D.W. Wilkin's Blog, page 153
February 16, 2015
An Unofficial Guide to how to win the Scenarios of Wild the 2nd Expansion for Rollercoaster Tycoon 3
An Unofficial Guide to how to win the Scenarios of Wild
I have been a fan of this series of computer games since early in its release of the very first game. That game was done by one programmer, Chris Sawyer, and it was the first I recall of an internet hit. Websites were put up in dedication to this game where people showed off their creations, based on real amusement parks. These sites were funded by individuals, an expense that was not necessarily as cheap then as it is now. Nor as easy to program then as it might be to build a web page now.
Prima Books released game guides for each iteration of the game, Rollercoaster Tycoon 1, Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 and Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 (RCT3) but not for the expansion sets. And unlike the first two works, the third guide was riddle with incorrect solutions. As I played the game that frustrated me. And I took to the forums that Atari, the game publisher hosted to see if I could find a way to solve those scenarios that the Prima Guide had written up in error. Not finding any good advice, I created my own for the scenarios that the ���Official��� Guide had gotten wrong.
Solutions that if you followed my advice you would win the scenario and move on. But if you followed the ���Official��� version you would fail and not be able to complete the game. My style and format being different than the folks at Prima, I continued for all the Scenarios that they had gotten right as well, though my solutions cut to the chase and got you to the winner���s circle more quickly, more directly.
My contributions to the ���Official��� Forum, got me a place as a playtester for both expansions to the game, Soaked and Wild. And for each of these games, I wrote the guides during the play testing phase so all the play testers could solve the scenarios, and then once again after the official release to make changes in the formula in case our aiding to perfect the game had changed matters. For this, Atari and Frontier (the actual programmers of the game) placed me within the game itself.
And for the longest time, these have been free at the ���Official��� Forums, as well as my own website dedicated to the game. But a short time ago, I noticed that Atari, after one of its bankruptcies had deleted their forums. So now I am releasing the Guide for one and all. I have added new material and it is near 100 pages, just for the first of the three games. It is available for the Kindle at present for $2.99.
(Click on the picture to purchase)
Not only are all 12 Scenarios covered, but there are sections covering every Cheat Code, Custom Scenery, the famous Small Park Competition, the Advanced Fireworks Editor, the Flying Camera Route Editor which are all the techniques every amusement park designer needs to make a fantastic park in Rollercoaster Tycoon 3.
Scenarios for WILD!
1) Scrub Gardens
2) Ostrich Farms Plains
3) Egyptian Sand Dance
4) A Rollercoaster Odyssey
5) Zoo Rescue
6) Mine Mountain
7) Insect World
8) Rocky Coasters
9) Lost Land of the Dinosaurs
10) Tiger Forest
11) Raiders of the Lost Coaster
12) Saxon Farms
February 15, 2015
Regency Personalities Series-Prince Edward Augustus Duke of Kent and Strathearn
Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the��many period notables.
Prince Edward Augustus Duke of Kent and Strathearn
2 November 1767 ��� 23 January 1820
Edward Augustus
Prince Edward Augustus Duke of Kent and Strathearn was created Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Earl of Dublin on 23 April 1799 and, a few weeks later, appointed a General and commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, On 23 March 1802 he was appointed Governor of Gibraltar and nominally retained that post until his death. The Duke of Kent was appointed Field-Marshal of the Forces on 3 September 1805.
He was the first member of the royal family to live in North America for more than a short visit (1791���1800) and, in 1794, the first prince to enter the United States (travelling to Boston by foot from Lower Canada) after independence.
On June 27, 1792, Edward is credited with the first use of the term “Canadian” to mean both French and English settlers in Upper and Lower Canada. The Prince used the term in an effort to quell a riot between the two groups at a polling station in Charlesbourg, Lower Canada. Recently he has been styled the “Father of the Canadian Crown” for his impact on the development of Canada.
