Michelle Styles's Blog, page 30
March 30, 2011
Emotional Eating because of characters
This week on reshaping my writer's bottom line I learnt that in times of trauma and stress for my characters, I am ever likely to mindlessly graze and over eat. I have cornered the market on tissue but what shocked me was that suddenly I was finding excuses to eat.
I knew that I get wrapped up in my characters' lives but seriously? Does this happen to other writers?
The real heavy lifting of emotional trauma has been done. So hopefully my eating will revert to normal. Sometimes though it is interesting to discover patterns. It is what to do about it. I suspect exercise more...and refuse to mindless graze even when your heroine's life has totally collasped!
I am doing my Jillian Michaels dvds in rotation -- though I have tweaked it a bit and am switching them each day. I have also gone back to level 1 of the Six Week 6 Pack with heavier weights as that is where a lot of the sculpting takes place. Interestingly, it is SO much easier in ways and I could do side planks with twists. I was, however, marinated by the end. I really found I could push it far more during the cardio and I made sure that I was doing the advanced version -- spider planks with push up for instance. I was capable of more than I realised.
And with my wip, I am capable of more than I realise.
I knew that I get wrapped up in my characters' lives but seriously? Does this happen to other writers?
The real heavy lifting of emotional trauma has been done. So hopefully my eating will revert to normal. Sometimes though it is interesting to discover patterns. It is what to do about it. I suspect exercise more...and refuse to mindless graze even when your heroine's life has totally collasped!
I am doing my Jillian Michaels dvds in rotation -- though I have tweaked it a bit and am switching them each day. I have also gone back to level 1 of the Six Week 6 Pack with heavier weights as that is where a lot of the sculpting takes place. Interestingly, it is SO much easier in ways and I could do side planks with twists. I was, however, marinated by the end. I really found I could push it far more during the cardio and I made sure that I was doing the advanced version -- spider planks with push up for instance. I was capable of more than I realised.
And with my wip, I am capable of more than I realise.
March 29, 2011
Operation Auction: critique live
My critique offering is now live. You can see it here. Hopefully someone will bid. I do promise to do a thorough critique.
The ARC for To Marry A Matchmaker is still open for bidding. I thank people from the bottom of my heart for bidding. Currently this book ranks as one of my faves. I am super proud of it.
There are all sorts of interesting lots. If you like the romance genre, you are bound to find something that suits. You can find the full listing here.
In other news:
I had a good chat with my editor about my current wip. It is all about stretching and making sure I fulfil the promise of the first few chapters. She has faith! It should get finished this week. Currently I have cornered the market on tissue...She does remind me of Jillian Michaels though -- she firmly believes that I am capable of MORE and she intends to get it. It is my story and I am supposed to make the most of it!
My airline tickets have arrived so I am all set for NYC and RWA conference. It is terribly exciting.
The ARC for To Marry A Matchmaker is still open for bidding. I thank people from the bottom of my heart for bidding. Currently this book ranks as one of my faves. I am super proud of it.
There are all sorts of interesting lots. If you like the romance genre, you are bound to find something that suits. You can find the full listing here.
In other news:
I had a good chat with my editor about my current wip. It is all about stretching and making sure I fulfil the promise of the first few chapters. She has faith! It should get finished this week. Currently I have cornered the market on tissue...She does remind me of Jillian Michaels though -- she firmly believes that I am capable of MORE and she intends to get it. It is my story and I am supposed to make the most of it!
My airline tickets have arrived so I am all set for NYC and RWA conference. It is terribly exciting.
March 28, 2011
Operation Auction live
Operation Auction -- the effort by members of the Romance community to raise money for Fatin, a long time support of Romance who lost her husband in tragic circumstances is now live. There are a host of items to bid on including 1.A hardback copy of To Marry A Matchmaker (I will send it anywhere in the world) and 2. A Critique for a partial from me (this has not gone live. I presume this will be live tomorrow) Hopefully someone will bid...
Among other items are critiques by people like Brenda Chin, Leslie Wainger and agent Laura Bradford. You can see the full listing of live items here.
