Vicky Loebel's Blog, page 3
August 24, 2014
Riding the Toronto Subway
I’m not a font geek. Sure, I dabble every once in a while…cruizing blogs, enjoying the sight of a well-turned serif. But I can quit any time I want to, right?
If I were a font geek (or had ever been to Toronto) I would have already known about the 1954 Toronto Subway font which I stumbled across on Kern Your Enthusiasm this morning.
Subway Tunnel – Probably not in Toronto
They describe it better, but to me there’s something charmingly innocent about this bold geometric font. Perhaps a bit of a throwback to the typography of the 1920s.
Toronto Subway c1954
Reading a bit farther, I see that observation is not mine alone, as the post refers to the similar font Gil Sans, from 1926.
Gil Sans c1926
Perhaps Harold Lloyd shares my intermittant enthusiasm for fonts. He certainly seems to be impressed by something — doubtless an impressively lettered sign – in his highly enjoyable 1928 film Speedy.
Harold Lloyd in Speedy – Probably not actually on the New York subway
What’s the connection? Well, like these fonts, Harold Lloyd’s movie persona is innocent and maybe a little foolhardy. Seems to have been a really nice guy in real life, too. And it’s entirely possible that, at some time in his life, he visited Toronto.
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August 14, 2014
What to Wear
Decisions, decisions. I’m trying to put together a (virtual) blue outfit to spend the weekend writng in up at my cabin. I think I’ve just about settled on this 1920s beaded and sequined dress currently offered on the internet for the modest sum of $1,625.60.
I’ve got the shoes picked out. Allowing for color variation on a computer screen, we’ll assume they’re a match.
1920s Morris Wolock sandals
But how to accessorize? Dress clips? Earrings? It’s so hard to decide.
Art Deco brooches via LangAntiques.com
I like those a lot, but I think I’ll go with the more modern choice of earrings.
Art deco diamond & sapphire earrings c1925, Christie’s
There, all set to…sit and write? Hmm. On second thought, maybe I’ll stick with pajamas.
1925 Pochior lingerie and pajamas
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August 2, 2014
Love Conquers Some
Clara’s words of wisdom, courtesy of the Girl’s Guide to Demons.
Source: 1920s McCallum Hosiery ad c1922
McCallum Silk Hosiery company was part of the Northhampton MA silk road and operated from 1898 through WWII. Their ads are a symphony of 1920s perfection that make modern photographic/photoshopped ads look boring by comparison. The building is now the office of the Physical Plant department at Smith College.
1921 McCallum Silk Hosiery ad
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July 28, 2014
Back to Writing!
Just back from a great trip to Romance Writers of America national convention. Ready to get back into the swing of writing!
Source: La Vie Parisienne
July 20, 2014
New Vinlander’s Release
My friend, Frankie Robertson, has just released the third (but standalone) book in her excellent Vinlander’s Saga. It’s FREE for the first few days. Check it out!
July 15, 2014
Sotheby’s, come back! Sotheby’s!
I think I missed my calling. Well, several callings. The first was to be fantastically rich. By day, I would have hidden my vast wealth and lived modestly, of course. No point in being ostentatious. But every once in a while, I’d don the mask and cape of…Decco, Auction Hunter and scoop up nicknacks like this from Sotheby’s:
Rene Buthaud – Art Deco glazed & gilt earthenware vase , c1925 (VeniceClayArtists.com/Sotheby’s)
Of course, I’d need something to wear for auction hunting. Can’t insult the auctioneer by showing up in my Man From U.N.C.L.E. tee shirt and jeans. I believe this Lucien Lelong suit would do for a start:
1927 Lucien Lelong suit (Museum at FIT)
My second calling was to know somebody fantastically rich who decided to set up a museum and make me curator. We will bypass, the fact I have no eye for antiques and go right to the fantasy of preserving history. These items wouldn’t be mine, you understand. I’d just have to slip them on, once in a while, to keep them in good working condition for posterity:
Platinum, diamond, emerald, and enamel bracelet, c1925 (Jewelsdujour.com/Sotheby’s)
After a busy day immersed in art-deco, I’d change into jeans and bike back to my Frank Lloyd Wright home.
Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House, University of Chicago (Wikipedia)
I’m afraid I can’t post photos of the interior. Frank gets riled if he finds out we repositioned the furniture.
July 13, 2014
As part of the never-ending journey that is web-sites and...
As part of the never-ending journey that is web-sites and social media, this blog has moved to integrate with my website, vickyloebel.com.
Please come follow me here:
I’d be lonely without you!
Welcome to my Integrated Blog
Thanks to some expert help from Sweet’n’Spicy Designs, my blog is now integrated with my author website. I will no longer be updating the old VickyLoebelStuff WordPress Site. Don’t forget to follow me here!
Time to Celebrate with a Happy Dance!
June 20, 2014
Dresses for Flappers, July, 1926
One of the best places to turn for 1920s (and other decades) fashion information is VintageDancer.com, which recently republished this article from a blog I wasn’t familiar with, wittnes2fashion. I *love* these 1926 summer dresses so much, I had to reblog!
Originally posted on witness2fashion:
Butterick Patterns for Misses Age 15 to 20.
Delineator
, p. 27, July 1926.
By the summer of 1926 the “look” we associate with the 1920s – short skirts, no waists, and a horizontal line across the hips – was truly the dominant fashion. These dresses for Misses – i.e., women aged 15 to 20 – look fresh and youthful, especially in contrast to the long, tubular fashions of 1924. Seeing these designs in color is a treat, and a reminder that the clothes worn in silent movies were not actually black and white.
