Promantica

I'm 25 and Indian and I love Betty Neels - as ...

2013-02-12T06:38:05.118-05:00

I'm 25 and Indian and I love Betty Neels - as I have for 10 years now! My local librarian, while extremely nice, has told me confidentially that her books only come in large prints where I live (in he UK, incidentally) because only the grandmothers read them. As a plus, they have nearly every book of hers.
Ah, well.
I beat future grans from my generation to it, by about 30 years!

Every British title of nobility granted by royal c...

2013-02-10T17:25:23.719-05:00

Every British title of nobility granted by royal charter has an entail prescrning inheritance of the title and associated estate. Most recently Parliamemt changed by law the entail on the British crown by allowing female hears of Prince Wiiliam to inherit the crown

The title, land, and and property of Downton Abbey...

2013-02-10T17:20:19.022-05:00

The title, land, and and property of Downton Abbey were granted in perpetuity to the 1st earl by the kingof England in the royal charter that created the earldom. The 5th earl had Cora's dowry paid to the earldom, not personally to the 5th or 6th earl. The dowry therefore falls under the ealdom's entail and is not fee simple to the individual holding the title and thereby controlling the estate.

Good question! I find it really hard to get into b...

2013-01-29T20:29:01.363-05:00

Good question! I find it really hard to get into books when I'm writing one, so I usually reread a favorite novel. But never anything by Barbara Michaels because I have a habit of imitating her voice while I'm reading her.

I like the helpful info you provided in your artic...

2012-12-27T02:05:15.457-05:00

I like the helpful info you provided in your article. I will bookmark your blog and check again here regularly.
Research Solution

Congrats! :)

2012-12-18T17:26:34.172-05:00

Congrats! :)

Thanks, Barb. I know you've been waiting for t...

2012-12-17T17:17:34.060-05:00

Thanks, Barb. I know you've been waiting for this day. For a while. Tapping your foot. Trust me, I hear it all the way up here in Pennsylvania. LOL

Magdalen-- This is all so cool! Congratulations!...

2012-12-17T15:09:34.751-05:00

Magdalen--

This is all so cool!

Congratulations!

Thanks, Tasha!

2012-12-13T06:42:14.026-05:00

Thanks, Tasha!

Congrats!

2012-12-12T23:48:55.118-05:00

Congrats!

his is very interesting post, you are very skilled...

2012-11-08T02:47:04.861-05:00

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International Market Research

Just to pull in Towkington's "daffy-down-...

2012-10-17T14:45:20.927-04:00

Just to pull in Towkington's "daffy-down-dilly" business, that was a slang term used for a lawyer who worked for both sides; the more formal term from the 16th century was "ambidexter". Here is Jonathan Rose's paper, which cites Sayers in a footnote. A criminal libel, for younkers outside England who have never heard of such a thing, is a defamatory, blasphemous, obscene, or seditious statement tending to produce a breach of the peace; falsity was not a defense.

I love the Gaiman quote, although one wonders if s...

2012-10-16T09:27:00.568-04:00

I love the Gaiman quote, although one wonders if some books (*cough*) aren't abandoned a bit too soon...

Ah...rewrites. A book is never done, is it? I read...

2012-10-16T08:52:18.739-04:00

Ah...rewrites. A book is never done, is it? I read a quote from Neil Gaiman recently. I'm paraphrasing, but it was along the lines of a book never being finished, just abandoned and published.

I write the sort of books I'd like to read. As is the case for many writers, squeezing writing time into my schedule takes effort and determination. If I didn't love my stories, it would be all too easy to slack off.

What a lovely compliment! Thank you so much. Don&#...

2012-10-13T01:24:28.420-04:00

What a lovely compliment! Thank you so much. Don't worry, you'll know when there's a book of mine to buy.

Wow, is that ever true. I first wrote Love in R...

2012-10-13T01:23:15.030-04:00
Wow, is that ever true. I first wrote Love in Reality in 2010 when I was a BAD writer. I reworked it later that year, then started a full re-rewrite last year. Another couple re-rewrites & it should be ready...LOL.

