How is everyone’s Tuesday going?? Around here it is cold and very, very white. A big snow/ice storm moved in last night, and this morning I had to put on my coat and snow boots to dig my poodle out of a snow bank (she loves to run and roll in the snow, and get so covered she looks like a little icicle!). Now that I’m back inside and cozy with a cup of tea, I remembered that it is Tuesday and my Risky day. Here is a bit about what’s going on this Tuesday:
1) A new cover! This is for my Harlequin Historical “Undone” story, out in April. Set in 1922, it’s a brand-new time period for me, full of beaded gowns, champagne, and fabulous cars, where the heroine uses a Gatsby-esque masked ball to convince the man she’s always loved they’re perfect for each other…
2) I tried to find something relevant to the Regency anniversary, and discovered that on this day in 1814 Byron’s poem “The Corsair” sold out its entire print run of 10,000 in one day in London! The third of 6 “Turkish Tales,” it has a typically Romantic exotic setting in Turkish harems and shipwrecks.
It also served as inspiration to a ballet still performed today, Le Corsaire, which had its premier in Paris on January 23, 1856 with music by Adolphe Adam…
3) February 1 is also the anniversary of a non-Regency event, Elizabeth I signing the death warrant of Mary Queen of Scots in 1587, after a captivity of over 20 years. I’m knee-deep in Mary history at the moment with my WIP (though my story takes place much earlier, soon after Mary’s return to Scotland from France. But I can see the beginning of the slippery slope for her…)
4) The opera La Boheme also had its premier on this day, in Turin in 1896, a performance conducted by a young Toscanini. This is one of my favorite operas, and I just popped in the CD of the new Anna Netrebko version to listen to while I write…
5) And, just for fun, some of the costumes of Downton Abbey! I would kill for some of those hats. What did you think of Sunday’s finale???
So, in summary, covers, 1920s, Byron, ballet, Mary Queen of Scots, La Boheme, Downton Abbey, snow (lots and lots of snow). What do you think of any/all of these??
No snow here, I’m happy to say! We’re having one of our rare and beautiful sunny winter days. (I’m in Seattle, so normally our sunshine comes between Independence and Labor Days. OK, slight exaggeration, but only slight.)
That is a beautiful, beautiful cover.
I love the costumes in Downton Abbey. And I may be in the minority, but I like Mary. She’s prickly and selfish, sure, and she has a lot of growing up to do, but she’s so fenced in by her position and buffeted by changes in circumstances. So I’m rooting for her to figure things out in the next series.
They are scaring us with threats of ice storms here. So far…nothing. Stay snug, Ammanda, and anyone else in the blizzard’s path.
I haven’t yet seen the last episode of Downton Abbey because I had an Undone story due today. watching it will be one of my rewards for finishing on time and sending the ms in at 6 am!
I loved the Corsair!!!
And I love your Undone cover.
Since the snow is now blocking my doors, I think the weather is telling me to stay home and work. :))
Susanna, I also really like Mary! I love complicated heroines, especially ones who have lessons to learn, and I’m confident she will really come into her own in the next series (and hopefully Sybil will, too!). I felt terribly sorry for poor Edith, but honestly she should have known better than to cross swords with Mary. 🙂
Downton Abbey is sounding better and better to me. I hope it comes out on DVD soon.
BRRRRR on the ice and snow Ammanda and Divine One. Please stay safe and warm!
That cover is fantastic, by the way!
Love the Corsair in all of its incarnations!
I never sang Mimi in La Boheme. It is more of a lyric role and I was a coloratura. I did, however, have lots of fun with the role of Musetta, the sort of unrepentant light skirt we all admire! Quando m’en vo’ was a sort of “bread and butter” aria for me.
Wow what a fabulous Boheme clip! Thanks for posting.
The clothes in Downton Abbey are great, by far the best thing about the series (nobly shuts up).
Congrats on the new Undone, Amanda, and I continue to be impressed by your ability to handle all sorts of different time periods!
We are snowed in today, too. I have shoveled, shoveled and shoveled some more (3-8 more inches expected). I did manage to boot the kids off the computer for about an hour of writing.
Louisa, it’s already out on DVD! I got my copy from Amazon.
Yay on getting some writing done, Elena! Some of the neighborhood kids very kindly shoveled my driveway for me, so I finally got to take the dogs outside…
Oh no! Amanda has placed TOO much temptation in my way! Now I am off to Amazon to get Downton Abbey. I know, Janet, but sometimes a little frivolity is good for the soul!
I didn’t realize Mary Queen of Scots was held captive that long. After 20 years, what would be the point of chopping off her head?
Missed the finale of Downton Abbey. My husband and I have enjoyed it, but we have missed a couple of episodes. I hope the library gets the DVD on so I can borrow it. Loved the fashions.
Hope you and your poor poodle get a break in the weather.