Melanie, I wish I could give everybody the e-reader of their choice or a gift card of comparable value. Maybe some year...
Janie, I wouldn't say Scottish men are my particular favorites, but I do love the sense of social conscience I feel there. Scotland is more closely tied with Scandinavian culture than England is, and because there has been so much population lost from Scotland, folks do not take their culture's continued existence for granted. They're also more immigrant friendly than a lot of places, and tolerant of the resulting diversity. I respect tolerance, I respect it A LOT.
Samantha, it's a chicken or the egg situation with the research. I'll be reading along in Robert Burn's letters, and get an idea, about a man served with a writ of paternity sworn out by a woman he thinks he'd never met (Burns was served with one from a lady he had, um, met). Then I have to look up writs of paternity, and then I have to study up on what legal proceedings followed, and then I might find Scotland had different divorce laws from England, and then.... it's all fun, which is what matters.
Bonnie, John is a gem, but alas, also QUITE happily married. It's enough that he deals with the dollars for me because I did not get that gene.
Chelsea, maybe the Laird of MacPemberly will ride over the horizon if we wish hard enough and have enough wee drams.
Tiffany, it's ALL about the readers. The readers pay me to do something I love, and that means the readers matter A LOT. Wonderful people, those readers!
Peggy, the Highlands of North Carolina long, long time ago, were contiguous with the Highlands of Scotland. The north western part of Scotland broke off and wandered until it smacked into the southwest part of Scotland, but in terms of flora and fauna, Scotland and the East Coast of the US are kissing cousins. Maybe that explains a few things about you?
Rich, I'm in something of a corner with respect to names. I've completed about forty manuscripts, and each of those has att least eight characters, so I've used about 300 names, and my editor likes for names to be distinctive. Archer and Asher were too close, in the opinion of some, which means Anton, Anthony, etc have all been knocked out of the running, along with Archer, Archie, Archibald...
I have met a Scot named Asher, and there were Victorians named Asher. The trick is to find a name that's only slightly unusual, but still credible for the time and place. Some of the actual names I've stumbled across must have been real burdens for the people stuck with them.
Jayne, for the first three, at least one protag was a member of the MacGregor family. For book four, we've invited a MacGregor in-law to the MacGregor holiday house party, and she's fallen in love with one of the other guests, a cranky Scot...
Gretchan, I've been three times so far, and I'd be hard put to choose. The Braemar Highland Games were cool--more kilts than Culloden, as the locals say. Culloden was a lot like Antietam battlefield, because Scots died on both sides, and for what? Mull is lovely and charming, Edinburgh delightful. Pitlochry is beautiful, Perthshire makes you want to tramp like a traveler all summer...
Pam, hope you love it!
Mary Ann, the Clearances come up more in a book due out in September, The Laird, which is actually a Scottish Regency. The Clearances didn't really stop until the 1880s, when the courts finally intervened and said a lifelong leasehold tenant has an expectation of permanent access to the land... that's a long time to drain the countryside of hardworking, food producing people.... and Scotland feels the effects to this day.
Glenda, I'm working on extending the MacGregor's by adding stories for the three Flynn sisters. We'll see where things go from there.
Sharon, I hope you do too!
Barbara, I'm aiming for one big trip a year. This year it will include both Scotland and Eloisa James's writing seminar in Tuscany. I'm a a hardworking author or what?
Mary, dream big--it could happen. Scotland is worth saving up for.
Linda, as one of the tour managers said, "Scotland is polluted with castles." I wouldn't put it QUITE like that, but stone was abundantly available to build with, and stone holds up for centuries, sooo... I'd like to manage a writing seminar in Scotland in 2015, and we're looking at spending at least part of the ten days in a refurbished castle.
Diane--Let's hope Outlander gives us one, and I liked The Three Lives of Thomasina for giving the handsome, bitter Scot a happy ending... not
Diane B, my accountant is one of most appealing guys I know--tall, dark, handsome, green-eyed, and the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. He knows all my secrets too, now if only there was a DROP of wickedness in him. A SCINTILLA... as for movies and TV... I don't own a TV, so nope, not so much.
Denise, I have not. I've visited for several months at a time (Germany), visited family living far away (Brazil), but I haven't yet lived overseas. I'd like to spend some years in Scotland, but if you're not from the EU, immigrating there is hard (unless you're in IT or petroleum engineering).
