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Monthly Archives: September 2011

Hildegard of Bingen Etc

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Happy Tuesday, everyone! Hope you are having a great week. Mine is not so fun, since I just got back from a lovely vacation in Santa Fe (eating green chile enchiladas, drinking margaritas, laying by the pool, looking at art…) and now have to settle down to work again. But it’s nice to be diving into a new book and thinking about blogs again. 🙂

When I was trying to find subjects for today’s post, I found out St. Hildegard of Bingen died September 17 in 1179. I’ve always thought she was a fascinating woman, and I love listening to CDs of music, so I thought we could take a quick look at her life (even though she is waaaayy earlier than Regency!)

Hildegard was born in (probably) 1098, the 10th child of a noble German family. Overcome with children, they gave her to the Church when she was 8, which proved to be a blessing in her life. She was highly educated for the times, learing reading, writing, and music as a child. She grew up into a composer, philosopher, writer, healer, and visionary (she was plagued by ill health all her life, and had mystic visions during her sicknesses). She was elected abbess of her community in 1136, and founded at least one other nunnery.

70 to 80 of her compositions survive, along with some of her books (the best known is probably Know The Way), a morality play called Play of the Virtues), and books about the healing properties of herbs. She corresponded with popes, emperors, and people like Bernard of Clairvaux, and went on long preaching tours beyond her abbey. When she died, the nuns of her community claimed to see two bars of light appear in the sky and cross over her room.

Of her visions, she wrote:

But I, though I saw and heard these things, refused to write for a long time through doubt and bad opinion and the diversity of human words, not with stubbornness but in the exercise of humility, until, laid low by the scourge of God, I fell upon a bed of sickness; then, compelled at last by many illnesses, and by the witness of a certain noble maiden of good conduct [the nun Richardis von Stade] and of that man whom I had secretly sought and found, as mentioned above, I set my hand to the writing. While I was doing it, I sensed, as I mentioned before, the deep profundity of scriptural exposition; and, raising myself from illness by the strength I received, I brought this work to a close – though just barely – in ten years. […] And I spoke and wrote these things not by the invention of my heart or that of any other person, but as by the secret mysteries of God I heard and received them in the heavenly places. And again I heard a voice from Heaven saying to me, ‘Cry out therefore, and write thus!

This is just a quick glimpse of her fascinating (and ahead of her time) life! I really like Fiona Maddocks’s biography Hildegard of Bingen: Woman of Her Age (2001). There are some great links to sources on this page and this one too…

Who are some of your heroines this week??

Posted in Jane Austen | Tagged , , | 1 Reply

Meeting Mary Jo Putney

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Today I’m going to the Library of Congress to hear Mary Jo Putney speak to the Library of Congress Professional Association’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Forum about her new YA series featuring a group of young mage’s from an alternate Regency world. I gushed about the first book in this series, Dark Mirror, here last May. The second in the series, Dark Passage, is out this month.

Mary Jo has been an important influence in my own writing. Years ago, my friend Helen (who happens to be the present Coordinator of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Forum) insisted I read The Rake and The Reformer, the book I credit with sparking my love of Regency Romance.

The Rake and the Reformer, 1989, (Re-written and released as The Rake in 1998) still appears on readers’ Favorite Regencies lists, as it would on mine. I loved the strong characters and emotions in that book, as well as the treatment of the very contemporary issue of alcoholism.

After reading the Rake and the Reformer, I promptly searched for, and eventually found, Mary Jo’s first Regency, The Diabolical Baron, and discovered Reggie, the hero of The Rake and the Reformer as the villain. (I used that device myself in The Wagering Widow and my own “Rake” book,A Reputable Rake.)

I went on to read every Mary Jo Putney book I could get my hands on. I loved her complex characters and her creative inclusion of things, like blood transfusion in Shattered Rainbows and opium addiction in The Bargain.

Another early influence from Mary Jo was her essay in Dangerous Men, Adventurous Women, “Welcome To The Dark Side.” This whole book was a revelation to me and I loved Mary Jo’s scholarly take on the appeal of a dark hero.

I admire Mary Jo for her willingness to try new things, to switch from her very popular Regencies to Contemporaries and Fantasy and now her YA fantasies. What’s even better, she’s returned to the Regency again with her Lost Lords series, as creative as ever.

Once early on in my writing life, Mary Jo spoke at the Library of Congress Science Fiction and Fantasy Forum about world building and I attended. I was so honored to be included when the Library employees took her to lunch—I had an “in” then, too. My husband was friends with the woman who was then the coordinator.

I’m expecting to go to lunch this time, too, and, I promise you, I’m equally as thrilled!

Which Mary Jo Putney book is your favorite?

Posted in Jane Austen | Tagged , | 8 Replies

Meeting Mary Jo Putney

Updated on by

Today I’m going to the Library of Congress to hear Mary Jo Putney speak to the Library of Congress Professional Association’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Forum about her new YA series featuring a group of young mage’s from an alternate Regency world. I gushed about the first book in this series, Dark Mirror, here last May. The second in the series, Dark Passage, is out this month.

Mary Jo has been an important influence in my own writing. Years ago, my friend Helen (who happens to be the present Coordinator of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Forum) insisted I read The Rake and The Reformer, the book I credit with sparking my love of Regency Romance.

