Sophia Rose's Blog, page 6
September 26, 2015
A Magpie Finds Dialogue Cues
So, I'm learning this craft known as writing like a magpie lining a nest. I see bright shinies and grab them. My bright shiny this day is the concept of 'dialogue cues'. The lovely Christina Boyd, a fabulous editor for Meryton Press mentioned this to me after reading some of my latest work in progress. I had to Google it b/c I wanted to know what it was so I could, um, fix my dialogue cue. LOL! I came across this blog post that was short and sweet and clear as crystal (rather unlike my intro to it, here).
http://onewildword.com/2013/07/30/wri...
http://onewildword.com/2013/07/30/wri...
August 31, 2015
Delicious Encounters
While prepping food, I enjoy listening to books. My recent choice was Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and narrated by Juliet Stevenson (you might remember her in her acting role as Mrs. Elton from the movie adaption, Emma.). It has been a while since I enjoyed Northanger Abbey so it was a delight to listen as naive, but good-hearted Catherine excitedly set off to Bath, mourned not knowing anyone, and then encountered the people that would shape her whole adventure- the Thorpes and the Tilneys. I found new appreciation for this story and chuckled over the decided tongue in cheek moments and marveled at the author's keep wit and observations on human nature.
All the while, I prepped a variation on my sister in law's Crockpot Lemon Chicken and Rice. I switched limes in for the lemons.
Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts, 1 pt heavy whipping cream, 2 cans cream of chicken, 2 lemons, 2 tbsp butter, 2 glubs white wine, 1/4 c sugar, and seasons of choice (I used rosemary, thyme, sage, and garlic).
Instructions: Juice the lemons and include one peel for flavor in the pot. Add all ingredients in the crockpot with the exception of the wine. Cook on high for one hour and then cook on low for an hour to hour and a half depending on time needed to cook chicken thoroughly. Add in wine in last hour of cooking. I made up six cups of rice and blended that in toward the end so the rice absorbed the flavors.
Take a look. Boy is this hearty fare and not too distracting while listening to Jane Austen's classic story.
Are you one who gives audio stories a chance? I can heartily recommend this as a way of appreciating the classics.
All the while, I prepped a variation on my sister in law's Crockpot Lemon Chicken and Rice. I switched limes in for the lemons.
Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts, 1 pt heavy whipping cream, 2 cans cream of chicken, 2 lemons, 2 tbsp butter, 2 glubs white wine, 1/4 c sugar, and seasons of choice (I used rosemary, thyme, sage, and garlic).
Instructions: Juice the lemons and include one peel for flavor in the pot. Add all ingredients in the crockpot with the exception of the wine. Cook on high for one hour and then cook on low for an hour to hour and a half depending on time needed to cook chicken thoroughly. Add in wine in last hour of cooking. I made up six cups of rice and blended that in toward the end so the rice absorbed the flavors.
Take a look. Boy is this hearty fare and not too distracting while listening to Jane Austen's classic story.
Are you one who gives audio stories a chance? I can heartily recommend this as a way of appreciating the classics.
August 11, 2015
Back It All Up. Frequently!
Just this past week, I had reason to remember the admonition we all get to back things up when it comes to important documents, spreadsheets, etc on our computers.
I had the scare of my life when I saw the black screen of death. My computer went totally black, but I started breathing again when I heard the welcome hum of life purring. 'Just the display? Ugh, not cool! But at least the hard drive is fine. Now, how do I retrieve what I need?'
I am not one who ignores sound advice or common sense so I have always backed up my work onto a thumb drive, but I got lazy during my vacation when I was working on my latest Work in Progress (WIP). I had not saved the final draft. *dum, da, dum, dum, ding!* Yeah, I hustled to retrieve that and a few other things like photos and was mission successful.
So all that to say, don't forget to back up your work. External hard drives, thumb drives, and clever brothers and sister in laws will not always be around to save you.
Happy Summer Peeps!
I had the scare of my life when I saw the black screen of death. My computer went totally black, but I started breathing again when I heard the welcome hum of life purring. 'Just the display? Ugh, not cool! But at least the hard drive is fine. Now, how do I retrieve what I need?'
