Word Wenches

Armchair Adventuring

Andrea here, As the first day of Spring creeps closer, I’m also musing on a far more sobering mark on the calendar. For me, this week marks the one year anniversary of start of the pandemic lockdown in my local area. And though there are now some glimmers of light—there’s limited indoor dining, schools have re-opened for hybrid learning—most of us still feel restricted in the things we can do.

One of the things I miss most is traveling, especially as the days grow longer and weather warms up, inviting one to get up and go explore! But as hopping on a plane to some faraway place doesn’t yet feel like a good plan, I’ve been doing some fun armchair adventuring instead, traveling to exotic destinations. So, I thought I’d invite to take trip with me down the Nile!

Spring Flings!

Andrea here, and very happy that here where I live, I’m beginning to see signs of Spring finally starting to push aside the chill of Winter. Leaves are budding and flowers are starting to unfurl, adding tantalizing touches of color to the muted shades of the landscape. The air is warming, allowing hats, scarves and parkas to be hung in the storage . . .

February and March always feel endless here, and I am SO looking forward to spending more time outdoors—in shorts and T-shirts!—as the days grow delightfully longer. After all the isolation of the past year, the coming warm weather feels even sweeter as we (carefully) begin to tiptoe back to some semblance of normal activities.

So, in celebration of all fun seasonal activities ahead, I thought I’d compose a list—admittedly a silly one—of all the things I love about getting outside in warm weather . . . with a Regency twist!

The Most Mysterious Book in the World

Andrea here, musing about . . . mysteries. I’m in the beginning stages of plotting my next Wrexford & Sloane mystery, and starting a new story always makes me reflect on conundrums and why the urge to solve them seems to be coded in our DNA. Whether it’s finding the perpetrator of a crime, learning the identity of a nameless portrait or cracking a code, we seem to driven by a certain primal curiosity to find answers . . .

Now it so happens that I was recently chatting with some librarians and the subject of bibliographic mysteries came up. And one of them mentioned the biggest of them all—The Voynich Manuscript, a 15th century codex (codex is defined as an ancient manuscript in book form) that has bedeviled all attempts to decipher its mysterious text to this day. So . . . as books and mysteries are two subjects near and dear to my heart, I thought it would be fun to take a quick look at the history of this beguiling codex—many call it the most mysterious book in the world— and why it has stumped all experts cryptographers, linguistic experts, bibliophiles and problem solvers who have taken a crack at it.

Why Do Regency Heroines Swoon?

Andrea here, musing on “the Swoon,” one of the traditional minor but memorable secondary tropes of Regency romances. Fainting is far less prevalent in today’s historical novels—or it's used for tongue-in-cheek effect—as women aren’t as apt to be portrayed weak, flighty creatures. (What self-respecting modern heroine would fall into a faint at the first sign of trouble or bad news? These days, if accosted by a villain, she would likely punch him in the nose rather than swoon and hope to be rescued by her hero!)

But all jesting aside . . . the phenomenon of fainting from an emotional trigger (shocking news, fear, anxiety, etc) is actually a real medical condition called Vasovagal syncope. It happens when the part of the nervous system that controls heart rate and blood pressure reacts to stress. The heart slows, blood pressure suddenly drops, the blood vessels widen in your legs, causing the blood to drop to the lower extremities, thus oxygen has a hard time getting to the brain. So you, um, swoon. (It’s often called the Vagal Response because the vagus nerve is involved in controlling the blood vessels, and when it’s overstimulated by stress, unpleasant things can happen!)

How do I know this? Well . . .

 

An Ode to the Unsung Heroes and Heroines of History

Andrea here, In honor of Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday here in America, I’m going to highlight a wonderful story of a remarkable figure in history, whose contribution to enriching the artistic tapestry of history has long been lost in the shadows.

As I’ve mentioned here before, I love that historians are bringing to light so many people who’ve been ignored by the traditional narratives of history. It’s inspiring in so many ways, and makes the past come alive with all its real textures and colors.

The New York Times has been running a series of articles on some of these unsung heroes and heroines, so I’m going summarize one of them that caught my fancy—the story of George Bridgetower by Patricia Morrisoe. Bridgetower was a biracial virtuoso violin prodigy who won Beethoven’s admiration—and in fact, the famous Kreutzer Sonata was dedicated to him. (You can read the full article here.)

