Blair Bancroft's Blog, page 43

Why I Love E-books

We had a couple of those "Florida moments" this week. A small nurse shark bit a young woman in Boca Raton and wouldn't let go. She was transported to the hospital with the shark still attached! And in my much-beloved Venice on the Gulf Coast, close to where I frequently got on I-75, comes a photo of another kind of Florida wildlife.




  Later - Girl & friends with shark in plastic

4-lane access road to I-75 ( in the background)

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 Breaking Archeological News:
Grace Note: For twenty years I lived near a spring on Florida's Gulf Coast where finding artifacts 12,000-13,000 years old was routine. But the following significant archeological moment turned up in this morning's newspaper -  Summary of an article in The Orlando Sentinel, Sunday, May 22, 2016 - Archeologists have uncovered a stone knife in a sinkhole near Tallahassee that dates back 14,550 years. This places people in North America nearly fifteen hundred years earlier than previously believed. The evidence is deemed "unassailable." 
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WHY I LOVE E-BOOKS

E-books from an Author's Viewpoint:

Way, way back in 2010, I'd been e-published since December of 1999, so I was no stranger to e-books. I'd already owned two e-readers and absolutely loved them, particularly the first one, which of course was bought up by a larger company and put out of business! But in 2010 my writing life made a sudden change for the worse. I'd been creating two Regencies a year for Signet (Penguin Putnam), everything seemed on track for many more years of the same, and then erotica swept in, overwhelming the romance market and leaving squeaky clean books gasping by the wayside. Oops.

Signet shut down their traditional Regency line (think Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer), and I was out of a job. Oh, I was invited to write biographies of famous women—I nearly choked! Or I could sit home and twiddle my thumbs. I could, of course, attempt to join the flood to hot sex - I even tried it once - but it quickly became apparent I was much too devoted to complex characterizations and plots to ever settle to writing a book that was devoted to "in the moment" sex. So . . . what now?

As I've mentioned, I found a home for my last Regency with Ellora's Cave, which was making so much money on erotica at that time that they could afford to be generous and pick up the Regency slack. For which I was truly grateful. Their Blush line also published other non-erotic romances, I had a wonderful editor there, but what about all the books to which I now owned the rights? 

So in late fall of 2010, I bought my Kindle and set out to explore the grand new world of Amazon. It was a case of instant love. Except for old favorites off my shelf, I haven't read a book on anything but my Kindle since. (The same Kindle, by the way, knock on wood.) And early in 2011 I got valuable advice and encouragement from Delle Jacobs, an author who had already made the plunge into Kindle Direct Publishing. At those early days, authors were offering their books at 99 cents each and racking up sales right and left. In 2011 alone, I made far more money than my books had made since their original publication, beginning in 1999.

Yes, Amazon's KDP soon grew crowded, making our books harder to sell. At the same time, however, it became apparent that we were making a dent in the print market, forcing the big publishing houses to establish e-book departments of their own. That's a "Wow!", by the way. Score one for the power of e-publishing, whether by an online publishers or by DIY via Amazon, Smashwords, or B&N.

In 2016 DIY publishers have become the powerhouse publishers of the world. (But more on that next week.) [For those who, like myself, hate to be confronted by acronyms they don't know - DIY = Do It Yourself.]


E-Books from a Reader's Viewpoint:

OMG, it's so much easier to read a book on Kindle! You can adjust the size of the type. The pages flip forward or back at the touch of a finger. It always reboots to exactly where you left off. Mine has a built-in dictionary. I can actually look up words, as necessary. Or search for a certain word, etc. I could even order more books on it, but it's the Kindle vanilla model, b&w, so I prefer to order in full color on my computer.

And just imagine! (This has happened to me countless times as I'm a nightowl.) It's midnight, I've finished a book, I'm not ready to go to sleep, but oh horrors, there's nothing new on my Kindle. I zip to my computer, usually searching by favorite authors (of which I keep a list).I don't have to wander down an aisle, prying books out of stacks in order to read the blurb. Everything is there, right in front of me.  I read the descriptions at leisure, sitting in my comfortable chair. I order one, maybe two or three new books, walk back to the bedroom, turn on my Kindle, and the books pop up on my index list. Just that fast. Love it!

And there's the easy portability of an e-reader. At the moment I have 187 active books on my Kindle, with 469 in the Archives. Any time I'm traveling, all I have to do is make sure I've downloaded a few new books, pack my charger (and adapter if I'm traveling out of the country), and I have reading matter for weeks! During our long trip last summer I went back to the beginning of several favorite series and enjoyed them all over again. Picture packing 187 books next time you're flying to Europe, South America, or Asia! And wouldn't I love to see the look on the counter clerk's face if you tried to check in a trunk full of books destined for New York, Chicago, or San Francisco. They'd probably cart you off to the loony bin!

Okay, you've probably gotten the message by now that I find people who cite the smell and feel of paper as essential to their reading pleasure a little weird. Yes, I treasure ancient manuscripts - I'm in awe of Yale's Beineke Library - I mean, they have a copy of the Gutenberg Bible! I used an archive of ancient print manuscripts as a benign prison for the heroine of Rebel Princess. And I recall with fondness the very special gift of an actual print book (Moby Dick, as I recall) that Bones gave to Captain Kirk. But having respect and finding print books "convenient" (particularly huge hardcovers) are two entirely different things. They look good on the coffee table. That's about it.

Hey, people, the millennia came. It's time to move on.

~ * ~ 
Next Week: Part 2 - The Significance of the Rise of E-books

 
Thanks for stopping by,
Grace

For Grace's website, listing all books as Blair Bancroft, click here.
For a brochure for Grace's editing service, Best Foot Forward, click here.  

A Ray of Light on 9/11

 It's good to be back after a rather busy two weeks, which included a wedding and reception that went off like clockwork, thanks to the hard work of a lot of people, most particularly the bride and groom! (And I admit to arranging something like sixteen vases of flowers for the reception!) But the Southwest flights to and from Connecticut almost put me off flying forever. (Not all SW's fault, but I'm definitely not a fan.)

Back to Florida and a four-day cruise to the Bahamas, featuring a concert by Journey, which I heard from my cabin when they rehearsed in the theater directly beneath my room! As always, the change was great - also the food - but I'm glad to be home. I immediately grabbed my car keys and went to liberate Squeak (my kitten) from the Cattery. She's named Squeak because she doesn't meow, she squeaks. But you should have heard her howl when I picked her up. I couldn't tell if she was glad to see me or furious because I left her.

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SUPER GRAMMA MOMENT:

Riley (11) and Cassidy (9) were the final act in Woodland's Elementary's chorus program for 2016. They nailed it! Remembered everything Mommy taught them, including Cassidy looking at her watch as she held out the long-long note! I hope you'll take a moment to watch them do the famous duet, "I Can Do Anything Better Than You!" from the classic musical, Annie Get Your Gun.

