When I was a kid, I would watch Merv Griffin every day after school with my grandmother. On one particular show he had Danielle Steele as his guest. (This was back in the late 70's.) She came onstage in a flowing diaphonous jump-suit type of garment, with her hair all done up in a fashionable style. At one point in the interview, they went for a virtual tour of her house. (You know how they do that.) Well, she had maids, and kids, and a pool, and tennis courts, and cars, and all kinds of things that rich people have. BUT, she was a writer.
So in my mind, because I wanted to be a writer too, I would have all these things. I'll pause now so you can get your hysterical laughter under control.
I am a writer. Today is Mother's Day. This is what I'll be doing today.
Finish cutting the grass at the old house.
Weed-whack the old house.
Iron uniforms for school next week.
Wash the walls where I peeled wallpaper for Monster's new bedroom.
Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get to paint at least one wall.
Danielle Steele I'm not. But I wouldn't trade what I've got for all the diaphonous jump suits in the world.
Happy Mother's Day.
PS ~ It is the end of Mother's Day. This is what I actually ended up doing today.
I (and my helpers) raked the various piles of leaves at the old house and moved them to the berm.
Monster and I pulled up ivy at the new house and brought it to the old house to also put on the berm.
I moved some logs to the berm to shore it up.
Went to Lowe's to get a 6 ft. post and a bag of cement. (I'm building another fence for the dogs.)
While in Lowe's, I received a phone call from my mother who told me my eldest brother had arrived for a week for her Mother's Day present.
After lunch I dug out 21 clumps of grass to transplant to the old house. Then I dug up some irises and moved them to the front. Then I transplanted the purple thing that isn't a butterfly bush to the front. And the mum, and the other half of the irises. Then I sat down and I haven't moved since.
Hope you had a great day. For my reward I had a pretty decent corned beef on rye. For my mother's day present, my dad took my daughter to Lowe's yesterday to get me a hanging basket. Instead they decided on fence posts. Lucky my brother arrived. He can help me build the fence.
Anne Gallagher (c) 2013
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Historical Research -- Reading Books
Now I've read probably thousands of historical romance books, but I don't consider that as research. Reading books for research consists of stuffy literary histories, maybe a few biographies, letters, authors of the time (Jane Austen, the Brontes etc.)
However, all this actually does is give me a headache. Flipping back and forth through a 500 page volume trying to take notes is not what it's all about. I need the facts, I need them now, and I need my research to be easy to comprehend. Sometimes, you can find everything you need to know on the internet, but that isn't really research -- Okay it is, but I generally refer to that as "light" research.
To fully understand whatever it is, you need to immerse yourself in. What I've begun doing, what I've found most enlightening actually is the "childrens" section in the library. They have everything, and it's easy to read, and easily comprehendable. Biographies, battles, even some classics that have depth and meaning.
When I was doing research for THE CAPTAIN'S LADY, I needed all kinds of things -- ships, manifests, slavery, North Carolina, Boston, abolitionists, the underground railroad -- etc. etc. A LOT of stuff.
I started with the classics Uncle Tom's Cabin. Gone with the Wind. (Yes, this was set later than I would have liked, but I wanted to get the "feel" for how I wanted to portray the slaves and land-owners.)
But then I got stuck in the abolishonist movement. William Wilburforce was instrumental in England, but what about in the America's? Harriet Tubman, of course, Frederick Douglass, John Brown. And yes these people were all decades later than when my story takes place, but the plight of the slaves and those who helped them are timeless. So I took those books from the children's section and read those. Easy, light, factual, everything I wanted. I hate getting bogged down.
And then on to the other things I needed. How to sail a boat, what crops grow in North Carolina (besides tobacco), pirate ships in North Carolina, architecture...everything was there in the children's section.
Now some might say I'm taking the easy way out, and I'll be the first to admit it. But if you're writing three books a year, you need to have "easy" on one list or another. Why not make it research. After all, I'm not writing about "history", I'm writing about fictional characters who are in history. If I get the facts right, the characters won't have to worry about what they're doing there.
Anne Gallagher (c) 2013
However, all this actually does is give me a headache. Flipping back and forth through a 500 page volume trying to take notes is not what it's all about. I need the facts, I need them now, and I need my research to be easy to comprehend. Sometimes, you can find everything you need to know on the internet, but that isn't really research -- Okay it is, but I generally refer to that as "light" research.
To fully understand whatever it is, you need to immerse yourself in. What I've begun doing, what I've found most enlightening actually is the "childrens" section in the library. They have everything, and it's easy to read, and easily comprehendable. Biographies, battles, even some classics that have depth and meaning.
