A Little Inspiration, Please…

Most of the posts here at Seduced by History are about…incorporating history into the stories we write. Today, I thought I’d change things up by talking more about my own personal history in the writing business.

For one thing—it took me a long time to see my first novel published (I’m now looking forward to my third book coming out in September.) Although my manuscript did very well making the final round in several contests, I was slow to send it out to agents and publishers. It took me awhile to develop a thick skin. When I tweaked the beginning, it suddenly became a finalist in the Golden Heart Competition. From there, it caught the eye of Jenny Hutton at Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd.

I kept the hope to see my story in print alive by a few concepts I’ll share with you here.

1. I took heart in the rejection letters of famous authors. If they could keep sending out their “baby”, then I could.

THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT was turned down so many times, Beatrix Potter initially self-published it.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don't know how to use the English language." Editor of the San Francisco Examiner to Rudyard Kipling.

Tony Hillerman’s agent told him, ‘Get rid of the Indian stuff’

Mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark recently received a $60 plus million dollar advance on her next five books, but this is what happened when she was sending out her manuscript "Journey Back to Love" in the early 1960s: "We found the heroine as boring as her husband did."

To writer Samuel Johnson (though I don't know which book the editor was referring to): "Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good."

2. I took heart in how they persevered. If they could, then I could. Here are the number of times they were rejected before selling...

Dr. Seuss – 27

Luis L'Amour – 349

JK Rowling –

Harry Potter 12

John Grisham – 26 J

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen -- Chicken Soup for the Soul 140

Frank Herbert—Dune 23

Stephen King – Carrie 30

Meg Cabot— The Princess Diaries 17

Richard Adams – Watership Down 26

Margaret Mitchell— Gone with the Wind 38

3. I gathered inspirational quotes and read them daily to internalize them.

“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re probably right.” – Henry Ford

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your dreams. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you too, can become great.”- Mark Twain

“I dwell in possibility.”- Emily Dickenson

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”-Eleanor Roosevelt

"Don’t give up, don’t lose hope, don’t sell out." Christopher Reeve

“Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals.” Don Delillo

“To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice your gift.” Steve Prefountaine

