E.B. Roshan's Blog: This, That and the Other, page 8

The Sound of Words

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” wrote Shakespeare…but I’m not convinced.

Do word with pleasant meanings inherently sound more pleasant than others, or vice versa? Check out an interesting discussion of this topic HERE.

Release Day–and a Giveaway

Today Orchidelirium makes its debut! To celebrate, I’m giving away a free e-copy of the novella to the first three people who answer the following question:

What is your favorite flower, and why? Respond to this post or email me at btznvntATgmailDOTcom.

Happy Spring

Happy Spring, everyone! I trust at least some of you are enjoying season-appropriate weather, and possibly even some flowers…

And speaking of flowers, my new book, Orchidelirium releases in just two days. So far, my early readers have enjoyed it a lot!

“A fun, quick read set in a fantasy version of England…” Kristina

“A good mix of humor and seriousness, history and fantasy, lightness and heaviness, and a good deal of uniqueness!” Katja

“Beyond the technical details of the mystery, the story of human connections between flawed people is what I loved most about this novella. A truly satisfying read for me.” Nadine

Genres

A little while ago (or maybe more than a little) I did a series on all the websites I’ve found exceptionally helpful in my writing and publishing adventures. One of these was K.M. Weiland’s Helping Writers Become Authors.

This seemed a good time to spotlight it again, because she’s wrapping up a series of posts on writing tips for the various genres–mystery, thriller, romance, etc. Well worth checking out, even if you don’t write in most (or any) of the genres featured.

Her series on Story Structure and Most Common Writing Mistakes have been very useful too.

Fact vs. Fiction

It’s always bothered me that Bertie Wooster probably died in the mud at Ypres. Fortunately, Leonidas’s tangle with the tiger should be enough to spare him a similar fate…that, and the fact that he should be well over forty by the time August of 1914 rolls around.

Due to my decision to play fast and loose with the technological timeline, and thus avoid the shadow of WWI, Orchidelirium falls just short of being standard historical fiction (as it could have been had I set it a few decades later), into the category of (for lack of a better term) “Steampunk Lite.” The lengths we authors will go to for our characters…

In case you’re interested, here’s what would NOT have been possible in 1900:

Airship travel to India. While zeppelins and similar aircraft did exist, (in fact, 1900-1940 is considered the golden age of airships) they were more experimental than practical, and certainly weren’t engaged in routine passenger flights around the globe—especially not to rather obscure destinations like Golpara in Assam, India.Fully-articulated prosthetics. While the concept of a moveable arm and hand had existed in various forms for centuries, it wasn’t until 1916 that Dr. Ferdinand Sauerbruch created an artificial arm that worked with the ease and precision of Leonidas’s. Yes, wearers could use their fingers—and yes, it was extremely expensive.Orchids grown from seed. While the passion for orchids was at its height in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, it wasn’t until 1920 that cultivators successfully propagated them from seed. It was too late for many wild orchid populations, however—orchid hunters had already stripped large tracts of rain forest bare in an attempt to meet the demand for flowers. Note: If Opal has inspired you to go out and purchase a Phalaenopsis at your local supermarket, it will most likely have been grown from “tissue culture” (essentially a kind of cloning) rather than seed. It will certainly not have been taken from the wild.

Read an Ebook Week

Happy Read an Ebook Week! To help you find a book to celebrate, you can find my entire collection at a promotional price at @Smashwords from March 5-11. Find my books and many more RIGHT HERE.

Sketches, Sketches and More Sketches…

In order to create the art for Orchidelirium, I found myself uncapping a very rusty pen—in fact, I hadn’t really drawn since my oldest son was a baby. Now, he and his brother are both old enough to observe me at work, as well as offer feedback, criticism, and cartoon sketches of their own. I loved being able to share this project with my kids in ways that just aren’t possible when writing a “regular” book.

Since the final Shards of Sevia novel is in the works (yes, we’re there already—so many threads to tie, so many goodbyes to be said!) I’m already planning for the next year or so’s worth of projects, and I anticipate them being fairly evenly balanced between art and writing. Picture books? Comic strips? Graphic novels? Let’s see what the boys think…

Review Copies

I’m pleased to announce that Orchidelirium is now available for for those who love to be among the first to read and share reviews. If this describes you, please drop me a line at: btznvntATgmailDOTcom. Copies are available in mobi, ePub, and PDF formats.

And–before I forget–here’s the book description:

An heiress, a tiger, an artificial arm, a hatbox of stolen orchids: each one is a vine in the tangle of Opal Morris’s life. As she begins to discover how they all connect, she will find herself re-evaluating not only her botanical studies, but her whole life.

This novella, set in an alternative Edwardian England, will be a treat for fans of cozy mysteries and historical fantasy alike.

Indoor Gardening

Like Opal Morris, the heroine of Orchidelirium, one of the things I enjoy most (besides writing) is growing beautiful plants and flowers. Since I’ve lived in urban areas most of my adult life, I’ve never had much space for a large garden outside, but my current housing arrangement allows me an extensive indoor garden, where I have the pleasure of growing many of the tropical plants mentioned in the story—but not the orchids. Unlike upper-class collectors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, I just don’t care for them.

For a look at the history that inspired my story’s unusual title, check out THIS ARTICLE.

Orchidelirium

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I haven’t been working on the latest Shards of Sevia story much lately. For various reasons, no it just felt right to take another break before writing “The End” on the final story.

Since Shards of Sevia can get pretty dark, I wanted to try something a bit lighter…and came up with Orchidelirium, a botanical-themed cozy mystery set in a fictionalized Edwardian England.

And as if writing a novella isn’t already enough work–I’m doing artwork for it, too.

Stay tuned for more details, ARC opportunities, and of course a release date…