I am not one who ignores sound advice or common sense so I have always backed up my work onto a thumb drive, but I got lazy during my vacation when I was working on my latest Work in Progress (WIP). I had not saved the final draft. *dum, da, dum, dum, ding!* Yeah, I hustled to retrieve that and a few other things like photos and was mission successful.
So all that to say, don't forget to back up your work. External hard drives, thumb drives, and clever brothers and sister in laws will not always be around to save you.
Happy Summer Peeps!
July 21, 2015
With Age Comes...A New Perspective
I discovered Meryton Press a couple of years ago not long after I discovered Jane Austen Fan Fiction (JAFF) or what I call Austenesque books. I have read so many of their quality stories. It was a true pleasure when I was invited to submit monthly posts to their blog.
For my debut blog post, I discuss how my love for Jane Austen novels has been effected by time and experience. Stop by and share how your tastes have changed over the years or just share your favorite Austen story.
http://merytonpress.com/with-age-come...
For my debut blog post, I discuss how my love for Jane Austen novels has been effected by time and experience. Stop by and share how your tastes have changed over the years or just share your favorite Austen story.
http://merytonpress.com/with-age-come...
June 30, 2015
A Book Lover's Travel Prep
I am a list maker, a planner, and an organizer. I tackle trip planning with my 'to do' list, my 'to bring' list, and travel folder in hand. I have traveled so often that really, at this point, it is not something to which I must give much thought.
That said, there is one aspect of trip planning that takes me some time and thought. Yep, you guessed it, the travel book pile. It is not a simple matter of grabbing the pile of books on my nightstand and going. Nope, first I have to work out how much reading time I will have, how much space I can clear in the bags for books, and even watch the weight. Since the invention of the ereader and ereader apps for my phone, this is not so problematic, but I do still read about 50/50 print vs. electronic. There is this added thing with me that I make lists of books to read and I pretty much stick to the order I put them there (I know, I know, nuts, right?)
And that is not the only consideration. I also have to carefully plan for my actual travel day reading. True confessions, here. I'm an emotional reader and super interactive with my books. I laugh (read that as cackle and giggle), cry (ugly gulps and big tears), grumble, mumble, and pretty much freak out anyone near enough to hear it all. Many public shame moments to prove this. So yes, I must do my research and choose something fairly tame and reliable, but yet interesting of course.
So what about you? Does this sound insane or familiar? Haha! Oh and by the way, just a brash plug here for my story, Sun-Kissed would make a terrific travel read (though full disclosure I've heard that my story makes folks cry and that a few of the others make people laugh).
That said, there is one aspect of trip planning that takes me some time and thought. Yep, you guessed it, the travel book pile. It is not a simple matter of grabbing the pile of books on my nightstand and going. Nope, first I have to work out how much reading time I will have, how much space I can clear in the bags for books, and even watch the weight. Since the invention of the ereader and ereader apps for my phone, this is not so problematic, but I do still read about 50/50 print vs. electronic. There is this added thing with me that I make lists of books to read and I pretty much stick to the order I put them there (I know, I know, nuts, right?)
And that is not the only consideration. I also have to carefully plan for my actual travel day reading. True confessions, here. I'm an emotional reader and super interactive with my books. I laugh (read that as cackle and giggle), cry (ugly gulps and big tears), grumble, mumble, and pretty much freak out anyone near enough to hear it all. Many public shame moments to prove this. So yes, I must do my research and choose something fairly tame and reliable, but yet interesting of course.
So what about you? Does this sound insane or familiar? Haha! Oh and by the way, just a brash plug here for my story, Sun-Kissed would make a terrific travel read (though full disclosure I've heard that my story makes folks cry and that a few of the others make people laugh).
June 22, 2015
Second Chance Romance Or Is It Best Chance Romance?
When I was writing my short story that was published recently in the Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer Anthology, I wrote a retelling of Persuasion.
Persuasion is considered a second chance romance. Guy and girl meet. Girl breaks it off. Eight years pass. Guy and girl meet again. And the real story beings.
So yes, that's a pretty bare bones take, but there you have it- a second chance, a reset or redo.
It got me to thinking as I pondered this particular romance trope. Now granted, second chance romance tropes can take on some nuances so that they don't all look the same when they end up in a story or we'd treat them as a one and done.