“I believe the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare.” –Maya Angelou

~~~~~

During this time I continued to study the craft of writing, continued to write, and continued to hope. And then one morning, I received the call I’d been waiting for.

For those of you that are going through, or have gone through the same thing, what do you do to keep steady on your course toward your goals--whether they are writing or something else you hope for?

TITIAN, 16th Century Painter

The following article was published in Il Leone Italian-American newspaper. This is a shortened version of the original article.


Ask any scholar who he believes is the most prominent artist of the Renaissance period and his answer will undoubtedly be Titian. Regarded as the leading painter of the Venetian School, Titian's life began in a small village of Cadore, five miles from the foot of the Alps.

Self-Portrait (left)

Born Tiziano Vecellio, the exact year of his birth has been disputed for centuries. While scholars agree it was in 1488, Titian himself claimed he was born in 1476. He was named for a saint in whom the Vecellio family had a strong connection. Saint Tiziano had been a bishop and practiced from a chapel that belonged to a Vecellio ancestor.

Titian came from a long line of lawyers and soldiers. His family was not rich, but neither were thy destitute. Life in Cadore was not easy. At a young age, Titian dabbled in drawing with charcoal. His father noticed a special talent in the boy and sent Titian to Venice where he apprecenticed with the mosaicist Sebastiano Zuccato. Titian was ten at the time.

The Worship of Venus, 1516

With his interest in drawing, Titian soon moved in with an uncle and studied under two brothers, well-known artists Gentile and Giovanni Bellini. Years later, he moved to Padua where he painted three frescoes for the School of the Saints. In 1513, he returned to Venice to paint frescoes in the Ducal Palace. By now, his artistic abilities spread out and he showed interest in not only portraits but also religious and mythological painting.

Titian's reputation did not formally escalate until 1532 when Emperor Charles V commissioned the artist to paint his portrait. He was so pleased by the portrait that he created titles for Titian: Titian Count Palatine and Knight of the Golden Spur. These titles granted Titian entrance to the court and also gave his sons the rank of nobility.

Portrait of a Man, 1512 (right)

In 1543, Titian traveled to Rome to paint Pope Paul III and his nephews. He met with Michelangelo, who had mixed professional feelings about Titian's work. The great artist "commended his [Titian's] lively manner of painting but thought his work was deficient in drawing." However, Michelangelo's opinion did not damage Titian's credibility.

In personal matters, Titian was closed-mouthed. He let others see only what he wanted them to see. It was obvious to other artists that he was devious about money and gained work to his advantage. In other words, Titian was a shrew businessman. He had no illusions about his own status and from where he came.

Until his death on August 27, 1576, Titian remained well aware that he was an outsider in the culture and habits on the elevated, in spite of the titles bestowed upon him by Charles V.

While his work gained widespread acclaim, Titian preferred the simple life and worked out of love for his craft up until the day he died.

Jannine Corti Petska
Assapora la passione (Feel the Passion)
www.jcortipetska.com

CARINA AND THE NOBLEMAN, Available at www.eternalpress.ca
KNIGHT'S DESIRE, Available at http://www.thedarkcastlelords.com/reviews-knight's-desire.htm
REBEL HEART, 2007 Aspen Gold Finalist

A Papery Pastime

In one of my current works in progress, the hero has a young daughter who adores paper dolls.

A paper doll is such a simple thing, when you think about it. A small, flat piece of paper, cut into the shape of a girl, a young lady or a gentleman, complete with an accompanying wardrobe of fashionable clothes. But oh, what joy to be able to change those clothes, to attend imaginary balls and soirées with them, go on carriage rides with them, and if you were lucky enough, witness their pretend marriage.

The first paper dolls were manufactured in the early 1800’s in London, and quickly spread to America. In 1859, Godey’s Lady’s Book printed a paper doll in black and white, and a page of costumes for children to color.

But paper dolls were not necessarily human figures. Often they were animals, pets such as cats and dogs, and sometimes circus animals such as dancing bears, monkeys, and elephants. Occasionally, vehicles such as cars, trains, carriages and even airplanes were included in a paper doll collection.

In Deceptive Hearts, the first of a five-book series, paper dolls play a vital role. One of the secondary characters designs them, and I’m hoping to spin that artistic talent off into one of the other books in the series.

For more information on paper dolls, visit here.

Tricky Titles

Historical romances, especially Regency-set, abound with titled lords and ladies. There’s nothing quite like a handsome, fabulously wealthy, but misunderstood English duke who doesn’t yet know that he’s waiting for the perfect woman to capture his well-guarded heart. Such a man can make even the most pragmatic of heroines swoon with a breathy, “Oh, my lord, you make my heart flutter…”

…wait. That’s not right. Or is it? Not the heart fluttering part -- yeah, pretty weak dialogue, I admit it -- but should she call him ‘my lord’? Not in the higher-power sense, but as a form of address.

The answer is no. An English duke is referred to as ‘your grace’ or ‘his grace’. They’re dukes – much too grand for a mere ‘my lord’. All the other titles are ‘my lord’. No, wait, not all of them. Baronets are referred to as ‘sir’. Mustn’t forget them. But their wives do get to be ‘my lady’.

