Jo Beverley's Blog, page 2

Blogging and bestselling

I'm blogging today at Fresh Fiction. Is Prudence a snob, or is it all right to want more than White Rose Yard? Have your say. Fresh Fiction

I'm happy to say that An Unlikely Countess will be in tomorrow's New York Times at #17 on the bestseller list. And it'll go up to #13 next week. :)

Jo

Black Swans

Black swans have some relevance to my books.

The black swans here in Dawlish are breeding and my husband took some pictures that cry out for captions, so here they are.


And yes, An Unlikely Countess is out.
"With her usual gift for crafting a captivating plot and creating complex, compelling characters, RITA Award-winning Beverley fashions another superbly satisfying addition to her Georgian-eraMalloren World series." - John Charles, Booklist.

I'm going to copy here posts I make on Facebook and other places, but there might be some others as well.

All best wishes,

Jo

video

Inspired by the Oscars*G* I created a video over the weekend, mostly as a way to show some of the locations of An Unlikely Countess, though giving them context turned it into a bit of a book trailer.

Anyway, it was fun. If you want to do something with still images, I recommend Photo Story. It's an old programme, but it's a free download it from Microsoft, and once you learn its fairly simple ways, it's easy to use.

If you like it, I'd be delighted if you passed it on via Facebook, Twitter, and the usual places.
 Here's the link.

As you'll gather, my new book, An Unlikely Countess, is out soon. Like... tomorrow!

There's an excerpt here.






Cheers,

Jo

Darlington

I just visited Darlington, where I have a few scenes in An Unlikely Countess. In fact, that's where the weddings -- one and a half, or half and a one -- take place, in St Cuthbert's church. This turned out to be a fabulous old church. I love how in England one stumbles across these gems just anywhere. What's more, the action I had set in the book works with the structure, which is one of the things I needed to check. "St. Cuthbert's Collegiate Church, which, next to Durham Cathedral, is the most beautiful church in the county, is supposed to have been erected by Bishop Pudsey. In reference to this fine example of early architecture, it was said by the late Sir Gilbert Scott to be "on the whole one of the most uniform parish churches he knew anywhere, and one of the most beautiful." The church is a cruciform structure, with a tower and spire rising from the intersection of the nave and transepts." [From History, Topography and Directory of Durham, Whellan , London, 1894]" I'll have some pictures when I get home, but here's one oldish one I'm not sure when the spire went on, but it's not original. It was a square tower, and the spire almost wrecked the place. That end of the church has a shift from the weight. A lesson to all "improvers!" On to Northallerton today, where the book now opens. yes, if you've read the beginning in The Secret Duke it was Guisborough, or Gisborough. That's a lovely old town and I wanted to use it, but the travel logistics wouldn't work. Northallerton was an important place on the Great North Road. More later, Jo

Who is this?

I get the weekly sampler from Dover Books, and this was one picture from a Victorian anniversary card. Just for fun, I couldn't help wondering if it would fit one of my Georgian couples, but which one? Not Rothgar and Diana, I feel! Nor Bella and Thorn from The Secret Duke.

Any suggestions?

Dover Books are absolutely wonderful. They do reprints of older books and collections of images of all kinds, all at great prices. I have many. And as I said, you can subscribe to receive sample images from their collections. Click on the link above to visit.

Best wishes,

Jo
Click here to refresh your memory on my Georgian titles.

Time of her own

The Teach Me Tonight blog is where academics interested in the romance genre post, and it is always interesting, sometimes enlightening.

In this blog, (use the link above) Laura Vivanco discussed the classic text, Reading The Romance, by Janet Radway. This is decades old now. In fact, I remember attending a lecture by Radway at Dalhousie University in Halifax Nova Scotia, simply because even then I wanted to write romance and was looking for some insights into the genre.

I also read the book, which did have some interesting insights into romance reading but which I recognized even then as being seen through the lens of the female scholar of the time, and the beliefs they held because it didn't relate closely to my own experiences as a university educated, professional woman who also was an avid reader of romance novels.

Laura Vivanco gives her own, modern interpratation of Radway, which is interesting reading.

I was particularly struck by this piece below. The subject here is the perceived value of (women's) unpaid work in the home v paid work, inside or out. I put the brackets there because I think the weighting exists for either sex; it's just much less common for men to take on the unpaid home work.