Top of Page 27,
Delineator,
July 1926
Misses’ Pattern Sizes in the 1920s: “What Does Size 16 Years Mean?”
In Butterick patterns, a Misses’ size was shorter than a Ladies’ size. Misses patterns were sold by age [!]; Ladies’ patterns were sold by bust measurement. For most of the 1920s, “Size 15 years” equated to “petite…
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June 16, 2014
Writing Process Blog Tour
Thanks to Regina Duke who blogs here for inviting me to be part of this tour. Regina writes smart, super-fun sweet romance, and I can’t recommend her highly enough.
Preamble
A 
few years back, I was struggling to write my first novel. It was a mystery about a guy named Martin Shovel who grew up on a cranberry bog in Wisconsin and moved to Tucson looking for his runaway dad, who (naturally) turned up dead.
Poor Martin never solved his father’s murder because while I was working on my book by fixing a light snack and listening to NPR, a story came on about a big writers’ convention, and I was struck by two things:
They were mostly women
They were having way too much fun!
That turned out to be the annual get-together of Romance Writers of America, and within a year I was lucky enough to find a nearby branch of the organization, which offers not only companionship for (male and female) writers but lectures, workshops, and advice on the subjects of writing craft, business, and career development.
Within weeks, Martin was out on his shovel and I’d begun an elaborately constructed urban fantasy/romance crossover which wound up as my indie publishing debut novel, Keys to the Coven. That book, combined with a late-onset addiction to the works of P.G. Wodehouse and a passion for Downton Abbey led me to start a prequel historical urban fantasy series, Speakeasy Dead.
Meanwhile, my growing appreciation of romance as a genre got me going on a contemporary series, Brides of Paradise, about a family run resort in the US Virgin Islands which is apparently a magnet for billionaires in search of brides. (Coming fall 2014)
The moral of this long preamble? Believe everything you hear on NPR.
I did, and it’s led to wonderful things.
The Actual Writing Process Blog
What are you working on?
I’ve got four WIPs, which is writer-lingo for Works In Progress:
Speakeasy Dead II: Gaspar’s Revenge - Fantasies are slow to plot, so this one won’t be out for a while. (2015)
Vacation Bride (Brides of Paradise #1) – a sweet contemporary romance (marriage of convenience) series set at the imaginary Paradise Resort on St. John, US Virgin Islands.(Fall, 2014)
Ten Years After - An erotic novella to be released under the pen name Lea Quick who, if you track her down, is definitely not me. (August 2014)
Construction Club – Man About the House #2 - Another (very short) novella by Lea Quick. This is (what I hope will be) a cute series about a woman getting over her obnoxious ex-husband by spending her divorce money remodeling her home and having…shall we call them adventures…with the caring, sensitive, extremely buffed workmen who arrive on her doorstep. (September 2014)
[Man About the House #1, Josh on Deck, is available HERE.]
How does your work differ from others of its genre?
The plots are very tight with (hopefully) unexpected twists and fun surprises.
In my Urban Fantasies, I try never to say directly what’s gong on. In a perfect world, that leads to building a story in the reader’s mind – a sort of global “show not tell” philosophy. In an imperfect world, it leads to hate mail :).
I waste a lot of time rewriting sentences in iambic pentameter. No, I’m not joking. Yes, you can laugh.
Why do you write what you do?
See above . It’s a unique combination of humor, pig-headedness, and the serendipity of finding incredibly nice romance writers who have become my role models and mentors.
How does your writing process work?
I wouldn’t call it a process. More a train wreck with benefits.
I almost always start with setting. I like to see, taste, hear where my characters are going to strut their hour upon the page. I’ve usually got two characters in mind to do the strutting (For example, Bernie and Clara), a problem (oops…zombies) and a pretty clear idea of how the problem will be resolved (that would be telling).
Then I go back and forth, writing, scribbling index cards, creating outlines I never use, sulking, and basically trying anything I can think of to wipe away the fog that keeps collecting on my computer screen between me and the story. About halfway through, I find a tipping point where I’ve got the whole book in my mind, and then it’s writing marathons and tambourine dances all the way home.
What’s Next?
June 23, the writing-process blog baton passes from me to two lovely, talented writers. Check back to find out what Caroline Mickelson and Susan Winters have to say about writing. You can read a bit about their books below.
Caroline Mickelson writes a variety of lively romance and other fiction with wonderful characters and great dialog. Her 1940s cozy mystery From Mangia to Murder is my particular favorite. She’s also got a fun marriage of convenience, The Wedding Favor, under the pen name Caroline Andrews.
Susan Winters who also blogs here is a paralegal and freelance writer who’s added women’s fiction to her list of accomplishments. In Ever After two childhood friends join forces to find out exactly what their husbands have been up to…and to figure out why,
AmyLynn Bright (won’t be able to put up a writing process blog, but would have been my 3rd pick if she did) writes super-fun romances with characters you want to take home and settle into the guest room. She made her first hit with the Miss Goldsleigh Series (regency romance) and has recently added a Carina Press contemporary, Cooking Up Love, to her body of fun.
Regina Duke hit the USA Today best-selling list writing witty marriage of convenience novels set in the delightful town of Eagle Toe, Colorado — another place unexpectedly loaded with rich men in need of wives. Her latest release, My Vampire Wedding offers a unique take on vampire-human intimate relations.
Scrabble photo courtesy photos-public-domain.com