When I was doing research for THE CAPTAIN'S LADY, I needed all kinds of things -- ships, manifests, slavery, North Carolina, Boston, abolitionists, the underground railroad -- etc. etc. A LOT of stuff.
I started with the classics Uncle Tom's Cabin. Gone with the Wind. (Yes, this was set later than I would have liked, but I wanted to get the "feel" for how I wanted to portray the slaves and land-owners.)
But then I got stuck in the abolishonist movement. William Wilburforce was instrumental in England, but what about in the America's? Harriet Tubman, of course, Frederick Douglass, John Brown. And yes these people were all decades later than when my story takes place, but the plight of the slaves and those who helped them are timeless. So I took those books from the children's section and read those. Easy, light, factual, everything I wanted. I hate getting bogged down.
And then on to the other things I needed. How to sail a boat, what crops grow in North Carolina (besides tobacco), pirate ships in North Carolina, architecture...everything was there in the children's section.
Now some might say I'm taking the easy way out, and I'll be the first to admit it. But if you're writing three books a year, you need to have "easy" on one list or another. Why not make it research. After all, I'm not writing about "history", I'm writing about fictional characters who are in history. If I get the facts right, the characters won't have to worry about what they're doing there.
Anne Gallagher (c) 2013
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Intimate Portrait -- Thomas Merrit, Earl of Davingdale
This is an ongoing series for the blog.
Thomas Merrit, the Earl of Davingdale is one of my favorite characters. He's a good decent honest man, who's had incredibly bad luck thrown his way. I touch on a little of his father's ruining the family name with
his gambling away the family fortune, and of course, his nefarious ex-girlfriend, and then we have his injury in the war. Three things I think would keep a lesser man down, or at least in his cups.
But the one thing Thomas has always had is his Uncle Harry. Deep in the heart of this curmudgeonly uncle lies all the truth Thomas ever needed -- to just believe in himself. Even when the chips were down, at their lowest, and nothing he thought would ever come right, Uncle Harry always cheered him on.
When Thomas meets Ophelia for the first time by smashing her to the ground, he is stunned to find a rather plain bespectacled woman as the holder of his heart. Love at first sight. One of my favorite themes. Ophelia is sweet, and kind, and doesn't treat him like an invalid, or as someone who is "less than" because he can't use his arm properly. Thomas wants to know her better, to figure out if she truly is "the one". Because as we know he's been burned in the past, but there's just "something" about Ophelia. She's not like the other women Thomas has known. Quite possibly because she's not from Society.
The idea to come up with this story came from the movie Serendipity with Kate Beckinsale and John Kusack. They meet briefly, both think they fell in love at first sight, and then are parted. Serendipitous events cause them to almost meet again, but not until the end of the movie are reunited.
With Thomas and Ophelia, I only had 3 days to bring serendipitous events to life. And what better way to bring it to light than by having Thomas literally bump into her. I thought it was fun. Of course, the overturned carriage was a stroke of genius, what man can resist a damsel in distress, and then the night of the ball when Thomas snubs the woman he's been looking for is classic fairy tale romance.
Thomas and Ophelia have one of the simplest plot lines I've ever written. The only thing they have to overcome is time. There are no wicked step-mothers, no evil villains in France, or ugly backstories. Just two people who meet one day, fall in love at first sight, and are parted. Simple it seems, but to make it work at the end, we needed for the both of them to finally see each other for who they really are. And could they live with that reality?
Naturally. I wrote the story and happy endings are my specialty.
Anne Gallagher (c) 2013
Thomas Merrit, the Earl of Davingdale is one of my favorite characters. He's a good decent honest man, who's had incredibly bad luck thrown his way. I touch on a little of his father's ruining the family name with
But the one thing Thomas has always had is his Uncle Harry. Deep in the heart of this curmudgeonly uncle lies all the truth Thomas ever needed -- to just believe in himself. Even when the chips were down, at their lowest, and nothing he thought would ever come right, Uncle Harry always cheered him on.
When Thomas meets Ophelia for the first time by smashing her to the ground, he is stunned to find a rather plain bespectacled woman as the holder of his heart. Love at first sight. One of my favorite themes. Ophelia is sweet, and kind, and doesn't treat him like an invalid, or as someone who is "less than" because he can't use his arm properly. Thomas wants to know her better, to figure out if she truly is "the one". Because as we know he's been burned in the past, but there's just "something" about Ophelia. She's not like the other women Thomas has known. Quite possibly because she's not from Society.
