D.W. Wilkin's Blog, page 58
April 30, 2016
Conclusion of the Trolling Series-We’ll All Go A Trolling
We’ll All Go A Trolling Not only do I write Regency and Romance, but I also have delved into Fantasy.
The Trolling series 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
King Humphrey, retired, has his 80th birthday approaching. An event that he is not looking forward to.
A milestone, of course, but he has found traveling to Torc, the capital of the Valley Kingdom of Torahn, a trial. He enjoys his life in the country, far enough from the center of power where his son Daniel now is King and rules.
Peaceful days sitting on the porch. Reading, writing, passing the time with his guardsmen, his wife, and the visits of his grandson who has moved into a manor very near.
Why go to Torc where he was to be honored, but would certainly have a fight with his son, the current king. The two were just never going to see eye to eye, and Humphrey, at the age of 80, was no longer so concerned with all that happened to others.
He was waiting for his audience with the Gods where all his friends had preceded him. It would be his time soon enough.
Yet, the kingdom wanted him to attend the celebrations, and there were to be many. So many feasts and fireworks he could not keep track, but the most important came at the end, when word was brought that the Trolls were attacking once more.
Now Humphrey would sit as regent for his son, who went off to fight the ancient enemy. Humphrey had ruled the kingdom before, so it should not have been overwhelming, but at eighty, even the little things could prove troublesome.
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April 29, 2016
Regency Personalities Series-Edward Clive 1st Earl of Powis
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.
Edward Clive 1st Earl of Powis
7 March 1754 – 16 May 1839
Edward Clive
Edward Clive 1st Earl of Powis succeeded his father as Baron Clive of Plassey co Clare in 1774. However, as this was an Irish peerage, it did not entitle him to a seat in the British House of Lords (although it did entitle him to a seat in the Irish House of Lords). The same year he was instead elected to the House of Commons for Ludlow, a seat he held until 1794. He was a member of the Board of Agriculture in 1793.
Although almost certainly this was a belated act of contrition by the Crown for the lack of recognition to his father, he was on 13 August 1794 created Baron Clive, of Walcot in the County of Shropshire, in the Peerage of Great Britain, and consequently took his seat in the House of Lords.
He had a distinguished career in India where he was Governor of Madras from 1798 to 1803, returning home to the thanks of both Houses of Parliament.
On 14 May 1804 he was further created Baron Powis of Powis Castle co Montgomery, Baron Herbert of Chirbury co Salop, Viscount Clive of Ludlow co Salop, and Earl of Powis co Montgomery, a revival of the title which had become extinct on the death of his brother-in-law, George Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis, in 1801.
Edward Clive also served as Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire from 1775 to 1798 and from 1804 to 1839 and as Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire from 1804 to 1830. He was Recorder of the boroughs of Shrewsbury in 1775, and Ludlow in 1801. He was colonel of the Shropshire Militia in 1775 and of the South Shropshire Militia in 1809; along with the other militia colonels he was granted brevet rank as colonel in the British Army in 1794.
Before his elevation to the Earldom of Powis, he married Lady Henrietta, daughter of Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis, in 1784. Their children were:
Lady Henrietta Antonia Williams-Wynn (d. 1835), wife of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 5th Baronet
Edward Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis (1785–1848), 2nd Earl of Powis
Lady Charlotte Florentia Percy (1787–1866), wife of Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland, and governess of the future Queen Victoria
Robert Henry Clive (1789–1854), a politician
Lord Powis lived at Walcot Hall, an estate purchased by his father from the Walcot family in 1764.
Lady Powis died on 3 June 1830, aged 71. Lord Powis survived her by nine years and died at his London home, 45 Berkeley Square, on 16 May 1839, aged 85. He was buried at Bromfield parish church, near his Oakley Park property. His obituary in the Annual Register calls him:
Remarkable for his physical vigour, and though he spent some years in India and lived freely, he might be seen, when about eighty, digging in his garden at six o’clock in the morning in his shirt sleeves. He was apparently well the day before his death.
RAP has The End of the World
The End of the World This is the first of the Regency Romances I published. It is available for sale and I hope that you will take the opportunity to order your copy.
For yourself or as a gift. It is now available in a variety of formats. And now at the reduced price of $3.99 you can get this Regency Romance for your eReader. A little more as an actual physical book.
Barnes and Noble for your Nook
Amazon for your Kindle and as a Trade Paperback
Hermione Merwyn leads a pleasant, quiet life with her father, in the farthest corner of England. All is as it should be, though change is sure to come. For she and her sister have reached the age of marriage, but that can be no great adventure when life at home has already been so bountiful.
