Marlow Kelly's Blog, page 17
June 30, 2015
The Scandalous Jane Digby
I originally wrote this article for the fabulous blog of talented author Jana Richards. I’m reposting it here because I find Jane Digby to be such a fascinating woman. She had it all, beauty, brains, and vigour. She was a larger than life character who did not let social convention prevent her from following her heart.
Click here to read original post
One of the most scandalous women of the Victorian Era is Jane Elizabeth Digby. She was a woman known for her numerous marriages and affairs. But was she really so bad or was she just a victim of an era when women were seen as the property of their husbands rather than people in their own right?
Jane was born in Dorset, England, in 1807 to an aristocratic family. Her father was a decorated admiral in the British navy who was known for capturing enemy ships and taking their bounty.
Jane was an intelligent, independently wealthy woman who spoke nine languages, and was considered a talented artist and a magnificent horsewoman. She would have been coveted for these qualities alone, but Jane was also beautiful. Her peers described her as tall, with a perfect figure, blond and blue-eyed.
At the age of seventeen she married Edward Law, Lord Ellenborough, a man nearly twenty years her senior. Lord Ellenborough had a rising political career and it seems he spent many days and weeks away from the young, adventurous Jane. She responded to her loneliness by having affairs first with her cousin, Colonel George Anson, who it is rumored was the father of her son, Arthur. She must have also been sleeping with her husband at this time because Edward had no questions about paternity. Unfortunately, Arthur died in infancy.
Next she had an affair with Prince Felix Schwarzenberg. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter, Mathilde, in 1829. This time Lord Ellenborough knew beyond a doubt that the child was not his.
Edward divorced Jane by act of Parliament in 1830. In this time period only two divorces a year were granted. The salacious details of this case caused a scandal that rocked England.
After her divorce, and against the wishes of her family Jane followed Felix to Munich, but the relationship ended when their son died soon after birth. Felix broke contact with Jane and it seems that she had no qualms about leaving her daughter to be raised by Felix’s sister.
Jane wasn’t alone for long, she soon caught the eye of Ludwig I of Bavaria and the pair became lovers. It was at this time that she met and married her second husband, Baron Karl von Venningen. They married in November 1833. This, it seems, was a marriage of convenience, and although Jane may have cared for Karl she wasn’t in love with him. Together they had a son, Heribert and a daughter, Bertha.
But Jane couldn’t or wouldn’t settle. Within five years she took another lover, Count Spyridon Theotokis of Greece. When Venningen found out he was furious and challenged Theotokis to a duel. Karl won the dual, injuring Spyridon, but lost the girl. Jane left her husband to care for her injured lover. Seeing that her affections had changed, Venningen released her from their marriage. He kept the children and took care of them, although, he and Jane remained friends and kept in touch for the rest of their lives.
Jane, now in Greece, converted to the Greek Orthodox faith and married Theotokis in 1841. The pair had a son, Leonidas. Tragically, he died at the age of six, after a fall from a balcony. Out of her five children, Leonidas was the only one she seemed to have truly loved and was devastated by his death. Her relationship with Theotokis ended and the coupled divorced.
Once again, Jane wasn’t alone for long; her next lover was King Otto of Greece. This just seems to have been a quick affair. And Jane moved on to Greek General, Christodoulos Hatzipetros. She threw herself into her life with him, living in caves, riding horses and hunting in the mountains. Christodoulos was a man famous for his womanizing and Jane walked out on him when she discovered he was cheating on her. (Okay, I’m surprised by this considering all the cheating she’d done in her life.)
In her mid-forties Jane travelled to Arabia where she met and fell in love with Sheik Abdul Medjuel El Mezrab, whom was fifteen years her junior. Their marriage seems to have been a happy one, built on compromise. She wanted to be married in the European sense whereas he wanted to keep his harem. It is rumored that they agreed to be monogamous for three years after that time he would reinstate his harem and could take other wives. By all accounts, Jane loved the Bedouin life, living for six months a year travelling, and sleeping in a tent. The other six months were spent in her palatial home in Damascus. Her marriage lasted nearly thirty years until her death in 1871.
Jane was definitely a woman out of time. She seemed to earn for adventure, and men were a part of that. She doesn’t seem to have had much in the way of maternal instinct. I think her children were just a byproduct of sleeping with men in an era where there was no such thing as reliable contraceptives.
I like to believe she found the life she was looking for with the Bedouin. The fact that everyday was different would have been fun for her. And when she got tired of sleeping in a tent she could return to her comfortable home in Damascus.
My character, Annabel, in A Woman of Love, wasn’t as fortunate as Jane. Annabel is completely controlled by her disreputable husband, Lord Elliott Peters. So when he demands that she pay his gambling debts by bedding his friend, James Drake, she is forced to comply.
What happens when Annabel meets James? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
Click here to read original post
One of the most scandalous women of the Victorian Era is Jane Elizabeth Digby. She was a woman known for her numerous marriages and affairs. But was she really so bad or was she just a victim of an era when women were seen as the property of their husbands rather than people in their own right?Jane was born in Dorset, England, in 1807 to an aristocratic family. Her father was a decorated admiral in the British navy who was known for capturing enemy ships and taking their bounty.
Jane was an intelligent, independently wealthy woman who spoke nine languages, and was considered a talented artist and a magnificent horsewoman. She would have been coveted for these qualities alone, but Jane was also beautiful. Her peers described her as tall, with a perfect figure, blond and blue-eyed.
At the age of seventeen she married Edward Law, Lord Ellenborough, a man nearly twenty years her senior. Lord Ellenborough had a rising political career and it seems he spent many days and weeks away from the young, adventurous Jane. She responded to her loneliness by having affairs first with her cousin, Colonel George Anson, who it is rumored was the father of her son, Arthur. She must have also been sleeping with her husband at this time because Edward had no questions about paternity. Unfortunately, Arthur died in infancy.
Next she had an affair with Prince Felix Schwarzenberg. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter, Mathilde, in 1829. This time Lord Ellenborough knew beyond a doubt that the child was not his. Edward divorced Jane by act of Parliament in 1830. In this time period only two divorces a year were granted. The salacious details of this case caused a scandal that rocked England.
After her divorce, and against the wishes of her family Jane followed Felix to Munich, but the relationship ended when their son died soon after birth. Felix broke contact with Jane and it seems that she had no qualms about leaving her daughter to be raised by Felix’s sister.
Jane wasn’t alone for long, she soon caught the eye of Ludwig I of Bavaria and the pair became lovers. It was at this time that she met and married her second husband, Baron Karl von Venningen. They married in November 1833. This, it seems, was a marriage of convenience, and although Jane may have cared for Karl she wasn’t in love with him. Together they had a son, Heribert and a daughter, Bertha.
But Jane couldn’t or wouldn’t settle. Within five years she took another lover, Count Spyridon Theotokis of Greece. When Venningen found out he was furious and challenged Theotokis to a duel. Karl won the dual, injuring Spyridon, but lost the girl. Jane left her husband to care for her injured lover. Seeing that her affections had changed, Venningen released her from their marriage. He kept the children and took care of them, although, he and Jane remained friends and kept in touch for the rest of their lives.
Jane, now in Greece, converted to the Greek Orthodox faith and married Theotokis in 1841. The pair had a son, Leonidas. Tragically, he died at the age of six, after a fall from a balcony. Out of her five children, Leonidas was the only one she seemed to have truly loved and was devastated by his death. Her relationship with Theotokis ended and the coupled divorced.
Once again, Jane wasn’t alone for long; her next lover was King Otto of Greece. This just seems to have been a quick affair. And Jane moved on to Greek General, Christodoulos Hatzipetros. She threw herself into her life with him, living in caves, riding horses and hunting in the mountains. Christodoulos was a man famous for his womanizing and Jane walked out on him when she discovered he was cheating on her. (Okay, I’m surprised by this considering all the cheating she’d done in her life.)
In her mid-forties Jane travelled to Arabia where she met and fell in love with Sheik Abdul Medjuel El Mezrab, whom was fifteen years her junior. Their marriage seems to have been a happy one, built on compromise. She wanted to be married in the European sense whereas he wanted to keep his harem. It is rumored that they agreed to be monogamous for three years after that time he would reinstate his harem and could take other wives. By all accounts, Jane loved the Bedouin life, living for six months a year travelling, and sleeping in a tent. The other six months were spent in her palatial home in Damascus. Her marriage lasted nearly thirty years until her death in 1871.Jane was definitely a woman out of time. She seemed to earn for adventure, and men were a part of that. She doesn’t seem to have had much in the way of maternal instinct. I think her children were just a byproduct of sleeping with men in an era where there was no such thing as reliable contraceptives.
I like to believe she found the life she was looking for with the Bedouin. The fact that everyday was different would have been fun for her. And when she got tired of sleeping in a tent she could return to her comfortable home in Damascus.
My character, Annabel, in A Woman of Love, wasn’t as fortunate as Jane. Annabel is completely controlled by her disreputable husband, Lord Elliott Peters. So when he demands that she pay his gambling debts by bedding his friend, James Drake, she is forced to comply.
What happens when Annabel meets James? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
June 26, 2015
Beauty Submits to Her Beast by Sydney St. Claire
Themes are a writer’s best friend. By choosing various themes, we build not just stories but characters. Everyone has themes that thread throughout their lives. In my newest release, Beauty Submits To Her Beast, book 4 in my Once Upon A Dom Series, my hero, Damon Steele’s main revolving theme is abandonment. His mother abandoned him as a youngster, leaving him a ward of the state. It wasn’t until he was in the military that he found family with his SEAL brothers. But a mission gone bad forces him to abandon his men. He didn’t leave them by choice. He was pulled out to save his life but he can’t forgive himself for surviving when those men who were killed had families forever destroyed because he couldn’t get them out safe. He believes he should have died.