Among other items are critiques by people like Brenda Chin, Leslie Wainger and agent Laura Bradford. You can see the full listing of live items here.
March 26, 2011
RIP Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones died today. I discovered her books in the late 1990s when she was re-released because of the Harry Potter craze. My eldest and I enjoyed her works very much before he moved into Terry Pratchett. My favourites tended to be things like the Dark Lord of Derkholm which is a send up of cliched Fantasyland. She also wrote Howl's Moving Castle which was turned into an animated film where Christain Bale voiced Howl and Hexwood which has complicated plot and involves a teenager who is not what she seems -- both books bear re-reading. I loved how her mind worked. The Homeward Bounders and Dogbody linger in my mind. Although sometimes, I had to wonder if she couldn't have gone deeper into her characters or maybe I just wanted to spend more time inthe worlds she created. My daughter preferred the Chrestomanci series. She knew how to create a world that totally drew you in. Plus she had this wonderful sense of humour. They couldn't be classifed as just one thing -- were they sci fi or fantasy? They often had elements of both. I suspect she drove the marketing bods insane!
When I first started writing, my editor Helen French learnt that I liked Fantasy and reccommended Tough Guide to Fantasyland. It was a singular lesson in cliche and thinking outside the box. If you are interested in the genre at all, it is worth a read...provided you can find it.
If you haven't discover DWJ, she is worth reading. Luckily with the authors, their work is their legacy and can be enjoyed by future generations.
When I first started writing, my editor Helen French learnt that I liked Fantasy and reccommended Tough Guide to Fantasyland. It was a singular lesson in cliche and thinking outside the box. If you are interested in the genre at all, it is worth a read...provided you can find it.
If you haven't discover DWJ, she is worth reading. Luckily with the authors, their work is their legacy and can be enjoyed by future generations.
March 24, 2011
Trying a another Jillian Michaels dvd
Belatedly I realised that Banish Fat Boost Metabolism was a companion dvd to No More Trouble Zones. So I have purchased No More Trouble Zones which is the sculpting or strengthening part of her programme.
6 week 6 pack targets the abs. BFBM is ALL cardio (and no weights) 30 Day shred is short (20 minutes) but combines all 3 for a killer workout. Anyway I can do things in a rotation now. 3 days per dvd and can schedule rest days as and when they crop up. If I have less time, I can do the 30 day Shred.
No More Trouble Zones involves weights. It is mainly concerned with arms, hips, bum and thighs. Being a Jillian Michaels dvd, it has a few killer moves. The Surrender is akin to torture. And I still do not like side plank lifts. She suggests using lighter weights, because well you are trying to shred and tone rather than build up bulk muscle. Plus your arms know about it. Have I mentioned the Surrender? I wanted to die!
By the end of the 55 minutes, I was sweating but not as much as BFBM or the level 2 6 week 6 pack. However everything also ached. One would think after doing these other dvds that I wouldn't have sore arms or legs...uh no. I suspect as I get used to the moves, I will be able to work harder and really push. Change happens when you really push hard. JilThis reshaping has not stopped. I am enjoying the after workout buzz too much.
My daughter found Woman in Fashion at the Lit and Phil -- it had been wrongly shelved. I happened to re-read Moore's exposition on waists. The cut of a dress can effect how big your waist appears by up to ten inches. The three governing principles are 1. contrast -- for example shoulder pads or in the case of the 19th century a bustle or flowing train will make your waist look slimmer. 2. trimmings and decoration to carry the eye away from the waist and help camouflage less than slender figures. 3. Delusive focus which works the best. Basically by means of folds and emphatic converging lines, the eye is drawn to the centre point where there will be a point, buckle or ornament which takes attention away from the width.
I have taken to wearing a belt with my jeans making sure that my shirt is tucked in and the folds go towards the centre. It does work to a certain extent. My husband suddenly -- oh you have really lost weight!