Prince Edward was born on 2 November 1767. His parents were the reigning British monarch, George III, and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
As a son of the British monarch, he was styled His Royal Highness The Prince Edward from birth, and was fourth in the line of succession to the throne. He was named after his paternal uncle, the Duke of York and Albany, who had died several weeks earlier and was buried at Westminster Abbey the day before his birth.
Prince Edward was baptised on 30 November 1767; his godparents were the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-L��neburg (his paternal uncle by marriage, for whom the Earl of Hertford, Lord Chamberlain, stood proxy), Duke Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (his maternal uncle, for whom the Earl of Huntingdon, Groom of the Stole, stood proxy), the Hereditary Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenb��ttel (his paternal aunt, who was represented by a proxy) and the Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel (his twice-paternal grandaunt, for whom the Duchess of Argyll, Lady of the Bedchamber to the Queen, stood proxy).
The Prince began his military training in Germany in 1785. King George III intended to send him to the University of G��ttingen, but decided against it upon the advice of the Duke of York. Instead, Prince Edward went to L��neburg and later Hanover, accompanied by his tutor, Baron Wangenheim. From 1788 to 1789, he completed his education in Geneva.
In 1789 he was appointed colonel of the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers). In 1790 he returned home without leave and, in disgrace, was sent off to Gibraltar as an ordinary officer. He was joined from Marseilles by Madame de Saint-Laurent.
Due to the extreme Mediterranean heat, Edward requested to be transferred to Canada, specifically Quebec, in 1791. Edward arrived in Canada in time to witness the proclamation of the Constitutional Act of 1791, become the first member of the Royal Family to tour Upper Canada and became a fixture of British North American society. Edward and his mistress, Julie St. Laurent, became close friends with the French Canadian de Salaberry family – the Prince mentored all of the family’s sons throughout their military careers. Edward guided Charles de Salaberry throughout his career, and made sure that the famous commander was duly honoured after his leadership during the Battle of Chateauguay.
The prince was promoted to the rank of major-general in October 1793 and the next year served successfully in the West Indies campaign being mentioned in dispatches and receiving the thanks of parliament.
After 1794, Prince Edward lived at the headquarters of the Royal Navy’s North American Station which was Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was instrumental in shaping that settlement’s military defences, protecting its important Royal Navy base, as well as influencing the city’s and colony’s socio-political and economic institutions. Edward was responsible for the construction of Halifax’s iconic Garrison Clock, as well as numerous other civic projects (St. George’s Round Church). Lieutenant Governor Sir John Wentworth and Lady Francis Wentworth provided their country residence for the use of Prince Edward and Julie St. Laurent. Extensively renovated, the estate became known as “Prince’s Lodge” as the couple hosted numerous dignitaries, including Louis-Phillippe of Orl��ans (the future King of the French). The only remains of the residence is a small rotunda built by Edward for his regimental band to play music.
After suffering a fall from his horse in late 1798 was he allowed to return to England. On 24 April 1799, Prince Edward was created Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Earl of Dublin, received the thanks of parliament and an income of ��12,000. In May that same year the Duke was promoted to the rank of general and appointed Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America. He took leave of his parents 22 July 1799 and sailed to Halifax. Just over twelve months later he left Halifax and arrived in England on 31 August 1800 where it was confidently expected his next appointment would be Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
Appointed Governor of Gibraltar by the War Office, gazetted 23 March 1802, the Duke took up his post on 24 May 1802 with express orders from the government to restore discipline among the drunken troops. The Duke’s harsh discipline precipitated a mutiny by soldiers in his own and the 25th Regiment on Christmas Eve 1802. The Duke of York, then Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, recalled him in May 1803 after receiving reports of the mutiny, but despite this direct order he refused to return to England until his successor arrived. He was refused permission to return to Gibraltar for an inquiry and, although allowed to continue to hold the governorship of Gibraltar until his death, he was forbidden to return.
As a consolation for the end of his active military career at age 35, he was promoted to the rank of field marshal and appointed Ranger of Hampton Court Park on 5 September 1805. This office provided him with a residence now known as The Pavilion. (His sailor brother William, with children to provide for, had been made Ranger of Bushy Park in 1797.) The Duke continued to serve as honorary colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot (the Royal Scots) until his death.