Ask A Wench - The Influence of the Seasons

Nicola here, introducing this month’s Ask A Wench topic, which was sent in by Valerie Moore, who wins a book from me as a thank you. Valerie asks:

“How do the seasons affect your style of writing, if at all?” 

It’s an excellent question and gave us all much to ponder on. Do the seasons affect our actual writing style or is it more that the seasons affect our moods and this affects our writing? Certainly in my case, I find it extremely difficult to write about a season that is very different from the one that I’m in. At the moment I’m writing a book set in July whilst I’m in an English winter. I’m trying my best to remember the heat of the sun and the scent of roses whilst stepping out into the stinging rain and the cold wind. Winter can sometimes bring my mood down as well; that definitely affects my writing if not my style, and makes it more difficult. So here are the Wenches’ thoughts on this ever-fascinating topic, some lovely “hygge” ideas and some wonderful photography of the seasons from around the world.

Exercising Your Demons!

Andrea here, thinking today on how we’re all spending a lot more time at home . . . and some of the ramifications involved in sheltering-in-place, especially as here in the northern hemisphere we’re fast approaching the heart of winter . . . which make it even more inviting to curl up in front of the fire with good book and a cup of cocoa.

And maybe cookies. Or chocolate . . .

Pandemic baking is one of those ramifications. NOT that I’m guilty of overindulging in sweets. (Pssst, this Andrea’s editorial assistant, and just so you know, a batch of chocolate-chip blondies just came out of the oven. But you didn’t hear that from me!) Okay, well, maybe I do have a few extra “comfort” treats. The Wenches have been sharing recipes with each other, and so many of them look SO good. (Anne and Christina have been especially bad at leading us astray!) But after all, it wouldn’t be the holidays without sugar and spice. (And butter.)

Planting the Seeds of Knowledge

Andrea here, musing today about medicine. It’s a subject much on our collective minds right now as we hope the best and brightest scientific minds around the world will soon come up with safe and effective vaccine to combat the deadly COVID virus. So, as we all could use some cheery thoughts, I’m talking today about one of the bright spots in medical history here in America during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

We’ve made such inroads in combating diseases that once devastated populations, so I think we tend to forget how frightening and deadly so many forces of Nature—germs, microbes, bacteria, viruses—were in the past. As the Age of Enlightenment encouraged scientific inquiry and empirical observation, a new breed of physicians were beginning to look past the traditional ideas on illness—many of them left over from the ancient Greek philosophers—in order to understand how better to treat maladies.

I first met David Hosack in American Eden—David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic, Victoria Johnson’s marvelous book on America’s first botanic garden. Born in New York City in 1769, David Hosack was the son of a well-to-do merchant from Elgin, Scotland and his wife. He was educated at Columbia College, where he became fascinated with the study of medicine. He finished his studies at the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton) and then went on to study medicine in Philadelphia, where he wrote his doctoral thesis on cholera. In 1791, he married and started a private practice in Virginia, but then returned to New York City a year later.

The Writer's Lucky Charm

The Unnamed Bear

Joanna here, considering the delicate question of lucky objects for writers.

I have my own lucky object, a small brown Beanie Baby bear. It was sent to me by my first fiction editor after publication of my very first fiction book back in 1983.

He is ... unnamed. I think it’s because he is unique and therefore doesn’t need a name.

My bear sits on my desk and holds my glasses and is one of a half dozen object that have kept me company from desk to desk and country to country, over the years, waiting patiently while I wrote, or surfed the web, or read books on the computer, or tried to figure out if houses in 750 BCE Europe were covered with whitewashed wattle and daub or the relative cost of sweet oranges in London in 1800.

Is he lucky for me?
I think of him mostly as company,
But maybe he’s lucky.

A Love Letter to Libraries

Andrea here, musing on libraries—brick and mortar libraries—and how much they have had an influence on my life. The pandemic has made me aware of many everyday pleasures that may be small ones, but are things I have missed very much during the lockdown we’ve all experienced over the past half a year.

