Word Wenches

A Wenchly Ode to Mary Stewart

Cara/Andrea here,
The Wenches talk among themselves nearly every day on a variety of topics, from the silly to the sublime. But as you can well imagine, books figure prominently in the discussions. And recently, as the questions of early “influences” came up, the name of Mary Stewart jumped to the fore. As we waxed enthusiastic, it occurred to us that our thoughts would be a fun thing to feature on this month’s “What We Are Reading” as many of you no doubt share our love of her books. So, here are some of our thoughts on her works. And we encourage you to share yours as well!

Pajamas!

Nicola here, talking about night attire, and here to model a very fetching onesie is Angus MacLeod, who was disgusted to find that after a recent operation he had to sleep in a night suit!

A recent study by researchers (who either have a very interesting job or too much time on their hands, depending on your point of view) discovered that fewer and fewer people wear pajamas these days. (If you are in the UK you are wearing pyjamas – or not. Once again we’re divided by the spelling of our common language!)

Research showed that in the UK pyjama wearing has declined to only 26%, with people preferring to wear nightshirts or other types of clothing, or in the case of 46% percent of people, nothing at all. This prompted me to do a little research of my own into the history and popularity of the pajama.

THE SPARKY REPORT #31

Uh-oh. Someone knocked the apple pie off the kitchen counter. (Looks away in embarrassment)

Sparky's at it again. No, she didn't get onto the kitchen counter. She knows that's off limits. But nobody told her she couldn't sit on her little stool next to the counter and use her clever paws and naughty thumbs to pull a Costco apple pie off the counter. I had just mopped the floor, and I'll tell you, I was half tempted to scoop up that pie and put it back in the pan! 

 

Sparky, however, had a better idea.

Nom, nom, nommmm

So I went went to get the mop once again, and when I returned, Sparky and Kyanne were chowing down. They were joined by Shona, my other dog, and let me just say that where dogs are concerned a pie doesn't have a chance.

 

Delicious!

While I mourned the loss of the apple pie (Costco has the best!) at least my three critters took care of the disposal. Kyanne is highly efficient at Hoovering up the last crumb. Now Sparky, Kyanne, and Shona have cinnamon breath.

 

Snarf, snarf, snarffff . . .

Sparky ate her fill and then wandered off for a nap. Kyanne obligingly finished off the pie. Did this little accident cure Sparky of her shenanigans? Of course not! After Sparky awoke from her nap, she . . . well, that's a story for next week. *g*

 

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The Sparky Report #30

The Sparky Report #29

There's always something new!

by Mary Jo

In the brave new world of indie publishing, there is always something new to try, and a new learning curve to growl about. <G>  Having the endless curiosity characteristic of writers, I keep trying new things. I've already talked about audiobooks here, and that was a very interesting process in what I think is a rapidly growing area of publishing.  Very business-like of me to give it a try.

Now What?

So naturally, what I'm talking about today isn't at all business-like.  <G>  I loved writing my young adult Dark Mirror series despite all the challenges. 

Antimony

Hi, Jo here. One of the things I like most about writing is the unexpected things I come across when doing research.

Antimony sounds to me like a musical term or a concoction, but it's actually an element. Sb. (A good one for a quiz where they want elements that don't end with -ium.) It's also a metalloid, which means it's a sort of metal but not quite. Bear with me -- a chemist, I am not!

It has a number of uses, one of which is medical, which is where I stumbled across it. Treatments using antimony are called antimonials and they are used against some parasites, and have been for a long time, even before microbial parasites were known. In the past a lot of medicine was trial and error and antimony is also an emetic and laxitive. Anything that caused a dramatic expulsion of bodily fluids and matter was seen as "getting rid of toxins." If the illness was caused by some parasites the patient might get better, then it would be attributed to expulsion of toxins.

Guest Author Ella Quinn

Cara/Andrea here,
Today I have the pleasure of hosting longtime Word Wench reader and now multi-published author Ella Quinn. (Four books out in eight months—she’s making me feel like a slug!) For those of you who haven’t had the fun of meeting Ella at one of the various writer conferences around the country, she is a font of interesting information, no doubt in part because of her “backstory”—here’s just one of the facts from her official bio: After living in the South Pacific, Central America, North Africa, England and Europe, she and her husband decided to make St. Thomas, VI home.