When Samuel Lynchhammer arrives in Cornwall, having journeyed the width of the country, he is down to his last few quid and needs to find work for his keep. Spurned by the most successful mine owner in the county, Gavin Tadcaster, Samuel finds work for Gavin’s adversary, Sir Lawrence Merwyn.
Can working for Sir Lawrence, the father of two young women on the cusp of their first season to far away London, be what Samuel needs to help him resolve the reasons for his running away from his obligations in the east of the country?
Will the daughters be able to find happiness in the desolate landscapes and deadly mines of their home? When a stranger arrives in Cornwall while the war rages on the Peninsula, is he the answer to one’s prayers, or a nightmare wearing the disguise of a gentleman?
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April 28, 2016
Regency Personalities Series-Lord Evelyn Stuart
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.
Colonel Lord Evelyn James Stuart
7 May 1773 – 16 August 1842
Lord Evelyn Stuart was the second son of John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, son of Prime Minister John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute. His mother was the Honourable Charlotte Jane, daughter of Herbert Windsor, 2nd Viscount Windsor. Stuart was elected to the House of Commons in February 1794, succeeding his deceased elder brother Lord Mount Stuart, but was not allowed to take his seat in Parliament until his twenty-first birthday in June of the same year. He continued to represent the constituency until 1802, when he was replaced by his younger brother Lord William Stuart. On the latter’s decease, Stuart was elected to succeed him as Tory MP for Cardiff district of boroughs on 7 November 1814. He held the seat until 23 June 1818, when replaced by another member of the family, his nephew Lord Patrick Crichton-Stuart.
Apart from his political career he served in the British Army. He was commissioned into the 7th Foot, but transferred to an Independent Company as a Lieutenant in 1791. He later purchased a Captaincy in the 1st Foot Guards, and in 1797 purchased a Majority in the 66th Foot and later the same year the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the 21st Foot. In 1802 he transferred to the 22nd Foot and in 1805 he was promoted Brevet Colonel.
Stuart never married. He died in August 1842 at Walworth, aged 69, and was buried at West Norwood Cemetery.
Space Opera Books Presents Trolling, Trolling, Trolling Fly Hides
Trolling, Trolling, Trolling Fly Hides!
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
Old age is catching up to Humphrey and his friends. He feels it in his bones and with his son and heir having reached the prime of his life, it could very well be time to pass the baton of rule to Daniel.With the Valley Kingdom of Torahn at Peace, that would not be a terrible thing to do. Though breaking his decision to his wife Gwendolyn, the Queen, might be the hardest battle that he ever would fight.
Even as the life of retirement looks to be attractive and possible, however, the Valley Kingdom is beset again. Not Goblins, Trolls, Giants or Men, this time. No. That Humphrey knew would be far too easy.
Those obstacles had been overcome before and the problems they presented had solutions that the army of Torahn was trained to deal with. No, of all the creatures that came forth from Teantellen that they had beaten, the one they had never faced now came forth. Dragons!
Who in the realm knew how to fight these mythical beasts? Was there even away to do so?
Now Humphrey who had thought to spend the remainder of his days quietly writing his memoirs and drinking, was faced with the greatest challenge he had ever known.
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April 27, 2016
Regency Personalities Series-James Wilson (Businessman)
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.
James Wilson (Businessman)
3 June 1805 – 11 August 1860
James Wilson
James Wilson (Businessman) was born in Hawick in the Borders. His wealthy father William Wilson owned a textile mill, and his ancestors were local sheep farmers. He was the fourth of 15 children, of whom 10 reached adulthood. His mother died when James was young.
A successful disciplined autodidact scholar from a Quaker family, he was destined to be a schoolmaster but hated it so much that he “would rather to be the most menial servant in [his] father’s mill”. After considering studying for election to the Faculty of Advocates, against his family religion, he decided to be schooled in economics. So at the age of 16, he became an apprentice in a hat factory. Later, his father then bought the business for him and his elder brother, William. They left Scotland and moved to London, England, when James was 19, with a gift of £2,000 each (£130,000 in 2005 pounds).
The brothers established a manufacturing factory—Wilson, Irwin & Wilson—that they dissolved in 1831. Wilson continued in the same line of business with much success (his net worth was £25,000 in 1837, or £1,630,000 in 2005 pounds). During the economic crisis of 1837, he lost most of his wealth when the price of indigo fell. By 1839 he sold most of his property and avoided bankruptcy. However, in 1853 he founded The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, which later merged with the Standard Bank to form Standard Chartered Bank in 1969.