Moore's theory about shifting waistlines and loose flowing gowns is that it shows the status of mature women in society. The Regency period and the 1920s were particularly favourable to fashionable women above 30 and waist lines were not emphasized.
And finally she pointed that the correct under pinning does much to support a figure. The correctly fitted bra and corset (or in 2011 magic knickers) can make all the difference!
I note in the coverage of Liz Taylor's death, there are a few comments about how she knew the angles at which she should be photographed. A good camera angle can help as well. KNowing how to hold your body -- shoulders back, chest out, head up etc can make a difference.
But it does start with SWEAT and working at it.
6 week 6 pack targets the abs. BFBM is ALL cardio (and no weights) 30 Day shred is short (20 minutes) but combines all 3 for a killer workout. Anyway I can do things in a rotation now. 3 days per dvd and can schedule rest days as and when they crop up. If I have less time, I can do the 30 day Shred.
No More Trouble Zones involves weights. It is mainly concerned with arms, hips, bum and thighs. Being a Jillian Michaels dvd, it has a few killer moves. The Surrender is akin to torture. And I still do not like side plank lifts. She suggests using lighter weights, because well you are trying to shred and tone rather than build up bulk muscle. Plus your arms know about it. Have I mentioned the Surrender? I wanted to die!
By the end of the 55 minutes, I was sweating but not as much as BFBM or the level 2 6 week 6 pack. However everything also ached. One would think after doing these other dvds that I wouldn't have sore arms or legs...uh no. I suspect as I get used to the moves, I will be able to work harder and really push. Change happens when you really push hard. JilThis reshaping has not stopped. I am enjoying the after workout buzz too much.
My daughter found Woman in Fashion at the Lit and Phil -- it had been wrongly shelved. I happened to re-read Moore's exposition on waists. The cut of a dress can effect how big your waist appears by up to ten inches. The three governing principles are 1. contrast -- for example shoulder pads or in the case of the 19th century a bustle or flowing train will make your waist look slimmer. 2. trimmings and decoration to carry the eye away from the waist and help camouflage less than slender figures. 3. Delusive focus which works the best. Basically by means of folds and emphatic converging lines, the eye is drawn to the centre point where there will be a point, buckle or ornament which takes attention away from the width.
I have taken to wearing a belt with my jeans making sure that my shirt is tucked in and the folds go towards the centre. It does work to a certain extent. My husband suddenly -- oh you have really lost weight!
Moore's theory about shifting waistlines and loose flowing gowns is that it shows the status of mature women in society. The Regency period and the 1920s were particularly favourable to fashionable women above 30 and waist lines were not emphasized.
And finally she pointed that the correct under pinning does much to support a figure. The correctly fitted bra and corset (or in 2011 magic knickers) can make all the difference!
I note in the coverage of Liz Taylor's death, there are a few comments about how she knew the angles at which she should be photographed. A good camera angle can help as well. KNowing how to hold your body -- shoulders back, chest out, head up etc can make a difference.
But it does start with SWEAT and working at it.
March 21, 2011
50 Quintessential British Novels
I was sent this link to 50 Quintessential British Novels. It is interesting to see which ones I had read...all up to 31 and then only 5. I was slightly surprised by the omissions. For example, Ian Fleming and James Bond is listed but not Georgette Heyer and her novels. As Heyer basically invented that popular genre -- the modern Regency novel and to a certain extent historical romantic fiction, this is a glaring omission. Regency Buck is one of her better ones. You could also say that she had a huge influence on CS Forsterer, Patrick O Brian and Bernard Cornwell as she opened up that time period to popular fiction. The fact that they remain in print and are growing in popularity should say something.
Neither is Agatha Christie represented. To ignore her contribution to the literary canon is unfortunate. She basically dominated fiction in the middle years of the 20th century. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd for example with its dishonest narrator is a significant book.
If one wanted to get picky, one could say that Buchan rather than Fleming should be there as John Buchan basically invented the modern thriller with Mr Standfast and whole idea of the enemy within. Certainly Fleming acknowledged his debt.
And there is no Grahame Greene. Why is he out of favour these days?