It did cross my mind to ditch it. Apart from the fact that it's Book 1 of a quartet where Book 4 is the other twin's love story--so what was I going to have her say? "Oh, yeah, my sister fell in love on this TV show while she was pretending to be me...but it's really not a very interesting story"?--I like it too much to ditch it.

Still, I can't recommend four rewrites.

Also, great point about how amorphous "good writing" is as a compliment and even more amorphous "bad writing" is as criticism. I'm a bit like Potter Stewart and the word "pornography": I know "bad writing" when I see it. But, like you, I've read a lot of reviews (or Tweets) where I've seen that term thrown around, often in high dudgeon, and I wonder, "What was so bad about it?"

I would be delighted to read your books. They soun...

2012-10-12T11:11:27.464-04:00
I would be delighted to read your books. They sound like everything I want, especially smart. Really smart. It takes a clever author to make that happen. Based on reading your blog the past three years, I think you have what it takes to write engaging, intelligent stories. I look forward to buying your books someday.

I agree that "good writing" or "bad...

2012-10-11T23:03:15.905-04:00
I agree that "good writing" or "bad writing" is not a selling or detracting point to any book. I've been reading for almost my entire life and I don't even know what those phrases MEAN; and I hate seeing them in reviews. If you think the writing was bad, fine, but say what you think was bad about it, or vice versa. "Writing" is kind of like a Jenga tower of elements, and one weak element doesn't necessarily topple the whole thing.

As for writing the book you want to read, that's great advice, but not just for sales. You're going to be spending a lot of time with that manuscript. Rewrites and edits and more rewrites. If you don't want to read it, you're not going to want to reread it, that's for sure. The manuscript I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2011 wasn't in a genre I enjoy reading, and guess how many times I've gone through it since I typed The End last year.

Yes, the skirt and stole are peacock-blue shantung...

2012-09-11T11:27:30.497-04:00
Yes, the skirt and stole are peacock-blue shantung silk.

Ross got an "upgrade" when he got his US citizenship. We looked at renaming him, but the result would have been "USB Hub 1.0" and that seemed unfortunate. LOL

Hard to see, does the dress has a blue skirt? That...

2012-09-11T10:48:16.839-04:00
Hard to see, does the dress has a blue skirt? That is REALLY a lovely shade of blue---perfect with your coloring. You look stunning (and the guys aren't bad, either!

Why is he Brit Hub 2.1? Isn't he usually Brit Hub 2.0? Or, maybe he should be more accurately now with citizenship, Anglo-American Hub 1.0?

I'm a big fan of invisibility at social events, less nerve-racking. (Bonus: easier to eavesdrop)

It sounds fun! I'd totally geek out if I sat n...

2012-09-08T00:08:02.264-04:00
It sounds fun! I'd totally geek out if I sat next to Jennifer Ashley.

I don't do well with large groups, either. That's why I tend to avoid conferences and things of that sort. It sounds like you had a good time even under your invisibility cloak, though. ;)

Henry looks the part, doesn't he? We must have...

2012-09-07T15:53:59.300-04:00
Henry looks the part, doesn't he? We must have forgotten to tell him to say, "Stilton!"

And thank you -- that's my "Barbie Ball Gown" dress, easily the prettiest dress I've ever owned.

Yes, I'm all better now. :-)

2012-09-07T15:53:20.882-04:00
Yes, I'm all better now. :-)

2012-09-07T15:52:38.043-04:00
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Hi Magdalen-- You answered my query beautifully. ...

2012-09-07T15:51:50.447-04:00
Hi Magdalen--
You answered my query beautifully. Thank you. And you do look quite fab--great dress, handsome escorts: winner, winner, chicken dinner.

As for my summer--the highlight is over at TUJD as a Betty in the Wild from North Carolina. And my fall is shaping up to be even less exciting, with surgery in the offing.

Pneumonia--bummer! hope you are back to full speed by now.