For Riley & Cassidy's duet,  click here.
 
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 Below is a story I found on Facebook this week - Janet Wright's photo (& presumably story) posted by my old friend, Judy Gwinn (from the many years I lived in Venice, FL, on the Gulf Coast). I had never heard this moving story of a ray of light on a terrible day and hope you will appreciate it as much as I did.

Our military Heros...
Janet Wright
August 5, 2015 ·
AFTER FLIGHT 77 hit the Pentagon on 9/11, the following incident occurred:
A chaplain, who happened to be assigned to the Pentagon, told of an incident that never made the news. A daycare facility inside the Pentagon had many children, including infants who were in heavy cribs. The daycare supervisor, looking at all the children they needed to evacuate, was in a panic over what they could do. There were many children, mostly toddlers, as well as the infants that would need to be taken out with the cribs.
There was no time to try to bundle them into carriers and strollers. Just then a young Marine came running into the center and asked what they needed. After hearing what the center director was trying to do, he ran back out into the hallway and disappeared. The director thought, "Well, here we are, on our own."
About 2 minutes later, that Marine returned with 40 other Marines in tow. Each of them grabbed a crib with a child, and the rest started gathering up toddlers. The director and her staff then helped them take all the children out of the center and down toward the park near the Potomac.
Once they got about 3/4 of a mile outside the building, the Marines stopped in the park, and then did a fabulous thing - they formed a circle with the cribs, which were quite sturdy and heavy, like the covered wagons in the Old West. Inside this circle of cribs, they put the toddlers, to keep them from wandering off. Outside this circle were the 40 Marines, forming a perimeter around the children and waiting for instructions. There they remained until the parents could be notified and come get their children.
The chaplain then said, "I don't think any of us saw nor heard of this on any of the news stories of the day. It was an incredible story of our men there.” There wasn't a dry eye in the room. The thought of those Marines and what they did and how fast they reacted; could we expect any less from them? It was one of the most touching stories from the Pentagon. It's the Military, not the politicians that ensures our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It's the Military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag. If you care to offer the smallest token of recognition and appreciation for the military, please pass this on and pray for our men and women, who have served and are currently serving our country, and pray for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

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Probable topic for next week: WHY I LOVE E-BOOKS!
Thanks for stopping by,
Grace

For Grace's website, listing all books as Blair Bancroft, click here.
For a brochure for Grace's editing service, Best Foot Forward, click here.  

RECIPES

I'm off on two trips over the next few weeks - first to Connecticut for my son's wedding and then on a short cruise to the Bahamas - the attraction, an onboard concert by "Journey.". (I get to babysit.) So I am posting a few recipes I've run into recently that you might want to try while I'm traveling north and east and not keeping to my weekly blog schedule. They are not original, though I've added twists here and there. Just recipes that were a bit unusual and tasty enough to pass along. 


Moroccan Shrimp with Couscous
Original from a recipe in the Orlando Sentinel.

The secret to this one is to collect all your spices ahead of time. (I was shocked to discover my curry powder had disappeared!) Once they're all laid out, the rest is easy. The amount of each spice can, of course, be varied to suit your particular palate.

Grace note: I cut this recipe down by half to two-thirds, making enough for only two meals.

1 tspn paprika
3/4 tspn coarse salt 
½ tspn cumin
½ tspn curry powder
1/8 tspn cayenne pepper
1/8 tspn cinnamon 
½ cup golden raisins or other dried fruit bits
¼ cup water
14 oz. unsalted chicken broth
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 tablespoon butter
1-1/2 pounds peeled & deveined large shrimp*
3/4 cup plain yogurt

*for my smaller version of the recipe, I bought just 8 large shrimp

Mix paprika, salt, cumin, curry powder, cayenne, & cinnamon in a small bowl. In a good size sauce pan, mix 1½ teaspoons of spice mixture, raisins, water & broth; boil. Stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover.

Melt butter in pan on medium-high heat. Season shrimp with remaining spice mix. (Tossing in a Baggie works well.) Cook 5 minutes. Spoon couscous on plates. Spoon shrimp and yogurt on top. 
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Crescent Roll Tart
This is one of those mystery recipes that pop up on Facebook then disappear. The video did a rapid auto run across my screen. When I went back to replay it so I could write down the details, it was gone. I don't know how long I spent looking for it, but it was like it had never been. So with the aid of Riley and Cassidy, I tried to re-create a recipe from a fleeting glimpse. Here's what we came up with.

2 pkg. crescent rolls
c. ½ cup confectioners sugar
1 fresh orange
dried orange zest (from a spice bottle)
c. 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Put the confectioners sugar in a medium bowl. Using a slotted knife, "skin" as many pieces of rind from the fresh orange as you can manage (or desire). Add the fresh zest to the sugar then add some dry zest from a spice bottle (amount is up to you.) Mix.

Separate crescent rolls into triangles. Dip each triangle in the sugar/zest mix. Arrange one package of triangles (approximate - you need to "play it by ear") around the inside edge of a 9" pie plate, overlapping as evenly as possible. (We did it with the "pointed edge" up.) Arrange the remaining triangles to fill in the space in the bottom of the plate, continuing to overlap. Save one triangle to make a rolled "flower" in the center. 

Drizzle c. 2 tablespoons of melted butter over the top. Bake 12-15 minutes at 350°. (Check at 11 minutes.) Tart should be golden brown on top.

Glaze. If desired, tart can be glazed with a mix of confectioners sugar & orange juice or confectioners sugar & water.

Grace note: I suspect this recipe would also work well with lemon zest.
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Spaghetti Pie Casserole



From Taste of Home's Back to School cookbook.
So many baked spaghetti recipes call for a 13x9 dish. I found this one a more manageable size for a small household, and there was still enough left over to freeze. Also, it's fast & easy to put together. Not too bland, not too spicy - a lot of classic taste for minimal effort. 
8 oz. spaghetti1 lb. ground beef1 small onion, chopped2 garlic cloves, minced1 jar (14 oz.) spaghetti sauce½ tspn salt¼ tspn pepper3 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese1 cup (8 oz.) reduced-fat sour cream3 green onions, chopped1½ cups (6 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Cook spagehetti according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef, onion & garlic over medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking up beef into crumbles; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce, salt & pepper; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a small bowl, mix cream cheese & sour cream until blended; stir in green onions. In a greased 11x7 baking dish, layer the spaghetti, cream cheese mixture & meat mixture. Top with shredded cheese.
Bake, covered, at 350° for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is bubbly.~ * ~  
From a Nutella recipe book bought in Harrod's in London, July 2015: (the girls & I have tried a number of the recipes & this one got the most raves. Photo is from the cookbook.)