There is unfortunately a preponderance of post 1990 literary genre which emphasis on the psychological or depressing fiction which may or may not withstand the test of time. It should be remember that Dickens was considered to be only a popular hack until the 1930s. It is probably just me but once you get the disconnect in the 1960s where literary imaging and the novel as poetry is taken up as opposed to the novel as a story, I find it hard to be enthralled with the writing. I have read far fewer literary genre novels because the subject does not excite me. It is when you get that marrying of literary talent with story telling talent that a truly great book is created. Of the two talents, story telling talent is alas far rarer. I want stories that I can lose myself in, not prose masquerading as imagery.
There again I am a historical romance novelist and write escapist fiction that hopefully makes people feel better. I am not a literary critic. I just wish that people wjho compiled these lists would actually think about the novelists who had the greatest influence.
Neither is Agatha Christie represented. To ignore her contribution to the literary canon is unfortunate. She basically dominated fiction in the middle years of the 20th century. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd for example with its dishonest narrator is a significant book.
If one wanted to get picky, one could say that Buchan rather than Fleming should be there as John Buchan basically invented the modern thriller with Mr Standfast and whole idea of the enemy within. Certainly Fleming acknowledged his debt.
And there is no Grahame Greene. Why is he out of favour these days?
There is unfortunately a preponderance of post 1990 literary genre which emphasis on the psychological or depressing fiction which may or may not withstand the test of time. It should be remember that Dickens was considered to be only a popular hack until the 1930s. It is probably just me but once you get the disconnect in the 1960s where literary imaging and the novel as poetry is taken up as opposed to the novel as a story, I find it hard to be enthralled with the writing. I have read far fewer literary genre novels because the subject does not excite me. It is when you get that marrying of literary talent with story telling talent that a truly great book is created. Of the two talents, story telling talent is alas far rarer. I want stories that I can lose myself in, not prose masquerading as imagery.
There again I am a historical romance novelist and write escapist fiction that hopefully makes people feel better. I am not a literary critic. I just wish that people wjho compiled these lists would actually think about the novelists who had the greatest influence.
March 18, 2011
Which figure? Betty Grable or Kate Moss?
After Evangeline's comments yesterday, I started looking at other Hollywood starlets vitals from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and came across a very interesting article in the Daily Mail from 2009. Basically it was comparing the average women's physique in 1949 when the pin up was Betty Grable (5' 4" 36-24-35), Diana Dors ( 38DD-26-36) to the 2009 woman when the model of the day was Kate Moss (5' 7" 32-21-32) or perhaps Victoria Beckham (5' 34-23-33). The 1949 woman was on average 5' 2" and 37B-27-37. The 2009 average woman (5' 4" 38C-34-40). Shoe size has also increased from a 3 to a 6.
On the face of it seems obvious. The silhouette in 1949 must have been easier for the average 1949 woman (or indeed today's woman) to obtain, particularly in regards to bust size.I can understand that for designers, it is easier to design pencil shapes, sacks and clothes that good on hangers -- particularly for the mass market. When you start putting in tucks, stays and pleats, fitting becomes difficult. Busts and their different shapes make life difficult.
But is it really?
The size of the waist has increased dramatically for the average woman but not for the unattainables. Victoria Beckham's waist is not as small as Marilyn Monroe's for example. But given the difference in heights etc, are we comparing apples to oranges?
First look at the difference in bust to waist ratio (ie waist divided by bust -- and here I am using the straight bust measurement, not adding the cup size). For example Betty Grable had a 0.66 ratio while Kate Moss has 0.71. Marilyn Monroe had a 0.62. Victoria Beckham has a 0.68. The average 1949 woman had 0.73, and 2009 had 0.89. So the difference in bust to waist ratio was 0.07 for the 1949 woman using Betty Grable as an unattainable. And the 2009 version comparing the average 2009 woman to Kate Moss shows a difference of 0.18. So yes, there is a disconnect but more because the average woman's bust to waist ratio has increased, rather than the unattainable changing significantly. Because bust to waist proportions have increased for the unattainables, it should in theory be easier to get that 2009 figure.