Larisa, am I limited to three? I don't really have a favorite, because sometimes I want to the rolling smoke, sometimes I want flowers, sometimes I want that hint of banana but don't call it that. I'm probably less of a heavy peat smoke drinker, but even that could go well with certain snowstorms.
Angela, SHHHHH! Mr. MacDarcy is whisperin' in ma wee ear.
Annette, well, let's see. For this year, the Lonelys will include David, Trenton Lindsey, Hadrian Bothwell, and Worth Kettering, and the next Scottish Victorian will be What A Lady Needs for Christmas, out in October. As for next year, three more Lonelys (Matthew and Axel Belmont, Thomas Jennings), and probably two more of Tiberius Flynn's sisters.
Jeanne, I have a few copies of the novellas that I had left over from submitting them to the RITA contest. I'll have to ask my publisher what their plans are for commercial print availability for them.
Michelle, I've been to Scotland three times, and my next trip is planned for June. The research is a combination of online, reading, loops, and in-country. To me, the best advantage of traveling in the UK are the things you stumble on by accident that just MAKE a scene come alive. In a vintage 1811 house in Edinburgh, I saw chamber pots stored under the sideboard in the formal dining room.... they REALLY did that.
Molly, I'll have to fish around and get back to you. I do know Creagaran is the company name, not the clan name (probably Creagaran Mills?).
Tiffany, I do think of using characters with psi abilities, but so far, an entire series hasn't taken root in my mind. Alexa Egan has a wonderful ability to write paranormal historicals, and I really enjoy Kristen Callihan's Darkest London series. And yes, places inspire me. A single cow wandering up a hill can inspire me.
GS Moch, those VERY Windhams wandered into this Scottish Victorian--what cheek! I do think about a series for Windham grandchildren, but given that the ideal Victorian family size was nine children (like the royal couple), that could be a looooong series.
Georgie, I haven't been to edradour, but I've been on some whiskey tours (whiskey is a daily part of the Beltane Tour). Marvelous stuff, whiskey, and I always know what to bring my stateside friends as a present from Scotland.
Mary Anne, to me the essence of romance is when love gives a person the courage to grow into the best they can be.
Kathy, I love all of it, but a particularly lovely moment sometimes befalls me, when I've written myself into a corner, and I'm thinking, and hoping, and wishing an answer would come... and it finally does. Sometimes I have to wait months to figure out a solution, but that moment of insight is wonderful.
Jane, I got a chuckle out one of the tour managers the last time I went to Scotland. We were going to hear a fiddler from the northwest, and our manager, from Perth, said, "Ye can hardly understand 'im, he's accent is sae thick..."
Catherine, Tiberius Flynn's sisters are next up, and there are three of them, and they ALL fall in love with Scotsmen. The first of that batch comes out in October--What A Lady Needs for Christmas.
LLam, oh, how I wish. You've given me an idea for my bucket list!
Sheryl, I will read ANYTHING provided it's well written. I'm particularly enjoying JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood and Fallen Angels series, Kristen Callihan's Darkest London, and Joanna Bourne's Spymaster series.
May, I spent some time on Mull this last trip, and found it lovely. My next objective is Skye, and the Great Glen is magnificent... There's a hotel right on the river in Dunkeld that's crying out to be a writing retreat.... I could go on and on.
Amy, many of the MacGregors fled, took sept names, or affiliated with other clans. They haven't had an easy road.
MReed, funny you should ask. I've had The Duke and His Duchess, and The Courtship, also Morgan and Archer done as audio downloads, and they'll be available on the graceburrowes.com website VERY soon.
Donna, I have a lot more investigating to do, but for now, I keep a bottle of The Macallan on hand at all times. The really good stuff is made in batches of only about 200 bottles, and most of it doesn't leave Scotland. So...
Colleen, I think a reader with a powerful imagination must get the most enjoyment out of her fiction. Without imagination, I'm not sure fiction even works!
Angela, a lot of authors have a hard time with deadlines, not because they can't get the words onto the screen, but because parting with the finished product is like releasing a beloved beastie into the wild. You know you should, but...