  Twelfth Night Tart with Nutella
½ cup Nutella2 eggs + 1 egg yolkscant 1½ cups ground hazelnuts2 sheets (1 pkg) ready-rolled puff pastry
Grace note: shelled hazelnuts can be bought online. We got ours from Nuts.com.  
Preheat oven to 425°. In a bowl, mix together Nutella, 2 eggs, and ground hazelnuts.
Unroll the first sheet of puff pastry onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Using the back of a tablespoon, carefully spread the pastry with a layer of the Nutella mixture. Leave a 5/8-inch border for joining the two sheets of pastry together more easily. Place a lucky charm or dried broad/fava bean on top of the Nutella mix. (Grace note: This instruction brought us to a screeching halt. We had a Girl Scout thin mint handy, so we used that! The why of this particular instruction has not yet occurred to me. Air flow??)
Unroll the second sheet of pastry and lay it on the first. Join the edges of the two sheets of pastry, pressing them together all around. (The girls were very diligent about this, scorning my simple "press together" for very firm "fluting," as they'd done on pies.)
Brush the whole surface of the galette with egg yolk then use the point of a knife to decorate it with a large criss-cross pattern. Bake for at 425° for 25 minutes.
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I did the Nutella recipe above with Riley and Cassidy. And when I finally got an afternoon with Hailey, whose school runs to 4:00 this year, we did the simple monkey bread recipe below. (It's way easier than the bacon bread I make for parties and a great addition to a family supper (or as  a portable snack for a road trip).


Super Simple Cheesy Bubble Loaf
From Pillsbury's Monkey Bread cookbook:
2 pkgs. refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (10-pack ea.)2 tablespoons butter, melted1½ cups (6 oz.) shredded Italian cheese blend
Grace note: I wanted to added bottled bacon pieces, but Hailey vetoed that. For those addicted to bacon, see note at the bottom.*
Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.Separate biscuits in the first package; cut each into four pieces & place in mixing bowl. Drizzle with one tablespoon of butter - do not be afraid to mix by hand. Place biscuits in bottom of loaf pan. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Repeat with second tube of biscuits - EXCEPT top with the remaining ½ cup of cheese. 
Bake 25-30  minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
*The recipe notes that it is easy to change the flavor by using Mexican cheese, or add taco seasoning and/or hot pepper sauce to the butter. Or use chopped ham, salami, or crumbled bacon between the layers of dough.  
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Thanks for stopping by,
Grace

For Grace's website, listing all books as Blair Bancroft, click here.
For a brochure for Grace's editing service, Best Foot Forward, click here.     
 




 

STEEPLECHASE

A Moment of Nostalgia
After many years of Steeplechase being available through Ellora's Cave Cotillion line, I was stunned when I got my rights back and began to edit it for indie publication. I wrote that?? Truly, I'd forgotten how far away I'd strayed from the trad Regency style. So far, in fact, that I simply could not write the same book today. It was almost like reading someone's else's work. I laughed, I goggled, I swelled with pride. Frankly, I was absolutely thrilled with it. (I feel I can brag about it because that was totally another "Blair" who wrote it!)

A bit of background:

I began my writing career with serious historical romances like Tarleton's Wife and The Sometime Bride, as well as contemporary Romantic Suspense like Shadowed Paradise and Paradise Burning. And although all were published by one of the early e-publishers, I was having no luck convincing New York that an author could start out writing mainstream instead of making her bones by writing for Harlequin/Silhouette first. And then I went to an RWA convention where the editor for Signet's traditional Regency line (think Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer) indicated she was looking for new authors. And I asked myself, "Can I capture the style, the language, the comedy?" (Everything I'd written was so serious.) But of course I decided I had to try. I mean it was NEW YORK, right?

So I sat down and wrote The Courtesan's Letters, and lo and behold, I got THE CALL. Except Signet's marketing department thought "courtesan" wouldn't play well in the hinterlands and changed the title to the perfectly bland (and erroneous) The Indifferent Earl. It did, however, win "Best Regency of the Year" from Romantic Times magazine and was a Rita nominee. Eventually, when I got my rights back, it once again became The Courtesan's Letters (currently available on Amazon & Smashwords).

I turned out five more Regencies over the next few years and evidently polished the style to perfection by Number Seven, Steeplechase. Except . . . Signet closed its Regency line just as it was ready for submission. Which is how Steeplechase ended up being published by a Regency line within Ellora's Cave Blush. Perhaps not the best place for a squeaky clean traditional, but I'm sure most Cotillion authors were like me, grateful for the opportunity to keep publishing our pet genre. By this time, however, the handwriting on the wall was clear, and I wrote only one more trad Regency, Lady of the Lock, before returning to Regency Historicals and contemporary Mystery/Suspense. And then came my Regency Gothic line and my Futuristic/Paranormal series, Blue Moon Rising. Both of which - on opposite ends of the chronological line - I enjoy immensely. But oh my, as I re-edited Steeplechase, I was struck by nostalgia for that very special genre, trad Regencies.  If you haven't yet read Steeplechase, please take a peek. Both Amazon and Smashwords offer free samples. 

Below please find Delle Jacob's deliciously traditional cover, plus blurb and reviews for Steeplechase (from its previous incarnation).




Harlan Dawnay, Lord Davenham, handsome and dashing heir to an earldom, offers a marriage of convenience to a suitable young lady he scarcely knows, only to discover she has no intention of being ignored in favor of his friends or his mistress.

Lady Sarah Ainsworth, age seventeen, is not yet interested in marriage. She accepts Lord Davenham's offer solely because she secretly admires him and has high hopes for the future. But when Davenham steadfastly ignores his young bride, including not coming to her bed, Sarah embarks on a series of adventures guaranteed to drive any husband wild. From unsuitable friends to unsuitable flirtations, from gambling to calling on Davenham's mistress, Sarah forces him to pay attention. Until one final adventure almost ends their marriage before it's really begun.


Reviews:

I had a great time reading this very engrossing and funny Regency Romance. . . . The author is very well versed with the era and its environs from London to Brighton, and the people and customs as well. This is the kind of Regency that I love to read.

                                                              Maura, Coffee Time Romance

"This novel is filled with witty dialogue and plenty of amusing moments. I found myself laughing out loud several times. I especially loved the interactions between Sarah and Harlan and the interactions between them and their family and friends. This story left me feeling good."

                                                            Christina, Romance Junkies Reviews

"I really loved this book. . . . [It] reminded me of why I started to read romance to begin with. Boy has to get married. Boy then ignores girl. Girl gets back at boy by being as outrageous as possible and leads him for a 'Steeplechase' with all kinds of obstacles in his way to get his attention. Boy realizes that, yes, he does love the girl! And a happy ending. Enjoy!"