And the hip to waist ratio has increased for average woman. The average woman 2009 was 0.95 and 1949 was 0.73
For the unattainables, if you will, it has remained at about a constant 0.7, although Marilyn Monroe was an amazing 0.63. She had a tiny waist -- rather than large hips to her bust. In fact her hip to bust is about the same, as is Kate Moss's. As indeed was Miss Average 1949. Those stacked starlets such as Diana Dors (38 DD to 36) Jane Russell (38 D to 36) tended to be around the 1.05 range. Victoria Beckham is in the 1.03 range. Whereas Miss Average 2009 was 0.95 -- becoming more pear shaped.
So what I have learnt (other than it is fun to procrastinate as I have to put loads of emotion in my current scene?) -- basically if you want to look like you have a good figure, make sure your waist is about 0.7 of your hips and bust measurement. If your hips are slightly smaller than your bust, you looked stacked.
Also it is not your clothing size that matters, it is the ratio of your bust to your waist and waist to hips plus bust to hips. Start with your bust size and work to that.
A waist larger than 32" means you are more likely to have undiagonosed diabetes type II. There are reasons why focusing on your waist size makes sense.
Doing ab firming exercises does help to reduce your waist size. It is not easy though.
Obtaining a perfect figure is always harder than it look.
And I should have been a lot more appreciative of my figure in my early twenties, rather thar than focusing on losing that extra ten pounds or trying to fit into a smaller size.
On the face of it seems obvious. The silhouette in 1949 must have been easier for the average 1949 woman (or indeed today's woman) to obtain, particularly in regards to bust size.I can understand that for designers, it is easier to design pencil shapes, sacks and clothes that good on hangers -- particularly for the mass market. When you start putting in tucks, stays and pleats, fitting becomes difficult. Busts and their different shapes make life difficult.
But is it really?
The size of the waist has increased dramatically for the average woman but not for the unattainables. Victoria Beckham's waist is not as small as Marilyn Monroe's for example. But given the difference in heights etc, are we comparing apples to oranges?
First look at the difference in bust to waist ratio (ie waist divided by bust -- and here I am using the straight bust measurement, not adding the cup size). For example Betty Grable had a 0.66 ratio while Kate Moss has 0.71. Marilyn Monroe had a 0.62. Victoria Beckham has a 0.68. The average 1949 woman had 0.73, and 2009 had 0.89. So the difference in bust to waist ratio was 0.07 for the 1949 woman using Betty Grable as an unattainable. And the 2009 version comparing the average 2009 woman to Kate Moss shows a difference of 0.18. So yes, there is a disconnect but more because the average woman's bust to waist ratio has increased, rather than the unattainable changing significantly. Because bust to waist proportions have increased for the unattainables, it should in theory be easier to get that 2009 figure.
And the hip to waist ratio has increased for average woman. The average woman 2009 was 0.95 and 1949 was 0.73
For the unattainables, if you will, it has remained at about a constant 0.7, although Marilyn Monroe was an amazing 0.63. She had a tiny waist -- rather than large hips to her bust. In fact her hip to bust is about the same, as is Kate Moss's. As indeed was Miss Average 1949. Those stacked starlets such as Diana Dors (38 DD to 36) Jane Russell (38 D to 36) tended to be around the 1.05 range. Victoria Beckham is in the 1.03 range. Whereas Miss Average 2009 was 0.95 -- becoming more pear shaped.
So what I have learnt (other than it is fun to procrastinate as I have to put loads of emotion in my current scene?) -- basically if you want to look like you have a good figure, make sure your waist is about 0.7 of your hips and bust measurement. If your hips are slightly smaller than your bust, you looked stacked.
Also it is not your clothing size that matters, it is the ratio of your bust to your waist and waist to hips plus bust to hips. Start with your bust size and work to that.
A waist larger than 32" means you are more likely to have undiagonosed diabetes type II. There are reasons why focusing on your waist size makes sense.