By taking one theme, I was able to build a past and use it to make this a man on the edge of sanity. His conflict is very real and very intense. I took another popular theme, Love Overcomes, and added a strong woman to pair with our wounded war hero. Family is her main theme, and her personality archetype is that of a nurturer/caregiver. This is her main theme as she raised her siblings, cared for her mother and ran the household from a young age. Now that she is on her own, her caring nature determines her future.
Instead of going wild, throwing responsibility to the wind and thinking only of herself, her innate need to care and provide leads her to rescue abandoned (there’s his theme intertwining with hers) and abused horses. Half the men on her ranch are wounded vets she’s also rescued and paired with her horses, healing both man and beast (hey, Beast theme!).
But years of being responsible leave her sometimes wishing she could just give up the tight control that rules her life. She agrees to spend the weekend with Damon as his sub during a three-day BDSM role-play, fairytale event. So we add abandonment, in a different context; abandoning her need to control in order to experience her own sexuality in a way she’s never known. Okay, her best friend told her that at Pleasure Manor, orgasms are handed out like candy at Halloween.
I love finding themes for my stories, both for the characters and overall story plot. I think this book has more themes than the others do in the series, but just from two themes: abandonment and family, I had a good foundation. What other themes are in Beauty Submits To Her Beast? Family, helplessness, threat of loss, change, vanity, Abandonment, self-image, guilt, honor, or lack of, redemption and lack of and everyone is capable of loving and being loved. I’m sure there are more. Most of these just come from themes surrounding the fairytale of Beauty and Her Beast.
What are your favorite themes? Do you use themes in your writing? As a reader, do you like themes? Do you even notice them? I’d love your thoughts on themes.
Beauty Submits to Her Beast Series Name: Once Upon A Dom
Fairy Tales Your Mother Never Read You
Available
at
TWRP Rancher Caitlin Olsen is in complete control of her life. After years of taking care of others, she’s on her own and loving every minute. She has her horses and her ranch. What more does she need? Yet deep inside, she yearns to give up all her responsibilities and simply experience life. When a friend suggests she try a bit of BDSM role-play, she does her research and accepts an invitation to Pleasure Manor for a fairy tale event.
Former Navy SEAL and Dominant, Damon Steele is a loner. His failure to keep his team alive destroyed too many hopes and dreams. He won’t be responsible for anyone else's life or happiness ever again. There’s no room in his life—or his heart—for romance. Instead, he satisfies his needs at BDSM clubs and never with the same sub. Taking part in the fairy tale event at Pleasure Manor is difficult enough, but when Beauty challenges him both in the bedroom and out, he’s not sure he can control his inner beast.
Excerpt:
“Damon, could you come over here?” She held the reins of the two in bad shape.
He joined her. “Caitlin—”
“Look at them. Mistreated, abused, and abandoned. Now they’ll find hope, contentment, and happiness. They’ll never go hungry or be alone. They’ll learn to trust and love. Their lives start here. And they’ll live to be old and die here.”
“I’m not a horse to be saved, Caitlin. I’m not abused or mistreated or starved.” He shoved aside the abandonment he’d felt as a child. He’d gotten over his childhood a long time ago but knew he’d never forgive himself for abandoning his men.
She met his gaze, her whiskey-dark eyes churning with emotion and the sheen of tears. “You abuse yourself, Damon. You mistreat you, and you are as starved as any of these horses. Not of food but of acceptance and forgiveness. Like each of these animals, you’ve lost hope. These animals were helpless to change their situations. They couldn’t fight for happiness. But you can.” Her gaze turned intense. “And you will.”
She cupped the side of his face with one hand. “I’m not asking you to stay for me, not even asking for you to give us a chance. I want to help you heal and find your way back.”
He lowered his forehead to hers. “Caitlin…”
His throat closed off, stopping him from telling her he didn’t deserve what she offered. He closed his eyes. He was better off alone, but her touch, her scent, her voice arrowed deep into his being. Some long-denied part of him screamed for what she offered.
A hard nudge to his shoulder threw him off balance, and he landed on his ass. Blinking, he glared at the black horse with sad eyes staring down at him. She lowered her head and snorted, her breath fanning his face. “What the hell?”
Caitie laughed gently. “I think you’ve been claimed.” She reached down and helped Damon to his feet. She handed him the reins. “She’s yours.”
“What?” This time when the animal butted against him, he was braced and ready.
“While you’re here, you are responsible for her care. You’ll feed her, clean her stall, exercise her, groom her, make her feel safe, and teach her to trust and love.”
“That’s a tall order for a couple hours.” He eyed the mare and swore he felt a connection as he stared into her large, soft, brown eyes.
Caitlin patted his shoulder. “Oh, I think you’ll be here longer.”
The sound of wheels crunching gravel had him whipping around. “Dammit.” Glorie rolled down her window. “I packed what I could for you while you were in the shower.” She wrinkled her nose. “Might need to wash most of them first.” She waggled her fingers, then she and her car shot down the drive toward the highway.
About Sydney
Sydney St. Claire is the pseudonym of Susan Edwards, author of 14 Historical Native American/Western/Paranormal romances and the author of the popular “White” Series.
Sydney loves writing and sharing stories of love, happiness and dreams come true with her readers. She credits her mother for her writing success. Encouraged to read as a child, she always preferred happy endings which meant romances were her favorite genre. Sydney takes her readers into the world of erotica romance where her characters come together in explosive passion as they solve life’s problems and find true love along with the best sex our hero and heroine have ever experienced.
Sydney’s office is quite crowded with three dogs at her feet and five cats to keep her company while she writes. Three cats always insist on beds on her desk, barely leaving enough room for her monitor and keyboard. Life gets fun when all five insist on supervising…
When not writing, she enjoys crafts of all sorts including quilting, sewing, cross-stitch and knitting. She and her husband of 30 + years are avid gardeners. He takes care of the veggies, and Susan is in charge of the ‘pretties’. Her medicine wheel garden is in a contact state of war: flowers vs. weeds. Sadly, right now the weeds are wining…
While writing, she listens to a wide variety of music. Her current favorites are Blackmore’s Night and David Lanz.
Contact Links
Email: Sydney@sydneystclaire.com
Website: http://sydneystclaire.com
http://susanedwards.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sydneystclaire
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sydneystclaire
Blog: http://sydneystclaire.wordpress.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/sydneystclaire
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sydneystclaire/
CELEBRATING THE RELEASE OF BEAUTY WITH A NEW CONTEST
Tote Bag -- Fairytales Your Mother Never Read You
Nice large roomy bag
Also included: 4 GB Flash Drive, Large clip, Notepad & Pen, Mug
And assorted other goodies
a Rafflecopter giveaway
By taking one theme, I was able to build a past and use it to make this a man on the edge of sanity. His conflict is very real and very intense. I took another popular theme, Love Overcomes, and added a strong woman to pair with our wounded war hero. Family is her main theme, and her personality archetype is that of a nurturer/caregiver. This is her main theme as she raised her siblings, cared for her mother and ran the household from a young age. Now that she is on her own, her caring nature determines her future.
Instead of going wild, throwing responsibility to the wind and thinking only of herself, her innate need to care and provide leads her to rescue abandoned (there’s his theme intertwining with hers) and abused horses. Half the men on her ranch are wounded vets she’s also rescued and paired with her horses, healing both man and beast (hey, Beast theme!).
But years of being responsible leave her sometimes wishing she could just give up the tight control that rules her life. She agrees to spend the weekend with Damon as his sub during a three-day BDSM role-play, fairytale event. So we add abandonment, in a different context; abandoning her need to control in order to experience her own sexuality in a way she’s never known. Okay, her best friend told her that at Pleasure Manor, orgasms are handed out like candy at Halloween.
I love finding themes for my stories, both for the characters and overall story plot. I think this book has more themes than the others do in the series, but just from two themes: abandonment and family, I had a good foundation. What other themes are in Beauty Submits To Her Beast? Family, helplessness, threat of loss, change, vanity, Abandonment, self-image, guilt, honor, or lack of, redemption and lack of and everyone is capable of loving and being loved. I’m sure there are more. Most of these just come from themes surrounding the fairytale of Beauty and Her Beast.
What are your favorite themes? Do you use themes in your writing? As a reader, do you like themes? Do you even notice them? I’d love your thoughts on themes.
Beauty Submits to Her Beast Series Name: Once Upon A DomFairy Tales Your Mother Never Read You
Available
at
TWRP Rancher Caitlin Olsen is in complete control of her life. After years of taking care of others, she’s on her own and loving every minute. She has her horses and her ranch. What more does she need? Yet deep inside, she yearns to give up all her responsibilities and simply experience life. When a friend suggests she try a bit of BDSM role-play, she does her research and accepts an invitation to Pleasure Manor for a fairy tale event.
Former Navy SEAL and Dominant, Damon Steele is a loner. His failure to keep his team alive destroyed too many hopes and dreams. He won’t be responsible for anyone else's life or happiness ever again. There’s no room in his life—or his heart—for romance. Instead, he satisfies his needs at BDSM clubs and never with the same sub. Taking part in the fairy tale event at Pleasure Manor is difficult enough, but when Beauty challenges him both in the bedroom and out, he’s not sure he can control his inner beast.
Excerpt:
“Damon, could you come over here?” She held the reins of the two in bad shape.
He joined her. “Caitlin—”
“Look at them. Mistreated, abused, and abandoned. Now they’ll find hope, contentment, and happiness. They’ll never go hungry or be alone. They’ll learn to trust and love. Their lives start here. And they’ll live to be old and die here.”
