Word Wenches

WWR—What we've read in June

Anne here, hosting the June edition of What We've Read this month.

Pat's up first: Unlike other authors who say they can’t read what they’re writing, I tend to read a lot of what I’m writing because it puts my mind in the right groove. If I’m in a romance groove while reading a mystery, it can get messy. Heroes may die. So I’ve been in a mystery frame of mind lately.

I can’t remember if I mentioned Patrice Greenwood’s A FATAL TWIST OF LEMON that I finished a few weeks back. This is a very pleasant, laidback cozy set in an old house turned into a tea room in Santa Fe. There’s a small romance and bits of history and it’s just a lovely book for kicking back on a lazy day.

I just finished Donna Andrews’ A MURDER HATCHED, which is more of a riotous circus compared to Greenwood’s proper tea party manners. The heroine is maid of honor in three different weddings in a small town, so we have a three ring circus even before people start getting snuffed. Luckily, her love interest is running the local bridal shop for his mother. Unluckily, she thinks he’s gay, despite all evidence to the contrary. No real dark moments and lots of laughter, so another good summer read.

THE SPARKY REPORT #38

 

To sleep, perchance to dream ...

Sparky gets into the weirdest positions when she sleeps! She likes to prop up her head when she sleeps (that would give me a crick in my neck!). In the next picture, her "pillow" is the windowsill.

 

Zzzzzzzz . . .

And here, she's parked herself between her beloved wheatgrass and my stack of audiobooks.

 

Catching some sun and some Z's.

One place Sparky likes to sleep is between my knees on the recliner. She snuggles right down there and sleeps away. How she goes about this is humorous. If my legs are together, it makes no difference. She just wedges herself in, and then uses her hind legs to push my legs apart far enough for her to get comfortable in the vee. If I try to keep my legs together, she just rabbit-kicks until she gets my legs apart, then she throws herself into the space she's made for herself.

 

And this wouldn't be complete without a picture of Sparky in her very favorite nap place:  the wastepaper basket!

Uncommon Vows: Uncommonly long in arriving!

by Mary Jo

I'm not a big fan of medieval romance.  Too much violence, the position of women was not good, and the plumbing was seriously grim.  But when I was working out my "subversion of the captivity fantasy" novel, I chose a medieval setting for Uncommon Vows because in a more civilized era, my hero would be considered psychotic.  <G>  In the 12th century, he was instead a powerful man who behaved within the parameters of his age. 

A lot of research was involved because I didn't know much about medieval living.  I decided that I wanted to catch some of the flavor of an age of faith, where the Roman Catholic Church informed every aspect of society.  Europe was bound together with a unity of belief that ended with the Reformation. 

 

Creativity Rules

Pat here:

I’ve always wanted to write about a mad librarian.

Well, that’s probably a lie, but it’s hard to tell since I lie for a living. I’ve always admired librarians and wished I could spend my days surrounded by books—except librarians aren't paid to read books but to endure the demanding public. And that would make me insane—hence, the mad librarian.

That’s how creativity works. The wenches recently had a discussion here on whether we develop our characters from real people, and the answer was a pretty conclusive no...but.  Creative people often claim they rely on their “muses” or the “voices in their head” to develop their art, mostly because we don’t have any comprehension of how our brains put together two and two and come up with mad librarians. After reading several educational tracts from psychologists, business people, and scientists, I’ve concluded no one else can explain it  better either, but their theories make for entertaining reading.

Let There Be Light . . .

Cara/Andrea here,
The summer equinox arrived this past weekend, which always puts me in a very travel frame of mind. Long days, glorious golden light, balmy nights—they seem to sing a siren’s song, beckoning one to set out and experience new sights, new settings.

Now, those of us traveling today just whip out our i-phones and snap away merrily, recording our peregrinations with the mere flick of a finger. Regency travelers required far more skill to capture the essence of a place—and so in homage to the art of travel, thought I’d share a small sketch of one of my favorite artists of the era.

“Had Bonington lived, I would have starved.” —JMW Turner

Despite his short life—he died of tuberculosis at age 26—Richard Parkes Bonington is recognized as master of the Romantic era. His brilliant rendering of light and his ability to capture the magic of a seemingly mundane moment earned him the highest accolades from his contemporaries—including Turner and Eugene Delacroix, with whom he shared a studio for a short time.