I always love hearing how authors made the journey to becoming a writer, so I asked Ella to talk a little about what inspired her to pick up the proverbial pen, so, without further ado . . .

Thanks for visiting with us today, Ella. And congratulations on your recent move up to PAN (Published Author Network) at RWA. That’s always quite a thrill. Here at the Wenches, we’re always interested in hearing about the journey of becoming a writer, so . . . when did you first decide “I am a writer!”

Ella: When finished my first book. I’ve never believed in being an “aspiring” anything.  

What drew you to the Regency as a genre?

Ella: My muse. I’d been wanting to write something, but I kept hearing, “Write what you know.” Unfortunately for me, I have no desire to write about what I’ve already done.  Then I read an author interview where the author said, “Write what you read.” The next thing I knew, I had a mental video of an angry Regency lady.

If you’re like me, you love researching all the fascinating aspects of the era. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve discovered—and did you weave it into one of your stories?

Ella: I do love research. I thing the most interesting discoveries were the ones I suspected, but didn’t know for sure. The fact that over 50% of births in the upper class took place in less than nine months of marriage was fascinating. Also, that almost everything was custom made. That gave me a great ideas for everything from carriages to tea.

You’ve lived all over the world, and are currently residing in the Caribbean. (Lucky you!) In your first book, The Seduction of Lady Phoebe, your hero had spent time in the West Indies, and your latest book, Desiring Lady Caro, which came out this month, is set in Venice—so I’m guessing you use “local knowledge” in your books? Do you like to do “boots—or sandals—on the ground” exploring?

Ella: I do use a lot of local knowledge, but I have to be careful; many things have changed in two hundred years. I love going exploring.  Although,  when I rope my husband into it, he’s not so pleased. A couple of years ago, when I was writing Desiring Lady Caro, I made him go back from our ski vacation in Salzburgerland by way of  Tirol and through the Fernpass just so I could refresh my memory of the old inns and road. For the next book, Enticing Miss Eugénie Villaret, I had to rely on Alison Stuart’s trip to Martinique for information, but I did go to Tortola to talk with the historian and find a church I needed.

Please tell us a little about Desiring Lady Caro.

Ella: Caro was injured by her then betrothed when she tried to break it off with him. Her mother quickly sent her to Venice to her godmother, Horatia, where Caro carved out a new life but shunned men.

Huntley is coming under pressure to marry, but decided to take a sort of Grand Tour before he did. In the process, he decides to visit his aunt, Horatia. He’s interested in Caro from the beginning. When a Venetian marquis starts harassing Caro they have to flee Venice to protect her, then circumstance force them into marriage, and he knows he has to find a way to make their marriage work.

Sounds wonderful! How about sharing a short excerpt?

Ella: My pleasure.

Caro tossed and turned before finally slipping into a restless sleep.

Hands grabbed her roughly and soft, wet lips pressed hard to her face. Her stomach revolted and she thought she’d be sick. She moved her head from side to side in a fruitless attempt to avoid the wetness. She tried to push him off, but he grabbed the bodice and ripped her gown, shoving her against the wall. Biting down hard on his lips, she tasted the sharp tang of blood. He muffled an oath, and his fist came at her. When she fell, her head hit the floor. She tasted more blood—hers. He got between her legs and she was still struggling when there was a sharp pain. She screamed, and screamed, and screamed.

Caro bolted up and cried out as Nugent reached her. “There, there, my little lady. It’s not but a bad dream. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Her maid cradled Caro and rocked her back and forth, as she’d done all Caro’s life. Sobs mingled with mewing sounds. “Nugent, when will it stop?”

She gently stroked Caro’s head. “I don’t know, my lady, but the dreams will go away in time.”

Finally, Caro’s heart stopped beating so quickly and she was able to calm herself. A knock came on the door, and Maufe said, “I have warm milk for her ladyship.”

“I’m coming.” Nugent tucked Caro back under the cover called a feather bed. “I’m just going to the door, and I’ll be right back.”

Caro nodded and lay staring up at the overhead bed hangings.

Her dresser returned and handed her the milk. “From his lordship. It has honey and cinnamon, like he used to have.”

“Please thank him for me.”
Nugent looked as if she would say something, and then shook her head. “I will.”

When Caro was finished, her dresser took the empty cup and set it on the small table by the bed. “You sleep now.”