“I’m not a horse to be saved, Caitlin. I’m not abused or mistreated or starved.” He shoved aside the abandonment he’d felt as a child. He’d gotten over his childhood a long time ago but knew he’d never forgive himself for abandoning his men.
She met his gaze, her whiskey-dark eyes churning with emotion and the sheen of tears. “You abuse yourself, Damon. You mistreat you, and you are as starved as any of these horses. Not of food but of acceptance and forgiveness. Like each of these animals, you’ve lost hope. These animals were helpless to change their situations. They couldn’t fight for happiness. But you can.” Her gaze turned intense. “And you will.”
She cupped the side of his face with one hand. “I’m not asking you to stay for me, not even asking for you to give us a chance. I want to help you heal and find your way back.”
He lowered his forehead to hers. “Caitlin…”
His throat closed off, stopping him from telling her he didn’t deserve what she offered. He closed his eyes. He was better off alone, but her touch, her scent, her voice arrowed deep into his being. Some long-denied part of him screamed for what she offered.
A hard nudge to his shoulder threw him off balance, and he landed on his ass. Blinking, he glared at the black horse with sad eyes staring down at him. She lowered her head and snorted, her breath fanning his face. “What the hell?”
Caitie laughed gently. “I think you’ve been claimed.” She reached down and helped Damon to his feet. She handed him the reins. “She’s yours.”
“What?” This time when the animal butted against him, he was braced and ready.
“While you’re here, you are responsible for her care. You’ll feed her, clean her stall, exercise her, groom her, make her feel safe, and teach her to trust and love.”
“That’s a tall order for a couple hours.” He eyed the mare and swore he felt a connection as he stared into her large, soft, brown eyes.
Caitlin patted his shoulder. “Oh, I think you’ll be here longer.”
The sound of wheels crunching gravel had him whipping around. “Dammit.” Glorie rolled down her window. “I packed what I could for you while you were in the shower.” She wrinkled her nose. “Might need to wash most of them first.” She waggled her fingers, then she and her car shot down the drive toward the highway.
About Sydney
Sydney St. Claire is the pseudonym of Susan Edwards, author of 14 Historical Native American/Western/Paranormal romances and the author of the popular “White” Series.
Sydney loves writing and sharing stories of love, happiness and dreams come true with her readers. She credits her mother for her writing success. Encouraged to read as a child, she always preferred happy endings which meant romances were her favorite genre. Sydney takes her readers into the world of erotica romance where her characters come together in explosive passion as they solve life’s problems and find true love along with the best sex our hero and heroine have ever experienced.
Sydney’s office is quite crowded with three dogs at her feet and five cats to keep her company while she writes. Three cats always insist on beds on her desk, barely leaving enough room for her monitor and keyboard. Life gets fun when all five insist on supervising…
When not writing, she enjoys crafts of all sorts including quilting, sewing, cross-stitch and knitting. She and her husband of 30 + years are avid gardeners. He takes care of the veggies, and Susan is in charge of the ‘pretties’. Her medicine wheel garden is in a contact state of war: flowers vs. weeds. Sadly, right now the weeds are wining…
While writing, she listens to a wide variety of music. Her current favorites are Blackmore’s Night and David Lanz.
Contact Links
Email: Sydney@sydneystclaire.com
Website: http://sydneystclaire.com
http://susanedwards.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sydneystclaire
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sydneystclaire
Blog: http://sydneystclaire.wordpress.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/sydneystclaire
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sydneystclaire/
CELEBRATING THE RELEASE OF BEAUTY WITH A NEW CONTEST
Tote Bag -- Fairytales Your Mother Never Read YouNice large roomy bag
Also included: 4 GB Flash Drive, Large clip, Notepad & Pen, Mug
And assorted other goodies
a Rafflecopter giveaway
June 24, 2015
The English Custom of Wife Selling
This is a repost of an article I wrote for the marvelous Barbara Bettis. I’ve decided to republish it here, because the subject horrifies me. I feel for the women who suffered the humiliation of wife selling and am grateful that I live in an enlightened society where women are no longer seen as property.
Click here for the original post. In my novella, A Woman of Love, Annabel’s husband gives her to another man after losing a hand of cards. Would this really happen? In my opinion, yes, especially if the husband has no regard for his wife.
Women in this period did not exist in the eyes of the law. To make matters worse, once a woman was married she, along with all her possessions, and her earnings, belonged to her husband. This made women property rather than people. Which leads me to the shocking subject of wife selling. Yes, there were men in England who thought that they could sell their wives, and in some cases their children too.
Wife selling was a custom that took place, in England, between the late 17th century and the early 20th century. The husband would lead his wife, using a rope around her neck, waist or wrist, to the market place or cattle auction, as if she were livestock. Once there he would sell her to the highest bidder.
Many believed wife selling was a legal way to dissolve a marriage. To understand this you have to understand that until the Marriage act of 1753 all a couple had to do to be legally married was to agree to the union in front of witnesses. As long as they had reached the age of consent, twelve for girls and fourteen for boys, the marriage was legal. (Scary isn’t it.) So if it was that easy to get married it must be just as easy to get divorced, right? Wrong. Divorce was a legal procedure that involved an act of parliament, the blessing of the church, and a lot of money. It was something well beyond the reach of the average man.
The first reported case of wife selling, I can find, was in November 1692 when John Whitehouse of Tipton sold his wife to Mr. Bracegirdle. But it’s hard to believe that this custom didn’t exist before this date. Women had long been viewed as property under English law. I have read of an instance where a woman was deeded to another man as early as 1302, and although I haven’t been able to corroborate it, it wouldn’t surprise me to find it was true.
At the turn of the nineteenth century there were judges who opposed the law. But they seemed to be confused as to whether they had the right to prevent it. The magistrate for Ashbourne, Derbyshire called wife selling scandalous, but in the next breath said,
“As to the act of selling itself, I do not think I have a right to prevent it, or even oppose any obstacle to it, because it rests upon a custom preserved by the people of which perhaps it would be dangerous to deprive them by any law for that purpose.”
In fact, there were Poor Law Commissioners (These were local officials who were responsible for the workhouses.) who took advantage of it and forced husbands to sell their wives and children, so the family could be expelled from the workhouse. In one such case, in 1814 the wife and child of Henry Cook, who were living in Effingham workhouse, were sold at Croydon market for one shilling, the parish paid for the cost of the journey and a "wedding dinner". (This breaks my heart.)
Wife selling jumped in popularity reaching its highpoint in the 1820’s and 1830’s. When it was at it’s most popular there was a backlash of public opinion. Husbands wanting to sell their wives came under extreme social pressure and the practice waned, but it didn’t disappear completely. Newspapers in England reported ten cases of wife selling in the 1890’s, according to a research paper, Wife Sales written by Peter T. Leeson, Peter J. Boettke, Jayme S. Lemke.
Wife selling in Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge The fact is that once women were granted property rights under the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857, and then the Married Women’s Property Act of 1870, wife selling declined. I should point out that from 1730 and 1900 newspapers reported only 192 wife sales. (Newspaper accounts are the best way to gage this subject as husbands were rarely prosecuted for this crime.) This seems a relatively small number compared to the number of marriages and how many of those marriages would have been unhappy.
This is undoubtedly one of the most deplorable, disgusting customs I have researched, but I will leave you with a true tale of wife selling that does have a happy ending.
Henry Bridges, 2nd Duke of Chandos, while on his way to London, dined with a companion, at the Pelican Inn in Newbury. A commotion in the courtyard caught their attention and upon further investigation they discovered that a man was going to sell his wife, Anne. They went to see. The duke was instantly taken with the poor young wife. He purchased her and brought her home where he educated her. The pair fell in love and were married On Christmas Day in 1744. They remained together until her death in 1759.
If that isn’t inspiration for a romance novel I don’t know what is.
Click here for the original post. In my novella, A Woman of Love, Annabel’s husband gives her to another man after losing a hand of cards. Would this really happen? In my opinion, yes, especially if the husband has no regard for his wife.
Women in this period did not exist in the eyes of the law. To make matters worse, once a woman was married she, along with all her possessions, and her earnings, belonged to her husband. This made women property rather than people. Which leads me to the shocking subject of wife selling. Yes, there were men in England who thought that they could sell their wives, and in some cases their children too.
Wife selling was a custom that took place, in England, between the late 17th century and the early 20th century. The husband would lead his wife, using a rope around her neck, waist or wrist, to the market place or cattle auction, as if she were livestock. Once there he would sell her to the highest bidder.
Many believed wife selling was a legal way to dissolve a marriage. To understand this you have to understand that until the Marriage act of 1753 all a couple had to do to be legally married was to agree to the union in front of witnesses. As long as they had reached the age of consent, twelve for girls and fourteen for boys, the marriage was legal. (Scary isn’t it.) So if it was that easy to get married it must be just as easy to get divorced, right? Wrong. Divorce was a legal procedure that involved an act of parliament, the blessing of the church, and a lot of money. It was something well beyond the reach of the average man.The first reported case of wife selling, I can find, was in November 1692 when John Whitehouse of Tipton sold his wife to Mr. Bracegirdle. But it’s hard to believe that this custom didn’t exist before this date. Women had long been viewed as property under English law. I have read of an instance where a woman was deeded to another man as early as 1302, and although I haven’t been able to corroborate it, it wouldn’t surprise me to find it was true.
At the turn of the nineteenth century there were judges who opposed the law. But they seemed to be confused as to whether they had the right to prevent it. The magistrate for Ashbourne, Derbyshire called wife selling scandalous, but in the next breath said,
“As to the act of selling itself, I do not think I have a right to prevent it, or even oppose any obstacle to it, because it rests upon a custom preserved by the people of which perhaps it would be dangerous to deprive them by any law for that purpose.”