Now if the hero in question is an heir the dukedom, then matters get a bit more complex. The heroine can still swoon “Oh, my lord…” if he is the heir apparent and eldest son of the current duke. In that case, the fellow would be granted the use of his father’s 2nd most lofty title to use as a courtesy title until he inherits the fabulous dukedom. If his father is the Duke of Fabulous, the Marquess of Awesome, then the eldest son gets to use the Marquess of Awesome title. He’d be Lord Awesome and would be the heroine’s ‘my lord’. But if he’s a mere younger son, then he’s simply Lord John Smith (first name, surname), and she’d swoon “Oh, Lord John…”. But not Lord Smith. Never that.

Confused yet? I hope not. But English titles can be tricky beasts. Get them wrong, and an author can ruffled a reader’s feathers. But it’s not too difficult to get them right, as long as an author has a good reference book or site at her fingertips.

My absolute favorite, go-to reference site is this one -
Correct Forms of Address
I thank Laura for creating all those wonderful, neat and tidy tables every time I click on the link. Most anything an author would need on the subject of English forms of address is right there, in those lovely tables.

Jo Beverly also has a wonderful article on English Titles –
English Titles in the 18th and 19th Centuries

So that’s all for me today on the subject of tricky titles and how to make them not so tricky. And if you have a great resource for English titles, I'd love to hear about.

Thanks!!
Evangeline
----------------
Evangeline Collins
www.evangelinecollins.com
HER LADYSHIP’S COMPANION – Berkley Sensation
Lush. Elegant. Sensual Historical Romance

Ava March
www.avamarch.com
CONVINCING ARTHUR – Loose Id/July 2009
OBJECT OF HIS DESIRE – Samhain Publishing
Gay Erotic Romance…in the Regency era

Historic Texas hotels inspire stories

The hero in my western historical romance, SEDUCTION, owns a lavish hotel with all the modern amenities available to a small town of the late 1870s in the old west. My inspiration for his hotel came from hearing family stories about various hotels, mostly in Texas where my great grandfather worked as manager in the late 1800s.

Recently I heard on the Texas news channel that the famous Tremont Hotel in Galveston is reopening after the completion of needed remodeling following last summer's destructive hurricane. The name Tremont Hotel struck a chord with me, so I checked a story about my great grandfather. Of all the hotels he managed he did not work at the Tremont, but my great great grandfather was connected to the first Tremont Hotel in Galveston. The Tremont Hotel recently remodeled is the third Tremont Hotel on Galveston according to the article I read at The Handbook of Texas Online.

My great grandfather worked at the Rice Hotel in Houston, however, and that's where he met his wife, the daughter of the grandfather connected to the Tremont Hotel and later the Rice Hotel in Houston. That in itself is enough to inspire a romance story for me, but there are more hotels my great grandfather managed that also inspire me. He managed the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans. He managed a small hotel in Wooten Wells, Texas. There's a story.

Wooten Wells has a "build it and they will come" history. A young married couple settled there and discovered their well water turned everything either yellow or red. At first discouraged, they soon discovered the water was mineral water with wonderful curative properties. When the news got out, people flocked to Wooten Wells to bathe in the mineral water baths which the man built with the help of friends. He built houses and hotels for people to stay in, and businesses popped up as the area turned into a health resort. I won't tell you the rest of the story. You can read about it online.

My great grandfather later managed the Vogel Hotel in Dallas before taking a job with a company in El Paso. I have a copy of a menu he wrote for one day's dinner meal at a hotel named the Carson and Lewis House. I believe it was in New Orleans, and may have been associated with the St. Charles Hotel there. If anyone has any information on the Carson and Lewis House, I would love to hear it. The menu gives dinner as 12 to 2 p.m. and starts with soup, okra and tomato. Fish follows with hot salmon, roast beef, chicken with dressing, venison pie, and corn bread. Vegetables include Irish sweet potatoes, turnips, onions, rice and green peas. It lists relishes, pastry of peach cobbler and dessert with apple cake, cheese, oranges, and raisins. Beverages include coffee, iced tea, and buttermilk. The cost is seventy-five cents. This can be
helpful information for historical fiction writers of stories about the old west in the late 1800s.

Food and meals are often mentioned in romances. Meals provide an opportunity to reveal something important about the characters in the story. In all of my stories this year, including SEDUCTION, available now, and ARE YOU GOING TO THE DANCE, coming soon July 31, meals are prepared and enjoyed by the characters in various scenarios ranging from dangerous to frivolous. I hope my readers will enjoy them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

I'll be drawing someone's name from my newsletter members for a copy of one of my stories in July. So please visit my web site where you can sign up for my newsletter.

http://www.JeanmarieHamilton.com/

I'd love to read your comments or answer your questions about Historic Texas Hotels.

What's So Great About 17th Century Scotland?

People sometimes wonder why I set my romance stories in the early 1600s. Is this my favorite time period? Would I like to travel back to that time?

It isn't an often-done period when it comes to historical romance. Everyone is so used to stories set in medieval times or Regency or Victorian. I just had to be different, didn't I? Yeah, I do like to be unique. But there is a specific reason I chose this time period and it has to do with kilts.