Libraries visits are one of them. The access to digital books through my local library’s app and website has been a godsend during the isolation, but the recent progress in my town, allowing the physical libraries (we have three!) to to provide curbside pick-up—and also to open for two hours each day for very limited browsing of the new acquisitions—has made me happier than I expected. The sight of the shelves with all those glorious books, the scent of paper . . . they stir fond memories, going back to my childhood.

Every Mystery Needs a Villain . . .

Andrea here, starting to get excited that Murder on Queen’s Landing, my latest Wrexford & Sloane Regency mystery, releases on Tuesday! It’s always a thrill when a book is close to getting into the hands (or ears!) of readers, as that’s what makes all the angst and gnashing of teeth within the solitary confinement of the writing room worthwhile.

And it also makes me reflect on what a long process it is to bring a mystery from the initial “hmm, what if . . .” to weaving all the threads together (without tying myself in knots!) to handing in a finished manuscript and finally seeing a printed book!

For me, research is always a huge part of the early stages. I like to base my stories around scientific discoveries or technical advances in the Regency, and then figure out how create a mystery with them interacting with some aspect of the era’s rich history. And then, of course, you need to figure out a villain—which isn’t always as easy as it might seem. However, in this book, in which I wanted to create a scheme that involved skullduggery in finance and commerce, an obvious villain leapt to mind . . .

Thinking Outside the Corset!

Andrea here, musing today on women in historical fiction who don’t behave as they are “supposed” to behave. Murder at Queen’s Landing, my new Wrexford & Sloane mystery releases on September 29th, and I have to confess, my women protagonists are not the sort who sit demurely in the drawing rooms of Mayfair, sipping tea and chatting about fashionable styles of ballgowns.

Nope—they’re out creating “good” trouble . . . dressing as men, using their heads as more than perches for extravagant bonnets, running profitable businesses . . .

Crossing Swords with Traditional History

Andrea here, musing again on how our fresh perspectives on history continue to weave such exciting new threads into the tapestry of the past. I love learning about extraordinary people whose stories never got told in the traditional narratives, especially when it’s someone whose life intersects with the Regency era. So I was absolutely enthralled by a recent article in the New York Times on Joseph Bolougne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

A champion fencer . . . a virtuoso violinist and composer of classical music whose sonatas influenced Mozart . . . conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris . . . a man at home in the cultured salons of Paris who hobnobbed with the Prince Regent in London . . . The Chevalier was also famous “across the Pond”—in fact John Adams called him “the most accomplished man in Europe in riding, shooting, fencing, dancing and music.”

So why have most of us never heard of him? Well, my guess would be that it’s because Joseph Boulogne is the son of a wealthy Frenchman with plantations in Guadaloupe and Ann Nanon, his wife’s enslaved African maid.

What We're Reading — July 2020

Anne here, hosting this month's WWR (What We're Reading) post for July.
We start with Pat, who's talking about NEVERWHERE, by Neil Gaiman.

The version I read was the “author’s preferred version.” The book started out as a television script and has gone through several editions since. This most recent one is Gaiman at his most charmingly insane. Richard, an up-and-coming investment analyst with am ambitious fiancée, uncharacteristically rescues an injured waif who falls at his feet. From that moment on, he’s drawn deeper into a world of fantasy beneath London’s streets, into the sewers and underground, becoming invisible—like the homeless—to the kind of people he once was. As in any fantasy, Richard has lessons to learn as he fights to return to his own home but ends up fighting for others instead. I really needed this escapism and it’s so well written that I never yawned and flipped pages. That’s true world building!  

Christina said, I have had a few disappointing reads this month, so I won’t mention those – suffice it to say that I really hate when a book or a series doesn’t end the way I want it to! The only book I’ve really enjoyed is Summer Island by Natalie Normann. Natalie is a Norwegian author who has written over 50 novels in her own language, but his is her first one in English and it’s wonderful! It’s one of those books that draws you in right from the start and then you just can’t stop reading. In fact, I finished it in one sitting and absolutely loved both the characters, story and setting. I now want to spend summer on an idyllic Norwegian island, swimming in the sea, rowing, eating the local food and relaxing. I could totally understand how the hero (who is English) got sucked into the little community on the island and never wanted to leave again – I didn’t either. The heroine is refreshingly direct and I adored her sidekick – a Norwegian buhund called Frikk! (Dog characters are always a bonus for me.) There is a sequel on the way set at Christmas and I can’t wait to read it!