In fact, there were Poor Law Commissioners (These were local officials who were responsible for the workhouses.) who took advantage of it and forced husbands to sell their wives and children, so the family could be expelled from the workhouse. In one such case, in 1814 the wife and child of Henry Cook, who were living in Effingham workhouse, were sold at Croydon market for one shilling, the parish paid for the cost of the journey and a "wedding dinner". (This breaks my heart.)
Wife selling jumped in popularity reaching its highpoint in the 1820’s and 1830’s. When it was at it’s most popular there was a backlash of public opinion. Husbands wanting to sell their wives came under extreme social pressure and the practice waned, but it didn’t disappear completely. Newspapers in England reported ten cases of wife selling in the 1890’s, according to a research paper, Wife Sales written by Peter T. Leeson, Peter J. Boettke, Jayme S. Lemke.
Wife selling in Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge The fact is that once women were granted property rights under the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857, and then the Married Women’s Property Act of 1870, wife selling declined. I should point out that from 1730 and 1900 newspapers reported only 192 wife sales. (Newspaper accounts are the best way to gage this subject as husbands were rarely prosecuted for this crime.) This seems a relatively small number compared to the number of marriages and how many of those marriages would have been unhappy.This is undoubtedly one of the most deplorable, disgusting customs I have researched, but I will leave you with a true tale of wife selling that does have a happy ending.
Henry Bridges, 2nd Duke of Chandos, while on his way to London, dined with a companion, at the Pelican Inn in Newbury. A commotion in the courtyard caught their attention and upon further investigation they discovered that a man was going to sell his wife, Anne. They went to see. The duke was instantly taken with the poor young wife. He purchased her and brought her home where he educated her. The pair fell in love and were married On Christmas Day in 1744. They remained together until her death in 1759.
If that isn’t inspiration for a romance novel I don’t know what is.
June 20, 2015
A Great Book Sale
Today only, All Romance Ebooks is having a sale. My books are 25% off. Stop by and pick up a copy.
Enjoy.
Marlow
Enjoy.
Marlow
June 19, 2015
Why you should get comfortable with ambiguity by Publication Coach Daphne Gray-Grant
For years I’ve been following publication coach and editor Daphne Gray-Grant. Her advice has helped me develop a method of writing that works for me. My method is crazy, messy and probably wouldn’t work for anyone else, but that doesn’t matter, what matters is the result.
I recently wrote to Daphne and asked her to share some of her insights with us. I hope you enjoy her post as much as I did.
I used to be a worrywart who insisted on knowing the bad news right away. When I submitted a story to an editor, in times past, I immediately wanted to learn what he or she disliked about it. If I went to the doctor, I wanted to find out what dread disease I had. If I had a contractor come to our house, I wanted to know how much the structural repair was going to cost.
But one of my daughters, now 21, was born with a genetic disorder. I quickly learned that, sometimes, it’s better to let bad news wait.
Being a parent has taught me that I always have at least two choices. I can worry myself to death. Or, I can embrace ambiguity and learn how to hold two conflicting ideas in my mind at once.
Choosing ambiguity has also made me a better writer. Why? Here are five reasons:
1. I have less to worry about. Because I expect to feel uncertain for at least some of my writing time, I don’t waste my time thinking I’m inadequate. And, like baking cakes, doing math or riding a unicycle, writing is easier if you think you can do it.
2. I don’t rush to premature conclusions. I understand that I always need some “not-knowing” time where I feel a bit uncomfortable. This is a normal part of the writing process. It doesn’t mean I’m incapable of writing or, worse, incapable of thought. It simply means to I need to schedule my thinking time. (To do this, I like going for a walk. http://www.publicationcoach.com/new/5-ways-to-take-pause-that-refreshes/ And doing a mindmap. http://www.publicationcoach.com/new/why-i-insist-on-blathering-about-mindmapping/ ) In turn, this allows me to develop better, deeper ideas.
3. I’m more willing to take risks. Readers sometimes express surprise at the stories I tell in my writing. “You’re so personal,” they say. Recently, a former colleague I hadn’t seen in several years said he knew more about me than I knew about him. I was momentarily nonplussed. Then I realized he was telling me he’d been reading my column. Embracing ambiguity is part of what’s made me willing to tell these sorts of stories because I’m able to balance the lack of privacy with the benefit of a deeper connection with my readers.
4. It helps me to be more adaptive. Writers who embrace ambiguity understand that while 2 + 2 will always equal 4, there is never “one right way” to approach a writing problem. That, in fact, is one of the many joys of writing. There’s always more than one way to write a sentence.
5. It allows me to write without editing. http://www.publicationcoach.com/new/7-ways-to-stop-editing-while-you-write/ By turning off the critical, judging, editor inside my head I’m allowing the creative part of my brain space in which to flourish. Later, of course, I welcome back the editor-critic and enjoy the benefits of revision. But I don’t shortchange the valuable period of ambiguity.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said it eloquently when he wrote: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
But philosopher (and bass guitarist) Keith Richards said it even more memorably: “I look for ambiguity when I’m writing because life is ambiguous.”
Daphne Gray-Grant is a former daily newspaper editor, a writing and editing coach and the author of the popular book 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. Via her website, she offers the newsletter Power Writing. It’s weekly, brief and free. Sign up at the Publication Coach website.
I recently wrote to Daphne and asked her to share some of her insights with us. I hope you enjoy her post as much as I did.
I used to be a worrywart who insisted on knowing the bad news right away. When I submitted a story to an editor, in times past, I immediately wanted to learn what he or she disliked about it. If I went to the doctor, I wanted to find out what dread disease I had. If I had a contractor come to our house, I wanted to know how much the structural repair was going to cost.
But one of my daughters, now 21, was born with a genetic disorder. I quickly learned that, sometimes, it’s better to let bad news wait.
Being a parent has taught me that I always have at least two choices. I can worry myself to death. Or, I can embrace ambiguity and learn how to hold two conflicting ideas in my mind at once.
Choosing ambiguity has also made me a better writer. Why? Here are five reasons:
1. I have less to worry about. Because I expect to feel uncertain for at least some of my writing time, I don’t waste my time thinking I’m inadequate. And, like baking cakes, doing math or riding a unicycle, writing is easier if you think you can do it.
2. I don’t rush to premature conclusions. I understand that I always need some “not-knowing” time where I feel a bit uncomfortable. This is a normal part of the writing process. It doesn’t mean I’m incapable of writing or, worse, incapable of thought. It simply means to I need to schedule my thinking time. (To do this, I like going for a walk. http://www.publicationcoach.com/new/5-ways-to-take-pause-that-refreshes/ And doing a mindmap. http://www.publicationcoach.com/new/why-i-insist-on-blathering-about-mindmapping/ ) In turn, this allows me to develop better, deeper ideas.
3. I’m more willing to take risks. Readers sometimes express surprise at the stories I tell in my writing. “You’re so personal,” they say. Recently, a former colleague I hadn’t seen in several years said he knew more about me than I knew about him. I was momentarily nonplussed. Then I realized he was telling me he’d been reading my column. Embracing ambiguity is part of what’s made me willing to tell these sorts of stories because I’m able to balance the lack of privacy with the benefit of a deeper connection with my readers.
4. It helps me to be more adaptive. Writers who embrace ambiguity understand that while 2 + 2 will always equal 4, there is never “one right way” to approach a writing problem. That, in fact, is one of the many joys of writing. There’s always more than one way to write a sentence.
5. It allows me to write without editing. http://www.publicationcoach.com/new/7-ways-to-stop-editing-while-you-write/ By turning off the critical, judging, editor inside my head I’m allowing the creative part of my brain space in which to flourish. Later, of course, I welcome back the editor-critic and enjoy the benefits of revision. But I don’t shortchange the valuable period of ambiguity.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said it eloquently when he wrote: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
But philosopher (and bass guitarist) Keith Richards said it even more memorably: “I look for ambiguity when I’m writing because life is ambiguous.”
Daphne Gray-Grant is a former daily newspaper editor, a writing and editing coach and the author of the popular book 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. Via her website, she offers the newsletter Power Writing. It’s weekly, brief and free. Sign up at the Publication Coach website.
June 17, 2015
Fairest of the Faire by Susabelle Kelmer
I want to thank Susabelle Kelmer, my guest today, for her post on the history of place. It’s an enjoyable read and, surprisingly, describes my hometown here in Canada.
The History of Place I’m so excited to be hanging out on Marlow’s blog today! We share the same publisher (The Wild Rose Press) and have had some great conversations over the past couple of months about the whole process of publishing and getting the word out about our novels. My debut novel, Fairest of the Faire, with The Wild Rose Press, came out this month (more on that later).
Are there times when you walk into or through places that whisper their history to you? It’s kind of like a tap on the shoulder, a “psst” in your ear, a tug on your shirt sleeve, making you stop and take notice. I get that feeling in old cemeteries, or churches, abandoned farmhouses, or even in my own back yard. I’m kind of an old-fashioned girl; I grow my own vegetables, cook hearty, healthy meals from scratch, and hang my wash outside to dry on sunny days. So history is probably more of a state of mind for me than it might be for others.
I live in a place that is full of history, too. I live in a small city just a few short miles from the Colorado Rockies in northern Colorado. My little city, once a little town, still has a historic main street full of old brick buildings and classic storefronts. You can buy candy, get an ice cream cone, purchase a hand-knit wool sweater, try on some shoes, have lunch in a café that smells like chicken fried steak, and enjoy a latte at the coffee shop that is also a bookstore.
