Vicki Hopkins's Blog: Leighton Family Saga, page 4

How Do You Pronounce That Word?

[image error]I was born in Detroit, Michigan, and some say I have a Michigander accent. You can be assured, that I don’t have a British accent, but I have fond memories of my grandmother’s voice calling me “love” and talking about a “cuppa tea.” Naturally, like other Americans, I often have trouble pronouncing British locations – especially those shires.

Out of curiosity and because of my foreign tongue, I posted in a group on Facebook where other members live or used to live in Salford and/or Broughton. ...

Locations in Toil Under the Sun

It’s all about location.  In the first book, I have married my characters (William and Mary) at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Prestwich, UK.  This church is of great importance to me because my second great uncle was married there and is buried in the graveyard, along with his daughter Annie and his wife, Caroline.

Below are pictures that I took on one of my visits to the location. The church is stunning. It was founded in 1200 and parts of the building date back to 1500. The graveyard...

Pre-Order Ready!

[image error] Available now on Amazon for pre-order!

November 1, 2018 release

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 from the factories. While men, women, and children spun cotton in the mills, bricklayers built the workhouses, warehouses, and terraced residences of the city. They were skilled in their craft but also experts in enforcing the rules of their union demands, hoping to escape the...

Update

[image error]The book is currently in the final stages and in the hands of Victory Editing.  I will probably have it back by mid-September or later, and October will be spent finalizing the eBook and print versions.  I’m going to launch on November 1, 2018, and will have it up for pre-sale from all vendors in early October.

In the meantime, I’m redesigning the covers after finding one that I liked much better, which I will share with you eventually. I’ve been too busy to start book two but plan to do so v...

Editing Updates on “Toil Under the Sun” – I’m Toiling

[image error] I discovered this quote while surfing the Internet about the pain of editing. Recently, I’ve experienced an increase in headaches and this could explain why!

In all seriousness, I’ve been doing my due diligence on the text and story and feel semi-satisfied that I may be getting close to sending it to Victory Editing.  I’ve run the program through ProWriting Aid, which is by far the best on the market.  It has this wonderful MS Word add-on that integrates and creates a menu (part of which can...

Kindle Unlimited & Updates on Leighton Family Saga

I’ve officially pulled all of my books from Kindle Unlimited, which is the service where you can subscribe for a monthly fee to read multiple books.

Unbeknown to many readers, the services are plagued with problems.   Suzan Tisdale wrote an open letter to Jeff Bezos regarding the KU stuffers, scammers, and thieves that may be an eye-opening account I encourage you to read.  CLICK  HERE.  Other authors are leaving the service as well and releasing their books on all platforms such as iBooks, K...

Brick Quotes

I can’t help it.  I’m collecting some of my favorite brick quotes and will keep posting them on this page.  Who knew such wisdom and humor could be so brick related?

The Bullies of 1860’s Victorian England

It’s not often that I write a book in four weeks. Of course, it’s only the first draft and editing begins, i.e. rewrites, embellishments, additions, deletions, etc. After that comes the other kind of editing–grammar, sentence structure, syntax, spelling, punctuation, and further reviews with the help of ProWriting and Grammarly. Then off to Victory Editing to be poked at again.

Some of what you’ll read in Toil Under the Sun may shock you and lead you to believe that I have an evil imagination...

Time Served

I’m scrolling through England and Wales Criminal Registers on Ancestry.com.  I need one of my characters to serve time and wondered what the penalty would be.  Boy, interesting read!  Here’s a few examples:

Larceny – Ranges from 3-6 months. Attempting to commit suicide – 2 months Attempting sexual relations with an underage child – 1 year Embezzlement as a servant – 6 months Maliciously killing a horse – 1 year (No laughing at this one) Adjudged as an incorrigible rogue – 9 months. Attemptin...

Progress Update

[image error]I’ve worked extremely hard this past four days to push the book forward into the last stage of draft one.  Writing is a daunting task.  The first draft can be a breeze because a writer’s brain is buzzing with characters, dialogue, and a storyline that needs to get down on paper before we forget it.  However, that’s only the start.

Afterward, at least for me, comes the pain.  The process of revisions and self-editing that can take time and tears.  Then it’s off to the professional editor, to t...