THE SPARKY REPORT #37

If you think Sparky looks annoyed in the above picture, you're right. Sparky is very much her own person, and when she decides she's had enough of my camera and its blinding flash, she lets me know in no uncertain terms. There's no denying the look of annoyance on her face in the above picture!

Most of the time, Sparky loves it when I pet her, but sometimes she just wants to be left alone. In this picture, she's making it clear that she wants me to stop annoying her with unwanted attention. She doesn't bite to maim, just to warn. And she never uses her claws.

Should I dare to ignore her warnings, Sparky adds a little more emphasis to her admonishment. *g*

In this picture, I was trying to get a photo of Sparky napping in the wastepaper basket under my desk. Unfortunately, it woke her up when I tried to surreptitiously pull out the wastepaper basket for a better angle. Sparky popped up and gave my hand a good smack for waking her up.

Even as a youngster, Sparky let it be known when boundaries had been trespassed. After the dogs had poked their curious noses in her crate one too many times, Sparky let them know when enough was enough. Judging by the wary looks on the dogs' faces, they got the message loud and clear! 

Most of the time, Sparky is perfectly willing to be fawned over, but when she has had her fill, you'd better heed her warning! 

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The Sparky Report #36

Diane Gaston

Anne here, introducing my guest for today, Diane Gaston. It's not Diane's first visit to the WordWenches, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Diane made a splash in the regency world when her first book was picked up by Mills and Boon (Harlequin Historicals UK) with a riskily-premised courtesan heroine — and started a trend. Since then she's written 18 books and won many awards, including the top award for romance writers, the much-coveted RITA. Her latest book is A Lady of Notoriety, and it hit the shelves this week—and isn't that a stunning cover?

Anne: Diane, you described A Lady of Notoriety to me as both a book-of-the-heart and the third book in a two-part series. Would you care to expand on those two intriguing statements? (As someone who's written a four book trilogy and a five book quartet, I do understand.)

Diane: Ha ha, Anne. First let me say what a delight it is to be here again with the Word Wenches! When I planned The Masquerade Club series, it was intended to be two books, because I thought up two heroes – the hunky gambler/soldier/bastard son, Rhys, of A Reputation for Notoriety, and the incredibly handsome Xavier Campion, the “beauty” in my Beauty and the Beast story, A Marriage of Notoriety.

To my surprise, though, a character emerged in A Marriage of Notoriety who simply begged for a story of her own. Daphne, Lady Faville, played the “Gaston” (no relation) role in the Beauty and the Beast book. She was somewhat of a villainess in A Marriage of Notoriety, but she intrigued me--a beautiful, wealthy woman used to getting her way through her looks alone. Could she learn to be something other than a selfish, self-centered person? Could she be redeemed? Luckily I had a hero left over from the series, Hugh Westleigh, the younger son.

The Season Then and Now

Nicola here, talking today about those elements of the London Season that feature in Regency historicals and are still going strong today. A photograph in the paper last week reminded me that although in many ways we have moved on from the Regency period in the UK (no climbing boys and a ban on fox hunting, for example), one aspect at least of the social life of the time is alive and well and that's The Season.

The photograph that reminded me of this was a picture of the Royal family watching the Trooping the Colour. Whilst you don’t see this mentioned in many Georgian or Regency-set historicals, this is actually a tradition of British infantry regiments that dates back to the 17^th century. The ceremony arose out of the custom of using a regiment’s colours, or flags, as rallying points on a battlefield and takes place annually in June on Horse Guards Parade by St James’ Park. It was first held in the early 18^th century and I imagine it would have been quite a show for the London crowds. The picture is quite interesting because when I first saw it I thought it was an old painting - then I saw the London Eye in the background!

AAW June--Putting people in books:

by Mary Jo

For this month's Ask A Wench, I selected this question by Molly in Ohio from our blog topic file:

"We all know that writers frequently pull from life experiences when creating their characters. Have any of you had a friend or family member recognize themself in one of your books or stories and call you out? :)"

I had a strong suspicion what the consensus will be, but I thought it would be fun to hear what the various Wenches have to say.

THE SPARKY REPORT #36

Gotcha!