By the Numbers!

Andrea here, musing on a question we authors get a LOT from readers—where do you get your inspiration for a story? Well, in the case of my Wrexford & Sloane Regency-set historical mystery series, the answer is science. Okay, okay, I know that doesn’t sound sexy. But . . . um, actually it is. Allow me to explain.

Think of all the techno-thrillers today—be it in books, movies, television—that are based technology and its effect on our lives. We’re all aware of what a hold technology has over us—and yes, it’s scary! Thus authors and screenwriters can use that to their advantage. But the idea of technology as both Good and Evil is nothing new. So I’ve had great fun using technology as the main plot point in my mysteries. The latest book in the series, Murder at Queen’s Landing, which releases in September, is no exception! I’ll get to that in a moment, let’s take a quick overview of the subject.

 

What We're Reading in June

The Word Wenches have been reading the most lovely books.

Mary Jo's recommendations for this month include one of my own old favorites.

Mary Jo:

I've read some new books this last month, but the only stories that really grabbed me were two oldies.  The first was Mary Stewart's The Ivy Tree.  We've discussed Mary Stewart here before--the Wenches are major fans and she shaped the writing for several of us, me included.

The Ivy Tree was the first Mary Stewart I ever read, in a condensed version in my mother's Ladies Home Journal.  I was riveted, and the big story twist was like being clubbed. (I'm harder to surprise now, but it's still one heck of a twist. <G>) 

Stewart is marvelous in her descriptions of story settings, and she makes a Northumberland summer come alive with sensual warmth.  Good suspense and romance, too.  (A lot of smoking goes on, as in most of Stewart's books, a sign of the changing times.)  It's still a wonderful story. 

My other favorite book is Sarah-Kate Lynch's The Wedding Bees, which I learned about on an earlier WWR.  I think it was recommended by Anne Gracie and Pat Rice.  I was a little wary, not being over fond of stinging insects, but within a couple of chapters, I was hooked.  It's kind of magical realism with the heroine, Sugar Wallace, exiled from her beloved Southern home and each year moving herself and her bees to a new city chosen by her queen bee, one of a succession of Elizabeths.  (The current queen is Elizabeth the 6th.)

This time she's led to New York City in an apartment with a great views, a terrace for her bees, and a half dozen other units in the building occupied by miserable people.  Sugar is a healer with both her honey and her warmth, and by the end of the book, everyone in the building is happy, and they and her bees have healed her into happiness and love. A delightful story.

 

Susan brings us a most interesting mystery series and a rather famous book about writing itself.

 

Susan:  This round, I read something new to me and something much-read (I won't mention the stack of to-be-reads, half-reads, meant-to-finishes, and forgot-I-hads that I didn't get through!). I'm leisurely making my way through Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway mystery series, picking one up now and then, and Dying Fall was a very good point in the series, about halfway through so far. Archaeologist and forensic bone specialist Dr. Ruth Galloway--single mom to a toddler she shares with Nelson, a local detective chief inspector--is drawn into a major archaeological discovery by an old friend who is soon murdered.

The Nurture of Nature

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” —John Muir

Andrea here, The Summer Solstice took place this past Saturday where I live (those of you in the Southern hemisphere had, of course, the Winter Solstice.) I always love the longest day of the year, and the golden glow of sunset stretching into the evening. It got me to thinking about Nature, and how aside from the four dates marking the change in season, we rarely stop and think about our connection to the rhythms and cycles of the natural world.

My musings were also sparked by the PBS series by Ken Burns on the history of the American National Parks, which I have been streaming over the last week. (you can see it here) In this troubling time of ills, both natural and man-made, I found it to be incredibly uplifting and inspiring.

“Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”
—John Muir

Americans are polarized about so many things these days, so it’s heartening to watch a show about what writer Wallace Stegner has called “the best idea we (Americans) ever had.” The idea of setting aside grand swaths natural beauty for posterity first took shape within another time of great conflict for America. In 1864, during the midst of the Civil War, President Lincoln signed the Yosemite Land Grant bill, giving the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoia trees to the state of California “upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation.”

