Lydia Gastrell's Blog, page 2
October 2, 2015
Cover Reveal!
As some of you may know (though I doubt many, since I've been remiss in mentioning it), my second installment in the Indulgence Series is set to be published on the 27th of this month =D I just got my new cover from the lovely people at Loose Id...and here it is.
One Glimpse is Sir Samuel's story, the moody baronet that was introduced in One Indulgence. I am particularly proud of this one and can't wait for it to be released in less than a month's time. Maybe I'll wear regency era clothing on the 27th just to mark the occasion? I would certainly turn heads at the grocery store, LOL! =)
One Glimpse is Sir Samuel's story, the moody baronet that was introduced in One Indulgence. I am particularly proud of this one and can't wait for it to be released in less than a month's time. Maybe I'll wear regency era clothing on the 27th just to mark the occasion? I would certainly turn heads at the grocery store, LOL! =)
August 3, 2015
A Treasure Trove of Research for Gay History & Literature
Every writer knows about research and what a task it can be, but it's even more frustrating when the things you want to know just don't seem to be out there. At all. Anywhere. Writing about gay relationships in the year 1808 can feel, at times, as if I'm writing fantasy set in some Middle Earth nowhere...because I'm making everything up. It stands to reason there wouldn't be much information on such a subject, seeing as how at that time gay men faced the death penalty or cruel "therapies" administered by their families and conspiring doctors. Even finding much information on that is difficult because, unsurprisingly, the families and doctors who did such things took great steps to hide it all.
Still, the best thing about research is eventually you find the mother load. You strike gold in the Klondike and thank your lucky stars you stuck with it! I recently discovered the historian and essayist Rictor Norton. His website is a veritable library of not only his own essays and papers on various gay history topics, but also primary source documents from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Gay History & Literature - Essays by Rictor Norton
Such research can be anything but fun. It won't surprise you to know that a great deal of it is court proceedings and public declarations of sodomy charges and executions. =( Still, there is much else to be gained from Mr. Norton's website, his research, and the goldmine of primary source documents he has assembled =)
Still, the best thing about research is eventually you find the mother load. You strike gold in the Klondike and thank your lucky stars you stuck with it! I recently discovered the historian and essayist Rictor Norton. His website is a veritable library of not only his own essays and papers on various gay history topics, but also primary source documents from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Gay History & Literature - Essays by Rictor Norton
Such research can be anything but fun. It won't surprise you to know that a great deal of it is court proceedings and public declarations of sodomy charges and executions. =( Still, there is much else to be gained from Mr. Norton's website, his research, and the goldmine of primary source documents he has assembled =)
July 7, 2015
Finished!
My manuscript for One Glimpse (Indulgence #2) is complete and has been sent off to the editor. Wow. It took me much longer than I thought it would to finish. While I spent roughly four months writing One Indulgence, it has been more than eight with One Glimpse. A lot of personal issues, like moving, interfered, but I finally managed to get through.
She is a long one, though, as just shy of 117K words. Don't let that scare you, though. We sometimes forget that novels today are much shorter in general than in the past. Why, Pride & Prejudice is around 123K words (I did NOT just compare my work to that of Jane Austen. My ego is nowhere near that large!).
Still, I like to believe I have crafted a story with no unnecessary fluff. Every chapter, every scene has a purpose. I can't wait to start the editing process (once the submission has been accepted *fingers crossed*) and get my baby out to be read. Sir Samuel is a very patient person, but I am not. =)
She is a long one, though, as just shy of 117K words. Don't let that scare you, though. We sometimes forget that novels today are much shorter in general than in the past. Why, Pride & Prejudice is around 123K words (I did NOT just compare my work to that of Jane Austen. My ego is nowhere near that large!).
Still, I like to believe I have crafted a story with no unnecessary fluff. Every chapter, every scene has a purpose. I can't wait to start the editing process (once the submission has been accepted *fingers crossed*) and get my baby out to be read. Sir Samuel is a very patient person, but I am not. =)
June 6, 2015
Julian Garrott
I find a lot of visual inspiration in period works of art, but rarely do I run across something that matches my imagination so closely. When I see the elegant, soft spoken Julian in my mind, this is what I imagine. Although, Julian's sense of style would be much more polished and ornate =)
April 30, 2015
New Amazon Review
Thanks so much to Ursus Jr. for the awesome review of One Indulgence. Like most new authors (and hopefully the told ones too) reviews truly make my day. One of the reasons I can't wait to get One Glimpse finished and out there is because it will probably, hopefully, take One Indulgence down to .99 cents for a while, and thus more readers! Here's hoping =D
Read other review on Amazon
Read other review on Amazon
April 19, 2015
1807 London
In my unending pursuit of accuracy, I was thrilled to run across this highly detailed map of London from 1807, which falls perfectly in the time frame for the Indulgence series. =) I think you right click on it to view in another tab you can zoom in and actually get the detail.