Wilson was generally opposed to privileging the Church of England, the secret ballot when it was proposed in 1853, and the Corn Laws. He wrote a pamphlet titled Influences of the Corn Laws, as affection all classes of the community, and particularly the landed interests. It slowly received positive feedback and Wilson’s fame had grown. He then went on writing on currency, and especially The Revenue; or, What should the Chancellor do?. He started to write for newspapers, including the Manchester Guardian. In 1843 he established The Economist as a newspaper to campaign for free trade, and acted as Chief editor and sole proprietor for sixteen years. The Economist is still published today, now with a weekly circulation of over 1.6 million globally.
Wilson entered the House of Commons as Liberal Member of Parliament for Westbury, Wiltshire, in 1847. Because of his economic experience, prime minister Lord John Russell appointed him Secretary of the Board of Control (which ran the affairs of India) in 1848, a post he held until the government fell in 1852. He then served as Financial Secretary to the Treasury between 1853 and 1858, firstly in Lord Aberdeen’s coalition government and secondly in Lord Palmerston’s first administration. In 1857 he was returned to Parliament for Devonport. He again briefly held office under Palmerston as Paymaster-General and Vice-President of the Board of Trade between June and August 1859 and was sworn of the Privy Council the same year.
In August 1859 Wilson resigned these offices and his seat in parliament to sit as the financial member of the Council of India. He was sent to India to establish the tax structure, a new paper currency, and remodel India’s finance system after the Rebellion of 1857. However, he was in office only a year before he died. In 1860 he refused to leave the stifling summer heat of Calcutta, contracted dysentery, and died in August of that year at age 55.
Despite his prominent public role, Wilson was buried unknown at a cemetery at Mullick Bazar in Kolkata. His grave was discovered in 2007 by CP Bhatia, an assistant commissioner of Income Tax, while researching a book on India’s tax history. Due to the efforts of CP Bhatia the tombstone was restored by the Christian Burial Board.
Wilson married Elizabeth Preston of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in January 1832. They had six daughters, of whom Eliza, the eldest, married Walter Bagehot.
Influences of the corn laws, as affecting all classes of the community, and particularly the landed interests
Fluctuations of currency, commerce, and manufactures : referable to the corn laws
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
April 26, 2016
Regency Personalities Series-Lieutenant General Sir James Watson
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.
Lieutenant General Sir James Watson
– 1863
Lieutenant General Sir James Watson was commissioned into the 14th Regiment of Foot reaching the rank of Major in 1802. He was appointed Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion of his Regiment in 1807 and served in India and Batavia.
In March 1835 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India and continued in that role until September; two years later he was promoted to Lieutenant General and made Colonel of the Regiment. He was also an active member of the Army and Navy Club.
He lived in Wendover in Buckinghamshire.
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
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April 25, 2016
Regency Personalities Series-Sarah Curran
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.
Sarah Curran
1782 – May 5, 1808
Sarah Curran
Sarah Curran was the youngest daughter of John Philpot Curran, an eminent Irish lawyer. She lived in the priory in Rathfarnham and was the great love of Irish patriot Robert Emmet.
Curran met Robert through her brother Richard, a fellow student of Emmet’s at Trinity College in Dublin. Sarah’s father considered Robert unsuitable, and their courtship was conducted through letters and clandestine meetings. Notable is Robert’s letter to Sarah. Robert and Sarah were secretly engaged in 1803. When her father discovered that Sarah was engaged, he disowned her and then treated her so harshly that she had to take refuge with friends in Cork, where she met and married Captain Robert Sturgeon, a nephew of the Marquis of Rockingham in November 1805. The two lived in Sicily, where Sturgeon was posted; she had a child, John, who died at the age of one month, after a difficult birth. Sarah died of tuberculosis on May 5, 1808. She was buried in the birthplace of her father at Newmarket, County Cork. She had wished to be buried in her father’s garden beside her sister Gertrude, who had died at the age of 12 from a fall from a window in the house; her father refused.
Washington Irving, one of America’s greatest early writers, devoted “The Broken Heart” in his magnum opus The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. to the romance between Robert Emmet and Sarah Curran, citing it as an example of how a broken heart can be fatal.
The road leading past Saint Enda’s Park is called Sarah Curran Avenue. Irish poet Thomas Moore was inspired by her story to write the popular ballads, “She is far from the land” and “Oh breathe not his name!” and the long poem Lalla Rookh.
She is far from the land where her young hero sleeps,
And lovers around her are sighing,
But coldly she turns from their gaze, and weeps,
For her heart in his grave is lying.
