The random—and not so random—musings of a quirky Regency romance writer.
No one with that many people in her head can possibly be normal...

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

~Regency Wednesday~ Grappling Irons

I opened to a random page in my 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue and found a few slang terms for your reading enjoyment. ☺

GRAPPLING IRONS.
Handcuffs.

GRAVE DIGGER.
Like a grave digger; up to the a-se in business, and don't know which way to turn.

GREEDY GUTS.
A covetous or voracious person.

GREEK.
St. Giles's Greek; the slang lingo, cant, or gibberish.

*Taken verbatim from the Kindle edition of 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Get your free copy HERE.

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ FFXIII-2 Soundtrack ~ An Arrow Through Time

Monday, April 28, 2014

RONÉ Award Finalists

SQUEE!!
The votes have been tallied and the finalists in the 2014 RONÉ Awards have been announced. There are so many wonderful books on this list and guess what? Intrigue made it (Historical: Post Medieval)! 

Even better, my bestie's book, Dance with the Enemy, also made the cut in the Fantasy/Sci-Fi category! DOUBLE SQUEE!! 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the RONÉ Awards, I'll briefly explain. It is an award given to the best in independently published books. The first step is a professional review, done by InD'tale Magazine. If the book rates 4 stars or higher and was published in the year specified, it's automatically entered. (Books published in 2013 are the ones being judged this year, for example.) Once the nominees are announced, they pass to the voting stage, where the public votes for their favorite books in each category. The top ones are then announced as finalists.

A trophy from last year.
Image credit:
©2013 Tonya Smalley 
The next step in the award process, the step we're on now, is professional judges. These lovely men and women (authors, publishers, editors, and others in the industry) will read the books assigned to them and decide which they feel should receive the stunningly gorgeous trophy for each category. And there are so many wonderful books/authors on the list! I can't even imagine how the judges will make their decisions. I do not envy them in the least! lol

The winners will be announced in July at the Romance Novel Convention in Las Vegas, NV. The RONÉ Awards ceremony is the best part of the convention with quality entertainment, lots of laughs, and lots of class. If it's the only part of the convention you can attend, it is the best part and so worth it. With InD'tale Magazine in charge of the awards, you know it will be great!


♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ End of Eternity Soundtrack ~ Fighting with the Devil

Friday, April 25, 2014

A Forgotten Excerpt

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a random excerpt from one of my books. As Forgotten, and other Heartless tales is my newest release, it makes sense to give that one the spotlight today. :) 

There is already an excerpt from Loyalty, the first story in this trio, on my website. This time, how about an excerpt from Forgotten, the story for which the trilogy is named? Here’s the first page of Forgotten. Enjoy!



Forgotten
His heart belonged to his past...

Chapter One

France 1824

Hélène tossed the rag onto the bar, her gaze sliding, as always, down the shining expanse to linger on the man standing at the other end. He laughed with a regular patron, white teeth flashing in his sun-darkened face. He didn’t glance her way, but as she watched, his brow furrowed as it always did when he tried to remember something from his past.

Nearly four years ago she’d fished him out of the sea. He remembered nothing of who he was or how he’d come to be there, but ships sank all the time. His accent proclaimed his English roots and his air of superiority hinted at a life amongst the elite. Whether he was nobility or just an upper servant aping his betters was something she couldn’t quite decide.

With no hint of his identity and the face of a fallen angel, Hélène could think of no better name than Gabriel. Recalling the look on his face the first time she’d called him that, she knew she’d hit upon something. Recognition, a bit of horror, and a dash of humor darkened his clear blue eyes until they appeared nearly black in his gaunt features. How she’d managed to land on the very name he could lay claim to, or at least one that triggered a memory, was a mystery to her.

She suspected he’d fought in the war that ended nearly a decade past. His absent arm seemed to prove as much, and the way he watched everything, missing so little, was like that of a well-trained soldier, always watching for the sabre aimed at his back.

Pain lurched in Hélène’s chest, the ache of a person who cannot bring peace to a loved one. Gabriel’s memories were resurfacing but he would not speak of them. And with no desire to really force them from him, she allowed him his secrecy. Her ignorance of his past should have allowed her to be quite happy but she couldn’t stop thinking he might have a family somewhere, waiting, grieving. She would certainly grieve his loss were she to find herself suddenly without him.

Retrieving her rag and stowing it under the bar, she reached for the bucket at her feet and exited through the back door of the tavern.



And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed that little tidbit of Forgotten. Next week I’ll share a bit of Introductions. If you’re already intrigued enough to add this book to your collection, you can grab the e-book from Amazon (US & UK), B&N, Apple, or Smashwords.

Have a lovely weekend!

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Hinder ~ Without You 

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

~Regency Wednesday~ Lending Library Ad

I went searching through the 1814 compiled edition of Ackermann's Repository and found this ad for February. I thought, as we are all great readers, that an ad involving the lending library would be of interest. 

I won't transcribe the entire thing, but it does indicate new releases, as well as the subscription fees. 

Interesting thing I'd never realized, subscribers were allowed to "exchange their Books once a Day, but not oftener." Definitely something to keep in mind if I ever decide to write a story that centers around the library.


*Ackermann's Repository, February 1814, p.383. Get the Google e-book HERE or click the image.

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Rise Against ~ Savior

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

~Regency Wednesday~ Plump

Time for another slang definition for your Regency edification. Enjoy!! 

PLUMP.
Fat, full, fleshy. Plump in the pocket; full in the pocket. To plump; to strike, or shoot. I'll give you a plump in the bread basket, or the vitualling office: I'll give you a blow in the stomach. Plump his peepers, or day-lights; give him a blow in the eyes. He pulled out his pops and plumped him; he drew out his pistols and shot him. A plumper; a single vote at an election. Plump also means directly, or exactly; as, it fell plump upon him: it fell directly upon him. 

PLUMP CURRANT. 
I am not plump currant; I am out of sorts.

*Taken verbatim from the Kindle edition of 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Get your free copy HERE

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Escala ~ Children

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

~Regency Wednesday~ Fashion for November 1818

For your viewing pleasure, I've found a pretty little walking dress from the November 1818 issue of La Belle Assemblée. Enjoy!



No. 1.—WALKING DRESS.
  Garter purple poplin pelisse, ornamented with black velvet: Mary Scot bonnet of garter purple reps silk, ornamented at the edge with a cordon of purple and black flowers, and surmounted by a full plume of tropic birds' feathers, variegated in black and purple. Fan cornette placed under the bonnet; and Castillian double ruff worn under the black velvet cape of the pelisse. Waterloo half-boots of garter purple and black; and lemon-coloured kid gloves.*

Though I quite like this ensemble, I don't care much for the lemon yellow gloves. lol

*Clipped and taken verbatim from La Belle Assemblée, November 1818. Get the Google e-book HERE

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Linkin Park ~ KRWLNG

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