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Tag Archives: Jane Austen

Cover!

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I just got this new cover art from Hot Damn Designs and I couldn’t be more happy!

Thank you all for helping me brainstorm cover ideas and titles. Based on your inputs, I decided to leave the original title. The last thing I want to do is look like I’m trying to sucker readers into buying the same book twice.

Since the cover artist was so quick, I’m going to scramble to get the formatting done so I can start publishing on Kindle, Nook, etc…

I also want to update my website and consider other ways to possibly increase my online presence. I enjoy blogging and would love to get back to visiting more blogs than our own! So far I haven’t done an author page on Facebook and I am clueless about Twitter, but these are things I’m looking into as well.

I often find out about new authors by word of mouth. I’m lucky enough to have friends with similar enough taste to mine that I’ll always enjoy their recommendations. The nice thing about word of mouth is it’s based on writing a good book, which is something I’m already trying to do. Preserving the writing time is very, very important to me.

But I also think one may have to do some things to get that word of mouth going, though I’m not sure what they are.

What do you think? Since you are here, I’ll assume you enjoy blogs. Are there other ways you find new (to you) authors? I’ve heard Facebook may be declining; do you think it’s dead or just leveled out? How about Twitter?

Elena

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Global HeartWarming

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Today there’s awful news about explosions in Norway. Now, back in the time of our heroes and heroines, it would have taken days, maybe longer, to find out about things happening in other countries. Now it’s seconds. And people are responding to the crisis with sympathy and offers of help, as they should.

It’s my belief that the more you can find commonality with someone, the more sympathetic you are. It’s not a controversial opinion, and it is why I think many city-dwellers are more comfortable with people of other ethnicities than people who live in more segregated (no pejoratives meant) communities.

Anyway. One way that many of us in the romance community find commonality with others is through our shared interest in books. This is a theme I have talked often about, the great joy and amazing friends I’ve found through reading. It’s hard to dislike someone if they love Loretta Chase as much as you do, for example. Or perhaps if you find you have reading in common, you might find other areas you can discuss.

Not that global crises such as what might have happened in Norway could be solved if we all shared a book; I’m not even close to that naive. But the commonality of reading makes me appreciate what I’ve learned through that sharing with others.

I’m grateful for that, so thanks to all my friends, both on- and off-line.

Megan

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Housewifery skills at Riversdale

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Last Saturday I attended an event at Riversdale House Museum, Maryland, where historians taught us the skills of the Georgian-Federal era housekeeper. Kate Dolan, who was our guest last Thursday, was also there–here she is with an apron full of herbs.

The house boasts a beautiful garden where herbs, flowers, and vegetables are grown, often sharing the same space, and most of my pics were of the garden. If you’d like to see some really good photos of the costumed participants, go here.

After a short presentation on herbs we gathered them to make our own herb vinegars in the kitchen of the dependency (behind Kate)–it’s a mid nineteenth century building outside the house which is now used for open hearth cooking demonstrations.

We had a delicious lunch we prepared that featured produce from the garden, using some American eighteenth century recipes and a couple from Mrs. Beeton. Joyce White, the Foodways expert on staff at Riversdale, emphasized the importance of setting the table correctly and making sure that each dish (served a la francaise) was beautiful in appearance, garnished with flowers, herbs, and asparagus fronds from the garden.

Here are some pics of the garden. The right one shows the house and the monster asparagus plants on the right.

In addition we experimented with authentic cleaning substances and techniques for brass and mahogany–guess what, they worked!

We were very lucky to have Katy Cannon, an expert in historical cosmetics giving a demonstration. Check out her website at AgelessArtifice.com. She burned some pastills for us, which were thought to perfume the air and therefore prevent infections, and we learned that our ancestors enjoyed making pastills embedded with gunpowder for innocent fun in the parlor. I bought some of her products, and here is my loot from the event:

From left to right:
Cologne
A Ball to take out Stains (and it does. In use. It’s soap, lemon, and alum.)
Bags for preffe or clothes, that no Moth may breed therein. Snappy name! From a 1653 recipe, juniper wood, cloves, rosemary, wormwood. It smells delicious!
My very own rosemary and thyme vinegar.
In front, it looks like jam but it’s mahogany polish.

Tell us if you’ve tried any historic recipes or cleaning methods. Did they work?

Also if you’re in the greater Washington DC area, please come to Riversdale’s Battle of Bladensburg Encampment on August 13. It’s free, with house tours, kids’ activities, food, music, uniformed historical reenactors, and loud explosions. More details here.

And in the Blatant Self Promotion department, here are two places where you can comment to enter a contest for a copy of my erotic contemporary TELL ME MORE: Snap, Crackle, and Popping Blog and Write About.

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Carolyn’s Read Along

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Short post today because I have spotty internet access!

I started To Wed a Stranger by Edith Layton in order to prepare for Carolyn’s Risky Read-Along. I intended to read a little each day, like I usually do, and I expected to be behind in my reading as I usually am.
But I literally could not put this book down. I can’t wait for the Read-Along to begin!
While I was poking around the internet for information about Edith Layton, I came across this write-up on Wikipedia. Subject: Regency Novel: “Georgette Heyer, Barbara Metzger, Joan Smith, Marion Chesney, Mary Balogh, Jo Beverley, Nancy Butler, Lisa Kleypas, Stephanie Laurens…. Amanda McCabe and Julia Quinn.”
Our Amanda in such exalted company!!!! Now that’s just where she belongs.

What was the last book you read that you could not put down?

Are you prepared for the Risky Read-Along?
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