                                                           Karen, Ecatromance

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Grace Note: Steeplechase is now live on Amazon and Smashwords and should be available in almost all e-book formats by the time this blog is posted.

~ * ~
Thanks for stopping by,
Grace

For Grace's website, listing all books as Blair Bancroft, click here.
For a brochure for Grace's editing service, Best Foot Forward, click here.

Copyediting Challenges - 7

Kids flying at Easter afternoon sack races, 2016*
* I made those burlap bags for a birthday party so long ago the sides came up to the kids' ears!

Quote of the Week:


According to the morning paper*, some people have been comparing Donald Trump to J. K. Rowling's Voldemort, the villain so terrible he is known as "He Who Must Not Be Named." When hearing this, Rowling responded: "How horrible. Voldemort was nowhere near as bad."

The same article goes on to quote House Speaker Paul Ryan in a marvelous contrast to Trump's demagoguery, saying in an address to interns of both political parties . . .

"Instead of playing to your anxieties, we can appeal to your aspirations. We don't resort to scaring you; we dare to inspire you. In a confident America, we aren't afraid to disagree with each other. We don't lock ourselves in an echo chamber, where we take comfort in the dogmas and opinions we already hold. We don't shut down on people—and we don't shut people down. If someone has a bad idea, we tell them why our idea is better. We don't insult them into agreeing with us. We try to persuade them."

*From an Op-ed by Clarence Page in The Orlando Sentinel, April 1, 2016


~ * ~

Tricky, Tricky Italics
I often create my blogs from problems I've encountered while editing, whether in one of my own books or those I edit for other authors. This week the same problems cropped up in both, so it seemed like my blog topic was selected for me.  

Grace Note: The index of the 15th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style is not helpful! 
Except to give us an example of italics used (above) as a line header, to indicate the title of a book, and as emphasis. All uses of italics that present few problems.

The 15th edition index under "Italics" lists all the esoteric uses of italics that most writers never need and completely ignores the common, everyday italic questions for which we all need answers. I'm sure the answers are in there somewhere—ah-ah!—I just tried the index to the 14th edition and there they are!  Whoever wrote the index to the 15th edition needs to go back to indexing school.

Since I've dealt with the use of Italics in previous blogs, I'm going to concentrate this week on the most difficult. Do you, or do you not, use italics for thoughts? 

Truth is, it depends on the publisher, but very few are still advocating italics for thoughts. The general rule seems to be that introspection - what the scene's primary character is thinking - is written in standard type. But only if it remains in third person. And, as mentioned in my blog on tags, avoid using "he thought" or "she thought" unless absolutely necessary for the sense of the sentence. If at all possible, the introspection should flow well enough that using a tag is not necessary. 

Example:


Davenham was trying, Sarah knew he was. Under all that elegant sophistication was a man with a good heart. She would not have married him else. But it was all very lowering. Cutting a dash in a curricle of her own was a long-cherished wish, a notion difficult to give up, even though common sense, combined with a good stiff fright, dictated that she should. Yet what was the point in cutting a dash if one came a cropper in front of the cream of the ton, not to mention the doxies, Cits, and shabby genteels who also had access to Hyde Park’s fashionable late afternoon parade?
Quote from Steeplechase by Blair Bancroft  
Example of italics used for emphasis, plus remaining introspection without italics:


Hell and the devil! It was her own fault. The colonel wasn’t a pauper. She didn’t have to be here. Did she? No woman should have to endure what she had these past weeks. It wasn’t right. And now she was one more problem to solve. Bloody, stupid army! If he were in charge at the Horse Guards…  
Quote from Colonel Tarleton in Tarleton's Wife.


BUT if your character suddenly makes a statement in first person, italics must be used.  

Example:

Ben had to be kidding! No way am I doing that.


The same applies to statements in second person (you).

Example: 


Because, you ninny, taunted her inner voice, your husband does not wish to be alone with you for all that time.
Quote from Steeplechase   
And then there are the really tricky ones, such as the ones where italics simply make sense though you can't quite cite a rule. Direct thought, description of an action, emphasis—who knows? There are simply times when you have to make that subjective decision. Do I or don't I?

Examples:


Her first thought—Davenham is going to have a fit— for if ever she had seen someone who could be termed a “shabby genteel mushroom,” it was the elder Twitchell. 
----------

A peek toward the beast. An antler hovered within inches of her head. Stroke, stroke. Faster, faster, faster!  
------------


She swallowed, continuing to goggle as it became apparent that a man in sopping wet shirt and pantaloons was just as exposed, if not more so, than a female sea bather. Oh, my!
“Are you all right?” Davenham demanded       All right?Her husband’s words finally penetrated the fog. 

Grace note: In the passage above, "Oh my" could have gone either way. I chose italics for emphasis. I italicized "All right" because it was silent repetition of something already said.  
---------



Her partners declared her to have the brightest smile and quickest wit in the room. Even though Lady Davenham was subjected to a variety of veiled glances and was the object of whispers behind numerous fans, she was an undoubted triumph. The littlest Ainsworth transformed into a Dasher. Imagine that!  

Grace Note: Italics are used above to indicate words spoken by anonymous people in a crowd.

Quotes from Steeplechase
--------------------

But was Miss Icy Van Dyne the enemy? Gut reaction, Guerrero. No jumping to conclusions. He closed his eyes, picturing the queen of all she surveyed stalking up the gangplank.


Grace note:  In the passage above, italics are used to indicate exact words the hero is saying to himself.


Quote from Hidden Danger, Hidden Heart (unpublished)

~ * ~
And yes, Steeplechase will be debuting sometime in the next two weeks on Amazon and Smashwords. So naturally, as I did final editing, it was a good source of examples. (Grin) Tarleton's Wife was thrown in there for nostalgia, the last of my books for which I don't have my rights back. (Sigh.)

~ * ~
Thanks for stopping by,
Grace

For Grace's website, listing all books as Blair Bancroft, click here.
For a brochure for Grace's editing service, Best Foot Forward, click here.

 

Recommended Reading

FLORIDA WILDLIFE UPDATE

This photo was just posted to Facebook by Rodney Bailey in Westchase, Florida. It appears to be a genuine Florida panther, an animal so rare naturalists have to set up hidden cameras to catch a glimpse of one. Yet this one might as well be posing. What a sight to find on your front porch!




What Grace is Reading
I've read three fascinating sagas this past month, two set in lands "down under" and one in ancient Rome. Walk About by Aaron Fletcher, In the Land of the Long White Cloud by Sarah Lark, and The Daughters of Palatine Hill by Phyllis T. Smith.  