Though it was a tendency shared to some extent with his brothers, the Duke’s excesses as a military disciplinarian may have been due less to natural disposition and more to what he had learned from his tutor Baron Wangenheim. Certainly Wangenheim, by keeping his allowance very small, accustomed Edward to borrowing at an early age. The Duke applied the same military discipline to his own duties that he demanded of others. Though it seems inconsistent with his unpopularity among the army’s rank and file, his friendliness toward others and popularity with servants has been emphasized. He also introduced the first regimental school. The Duke of Wellington considered him a first-class speaker. He took a continuing interest in the social experiments of Robert Owen, voted for Catholic emancipation, and supported literary, Bible and abolitionist societies.
His daughter, Victoria, after hearing Lord Melbourne’s opinions, was able to add to her private journal of 1 August 1838 “from all what I heard, he was the best of all”.
Following the death in November 1817 of the only legitimate grandchild of George III, Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, the royal succession began to look uncertain. The Prince Regent and his younger brother Frederick, the Duke of York, though married, were estranged from their wives and had no surviving legitimate children. King George’s surviving daughters were all past likely childbearing age. The unmarried sons of King George III, the Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), the Duke of Kent, and the Duke of Cambridge, all rushed to contract lawful marriages and provide an heir to the throne. (The fifth son of King George III, the Duke of Cumberland, was already married but had no living children at that time, whilst the marriage of the sixth son, the Duke of Sussex, was void because he had married in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772.)
For his part the Duke of Kent, aged 50, already considering marriage and encouraged into this particular match with her sister-in-law by his now-deceased niece Princess Charlotte, became engaged to Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (17 August 1786 ��� 16 March 1861) and the couple married on 29 May 1818 at Schloss Ehrenburg, Coburg, (Lutheran rite) and again on 11 July 1818 at Kew Palace, Kew, Surrey.
A widow with two children, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the daughter of Duke Franz Friedrich of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and sister of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld husband of the recently deceased Princess Charlotte. The new Duchess of Kent’s first husband was Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen, with whom she had two children: a son Carl and a daughter Feodora.
They had one child, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent (24 May 1819 ��� 22 January 1901), who became Queen Victoria on 20 June 1837. The Duke took great pride in his daughter, telling his friends to look at her well, for she would be Queen of England and bringing the infant to a military review, to the outrage of the Prince Regent, who demanded to know what place the child had there.
The Duke of Kent purchased a house of his own from Mrs Fitzherbert in 1801. Castle Hill Lodge on Castlebar Hill Ealing was then placed in the hands of architect James Wyatt and more than ��100,000 spent. Near neighbours from 1815 to 1817 at Little Boston House were US envoy and future US President John Quincy Adams and his English wife Louisa. “We all went to church and heard a charity sermon preached by a Dr Crane before the Duke of Kent”, wrote Adams in a diary entry from August 1815.
Following the birth of Princess Victoria in May 1819, the Duke and Duchess, concerned to manage the Duke’s great debts, sought to find a place where they could live inexpensively. After the coast of Devon was recommended to them they leased from a General Baynes, intending to remain incognito, Woolbrook Cottage on the seaside by Sidmouth.
The Duke of Kent died of pneumonia on 23 January 1820 at Woolbrook Cottage, Sidmouth, and was interred in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. He died only six days before his father, George III, and less than a year after his daughter’s birth.
He predeceased his father and his three elder brothers but, as none of his elder brothers had any surviving legitimate children, his daughter Victoria succeeded to the throne on the death of her uncle King William IV in 1837.
In 1829 the Duke’s former aide-de-camp purchased the unoccupied Castle Hill Lodge from the Duchess in an attempt to reduce her debts; the debts were finally discharged after Victoria took the throne and paid them over time from her income.