The value of women's work is something I'm always aware of in my writing. In the past, men's and women's spheres were often much more distinct and separate, even to the actual management of the house (as illustrated in Amanda Vickery's excellent new book about the home in Georgian England, Behind Closed Doors.) I get annoyed by novels in which the heroine is seen as more interesting, more admirable, if she rejects traditional women's work in order to seek a more manly role. It's not the seeking, per se, because sometimes women had no choice, or had a genuine calling to a manly occupation, but the implication that by doing so they are stronger, better women, and that therefore anyone who managed a household and raised children is inferior.

It's particularly annoying in a historical context when women's work could be complex and challenging, especially in the upper echelons, where she might be managing one or more large buildings, a small army of servants, as well as supporting her husband's out-of-home activities on the social and political level.

Vivanco writes:
"Perhaps the Smithton romance readers, "women who saw themselves first as wives and mothers" (7) were taking a well-deserved break from their work in order to read books in a genre which recognised the value of that work? These were, after all, women who "referred constantly and voluntarily to the connection between their reading and their daily social situation as wives and mothers" (9), who "are angered by men who continue to make light of 'woman's work' as well as by 'women's libbers' whom they accuse of dismissing mothers and housewives as ignorant, inactive, and unimportant" (78) and, as Radway herself has written, "the romance readers of Smithton use their books to erect a barrier between themselves and their families in order to declare themselves temporarily off-limits to those who would mine them for emotional support and material care" (12).

Even workers who enjoy their jobs require some leisure time, but because the work in which these women were engaged is often not considered to be "work," and because it is carried out within the home, there may be no provision made for "clocking off" at the end of a long shift. If one looks at the Smithton readers through the lenses of feminist economic theory, one might suggest that they were finding in these books both a physical means of asserting their right to leisure time, and validation that their work as wives and mothers is indeed of crucial importance. This might explain why "their self-perception has been favorably transformed by their reading" (102)."

This is a gre at insight, and one that could be of use to us all. Women often confess to guilt about taking time for themselves, especially if it means things left undone. Alas, often women are attacked, directly or indirectly, by their family and others for doing so. But this suggests that creating that time slice for ourselves, especially if we are doing work that's not paid for, is crucial to our well being and self-worth. That it is something worth asserting and defending.

Jo

The Oddest Title contest

More details here.

The "Very Longlist" in full:

100 Girls on Cheap Paper
A Tortilla is Like Life
Advances in Potato Chemistry and Technology
Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter
An Intellectual History of Cannibalism
Bacon: A Love Story
Baptist Autographs in the John Rylands University Library of Manchester 1741-1845
Bondage for Beginners
Briefs for the Reading Room
Budgeting for Infertility
Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich
Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes
Curbside Consultation in Cornea and External Disease
Cute Yummy Time
Dental Management of Sleep Disorders
Father Christmas Needs a Wee
Fluffy Little Kitten in Fluffy's Brother
Food Digestion and Thermal Preference of Toad
Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots
How YOU Are Like Shampoo: For Job Seekers
I Stopped Sucking My Thumb…Why Can't You Stop Drinking?
I'm Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears
Is the Rectum a Grave?
Jokes by the Not So Famous Redneck
Map-based Comparative Genomics in Legumes
Mickey Mouse, Hitler and Nazi Germany
My Hare Line Meets the Brown Rabbit
Obama Guilty of Being President While Black
Peek-a-poo: What's in Your Diaper?
Planet Asthma: Art and Acitivty Book
Plough Music
Plug-in Electric Vehicles: What Role for Washington?
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Bean Conference
Schoolgirl Milky Crisis
Soft Drink & Fruit Juice Problems Solved
Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing
The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
The First Home-Built Aeroplanes
The Great Dog Bottom Swap
The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin
The Origin of Faeces
The Quotable Douchebag
The True History of Tea
The Wild World of Girly Men and Masculine Women - And Why Americans Suffer from So Many Other Idiotic Syndromes!
Venus Does Adonis While Apollo Shags a Tree
What Horses Do For Us
What Kind of Bean is this Chihuahua?

Got a pick?

I think The Origin of Faeces is rather witty, and Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes sounds fascinating.

Perhaps the award should distinguish between odd titles and unusual, but reasonable, subjects. After all, Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots sounds like something we all need to consider. Only think of Battlestar Galactica!

Jo

No wild robots in The Stanforth Secrets. The lethal behaviour is all very human, as is

the loving type. On sale now.

Centenarians of 1881

On the Word Wenches

we're talking about the ages of characters in romance, (Dark Champion has my youngest heroine, 16 year old Imogen) and the subject of life expectancy turned up. It wasn't as short as some people say, and just for interest I went to the British 1881 census, freely available here
and put in the first name John and the date of birth 1781, looking for centinarians. I found 6, and remember, this is just one name -- John.