She did. And this time, she dreamt of a kind man with brown hair, who made her laugh and fed her chocolate.

Now, let’s switch hats for a moment, as all writers must do these days. Even the most experienced authors can often feel daunted by the demands of promoting their books, but you’ve been very savvy at marketing, even before your first release came out. I know a number of our readers would love to hear what you think are the key things for a new author to do to establish a “name?”

Ella: I’d had a business before, so I knew marketing was going to be part of being a writer. The first year I was writing, I also did a great deal of research into the marketing aspect, and picked the things that seemed to be the most important. For example, one author I spoke with said her agent told her an author should have at least 2000 Twitter followers, and an active blog or website. I focused on getting the Twitter followers, I now have over 10,000 and setting up a blog with interesting posts.  Because I didn’t want to blog every day, I frequently reblog from other peoples posts. That’s a win-win for both of us. I honestly wasn’t keeping track of how many people were following my blog until one of my guest authors asked how I’d gotten 7,000 followers. I also became active on Facebook. So, by the time my first book released, I had a fairly large media platform.  Around a month before the release, I hired a media savvy assistant who was able to get me on several large reader blogs.

What’s the best advice you ever got about writing?

Ella: Treat it as a business, and don’t take rejection personally.

What do you like least about being an author?

Ella: At the beginning, the glacial pace. Although, to be honest I had an agent eight months after I started writing and my publishing contract eight months after that. Now, there really isn’t anything I don’t like about it. I even like the social media aspect because I enjoy interacting with other authors and readers.

So, Ella's question for all of you is, Do you like to interact with your favorite authors on social media, and what types of things do you like authors to do? One lucky reader who leaves a comment here between today and Tuesday evening will be chosen at random to win a copy of Ella's laatest release, Desiring Lady Caro.

Guest Ella Quinn

Tomorrow, April 21, Cara/Andrea interviews Regency author Ella Quinn. Among the topics she'll be discussing is her latest release, Desiring Lady Caro, book #4 of The Marriage Game series. Desiring Lady Caro takes place in Venice. Ella is well qualified to place her Regency characters in exotic settings, as she has lived in the U.S., Canada, England, Europe, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. She currently resides in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Join us tomorrow for a discussion on romance and exotic locales!

THE SPARKY REPORT #30

Sparky's at it again. The above picture needs no words. Let's just say that Sparky has added screen door climbing to her repertoire of naughty activities. She wants outside in the worst way, but I'm not ready to let her out yet. Tomorrow I'm clipping her nails.

The very next day, she was at it again. Despite the beautiful spring day, I had to close the door to keep Sparky from ruining the new screen.

Sparky is one determined troublemaker. No sooner had I closed the door, than I saw her stalking one of the dogs. She was on the sofa, which I'd draped in fabric for a photo shoot with her, and after running about the sofa and mussing up the fabric, she went into stalker mode. She hunkered down, slinked to the edge of the sofa, and pounced on Kyanne, my Doberman.

So I made her go stand in the corner, to reflect on her behavior.



After which, she behaved herself. For a short while. She appointed herself desk monitor and kept me company at my desk, charming me with her good behavior. Tomorrow is another day, but for now, all is forgiven and my feline companion is once again a little angel. I wonder how long it'll last?

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The Sparky Report #29

Garden Bells

It's cold outside on the mountains today.  Last night it froze, amazing the poor silly daffodils.

I was thinking about how gardening folks dealt with these early, cold, unpredictable springs in Georgian and Regency days in England when greenhouses or hothouses were fairly rare and expensive. 

The English had a characteristically common-sense solution.  They used what we call a gardeners cloche.

Cloches were sort of a poor man's mini-greenhouse.  They could hold about one plant, so you needed a goodly number of them.  You had to keep an eye on them so as not to scorch a delicate plant in the sun.  Keep another eye on to guard from moisture build-up and mildew.  But, oh, how useful.  Cloches didn't just protect against the cold, they held in moisture and kept the wind out, they stand between the tasty succulent little plants and birds, deer, slugs and such hungry beasts like that. 

 The name 'cloche' comes from the shape of it -- it's the French word for 'bell'.  In fact, when these glass shapes lived inside in a somwhat less robust form, our historical people called them 'bell jars'.