Walk About is an amazing tale of a young boy who survives the Australian outback only because he is "adopted" by an aborigine, and also about the boy's family members who spend years searching for him, only to be reunited when he is fully grown. The background rings with authenticity.



 Perhaps the most amazing thing about In the Land of the Long White Cloud is that it also rings with authenticity, yet it was written by a German author living in Spain and required translation into English. It is the story of two young woman of very different backgrounds who become friends when they travel from England to New Zealand on the same boat. Their struggles over the next twenty years are epic. (This is Book 1 in a 3-book series.)





The Daughters of the Palatine Hill is the story of the only child of Augustus Caesar and the only surviving daughter of Antony and Cleopatra. Their lives are also the story of the Roman Empire at that time. The research is impeccable, the saga truly riveting. Not the Happily Ever After of Romance but the drama of truth, skillfully embellished for the fiction market. 


~ * ~
And while I'm recommending books, I'd like to add one of my own. I consider The Art of Evil my best mystery - after all, I spent three years as a volunteer tram driver at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota before writing this book, so it can also claim a great deal of authenticity. Below are the cover and blurb as they appear on Amazon.






Someone is killing people at the Bellman Museum, staging the deaths as bizarre works of art scattered over the museum's sixty-six tropical acres, the creation of famed circus entrepreneur and art connoisseur, Richard Bellman. FBI Special Agent Aurora "Rory" Travis is visiting her grandmother in Florida while recuperating from a three-story fall that killed her partner and lover. Although broken in spirit as well as body, Rory volunteers as a tram driver on the tranquil museum grounds, ignoring the outside world, until a friend becomes a murder suspect and she feels obligated to do a bit of private sleuthing.

As the first ripples of a possible suicide, compounded by a series of odd pranks, stir the serenity of the Bellman complex, Josh Thomas, a man of mystery, hops onto Rory's tram to a clap of thunder. Josh is dangerous, Josh is ruthless. Josh has not come into her life by accident, of that Rory is certain.

As the pranks at the museum escalate to murder, Detective Ken Parrish is added to Rory's life. Steady, reliable, a good cop—everything a wounded warrior could want. Except when he is forced to add Rory to his suspect list. And only one of the two new men in her life is there, watching her back, when Rory is forced to confront her worst fears as she goes one-on-one with the villain.

Author's Note: Although I have changed the names of certain people and places, the setting of THE ART OF EVIL is an accurate depiction of The John and Mable Ringling Museum complex on Sarasota Bay in the last year before the bulldozers moved in for the great building boom that followed. All events in this book are fiction, but the beauty of the sixty-six acres and buildings on it remain. If you're ever on the West Coast of Florida, don't miss it!

Special Note: THE ART OF EVIL was originally published in hardcover under the pseudonym, Daryn Parke. It is being published as an e-book under my better-known writing name of Blair Bancroft.

Review:

"This is an engaging Florida investigative thriller starring a likable cast to include eccentric seniors especially Aunt Hy, polar opposite sleuths with an in-common interest in Rory, and a terrific heroine struggling to regain her sea legs. . . ."
                                                                                       Harriet Klausner


~ * ~

Thanks for stopping by,
Grace

For Grace's website, listing all books as Blair Bancroft, click here.
For a brochure for Grace's editing service, Best Foot Forward, click here.

Playing with Tags

Susie - grilling for the first-time everHow is that possible, you ask? Because the men in the family do the grilling. But it was Tuesday night, with Mike at soccer practice with the girls and the other two family grillers equally occupied elsewhere. But Susie had organized an impromptu "election results" party, so it was DIY or not eat. I watched, expecting to be blown up any minute, as she turned on the gas and nothing happened. She finally had to call her husband's cousin for advice! The burgers were great, the primary election results not so much. I could tell Rubio was delivering his swan song even before he announced he was dropping out. His "concession" speech was long, impassioned, and left no doubt he was already running for the next election. Too bad he didn't speak that well during the campaign. But I'm among those who fault him for going to Washington and concentrating far more on campaigning for president than working for the people of Florida. But perhaps with maturity . . . He's certainly a far better man than Trump, the bully. It's a crying shame we have so many good-old-boys here in Florida who actually admire Trump's bombastic rhetoric.

~ * ~
PLAYING WITH TAGS
Going back to that old bugaboo, "Harlequin rules." Most of the so-called rules of romance were created by Harlequin/Silhouette back in the '80s and '90s. And among them was one I always found particularly odd. An author should confine dialogue "tags" to said, asked , and thought . Anything else was considered "intrusive."

Huh? 

All the colorful, expressive verbs out there, and nothing but said, asked, and thought??? Fortunately, as I've said before, I had begun to write trad Regencies for Signet, and they emphasized a broad and creative use of language. By the time Signet and Zebra shut down their Regency lines, the strong influence of H/S on romance was fading, their hard and fast rules along with it.

I thought of all this as I was editing the other day, changing a "said" to "mused." And, yes, I had to ask myself, "Is that a viable edit? Would a starship captain 'muse'?" I decided he would, but reserve the right to change my mind on the final edit. Selecting just the right word is a basic part of writing, almost as important as it is in writing poetry. Does the sentence you wrote "sing"? Or does it fall flat, plain old words put together in a plain old way?

Yes, it's possible to overdo colorful, or unique, language. I've edited books for those who stretched the point a bit too far. Ask yourself: Would my hero/heroine actually say this? Think this? Or have you conjured up a word that doesn't fit either their personality or the world they live in?

Without peeking at a manuscript, I'm going to attempt to list the tags I use the most. Do I overuse them? Sometimes. I try to keep an eye out when editing, making sure the use of a particular tag is scattered throughout a chapter. For example, I make an effort to avoid more than one "declared" or "roared" over, say, at least three or four pages.

So . . .
declared, offered, roared, shouted, whispered, murmured, returned, continued, replied, groaned, growled, grumbled, spat out, shot back, countered, inquired . . .

And after peeking through about 8 pages of 2 different manuscripts . . .
asserted, huffed, challenged, mumbled, demanded, crowed, tossed back, protested, insisted, muttered . . .

From some of the books on my shelves . . .
agreed, called, called out, explained, exclaimed, went on, wondered, announced, responded, spat out . . .

Grace Note:  There are countless other colorful verbs that can be used in place of "said" to add clarity and interest to your dialogue. Just be sure they fit the situation and the personality of the person speaking.

And, yes, "said" is still very acceptable - just not all the time. It can even be used when asking a question, but mostly when trying to avoid using "asked" too often. 

As for "thought" - I try to avoid the word as much as possible, preferring to write introspection well enough that using the tag of he/she thought is not necessary. But if you feel your have to use it, then by all means do so. 

No Dialogue Tag Needed:
I once edited a manuscript in which I swear I must have deleted a thousand "saids." Please keep in mind that if you have written narration that makes it clear who is speaking, no tag is needed. 