Then I put in Mary, and got 16 hits. So much for women dying off more than men. And you'll note these women are widows, sometimes living with children, so they didn't survive by avoiding childbirth. Just for interest I plugged in a few more popular first names and got Anne 8, Jane 4, Sarah7, and Elizabeth 4.

Here are the results

1. John BUTTERWORTH - 1881 British Census / Lancashire
Servant Gender: Male Birth: Shore, Lancashire, England

I think this might be an error as he's recorded as a servant, an ostler.

2. John GRANT - 1881 British Census / Lancashire
Boarder Gender: Male Birth: Ireland
Thomas KENNEDY Head M Male 31 Hull, York, England Beer Seller
Catherine KENNEDY Wife M Female 30 Ireland
John GRANT Boarder W Male 100 Ireland H...
Robert GREADY Boarder M Male 28 Ireland Cotton Weaver
Thomas GRANT Boarder U Male 46 Ireland Pedlar


3. John ANGUS - 1881 British Census / Northumberland

Thomas B. TALLANTYNE Head M Male 62 Haltwhistle, Northumberland, England Tailor (Employs 5 Men & 3 Boys)
Elizabeth B. TALLANTYNE Wife M Female 57 Newcastle On Tyne, Northumberland, England
Angus B. TALLANTYNE Son U Male 26 Haltwhistle, Northumberland, England Tailor
Snow B. TALLANTYNE Son U Male 23 Haltwhistle, Northumberland, England Tailor
Lizzie M. TALLANTYNE Daur U Female 15 Haltwhistle, Northumberland, England Scholar
John ANGUS Boarder W Male 100 Summersfield, Durham, England Retired Leather Merchant
Judith ARMSTRONG Serv U Female 21 Welton, Cumberland, England Domestic Serv

Boarder Gender: Male Birth: Summersfield, Durham, England
4. John POWELL - 1881 British Census / Worcester
Head Gender: Male Birth: Clenley, Worcester, England

He's living alone.

5. John MOORING - 1881 British Census / Norfolk
Patient Gender: Male Birth: London, Middlesex, England

He's in the Royal Naval Hospital as a pensioner. Great name for a sailor! And one wonders what action he saw. He might have been at Trafalgar in 1802.

6. John BOYDEN - 1881 British Census / Shropshire
Father Gender: Male Birth: Hinstock, Shropshire, England

Charles BOYDEN Head M Male 59 Hinstock, Shropshire, England Farm Labourer
Eliza BOYDEN Wife M Female 62 Market Drayton, Shropshire, England
John BOYDEN Father W Male 100 Hinstock, Shropshire, England


1. Mary HOWELLS - 1881 British Census / Glamorgan
Lodger Gender: Female Birth: Trecastle

Mary WILLIAMS Head W Female 66 Aberystwyth Housekeeper
Mary HOWELLS Lodger W Female 100 Trecastle

2. Mary BAILEY - 1881 British Census / Huntingdon
Head Gender: Female Birth: Somersham, Huntingdon, England
Mary BAILEY Head W Female 100 Somersham, Huntingdon, England No Occupation
Jane PEACOCK Dau W Female 68 Somersham, Huntingdon, England No Occupation

3. Marie CHEVALIER - 1881 British Census / Jersey
M In Law Gender: Female Birth: France
Francois DENIES Head M Male 49 Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands Seaman
Mary DENIES Wife M Female 52 St Martins, Jersey, Channel Islands Laundress
Marie CHEVALIER M In Law W Female 100 France Annuitant
Adelaide MICHEL Boarder W Female 81 France Annuitant


4. Mary GOLAKAR - 1881 British Census / Lincoln
Head Gender: Female Birth: Ireland
Mary GOLAKAR Head W Female 100 Ireland Parish Relief

5. Maria WOODS - 1881 British Census / Surrey
Inmate Gender: Female Birth: Bongay, Norfolk, England
In the workhouse. Widowed.