Sparky the hunter! Yes, Sparky has demonstrated great proficiency as a hunter. She's a natural at it, and is systematically ridding the farm of mice and shrews and voles. In the above picture Sparky has just caught a shrew

Playtime! Take that, varmint!

Sparky really gets into the hunting thing. She leaps. She twirls. She pounces. I was able to get a couple of good shots of Sparky's acrobatics as she flung her varmint about.

Getting some air while keeping her eye on the prize.

 

Catching some more air as Sparky flings her shrew and then leaps after it!

So what does Sparky do after a spirited session of acrobatics? She takes a well-deserved nap, of course! And what better place for a nap than a sun-warmed sidewalk! (And if the sun is too bright for a nap, just cover your eyes!)

Zzzzzz . . .

 P.S. Remember, to see a large version of the above pictures, just click on the picture. If nothing else, the two "air" pictures are humorous enough to warrant a second look!

Fool the eye

Jo here with an ad before the programme. There's a new print edition of Dangerous Joy out now, if you happen to be wanting it. Now on to the fun stuff!

Last weekend I visited Dyrham Park, a 17th century house, and was delighted to find there a trompe l'oeil doorway. I love trompe l'oeil, which means "trick the eye," perhaps in part because I love realist painting. The realler the better!

Classic trompe l'oeil are mostly doorways, and you can see why. The illusion invites us to step over a threshold into another world. They rarely include clear people, but often a small animal to enhance the sense of life, and there's clever use of close, clear detail, as with the brush in this one. To work well, they also have to get the light right, and ideally work with the real light in the real room.

(If you're not sure what to trust, the painting begins just before the brush and dog. The doorway at the front and the corridor floor are real.)

They also have the benefit of expanding the sense of space of the real room, which we can now do much more easily with mirrors. High quality mirrors that last are a quite recent development. I found the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles a bit disappointing.

Here's a different kind of deception by use of types of wood. The arch in the back is actually flat.

 

This famous one is at Chatsworth. I've seen it there, and it really does trick the eye. Yes, it's all painted. 

Have you seen a trompe l'oeil anywhere?

Have a favorite?

 

Another very popular illusion in the past was on a ceiling, especially making it look open to the sky with gods or angels looking down. I think it's a lovely expansion of reality.
This one's from a monastery.

There's a page of fabulous TL here including a nifty ad from Honda. Could make me watch ads!

There's another great selection of older ones here.

I found this video of someone creating one. It takes 9 minutes to watch, but it does show how flat surfaces can be changed this way. I went away and came back every now and then. :)

If you have links to other great ones, share them. I just love trompe l'oeil!

Enjoy!

Jo

All that Glitters… An interview with jeweler Renee Huff

by Mary Jo 

A good convention is enhanced by having a dealer room, which sff cons have always known.  Romantic Times conventions are going in the same delightful direction, which is how I came to meet Renee Huff, who had traveled down from Kansas to New Orleans to set up a jewelry booth.  She had a range of styles, but of course I was drawn to the antique pieces.

In particular, I was attracted to a lovely Victorian chain unlike any other I've ever seen.  Renee explained that it was called a book chain because the links were shaped like little books, and the piece was gold over brass. The links are hollow, so the necklace is very light weight, a big plus. There was also a locket with a garnet, and I love garnets.  I put it on.  I took it off, I considered.(Click on the image to enlarge and you'll see the wonderful detail.  For all pictures, hover your cursor over the image to see a description of the piece displayed.)

A "Wogdon Affair"

Cara/Andrea here,

Just the other day, I was talking to a friend of mine who lives in London, and somehow we got onto the subject of flintlock pistols. (No, no, it’s not that we are bellicose or bloodthirsty—we are both history geeks, so we often digress into arcane topics, such as dueling.) I started waxing poetic over Joe Manton, and how we Regency authors always have our heroes carry Manton firearms.

Well, he prompted countered that he preferred Robert Wogdon’s weapons—and in fact owned a Wogdon pistol (which he’s actually fired and says throws a bullet with frightening force.) Wogdon? The name didn’t trigger a spark.  So naturally, I had to do a little research . . .

THE SPARKY REPORT #35 - FIRST BIRTHDAY

Sparky, moments after she was discovered. She weighed 9 ounces and was desperately hungry.

