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Two Lives

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First on this Saturday post–a little bit of Shameless Bragging! I finally got to see the cover for my January ’09 Harlequin Historical release, High Seas Stowaway (Balthazar’s story). I love it! The sense of movement, the drama and passion–it’s beautiful, and even suits the story. What do you all think???

And I also got an email with a new review for my last book, A Sinful Alliance, in the Chicago Tribune, which says “In A Sinful Alliance, her latest flawlessly crafted historical romance, Amanda McCabe expertly blends political and romantic intrigue into a captivating story.” Sigh. If only all reviews could be like that, for all of us! It would make this job easier sometimes…

And on Friday October 31, be sure and join me, along with Michelle Willingham, Nicola Cornick, and Bronwyn Scott as we launch our Blog Tour in honor of the debut of Harlequin “Historical Undone” ebooks! We’ll be at Greyhaus Literary Agency on that day, and here at Risky Regencies on November 2 (full schedule to come).

Now, when I was looking online for possible topics for today, I found out that October 25 had great significance in the lives of two men who had enormous impact on the history of this country–and the world. (Seems kind of appropriate to look at the beginnings of the USA, with the election only a little more than a week away!). On October 25, 1760, George III ascended the throne of England on the death of George II, and on October 25, 1764 John Adams married Abigail Smith.

George III was born in London at Norfolk House in 1738, the son of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, grandson of George II. His grandfather and father did not get along, and George II took very little interest in his grandchildren. Until the Prince of Wales unexpectedly died in 1751. Three weeks later, Prince George became Prince of Wales. In the spring of 1756, as he approached his 18th birthday, his grandfather offered him his own household at St. James’s Palace, but, guided by his mother and his advisor Lord Bute (who wanted to keep him close at home) he refused.

In 1759, he became infatuated with Lady Sarah Lennox, one of the extraordinary daughters of the Duke of Richmond, but, once again guided by Bute, he gave up thoughts of marrying her and turned to Princess Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He met her on their wedding day in September 1761, and they ended up with 15 (mostly troublesome) children. Two weeks after the marriage they were crowned at Westminster Abbey. (The madness and the loss of the American colonies all came later…)

John Adams met Abigail Smith when they were 17 and 26 years old, and fell in love pretty much right away, though the wedding would have to wait. Abigail’s mother, Elizabeth Quincey Smith (of the Quinceys) did not approve of the son of a mere farmer for her daughter, even though John was by then a lawyer with a new practice. But even when they were apart they wrote torrents of letters, over 1100 of which survive today to testify to this great romance and partnership. Including this one, dated October 4, 1762:

Miss Adorable,

By that same Token that the Bearer hereof satt up with you last night I hereby order you to give him, as many Kisses, and as many Hours of your Company aftr 9 o’clock as he shall please to Demand and charge them to my Account: This Order, or Requisition call it which you will is in Consideration of a similar order Upon Aurelia for the like favor, and I presume I have good Right to draw upon you for the Kisses as I have given two or three Millions at least, when one has been received, and of Consequence the Account between us is immensely in favor of yours,
John Adams

The wedding finally took place several years later, performed by her father, the Congregationalist minister Reverend William Smith. They then moved to the house in Braintree John inherited from his father and had 4 children who grew to adulthood. They were married for nearly 50 years.

And if you haven’t seen the HBO miniseries John Adams, run out and rent it right now! It is one of the best historical dramas I’ve ever seen.

Any other milestones on this October Saturday???

Posted in Risky Regencies | Tagged | 20 Replies

Failure To, Well, Do Anything

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Oh, yikes, it’s Friday again.

Today I am heading to New Jersey for their fabulous conference. I will be the sole Risky in attendance (and yes, I am bringing buttons, fellow Rs!), and I look forward to hanging with old friends and making some new ones. Oh, and attending a few workshops, of course.

But this week, in personal terms, has been a dud. First off, although I wrote–and wrote well–this week, I only managed one day of writing. And one day of exercising. And I regained the two pounds I had lost the week before (to which I say, WTF?). So last night I made some Bad Choices and should have done some things and did others instead. I have to run around like a crazy person packing for Jersey and stressing because there’s just never enough time, except for when I waste it.

So now I hate myself.

Which means you all have to suffer, too.

No, not really.

Yes, you do.

No, not really.

Ye–anyway, I am always up for a resolution, especially if it is public, so I am resolving to make Good Choices and try to write, even though sometimes it seems as though I am writing only for me (can you tell I haven’t heard anything yet from my agent about my submission? Yeah, like that.).

And exercise, because it’s good for my heart and stuff.

And I do feel good about going to Jersey, and I hope not to be a ninny, and get some benefit out of going. I am looking forward to Halloween (my son is going as Kiss’s Gene Simmons, his idea, not ours!), and pumpkin ale, and cute sweaters, and getting to 25,000 words, and visiting with relatives, and lots and lots of tea.

Okay. Hold onto those good thoughts, Megan.

What is your surefire way for getting out of the doldrums?

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Janet the Grouch

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Yes, I’m having a grouchy day.

I’ve already vented my spleen over at History Hoydens today about The Great Scone Infiltration, which, as may or may not be obvious, is about food anachronisms in Romancelandia, in particular the humble scone.

It’s difficult to present oneself publicly as a grouchy romance writer. I’m supposed to be a purveyor of sweetness and light, aren’t I? Never mind that the economy is collapsing, and we have the possibility of a grouchy old man and his accompanying albatross with glasses (not my definition, but the brilliant Graham Norton’s) taking us down the path to … well, I hate to think where. I spring out of bed these days with a song on my lips, but unfortunately it’s a song that goes along the lines of things aren’t going at all well…

So is it true that in these troubling times we need Romance? Will people flock to buy books–or borrow them from the libraries (when they can get there and if the books are there–ever noticed how library budgets suffer at the drop of a dollar hat?)? I wonder if books will become the equivalent of movies during the 1930s–rather than going out for an evening for a relatively small amount of money (and let the theater’s heating and the press of bodies warm you), we’ll stay at home and read.