Also, if the scene is a conversation between only two people, simple paragraphing can distinguish who is speaking. EXCEPT . . . I've read too many books where the author overdid this, and I've lost track, finally dragging to a halt and saying to myself, "Okay, that character would never say that!" And back I go, re-tracing dialogue until I can figure out who is saying what to whom. Not good. Don't aggravate readers by going in search of snappy dialogue and ending up with a mystery you never intended. 

Dialogue Tags Required:
Any scene with more than two speakers requires a tag for each speaker. There is no other way for readers to understand what is going on.


Avoid using as a tag:
sighed - although commonly used as a tag, it is impossible to sigh and talk at the same time. Therefore "He/she sighed." should come as a separate sentence before or after the dialogue. Example:  "Oh darn." She sighed.

smiled, laughed, giggled, grinned, etc. Same problem as "sighed"

shrugged - although you can shrug and speak at the same time, using "shrugged" as a tag just doesn't work. Example:  "I don't know," he shrugged.  That's just plain bad English. The correct version is: "I don't know." He shrugged. 
 
greeted - "greeted" makes a poor tag. Example: "How do you do?" he greeted. It's flat-out iffy English. "He greeted her cordially" is an acceptable use of the word, but as a dialogue tag, no way. 

The Ideal Mix:

The best approach to tags is to intersperse them with narration that makes their use unnecessary.

An example from my current Work in Progress, The Bastard Prince.

Kass’s eyes closed; she drew a deep breath, murmured a prayer of thanks. And then she looked for her brother, who was sitting on the floor with his knees drawn up, head down, the ultimate picture of defeat. “K’kadi, you saved our lives. You’re a hero. Again.”

Grace Note: By adding Kass's dialogue at the end of her actions, without paragraphing, I am showing that she is the speaker. I don't have to use a tag.

Example of a passive tag, plus a dialogue exchange that is clear without further tags.

“It’s just a crease,” he heard a med tech say. “Looks worse than it is. Believe me, Highness, the captain has a hard head. He should come out of this all right.”

“How long . . . ?”

“Hard to tell, Highness. He could wake in an hour. Tonight. Tomorrow. Depends on the swelling, but S’sorrokan die from this? I doubt it.” 



Example of faster-moving dialogue with enough tags for clarity.

“But love, family? Don’t you hope for . . . more?” Anneli asked. “You’ve certainly earned the right to happiness.”

“You are kind,” B’aela murmured. “Am I blushing? Fizzet! I thought I was long past such a schoolgirl reaction.”

“So there is someone?”

“Only he doesn’t know it.”

“And Tal has snatched you away at the critical moment!”

B’aela managed a small secretive smile. “You know the saying. ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder.’”

SUMMARY:

1.  The best approach to good dialogue is to indicate in the narration (description, action . . . whatever) who is speaking. No tag necessary. 

2.  If writing short & sharp dialogue between only two people, use only enough tags to keep readers from being confused.

3.  If you are writing dialogue between three or more people, you must use a tag for each speaker.

4.  If you do use a tag, be sure it's the best one for that sentence. (Does the tag fit the character speaking? The situation?) Colorful and expressive verbs are good, but like anything else, they can be overdone. Using them sparingly will add to your story, but avoid repetition of a colorful verb for at least three or four pages. You can't sneak in a colorful verb the same way you can those old standbys, said, asked, and thought.

~ * ~
Thanks for stopping by,
Grace

For Grace's website, listing all books as Blair Bancroft, click here.
For a brochure for Grace's editing service, Best Foot Forward, click here.




 

"Soc" it to 'em!

Evidently, this marvelous imitation of Donald Trump's BS was written by George Takei, and it's right on. It is beyond my comprehension how so many Americans can be taken in by this kind of #%$@.

Grace Note: I saw something that made my heart sing last night. I was driving on an overpass over I-4 on my way to the grandgirls' soccer game when my attention was caught by something truly unusual. Please note it was rush hour on a Friday night. And there was a perfectly ordinary looking woman of middle age standing on the overpass. Beside her, draped over the high fence and inward-turned barbed wire was a bedsheet with large hand-painted letters. Letters big enough to be read by drivers zipping by beneath. I had to read them backwards, but I'm pretty sure they said, STOP TRUMP! 

Her action gave me hope that the average American is beginning to wake up to the threat of this new kind of fascism.  But that this woman, all alone, cared enough to make such an effort . . . I could only hope that her protest - and mine - are multiplied by the thousands, the millions, proving that thinking citizens will finally stand up and say - before it is too late - NO, THIS IS NOT AMERICA, THIS IS NOT US. Our country was founded on religious freedom, not religious hate. How can we forget: "Give us your tired, your poor, your struggling masses yearning to breathe free."

Think about your ancestors. Irish, Italian, Chinese, Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim, Jew. Trump would never have let them off the boat. He probably would have set a foot-wide chain across the mouth of New York Harbor. Maybe set out a few mines. Trump is appealing to a basic human fear: suspicion of anything, anyone "different." Hitler parlayed that into the Holocaust. Don't let it happen here.
~ * ~ 
On a lighter note:   From the archives - when only Hailey was playing soccer - taken at the Rio Pinar Country Club
(where I used to vote before moving to Seminole country)


 Orlando's professional soccer team started its second season last Sunday afternoon. Their only goal was disqualified, and they were down 2-0 throughout most of the game. Fans were leaving, the clock into the last of four added minutes at the end of the game when . . . a miracle occurred. Mike Bianchi, sports columnist for The Orlando Sentinel, wrote it up so well that I just had to pass it along. (As a writer, I appreciate any writer who does his/her job well!)

   The mayor had already left the stadium.
   That's right, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer had just been interviewed by a local TV station about Orlando City's, ahem, season-opening loss.
   The TV reporter and the mayor both thought it was over.
   So did you.
   So did I.
   So did the 60,000 or so fans who filled the Citrus Bowl.
   So did everybody.
   Except the Orlando City Lions.
   Or should we call them the Orlando Gritty Lions?
   Unbelievably, inconceivably, amazingly and hair-raisingly, they tied the game. And won the day.
   Orlando City 2, Real Salt Lake, 2.
   You thought last year's 1-1 tie in Orlando City's inaugural game was thrilling after Kaká scored on a free kick in the 91st minute?
   This one was 10 times more historically and euphorically thrilling.  
   You've heard of the Miracle on Ice" This was the Miracle Done Twice. Two goals—one by Cyle Larin and the qualizer on the ensuing kickoff by Adrian Winter—in the 94th and final minute of stoppage time. This was like seeing back-to-back buzzer beaters.
   The Immaculate Deflections.
   "That's what you see in video games," Larin said. "You don't see that in actual soccer, but we brought it to real life."
   Said Real Salt Lake coach Jeff Cassar:  "I don't recall ever seeing anything like that and I hope I never do again."
. . . .  (several paragraphs omitted)
   When the tying goal was scored, fans who had begun to funnel out of the Citrus Bowl, turned around and made a mad rush back into the stadium where they chanted and cheered, danced and sang, waved flags and banged drums for 30 minutes after the game.
. . . . (The article continues with two more columns of general background on Orlando City's immense fan success here in Orlando.)