Rare Indulgences!

Andrea here, I’ve been thinking about the last few months, and how stressful it’s been for all of us in so many ways. The need to shelter at home has cut us off from so many daily pleasures—meeting up with friends for drinks or dinner . . . visiting a museum . . . treating oneself to a little shopping. So I am deeming myself deserving of a splurge. And it should come as no surprise that books are involved!

Viking Cruise Line, a sponsor of PBS’s Masterpiece Theater, has been offering a video channel on culture and the arts for us to enjoy some virtual travels and lectures . . .and among the recent fun offerings was an interview with the Duke of Devonshire by his son-in-law, who owns Heywood Hill, one of Britain’s most famous rare book emporiums. (You can see it here)

Now, of course, I couldn’t resist taking a virtual visit to Heywood Hill. (Oh, how I miss real-life London!) And what do I find—a carefully curated list of 80 fun bibliographic treasures, specially chosen to lift the spirits during the pandemic! (You can see the full selection here.) So, I’ve opened my virtual checkbook—because money is no object when one is drooling (of course not literally) over such a fabulous array of goodies! However, I’ve exercised great restraint and haven’t gobbled up all them, but have chosen just a few that really tickle my fancy:

Summer Meditations

Andrea here . . . meditating on summer and what it means to me. In the United States, today marks the unofficial start of the summer season. With COVID -19, we don’t really know what the next few months will bring—though it’s pretty certain that Summer 2020 will very different from those in recent memory. We’re all feeling our way through the challenges, trying to inch here and there toward 'normal', as we wonder what 'normal' will be like going forward.

As someone who writes romance, I believe in resilience of the human spirit, and the power of love and friendship to help us triumph over adversity. So I do think we’ll find a way overcome all the terrible things so many of us are facing right now. But I think it’s also part of human nature to be a little nostalgic, and as summer is traditionally a time of long, lazy days in which to slow down and reflect, I got to thinking about some of the things I’ll miss this coming summer.

The Power of Song

Andrea here, musing today about lifting the spirits in times of trouble. We writers are used to a more solitary daily routine than most people (and we tend to be introverts by nature) so the shelter-in-place restrictions that most of us are facing right are perhaps a little less disruptive. Nonetheless, the sense of isolation can feel daunting. I think a profound part of being human is the need for connection with others, especially friends and family.

There’s the physical connections—hugs, just holding hands—that so many of us of us miss. And voices. Many of us have been on the phone or video chats with our loved ones to share that bond. But what’s also struck me is how music—again, an elemental means of communicating that seems deeply ingrained in humanity—is a source of solace and a means of lifting the spirits. A lot of us have been sharing links to songs to create flickers of sunshine among the dark clouds.

I shared a very fun virtual concert with the Wenches the other day. It was by an a capella singing group from my alma mater, which has a wonderful heritage in this genre of unaccompanied singing. They loved it, so I thought I’d share a few links with you of these marvelous college students raising their voices in song, along with a little background on their singing groups.

A Roller Coaster Ride Through Regency Paris

Andrea here, hoping all of you are staying safe and well in these very difficult and frightening times.

It feels a little strange to continue as normal with our posts on research and whatever strikes our fancy when the world is in such turmoil. But we’ve decided that a little “normal” is probably good for all of us. (Especially things that make us smile.)

And today, it so happens that my research topic is a fun one. So, let’s all take a roller coaster ride—quiet literally—through one of the most popular entertainment to arise in Regency Paris! (Who says history doesn’t take you on some wild rides!)

It was a Dark and Stormy Night . . .

Andrea here . . . Today I’m musing about the weather. What with all the recent climate catastrophes around the globe, it’s made me focus on how much I take for granted that whatever the day brings—rain, shine, cold or heat—it’s usually merely a minor nuisance or one of those welcome small pleasure, not something that has a profound impact on my life. Modern life, with its astounding array of ways to avoid the inconvenience of bad weather, makes it easy to forget what an awesome force it can be when roused to  showing its teeth.