Agricultural ditches, something I’d not know anything about before moving here, lace the landscape at the edges of town, and are visible by the verdant winding paths of grasses in the middle of otherwise brown or golden fields. These ditches were dug more than 150 years ago to water farmer’s fields with the runoff from mountain snow melt.
Small clapboard church buildings, painted bright white, exist neatly among residential housing in our Old Town area, having been built more than 100 years ago. And as a nod to our long, cold winters, many of the century-old Victorian-style homes are painted in bright greens, pinks, and purples, and boast gardens thick with heirloom perennial flowers.
And just walking through one of our 34 city parks, many of which were originally agricultural fields, can remind me that we still owe ourselves to the land This land sustained so many before me, and will sustain many after me. The history cannot be ignored. The paths I walk were once traveled by cattle and wagons and families heading west in the search for prosperity. Some of them stopped here. And because of them, I get to enjoy my little city and all its history.
Do you walk in history, as well? What historical places are you visiting when you are in your own town or city? What history calls to you? Leave your answers in the comments!
Fairest of the Faire The renaissance fair is filled with characters and romance, but will it end in storybook love?
Available NOW!
Wild Rose Press:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble (Nook)
Schoolteacher Connie Meyers is suddenly a young widow, her husband killed in a horrific car accident. Heartbroken to find out he had gambled away everything they had, she moves to her sister-in-law's Midwest home to rebuild her life. A trip to the local Renaissance Faire with her nieces leads to a summer job as a costumed storyteller.
Avowed bad boy and fair performer Gage Youngblood is infatuated with Connie at first sight. Despite his deliberately commitment-free life, and Connie's don't-touch-me attitude, he soon has her in his arms, realizing quickly she is also in his heart.
When she is threatened by her late husband's bookie, he steps into the role of protector, his fate forever sealed with hers.
Excerpt:
“Who said anything about a relationship?” he said, standing up so he could tower over her again. “I’m just trying to have a little fun. You know, fun?”
If he’d been an animal, she was sure he’d have had hair raised on the back of his neck, he seemed so angry, and it struck her painfully. She hadn’t wanted to anger him or hurt him. She turned away from him and closed her eyes to tamp down the tears she knew would come if she let them. She crossed her arms over her chest, to hold in the pain. Being tired made her much too vulnerable.
“Yes,” she finally said. “I know about fun. Life isn’t always fun, though.”
“Princess.” His voice was soft, tender. “I won’t hurt you. It’s not in my plan.”
Despite herself, she felt the shivers of desire race down from her shoulders, down her arms and legs, and back up to that secret, soft place at her core. She bowed her head and gritted her teeth, hoping for the feeling to go away.
“And what is your plan, Gage?”
“It’s a simple plan. I want you to feel good. I want to feel good, too.”
Susabelle Kelmer is a wife and mother living at the base of the Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado. She believes in romance, second chances, and the magic of moonlight. When she isn't writing, she works with students with disabilities in the college environment. http://www.susabelle.com
Susabelle’s tagline: Love is Everything.
Website – http://www.susabelle.com
Blog – http://journal.celestialchicken.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SusabelleKelmer
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SusabelleKelmer
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/susabelle
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/susabellekelmer
Email: susabelle.kelmer@gmail.com
The History of Place I’m so excited to be hanging out on Marlow’s blog today! We share the same publisher (The Wild Rose Press) and have had some great conversations over the past couple of months about the whole process of publishing and getting the word out about our novels. My debut novel, Fairest of the Faire, with The Wild Rose Press, came out this month (more on that later).
Are there times when you walk into or through places that whisper their history to you? It’s kind of like a tap on the shoulder, a “psst” in your ear, a tug on your shirt sleeve, making you stop and take notice. I get that feeling in old cemeteries, or churches, abandoned farmhouses, or even in my own back yard. I’m kind of an old-fashioned girl; I grow my own vegetables, cook hearty, healthy meals from scratch, and hang my wash outside to dry on sunny days. So history is probably more of a state of mind for me than it might be for others.
I live in a place that is full of history, too. I live in a small city just a few short miles from the Colorado Rockies in northern Colorado. My little city, once a little town, still has a historic main street full of old brick buildings and classic storefronts. You can buy candy, get an ice cream cone, purchase a hand-knit wool sweater, try on some shoes, have lunch in a café that smells like chicken fried steak, and enjoy a latte at the coffee shop that is also a bookstore.
Agricultural ditches, something I’d not know anything about before moving here, lace the landscape at the edges of town, and are visible by the verdant winding paths of grasses in the middle of otherwise brown or golden fields. These ditches were dug more than 150 years ago to water farmer’s fields with the runoff from mountain snow melt.
Small clapboard church buildings, painted bright white, exist neatly among residential housing in our Old Town area, having been built more than 100 years ago. And as a nod to our long, cold winters, many of the century-old Victorian-style homes are painted in bright greens, pinks, and purples, and boast gardens thick with heirloom perennial flowers.
And just walking through one of our 34 city parks, many of which were originally agricultural fields, can remind me that we still owe ourselves to the land This land sustained so many before me, and will sustain many after me. The history cannot be ignored. The paths I walk were once traveled by cattle and wagons and families heading west in the search for prosperity. Some of them stopped here. And because of them, I get to enjoy my little city and all its history.
Do you walk in history, as well? What historical places are you visiting when you are in your own town or city? What history calls to you? Leave your answers in the comments!
Fairest of the Faire The renaissance fair is filled with characters and romance, but will it end in storybook love?
Available NOW!Wild Rose Press:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble (Nook)
Schoolteacher Connie Meyers is suddenly a young widow, her husband killed in a horrific car accident. Heartbroken to find out he had gambled away everything they had, she moves to her sister-in-law's Midwest home to rebuild her life. A trip to the local Renaissance Faire with her nieces leads to a summer job as a costumed storyteller.
Avowed bad boy and fair performer Gage Youngblood is infatuated with Connie at first sight. Despite his deliberately commitment-free life, and Connie's don't-touch-me attitude, he soon has her in his arms, realizing quickly she is also in his heart.
When she is threatened by her late husband's bookie, he steps into the role of protector, his fate forever sealed with hers.
Excerpt:
“Who said anything about a relationship?” he said, standing up so he could tower over her again. “I’m just trying to have a little fun. You know, fun?”
If he’d been an animal, she was sure he’d have had hair raised on the back of his neck, he seemed so angry, and it struck her painfully. She hadn’t wanted to anger him or hurt him. She turned away from him and closed her eyes to tamp down the tears she knew would come if she let them. She crossed her arms over her chest, to hold in the pain. Being tired made her much too vulnerable.
“Yes,” she finally said. “I know about fun. Life isn’t always fun, though.”
“Princess.” His voice was soft, tender. “I won’t hurt you. It’s not in my plan.”
Despite herself, she felt the shivers of desire race down from her shoulders, down her arms and legs, and back up to that secret, soft place at her core. She bowed her head and gritted her teeth, hoping for the feeling to go away.
“And what is your plan, Gage?”
“It’s a simple plan. I want you to feel good. I want to feel good, too.”
Susabelle Kelmer is a wife and mother living at the base of the Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado. She believes in romance, second chances, and the magic of moonlight. When she isn't writing, she works with students with disabilities in the college environment. http://www.susabelle.comSusabelle’s tagline: Love is Everything.
Website – http://www.susabelle.com
Blog – http://journal.celestialchicken.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SusabelleKelmer
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SusabelleKelmer
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/susabelle
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/susabellekelmer
Email: susabelle.kelmer@gmail.com
June 15, 2015
Positive and Negative words for Summer Romance and the Bayou Beckons By Linda Joyce
What are your words for summer romance?
I’m working on a manuscript, Bayou Brides, book four of the Fleur de Lis series. I’m putting down all kinds of words, going with the flow, and loving the energy of the mood.
Writing, unlike other forms of art, must first be captured on paper/computer screen, a writer’s raw material, before it can be polished into a gem of a book. I’m mentally and emotionally hanging out in the near past in Mississippi immediately following Hurricane Katrina—I’m engrossed. My fingers fly across the keys far faster than when I played piano.
Then my cell phone dings.
The real world comes into focus.
Dictionary.com posts the word for the day—Incondite.
Darn! My concentration is now broken, so I flip over to the Dictionary site on my laptop for a short, yet educational break. After all, who would know? I’m sitting in my writing cave alone except for the snores from three canines. I can take a few minutes to engage in a worthwhile word game to improve my writing. (That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.)
Once at the website, the game appears like a pop quiz. The current challenge: Positive and negative words for summer romance. Intriguing.
(By the time you read this post, the link should still work, but the game may be different. I urge you to give it a go. I dare you.)
Hmmm….This vocab game will be a slam-dunk! Of course, I know ALL the vocabulary words for romance. What better way to take a break than to boost my writing confidence with a 100% correct score?
And so I begin. There are four possible choices for each vocabulary word. The best thing about the quiz is that it provides IMMEDIATE feedback. A bright green star and check mark appear at the top of the page and highlight the correct answer. But then, RED! I missed one! Cosset. *Sigh* I never recall cosset used in any romance novel I’ve read. So now the challenge is to find a novel containing the usage.
One of the dogs bumps my arm. I remember—I’m supposed to be writing! I’d better get back to that.
In case you’re in need of a distraction, let Bayou Beckons, my new release be the ding that takes you away. Happy Reading!
Bayou Beckons,
book three of the Fleur de Lis series is now available at Amazon
Party-girl and bayou babe Camilla Lind treats life like a game. After sleeping with her sister’s fiancé, she’s struggling to change, but karmic payback is a bitch. When the actions of her past crash into the present, they stand to ruin her future...and destroy any chance of love with the only man she’s ever wanted.
