Love is worth the risk
The Bluestocking Belles met yesterday. It is always a challenge to get everyone in a conference call due to the spinning earth. We have members in Australia, New Zealand, San Francisco, Florida, South Carolina and, of course, the urban wilds of Eastern Pennsylvania. We were plotting our next holiday anthology. Our overall story trope is […]
We’re highlighting historical fiction a day late this week. Lizzi Tremayne sent us a thought provoking piece about research, the rivulets down which writers may find themselves…and asks if it really matters. Not to be getting morbid on you this early in the piece, but really, it’s important. Getting the detail right makes a […]
I received this picture and a lovely thank you this week from the reader who won one of my contests last year. The prize was a short story for which she chose specifications. In this case she wanted a scandal caused by a cat. That took some thought! She also wanted a gruff alpha hero, […]
Highlighting Elizabeth Ellen Carter with some thoughts about time and its historic context—while giving us a bit of her Revenge of the Corsairs. In the 21st century we might be ‘time poor’, but at least we can tell the time – in fact, there is no avoiding it! Personal timepieces are everywhere! Just about all […]
Julia Justiss highlights shopping! The frenetic pre-Christmas shopping rush used to be typified by US residents leaving their Thanksgiving Thursday dinners to camp out at midnight, the better to score early-bird shopping bargains on Black Friday morning. With the advent of technology, the madness expanded to the on-line shopping bonanza of Cyber Monday. Skipping over […]
Highlighting Monica Burns and her thoughts on her unique trope, the virgin hero. (And don’t forget she offers a FREE book for subscribers) My September 25th reissue, PLEASURE ME, has a virgin hero. When I decided to write Garrick as a virgin, I was faced with a tough question. What reason does a virile, alpha […]
Highlighting Emma Lane’s thoughts on historical holiday decor. Seasonal Decorations. My pulse quickens as the holidays approach. It sparks my imagination. In my “real” world I play (work) with flowers and decorations weekly. One of my favorites for Thanksgiving is a ceramic rooster which I fill with dried flowers. My family hooted when they saw […]
Highlighting Susana Ellis’s love of Vauxhall Gardens. Vauxhall Gardens has become a bit of an obsession with me. I even visited there last September, even though it has become little more than a small grassy area between the Vauxhall Underground station, Kennington Lane, and the busy Vauxhall Bridge. The Orchestra building being long gone, […]
Highlighting Linda McLaughlin’s hero, Stephen Chaplin, a barrister. I recently visited Stephen Chaplin, Esquire at his offices in London’s Lincoln’s Inn to interview him. LM: Mr. Chaplin, thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me. Can you tell me a bit about yourself? For instance, are you originally from the London area? SC: […]
This week Donna MacMeans shares her research with us. One of the things I love about writing is how everything you’ve done, every place you visit, inspires stories. The stories might not be immediate, but they percolate in the brain until they fit with the perfect storyline. That’s the way it worked for me with […]