Two days ago (June 6) Sparky Tabasco celebrated her first birthday! This milestone is significant because when I found Sparky, she was a 3-week-old orphan. Had my sister and I not heard her cries of distress, Sparky would have died. It's a testament to her indomitable spirit and will to survive that she kept up her cries until we discovered her in a barn atop a stack of hay bales.

I thought you would enjoy a picture esssay chronicling Sparky's first year of life. Some of the pictures you've already seen, but many of them will be new to you. Let's start with a series of pictures taken during the first few days after I adopted Sparky.

Sparky in her new home. (3 weeks old)

 

4 1/2 weeks old

 

4 1/2 weeks old. In her litter box, with litter on her nose.

 

6 weeks old. Learning to drink milk from a bowl.

 

2 months old. Getting ready to pounce on a wadded up piece of paper.

Typepad is being recalcitrant and won't let me caption the above picture. The caption should read:  2 months old. Sparky sleeping on a freshly laundered dog blanket.

The next series of pictures depict Sparky playing peek-a-boo. She does that often, giving me many opportunities to get some really cute pictures of her peering around objects, thinking she's invisible.

 

2 months old. Peek-a-boo!

 

 

2 1/2 months old.

 

2 1/2 months old.

 

2 1/2 months old. This is one of my favorite Sparky pictures.

 

3 months old.

 

4 1/2 months old.

Are you still with me? Can you handle a few more pictures? The next set includes miscellaneous shots taken at random, including another of my favorites:  Sparky playing fetch with a wadded up ball of paper. No matter where she is in the house, when she hears me wad up a piece of paper, she comes running.

 

4 1/2 months.

 

5 1/2 months old. Exploring the great outdoors

 

6 1/2 months old. Relaxing in her favorite nap spot: the wastepaper basket under my desk.

 

7 months old. Naughty Sparky!

9 months old. Looking all grown up. She's squinting because of the camera flash.

And that's the end of this essay in pictures. These photos represent only a small portion of Sparky's life, and I have hundreds more pictures of her, so be glad this post isn't longer! Sparky wants to thank the Word Wenches and all her fans for making her first year a memorable one. She's one very lucky kitty!

Good-bye!

 

 

The Lore of the Rings

“Two souls, one heart” – saying on a poesy ring

“If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it.” – Beyonce, “Single Ladies”

Susan here -- first, apologies for the punny blog title—it’s late on a rainy night! It’s also early in June, the wedding month. And weddings and rings go, yes, hand in hand—the giving, the receiving, the cherishing, the symbolism and significance of those little metal circlets cannot be underestimated. Rings and marriage have a long, long history, and we Wenches have all written about weddings in our books at one point or another. Currently I have several friends involved in planning and organizing weddings for a daughter, a son, or in two cases, their own weddings, I started wondering about rings—when did couples start giving and wearing rings to symbolize a marriage commitment? The history of rings is a vast field, but it’s fun to take a peek at their history and lore.

Rings are among the oldest bits of personal adornment – a few prehistoric rings have been found, like this ancient bronze spiral found in Sussex – though the purpose of certain ancient rings is too often unknown to historians. In very early societies, a braided twist of reeds or hair admired around a finger may have led to other observations and then meaning - circles are unending, round as the moon, the sun, and so symbolism was quickly associated. Knotted designs could serve as charms against evil and bind lovers in an eternal promise. Pliny claimed that the origin of wearing a ring came from Prometheus’ travails, as he was doomed to wear a chunk of his iron chains forever – though the idea of an endless knot and promises in eternity is much more appealing!

Ancient rings were fashioned from stone, twists of wire, braided reeds, copper, bronze, iron, ivory, gold and silver. They occur in a range of variety throughout history—rings that represented wealth, royalty, authority, a warrior’s promise of loyalty or a lover’s of affection and fidelity; signet rings bearing the owner’s seal and status; rings for kings, queens, bishops, noblemen, clerics, merchants, husbands, wives, ladies and gentlemen; poesy (love poem) rings, poison and compartment rings, betrothal and promise and wedding and engagement rings. Each finger, thumb, knuckles too, could carry rings.

