A few weeks ago, I did something I know people here at Risky Regencies will sympathize with–I ordered a couple of books from abebooks, and when they arrived realized I already had them. Ooops. (The duplicates will probably pop up here as a giveaway soon, so stay tuned!). Then I knew it must be time for a Book Check.

I do this once or twice a year, going through my shelves, the stacks of books on the floor, and the plastic storage tubs of books. It gives me a chance to do some much-needed dusting (I am really glad you can’t actually see my house, because honestly housekeeping isn’t my forte), find books to donate to the library book sale (though this doesn’t really often happen–I think I got rid of all of 2 books last time), and see what I have that I might have forgotten about (and thus not order them again). This process takes quite a while, as I usually end up sitting on the floor re-reading stuff or looking at pictures in art books.

One book I found hiding on the shelf this time was Benjamin Woolley’s Bride of Science: Romance, Reason, and Byron’s Daughter. Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace, aside from her father (who she never knew, of course, her parents having separated so acrimoniously when she was an infant) was a very interesting person in her own right. Raised by her wackadoo mother in an uber-strict manner, emphasizing science, logic, and morality (i.e. the anti-Byron), she was a part of the early Victorian interest in new technology and science. She was a gifted mathematician (something about using punch cards to calculate Bernoulli numbers, and an interest in the concept of imaginary numbers), and although some of her interests were, er, questionable (mesmerism and magnetism, and later using her own mathematical system to lose disastrously at the horse races) some was of lasting impact. She worked with her friend Charles Babbage on an invention called the Analytical Engine (this is where the punch cards came in) that is considered an early forerunner of the computer. She died at 37 (still harangued by her mother) and was buried next to her father, but her influence can still be seen–the US Department of Defense called their computer language “Ada.”

I’ve often said that the one kind of hero or heroine I could never write about would be a mathematician. I’m a terrible dunce with numbers–they lost me somewhere around first grade with those pesky multiplication tables. In school, my abstract brain preferred things like analyzing poetry, where there was no “right” answer. After all, who can say what “Disillusionment of Ten O’Clock” really means, yet 2+2 is always 4 no matter how you might feel about it at the moment. I’m so deeply impressed by people like Ada (or like my future sister-in-law, an engineer) who are good at such things. They’re so mysterious and strange to me. It would take an immense amount of hard research to make any mathematical character I wrote about believable. And yet inspiration is a strange thing. A heroine who is interested in algebra has taken up residence in my mind, and may one day have to come out on the page (though she is in line behind at least 4 other projects, all with stubbornly non-scientific heroines).

What were your favorite subjects in school? Any that you hated? What sort of character would you feel challenged to write or read about?

And be sure and sign up for our Newsletter at riskies@yahoo.com, with “Newsletter” in the subject line. I promise there will be no pop quizzes, math or otherwise, just fun news and contests!

interview

… the smell of the crowd…and other things

Today is the birthday of Philip Astley (1770-1814), founder of the famed Astley’s Amphitheatre, one of the hot spots of Regency London. He’s now seen as the father of the modern circus, and in fact established the standard circus ring size of 42 ft. diameter.

He began his career in the army where he fought in the Seven Years War and distinguished himself with his horsemanship and then left to become a riding instructor and performer. He rejoined the army again in 1793 when England and France were at war, taking emergency leave when his Amphitheatre caught fire.

Tracy Chevalier has a terrific page on her site about Astley, who appears in Burning Bright, her novel about William Blake. And now it seems I’m going to talk about Burning Bright, which I enjoyed–sort of–I actually liked the circus stuff best, and admired the way she wrote about artisans. There’s a family who makes chairs and another character who makes Dorset buttons, something of which I was woefully ignorant; buttons were made of thread, woven together in intricate patterns, so all my characters whose buttons made a “pinging” sound as they hit the floor are about twenty years ahead of their time.

This illustration, of a Dorset basket weave, is one borrowed from the site of the British Button Society (yes, there is actually such a thing). What I didn’t get from the book is a clear sense of Blake and that was disappointing, but her depiction of Blake’s London was vivid and exciting.