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April 12, 2015
Are the Female Characters "Weak"? Or is the Estimation of a Strong Woman Simply Too High?
When they say there is nothing new under the sun, they aren't joking. This excerpt is from Pride & Prejudice, a 202 year old book, and yet I think this exchange so perfectly reflects a lot of the drama I have read today about so called misogyny and the "weak" female characters in M/M fiction. This is a complaint that is so old, each time someone posts a rant about it in social media it is best to just link them to past rants, because everything has been said and said again.
See if you gain from the excerpt what I did. To make the point a little easier, all three people in this exchange are making excellent points even though they are disagreement with each other. Even Miss Bingley, who is meant to be the villain. I have underlined parts which I think help the points best:
"I am very far from agreeing with you in your estimation of ladies in general. I cannot boast of knowing more than half-a-dozen, in the whole range of my acquaintance, that are really accomplished." Said Mr. Darcy. "Nor I, I am sure," said Miss Bingley. "Then," observed Elizabeth, "you must comprehend a great deal in your idea of an accomplished woman." "Yes, I do comprehend a great deal in it." "Oh! certainly," cried his faithful assistant, "no one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved." "All this she must possess," added Darcy, "and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading." "I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any." "Are you so severe upon your own sex as to doubt the possibility of all this?" "I never saw such a woman. I never saw such capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance, as you describe united." Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley both cried out against the injustice of her implied doubt, and were both protesting that they knew many women who answered this description, when Mr. Hurst called them to order, with bitter complaints of their inattention to what was going forward. As all conversation was thereby at an end, Elizabeth soon afterwards left the room. "Elizabeth Bennet," said Miss Bingley, when the door was closed on her, "is one of those young ladies who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own; and with many men, I dare say, it succeeds. But, in my opinion, it is a paltry device, a very mean art." "Undoubtedly," replied Darcy, to whom this remark was chiefly addressed, "there is a meanness in all the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation. Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable."~Excerpt from Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen
See if you gain from the excerpt what I did. To make the point a little easier, all three people in this exchange are making excellent points even though they are disagreement with each other. Even Miss Bingley, who is meant to be the villain. I have underlined parts which I think help the points best:
"I am very far from agreeing with you in your estimation of ladies in general. I cannot boast of knowing more than half-a-dozen, in the whole range of my acquaintance, that are really accomplished." Said Mr. Darcy. "Nor I, I am sure," said Miss Bingley. "Then," observed Elizabeth, "you must comprehend a great deal in your idea of an accomplished woman." "Yes, I do comprehend a great deal in it." "Oh! certainly," cried his faithful assistant, "no one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved." "All this she must possess," added Darcy, "and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading." "I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any." "Are you so severe upon your own sex as to doubt the possibility of all this?" "I never saw such a woman. I never saw such capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance, as you describe united." Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley both cried out against the injustice of her implied doubt, and were both protesting that they knew many women who answered this description, when Mr. Hurst called them to order, with bitter complaints of their inattention to what was going forward. As all conversation was thereby at an end, Elizabeth soon afterwards left the room. "Elizabeth Bennet," said Miss Bingley, when the door was closed on her, "is one of those young ladies who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own; and with many men, I dare say, it succeeds. But, in my opinion, it is a paltry device, a very mean art." "Undoubtedly," replied Darcy, to whom this remark was chiefly addressed, "there is a meanness in all the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation. Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable."~Excerpt from Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen
April 4, 2015
NEW Review for One Indulgence
I would like to thank Susan at Joyfully Jay Reviews for the lovely review of One Indulgence. I highly recommend the site as a source of reviews. I've been led to pretty awesome reads myself from their monthly favorites lists. =)
For the full review, visit Review: One Indulgence by Lydia Gastrell
For the full review, visit Review: One Indulgence by Lydia Gastrell
March 11, 2015
My precious is on sale ;) lol
One Indulgence is one sale at it's home location, loose-id.com, right now for
$4.89! So far, Amazon has not price matched it, so you can get the best price by going right to the source. =D As always, thank you so much to all my lovelies at Loose-Id. I would be lost without them.
http://www.loose-id.com/one-indulgence.html
$4.89! So far, Amazon has not price matched it, so you can get the best price by going right to the source. =D As always, thank you so much to all my lovelies at Loose-Id. I would be lost without them.
http://www.loose-id.com/one-indulgence.html
February 20, 2015
Two Riders in the Fog
I would tell you who the two men are that I imagine when I see this picture, but that would too much of a spoiler. I can safely say, though, that one of them is Sam. Like Richard, he enjoys the fog (Of course, Sam would hate the comparison because he and Richard just plain don't like each other, lol)
