I’ve been sick for a few days with a nasty head cold. Sitting in bed with the dogs and my iPad for company, I’ve been thinking about a question readers sometimes ask me: why do so many people die in your books? In truth, not that many people die in my books, but there are definitely Read More
Category: England
Trying New Things
So for the last couple of months, I’ve been querying literary agents for my new series. Although I’ve had some interest, I’ve racked up quite a few rejections. The most recent one, a kick in the teeth disguised as a pleasant form rejection, arrived Friday night. Although some writers prefer personalized rejections, I actually prefer Read More
A day on which I’m too lazy to write two blog posts
Happy Sunday, everyone! Today I’m over at Heart-Shaped Glasses, where I’m blogging about how I come up with settings for my novels. I’ll be giving away an ecopy of one of my books to a randomly selected commenter, so stop by and say hey!
Winter Blog Hop , Day 15 – Making Mince Pies with Nina Croft
Can you believe it’s Day 15 already? Today’s guest is my friend and critique partner, Nina Croft. Nina lives in Spain, but I think I made her a little nostalgic for England recently when I told her about my visit to her hometown in northern England. She’s sharing a post about English Christmas traditions, and Read More
Winter Blog Hop, Day 12 – Victorian Cookies
Today’s scheduled guest is unable to be here, so I’m filling in with a Victorian era recipe for Cinnamon Cakes, which are actually cookies. I found it in Eliza Acton’s Modern Cookery, and featured them in Secret Promise. Here’s an excerpt: Zachary was curled up in a chair in the sitting room, reading. “Zachary,” Anna said, “I have Read More
Taking Tea
I apologize, my friends, for my sad neglect of this blog. I have no excuse, really, beyond being busy and inefficient, and, if truth be told, possessing a certain degree of laziness. But never mind, I am back, so I hope I am forgiven. Lately I have been thinking about tea and scones far more than Read More
Victorian Food: Divided by a Common Language
One of the things I’ve encountered in British recipes–both old and new–is an entirely different vocabulary. Spelling is also an issue: I just spent ten minutes looking for pudding molds in Mrs. Beeton before I remembered it’s spelled moulds in the UK. There are different terms for so many things in baking, and finding out what they Read More
The Victorian Diet
Last October I turned 50. My sixth decade began with shingles on my face and in my eye, which took about 6 months to vanquish. I gained ten pounds and was diagnosed with high blood pressure, started a new law firm, and finished a book, so it’s safe to say there have been ups and downs. A Read More
New Blog Series! Victorian Food
So lately I have been watching the early seasons of The Great British Bake-Off. Of the five seasons aired so far, only the last three made it to network TV in the US, but the first two are available on YouTube, and they are so worth the watch. Each episode contains historical snippets about particular Read More
Summer Vacation, Victorian-Style, AND Two Giveaways!
We’re starting our weekend early at the blog today, just because–it’s summer! I always think of summer as a lazy, quiet time, with long evenings spent on the patio with a glass of wine, vacations in locales exotic, familiar, and somewhere in between, and schlepping the kid to day camp. Naturally, his favorite camp is a 25 Read More