Vicki Hopkins's Blog: Leighton Family Saga, page 3

Cornwall Mining & Thorncroft Manor

Levant Mine (National Trust Property)

When I write historical romance, I take the time to research. All of my books are carefully laced with background material regarding the setting and era in which my characters lived.  Thorncroft Manor was no different.  The majority of my research in this novel related to the city of Pendeen and the Cornish mines along the coast of Cornwall, England.

Most of the facts about Cornish mining were taken from the websites linked below.  If you are interested i...

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

I’ve been doing some cleanup on my Legacy Series Book blog and came across this post I wrote long ago.  The entire series is on sale, by the way, until June 21st for 99 cents.  This blog post came after writing book two, I believe.  It speaks volumes.

The Blood – I guess I equate the blood part to various aspects of being an author. It’s the pain you go through being a writer from the voices in your head to the critical, and sometimes cruel voices in your reviews. When you pour your soul into...

eBook Not Available

At the present time, I’m attempting to market Toil Under the Sun to agents and publishers.  Therefore, I’ve pulled the book from distribution until further notice.  I apologize for the inconvenience.

In the interim, you may purchase the print version until I have a definitive direction regarding the series continuation.  However, I may pull that as well in the months ahead.

For other books, visit me at vickihopkins.com.

In Remembrance

[image error]Tomorrow marks the end of the First World War one hundred years ago. These are my ancestors who lost their lives. I dedicated my book Lady Grace to their memory.

 

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In Remembrance

Tomorrow marks the end of the First World War one hundred years ago. These are my ancestors who lost their lives. I dedicated my book Lady Grace to their memory.

 

The post In Remembrance appeared first on Vicki Hopkins, Author.

Book One Released

This is one of my favorite quotes from Winston Churchill about writing a book:

 

“Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with it is a toy and an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public.” – Winston Churchill

Well, I’ve flung that baby to the public.  November 1, Toil Under the Sun hit the marketplace in eBook.  I...

Brick Wall Deformed by a Single Book

Source: Brick wall deformed by a single book – great installation by Jorge Méndez Blake

A fascinating look at bricks!  “Books have enormous power to influence the reality that surrounds them.”

Research for Book One

I’ve been searching my family history for well over twenty years, amassing information and books from the early 1800’s to 1930’s.  Book One, Toil Under the Sun, is really a compilation of much of my research.  What you are going to read upon release November 1, are historical accounts gleaned from this group of material.

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This particular book was a good resource regarding the building of the town hall. The planning started in 1863 but the Town Hall was completed and opened until September of 1...

Vicki Hopkins on Blog Tour for Toil Under the Sun, November 12-28 – Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Toil Under the Sun by Vicki Hopkins Publication Date: November 1, 2018 Holland Legacy Publishing eBook; 187 Pages Series: The Leighton Family Saga, Book One Genre: Historical Fiction/Saga     Described as hell on earth, Manchester in 1866 was the hub of industrialization in England. Its chimneys rose high above the landscape, spewing out smoke […]

Source: Vicki Hopkins on Blog Tour for Toil Under the Sun, November 12-28 – Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Writing Dialect

[image error]When I started this book, I questioned an author group about writing dialect for the local folks.  I’m not sure if you’ve ever read Elizabeth Gaskell’s North & South, but she was one of the first authors who gave her characters what is termed a Mancunian vocabulary. Manchester has its way of pronouncing words, and if you read some of her dialects in the book, it can get pretty dicey attempting to figure out what they are saying.  Here is a portion from North & South as an example:

‘Hoo’s rath...