Grace note:  Input from my daughter's Argentinian in-laws—plus watching the grandgirls play soccer year after year—has not exactly made me a soccer expert, but at least I have learned a bit about the game. So I watched the whole match on TV last Sunday, and there was one thing Bianchi did not state in so many words but which the announcers kept repeating (nearly shouting) at the time. The Lions scored two goals in 30 seconds! I too had given up and gone out to water my plants but was lucky enough to come back just in time to see both goals. As everyone keeps saying, this was a tie that came off as a win. Wow! 

Update:  The second game of the season on Friday night was a 1-1 tie, but was pronounced nowhere near as thrilling as Sunday's dramatic comeback. 


~ * ~  I will likely get back to Writing & Editing topics next week. Probably sounding off on the subject of "tags."
Thanks for stopping by,
Grace

For Grace's website, listing all books as Blair Bancroft, click here.
For a brochure for Grace's editing service, Best Foot Forward, click here.

 

DUMP THE TRUMP

I had just finished writing today's blog when I went to my daughter's Facebook page and found this perfect illustration.

Original post by Young Americans for Liberty

PYTHON UPDATE

The total from this year's Florida Python Hunt was 106, far exceeding the total two years ago. Among the prizes awarded were:

Most pythons by one team - 33
Most pythons by a single hunter - 13
Longest python - 15 feet

Note:  The possibly thousands of pythons in the Florida Everglades are attributed to pet owners discovering their slithery little pets had become HUGE and dumping them into the Florida wilderness. Or maybe the cost of feeding them just became excessive. In any event, exotic species are a real threat to Florida's native animals.


~ * ~

DUMP THE TRUMP

BULLETIN - heard on CNN, Sunday, March 6, 1:25 p.m. 

A friend of the late Nancy Reagan gave this quote on CNN. Of this year's politics, Mrs. Reagan said, "Do you believe this?"   I could not agree more! 


Saturday, March 5, 2016:

I have been voting in presidential elections for longer than I care to remember. And every time I was able to say of the man I did not vote for, "He's a good man. I just liked the other guy better." But this year I'm totally terrified. The Republican Party seems to have gone mad, presenting us with a bunch of squabbling, potty-mouthed children, none of them fit to hold the highest office in the land. (Yes, there were three intelligent, competent "gentlemen" among the candidates, but somehow they got left by the wayside.) OMG, how did this happen? The Republicans, waking up too late, are handing the Democrats the election on a silver platter. I keep reading explanations of how this disaster happened, but it's still hard to comprehend. Below is what I wrote earlier this week. I hope you will take the time to read it, ponder, and do your bit to DUMP THE TRUMP. (And pray the Republicans come up with something better than Cruz or Rubio as an alternative.)

Thursday, March 3, 2016:

The nation's presidential primaries and caucuses are moving forward, with Florida's almost upon us. Frankly, I don't understand how we got to this system of nominating presidential candidates. I can remember sitting on the edge of my seat, holding my breath, as votes were cast on the convention floor. Vote after vote until a majority was reached. Now conventions are just rubber stamps for what has already happened, and the electorate has had to suffer through month after month of rhetoric, political pundits, debates, and you name it. I'm already sick of it, and it's only March!

How dare anyone tell me Trump is going to be the Republican nominee when the voters in only a small minority of states have expressed their opinion? And yes, there's a shock in discovering the Republicans are so powerless they're letting a megalomaniac run away with the nomination, ensuring a win by the Democratic nominee. It's like the whole country - or at least the registered Republicans - have gone mad.

I suspect the truth is that the quote from the movie Network has infected the land. In the movie, the hero sticks his head out a city window and yells: "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" There's no doubt that this is where Trump is getting his followers. There are just too many people so angry with the system that they're applauding Trump for sticking it to absolutely everyone and everything, rather than paying attention to what the actuality of a Trump presidency might mean.

As an aside, I am more disappointed with Chris Christie than I am with Donald Trump, who has been openly obnoxious, and unrepentant, from Day 1. Christie's endorsement of Trump was a shocker. I can only presume he sold out for a promise of the Vice-Presidency. Which lowers him to zero in my opinion. I'd thought him a better man.

As for Trump, Gary Trudeau, in Doonesbury (Feb. 16, 2016), illustrated the problem very well. In the dialogue below the college friend/minister/priest, a long-time Doonesbury character, speaking to Mike Doonesbury and his wife. (The "bolds" are from the original.) 

Minister:  "So can you explain Trump's evangelical supporters to me? What are they thinking? Trump's a twice-divorced non-churchgoing ex-casino operator - the living embodiment of the seven deadly sins! Pride? Greed? Heck, those are core brand values! Envy? He attacks his betters every day! 

Lust? He's a womanizer who says he wants to date his own daughter! Gluttony? He's all about bloat! Wrath? No one is angrier! I mean, when you think about it, is there any difference between Trump and the devil himself?

Mike:  Sloth. You forgot one.

Wife:  Right. Satan is pretty low-energy.

Minister:  So one for seven? That's the bar now?

~ * ~ 
From an Op-ed in the Orlando Sentinel, Wednesday, March 2, 2016:

"I was going to write about how the Republican presidential campaign has become gutter politics, but given Donald Trump's horrid statements, the gutter would be step up, because things have descended into the sewer."

On Thursday, March 3, 2016, the front page of the Local/State section of the Orlando Sentinel featured a special framed box with the columnist's color photo prominently displayed above a color photo of Trump at a podium. To further catch the readers' attention, the words "Dear Donald Trump" were written in bold 32-point cursive, something you never see in your daily paper.     
             
The gist of the 4-column article was that Trump better take a good look at the audience when he visits the University of Central Florida this week. Angering blacks, women, and our large Hispanic population, is not the way to win votes. The article ends: "So, when you arrive at UCF, look around. You said on Super Tuesday that you want to be a "unifier." Central Florida would be a lot more impressed if you could live up to that promise."

Grace's personal opinion: The Donald will live up to that promise on the Twelfth of Never.