The movies of the Golden Age of Hollywood offered fantasy, escapism, and a glimpse into the lives of the rich, famous, and fashionable. Now we see altogether too much of the lives of the rich, famous, and fashionable, but we still crave fantasy and glamor.

I wonder if romance will fill that void.

The reason it might not is that reading is a solitary pursuit. I think in particular that romance is isolating in that it answers your fantasies–whether your particular fantasy is tea in a Regency drawing room or sex with three werewolves (at once)–and a shared fantasy becomes something else. It requires an act of trust to share the need for fantasy, or the fantasies themselves, with others, and I think that’s why the internet provides so many discussion boards and other safe environments for readers who want to talk about romance. But I’m wondering whether we need human contact–and that’s what going to the movies represented during the Depression. The experience would continue long after leaving the movie theater, providing common ground for discussion about the movie and its stars.

So, a couple of questions for you.

Do you think reading romance will get us through hard times?

Do you find online friends and community as satisfying as “real-life” friends?

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Originality

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Last week, a scene from the Project Runway finale had me thinking.

The judges compared designer Kenley’s gown (left) to a recent creation by Alexander McQueen (right). Kenley complained that the judges called her a copycat. Annoying as Kenley is, I don’t think she ripped off the design. I didn’t hear the judges say so either. What I did hear is their advice to her to become more aware of what other designers are doing.

I wondered whether this advice–no doubt excellent for the fashion industry–makes sense for romance writing. Many publishers do in fact advise aspiring writers to read their line before submitting. However, I think the intent is to get more submissions that suit the current line, not avoid similar stories, which is more often my concern. I sometimes worry that I’ve accidentally hit upon a similar idea to something that is already out there, even (horrors!) something so popular and successful that my own attempt would inevitably raise suspicions.

But I stress about this less than I used to. When I heard that Victoria Alexander wrote a book with a balloonist hero, I steeled myself to read it, ready to ditch or alter my own balloonist story if it seemed too similar. As it turns out, HER HIGHNESS, MY WIFE is a fun read but the plot and characters are completely unlike mine. Even the ballooning element is different, as her aeronaut uses hot air and mine uses hydrogen. You may think this does not matter but consider the fact that in a hydrogen balloon an aeronaut can, um, stay up much longer. 🙂 But I digress.

I know some authors who don’t read in their own genre because they want to avoid unconsciously absorbing others’ ideas. I won’t go so far; I enjoy historical romance too much to give up the pleasure. But I’m also not about to embark on a major survey of what sort of historical romances are currently out there, either to try to fit in or to deliberately make sure I’ve written something that is completely unlike any other story. I don’t have the time!

Although there are a lot of elements in a single garment, a novel is still a more complex creation. Two writers working in isolation could very well come up with some similar ideas, especially if they’re fascinated by the same bit of history and using the same sources. But if they are drawing from within themselves, the resulting novels are still going to as different as the two writers.

I found a cool quote by James Stephens:

Originality does not consist in saying what no one has ever said before, but in saying exactly what you think yourself.

I like that! How about you? Do you think authors should read in their own genre or not? Which do you think results in greater originality?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

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Anniversary of Trafalgar

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Little did I realize what a smart move it was for me to have the mother of all colds last Thursday and hand the responsibility of the day over to Cara. (Thanks Cara!)

That’s because today is the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805. Three years ago I blogged about the two hundredth anniversary of the battle and a politically correct approach for the millenium. Today I’ve come up with a collection of things I found interesting–I hope you do too–because the whole topic of Nelson and Trafalgar is so huge you can’t do it justice in one blog. (Note the cunning way I leave things open for your comments and a possible part two on Thursday.) If you were raised in England the legend of Nelson and Trafalgar, “kiss me Hardy” and all the rest of it, are part of your consciousness–everywhere you turn there are pubs, streets, houses, memorials. And of course, Nelson’s Column in, where else, Trafalgar Square, London.

True to form, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich is holding an exhibit celebrating the 250th anniversary of Nelson’s birth (September 29, 1758), and the site has some great pictures, articles, and information.

You can see Nelson’s coat, still bloodstained, which Emma Hamilton was given after his death, although Nelson’s family would have liked to have taken possession of it. She sold the coat when she’d fallen on hard times, shortly before she left for Europe, where she died in 1814. Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, bought it back and presented it to Greenwich.

I like this piece of embroidery, traditionally thought to be worked by Emma, of herself, Nelson and their dog Nileus at Merton Place, Surrey. It’s of colored silks on a silk taffeta ground, but the faces and hands are painted on the fabric with watercolors. Pictures were produced and sold to women to be worked on at home, and the Nelson-Trafalgar story caught the imagination, and the money-making instincts of the British, with a huge amount of souvenirs produced.

Here’s a Nelson snuff box from 1804.

Another fascinating sort of souvenir is artefacts made from scrap wood of Nelson’s famous ship Victory during renovations (which you can visit at Portsmouth.)

I visited eBay (of course) and found this fascinating item, an English Oak Glove Stretcher. It’s engraved with the name Victory.

There’s a wonderful collection of Nelson memorabilia here, including this very cute mid nineteenth century toby jug.

I actually own a piece of Nelson memorabilia myself, an engraving of his house at Merton Place, which I think is genuine (I paid very little for it). Mine is colored and much prettier than this version.

Do you collect memorabilia or antiques? Or, what would you like to collect if you could afford it? Do you have any thoughts on Nelson or Trafalgar you’d like to share?

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