While Edward lived in Quebec (1791-3) he met with Jonathan Sewell, an immigrant American Loyalist who played trumpet in the Prince’s regimental band. Sewell would rise in Lower Canadian government to hold such offices as Attorney General, Chief Justice, and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. In 1814, Sewell forwarded to the Duke a copy of his report “A plan for the federal union of British provinces in North America.” The Duke supported Sewell’s plan to unify the colonies, offering comments and critiques that would later be cited by Lord Durham (1839) and participants of the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences (1864).
Edward’s 1814 letter to Sewell:
My dear Sewell,
I have had this day the pleasure of receiving your note of yesterday with its interesting enclosure. Nothing can be better arranged than the whole thing is or more perfectly, and when I see an opening it is fully my intention to point the matter out to Lord Bathurst and put the paper in his hands, without however telling him from whom I have it, though I shall urge him to have some conversation with you relative to it. Permit me, however, just to ask you whether it was not an oversight in you to state that there are five Houses of Assembly in the British Colonies in North America. If I am not under an error there are six, viz., Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the islands of Prince Edward and Cape Breton.
Allow me to beg of you to put down the proportions in which you think the thirty members of the Representatives Assembly ought to be furnished by each Province, and to suggest whether you would not think two Lieutenant-Governors with two Executive Councils sufficient for an executive government of the whole, namely one for the two Canadas, and one for New Brunswick and the two small dependencies of Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island, the former to reside in Montreal, and the latter at whichever of the two (following) situations may be considered most central for the two provinces whether Annapolis Royal or Windsor.
But, at all events, should you consider in your Executive Councils requisite I presume there cannot be a question of the expediency of comprehending the two small islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence with Nova Scotia.
Believe me ever to remain, With the most friendly regard, My dear Sewell, Yours faithfully,
EDWARD
Madame de Saint-Laurent
Various sources report that the Duke of Kent had mistresses. In Geneva: Adelaide Dubus, who died in childbirth of their daughter Adelaide Victoria Auguste Dubus (1789����� in or after 1832) and Anne Gabrielle Alexandrine Mor�� mother of Edward Schenker Scheener (1789���1853). Scheener married but had no children and returned to Geneva, perhaps significantly in 1837, where he later died.
The Duke was accompanied for 28 years, from 1790 until his marriage in 1818, by Madame de Saint-Laurent born Th��r��se-Bernardine Montgenet. The portrait of the Duke by Beechey was hers.
There is no evidence of children but many families in Canada have claimed descent from the couple
Fantasy from Space Opera Books, Trolling’s Pass and Present
Trolling���s Pass and Present
Not only do I write Regency and Romance, but I also have delved into Fantasy. The Trolling series, (the first three are in print) is the story of a man, Humphrey.
We meet him as he has left youth and become a man with a man���s responsibilities. We follow him in a series of stories that encompass the stages of life.
We see him when he starts his family, when he has older sons and the father son dynamic is tested. We see him when his children begin to marry and have children, and at the end of his life when those he has loved, and those who were his friends proceed him over the threshold into death.
All this while he serves a kingdom troubled by monsters. Troubles that he and his friends will learn to deal with and rectify.
It is now available in a variety of formats. For $2.99 you can get this fantasy adventure.
Barnes and Noble for your Nook
Years since their battles with the Trolls, even on foreign soil, the warriors of the Valley Kingdom of Torahn need something to keep their edge honed.
The economy too is beginning to fray a little without the great wars to support. The Leaders hit upon the idea of searching for a path to reach the east side of the continent.
The Elves swear that at one time their writings tell of such, the Dwarves swear such a pass across Teantellen is legendary. Teantellen though is filled with races man has never gotten along with well. Goblins, Dark Elves, Trolls, Giants and Dragons.
It has been years since the mountain tops exploded, and perhaps that has changed things enough that a way can be found to link the western lands with the eastern lands and increase trade, and prosperity for all. Even should they fail in their quest, as the history of man has shown to this point in time, the attempt will do much to spur the economy.
Tens of thousands of gold will be spent by the Council of Twenty-One to pay for such an expedition. Gold that those who are not so scrupulous might choose to pocket as they tried in the Troll Wars.