6. Mary GODSELL - 1881 British Census / Worcester
Head Gender: Female Birth: St Andrews, Worcester, England
Mary GODSELL Head W Female 100 St Andrews, Worcester, England
Eliza GODSELL Daur U Female 59 Gt Malvern, Worcester, England Laundress

7. Mary A. HOLDROYD - 1881 British Census / York
Head Gender: Female Birth: Rastrick, York, England
This is dubious, too, because of the dates of the son and daughter. The 1771 census shows her as 50.
Mary A. HOLDROYD Head W Female 100 Rastrick, York, England
Sigsworth HOLDROYD Son U Male 24 Mirfield, York, England Joiner Unemployed
Fanny A. HOLDROYD Daur U Female 22 Mirfield, York, England Woollen Weaver


8. Mary STEEL - 1881 British Census / Cumberland
Head Gender: Female Birth: Bewcastle, Cumberland, England

Mary STEEL Head W Female 100 Bewcastle, Cumberland, England Formerly Domestic Servant
Mary STEEL Daur U Female 68 Bewcastle, Cumberland, England Domestic Servant
John STEEL Son U Male 66 Bewcastle, Cumberland, England Domestic Servant
Ann STEEL Grand Daur U Female 38 Bewcastle, Cumberland, England Dressmaker
9. Mary ARNOLD - 1881 British Census / Warwick
Mother Gender: Female Birth: Henley In Arden, Warwick, England
Henry LEESON Head M Male 65 Tamworth, Warwick, England Domestic Gardener
Maria LEESON Wife M Female 58 Bickenhall, Warwick, England
Thomas LEESON Son U Male 22 Olton, Warwick, England Domestic Gardener
Mary ARNOLD Mother W Female 100 Henley In Arden, Warwick, England General Servant


10. Mary ROWE - 1881 British Census / Cornwall
Boarder Gender: Female Birth: Truro, Cornwall, England
Abraham HENDERSON Head M Male 38 London, London, Middlesex, England Fish Dealer
Elizabeth HENDERSON Wife M Female 38 Liskeard, Cornwall, England
George HENDERSON Son U Male 19 Bodmin, Cornwall, England Masons Apprentice
Kate HENDERSON Daur U Female 13 Bodmin, Cornwall, England Scholar
Abraham HENDERSON Son U Male 10 Bodmin, Cornwall, England Scholar
John HENDERSON Son U Male 8 Bodmin, Cornwall, England Scholar
Alfred HENDERSON Son U Male 5 Bodmin, Cornwall, England Scholar
Sarah HENDERSON Daur U Female 3 Bodmin, Cornwall, England Scholar
Mary HENDERSON Daur U Female 1 Bodmin, Cornwall, England
Sarah BRAY Mother W Female 64 Bodmin, Cornwall, England Dressmaker
Charlotte GOSS Boarder W Female 74 Bodmin, Cornwall, England Pay From Parish
Mary ROWE Boarder W Female 100 Truro, Cornwall, England Pay From Parish


11. Mary TRIMFULL - 1881 British Census / Middlesex
M In Law Gender: Female Birth: Enfield, Middlesex, England
Richard SHEARS Head M Male 56 Marylebone, Middlesex, England Tin Plate Wker
Eliza SHEARS Wife M Female 53 Marylebone, Middlesex, England
Henry SHEARS Son Male 27 Marylebone, Middlesex, England Carman
William SHEARS Other Male 17 Clkwell, Middlesex, England
Robert SHEARS Other Male 12 Clkwell, Middlesex, England
Charlie SHEARS Other Male 2 Clkwell, Middlesex, England
Louis SHEARS Dau Female 22 Ckwell, Middlesex, England Domestic Serv
Mary TRIMFULL M In Law W Female 100 Enfield, Middlesex, England


12. Mary WATERS - 1881 British Census / Monmouth
Mother Gender: Female Birth: Blakeney, Gloucester, England
James WATERS Head M Male 66 Mounton, Monmouth, England Gen.Ag.Lab.
Elizabeth WATERS Wife M Female 55 N.K., Shropshire, England
James WATERS Son M Male 32 Shirenewton, Monmouth, England Shoeing Smith (Black)
Mary WATERS Daur In Law M Female 24 Itton, Monmouth, England
John WATERS Son U Male 29 Mounton, Monmouth, England Gen.Ag.Lab.
Thomas WATERS Son U Male 23 Mounton, Monmouth, England Servant (Domestic)
Mary WATERS Mother W Female 100 Blakeney, Gloucester, England

13. Mary HALL - 1881 British Census / Northumberland
Lodger Gender: Female Birth: Down Co, Ireland
James SCOTT Head M Male 36 Tyrone, Ireland Iron Manufacture Blast Furnace Lab
Roshannah SCOTT Wife M Female 34 Tyrone, Ireland
Joseph SCOTT Son Male 11 Tyrone, Ireland
Mary SCOTT Dau Female 9 Tyrone, Ireland Scholar
Elizabeth SCOTT Dau Female 7 Tyrone, Ireland Scholar
Sarah SCOTT Dau Female 5 Walker, Northumberland, England
James L. SCOTT Son Male 3 Walker, Northumberland, England
Robert I. SCOTT Son Male 1 Walker, Northumberland, England
Mary HALL Lodger W Female 100 Down Co, Ireland
14. Mary COSTELLO - 1881 British Census / Stafford
Head Gender: Female Birth: Ireland
Mary COSTELLO Head W Female 100 Ireland Domestic
Chas. BLOOR Lodger U Male 68 ...Hire Labourer
George BLOOR Lodger W Male 59 Burslem, Stafford, England Potter
Samuel KINSTREY Lodger U Male 25 Burslem, Stafford, England Potter

