I'm back from England and Tarnished Soul
First, I want to thank everyone who stopped by and commented on my hop post. The winner has been notified!
My husband I got back from England on May 18th and what a trip it was. While we loved everything we saw and did, but the exhaustion was something we hadn't counted on. London is a beast if you want to see all the important historical places, and we did.
Our drive through the countryside was a mixed bag. The difference in driving on the left hand side of the road caused us to be hyper-vigilant and did take away from the enjoyment of it. However, we saw some amazing things, like Shakespeare's birthplace, the Dr. Who Experience in Cardiff, and when we went to Barry Island in Wales, we visited some of the places used in the filming of a really heartwarming series, Gavin and Stacey.
We spent a great time on the Britannia in Edinburgh and it still stays in my memory as one of the most magnificent things we saw.
England has long been on my bucket list and the fact that I shared the experience with my husband, makes this the most wonderful vacation I've ever taken. We immersed ourselves in the history that we've only read about and seen in documentaries and movies.
At St. George's Chapel at Windsor Palace, we walked over the grave of Henry VIII and some say his favorite wife, Jane Seymour. At Kensington Palace, we visited the Queen Victoria exhibit, which traced her life from birth to death, many of those years spent inside that palace. Arguably most famous for housing Princess Diana, I was disappointed to find no exhibit dedicated to her. However, what was there, will stay with me forever. For pictures, take a look at my travelogue.
On the writing front, I have taken about a month off, which included the trip. I am deeply into Tarnished Soul, the second in the Tarnished series, and the story is coming together nicely. This story concerns Owen Wylie, a former policeman in Los Angeles, who goes to work for Starlight Studios as their head of the publicity department.
In the Golden Age of Hollywood, the publicity departments at the studios were the most powerful branch of the system. They were charged with keeping the secrets of the actors, the directors, and all in between. They covered up bad behavior, affairs, drug habits, and an errant baby or two.
The dynamic is very interesting and juxtaposed against today's world, it is a mystery as to how the studios could own the police, newspapers, medical professionals, lawyers, district attorneys, even the spouses and parents of the wayward. Actors became involved in scandals and they rarely suffered the consequences.
I wanted to explore this aspect of Hollywood and in my research, I learned more than I'd expected about the way these things worked. My character, Owen Wylie, is the clean up man at Starlight. He will cross paths with the star of Tarnished Gold, Jack Abadie, and will play a role in some of the events that take place in Tarnished Gold.
The third book in the series, Tarnished Heart, will tackle the unique world of the gossip columnists. They made and broke careers, held public opinion in their hands. If they liked a person, the world was their oyster. If they didn't, God save them. The columnist's poison pen would cast a person in mud or make them stars, talentless or not.
That Hollywood couldn't exist today, but when it did, those at the top were all powerful.
I'm truly enjoying the research on these projects. I've always loved that era and learning more about it has heightened that interest.
I hope to have Tarnished Soul finished by this fall and submitted to Dreamspinner by the time Gay Rom Lit rolls around in October. I expect this to be of a length with Tarnished Gold, which is 106k. There is much story to tell, and I find Owen a particularly compelling character to write.
We are already planning another trip, this one to upstate New York, back home as it were. In July, my favorite uncle celebrates his 80th birthday, and we will be there with him. I couldn't miss that for the world.
Until then, I have my nose to the grindstone and will be working to add significant word count to my next book.
My husband I got back from England on May 18th and what a trip it was. While we loved everything we saw and did, but the exhaustion was something we hadn't counted on. London is a beast if you want to see all the important historical places, and we did.
Our drive through the countryside was a mixed bag. The difference in driving on the left hand side of the road caused us to be hyper-vigilant and did take away from the enjoyment of it. However, we saw some amazing things, like Shakespeare's birthplace, the Dr. Who Experience in Cardiff, and when we went to Barry Island in Wales, we visited some of the places used in the filming of a really heartwarming series, Gavin and Stacey.
We spent a great time on the Britannia in Edinburgh and it still stays in my memory as one of the most magnificent things we saw.
England has long been on my bucket list and the fact that I shared the experience with my husband, makes this the most wonderful vacation I've ever taken. We immersed ourselves in the history that we've only read about and seen in documentaries and movies.
At St. George's Chapel at Windsor Palace, we walked over the grave of Henry VIII and some say his favorite wife, Jane Seymour. At Kensington Palace, we visited the Queen Victoria exhibit, which traced her life from birth to death, many of those years spent inside that palace. Arguably most famous for housing Princess Diana, I was disappointed to find no exhibit dedicated to her. However, what was there, will stay with me forever. For pictures, take a look at my travelogue.
On the writing front, I have taken about a month off, which included the trip. I am deeply into Tarnished Soul, the second in the Tarnished series, and the story is coming together nicely. This story concerns Owen Wylie, a former policeman in Los Angeles, who goes to work for Starlight Studios as their head of the publicity department.
In the Golden Age of Hollywood, the publicity departments at the studios were the most powerful branch of the system. They were charged with keeping the secrets of the actors, the directors, and all in between. They covered up bad behavior, affairs, drug habits, and an errant baby or two.
The dynamic is very interesting and juxtaposed against today's world, it is a mystery as to how the studios could own the police, newspapers, medical professionals, lawyers, district attorneys, even the spouses and parents of the wayward. Actors became involved in scandals and they rarely suffered the consequences.
I wanted to explore this aspect of Hollywood and in my research, I learned more than I'd expected about the way these things worked. My character, Owen Wylie, is the clean up man at Starlight. He will cross paths with the star of Tarnished Gold, Jack Abadie, and will play a role in some of the events that take place in Tarnished Gold.
The third book in the series, Tarnished Heart, will tackle the unique world of the gossip columnists. They made and broke careers, held public opinion in their hands. If they liked a person, the world was their oyster. If they didn't, God save them. The columnist's poison pen would cast a person in mud or make them stars, talentless or not.
That Hollywood couldn't exist today, but when it did, those at the top were all powerful.
I'm truly enjoying the research on these projects. I've always loved that era and learning more about it has heightened that interest.
I hope to have Tarnished Soul finished by this fall and submitted to Dreamspinner by the time Gay Rom Lit rolls around in October. I expect this to be of a length with Tarnished Gold, which is 106k. There is much story to tell, and I find Owen a particularly compelling character to write.
We are already planning another trip, this one to upstate New York, back home as it were. In July, my favorite uncle celebrates his 80th birthday, and we will be there with him. I couldn't miss that for the world.
Until then, I have my nose to the grindstone and will be working to add significant word count to my next book.
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