With such shenanigans taking place again, are the hopes of the previous generation, the leaders from the Troll Wars now in retirement, ready to be achieved? Is it time for Torahn, called the Valley Kingdom, but the only Kingdom without a King, to have a King once more?
Feedback
If you have any commentary, thoughts, ideas about the book (especially if you buy it, read it and like it ;-) then we would love to hear from you.
February 14, 2015
New Regency Romance in need of Beta-Readers
Just finished the first draft of my next Regency Romance. So now it is time to solicit from those who might be interested, aid by enlisting you in my army of Beta Readers.
The premise of this work, is one little tidbit that Jane Austen relates in regards to one of the characters from Pride and Prejudice. Caroline Bingley has a marriage fortune of 20,000 pounds.
As we know, that is a lot of money, ranging in value in todays dowry of estimates of 1,000,000 pounds to $40,000,000.
It is at least four years of the money that Charles Bingley has yearly. Other estimates place that a Regency Gentlemen could survive in London on 100 pounds a year, and should they maintain a household at the high end of 2,000 a year, that is ten years of living large.
One should note that the richest dowry was for the Wiltshire Heiress, Catherine Tylney-Long had a fortune of 40,000 a year. (Four times what Darcy had) and married the nephew of Arthur Wellesley who would become the Duke of Wellington.
But back to Caroline. She may have a sharp tongue, and not a friend to Lizzie Darcy, but she is sister to Jane Bingley and we can be sure that Jane would rather have her out of the house. The only way to assure that is to marry her off.
But who wouldst ever take such a shrew…
���She���s a shrew!��� Said Darcy.
The Honourable Colonel Stephen Fitzwilliam chose his words carefully. ���Of course she is. If you had been passed on left on the shelf, you, as taciturn as you are, would also be rather shrewish, I would wager.��� Though the Colonel, for lack of funds, found that he could but wager not more than ten guineas a year. His allowance, and his pay, did not go as far as one wished, especially when having to underwrite so much of the mess bill for the regiment. And the man he usually would wager with, was sitting next to him.
Cards however, that was another story.
���Damn, man. My wife������
���Your wife is the very definition of good manners, and that, should Ms Bingley learn to imitate them, would not only be flattery, but would be greatly becoming.��� Fitzwilliam said. He had given that some thought. Those who were intimate with Elizabeth Darcy knew that Caroline and Bingley and she were not close friends. That they tolerated each other was because of Ms Bingley���s brother being married to Mrs Darcy���s sister.
���I cannot for the life of me fathom how you ever could set your intent upon Caroline Bingley.���
���If you would refrain from saying her christian name in public, it would be more seemly. That I must give you a scold shows that this has unhinged you, cousin.��� Darcy was more often apt to remind the Colonel about such matters.
Darcy shook his head. ���Yes, you will forgive me. Have you asked for her hand? Charles certainly would have informed me the instant he knew of your intent.���
���I have not, but before the end of this Season, I inform you that she shall be my bride. I thought to let you know first for������ Here Fitzwilliam found the choice of words difficult.
���Because for the love my wife bears you, as not only my cousin, but one of my two closest friends, you think she will take a pet against you.��� Darcy was able to articulate the thought.
“The thought had occurred to me. Mrs Darcy is perhaps the most respected amongst our set, and should she act favorably to this notion, then all our future shall be the more blessed for it.” Fitzwilliam was not sure if Darcy would warm to the idea quickly, for Ms Bingley had muddled her future countless times in regards to her treatment of Mrs Darcy.
“As you know Mrs Darcy well, and she regards you as a brother, she will let you know herself of her opinion. I confess, I am always amazed at her thoughts on certain matters. As you well know I am sometimes unable to make correct predictions in what my wife may think on certain issues.”
Fitzwilliam grinned at his cousin.The Colonel said, “I do indeed know this. Well has it cost you to my benefit on more than one occasion.”