Hello, Cathy, and thanks for stopping by. There's a whole 'nother side to being a courtroom attorney that has to do with acting and stage play, and I think that somehow comes into novel craft too, particularly at the level of the scene. Though I must say, it's not a part of lawyering I ever enjoyed much.
GS, once upon a long time ago, I edited software manuals. About made my eyeballs ache. MilSpecs are not for sissies--or humans.
Laura, did you know that Jane Austen would not write a scene with two men talking with each other alone, because she said she'd never witnessed that? Maybe watching is all that's necessary?
Sandy, the number of similarities surprised me, but it begs the question: How many of us are married to same guy for decades (LOTS), how many have kids (LOTS and LOTS). Somebody should do a survey...
Sharlene, it's tough, but it also means I really, really, REALLY need my happily ever afters. Romance authors have provided them to me for decades, now I get to cook up a few of my own.
Charlotte, thanks for stopping by. This is the next to last stop. Tomorrow we'll be on my graceburrowes.com website giving away an iPad.
Joy, John is an interesting case--so to speak. He wrote for eleven years, as a hobby, for fun and stress management, before anybody wanted to publish his stuff. I've heard from some editors that "lawyers don't work on the page, they make better drama on the screen," but geesh, they're working pretty well for John.
Theresa, I don't know how authors do it either. I just know I like to write. The rest is... I pinch myself, y
Valerie, I read romance for DECADES before I tried writing it, and by then, Beloved Offspring had flown the coop.
Vicki, hope the Lonelys do it for you. They were great fun to write and they keep popping up as secondary characters in other books, too.
Sebella, when I started thinking about it, the parallels grew and grew. In both professions, you're better off with a thick skin--but an open heart. In both professions, you must be able to pivot on a dime when a new case comes down or a market trend shifts.... I could go on.
Pat, I like what Julia Quinn says, that romance authors may not be able to change a person's life, but we can change their afternoon. It's a place to start.
Laurie, my guess is you don't have a schedule that lets you enjoy much mental white space, which is when my imagination grabs me. Goof off some, and you might be surprised at the stories lurking beneath the busyness.
Kathy, if you'd asked me as a kid, I would never have said I wanted to be a lawyer OR an author. I wanted to be a farmer's wife and the mother of his many children. Yeah.
Helen, it is a gift, and I can't see that I did anything special to earn it. I'm just blessed, I guess.
Emily, I didn't "have" it until I was in my late forties. Who knows what abilities are incubating in us while we work, raise families, care for elders, maintain a marriage, hit the gym, fold the wash.... We're treasures in the making.
Peggy, I consider romance the court jester in the literary kingdom. It threatens nobody, the "real" literary authors can look down on it, but romance speaks the hard truths in a way people can hear them: Be kind, tell the truth, love boldly, and your life will be worth living. (Or that's the theory!)
Sharon, I never began in earnest, I just couldn't stop writing (also in a journal). One day, that writing focused on a story, and STILL didn't stop. And I STILL keep a journal too!
Erika, what I get from Scotland is lonely majesty, which is an OK p
Linda, readers who can recall details are a blessing to an author. I can't tell you how many times a reader has emailed me to note a small discrepancy between widely separated books. Some of those readers have become beta readers, and that means the discrepancies never see the light of print.
Marcia--I have a daughter in college. When she graduates, I'm determined to simplify the professional schedule, and it won't be the writing I cut back on!
Mary Ann, that day job creeps in, though I usually try to hold it at arms' length. In Lady Maggie's book--she was essentially a foster kid in the duke's household--and in Lady Eve's book. She made big boo-boo's as an adolescent that haunted her for years. I'm often the last one to pick up on the cross-pollination. My readers usually see it before I do.
Annetta, I like Option Number Three, particularly when there are as many good books hitting the shelves, as we have this month.
Debbie, my mom always said, "Don't make decisions when you're tired."
Ella, maybe a writing career is just an excuse to sleep in, because I'm of the same mind.
Sue, you say "right away," then refer to information gathering rather than an impulsive decision. Good on you!
Trudy, what a wonderful thing to be able to say "I have a lot of common sense." Betcha many other people seek your company when THEY have a problem.
Joanne, I do like to blog. Never thought that would be so, but having place to put the little thoughtful asides is fun. Thanks!