 These glasses seems to have reached England from French early in the 1600s.  In our Georgian and Regency times, cloches joined cold frames, forcing boxes of many kinds, terra cotta cloches and even woven baskets, in keeping plants warm and safe across the British Isles.

I think kindly of these homely glass hats sitting in the midst of our protagonist's kitchen garden.  How pretty, and how unexpected to come across while sneaking out to adventure in the early light of dawn.

attrib: coldframesmabsputzer; terracotta jomarshall;
cloche Mizgingersnaps' pair of cloches MaggieMcCain

 

What do you remember from some childhood garden in the spring?
          What are you going to admire and use in your garden this next month?

 

 

Ask A Wench - Our First Historical Romance!

Nicola here, introducing this month’s Ask A Wench feature. The Wenches were chatting online, as we tend to do, and one of the topics we got talking about was the first historical romances that we ever read. As you might imagine, we discovered that there was some overlap in our reading experiences but also plenty of difference. We hope your enjoy this trip down our book-lined memory lane and we look forward to hearing what your first historical romance was!

Susan:

I haunted the old library in our small town in Upstate NY, with its marble floors, tall windows and polished wooden bookshelves. I worked my way from Ellen Tebbits and Pippi Longstocking to Jane Eyre and Ivanhoe and Treasure Island (Illustrated Classics for some of those, as I recall), and then I discovered Victoria Holt. Mistress of Mellyn was probably my first romance, albeit gothic, and I read as many of her books--and books like hers--that I could find. We moved and I went to high school in the DC area, and I hit a long phase of classic literature, and in college majored in art but took seminars in Melville and Lawrence and the Brontes and poetry. In graduate school I studied art history--but secretly read Victoria Holt, Barbara Michaels, Elizabeth Peters and Mary Stewart. But I was immersed in graduate work, and though I had seen those "bodice rippers" in bookstores, I had never read one. 

Then I got married and we started a family--and I ended up on bedrest for months, waiting for Baby, on
strict orders to rest and not stress myself out with studies. So I immersed myself in genre fiction, trying everything from sci fi and fantasy to mysteries. Friends brought books--including The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen Woodiwiss. Finally I was hooked--it was medieval, it was good history, and it was exciting storytelling, with a hero and heroine I alternatively loved and wanted to bean over the head. I couldn't put it down. I read Shanna and more historical romance, and although I resumed graduate school and was otherwise reading Goodnight Moon more than any other book--I never forgot The Wolf and the Dove and the fun and joy of juicy paperback romance fiction. I read more romances, and one day I realized that I wanted to write one of my own, using the medieval history I'd been studying for years…  

Clutter

Anne here, departing from the wenchly historical focus for a little. And having just completed a blog tour to launch The Winter Bride, I'm not going to say another word about it. Not a word!

Today I want to talk about clutter. I have a long-running relationship with clutter — I come from a family of pack-rats and hoarders and I can tell you, a background in history only makes the problem worse.

THE SPARKY REPORT #29

A DAY IN THE LIFE

It's been a few weeks since Sparky has had a blog all to herself, so I thought I'd tell you what she's been up to lately. Let's just say she's been her usual into-everything self! I'm going to name this post "A Day in the Life" because it is a sample of what Sparky did today. The first thing she did was to leap from my desk to the top of the front door. That's her, above, enjoying being king of the mountain while I race around below her with a pillow in case she falls.

Next, Sparky got into the garbage. I had emptied all my paper trash into a large plastic bag, and Sparky just couldn't resist. I let her rummage around in that bag for well over an hour. Sparky just loves dark, mysterious places.

A while later, I discovered Sparky asleep in my wastepaper basket under my desk. Despite the white liner bag, it's dark under my desk, and my wastepaper basket is one of Sparky's favorite nap places. She doesn't mind when I toss tissues or wadded up paper on top of her, not realizing she's in there.

After her nap, Sparky likes to get right in my face. Literally. It usually entails her sitting on whatever project I'm working on, and then getting her face just inches from mine and tilting her head, like below.

After staring at me and preventing me from working by sitting on my work, she decides to be helpful. Here she is batting around a pen on top of a box of envelopes.

After she stole my pen, I left my desk to find another, and when I returned, I saw something hanging out the back of my recliner. The recliner has a flap at the back and Sparky loves to get up inside there and goose me by sticking her arms through the bottom and scaring the daylights out of me. So anyway, I inspected that flap and discovered Sparky has been stashing her toys there. I pulled out the following items: computer cord, bungee cord, a Sharpie pen, a piece of sandpaper, a pickle jar label she'd stolen from the trash, and the dogs' tug-of-war rope.