Rancher Jared Richardson guards his heart carefully after suffering the pain of infidelity. He never expected to fall for a woman like Camilla Lind, nor did he think he’d follow her across the country to beg for a second chance at love.
As Hurricane Katrina bears down on them, can they weather the storm and put aside past hurts to embrace their future together?
Bayou Bound, book two of the series is a 2015 RONE Award Finalist. (Winners to be announced at InD’tale magazine in September.) It also won 1st Place in Romance from the Southeastern Writers Association.
Bayou Born, book one, is a 2014 RONE Finalist.
PS- The vocabulary in the game is not just for romance readers. These words appear in many genres. After you take the quiz, please let me know what you think.
AND if you’re interested in winning a Waterford Crystal Fleur de Lis, please check out my newsletter for June: LETTERS from Linda, Journey into June.
Want to test your word skill? Click on LOVE to take the test.
I’m working on a manuscript, Bayou Brides, book four of the Fleur de Lis series. I’m putting down all kinds of words, going with the flow, and loving the energy of the mood.
Writing, unlike other forms of art, must first be captured on paper/computer screen, a writer’s raw material, before it can be polished into a gem of a book. I’m mentally and emotionally hanging out in the near past in Mississippi immediately following Hurricane Katrina—I’m engrossed. My fingers fly across the keys far faster than when I played piano.
Then my cell phone dings.
The real world comes into focus.
Dictionary.com posts the word for the day—Incondite.
Darn! My concentration is now broken, so I flip over to the Dictionary site on my laptop for a short, yet educational break. After all, who would know? I’m sitting in my writing cave alone except for the snores from three canines. I can take a few minutes to engage in a worthwhile word game to improve my writing. (That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.)
Once at the website, the game appears like a pop quiz. The current challenge: Positive and negative words for summer romance. Intriguing.
(By the time you read this post, the link should still work, but the game may be different. I urge you to give it a go. I dare you.)
Hmmm….This vocab game will be a slam-dunk! Of course, I know ALL the vocabulary words for romance. What better way to take a break than to boost my writing confidence with a 100% correct score?
And so I begin. There are four possible choices for each vocabulary word. The best thing about the quiz is that it provides IMMEDIATE feedback. A bright green star and check mark appear at the top of the page and highlight the correct answer. But then, RED! I missed one! Cosset. *Sigh* I never recall cosset used in any romance novel I’ve read. So now the challenge is to find a novel containing the usage.
One of the dogs bumps my arm. I remember—I’m supposed to be writing! I’d better get back to that.
In case you’re in need of a distraction, let Bayou Beckons, my new release be the ding that takes you away. Happy Reading!
Bayou Beckons,
book three of the Fleur de Lis series is now available at Amazon
Party-girl and bayou babe Camilla Lind treats life like a game. After sleeping with her sister’s fiancé, she’s struggling to change, but karmic payback is a bitch. When the actions of her past crash into the present, they stand to ruin her future...and destroy any chance of love with the only man she’s ever wanted.
Rancher Jared Richardson guards his heart carefully after suffering the pain of infidelity. He never expected to fall for a woman like Camilla Lind, nor did he think he’d follow her across the country to beg for a second chance at love.
As Hurricane Katrina bears down on them, can they weather the storm and put aside past hurts to embrace their future together?
Bayou Bound, book two of the series is a 2015 RONE Award Finalist. (Winners to be announced at InD’tale magazine in September.) It also won 1st Place in Romance from the Southeastern Writers Association.Bayou Born, book one, is a 2014 RONE Finalist.
PS- The vocabulary in the game is not just for romance readers. These words appear in many genres. After you take the quiz, please let me know what you think.
AND if you’re interested in winning a Waterford Crystal Fleur de Lis, please check out my newsletter for June: LETTERS from Linda, Journey into June.
Want to test your word skill? Click on LOVE to take the test.
June 11, 2015
The Detective's Dragon by Karilyn Bentley
Hi Marlow! Thank you for letting me blog with you today about my newest release, The Detective's Dragon. This is my fifth novel, although I have written two novellas. Five sounds like a big number to me. In some ways I can't believe I have written that many published books (we won't even talk about the books hiding out in the closet, never to see the light of day). Let me tell you a little about how I got started writing.I used to work in a cube farm, and one day I looked around and thought, I'm really tired of working here, I need a new profession. What to do, what to do? As if called, all these story ideas that had been floating around in my head for some time in the background of my subconscious hopped into the front of my mind. "Write me, write me," they yelled. Well, okay, not really, but it sure did seem like they yelled. At the time the only thing I knew about writers was what I'd seen on TV or the movies, which are always 100% accurate about everything, right? So my idea of an author was someone who wrote half a day, took a walk the other half (in the woods of course, because all authors live on acres of woods) and got paid a smooth million to offer their great stories to us peon readers. Oh, and I could eat bon-bons all day.
Not that I've ever eaten a bon-bon, but I'm pretty sure they're chocolate and man, do I love chocolate. Of course I listened to the little story idea voices bouncing around in my mind. Who wouldn't? The idea of sitting at home eating bon-bons while gifting the world with my creativity beat working in a cube.
I immediately started working on the great American novel (see the abovementioned book hiding in the closet). It was wonderful. Everyone would read it. Bon-bons here I come.
By the time I finished writing the Great American Novel, I realized it needed another round of edits. Or six. A whole different plot line might have also helped. So I placed it in the closet and started on another story. By this time I no longer worked in the cube farm and had met a lady in my new job that wrote who suggested I read The Writer's Digest. Which was a great idea. The WD suggested joining RWA (Romance Writers of America) even if one didn't write romance. I definitely didn't write romance, although a romantic element or two always made an appearance in my books.
I felt a little silly showing up at the meeting of the local chapter of RWA when I wrote anything but romance. But the authors there made me feel welcome so I joined. After a few months I thought, hey, if I pay the dues, I should at least TRY to write a romance novel. So I did. Of course, it was wonderful and when published, after being fought over by multiple publishing houses, everyone would read it and I could finally figure out what the heck bon-bons were and start eating them.
But no one wanted it. (cue the world's smallest violin playing my heart bleeds for you)
So I continued to refine my craft. Then one of my critique partners mentioned a contest by a then new e-publishing company, The Wild Rose Press. The contest, Got Wolf?, would take the top six werewolf romance short stories and stick them in an anthology. I came up with a story idea and started writing. I barely made the submission deadline date because I'm the slowest writer the planet has ever seen, but I squeaked by. Then I had to wait.
On Halloween 2008 I learned I was one of the six who won a spot in the anthology. And my writing career was born.
And what happened to that first romance book? I submitted it to my editor. She politely turned it down. I read it and discovered that, yikes, one should not submit a book that has been sitting on the shelf for two years without re-reading the thing. It was hideous. So I countered with a rewrite. She agreed to read it again. Then I had to do another rewrite, and by rewrite, I mean rewrite the whole story line. Then it was accepted. The book was Magical Lover and it was the first in the Draconia Tales trilogy.
Once the trilogy was finished, I put the dragon shifters aside and moved on to start on an urban fantasy series. But my dragons kept calling me so I wrote The Detective's Dragon. Now the trilogy has to be called a series.
Buy Links for The Detective's DragonAmazon
TWRP
Here's a little bit about The Detective's Dragon:
As a Halfling with little magic, Jamie is barely considered a Draconi, his sole talent finding jewels and lost people. But when he dreams of a human female in trouble, he has no choice but to save her, even if it means crossing dimensions into a different realm. Unfairly accused and placed on administrative leave, Detective Ruby Parker is determined to regain her position on the Denver police force. When an attempt to kidnap her fails, she must learn to trust the stranger who appears from nowhere to help her. Unlike in Draconia, Jamie's powers work in Parker's world, his longing to wield magic finally fulfilled. But is working magic worth leaving his family and friends? When Parker realizes she loves Jamie, she must make a choice, follow her heart to a different world, or remain alone and attempt to regain her beloved job. What happens when the one you love lives in another dimension?
Excerpt:
The squeak of hinges snapped Parker’s attention to the door. Hottie stood in the doorway, one hand on the frame, the other on the handle, a look of determination plastered on his face. A look she was familiar with. A look she saw reflected in her mirror on a daily basis. A look mirrored on her coworkers’ faces when working a case.
A look she never thought to see directed her way.
Which was a bit unnerving, but not nearly as unnerving as the realization he’d followed her. He stood in the doorway like he owned the place. Or owned her.
Her limbs shuddered like a car without shocks. He. Followed. Her. Was he stalking her? Was he with the ones who tried to kidnap her? What was he doing here? More to the point, how did she get rid of him? Her muscles might be coming out of a deep freeze, but that didn’t mean she could hop off the bed and toss him out the door.
Where was the damn call button?
Parker patted the mattress. Hottie took a step closer. Then another. No button. Her heart shook an uneven rhythm, the beat a warning drum in her veins. Her hand moved faster against the mattress, searching, seeking, not finding.
Damn it.
“Be of ease. I mean no harm.”
She stilled, her hand paused mid-pat as if his words flipped her off switch. Deep and soothing, his voice stroked across frazzled nerves, slowing her racing heart. If he could bottle that sound, women would fall at his feet.
Where to find Karilyn
Website: www.karilynbentley.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarilynBentleyAuthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/karilynbentley1
Blog: http://plottingprincesses.blogspot.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4051943.Karilyn_Bentley
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/karilynbentley
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ba_0Rf
June 9, 2015
Grace Revealed: A Memoir by Greg Archer
My Writing Style
Writers love to feel that high that often comes from writing and having written something. I love that. My writing style typically reflects my enthusiasm and, at times, my somewhat nervous “everyman” energy. There’s also an underlying befuddlement to understanding life, one’s place in life and the surrender that typically must come for growth to occur.