But that aside, in many of them, I see clues and hints that it's quite possible that the romance might not have worked out the first time around. If they had gone through with it and not broken things off then they would possibly end up with a meh relationship or, gasp, would break up and walk away.
Take Jane Austen's Persuasion, she wrote about a heroine and hero who came from two very different social classes during a time when class mattered, who have vastly different world experience and see the great wide world differently, and who, practically speaking, aren't really in a place where they can set up housekeeping comfortably.
Love was strong, but would it have been enough when things got real after the HEA? Possibly Anne would have found the fortitude to live on little, to have lost the society of her friends and family by marrying beneath her, to live alone (or with his relations) for months at a time while Frederick was at sea, and to live not as a Baronet's daughter, but a common Navy lieutenant's wife on that salary and circumstance. I don't know, but I suspect she wasn't ready for that and neither was he. And that is only a few of the considerations.
I read this story first as a young girl and at the time I was all fired up to dislike Lady Russell's interference and be disappointed in Anne's weak spirit that went along with it when she broke things off with Frederick. But after seeing it through adult eyes and having a better grasp of that era and particularly the lives of those in their circumstances, I had a change of heart as I got older. I really think Anne and Frederick needed that separation to mature, to reach their potential, and to appreciate the precious nature of their love among other things.
I love the romance aspect of the story, the possibilities for redemption and forgiveness, the greater appreciation of love after losing it and regaining it, but in some like Persuasion, I also treasure the thought that really this wasn't a second chance so much as their better or best chance at happiness.
And that's my two cents. What are your thoughts on the Second Chance Romance trope? Do you like reading it? Do you think some romances need that extra time to develop so they stand a better chance of making it? Do tell!
Persuasion is considered a second chance romance. Guy and girl meet. Girl breaks it off. Eight years pass. Guy and girl meet again. And the real story beings.
So yes, that's a pretty bare bones take, but there you have it- a second chance, a reset or redo.
It got me to thinking as I pondered this particular romance trope. Now granted, second chance romance tropes can take on some nuances so that they don't all look the same when they end up in a story or we'd treat them as a one and done.
But that aside, in many of them, I see clues and hints that it's quite possible that the romance might not have worked out the first time around. If they had gone through with it and not broken things off then they would possibly end up with a meh relationship or, gasp, would break up and walk away.
Take Jane Austen's Persuasion, she wrote about a heroine and hero who came from two very different social classes during a time when class mattered, who have vastly different world experience and see the great wide world differently, and who, practically speaking, aren't really in a place where they can set up housekeeping comfortably.
Love was strong, but would it have been enough when things got real after the HEA? Possibly Anne would have found the fortitude to live on little, to have lost the society of her friends and family by marrying beneath her, to live alone (or with his relations) for months at a time while Frederick was at sea, and to live not as a Baronet's daughter, but a common Navy lieutenant's wife on that salary and circumstance. I don't know, but I suspect she wasn't ready for that and neither was he. And that is only a few of the considerations.
I read this story first as a young girl and at the time I was all fired up to dislike Lady Russell's interference and be disappointed in Anne's weak spirit that went along with it when she broke things off with Frederick. But after seeing it through adult eyes and having a better grasp of that era and particularly the lives of those in their circumstances, I had a change of heart as I got older. I really think Anne and Frederick needed that separation to mature, to reach their potential, and to appreciate the precious nature of their love among other things.
I love the romance aspect of the story, the possibilities for redemption and forgiveness, the greater appreciation of love after losing it and regaining it, but in some like Persuasion, I also treasure the thought that really this wasn't a second chance so much as their better or best chance at happiness.
And that's my two cents. What are your thoughts on the Second Chance Romance trope? Do you like reading it? Do you think some romances need that extra time to develop so they stand a better chance of making it? Do tell!
June 15, 2015
And We're Off!
The first leg of Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer blog tour is underway at Austenprose blog with the talented editor, Christina Boyd, leaving a diverting introductory message and recap of her journey as editor of this book.
The fine art of herding cats was her especial gift when it came to bringing this book to fruition.
Most importantly, she has brought along a fantastic prize package consisting of one of her own hand-made ceramic bowls, a copy of the book, and a whimsical beach towel with Austen quote. Here's the link:
http://austenprose.com/2015/06/15/sun...