The idea to come up with this story came from the movie Serendipity with Kate Beckinsale and John Kusack. They meet briefly, both think they fell in love at first sight, and then are parted. Serendipitous events cause them to almost meet again, but not until the end of the movie are reunited.
With Thomas and Ophelia, I only had 3 days to bring serendipitous events to life. And what better way to bring it to light than by having Thomas literally bump into her. I thought it was fun. Of course, the overturned carriage was a stroke of genius, what man can resist a damsel in distress, and then the night of the ball when Thomas snubs the woman he's been looking for is classic fairy tale romance.
Thomas and Ophelia have one of the simplest plot lines I've ever written. The only thing they have to overcome is time. There are no wicked step-mothers, no evil villains in France, or ugly backstories. Just two people who meet one day, fall in love at first sight, and are parted. Simple it seems, but to make it work at the end, we needed for the both of them to finally see each other for who they really are. And could they live with that reality?
Naturally. I wrote the story and happy endings are my specialty.
Anne Gallagher (c) 2013
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Historical Research -- What I'm Doing Now
I've been sick the last few days and forgot to write up a post about historical research for today. However,
I'm better now and right smack dab in the middle of creating a new story. Something BIG, (which I really can't tell you about now) but it's not one of my forthcoming books. This is an entirely new creation for something else entirely.
So, to begin, I needed to create a brand new character. I needed a French aristocrat. Knowing next to nothing about the French aristocracy, I played with Google and Wikipedia. My two favorite web-sites.
First, I needed to know how the French addressed their nobles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_nobility
Then I needed to decide which title he would have. I decided on Marquis.
Then which province he would have held under his title. I wanted something near the ocean. So I went here and chose Aunis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_France
I then realized I needed to know just what exactly they did in Aunis and found a wonderful little place known for farming and salt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aunis
Then it was on to the larger topic of the French Revolution because I needed a reason for my character to escape France.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
In reading up on this, I found a man, the Marquis de Condorcet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_de_Condorcet who would be perfect for me to base my character's life on. Learned, with all the right political leanings, he chose to leave France after the Revolution. I believe I hit the jackpot with him.
Mind you, all this flipping back and forth on the computer, not to mention reading all the articles (and getting sidetracked on whether I needed to actually know what the flag looked like -- Fun Fact: Aunis is under the duchy of Aquitaine) took me just under two hours. But now I have the backstory of one of my characters.
And believe it or not, this man in my story is dead and is only mentioned in a paragraph containing five sentences. He is not relevent to the story at all. However, if I did not do this research, the story would have no substance. I could have just written him any old way. But I didn't. I chose to give this man a life, a backstory, a history, if you will because that was what was needed.
In shaping my main character, Dianne, I need to have all the pertinent information, and this above mentioned man is her father. So it would behoove me to get it right. Or at least as right as I can get in fiction.
Now, onto Dianne's mother....
Anne Gallagher (c) 2013
So, to begin, I needed to create a brand new character. I needed a French aristocrat. Knowing next to nothing about the French aristocracy, I played with Google and Wikipedia. My two favorite web-sites.
First, I needed to know how the French addressed their nobles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_nobility
Then I needed to decide which title he would have. I decided on Marquis.
Then which province he would have held under his title. I wanted something near the ocean. So I went here and chose Aunis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_France
I then realized I needed to know just what exactly they did in Aunis and found a wonderful little place known for farming and salt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aunis
Then it was on to the larger topic of the French Revolution because I needed a reason for my character to escape France.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
In reading up on this, I found a man, the Marquis de Condorcet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_de_Condorcet who would be perfect for me to base my character's life on. Learned, with all the right political leanings, he chose to leave France after the Revolution. I believe I hit the jackpot with him.
Mind you, all this flipping back and forth on the computer, not to mention reading all the articles (and getting sidetracked on whether I needed to actually know what the flag looked like -- Fun Fact: Aunis is under the duchy of Aquitaine) took me just under two hours. But now I have the backstory of one of my characters.
And believe it or not, this man in my story is dead and is only mentioned in a paragraph containing five sentences. He is not relevent to the story at all. However, if I did not do this research, the story would have no substance. I could have just written him any old way. But I didn't. I chose to give this man a life, a backstory, a history, if you will because that was what was needed.
In shaping my main character, Dianne, I need to have all the pertinent information, and this above mentioned man is her father. So it would behoove me to get it right. Or at least as right as I can get in fiction.
Now, onto Dianne's mother....
Anne Gallagher (c) 2013
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