Don't think the above is all Sparky can manage in one day. There were a few things I didn't get pictures of, like the flat of seedling starts she knocked off the kitchen counter (dirt everywhere, and all my baby seedlings scattered), and in that same vein she tipped over a bucket of potting soil and flung dirt all over the kitchen; breaking my hairdryer by pushing it from the bathroom counter; using me as a trampoline during her daily roaring all over the house; and stealing one of my socks and leaving it in her litter box. I can hardly wait to find out what she does tomorrow!

Is Costume Drama Coming Back into Fashion?

Nicola here. Today I’m talking about costume dramas old and new. It seems to me that after a long period with very little historical drama on TV and even less on film, there has been a revival of interest in the genre, at least from some television companies. Hurrah! It’s been a long time coming but to me the new historical series are very welcome and of course they bring with them a modern spin on an old genre.

I have such happy memories of the UK costume dramas of the 1970 and 80s. The epic Forsyte Saga had been running for a while when I became old enough to watch “grown up” TV and Upstairs Downstairs was also a feature of our Sunday Night viewing. The ultimate historical drama for me though was Poldark. Based on the novels of Winston Graham, it was for me the epitome of everything that a historical romance should be: the handsome hero, the feisty heroine, the wicked cousin, some smuggling thrown in and lots of passion and angst and intrigue. In those days I didn’t even notice the wobbling film sets and the terrible special effects. It was all about the characters and the story. This was the era of plentiful historical drama. There was Dick Turpin, based on the exploits of the legendary highwayman, and Smuggler, with Oliver
Tobias as a naval officer turned…well, smuggler. There was Arthur of the Britons (Oliver Tobias again, as a young King Arthur) and Robin Hood with Michael Praed, and many more.

Guest - Emma Jane Holloway

Hi, Jo here interviewing my friend Emma Jane Holloway on A Study in Silks. 

Jo: Emma Jane, first a bit about you. I'll quote your bio. "Ever since childhood, Emma Jane Holloway refused to accept that history was nothing but facts prisoned behind the closed door of time. Why waste a perfectly good playground coloring within the timelines? Accordingly, her novels are filled with whimsical impossibilities and the occasional eye-blinking impertinence—but always in the service of grand adventure."

You've certainly created a grand adventure here, Emma Jane. It has royalty, balls, magical machines, cunning devices, a murder mystery, and Steam Barons. Yes, it's steampunk, and it's great fun to read, especially with two potential heroes for the wonderful Evelina, one from her humble past, and the other from her new life in high society. Many of the Wench readers won't be familiar with steampunk. Can you give us a brief introduction to it?

Off the grid!!!

by Mary Jo

It's a wired, wired world!  Communications have changed amazingly in a double handful of years.  

It started with e-mail as the "killer app" of the world wide web.  Then wireless communications came in.  Several years back, when Blackberries were state of the art, the satellites that carried them (I think that's what it was) went down, and a mighty howl of horror and anguish was heard from users across the land.

GUEST EMMA JANE HOLLOWAY

On Wednesday, April 9, Wench Jo Beverley is hosting steampunk author, Emma Jane Holloway, whose Baskerville Affair trilogy includes Sherlock Holmes, the London social season, mechanical magical critters, and corrupt Steam Barons. And love. What more could you ask for? How about a prince, sorcerers, ballrooms, and yes, bad dogs in Dartmoor!

Join us this coming Wednesday, and please feel free to dress up in your best steampunk duds! (Because Sparky Tabasco is a polydactyl, she's having trouble getting into her fingerless lace gloves--those big thumbs keep getting in the way!)

See? All thumbs!

 

Historical High Tech

Cara/Andrea here,
For me part of the fun of writing Regency-set novels is discovering some arcane little fact to weave into the storyline. I confess it—I’m a total history nerd, and love reading reference books, visiting specialty museums, looking at art and architecture—anything that takes me back to a different world! I soak up the ambiance like a sponge.