GS, I didn't realize until the book was published how strongly Eve's story appeals to everybody who was ever a teenager in a tough spot (including me). Thanks.
Marjorie, Chelsea, Karin my sister makes lists, and she never seems to be disorganized. Maybe something to that...
Lisa, the git 'er done school of thought has a lot of followers among the people in my family, probably my mom most of all. Raising seven children probably made that a necessity.
Carol, I like that approach. A little stewing, but not too much.
Anne, I think your reminder would be very useful to all of us, whether we're writers or not. Well put.
Candice, I often set the alarm an hour early on purpose, so I can roll over the doze on some of my problems or my book questions. Just making sure I don't start the day in a hurry is probably a smart idea for the old creativity.
Nicole, that old adage about not letting the sun go down on your anger struck me as something people in relationships, in particular, have to use sparingly. You're right, some problems and difficulties require mulling over for more than a few hours, or a few days.
Sandy--journals! Yes, I still journal every night, sometimes as soon as I walk in the door and then again before bed. Good discharge mechanism.
Bonnie, if you've found a partner who's a good listener, happy is you.
Felicia, I find it's my temper that tends to flare up, splutter for a bit, and then calm down as commonsense and compassion get a grip on me. Very few people get up in the morning and plan on aggravating me--contrary to my initial fumings.
Nancy, it's often the case that time helps, and it helps in way that all the fussing and carrying on in the world won't. Good reminder.
Kent, squirt gun, I hope, though my cat never found it much of a deterent.
May, that forcing myself to set and work it stuff is the definition of me and accounting challenges, even balancing my check book and paying bills takes A LOT of discipline.
Anna, they taught us something in my conflict classes that you remind me of: EVERY solution has unintended consequences, and those will make new problems. If the problems are inevitable, having a good process in place for dealing with them just makes sense.
Patti, I'll be giving away more copies elsewhere on the blog tour, and I give away something almost every week on my website blog. You remind me that good decisions are based on good information, and that often the best step after a problem has been defined
Kathleen, I'm not usually patient enough to wait for SEVERAL solutions, but maybe with my next book (a Christmas Scottish Victorian) I'll give it a try.
Beth, many, many authors will say their Critique Partners are their invaluable source of ideas, and I've turned to writing buddies often to help me work out details when I've got a start. More often, I'll have one character's part of the story--usually the hero--and another pair of ears will be a big help in figuring out the heroine, or the villain.
Celina, you need a horse to teach you, or maybe a nice old dog, a kit-teh...
Bonnie, there are a ton of great books out this month. My next treat is Meredith Duran's "That Scandalous Summer."
Sheila, I did love that horse. He often felt like the best part of my life, my safe place, my best me place--and I would never have thought we'd end up such good friends.
Sandra, so many authors took ME away, especially during those working full time, single-parenting, running my own law practice years. It would be wonderful to provide the same escape for others.
Chelsea Wilson, you're on. Romantic Times is in Kansas City this year (first week in May). If you can find a store manager who's amenable, April 28th or 29th, I'll tweak my itinerary accordingly. Darius is my April release, and Nicholas comes out in May... Let me know by about April 1, 'kay?
Xoun, best of luck with the giveaway. That's why we do them, to make new friends.
Martha, so you can have a vicarious ride with Lady Eve, right?
Deana, you'd enjoy this book. Lady Eve thinks she's made irreparable mistakes, but what she's done is underestimate how much her family and her husband love her. THAT is a happy mistake to make!
And as for the family farm... my parents sold the house I spent the first eighteen years of my life in. OUCH. Can only imagine what it was like losing your summer escape. Somebody else is showing their kids the joys of country living there now.
Colleen, riding memories stick with us, good or bad. Mine are 99 percent good.
Peggy, I thought I was going to get a Valentine's red and pink cover, but I love the honey-gold palette of this one.
Carla, see you at the barn. I swear this horse had a pair of wings and halo stuffed in some corner of his stall.
Rebeccas, for me it's walking. I can walk for six minutes away from the house, and six minutes back. Do that twice at even a snail's pace, and you've done better than a mile.
Pam, I think the love counts whether you spend time in the saddle or not. For the last few years I had horses on my property, I wasn't riding, and I probably enjoyed them even more for it. They were purely personalities then, not in any way involved in goal oriented tasks with me.