Darcy’s love for his new wife, though their marriage was near a year before, his cousin had made some small wager with Fitzwilliam on how Mrs Darcy might react, or act upon some issues. Fitzwilliam was never sure if Darcy intentionally lost these, but as yet if led into a wager on the matter, Darcy had not won these small bets. Though they both well knew that the new groom should never have indulged in them. Thus they never spoke of them unless in private such as they were then at their club.
So opens the story that I solicit you to come to my aid, read, review, point out my glaring typoes and mistakes, throw out half way through and say, sorry David, can’t help. Read to the end because you enjoyed it and thought it fun….
Post a comment, send an email, get on your horse and ride over for me to personally hand you a copy.
Regency Personalities Series-Sir David Dundas 1st Baronet of Richmond
Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the��many period notables.
Sir David Dundas 1st Baronet of Richmond
7 December 1749 ��� 10 January 1826
David Dundas
Sir David Dundas 1st Baronet was a distinguished surgeon who was created 1st Baronet of Richmond.
Dundas was the son of Ralph Dundas and Mary nee Ferguson. He was appointed Sergeant Surgeon to the King in 1792. He was Household Apothecary at Kew but not officially Apothecary to the King. He assisted at the post mortem on Princess Charlotte on 7 November 1817 and was Physician to the Duke of Kent from 1816 to 1817 and Surgeon to the Duke of Kent from 1818 to 1820.
Dundas was a prominent figure in the Royal College of Surgeons and was Master of the College in 1804, 1811 and 1819. He was made a baronet in 1815.
He married 20 July 1775, Isabella Robertson (died 1827), and had twelve children, three of whom became respectively second (William), third (Major General James Fullerton) and fourth (Admiral John) Baronets. The Baronetcy became extinct on the death of the fourth Baronet.
RAP has The Shattered Mirror, A Regency Romance
The Shattered Mirror
For your enjoyment, one of the Regency Romances I published. It is available for sale and now at a reduced price of $3.99, and I hope that you will take the opportunity to order your copy.
Order for yourself or as a gift. It is now available in a variety of formats. For just a few dollars this Regency Romance can be yours for your eReaders or physically in Trade Paperback.
Barnes and Noble for your Nook
and in Trade Paperback
Bridget Halifax-Stokes was giddy with the excitement of her season in London. Town had beckoned and her season came on the heels of the end of the war against the tyrant.
All the handsome men were returning heroes. What better year to come out.
Her father thought it all nonsense. Her mother believed that it would be the best showing of any of her daughters.
More lords available and luck that Bridget was just the perfect age.
All is fun and frivolity until Bridget literally crashes into Sir Patrick Hampton as he limps along the high street. A man she knew once well, now a stranger with dark and foreboding eyes.
Feedback
If you have any commentary, thoughts, ideas about the book (especially if you buy it, read it and like it ;-) then we would love to hear from you.
February 13, 2015
Regency Personalities Series-William Vane 3rd Duke of Cleveland
Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the��many period notables.
William Vane 3rd Duke of Cleveland
3 April 1792 ��� 6 September 1864
William Vane 3rd Duke of Cleveland styled The Hon. William Vane from 1792 to 1813, The Hon. William Powlett from 1813 to 1827 and Lord William Powlett from 1827 to 1864, was a British politician.
Vane was the son of William Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland and his first wife, Katherine, the second daughter and coheiress of Harry Powlett, 6th Duke of Bolton. He was Member of Parliament for Winchelsea from 1812 to 1815, for County Durham from 1815 to 1831, for St Ives from 1846 to 1852, and for Ludlow from 1852 to 1857. On 3 July 1815, he married Lady Grace Caroline Lowther (1792���1883), the fifth daughter of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale.
After inheriting the estate of his maternal grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Bolton in 1809, he changed his surname to Powlett, under the terms of her will, by Royal Licence in 1813. On inheriting the dukedom of Cleveland from his childless brother Henry in 1864, he resumed the surname of Vane. Also dying childless a few months later, his titles passed to his younger brother, Harry, who took the name of Powlett shortly after. Late in life, he lived at Harewood House, at Cheapside, in Berkshire.