Narrowing the search to rings that signified love, betrothal and marriage still leaves a wide array of historical rings. Papyrus illustrations indicate that ancient Egyptians exchanged rings woven of reeds to fix marriage vows, and there are gold rings and scarab rings found in Egyptian tombs, though their purpose is not always clear. The Egyptians contributed something important, it is believed, to the long tradition of wedding rings—the wearing of the ring on the third finger of the left hand, which is most often the position, though in some cultures it is worn on the right hand. Ancient physicians believed that a major vein ran through that finger directly to the heart, and the connection of the feelings of the heart and the feelings of love, along with the symbolism of the endless circle of life and love and the sun and moon, all were intertwined.

What's for Pudding?

Anne here, asking what's for pudding?
That's what the English say when they're enquiring about dessert. In other parts of the English-speaking world people might ask what's for dessert, or what's for sweets, or "afters."

But puddings are not always sweet. There are savory puddings as well as sweet ones. They were the earliest puddings — minced meat — usually the less palatable parts of the animal— some kind of grain, fat — generally suet— and seasonings, mixed together and stuffed into the entrails or stomach of an animal, or sometimes a cloth, and then steamed or boiled to cook the contents. Sounds a bit gruesome, doesn't it, but that's more or less what a sausage is, only these days most sausages casings are made artificially.

Home Improvements Historical Style!

Nicola here. One thing that always interests me about the castles and old houses I visit is the different stages in their life; the way in which their purpose changes over the years and so they change shape and the usage of the rooms varies and the gardens are altered and each generation develops the property and leaves their mark on their home. It struck me recently as we planned some renovations to our cottage that the process we go through is not so different from that of grand builders of stately homes, only on a much smaller scale! (The picture is Appuldurcombe House on the Isle of Wight - more on that later.)

Ashdown House, for example, was used as a hunting lodge for several hundred years and so was not lived in permanently. It therefore remained architecturally unaltered all that time because there was no change in its purpose and so no need to spend money on alterations. However the moment the Victorian Cravens decided to take up residence there on a full time basis, they changed it completely. The house was too small to be an aristocratic family home so they extended it, just as people build extensions now. They added two wings, with a ballroom, a smoking room and a billiards room, and most importantly, one suspects, they built servants’ quarters to house the thirty eight people who waited on them! The gardens were also considered too plain so they remodelled them as well with a fashionable Italianate parterre garden that was all the rage in the mid-nineteenth century. 

THE SPARKY REPORT #34 - BIRTHDAY EDITION

(Singing) Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to meee!!!

Here's Sparky, belting out a birthday song to herself. In just a few more days (June 5, to be exact!) Sparky Tabasco will turn one-year-old. As you can see, she's been practicing the birthday song all week. What she lacks in decorum, she makes up for in enthusiasm. Everyone's invited to Sparky's virtual birthday bash. The more, the merrier!

 

In preparation for the birthday festivities, I dragged out the Roomba self-propelled vacuum cleaner. She was fascinated by it until the Roomba began chasing her. 

Uh-oh! UH-OH! It's following me! (Backs up rapidly)

After subduing the Roomba with a few sharp smacks, Sparky headed outdoors where she wouldn't be accosted by mechanical devices. First, she did a few stretching exercises before hunting for rodents.

Stretch, aaannnddd hold it, 1-2-3-4 and relax.

 

Gotcha! You're mine now, Mr. Shrew!

After losing her shrew repeatedly in the grass, Sparky decided to play with it on the sidewalk, where she (erroneously) thought there would be no place for the rodent to hide. Sparky was very VERY wrong. Shrews are tiny, and they've discovered that one excellent way to hide from their captor is to run underneath the enemy instead of running away. While the enemy turns in confused circles looking for their missing shrew, the shrew takes care to stay safely underneath. In a stroke of pure luck, I managed to get the perfect money shot of Sparky's shrew hiding under her tail while a frantic Sparky spun in circles looking for her captive.

Look closely under Sparky's tail and you'll see the shrew hiding underneath. (Click on picture for a larger view) Every time Sparky moved, the shrew moved with her in order to remain hidden.

Well, that was enough frustration for Sparky! She decided to return indoors to finalize plans for her birthday on Thursday, June 5. She also decided to practice singing more songs for her birthday bash, this time with a little more oomph. *g*

Sparky doing her Tom Jones imitation. ("What's New Pussycat . . .")

 

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