GS--thanks for stopping by, and for those encouraging words.
Gail, something people don't realize (unless they're in a therapeutic riding setting) is that just being up there on that half ton beast gives you a sense of physical empowerment greater than you had standing on the ground. Girls especially benefit from that, I think.
Julie, thanks!
Chelsea, I have a list near my writing space of what hero goes on which horse--it's important!
Bj, so when will we see your manuscript?
Debbi, thanks for stopping by and best of luck in the giveaway.
Shelly, tell us how you really feel! Thanks so very, very much!
Patricia, excellent point. Dream dance, they do not tow a barge along a perfectly engineered canal.
Rosemary, no ranches in this one, though there's a horse farm and a couple of horse enthusiasts (also a horse or two). Maybe that will work for you?
Felicia, the horse gene transfers. It's a lifestyle choice, and for those who get it, a happy one.
Karin, Del was a wonderful horse. Never a cross word for that pony unless I had it coming.
Deanna, we all have trouble with follow through. The writing coaches exhort us to finish at least one MS, no matter how lame we think it's getting. Easy for them to say...
Sharon, he was consistently a terrific horse. That helped an awful lot.
Mary, what an ideal way to enjoy the equines, and ponies are always grateful for attention.
Debbie, Deene is sort of an English cowboy. He looks terrific on a horse but he doesn't ride off into the sunset.
Kathy--horse girls unite!
May, I think most people find horses pretty, and they are, until you're the one holding the muck fork and the feed bill.
Lisa, hello and thanks for those kind words.
Sandy, some of the foster kids I represent in Circuit Court are lucky enough to get into the therapeutic riding classes, and I don't know of a single kid who hasn't benefited. Will Rogers said, "Something about the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man." Even more, for ladies and children, methinks.
Sue--cherry red? Gold metallic flake? We want details!
Wilma, you're another cowboy fan who might like a side trip to Regency England--or you could pick up Joanne Kennedy's latest, or one of Carolyn Brown's hot cowboys, right?
Darla, thanks for stopping by, and best of luck with the giveaways/
Marjorie, don't forget to check out "The Duke and His Duchess" another e-novella for Their Graces which will be coming out in March.
Greetings, Clare, fellow horse girl/writer girl. When Del and I were particularly blah, we'd ask somebody to set us up some poles or an X, and immediately, we both perked up. He was never much of a jumper, but I'd gone log hopping a time or two, or three.
Bj, you would make the perfect plotting partner. What I call a "flywheel" imagination is an enviable gift. And yes, Del was also an enviable gift.
With respect to things changing... I do think we have to hold the Victorians somewhat responsible for "cleaning up" our perception of the Regency. We're supposed to think men NEVER married their mistresses in the Regency (they did); such a mistress could NEVER become respectable (she could, though it took time, luck and charm), the classes never intermarried (they did, particularly where money was involved), and illegitimacy was a nasty little secret (not always, can you say FitzClarence?). Victoria's poet laureate, William Wordsworthy, had a half French illegitimate daughter. His legitimate daughter spent much of her energies trying to suppress all mention of her half sister. While papa wrote his romantic poetry...
VERY interesting periods, the Georgian, Regency, and Victorian, and some figures, like Wellington, straddled them all.
For those of you interested in more information regarding No. 5, the movie "Hysteria" deals with the topic more or less factually, but also humorously. With respect to wedding gowns, in the Regency period, the dress was likely to be simply a girl's Sunday best, but in the Victorian era, the "wedding gown" came into vogue. I believe (don't quote me) Victoria was the one who made the white gown popular, though by no means mandatory.
Queen Victoria was progressive in many ways for her time, but married to a very traditional man, whom she reportedly adored. Nine children support that report rather convincingly. She and Albert also collected nude drawings, and her diaries confirm that she enjoyed her conjugal duties very much.
Rewind: Your editor asks, you produce. Easy peasy. Geesh, CH, modest much? Not everybody can switch gears that easily, much less that successfully. Looking forward to the new series, though I wouldn't object if the occasional cowboy rode into Apple Grove, either.
It's interesting to me that nobody has mentioned the weather, not the day-at-the-beach Christmas weather Down Under, or the White Christmases we have occasionally here in the Northern Hemisphere. And I have wonder: Am I the only one who has to watch Rudolph, The Grinch, Charlie Brown, and It's a Wonderful Life? (Though I like that hot chocolate and presents idea, too).
