Sara Donati's Blog, page 15

Next winner in the big big giveaway…

Irene Knight has chosen the signed copy ofThe Gilded Hour, which means that Seona is now up, and has three items to choose from. Please let me know what you’d like, Seona.

Seona McDonald | Submitted on 2015/08/24 at 10:29 am petzi |Submitted on 2015/08/17 at 3:34 am Kim Tylisz |Submitted on 2015/07/15 at 10:40 am Irene Knight a signed first printing edition of The Gilded Hour The Gilded Hourunabridged audiobook a new Kindle Paperwhite withthree of my favorite novels onit Lori M. onecoupon...

Winners Step Right Up

The big big giveaway has come to an end. Five names were drawn at random from comments and subscriptions. The first winner (Lori M.) was contacted and has chosen the manuscript evaluation. So now I need to hear from Irene Knight — in the comments would be fine — about which of the four remaining prizes she’d like. After that Seona McDonald will be up, and so forth. Once all five prizes have been claimed, I will need to hear from all the winners with contact information (saralaughs@icloud.com)...

The Gilded Hour has arrived

First, thanks to all of you over the last few months. Pub dates are always nerve-wracking, but the kind comments and support here and on FaceBook and Twitter have been a great distraction, and much appreciated.

Second: it’s here! Happy reading. And please, when you have a moment, think about leaving a review wherever you normally do such things — Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your own blog — getting the word out is part of making sure there’s another novel forthcoming.

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Cinderella Revisited: The prince speaks

Have you ever been disappointed in a book or movie, but not been able to say why? This short intro to storytelling might help you figure that out. Revised from an earlier, ever evolving post.

At the center of any story is at least one conflict. A person can be at conflict with him- or herself; a town can be in conflict with a corporation or a bully or a plague; every relationship, ever, has experienced conflicts, small and large.

Of course, not every conflict is interesting.

Universal storyte...

Medical Journal Oddities: Snake Man 1881

I read a lot of 19th century medical journals. This has mostly to do with the fact that a lot of the sequel toThe Gilded Hour takes place in medical settings, and I put a great premium on getting the details right.

Every once in a while I come across something truly surprising that I end up taking to a doctor I know to see if they can shed any light on what seems too odd to believe. Here’s the latest:

A Deciduous Man—At a recent meeting of the Chicago Medical Society Dr. J. Frank reported a c...

Update on the Update on the Big Big Giveaway

Just a note to say I was having technical difficulties, but I am now caught up on all the waiting comments. 23 of them, even.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE:

One of the winners of the unabridged audiobook never claimed the prize, so I’m adding that to this big big giveaway as one more thing to choose from.

After some thought I have decided to split up the big big giveaway into fourparts:

a signed first printing edition of The Gilded Hour The Gilded Hourunabridged audiobook a new Kindle Paperwhite wit...

Update on the Big Big Giveaway

After some thought I have decided to split up the big big giveaway into fourparts:

a signed first printing edition of The Gilded Hour a new Kindle Paperwhite withthree of my favorite novels onir onecoupon entitling the holder to an evaluation of a twenty-page double-spaced fiction manuscript. a copy of the 20th anniversary collector’s edition of Outlander, signed by Diana Gabaldon

On September 1 I will pull one winner, and that person will have a choice of one of the four items above. On Se...

Bibliography Love

I just ran into this article which is a couple years old, but very much worth looking at if you’re interested in historical fiction: Five Historical Fiction Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them.Some very sound advice there.

One of the reasons it caught my eye is this bit:

Carolyn Yoder, editor of Calkins Creek Books and senior editor of history forHighlights for Children magazine, believes in thorough research, using primary sources, historical societies, and experts. She has been known to have her...

You asked about your favorite characters

A couple things before you look at this chart:

1. Not everybody is included here. It’s selective.

2. If you don’t find a name here, that doesn’t mean the person died an early death. It just means they are not on this chart.

3. The dots at the far right mean that individual is still alive whenThe Gilded Hour takes place.

4. Yes, a lot of men died in the Civil War.

5. I’ve had email asking whether any of Curiosity’s descendants are in the new novel. Sophie Savard is Curiosity’s great granddaugh...

The Inquisition: Quite Expected

Coroner’s inquests were very common in 1880s in New York City. Any unusual death or questionable death had to pass by the coroner (or one of his deputies or assistants) and sometimes an inquest was empaneled.

In the case mentioned below, the coroner was Richard Croker, a life-long politician with no medical training whatsoever. This was the primary problem with the coroner system: as an political position it was especially prone to corruption. Corruption was so extreme that eventually the cor...