Friday, March 4, 2016: 

It was with great relief that I watched Mitt Romney take on Donald Trump yesterday. (Though how the mainstream Republicans could have waited so long for damage control I can't imagine. Perhaps the impossibility of believing the electorate could be fooled into mistaking bombast for competency?) After the disastrous behavior of not just Trump but several of the front-running Republican candidates, seeing and hearing Romney was like a breath of fresh air. Here was presidential material of the quality we expect in a President of the United States. OMG, sanity at last! Without name-calling, vulgarity, bombast, vitriol, and lies. 

From the Orlando Sentinel Op-ed page, Saturday, March 5, 2016:
 
"Donald Trump plays on racial fears and animosities in an ugly, deliberate and dangerous way. This dance with bigotry goes far beyond his temporary amnesia about David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan.

"Trump speaks as if he considers whiteness the norm and sees people of color as somehow alien and suspect. He is the only major American political figure in many decades to display such an antediluvian worldview so openly. Trump doesn't tweet dog whistles, he blasts foghorns."  

From the Orlando Sentinel, Sunday, March 6, 2016:

Donald Trump was at UCF yesterday, and even I, obviously not a Trump fan, was shocked by a couple of items in the news report. Evidently, all too many Trump supporters are drawn to him by his incivility. Each time the audience spotted a protester in the crowd, they'd scream until they got Trump's attention, and he would order Security to toss the person out, adding in his inimitable mocking style, "Go home to mommy!" 

The reporter went ahead to mention that another Trump staple, guaranteed to get roars from the crowd, is mocking the media.  Yesterday he asked everyone in the arena to look at the camera operators and then told the silent camera crew: "You all are the most dishonest group of people."

Basically, what this tells us is that Trump is grinding the First Amendment into the dirt. Again, I ask, How did we get to the place where someone like this can run for the highest office in the land?
 
~ * ~
From Grace's personal opinion:

I'm not old enough to remember the wild, bombastic speeches made by the greatest megalomaniac of the 20th century, but I remember the war that came after very well. The speech-maker was Adolf Hitler; the war, World War II. It took every resource we had to win that one. The sacrifices were like nothing we've seen since. And now, for the first time since the 1930s and 40s, we are being faced with similar hate-filled bombast, embellished by vulgarity and profanity. The time to stop this juggernaut is now. Before we put our nuclear codes into the hands of a man with a hair-trigger temper, a man who seems to love to hate. It is our duty and our privilege to save this country from a megalomaniac of this century.

It's time for a new slogan to sweep the country:

DUMP THE TRUMP!*

 (If you prefer, a simple DUMP TRUMP! will do. )
 If you agree, pass either slogan along. I'd love to see them go viral.

*I was delighted to see this slogan on the evening news. It was displayed on a sign held by a protester outside the UCF arena on Saturday, March 5. 


~ * ~
Thanks for stopping by,
Grace

For Grace's website, listing all books as Blair Bancroft, click here.
For a brochure for Grace's editing service, Best Foot Forward, click here. 

REBEL PRINCESS

 BLUE MOON RISING
 As I've mentioned before, I am a long-time SyFy reader, beginning with Galaxy magazine while I was in high school. But I never tried to write it as I knew I didn't have the technical knowledge to carry it off. And then along came "Futuristics," a more romantic and less techie version of SyFy, and of course I said, "Why not?"

Except—sigh—so many Futuristics seemed to emphasize hot sex, and that definitely wasn't my cup of tea. So with two of my favorite authors in mind - Jane Castle (Jayne Ann Krentz) and Linnea Sinclair - I set out to write a story  set in the future but with more emphasis on romance and less on technical details than most SyFy. Fixing my sights on a hopefully happy middle-of-the-road, I created a plot involving an aggressive warlike planet bent on establishing an empire and a small backwater planet of peace-loving people who had eschewed violence in order to develop powers of the mind. And Rebel Princess was born.

I was writing for Ellora's Cave Blush at the time, and my editor loved it, said she stayed up all night to finish it. I had a contract, a cover; we had finished first edits when Blush crashed. Not only no more submissions but new works, even those as far along as mine, would not be published.

In total shock, I left the manuscript mostly on the back shelf, though I submitted a couple of queries (I'd almost forgotten what that was like!) Nothing. Yet I was reluctant to go the indie route as I had with my backlist and more recent books. My Regency followers read a SyFy/Futuristic/Paranormal?? But when Kindle Scout invited me to submit, I thought, "Okay, maybe this is it." Maybe the power of Amazon will bring in readers for a Futuristic by an author mostly known for her Regencies! (That, of course, remains to be seen.)

I had planned to write one book for the sheer fun of it, but about three-quarters of the way through, I realized there was no way to conclude such a wide-ranging tale in one book. So Blue Moon, the book, became Blue Moon, the series, the number of volumes rapidly escalating from one to three to four. Yes, it was one of those stories that just wouldn't shut up, with a host of characters who kept insisting on starring roles. For example, I started out with one royal in mind and ended up with four! Projected titles are: Sorcerer's Bride, The Bastard Prince, and Royal Rebellion. I'm currently struggling through The Bastard Prince, which is a challenge as, like the heroine of Lady Silence, he doesn't talk.

Even if you've never read SyFy or Futuristic before, I hope you'll give Rebel Princess a try. The romance is as strong as the derring-do! The first review was just posted - five stars. I'd love to see a few more. Hint, hint!

The description below is an expanded version of what is available on Amazon.






The people of the peaceful planet Psyclid have spent a millennia cultivating skills of the mind, the people of the planet Regular Prime an equal amount of time developing their military might. Kass Kiolani, a Psyclid princess in disguise, is the first of her kind to attend the Regulon Space Academy. But when her new "friends" invade her homeworld, she is rescued from rape and possible medical experimentation only by the swift action of Tal Rigel, an honorable (and admiring) captain in the Regulon fleet. She spends the next four years in solitary confinement, where she dreams of her rescuer but has no idea she has inadvertently sparked a rebellion against the Regulon Empire.

When she is freed at last, she finds herself in the midst of a fight against the Empire, and thoroughly disoriented by the contrast between her fantasies and the actual Tal Rigel. She also must contend with Regulon rebels who fear her psychic powers, her fey younger brother who speaks only through illusions, her parents who believe in non-violence, and a fiancé who happens to be a sorcerer. The hope of toppling the Empire is a dim light at the end of a very long tunnel.

For Rebel Princess on Amazon, click here.  

(Rebel Princess is currently a Free Read for KindleUnlimited subscribers.)

For a "vocabulary" of some of the many words created for the world of the Blue Moon series, click here.

~ * ~ 

My Rebel Princess wasn't the only princess debuting in Florida this month. Here is a professional photo of Hailey during one of several solo appearances during the 3-day skating competition in Maitland.



~ * ~
Thanks for stopping by,
Grace

For Grace's website, listing all books as Blair Bancroft, click here.
For a brochure for Grace's editing service, Best Foot Forward, click here.