I think a beta is often an alpha in sheep's clothing, at least when it comes to the things that matter in a hero: courage, determination, honor, and devotion. The fun part is he often doesn't know he can channel an inner alpha, but the author, and the heroine believe in him enough to convince him.
Peggy, my parents stopped seeing each other, much my my mother's family's relief. Stuey was not a "nice. Catholic boy," (though he eventually became one). Dad went off and thought for a while, and realized he'd made a Big Mistake. When he called Mom's house, he was constantly told, "She's not here." She wasn't. She was off in nurses training.
Dad happened to get a job in the post office over Christmas break, and saw a letter go by addressed to Mom at nurse's training, and penned her a "I was wrong, I love you," letter. They got back together and have lived lovingly, if not always blissfully thereafter (seven kids, ya know)? I love stories like that. Love them, and I hope you write yours down.
Sigrun, your parents' tale is another one that deserves elaboration, maybe as an inspirational romance. My dad is also a WWII vet, and maybe it's their generation, but he won't talk about unless it's to tell us of the day he got the orders to go home at the end of the war.
Chelsea, you're doing something right if life hasn't tried to skewer you in an impossible dilemma. The worst challenges I've faced have been because I used poor judgment, then had to deal with the consequences.
Mary, you've put it in a more accurate light. We all make tough choices, but some of us choose out of courage (at the end of the book) and others choose out of fear (at the beginning).
Ann, I am most, most blessed in my family--you're right about that. I have no husband and no sons, so I think my father and my brothers are dear to me in a way another woman might not experience.
Bonnie--got the "right now." Six children? Right now means, "this second."
Denise, best of luck, and I'll be blogging at H&H later this month. The whole tour is available on my website (under events) graceburrowes.com.
Thanks much to everybody for stopping by, and for giving me a peek into your own heroic moments.
Stacie, I'm a lawyer, and I ought to know that nearly half of all marriages end in divorce (the rate is dropping), but when it was my turn in the barrel, I was still bumfuzzled for a while. Like you, I can look back and see it was right decision, but geesh, those were some tough years.
And Gigi, I have FOUR very smart brothers, lucky me. My sisters, however, are wise.
I home schooled my daughter for grades 10, 11, and 12. Best decision I could have made, wish I'd made it sooner. You'd have thought I handed that kid the keys to the Chocolate Factory when I told her we'd give home schooling a try. Made everybody's life easier and improved the quality of her education--though it's certainly not for every family.
Joy, my parents have been married for more than 65 years, and my dad says they hardly have to talk any more, so closely attuned are they to each other. Not sure Mom sees it quite the same way, but it's a sweet notion.
Sheila, I'm on the barstool next to you, waiting, waiting...
Linda, Suze has some wisdom, true, and she's so kind about how she delivers it. I hope the impossible choices and high costs are behind you, and more than a little romance finds its way to you.
May, my life used to have a lot more drama in it, but I've become a fan of getting the drama from the books too--particularly the books that guarantee me the drama will resolve happily.
Julie and Colleen, thanks for stopping by, and here's a well appreciated quiet life.
Larisa, I have entire blogs on how my horse taught me to write, and I can often spot a horsemen or horsewoman because they truly, truly, have a handle on their emotions, and take responsibility for themselves.
Jane, some of us have the knack of avoiding the tight corners. The rest of us end up staring at two walls and wondering if we can call somebody to install us a window.
Connie, thanks for those kind words. I hope each book is a little better than the last, but Lady Jenny (her book comes out October 2013) glowers at me when I say that.
Sue, when does a loving family NOT help--or at least try to. Glad the mammo resolved. One of my favorite bumperstickers is the pink ribbon with a slogan: Save the Ta-Tas, Get Your Mammogram.
Mary, that is marvelous! And by now, the really cute guy probably isn't much cuter than any other fellow on that bus.
OOOh, Linda. Excellent twist on the sunshine metaphor. Hope the next fellow was packing some SPF 70 when he came looking for true love.
FYI, you can read the books in any order, but the chrono approach would be: Heir, Soldier, Virtuoso, THEN Lady Sophie. All three brothers stick their handsome noses in Sophie's story and end up matchmaking, rather in the tradition of old Meddling Moreland himself. Wonder if we should point that irony out to their various Lordships?