A Panorama of Paris

Andrea here, musing on research, and why I find it such fun to delve into background material to find all the little details that help to add color to a story. I’ve got a new Lady Arianna mystery coming out on April 6th—it’s titled A TANGLE OF SERPENTS—and this latest adventure takes Arianna and Saybrook to Paris in the aftermath of of Waterloo. The Allied armies have occupied the city, which has become a viper’s nest of international intrigue as Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria all jockey for power in how to reorder France. (You can pre-order here. And read an excerpt here.)

It’s a fabulously interesting setting for a mystery . . . I found so many fun bits of color to weave into the plot. The most amazing discovery, which figures prominently in the action, is one I’m saving for close to the release date. But here are plenty of others . . .

Imagine the city suddenly flooded with soldiers from all over Europe—how do you keep them . . . er . . . entertained? And add to the soldiers all the British civilians who at last were free to visit the Continent after years of war. So tourists were also crowding the boulevards, anxious to taste all the pleasures of Paris. Well, thank heavens the city was famous for its joie de vivre. Food! Fashion! Flirting! It turns out there was no dearth of places that offered a sumptuous array of amusements.

 

Random Doodles!

Andrea here, What with the holidays upon us, and this week likely being a frenzy of last-minute running around, I’ve decided to keep my scribbling short. Very short! So I'm doing something a little different.

Now, scribbling is the operative word. Many of us here enjoy historical books—both ones written by contemporary authors set in the past, and ones actually penned in the past. (I adore seeing displays of historical manuscripts. I literally got goosebumps seeing Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre at the British Library!)

I recently saw a delightful blog that made me have a fun “ah-ha!” moment regarding on how we read books. (more on that in a moment.) I would like to posit that there are two fundamental types of readers: Those who revere the printed page and abhor the idea of adding any markings to it. And those who don’t hesitate for a moment about adding their own personal doodles.

What We're Reading for November

Howdy folks. Joanna here.
Hope all those who celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday had a good one.

It's been a good month for reading, it being fall weather and brisk enough that the dog doesn't beg for a walk so much.

 

Andrea brings us a YA and a biography:

It was a strange reading month. I started and didn’t finish a couple of books, which is very rare for me. But they just didn’t catch my fancy. However, having enjoyed the Ron Chernow biography of Alexander Hamilton so much, I snatched up Washington: A Life,  his bio on George Washington, when it recently appeared on BookBub. (It won the Pulitzer Prize some years back) I’m only about a quarter of the way through it, but am really enjoying it.

 

Chernow has a wonderful knack of making his subjects come so alive. Washington’s early life is fascinating, and he comes across as a very different character from the solemn, stately president that the history books present. We see a full range of his humanity—he was a man of passions and pragmatism—and really paints a viid portrait of his many nuances. I’m very much looking forward to glomming through the rest of it in next little while.

The Write Stuff

Andrea here, musing today on writing. Or specifically, on handwriting. An old friend of mine wrote me a note about the blog I did on letterpress printing, and shared her own love of letterforms with a sample of the Zen calligraphy, which she’s been studying (and teaching) for a number of years.

I’m in awe of people who can create such beautiful art—for in my opinion, letters are true art. And that got me to thinking about handwriting. In the spirit of full disclosure, I have TERRIBLE handwriting. (right) It’s embarrassing, as I was an art major, should be able to create a nicer looking page than my pitiful scrawl. I try to explain it away by the fact that I’m slightly dyslexic. In typing I tend to transpose letters all the time. (You don’t want to try to read a paragraph that I type in hurry—it’s scary.) And when writing by hand, I do tend to mix up which letter comes next, especially if I try to rush. I have to be really careful at book signings to get a person’s name spelled right. (It’s actually rather stressful.)

A Touch of Magic!

Andrea here, musing today about making things by hand, and the tactile and visual pleasures of connecting with three dimensions in this digital age. It seems that more and more institutions of learning, from school classrooms to museums of every discipline, are recognizing the importance of object-based learning. Engaging with an actual “concrete” (okay, not literally) entity brings a subject—be it history, art, technology, the natural sciences—magically alive in ways that transcends a computer screen image or photographic reproduction.