There are any number of directions I could go from here, but I also wanted to add that I had a blast in NJ last weekend, signing as two people and giving readers the choice of the dirty book or the funny one; I finally got to meet Santa and a lot of other cool people; and Smartbitches are talking about Jane today.

So: have you been to the circus or read a good book recently?

Sign up for the Riskies newsletter at riskies@yahoo.com with NEWSLETTER in the subject line and learn to make buttons while standing one-footed on a horse!

This weekend I attended the New Jersey Romance Writers conference. Also attending were Janet and Megan. Janet, my bff Julie, and I drove up 95 and the Jersey Turnpike in my Prius, which was a pleasure, not only because I have an EZPass and can zip through the tollgates, but also because Janet is a very entertaining companion and Julie is a prime navigator, my own personal JPS (instead of a GPS–get it?).

It is a bit difficult to relate New Jersey to the Regency. I do love New Jersey, though. I love the atmosphere and the people there. Unlike many southerners who say what is polite, Jersey folks are very direct and I like that! I lived there for two years in my younger days, so it always feels a little like going home.

There were Regency authors there. Lots of them! Julia Quinn was the special presenter, giving a talk on “Dialogue: It’s More Than What You Say.” Julia’s was the best and clearest presentation about dialogue that I’ve ever heard. Eloisa James also gave a good workshop about beta heroes. But, as always, it is the informal meetings with fellow authors that I enjoy the most. I managed to spend time with Regency authors Sally MacKenzie (one of our former guests and pictured with me at the booksigning), my pal Sophia Nash, Kristina Cook, and Caroline Linden. And, of course, Janet and Megan, although I did not get to see Megan for nearly as long as I would have liked. Janet and Megan should have more photos for you.

The bookseller’s luncheon was on Sunday, and there I met an impressive young, new Regency author, Maya Rodale, whose first book, a Regency set historical, The Heir and the Spare, just came out this past August. At the luncheon, of course, Janet and I schmoozed with lovely booksellers whose enthusiasm for historical romance is heartening. So never believe it if you hear people say, “Historical is Dead.” It isn’t, and the booksellers are the ones who know!

I’m home now and back to real life. On my agenda this week are revisions of the still unnamed “Pomroy’s Story.”

What’s on your agenda this week?
Were you at the NJ conference (I saw Santa there!) and, if so, did I see you?
Were you with writer friends, at least?

Don’t forget to visit the Wet Noodle Posse blog this month if you are planning on entering the Golden Heart contest. The 2003GH finalists are sharing their tips all month–and giving away critiques!

And Happy Columbus Day

I’m away for the weekend, renewing my creativity (hopefully!) at a yoga retreat. While I’m trying warrior pose and meditative breathing, here is brief history of yoga:

–The beginnings of yoga were in Northern India over 5000 years ago, with the word “yoga” first mentioned in the Rig Veda (a collection of texts containing songs and rituals used by Vedic priests). These taught the sacrifice of the ego through self-knowledge action (karma yoga) and wisdom (inana yoga).

–In the 2nd century, the Yoga Sutras described the path of Raja Yoga, sometimes called “classical yoga,” which organized the practice into an “eight limbed path”.

–A few centuries later, yoga masters created a system of practices designed to rejuvenate the body and prolong life. The exploration of thse physical/spiritual connections led to the creation of Hatha Yoga.

–In 1785, the Bhagavad-Gita was the first Sanskrit work to be translated into English.

–In the late 19th century/early 20th, yoga masters began to travel to the West, attracting attention and new followers. In 1947, Indra Devi opened a famous studio in Hollywood, starting the long trend of stars and yoga! (Madonna, Sting, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Christy Turlington, are some of the well-known yoga advocates today)

I tried to find some Georgian/Regency celebrities who might have tried yoga, but had no luck! I bet the Romantic poets would have liked it, though…

Have you tried yoga, or any other exercise regimes you’d recommend? (I’m always trying to find something that will help me get into shape without making me feel like I’m “exercising”!)