The Rake and the Reformer, 1989, (Re-written and released as The Rake in 1998) still appears on readers’ Favorite Regencies lists, as it would on mine. I loved the strong characters and emotions in that book, as well as the treatment of the very contemporary issue of alcoholism.

After reading the Rake and the Reformer, I promptly searched for, and eventually found, Mary Jo’s first Regency, The Diabolical Baron, and discovered Reggie, the hero of The Rake and the Reformer as the villain. (I used that device myself in The Wagering Widow and my own “Rake” book,A Reputable Rake.)

I went on to read every Mary Jo Putney book I could get my hands on. I loved her complex characters and her creative inclusion of things, like blood transfusion in Shattered Rainbows and opium addiction in The Bargain.

Another early influence from Mary Jo was her essay in Dangerous Men, Adventurous Women, “Welcome To The Dark Side.” This whole book was a revelation to me and I loved Mary Jo’s scholarly take on the appeal of a dark hero.

I admire Mary Jo for her willingness to try new things, to switch from her very popular Regencies to Contemporaries and Fantasy and now her YA fantasies. What’s even better, she’s returned to the Regency again with her Lost Lords series, as creative as ever.

Once early on in my writing life, Mary Jo spoke at the Library of Congress Science Fiction and Fantasy Forum about world building and I attended. I was so honored to be included when the Library employees took her to lunch—I had an “in” then, too. My husband was friends with the woman who was then the coordinator.

I’m expecting to go to lunch this time, too, and, I promise you, I’m equally as thrilled!

Which Mary Jo Putney book is your favorite?

Posted in Jane Austen | Tagged , | Leave a reply

Healthy Escapes

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My children started school on Sept 7th. That morning, they waited for the bus in the pouring rain. The bus was late. I brought out an umbrella. When the bus finally came, the umbrella wouldn’t close, so I took it, sure that it wouldn’t still be raining when the kids returned. I was wrong. It continued to rain throughout the day and into the night. I woke up at some point, realizing the power had gone off. And it was still raining. I couldn’t fall back asleep. I remembered the flood of 2006, supposedly a “hundred year flood”. But this time, I felt the uneasy sense that something more terrible was happening.

Sadly, my gut was right. It was another “hundred year flood” but this time it was much worse. My family and I are among the lucky ones. Our hillside neighborhood became an island as the main road below us flooded. We lost power for five days (which is why I wasn’t around last Saturday) and are still having to boil our water, but our house is fine. Meanwhile, entire neighborhoods have been ravaged. We know many people whose homes have been seriously damaged and some who lost them entirely.

I strongly believe in facing reality. For many in our area, this means doing the work it takes to recover. For lucky ones like me, it means helping. Yesterday I joined a church group to help a member clean up. It felt good to be with my friends and it felt good to be useful.

But sometimes the reality just gets too overwhelming. There are times when one has to escape, at least for short time.

During the first days of the crisis, my family and I were safe and dry, but isolated, with only the radio to keep us informed of the unfolding tragedy. I tried to keep things as normal and cheerful as possible. We spent a lot of time reading, writing and crocheting. I figured out how to grill things I’d never grilled before (scalloped potatoes au gratin, even). We played Scrabble by candlelight.

Now that we’re past the crisis and into the long recovery, my friends and I are still feeling very anxious. One of us recently posted a reminder on Facebook that we all need to take breaks to have a cup of tea, do a puzzle, listen to music or escape into a good book. It’s one of the reasons I write. Creativity is healing. We all need art, songs and stories to sustain us.

When life becomes too sad and scary, what are your healthy escapes?

Elena

Posted in Jane Austen | Tagged | 6 Replies

Fall Kindle-ing

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First solipsistic things first*:

I hope soon to be able to post some good news about writing and all, but I can’t just yet. So a discreet yay! from me will have to suffice.

In other news, fall has hit the East Coast hard, necessitating long sleeves and closed-toe shoes (can I just say how much I hate wearing socks? No clue why, I just do).

Meanwhile, I’ve finished the behemoth that is the fifth book in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire saga (if you watch HBO, you know it as Game of Thrones). This book is the sole reason I finally agreed to go digital, and got a Kindle for my birthday last month. And I do not regret it! Instead of making my shoulder ache by schlepping around a 1000+ page book, I got to carry a slim electronic device. Which, when I finished the book, also had other books I could immediately access.

I’ve lent it to the spouse for his subway reading, and have returned to print books, but I miss that sucker already (The Kindle, not the spouse. Him I don’t miss so much, seeing him every day and all).

It’s really exciting to see how many Regency-era novels are available in Kindle that were previously only a) crazy pricey or b) tattered and falling apart on the keeper shelf. Including our own Elena Greene’s Lady Dearing’s Masquerade!

So while I prepare to launch back into writing, I’m having some fun perusing what I can get for my new friend. I am guessing most of you have already made the digital leap; what do you like best about e-reading?

Megan

*This pic is of Idris Elba, who is up for an Emmy this Sunday for his performance in Luther, the second season of which starts airing on BBC America Sept. 28th. A good actor, and easy on the eyes.

Posted in Jane Austen | Tagged , | 9 Replies
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