15. Mary BIRKET - 1881 British Census / Westmorland
Mother Gender: Female Birth: Kendal, Westmorland, England
Doubtful. The only other mention, on the 1841, has her 10 years younger.

Sarah MEDCALF Head W Female 54 Kendal, Westmorland, England Woollen Wea
Mary BIRKET Mother W Female 100 Kendal, Westmorland, England W Of A Soldier
Mary E. HILLBECK Niece Female 14 Kendal, Westmorland, England Woollen Winder

Jo

Songs of Love and Death

I just picked up on George RR Martin's blog that the collection Songs of Love and Death, edited by him and Gardner Dozois, is off to the publisher, Pocket Books.

This was a very interesting project for me, as I love cross genre work. I was asked to keep it a bit closer to my main writing form, historical romance, so it's an 18th century love story, but not connected to the Mallorens, and taking place a little earlier. The working title was Star Crossed Lovers, and the new one feels a bit ominous. Have no fear. The Marrying Maid has a happy, triumphant ending.

Believe it or not, the picture has some relevance to my Georgian story.

I'm in very interesting company.

Jim Butcher "Love Hurts"
Jo Beverly "The Marrying Maid"
Carrie Vaughn "Rooftops"
M.L.N. Hanover "Hurt Me"
Cecelia Holland "Demon Lover"
Melinda M. Snodgrass "The Wayfarer's Advice"
Robin Hobb "Blue Boots"
Neil Gaiman "The Thing About Cassandra"
Marjorie M. Liu "After the Blood"
Jacqueline Carey "You and You Alone"
Lisa Tuttle "His Wolf"
Linnea Sinclair "CourtingTrouble"
Mary Jo Putney "The Demon Dancer"
Tanith Lee "Under/Above the Water"
Peter S. Beagle "Kashkia"
Yasmine Galenorn "Man in the Mirror"
Diana Gabaldon "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows"

Not sure when it will be out, but sign up for my newslettter list on googlegroups and you'll always know the latest.

There's an easy sign-up box here.

Chalice of Roses is out now, and soon, the reissue of The Stanforth Secrets will be out.

Jo

Chalice of Roses is out

Chalice of Roses is officially out today in the US. It's available for the Kindle, though I'm not sure about other electronic readers.

Readers outside of the US and Canada can easily get it through The Book Depository, which ships books free anywhere.

I've put up some pictures of Glastonbury that are connected to my story.


This collection was put together by the same four authors who brought you Faery Magic and Dragon Lovers -- me, Mary Jo Putney, Barbara Samuel, and Karen Harbaugh, and all the stories riff off the Grail mythology. Romantic Times has made it a top pick, Publishers Weekly loves it, but I think this Library Journal review describes it beautifully.

"Based on legends surrounding the mystical Holy Grail, this quartet sweeps readers across time periods with emotionally compelling, often lyrically written tales of courage, sacrifice, love—and roses. A young woman of ancient lineage is destined to bring peace to 12th-century England when she finds her protector, and together they call forth the chalice in Beverley's "The Raven and the Rose"; a Guardian must use her powers to keep the Grail safe during World War II in Mary Jo Putney's "The White Rose of Scotland"; a debutante is charged with keeping the Grail out of Napoleon's grasp in Karen Harbaugh's charming "The English Rose: Miss Templar and the Holy Grail"; and an American grad student studying in England becomes involved in a strange fey tale involving the Grail in Barbara Samuel's "Eternal Rose." VERDICT: This beautifully crafted anthology by some of the genre's best is graced with flawless writing, touches of humor, and magical, creative plots."

My stor y is set against the Anarchy, when the long running struggle for the crown between Queen Matilda and King Stephen tore England apart. The Holy Grail is supposed to bring peace, so why has the Anarchy lasted so long? The answer to that is revealed when Sister Gladys of Rosewell nunnery near Glastonbury is summoned to her destiny -- to find the Grail and the man who will be her partner in summoning its powers.

If you haven't already done so, you can read the beginning here.


I hope these stories will be a lovely start to 2010

Jo