A great deal of my writing style tends to reflect my interest in going beneath the surface of the Here and Now and exploring the underlying emotions that reside within. I love exploring beneath the surface and whether I am writing fiction of non-fiction, I typically go there. It must be built in—to just probe deep.
When I was writing my latest book, Grace Revealed, the process was very unusual. For starters, it was a memoir about me and my Polish family, and it showcased the deep love my grandmother had for her children and her husband as they endured seemingly endless uncertainty during the 1940s, after Stalin deported them and nearly a million other Polish people. For that project, it was a curious mix of possibilities, because I had to both delve deeply into my own feelings about uncovering intense bits of family history as well as understanding my own place in the big spiritual jigsaw puzzle that was my family ancestry.
It was quite a tightrope to walk.
However, I prefer to write about those things that are often uncomfortable to face because in the facing of them, a kind of levity occurs. And this is priceless, really. When I do not write, I just feel “off.”
In that respect, writing, for me, is a kind of therapeutic process—perhaps the best form of therapy around.
Available at:
AmazonGREG ARCHER is an author, cultural moderator, award-winning journalist, television host and motivational speaker. His latest book, GRACE REVEALED: A MEMOIR, goes from glitz to the Gulags as the popular entertainment reporter takes a step back from Hollywood to explore his Polish family’s mesmerizing tale surviving Joseph Stalin’s mass deportation of Poles during the 1940s. What he uncovers along the way fuels his mission to not only expose the nearly forgotten odyssey that befell nearly 2 million Poles 75 years ago, but to also expose the ripple effects that remain today.
“Powerful, touching and heartfelt.”—The Huffington Post
Excerpt:
It all began with a broken picture frame and actor Ewan McGregor. But not at the same time. And a photograph of Ewan McGregor was not even in the picture frame. Nor did the Hollywood hotshot have anything to do with breaking it.
Allow me to explain …
It was the Fall of 2010 … which is the perfect way to begin a story, but for me, it really could be taken quite literally.
One morning, I walked into my third-floor office of the weekly magazine at which I was the editor in Santa Cruz, California. To my surprise, the double picture frame housing two different black-and-white photos of my Polish family lay face up on my desk and the glass from the frames broken, the remnants arranged in a clumsy collection of jagged shards right there atop of it.
My Polish grandmother’s disenchanted eyes stared up at me with haunting concern from one of those photos and her tightly drawn lips refused her powdered, solemn face to soften. Next to her lay a group portrait of my grandmother, my aunt, my three uncles, and my mother, all at various ages in their youth, sitting on a bench outdoors in Tanzania, Africa, during the 1940s.
I sat down behind my desk and quickly assessed the situation, glancing at the top shelf on the wall nearly three feet away. The picture frame typically resided there and during the course of any given week, I would peer up at those photos more times than I could accurately assess and ruminate—on my family’s strength, their will, how World War II affected them. At times, these deep thoughts temporarily assisted me in avoiding a life-long habit I had yet to fully overcome: Mood Swinging.
I would not necessarily call myself bipolar.
Emotional? Of course. But bipolar. No. (Not yet.)
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
GREG ARCHER
Author, Journalist, Cultural Moderator, More …
GREG ARCHER is an author, cultural moderator, award-winning journalist, television host and motivational speaker. His latest book, GRACE REVEALED: A MEMOIR, goes from glitz to the Gulags as the popular entertainment reporter takes a step back from Hollywood to explore his Polish family’s mesmerizing tale surviving Joseph Stalin’s mass deportation of Poles during the 1940s. What he uncovers along the way fuels his mission to not only expose the nearly forgotten odyssey that befell nearly 2 million Poles 75 years ago, but to also expose the ripple effects that remain today.
“Powerful, touching and heartfelt.”—The Huffington Post
**** GREG ARCHER’s work covering agents of change, history, travel and the entertainment industry have appeared in The Huffington Post, Oprah Magazine, San Francisco Examiner, The Advocate, Bust, Palm Springs Life, VIA Magazine, Jetset Extra and on variety of cable television outlets. A four-time recipient of the Best Writer Award in a popular San Francisco Bay Area Readers' Poll, he shines the light on change agents near and far, and other under-reported issues in society. His splits his time between his hometown of Chicago, and Palm Springs.
WEB: www.gregarcher.com.
GRACE REVEALED: A MEMOIR SITE: www.graverevealedbook.com
GRACE REVEALED / FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grace-...
BOOK TRAILERS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbxpa...
TWITTER @Greg_Archer
Greg will be awarding $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2015/02/nbtm-tour-grace-revealed-memoir-by-greg.html
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Writers love to feel that high that often comes from writing and having written something. I love that. My writing style typically reflects my enthusiasm and, at times, my somewhat nervous “everyman” energy. There’s also an underlying befuddlement to understanding life, one’s place in life and the surrender that typically must come for growth to occur.
A great deal of my writing style tends to reflect my interest in going beneath the surface of the Here and Now and exploring the underlying emotions that reside within. I love exploring beneath the surface and whether I am writing fiction of non-fiction, I typically go there. It must be built in—to just probe deep.
When I was writing my latest book, Grace Revealed, the process was very unusual. For starters, it was a memoir about me and my Polish family, and it showcased the deep love my grandmother had for her children and her husband as they endured seemingly endless uncertainty during the 1940s, after Stalin deported them and nearly a million other Polish people. For that project, it was a curious mix of possibilities, because I had to both delve deeply into my own feelings about uncovering intense bits of family history as well as understanding my own place in the big spiritual jigsaw puzzle that was my family ancestry.
It was quite a tightrope to walk.
However, I prefer to write about those things that are often uncomfortable to face because in the facing of them, a kind of levity occurs. And this is priceless, really. When I do not write, I just feel “off.”
In that respect, writing, for me, is a kind of therapeutic process—perhaps the best form of therapy around.
Available at:
AmazonGREG ARCHER is an author, cultural moderator, award-winning journalist, television host and motivational speaker. His latest book, GRACE REVEALED: A MEMOIR, goes from glitz to the Gulags as the popular entertainment reporter takes a step back from Hollywood to explore his Polish family’s mesmerizing tale surviving Joseph Stalin’s mass deportation of Poles during the 1940s. What he uncovers along the way fuels his mission to not only expose the nearly forgotten odyssey that befell nearly 2 million Poles 75 years ago, but to also expose the ripple effects that remain today.
“Powerful, touching and heartfelt.”—The Huffington Post
Excerpt:
It all began with a broken picture frame and actor Ewan McGregor. But not at the same time. And a photograph of Ewan McGregor was not even in the picture frame. Nor did the Hollywood hotshot have anything to do with breaking it.
Allow me to explain …
It was the Fall of 2010 … which is the perfect way to begin a story, but for me, it really could be taken quite literally.
One morning, I walked into my third-floor office of the weekly magazine at which I was the editor in Santa Cruz, California. To my surprise, the double picture frame housing two different black-and-white photos of my Polish family lay face up on my desk and the glass from the frames broken, the remnants arranged in a clumsy collection of jagged shards right there atop of it.
My Polish grandmother’s disenchanted eyes stared up at me with haunting concern from one of those photos and her tightly drawn lips refused her powdered, solemn face to soften. Next to her lay a group portrait of my grandmother, my aunt, my three uncles, and my mother, all at various ages in their youth, sitting on a bench outdoors in Tanzania, Africa, during the 1940s.
I sat down behind my desk and quickly assessed the situation, glancing at the top shelf on the wall nearly three feet away. The picture frame typically resided there and during the course of any given week, I would peer up at those photos more times than I could accurately assess and ruminate—on my family’s strength, their will, how World War II affected them. At times, these deep thoughts temporarily assisted me in avoiding a life-long habit I had yet to fully overcome: Mood Swinging.
I would not necessarily call myself bipolar.
Emotional? Of course. But bipolar. No. (Not yet.)
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
GREG ARCHER
Author, Journalist, Cultural Moderator, More …
GREG ARCHER is an author, cultural moderator, award-winning journalist, television host and motivational speaker. His latest book, GRACE REVEALED: A MEMOIR, goes from glitz to the Gulags as the popular entertainment reporter takes a step back from Hollywood to explore his Polish family’s mesmerizing tale surviving Joseph Stalin’s mass deportation of Poles during the 1940s. What he uncovers along the way fuels his mission to not only expose the nearly forgotten odyssey that befell nearly 2 million Poles 75 years ago, but to also expose the ripple effects that remain today.
“Powerful, touching and heartfelt.”—The Huffington Post
**** GREG ARCHER’s work covering agents of change, history, travel and the entertainment industry have appeared in The Huffington Post, Oprah Magazine, San Francisco Examiner, The Advocate, Bust, Palm Springs Life, VIA Magazine, Jetset Extra and on variety of cable television outlets. A four-time recipient of the Best Writer Award in a popular San Francisco Bay Area Readers' Poll, he shines the light on change agents near and far, and other under-reported issues in society. His splits his time between his hometown of Chicago, and Palm Springs.
WEB: www.gregarcher.com.
GRACE REVEALED: A MEMOIR SITE: www.graverevealedbook.com
GRACE REVEALED / FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grace-...
BOOK TRAILERS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbxpa...
TWITTER @Greg_Archer
Greg will be awarding $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2015/02/nbtm-tour-grace-revealed-memoir-by-greg.html
a Rafflecopter giveaway
June 8, 2015
Avalon by Vanessa Morgan
How my cat became a movie starThanks so much to Marlow Kelly for hosting me today. She asked me to do a guest post about my cat Avalon. More in particular, she wanted to know how he became a movie star.