Trolling Down to Old Mah Wee, another Fantasy
Trolling Down to Old Mah Wee
Not only do I write Regency and Romance, but I also have delved into Fantasy.
The Trolling series, (the first three are in print) is the story of a man, Humphrey. We meet him as he has left youth and become a man with a man���s responsibilities. We follow him in a series of stories that encompass the stages of life.
We see him when he starts his family, when he has older sons and the father son dynamic is tested. We see him when his children begin to marry and have children, and at the end of his life when those he has loved, and those who were his friends proceed him over the threshold into death.
All this while he serves a kingdom troubled by monsters. Troubles that he and his friends will learn to deal with and rectify. It is now available in a variety of formats.
For $2.99 you can get this 2nd book in the fantasy adventure series of Humphrey and Gwendolyn.
Barnes and Noble for your Nook
When the neighboring kingdom of Mah Wee begins to experience the same problems that beset Torahn some years before, they urgently request the aid of the experts in containing a new Troll infestation. But eradicating Trolls is not as easy as exterminating a few rats or mice.
Trolls are bigger than men, they are stronger than men, and then are meaner than men. Humphrey Cutter and his band of mismatched warriors must once again rise to the occasion, but can they without the aid of expertise of Gwendolyn and her particular skills? ����
Mah Wee, an ancient kingdom, with a monarch more steeped in the rights of being a king rather than the obligations and duties that a king should be. Here Humphrey and his crew finds that they have more than Trolls to overcome if they are to save Mah Wee from the same or nearly similar problems that they faced before in Torahn.
But, as Humphrey knows, nothing can truly be accomplished if the lovely Gwendolyn is not able to lend her aid as well.
Feedback
If you have any commentary, thoughts, ideas about the book (especially if you buy it, read it and like it ;-) then we would love to hear from you.
February 12, 2015
New Regency Romance in need of Beta-Readers
Just finished the first draft of my next Regency Romance. So now it is time to solicit from those who might be interested, aid by enlisting you in my army of Beta Readers.
The premise of this work, is one little tidbit that Jane Austen relates in regards to one of the characters from Pride and Prejudice. Caroline Bingley has a marriage fortune of 20,000 pounds.
As we know, that is a lot of money, ranging in value in todays dowry of estimates of 1,000,000 pounds to $40,000,000.
It is at least four years of the money that Charles Bingley has yearly. Other estimates place that a Regency Gentlemen could survive in London on 100 pounds a year, and should they maintain a household at the high end of 2,000 a year, that is ten years of living large.
One should note that the richest dowry was for the Wiltshire Heiress, Catherine Tylney-Long had a fortune of 40,000 a year. (Four times what Darcy had) and married the nephew of Arthur Wellesley who would become the Duke of Wellington.
But back to Caroline. She may have a sharp tongue, and not a friend to Lizzie Darcy, but she is sister to Jane Bingley and we can be sure that Jane would rather have her out of the house. The only way to assure that is to marry her off.
But who wouldst ever take such a shrew…
���She���s a shrew!��� Said Darcy.
The Honourable Colonel Stephen Fitzwilliam chose his words carefully. ���Of course she is. If you had been passed on left on the shelf, you, as taciturn as you are, would also be rather shrewish, I would wager.��� Though the Colonel, for lack of funds, found that he could but wager not more than ten guineas a year. His allowance, and his pay, did not go as far as one wished, especially when having to underwrite so much of the mess bill for the regiment. And the man he usually would wager with, was sitting next to him.
Cards however, that was another story.
���Damn, man. My wife������
���Your wife is the very definition of good manners, and that, should Ms Bingley learn to imitate them, would not only be flattery, but would be greatly becoming.��� Fitzwilliam said. He had given that some thought. Those who were intimate with Elizabeth Darcy knew that Caroline and Bingley and she were not close friends. That they tolerated each other was because of Ms Bingley���s brother being married to Mrs Darcy���s sister.