I recently had a wonderful first-hand experience in watching this happen. In September, I teamed up to do a special project with a professor who teaches undergraduates at my alma mater how to print on an old-fashioned printing press. It involved creating a keepsake for an alumni gathering, and as it was my bright idea to print it by hand with real type and quality paper—even though 700 copies were needed—the two of us had a LOT time to chat in the press room as we cranked out the pieces one by one. (I fell in love with letterpress printing as a freshman, and did a lot of it, so it was great fun for me to get ink on my hands again after so many years.)

When Minor Characters Come to Life . . .

Andrea here, musing today on minor characters in a story, and how they can surprise you. Take, for example, my just-released mystery, Murder at Kensington Palace. In doing research for the book, I had come across a paragraph or two that mentioned scientific soirees were occasionally held at Kensington Palace during the Regency because King George III’s sixth son (and ninth child), Prince Augustus Frederick, lived in one of the state apartments and was very interested in science.

Aha! I think—it’s the perfect place for my opening scene! So, I make a note of it, doubly happy because I now have a great title for the book. When it comes down to writing the scene, I shuffle through all my notes and photos from my visit to the palace, as well as research I’ve done on the real-life scientific scholars who might have attended, as I have fun putting a few small cameos of actual people interacting with my fictional characters. And course, I remind myself to made a very brief mention of Prince Augustus Frederick—or the Duke of Sussex, the title he was granted by his father in 1801.

Naturally, I imagine this will only take a minute down rabbit hole. I only intend to have him walk by, and then have a few other people comment on some of his habits to make him a little individuality . . . However, I ended up being really surprised by what an interesting man he was. I had always thought of George III’s sons as a rather undistinguished lot (if not downright dislikable fellows.) And for me, Augustus Frederick was sort of lost in the shuffle of the 15 children.

 

Hellion Heroines

Andrea here, musing today about heroines . . .or more specifically, hellion heroines. Murder at Kensington Palace, my latest Wrexford & Sloane Regency mystery released this week, and as the creation of a book is quite a journey, from the first glimmer of an idea to the final pages being ready for a reader to begin turning, I always like to sit back and reflect a bit on the process.

It’s great fun constructing the plot and weaving in enough twists and turns to keep people guessing (though as a total “pantser”, I confess that I’m sometimes in danger of tripping over my own two feet!) However, for me the real heart of crafting a story is creating the characters—how to give them challenges and vulnerabilities, how to make them both flawed but appealing enough that readers will cheer for them to overcome all obstacles. And in a series, where the protagonists carry over from book to book, the characters have to grow—as we all do through our journey through life.

A Shocking Discovery!

Andrea here, musing today on a very “shocking” topic! Ha—now that I have your attention, I shall explain! I have a new release coming out on the 24th. Murder at Kensington Palace is the third book in my Wrexford & Sloane Regency mystery series, and the plot involves electricity!

The voltaic pile (basically the first electrical battery) was invented by Alessandro Volta in 1800. As often happens in the world of invention, the discovery was sparked by a disagreement he had with Luigi Galvani, another man of science who had discovered he could make the legs of a dead frog “jump “ when they were used to form a circuit between two different type of metal. Galvani claimed he had discovered animal electricity—an electrical fluid inherent in the frog itself.

Volta believed the reaction had a more rational explanation than that, and set about creating a chemical electrolyte (the fluid that creates the circuit between two different metals and thus an electrical current.) He soaked cloth or cardboard in brine and spaced them between disks of zinc and metal—and lo and behold created an electrical current! By adding more disks and electrolyte pads, he discovered he could make a voltaic pile more powerful.

This awesome new discovery was hugely exciting to the scientific world during the Regency. In London, people flocked to the Royal Institution, one of the leading scientific organizations of the time, to hear lectures and see demonstrations of voltaic batteries.

 

The Joys of Friendship

Andrea here, thinking today about the joys of friendship and all the special ways it can enrich our lives. Here at the Word Wenches, we all write books that have friendship and love at the heart of our stories, though we play with those elemental tropes in our own individual styles. The beauty of friendship is that it has an infinite number of ways to weave us all together.

In our occasional blogs on craft, we’ve talked a lot about the solitary life of a writer, and how we spend a lot of time in the “writing cave” with just our characters for company. (Trust me, there are times I wish I could send them back to their own abode and get them out of my hair! But as with all friends, you quickly learn to love their little quirks . . .)