A lady – beautiful word! — is a delicate creature, one who should be reverenced and delicately treated. It is therefore unpardonable to rush about in a quadrille, to catch hold of the lady’s hand as if she were a door-handle, or to drag her furiously across the room, asContinue Reading
I am back to poking around one of my favorite books, “Continue Reading
As most of you know, I am somewhat obsessed with researching my family history. My maternal ancestors were English, and my grandparents were born in Manchester during the Victorian Era. I have been transporting myself back to 1900-1914 in Salford where they lived before immigrating to Canada, through Roy Bullock’sContinue Reading
“Suppose then that this first and vital standing order for the toilet be stringent, and that refreshed, and therefore energetic, buoyant, and conscious of one duty being at least performed, the lady leaves her bed and prepares to dress.” The Habits of Good Society What duty? A good night’s sleep,Continue Reading
“But the man who throws his clothes about the room, a boot in one corner, a cravat in another, and his brushes anywhere, is not a man of good habits. The spirit of order should extend to everything about him.” All quotes are taken from “The Habits of Good Society:Continue Reading
“In the beginning of the present century (19th), it was thought proper for a gentleman to change his undergarment three times a day, and the washing bill of a beau comprised seventy shirts, thirty cravats, and pocket handkerchiefs à discretion.” (The Habits of Good Society 1872) This chapter has beenContinue Reading
As an author and someone who can’t stop writing 24/7, I often find it interesting how shy readers can be about writing reviews. Reviews not only help other readers, but they also help authors. Even a bad review can push interest in a book. With the Amazon market filled withContinue Reading
Dear Readers, The link to this article is posted as a means of reader education on my part. What you read may shock you, but if you are part of Kindle Unlimited it’s important for you to know how your downloads result in paid earnings to authors. Each time youContinue Reading
What constitutes good society? Well, in 1872, England the requisites of good society are listed in “The Habits of Good Society: A Handbook for Ladies and Gentlemen.” They are: Good breeding is acquired by being taught by nurses, parents, tutors, school fellows, and friends. Education not from just finishing schools, universitiesContinue Reading
“The advantage of the ball in the upper classes is, that it brings young people together for a sensible and innocent recreation, and takes them away from the silly, if not bad ones; that it gives them exercise, and that the general effect of the beauty, elegance, and brilliance ofContinue Reading
Let’s face it, sometimes you read a book and have expectations. As an author, I understand that many of my readers have held expectations as to the outcome of my characters in The Legacy Series. A few have found fault about the paths I led them down while others haveContinue Reading
I decided to start a tradition this year of releasing short reads for Christmas. My first one is entitled “A Christmas Oath,” and is 12,600 words. More than a short story and less than a novella in size, it is more commonly called a novelette. As usual, I have aContinue Reading
I’ve written about the perfect heroine, but alas, I have procrastinated long enough over the perfect hero. Is there one? What fantasy do readers want? In reality, as much as we are filled with fanciful and romantic thoughts, there probably isn’t a perfect man. Of course, it depends on howContinue Reading
In the past seven years, I have had the opportunity to craft female characters by the names of Suzette, Desiree, Charlotte, Angelique, Rachel, Ann, Mary, and Caroline. Each woman is unique so that their character fits the theme of the story that I pen. However, it’s been interesting to learnContinue Reading
One of my hobbies is searching my British ancestry on my mother’s side of the family. Part of my research includes reading British newspapers in search of articles on my ancestors. My third great uncle was a Justice of the Peace, Alderman, and successful businessman, so I’m always looking forContinue Reading
While writing my new novella, Whitefield Hall, I started to Google a few terms—one of which was gambling in the 19th century. Victorian Women by Joan Perkin came up in the search results, so I clicked on the link. Though it had very little regarding the subject, I startedContinue Reading
While writing The Legacy Series, I needed to extensively research the reality of marriage and divorce in the 19th century. It’s fascinating reading when you take romance out of the equation and check back into reality. Truth be told, marriage and divorce was nothing like it is today. Marriages inContinue Reading
While writing my award-winning novel, Dark Persuasion, I spent a fair amount of time researching Victorian courting, engagement periods, wedding preparations, marriage ceremonies, and honeymoons. The entire process felt so romantic to me that I focused quite a bit on the wedding between my heroine and hero. The Wedding TrousseauContinue Reading
Every time an author sits down to write a book, you ask yourself a lot of questions. Is the story any good? Is the plot okay? Are the characters believable? Is there enough conflict and suspense? Is it too predictable? The list goes on and on. I just received aContinue Reading