���I cannot for the life of me fathom how you ever could set your intent upon Caroline Bingley.���
���If you would refrain from saying her christian name in public, it would be more seemly. That I must give you a scold shows that this has unhinged you, cousin.��� Darcy was more often apt to remind the Colonel about such matters.
Darcy shook his head. ���Yes, you will forgive me. Have you asked for her hand? Charles certainly would have informed me the instant he knew of your intent.���
���I have not, but before the end of this Season, I inform you that she shall be my bride. I thought to let you know first for������ Here Fitzwilliam found the choice of words difficult.
���Because for the love my wife bears you, as not only my cousin, but one of my two closest friends, you think she will take a pet against you.��� Darcy was able to articulate the thought.
“The thought had occurred to me. Mrs Darcy is perhaps the most respected amongst our set, and should she act favorably to this notion, then all our future shall be the more blessed for it.” Fitzwilliam was not sure if Darcy would warm to the idea quickly, for Ms Bingley had muddled her future countless times in regards to her treatment of Mrs Darcy.
“As you know Mrs Darcy well, and she regards you as a brother, she will let you know herself of her opinion. I confess, I am always amazed at her thoughts on certain matters. As you well know I am sometimes unable to make correct predictions in what my wife may think on certain issues.”
Fitzwilliam grinned at his cousin.The Colonel said, “I do indeed know this. Well has it cost you to my benefit on more than one occasion.”
Darcy’s love for his new wife, though their marriage was near a year before, his cousin had made some small wager with Fitzwilliam on how Mrs Darcy might react, or act upon some issues. Fitzwilliam was never sure if Darcy intentionally lost these, but as yet if led into a wager on the matter, Darcy had not won these small bets. Though they both well knew that the new groom should never have indulged in them. Thus they never spoke of them unless in private such as they were then at their club.
So opens the story that I solicit you to come to my aid, read, review, point out my glaring typoes and mistakes, throw out half way through and say, sorry David, can’t help. Read to the end because you enjoyed it and thought it fun….
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Regency Personalities Series-Grantley Berkeley
Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the��many period notables.
Grantley Berkeley
10 February 1800 ��� 20 February 1881
Grantley Berkeley
Grantley Berkeley was the sixth son of Frederick Berkeley, 5th Earl of Berkeley, by Mary Cole, daughter of William Cole. He was the brother of William Berkeley, 1st Earl FitzHardinge,Maurice Berkeley, 1st Baron FitzHardinge, Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley, Thomas Berkeley, 6th Earl of Berkeley and Craven Berkeley and the nephew of Sir George Cranfield-Berkeley. He was educated at Corpus Christi College and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He joined the Coldstream Guards and afterwards the 82nd Regiment of Foot.
Berkeley sat as Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire West from 1832 to 1852 as a Whig. In 1836 he proposed the admission of ladies to the gallery of the House of Commons; this was granted in 1841. After 1852 he devoted himself largely to field sports and writing.
He established a summer seaside residence in the Mudeford-Highcliffe area, occupying Beacon Lodge, on the clifftop just east of Highcliffe Castle (then still being built). He did not own it – it was rented by other VIPs such as the Bishop of London in 1837, but he seems to have spent most summers here for at least two decades (presumably when the Commons was in recess).
Berkeley was the author of a number of books, including Berkeley Castle, Sandron Hall, or the Days of Queen Anne (1840), and My Life and Recollections, 4 volumes, (1865���66).
An aristocratic snob, and (as a younger brother) an earl manqu�� whose godfather was the Prince Regent, he was ���known for his vanity and arrogance���.
In 1836, Berkeley assaulted magazine publisher James Fraser over a review he published in Fraser’s Magazine of Berkeley Castle. He subsequently fought a duel with the review’s author William Maginn. Three rounds of shots were fired, but no one was struck.
Berkeley married Caroline Martha Benfield (1804���1873), daughter of Paul Benfield (1741���1810) and wife Mary Frances, n��e Swinburne (1771���1828), on 16 August 1824. Their two sons Swinburne and Edward died in 1865 and 1878 respectively. Berkeley died on 20 February 1881, aged 81.
