names for a week or two, in between heat waves and book binges and headaches and out-of-town visitors.

I like finding the right sound for a character name, but I also like playing with connotations. In MY LADY GAMESTER, I named the hero’s somewhat immature, rather weak younger brother Edmund — hoping to draw on memories of either the Edmund in THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE, or the one in MANSFIELD PARK (or both).

On the other hand, the heroine’s younger brother was Tom. As opposed to Edmund, Tom was boyish, energetic, and none too sophisticated.

But right now, I’m figuring out names for my work in progress, which is a young adult novel (and, eventually, a loosely-linked series of young adult novels.) The first one has a lot of minor characters, so I need to find names which are memorable, distinct, and sound like the character they represent. And, if I’m lucky, the social group the character belongs to!

See, in the modern-day high school where my story takes place, there are two basic social groups I’m dealing with:

1) the group which, for lack of a better term, I’m currently calling the POPULAR KIDS, who are high-achieving, good-looking, athletic kids from well-to-do families; and

2) the group which for convenience sake I’m calling the NERDY KIDS, who are brainy and studious and come from more varied backgrounds than group #1.

However, I’m having a little bit of difficulty, so…if you could all help me out a bit, I’d really appreciate it!!! Could you let me know, on first seeing each of the following girl’s names, which of the above two groups you would expect them to belong to? (Knee-jerk reaction here.)

Gretchen
June
Harmony
Nia
Wren
Jena
Wynne
Jazz
Tabitha
Holly
Wenda
Hope
Ivy
Jasmine
Winter
Jenny

Thank you all SO much!!!!

Cara
Cara King, who hated her hard-to-spell-or-pronounce name as a kid

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After a week away, I’m just starting to catch up on laundry and emails, but I can’t help adding my tuppence to all the discussions you’ve all had while I was away.

I agree with Cara on Pace vs Depth; I like stories that occasionally slow (though not stop) for world-building and character development. I find that uniformly frenetic pacing can become boring in its own right. In a romance I also want to see some glimpses of the HEA.

Diane’s post A Character in Possession of a Good Motto provoked thoughts and smiles. The closest I’ve come to character mottos was in thinking about how the characters in LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE would react to being imprisoned. Livvy would carve poetry into the walls to keep herself sane; Jeremy would risk death to try to escape.

Janet’s Let’s Talk About Summer had me looking forward to RWA. It’s been far too long since I’ve met with my fellow Riskies and there are so many of our regular visitors I am looking forward to meeting in person! Oh, and that cover is very Barbie but the girliness is not necessarily a bad thing. 🙂

And Megan’s That Fresh Feeling and Amanda’s What I’m Doing on my New York vacation had me wishing I could be there with them, soaking up all the artsy inspiration and good writing vibes. And one can never view too many gratuitous Sean Bean images.

As for what I have been doing, I was in Florida visiting my in-laws. Take three parts Mr. Woodhouse, two parts Mrs. Bennet, add a dash of Sir Walter Elliot, shake well and reincarnate as an elderly Jewish couple and you get the idea. I love them dearly but I was also glad we planned some good outings.

One day (and many $$$) were spent at Epcot with the kids. Expensive, only lightly educational but fun, especially pigging out at the country exhibits: shawarma and hummus at Morocco (yum!) and chocolate eclairs in France (yum again).

I also took my budding violinist to see Pinchas Zukerman perform with the Florida Orchestra. He conducted the entire concert and played a Mozart violin concerto, looking very relaxed and happy wearing what appeared to be black silk pajamas. We had 2nd row seats (not ideal for sound balance but great for viewing nuances of technique) and my daughter gazed up at him as if he were a god–and he pretty much played like one.

The helpful string expert at the music store where we rented a violin alerted us to a performance of Mahler’s 2nd Symphony by the Bach Festival Orchestra. I hadn’t heard much Mahler before, perhaps because symphonies that extend far beyond the typical 4 movements are less likely to be played on classical stations. My local orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic, hasn’t ever performed a Mahler symphony, at least not while I’ve lived in the area. But wow! There’s a whole world in that music. Must hear more.

Anyway, what has everyone else been doing this past week? What’s your favorite ethnic food? What do you think of Mozart? Mahler? Do you have any relations who remind you of Jane Austen characters?

And don’t forget, it’s the last day of our Great Tagline Contest. If you haven’t done so already, enter your vote for the chance to win a $25 Amazon gift certificate! Click here for full contest details.

Elena
www.elenagreene.com