The fine art of herding cats was her especial gift when it came to bringing this book to fruition.
Most importantly, she has brought along a fantastic prize package consisting of one of her own hand-made ceramic bowls, a copy of the book, and a whimsical beach towel with Austen quote. Here's the link:
http://austenprose.com/2015/06/15/sun...
June 12, 2015
It's Alive! It's Alive!
Today Sun-Kissed showed up on Amazon with both ebook and papercopy editions available and 'in stock'. I never realized how impressive that would be to accomplish. Thanks to Christina, Michelle and the others who made that possible.
Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Kissed-Effu...
And Gentle Readers?
If you get the chance to read our stories, it would be a kindness if you would leave us your review thoughts whether your thoughts were favorable or not. I would say there is something for every mood based on the fact that early reviewers say some stories are hilarious, others fun, others may bring a tear, and still others just make you swoon.
Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Kissed-Effu...
And Gentle Readers?
If you get the chance to read our stories, it would be a kindness if you would leave us your review thoughts whether your thoughts were favorable or not. I would say there is something for every mood based on the fact that early reviewers say some stories are hilarious, others fun, others may bring a tear, and still others just make you swoon.
June 8, 2015
In Search of the Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer Paper Edition
We have all waited with great anticipation the release of Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer in a hard copy edition. And waited. Yes, and waited.
Good News! A little birdie shared that the wait is coming to an end this week. Mid-week to be more precise in its lovely summery cover and creamy white papery best.
I anticipate this release and stalk Amazon like I did when I needed Harry Potter and... well pretty much any of them as they released.
Has there ever been a book that you either jumped on it at the stroke of midnight release day?
This is because I still prefer to hold that pristine copy of a new book in my hand. Have I accepted the inevitable? Yes, I own an e-reader full, but I will always love the sensasorial (might have just made up a word, there) engagement I get with an actual book.
What about you? Are you paper only, e-reader only, or a bit of a hybrid. Or hey, maybe you've leaped to audio only. :)
Good News! A little birdie shared that the wait is coming to an end this week. Mid-week to be more precise in its lovely summery cover and creamy white papery best.
I anticipate this release and stalk Amazon like I did when I needed Harry Potter and... well pretty much any of them as they released.
Has there ever been a book that you either jumped on it at the stroke of midnight release day?
This is because I still prefer to hold that pristine copy of a new book in my hand. Have I accepted the inevitable? Yes, I own an e-reader full, but I will always love the sensasorial (might have just made up a word, there) engagement I get with an actual book.
What about you? Are you paper only, e-reader only, or a bit of a hybrid. Or hey, maybe you've leaped to audio only. :)
June 7, 2015
Who You Gonna Call? Research the Ghost Hunting Hobby
In my Work in Progress (WIP) my character is enamored by paranormal investigation and drools over the handsome host of the most popular ghost hunting show. I really haven't watched these shows in the past and I had no idea what they used for equipment.
But I have to tell you folks that I can see what all the fuss is about. I was highly entertained by the shows I watched and a few of those places you couldn't have paid me to go into at night. Seriously! I've walked through an old insane asylum during the day and that gave me the heebie jeebies, but at night? I would make Shaggy and Scooby look brave.
Er-hmm, but anyway, the equipment is pretty cool stuff. I want a ghost kit now with my own temp gauge, my white noise maker to draw out ghostly communication, my infrared camera, my listening gauge,and my electromagnetic meter reader. I'll set up and let othercrazy brave souls do the actual night time hunting.
Anyone else a fan of ghost hunting shows or gone ghost hunting?
But I have to tell you folks that I can see what all the fuss is about. I was highly entertained by the shows I watched and a few of those places you couldn't have paid me to go into at night. Seriously! I've walked through an old insane asylum during the day and that gave me the heebie jeebies, but at night? I would make Shaggy and Scooby look brave.
Er-hmm, but anyway, the equipment is pretty cool stuff. I want a ghost kit now with my own temp gauge, my white noise maker to draw out ghostly communication, my infrared camera, my listening gauge,and my electromagnetic meter reader. I'll set up and let other
Anyone else a fan of ghost hunting shows or gone ghost hunting?