I took Their Graces aside and asked them if they'd please search their memories for any additional children they might have misplaced. Her Grace gave me the most incredulous look and His Grace assured me this is an EIGHT SIBLINGS series--and then he winked. What are we supposed to make of that?
A lot of people are flabbergasted to learn that the only tundra in the lower 48 states is in Western Maryland. Yes, we're below the Mason Dixon line, but yes, we get real winter. And it IS a good time to write, as are those crisp fall nights, soft spring evenings, and stinkin' hot summer days. It's all good writing time when people are as appreciative of my books as this crew. Thanks so much.
Friends, It's heartwarming to hear how many of you have made Valentine's acquaintance in previous books, and how many are eager to make it now. I don't know how to write a book that ISN'T of my heart, but when I realized I had to take Val's music away, it about broke my heart. HE comes out just fine, but as an author, I can see why we sometimes find it hard to follow the editor's advice to "torture the hero." By the time the book ends, I need the happily ever after as much as the hero and heroine do.
I think if I had millenia to indulge myself, I'd eventually come around to the place Lestat arrived, to where meaning became not a philosophical diversion, but a craved necessity. And I dunno if I'd take bodily immortality if were offered. There's probably something around the next bend you don't get to learn about if you're going to stay stuck in your earthly spacesuit...
May, thanks for the compliment. I hope you think "The Soldier" is even better!
Jeanne, you said a mouthful. When my daughter was young, she'd catch a nap on our commute home and recharge her batteries for an evening of watching Mom drag around packing lunches and so forth. But then I'd head upstairs to the latest Mary Balogh or Loretta Chase, and I'd be the one who suddenly found a reason to stay up another hour. Such a comfort!
Lisa, you are wealthy in the ways that count, but your poor mother in law! FIVE boys! Yikes!
Sherie, the trick is to have your sister move to somewhere lovely. My parents live in San Diego, and long about January, everybody wants to go visit them.
Diane, and it seems they can make us most crazy even WHEN they're being "there for us!"
Lorna, I used to relish the rare moments when I had "the house to myself," almost as if the physical dwelling were an entity. And now... it isn't so hard to finish four MS a year when solitude is easy to come by (she says with a sigh).
Sigrun, condolences on your loss. I treasure my four brothers dearly. Like you, I'm the "unattached sibling," and sometimes I think my family doesn't understand how precious that makes them to me. I hope the new baby can restore some joy to you and yours after your loss, or at least help balance the loss with love.
Doris, you like your life. What a nice thing to be able to conclude on a moment's reflection!
Deb, my oldest siblings are thirteen years my senior and as a kid growing up, I hated to see them leave home, and loved when they'd visit. They were that perfect blend of adult and friend. Carla, it was my mom who pointed out to me that my siblings will know me longer than anyone else, and that the first female toward whom a boy usually feels a protective impulse is his sister. I bet your grandma also had good advice about how to know when you've met a keeper, and what to feed a guy on a first cooked dinner date. You wonder how young ladies without grandmas like that manage.
Debbie, I commend you for being able to call a spade a spade. The family you have with your son (who sounds like he has his head on straight) is family deserving of the name. I have been a single mom since my daughter was born. It's hard, but so, so, unquestionably worth it. Would not change one thing about being her mom.
Jane, when I told my family I'd landed a publishing contract, they sorta smiled and wished me well, but the subsequent comments suggested that of the nine of us, I was the only one who wasn't sure it would ever happen. They know me in some ways better than I know myself, which is a little scary.
Cate, my parents are still mentally with it, but getting frail, and Dad decided to stop driving when he turned ninety. There's a dialogue among my siblings that we hadn't undertaken five years ago, about what it means to love and support the Aged P's (Dickens' term) now. We're also looking forward to our own older ages, and gathering our courage accordingly. I'm surprised at the number of women eighty and older reading romances--may God allow me to eventually be among them! And I'll stop writing when I stop breathing... I hope.
Cynthia, my folks have been married 65+ years. My dad said Mom's hearing loss isn't as big as burden as we might think, because he and Mom almost CAN read each others' minds by now. Interesting perspective, and probably an example of the kind of closest friends you're alluding to.