Now, inspiration can come from unexpected sources. I somehow stumbled over a small video on an item up for auction at Sotheby’s. I hit play and well, just knew the item had to be in one of my books. (you can see it here.) It’s a pistol. But no ordinary pistol. Instead of firing bullets, it shoots an exquisite little bird out of its barrel—no bang-bang, but beautiful birdsong! Okay, I imagine you see where this is going. A dramatic scene where the villain grabs the weapon, intent on putting a period to the heroine’s existence. With a manic laugh, she pulls the trigger . . .

Interview: Jo Beverley on A Shocking Delight

Susan here, very pleased today to be interviewing Jo Beverley about her latest release, A Shocking Delight, new this week in stores and online--and already getting much-deserved praise, including a Top Pick from RT Book Reviews: 

"Beverley, with her masterful writing and keen knowledge of the Regency, sets the tone for a new novel in the Rogues series. With her ability to build sexual tension and emotional intensity into a lively story, she combines dynamic characters with a secret, smugglers, and a cast of secondary characters, including a few of those wickedly handsome rogues from previous novels to round out the plot. Simply savor this read."

The man she shouldn’t want. The woman he shouldn’t marry...

David Kerslake, smuggling master from The Dragon's Bride, is now Earl of Wyvern and must survive the ton as well as the Preventive Officers. Lucy Potter, daughter of a wealthy merchant, is more interested in trade than in the men after her dowry . . . but in London, when she meets the notorious Earl of Wyvern, her resolve weakens—even though she senses danger . . . . The Earl of Wyvern has a dark secret—but must win a rich bride. Lucinda Potter seems ideal—especially because at first glance, she seems unlikely to realize the truth . . . but soon, marrying Lucy would mean living a lie with the woman he has come to love. . . .

Susan:  Jo, please tell us something about A Shocking Delight. 

Jo: The title comes straight out of the book, because both Lucy and David are avoiding love. Lucy doesn't want to fall in love because marriage would hinder her ambitions, and David needs to make a cool-headed marriage to a rich but feather-witted woman. Love gets them anyway, and the delight is both a shock and irresistible. 

It came directly from Lucy, from this passage. David has realized that such a sharp-witted bride would be a disastrous, but she's begun to accept his attractions. Being a lady who goes after what she wants, she teases him into pretending to woo her for a little while to deter her irritating suitors. Tangled in her expert negotiating skills, he demands a kiss a day as payment.

She’d won the means to spend time with him, to learn him better, to find the way. She had to suppress a smile at how he’d seen the daily kiss as a bargaining point when the prospect filled her with a shocking delight.

Susan: She is very clever, even though she's trying to hide it in order to fit in with the ton.

Jo: Lucy is the only child of a very wealthy London merchant, and he's involved her in his world. She's always assumed she was his heir and successor, but her mother has died and he plans to remarry with the clear desire to have a son to follow in his footsteps. He even encourages her to take part in the ton season and find a titled husband. He doesn't understand her at all.

She's devastated, but she goes to Mayfair as an escape while she decides what to do. She can't possibly marry at this point, as it will make it even more challenging to be accepted in the man's world of business and trade, but she's looking forward to the entertainments. However her fortune means she's pestered by fortune hunters. 

Susan: David should have been one of them, shouldn't he?

Jo: Definitely. He's in London to find as rich a bride as possible. At the end of my novel The Dragon's Bride, David, the heroine's brother, reluctantly agrees to claim legitimacy which means he'll be Earl of Wyvern. He does it for his sister, and it is a sacrifice. He hasn't been raised to fill such a position, he's the local smuggling master, and the earldom's coffers are empty. If he's to look after all his responsibilities he must marry money. He targets Lucy, but soon realizes she's too clever not to realize that her husband has a secret life as a smuggler. To make it worse, at their first meeting he discovers she's firmly opposed to the Free Trade.

David says, “I wouldn’t have thought the Freetrade of interest to anyone in the City.”

“There, sir, you are wrong. Those wretches bring in foreign goods to compete with British-made ones, and they avoid taxes that honest traders must pay. In addition, I understand their practices are vile.”

He resolves to seek another bride, but where she's concerned his will is weak. 

One of the themes of the book is love at first sight. Both David and Lucy's parents made scandalous matches because of rampant love; matches that could have been even more damaging than they were. Both David as Lucy are sure they can be more resolutely sensible. 

And Cupid laughs. 

Question for the blog: Do you believe in love at first sight? Please comment below!