It all started in 2010 when director Philippe Geus contacted me about a possible collaboration. He had read my first novel, Drowned Sorrow, and wanted to know if I had something else in the same vein. I had just finished writing a short story, The Strangers Outside, and thought that this could become a good movie. He read it and several days later, everything was put into place to make the film adaptation.
I asked the director if it would be possible to include a little cameo for Avalon in the film, a split second where we could see him ambling near the house.
“I have a better idea,” the director said. “Why don't we give Avalon a real part in the film?”
“What part would that be?”
“Avalon will be the main victim. I want to see him butchered by those evil monks.”
Cats are known to be uncontrollable on a movie set, but Avalon did exactly what was expected of him. The crew thought this was highly amusing and took advantage of the opportunity to film Avalon from as many angles as possible: lying down, standing, jumping, moving around. Avalon was ready to perform.
Another one of my stories (Next to Her) is currently in pre-production to become a film. Again, Avalon has a major part. He'll be a ghost cat that visits an old woman in the hospital.
Needless to say I am proud of my miniature celebrity.
Avalon's life story is now available as a book: Avalon: a Heartwarming True Cat Story.
The book details his adventures on set, his public appearances, how he made a hobby out of vomiting on my guinea pig, and much more. But most of all, Avalon is a love story. Because no matter how much of a star he was, what made his life truly special was the out-of-the-ordinary bond we shared together.
You can find Avalon's book at:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.fr
Some cats need nine lives to make a difference. Avalon only needed one.
From Amazon bestselling author Vanessa Morgan, Avalon is the heartwarming and once-in-a-lifetime love story of a girl and her neurotic Turkish Van cat.
With humor, the author details how Avalon made other creatures cringe in distress whenever he was around, how he threw her dates out by means of special techniques, and how he rendered it almost impossible for her to leave the house. Avalon was so incorrigible that even her landlord ordered her to get rid of him. But beneath Avalon's demonic boisterousness, Vanessa recognized her own flaws and insecurities, and she understood that abandoning Avalon would be the worst she could do to him. Thanks to her unswerving loyalty, Avalon transformed into a tender feline, and even landed a major role in a horror movie. In turn, Avalon made it his mission to be there for his human companion.
By turns jubilant and deeply moving, Avalon is a memoir for anyone who has ever been obsessively in love with a pet.
Excerpt:
Ignoring the neighbors’ cats had diminished Avalon's jealousy, but with four more beings in the apartment demanding my devotion, Avalon's reality was still a far cry from his personal utopia, and new pet peeves were routinely added to his usual problem-seeking behavior.
Small changes often caused major disturbances. When we removed a DVD from the cupboard, or put a pen on the living room table that he wasn’t used to seeing there, Avalon pitched himself near the problem area and vocalized his complaints as if he was a muezzin calling to prayer. He only stopped if the space returned back to normal.
Intelligent and calculating as he was, Avalon had also developed a technique to prevent Ballon and Tigris from using his litter boxes. Each time he heard the scratch scratch scratch in the litter, he settled into attack mode behind the bathroom wall, wiggled his behind, and leapt onto the other cat as soon as it emerged, making it jump. It worked every...single... time. Proud, Avalon walked away from the crime scene with his nose pointing airwards.
Borat, our guinea pig, was initially the best one off, but ended up the most miserable. What kept him safe at first was Avalon’s fear of rodents. Cats may be considered deadly predators, killing a median of 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion mammals a year in the United States alone, but whenever Borat had free range inside the apartment, Avalon went in a large circle around him, avoiding him at all cost.
Eventually, Avalon ferreted out a way to make Borat twinge in distress whenever he approached. It started when I taught Avalon not to throw up on the bed and carpets. Those lessons must have been meaningful, because Avalon didn’t vomit in those places anymore. Instead he aimed for the guinea pig's head. As soon as he felt a hairball mounting, Avalon ran as fast as he could toward Borat's cage, leaned in, and puked his heart out.
Author bio
Vanessa Morgan is an author, screenwriter, and blogger. Two of her works, The Strangers Outside and A Good Man, have been turned into films. Her short film script Next to Her is currently in pre-production. When she's not working on her latest book, you can find her reading, watching horror movies, digging through flea markets, or photographing felines for her blog Traveling Cats (http://travelling-cats.blogspot.com). Avalon has appeared in several of her books and films.
Social media links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vanessa-Morgan/50159391888
Twitter: http://twitter.com/eeriestories
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/follow/eeriestories
Google+: https://plus.google.com/111498119214855356614/posts
Bloglovin: https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/vanessa-morgan-4135473
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Vanessa-Morgan/
Blog: http://vanessa-morgan.blogspot.com
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2890032.Vanessa_Morgan
Purchase links for other stories
Drowned Sorrow: http://amzn.to/1GYQM9I
The Strangers Outside: http://amzn.to/1cpso8U
Next to Her: http://amzn.to/1ARrqs0
Vanessa will be giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card a Rafflecopter giveaway
It all started in 2010 when director Philippe Geus contacted me about a possible collaboration. He had read my first novel, Drowned Sorrow, and wanted to know if I had something else in the same vein. I had just finished writing a short story, The Strangers Outside, and thought that this could become a good movie. He read it and several days later, everything was put into place to make the film adaptation.
I asked the director if it would be possible to include a little cameo for Avalon in the film, a split second where we could see him ambling near the house.
“I have a better idea,” the director said. “Why don't we give Avalon a real part in the film?”
“What part would that be?”
“Avalon will be the main victim. I want to see him butchered by those evil monks.”
Cats are known to be uncontrollable on a movie set, but Avalon did exactly what was expected of him. The crew thought this was highly amusing and took advantage of the opportunity to film Avalon from as many angles as possible: lying down, standing, jumping, moving around. Avalon was ready to perform.
Another one of my stories (Next to Her) is currently in pre-production to become a film. Again, Avalon has a major part. He'll be a ghost cat that visits an old woman in the hospital.
Needless to say I am proud of my miniature celebrity.
Avalon's life story is now available as a book: Avalon: a Heartwarming True Cat Story.
The book details his adventures on set, his public appearances, how he made a hobby out of vomiting on my guinea pig, and much more. But most of all, Avalon is a love story. Because no matter how much of a star he was, what made his life truly special was the out-of-the-ordinary bond we shared together.
You can find Avalon's book at:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.fr
Some cats need nine lives to make a difference. Avalon only needed one.
From Amazon bestselling author Vanessa Morgan, Avalon is the heartwarming and once-in-a-lifetime love story of a girl and her neurotic Turkish Van cat.
With humor, the author details how Avalon made other creatures cringe in distress whenever he was around, how he threw her dates out by means of special techniques, and how he rendered it almost impossible for her to leave the house. Avalon was so incorrigible that even her landlord ordered her to get rid of him. But beneath Avalon's demonic boisterousness, Vanessa recognized her own flaws and insecurities, and she understood that abandoning Avalon would be the worst she could do to him. Thanks to her unswerving loyalty, Avalon transformed into a tender feline, and even landed a major role in a horror movie. In turn, Avalon made it his mission to be there for his human companion.
By turns jubilant and deeply moving, Avalon is a memoir for anyone who has ever been obsessively in love with a pet.
Excerpt:
Ignoring the neighbors’ cats had diminished Avalon's jealousy, but with four more beings in the apartment demanding my devotion, Avalon's reality was still a far cry from his personal utopia, and new pet peeves were routinely added to his usual problem-seeking behavior.
Small changes often caused major disturbances. When we removed a DVD from the cupboard, or put a pen on the living room table that he wasn’t used to seeing there, Avalon pitched himself near the problem area and vocalized his complaints as if he was a muezzin calling to prayer. He only stopped if the space returned back to normal.
Intelligent and calculating as he was, Avalon had also developed a technique to prevent Ballon and Tigris from using his litter boxes. Each time he heard the scratch scratch scratch in the litter, he settled into attack mode behind the bathroom wall, wiggled his behind, and leapt onto the other cat as soon as it emerged, making it jump. It worked every...single... time. Proud, Avalon walked away from the crime scene with his nose pointing airwards.
Borat, our guinea pig, was initially the best one off, but ended up the most miserable. What kept him safe at first was Avalon’s fear of rodents. Cats may be considered deadly predators, killing a median of 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion mammals a year in the United States alone, but whenever Borat had free range inside the apartment, Avalon went in a large circle around him, avoiding him at all cost.
Eventually, Avalon ferreted out a way to make Borat twinge in distress whenever he approached. It started when I taught Avalon not to throw up on the bed and carpets. Those lessons must have been meaningful, because Avalon didn’t vomit in those places anymore. Instead he aimed for the guinea pig's head. As soon as he felt a hairball mounting, Avalon ran as fast as he could toward Borat's cage, leaned in, and puked his heart out.
Author bio
Vanessa Morgan is an author, screenwriter, and blogger. Two of her works, The Strangers Outside and A Good Man, have been turned into films. Her short film script Next to Her is currently in pre-production. When she's not working on her latest book, you can find her reading, watching horror movies, digging through flea markets, or photographing felines for her blog Traveling Cats (http://travelling-cats.blogspot.com). Avalon has appeared in several of her books and films.
Social media links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vanessa-Morgan/50159391888
Twitter: http://twitter.com/eeriestories
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/follow/eeriestories
Google+: https://plus.google.com/111498119214855356614/posts
Bloglovin: https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/vanessa-morgan-4135473
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Vanessa-Morgan/
Blog: http://vanessa-morgan.blogspot.com
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2890032.Vanessa_Morgan
Purchase links for other stories
Drowned Sorrow: http://amzn.to/1GYQM9I
The Strangers Outside: http://amzn.to/1cpso8U
Next to Her: http://amzn.to/1ARrqs0
Vanessa will be giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card a Rafflecopter giveaway