It's interesting to me as well how varied the comments are in response to a simple question about family--and how strong and honest the feelings. Even when they're miles away or long gone, our family members still make an impression on us.
Kelli Ho, then stay turned because there are six more Windhams to go, plus a few spin-offs and prequels.
Colleen, I feel the same way. My closest sibling lives 600 miles from me, and yet I'd say we're a close family.
Tammy, I like the idea of a family motto, and I like that you say it. Sometimes we fail to state the obvious and kids don't pick up on it the way they will when we put it into words.
Tracie, I think there might be a lot more happy families if we all worked a little harder on keeping our mouths shut. Thanks for the reminder.
Jody, so which character would you be, from what book, and why?
Sherri, Family of Choice has been there for me when Family or Origin could not (or would not) be. The way I see it, family teaches us to love, sometimes by negative example. We get to keep the lesson, we don't necessary have to cling to the family if they're going to undermine our wellbeing.
Peggy, Hats off to you for doing what you had to when family was such a disappointment. There have been times in my life when I've turned to "family of choice" rather than "family of origin." I hope in the future the people you stood by for years will come to understand they've let you down, and to make amends for it.
Renee, it used to be we were told women reading romance were identifying with the heroine and vicariously enjoying the tricks she got up with with the hero. I don't think it's that simple. I think a lot of women in the present day find themselves identifying just as strongly with the hero.
Pam, I feel the same way about my family, but like Peggy (above) there were times when I wasn't so appreciative of them. Then too, my brothers want to know which one of them is Westhaven, etc. Hah.
Bella, my mom is in her late eighties and she still refers to my aunt as "Baby Sister." I think it's kinda wonderful that I might be a baby sister even decades hence.
Patti, I think we have an instinct for seeking what's healthy, though it can take some wrong turns before we find it. Maybe a bad example and the sure conviction that you don't want to follow it is an efficient lesson--one even your grandchildren can benefit from.
Margaret--You said it! Family is the one "for better or for worse, in sickness and in health," that we get upon entering the world, and heaven help those for whom it's nothing but worse.
Marcelle, I read for the emotional arc too, particularly for hope and trust, which are such precious, fragile gifts when first given.
Sue, I work with a lot of children who would otherwise be in foster care with strangers but for the courage, generosity and determination of their grandparents and relatives. I'm not a grandma yet, but when I see grandparents stepping up like that, I'm in awe.
Maria Lory, ...but sometimes we turn our backs on family, don't we? It seemed particularly as a young adult, I was determined to ba
Tammy, Glad you enjoyed, "The Heir," and when you're done with "The Soldier," stand by for "The Virtuoso" in November.
Barbara, I only had two uncles and their visits were big occasions. Part of their function was simply to make me realize at a very young age that my mom was somebody's sister, not just "ours." Funny how little kids view family.
Marjorie, It isn't just fun to imagine you're a character in a book--if you're an author, it's irresistible. And who wouldn't want to play an extended game of let's pretend?
Mary-You said it. For the Sourcebooks Author blog on June 7, we're supposed to blog about a woman we've admired. I just wrote my piece and it will be about my mom. She hasn't always understood me, hasn't always liked me, hasn't always approved of me, but by heaven, she has loved me. I hope I can be half the mom she has been.
Holly-Such lucky little brothers you have! They owe their success in life to their literate older sister.
Connie--When our parents show us what it means to love somebody, to pull our share of the load in a relationship--we're wealthy in a way we seldom realize early in life. I think part of the charm of romance novels is that by the end, we're looking at a man and a woman with the courage and determination to begin their own family, even if it's a family of two (until the sequel comes out).
Kai, you need to DO something with that premise. It's too creative not to become some sort of off-beat paranormal, where everybody watching their TV was a picture on the wall of the TV people's houses and so on.
When I turned in this blog, I had no idea anybody else was EVER afraid of the dark, the rats, the mice, the whatever. It's heartening to think I'm not the only one who has to respect Stephen King from a safe, well lit, distance.
I don't know about intelligent, but my mind is certainly active, and it's wonderful to have a positive direction for all that mental energy. My older brother will probably say my creativity is thanks to him, and his willingness to lurk under my bed on cold, dark nights.
© 2003-2024