Doing ab firming exercises does help to reduce your waist size. It is not easy though.
Obtaining a perfect figure is always harder than it look.
And I should have been a lot more appreciative of my figure in my early twenties, rather thar than focusing on losing that extra ten pounds or trying to fit into a smaller size.
March 17, 2011
The Marilyn stats
There is a persistent rumour that Marilyn Monroe was a size 16. Or that she was just bigger than today's stars. As I got curious about sizes, I went looking.
Her statistics were height 5' 5" 1/2. Her bra size was a 36 D. According to the studio, she was 37 -23 -36 and according to her dressmaker she was 35 - 22 - 35. In other words, she had a near perfect body. It is not a today size 12 or 16, more like a 4 or a 6! But I can well imagine that she was a size 12 in 1950 sizes. She had an hourglass figure and was perfectly in proportion. Disgusting really.
And as I happen to like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, I became curious about her co-star who recently died -- Jane Russell. Howard Hughes made great play of the fact that he needed to engineer a special bra for her)
Jane Russell was a 38 D bra size (so much for needing a specially constructed bra) Her stats were 38 -25- 36. She was 5' 7".
Sometimes, though you just have to say that nature made them that way. (But I suspect it was not easy to keep it up) Sweating does help. As does not eating processed foods. Plus youth was on their side.
I bring these women up because when I was a teen, it was very much flat chested and slim boyish hips. This is not a body type I will ever get. And I know having an hourglass figure means you are often over looked in the clothes stakes. Being 5' 6" with a bust and a waist (even if it is currently larger than I'd like), it is good to find role models or people to shoot for.
It is all about finding appropriate bodies to aim for. Kate Moss, Kiera Knightley, and many others, I will never ever get that figure even if I starve myself. BUT I can do hourglass... If you look around, you can find them. It is about doing things with what you have got, rather than hankering after the unattainable. And just as an aide- memoire for anyone who also suffers from an hourglass:
Her statistics were height 5' 5" 1/2. Her bra size was a 36 D. According to the studio, she was 37 -23 -36 and according to her dressmaker she was 35 - 22 - 35. In other words, she had a near perfect body. It is not a today size 12 or 16, more like a 4 or a 6! But I can well imagine that she was a size 12 in 1950 sizes. She had an hourglass figure and was perfectly in proportion. Disgusting really.
And as I happen to like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, I became curious about her co-star who recently died -- Jane Russell. Howard Hughes made great play of the fact that he needed to engineer a special bra for her)
Jane Russell was a 38 D bra size (so much for needing a specially constructed bra) Her stats were 38 -25- 36. She was 5' 7".
Sometimes, though you just have to say that nature made them that way. (But I suspect it was not easy to keep it up) Sweating does help. As does not eating processed foods. Plus youth was on their side.
I bring these women up because when I was a teen, it was very much flat chested and slim boyish hips. This is not a body type I will ever get. And I know having an hourglass figure means you are often over looked in the clothes stakes. Being 5' 6" with a bust and a waist (even if it is currently larger than I'd like), it is good to find role models or people to shoot for.
It is all about finding appropriate bodies to aim for. Kate Moss, Kiera Knightley, and many others, I will never ever get that figure even if I starve myself. BUT I can do hourglass... If you look around, you can find them. It is about doing things with what you have got, rather than hankering after the unattainable. And just as an aide- memoire for anyone who also suffers from an hourglass:
March 16, 2011
Weekly reshaping my writer's bottom line
It is really easy not to push harder. This is true of my writing as well as my working out. One thing I have learnt this week is to keep pushing. I can drive myself harder and not faint! I may dissolve in a puddle or be marinated by the time I am done but I don't die. Not even close!
In this weird sort of way, it is enjoyable. The pounds are not melting off but I can feel myself getting stronger.