My historically set stories are Scottish and I wanted my heroes to wear the great kilt or belted plaid aka feilidh-mhor (great wrap) or a breacan-feile (tartan wrap). My research told me those were not worn until at least 1575 or perhaps slightly later. So if I accurately wanted my hero in a great kilt I couldn't put him in medieval times (although I love medieval stories.) No, I couldn't pull a Braveheart and ignore historical accuracy completely.

Here is a picture of Liam Neeson as Rob Roy. The costuming is apparently more accurate than Braveheart. For one thing, the story is set much later, in the early 1700s when great kilts were actually worn.

I have visited the wonderful Tartan Museum in Franklin, NC as part of my research. http://www.scottishtartans.org/kilt.html or http://albanach.org/kilt.html are among the best websites for researching kilts and other Highland dress. I want to quote something from the website:

"The truth of the matter is that only one document has yet been found that dates from before 1600 and without a doubt describes a belted plaid, the earliest form of the kilt. It is an Irish source, written in Gaelic. In the Life of Red Hugh O’Donnell written by Lughaidh O’Clery, we read of a group of hired mercenaries from the Scottish Hebrides, employed by O’Donnell in 1594."

"These were recognized among the Irish by the difference of their arms and clothing, their habits and language, for their exterior dress was mottled cloaks to the calf of the leg with ties and fastenings. Their girdles were over the loins outside the cloaks." ~Matthew. A. C. Newsome Scottish Tartan Museum

The girdles in this case would refer to belts and the mottled cloaks would be the plaid. A few more examples of early kilts. The red one is Lord George Murray about 1746. The second one shows two ways to wear a kilt, with the top portion used as a cape for warmth, or with the top portion secured at the shoulder. The third pic is Lord Mungo Murray, around 1680.

The below picture would be considered a small kilt, which came much later. Notice the top portion of the plaid is missing.

For the purposes of my stories, I also needed the Highland clan system to still be firmly in place, so they had to be set before 1746 and the battle of Culloden. And because of the plots of a couple of my novels, I needed a time period of relative peace between England and Scotland. So that's why I chose the reign of King James I & IV. He was king of Scotland first, then at Queen Elizabeth's death, he became king of England too.

Once I decided this time period would fit the needs of my stories, I delved into it to learn all I could about King James and his time period. But I couldn't focus on him and England completely because my stories predominantly take place in Scotland.

Some of my stories (like Devil in a Kilt) are time-travels. Would I like to time-travel back to 1621 Scotland? Hmm. That's a tough one. In one way I would like to... if I knew I could get back to modern day! I do like my modern conveniences, health and safety. There is nothing particularly romantic or appealing about the reality of the time. There were plague epidemics going on at various times, not to mention revolts, rebellions, riots, and clan feuds. One could be tortured or hanged for something minor. Hygiene at the time was abysmal, whether personal or in the streets. When I was in Edinburgh, I took a tour of Mary King's Close and the tour guide was not shy about presenting the gruesome facts of the 1600s. And since we were right there on that narrow, steep, dark (now underground) alley, it was all very easy to visualize. The furthest thing from a romantic fantasy.

I do escape into my stories and mentally travel back to 17th century Scotland, but I must put my own romantic spin on them. I'm not writing a history textbook; I'm providing fun entertainment and that means a hot man in a great kilt who bathes regularly. :)

Nicole North

http://www.nicolenorth.com/

Check below for a way to enter to win a copy of my book, to be released in July!

Kidnap This Logo!

And You Could Win!


To celebrate its Fifteenth Anniversary in June, Red Sage is throwing a party! Every party needs presents, and here’s a gift that could win you the July Secrets anthology and Calista Fox’s new novel, Object of Desire!

Here’s how to play the party game.

Anyone can play! All you have to do is “kidnap” this logo and post it on your blog or website. Copy and paste the jpg image of the anniversary gift to your own blog or website to kidnap it. Be sure to include these instructions so people know how to play!

Invite your readers and friends to send an email with the subject line “Ransom Note” to eRedSage@gmail.com Inside this email, they must include a link back to your kidnapped logo.

Then you and your friend will both be entered into a drawing to win free trade paperbacks! Every time one of your readers sends a ransom note with a link, you will be entered again! Each Ransom Note is worth two entries in the drawing -- one for the person who sends the Ransom Note, and one for the linked blog or website. And you both can win!

Want more chances to win? Invite your readers and friends to kidnap this logo, and then you can enter again by sending a Ransom Note linking to your friend’s blog or website!

The more times you enter, the more chances you have to win! But get your entries in by June 30. We'll be drawing the winners on July 1!

Group blog or website? No problem! Just be sure to sign your post so we know who the winner should be!

Good luck, and have fun!

SUMMER SIZZLER contest

Welcome to June and what I consider the beginning of summer or at least it's the beginning of my next contest, and it is Giiiiii-NORMOUS!

How many new authors have you read over the past six months? None? So you only read in the 'safe zone'? Hmmmm....what if I gave you a dozen debut books? It is my goal over the summer to introduce readers to the next generation.

Starting today, I'm featuring a basket of "New to You Authors" which will include 15 of my ZEBRA sisters' autographed books + a $25 B&N giftcard.

Don't delay, go HERE to sign up for the giveaway.
The winner of the SUMMER SIZZLER will be announced on September 1.