My measurements continue to improve. Not as dramatically but slow and steady. I happened to look at the measurements in the Land's End catalogue and was surprised to discover that a UK 14 is now a US 10! Clothing sizes have definitely become bigger in the US. For example, I have a skirt from the early 80s with a Land's End size 14 label. It barely fits. If I went for a current size 14 US Lands End, it would be way too big. (I know this as some of the clothes I discarded were Lands End). I also looked at the measurements.
It is funny you get used to thinking of yourself as a certain size and then you realise that your perceptions were all wrong.
Anyway, it is all about what fits now. And I can understand why I might eventually be a US size 6 (UK 10)...which would be odd to say the least. The measurements for that size are: Bust -- 35, Waist 28 Hip 38. My current ones are B-- 38, w --29 1/2. hips 39. It is my target now. When I started back in August my measurements were bust 45, waist 39, hips 48. So I have come a long way but still have some ways to go.
With my writing, it is about pushing and not taking the easy route. My editor believes that I am capable of so much more. Funny that! It is about putting the emotion I feel down on the page rather than hugging it to my person.
The Girls Night In at the Wellwood pub went well. I am not sure if it was the large glasses of wine that were served, but after we had finished, the entire audience of about 17+ stuck around, chatting and buying books. I forgot my camera but Janet MacLeod Trotter had hers and promised some photos.
In this weird sort of way, it is enjoyable. The pounds are not melting off but I can feel myself getting stronger.
My measurements continue to improve. Not as dramatically but slow and steady. I happened to look at the measurements in the Land's End catalogue and was surprised to discover that a UK 14 is now a US 10! Clothing sizes have definitely become bigger in the US. For example, I have a skirt from the early 80s with a Land's End size 14 label. It barely fits. If I went for a current size 14 US Lands End, it would be way too big. (I know this as some of the clothes I discarded were Lands End). I also looked at the measurements.
It is funny you get used to thinking of yourself as a certain size and then you realise that your perceptions were all wrong.
Anyway, it is all about what fits now. And I can understand why I might eventually be a US size 6 (UK 10)...which would be odd to say the least. The measurements for that size are: Bust -- 35, Waist 28 Hip 38. My current ones are B-- 38, w --29 1/2. hips 39. It is my target now. When I started back in August my measurements were bust 45, waist 39, hips 48. So I have come a long way but still have some ways to go.
With my writing, it is about pushing and not taking the easy route. My editor believes that I am capable of so much more. Funny that! It is about putting the emotion I feel down on the page rather than hugging it to my person.
The Girls Night In at the Wellwood pub went well. I am not sure if it was the large glasses of wine that were served, but after we had finished, the entire audience of about 17+ stuck around, chatting and buying books. I forgot my camera but Janet MacLeod Trotter had hers and promised some photos.
March 15, 2011
To Marry A Matchmaker
My hardbacks arrived yesterday and this is possibly my favourite cover ever! It works for me at any rate.This is the book that is up for grabs on the Authors for Japan auction. There are 150 other lots so I have to hope someone will bid for this (and the critique).
The blurb reads:
The Matchmaker's Wager
Lady Henirietta Thorndike hides her lonely heart behind playing Cupid -- some might accuse her of interfering, but she prefers to think of it as improving other people's lives!
But Robert Montemorcy knows it has to stop -- his ward has just fled from a compromising situation in Lodnon, and the last thing she needs is to be embroiled in Henri's complusive matchmaking! He bets Henri that she won't be able to resist meddling...only to lose his own heart into the bargain!
From the front page teaser:
'I can stop any time I want,' Henrietta replied, her face taking on a muntinous expression as she crossed her arms over her full bosom, highlighting rather than detracting from her curves.
'Prove it.'
'What are you suggesting Mr Montemorcy?' Her carefully arranged curls shook with anger. 'I enjoy helping. People need me.'
At last. She'd walked straight into his trap. 'I am suggesting a wager to demonstrated that you are addicted to arranging others' love-lives and you have no sense of discipline in these matters. He watched her bridle at the words. He wondered if she knew how desirable she appeared when she was angry. Desirable but very much off-limits...
The first line -- as I happen to like it: Precise planning produced perfection.
It comes out as a paperback in July.
