Hello everyone!
Another new FB author saying "hello." My short Regency, "A Scandalous Arrangement," has been accepted as part of A Rose Of Any Colour, an upcoming BDSM anthology with the Bower. I write primarily (but not exclusively) historical, sometimes with f/f elements, sometimes not. I have two novels and two short stories out with Aphrodite's Apples Press. I had a short story featured in the Fiction Friction section of Girlphoria's June 2006 issue. I'm also an editor for Aphrodite's Apples.
That's my "fun job." My day job is being a full time first year law student (though I am, thankfully, nearly done with the first year). I don't sleep. I currently live in Jacksonville, Florida, with my two precocious and spoiled cats. I turned 27 this past Saturday. I feel old.
I'm very excited to be on board and look forward to getting to know everyone.
-Kayleigh Jamison
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Hello from newcomer, Maggie Toussaint
Hello to the world of Freya's Bower Author Circle,
I'm new here, shiny like a freshly-minted penny. Heck, I'm new most everywhere to publishing. I have a romantic suspense out now with another publisher, and a mystery coming out June 2008, but I'm going to publish a sweet romance with Freya's Bower. You might say I'm versatile to write so many types of stories, or just plain crazy. The answer varies depending on the muse.
Seeing Red, the story of woman with a money pit of a home and a hunky contractor, is in the editing phase right now. This book is the first of a trilogy about the Heartly sisters.
I'm down in coastal Georgia. We have nice weather year round, though we seem to be chronically short of rainfall. We've got bugs like you wouldn't believe and the most beautiful ancient oaks you've ever seen. There's not a traffic light in our whole county, and most evenings my husband and I bike ride around our tiny town.
I look forward to meeting all of you!
Maggie Toussaint
www.maggietoussaint.com
I'm new here, shiny like a freshly-minted penny. Heck, I'm new most everywhere to publishing. I have a romantic suspense out now with another publisher, and a mystery coming out June 2008, but I'm going to publish a sweet romance with Freya's Bower. You might say I'm versatile to write so many types of stories, or just plain crazy. The answer varies depending on the muse.
Seeing Red, the story of woman with a money pit of a home and a hunky contractor, is in the editing phase right now. This book is the first of a trilogy about the Heartly sisters.
I'm down in coastal Georgia. We have nice weather year round, though we seem to be chronically short of rainfall. We've got bugs like you wouldn't believe and the most beautiful ancient oaks you've ever seen. There's not a traffic light in our whole county, and most evenings my husband and I bike ride around our tiny town.
I look forward to meeting all of you!
Maggie Toussaint
www.maggietoussaint.com
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
What comes after The End?
Yesterday, I wrote The End on the second Dragon Queen book (one more to go). Ends are my real weak point, because I tend to rush and have a hard time slowing down and getting everything in the first time around. I imagine the end is what I will devote the most time to in the edits/revisions stage. That's some time to come, though, and I refuse - refuse! - to think about it. My brain has other ideas, and wants to think and continue creating; it's all wound up from the intense three weeks of writing that ushered in the majority of DQ Book 2. My brain is not the boss! I know better than to keep creating; this is wind-down time and refresh time.
I intend to finish making and mailing my wedding invitations, quilt a square or two for my block-a-month quilt project (haven't done Feb yet or picked up the March block), and get in some reading. I don't read fiction right after a book, though; once my muse accepts the fact I'm not giving her free reign anymore, at least for a time, she curls up and retreats. I think that's part of the reason I have difficulty with the early portions of a new book, but I digress. Reading-wise, I turn to nonfiction instead of fiction. I especially enjoy diet books. Is that bizarre? I'm by no means a chronic dieter, but I like to get back in touch with my physical side after spending so much time with my mental side during the course of a book.
Currently, I'm reading Bob Greene's The Best Life Diet, and have designs on re-reading DQ Book 1 (how's that for narcisstic?) to prepare for edits on DQ Book 2. In between the diet book and the self-written book, I'll TRY to squeeze in a just-for-pleasure novel. I keep eyeing Patricia Briggs' new Mercy novel, which has been sitting on my bookshelf for the last 6 weeks, and last night I picked up Melanie Jackson's Writ on Water. Let's not talk about the books I've forgotten I have, and leave them for another time, shall we? Makes me feel less guilty that way. :)
What do you all do after you finish writing a new book, or even after you finish a (fiction) book for pleasure? Does your brain need a time-off, cooling-down, recharging period?
I intend to finish making and mailing my wedding invitations, quilt a square or two for my block-a-month quilt project (haven't done Feb yet or picked up the March block), and get in some reading. I don't read fiction right after a book, though; once my muse accepts the fact I'm not giving her free reign anymore, at least for a time, she curls up and retreats. I think that's part of the reason I have difficulty with the early portions of a new book, but I digress. Reading-wise, I turn to nonfiction instead of fiction. I especially enjoy diet books. Is that bizarre? I'm by no means a chronic dieter, but I like to get back in touch with my physical side after spending so much time with my mental side during the course of a book.
Currently, I'm reading Bob Greene's The Best Life Diet, and have designs on re-reading DQ Book 1 (how's that for narcisstic?) to prepare for edits on DQ Book 2. In between the diet book and the self-written book, I'll TRY to squeeze in a just-for-pleasure novel. I keep eyeing Patricia Briggs' new Mercy novel, which has been sitting on my bookshelf for the last 6 weeks, and last night I picked up Melanie Jackson's Writ on Water. Let's not talk about the books I've forgotten I have, and leave them for another time, shall we? Makes me feel less guilty that way. :)
What do you all do after you finish writing a new book, or even after you finish a (fiction) book for pleasure? Does your brain need a time-off, cooling-down, recharging period?
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Setting the Stage
The other night, I watched the Academy Awards. I'm not really a big fan of them due to their political nature, but there wasn't much else on. What did I have to lose? Besides, I was curious to see what Ellen would do as host.
One of the first awards I saw was for costumes. As each movie and its costumes were shown, music from the movie was played. I don't remember the name of the person who won, but I do remember the award went to the designer of Marie Antoinette costumes. The costumes were sumptuous. (How could they be otherwise?) The music was, um, the wrong period. LOL The piece they played was by Vivaldi, a Baroque composer most famous for his Four Seasons. Matter of fact, I think the music played at the Oscars was from Four Seasons. Um, if I remember correctly, Marie Antoinette was born after the Baroque period ended (1750). And trust me, one of the most famous Baroque composers of this time, Bach, wasn't known by the general public, including the courts, until the mid 19th c. At which point, he was "rediscovered" due to Fanny Mendelssohn and her brother, Felix, and their performance of his "St. Matthew's Passion". Bach's fame was secured at this point, for obvious reasons.
Now, I know this is nitpicky, but, honestly, there were many well-known composers of the time that appeal to current audiences. A few I can name off the top of my head: Mozart, Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, although he was much later than the first three and more of an early Romantic period composer...
Okay, am I losing you yet? LOL Yeah, I tend to get too technical when I start talking about music.
I do believe their choice came from the structure of Vivaldi's music more than the timeliness of it. In Hollywood's mind, they equated Louis XVI's court with the rigidity of Baroque music. Classical period also had a great deal of structure, but the Classical composers used the Baroque masters as their springboard for innovation in music, testing, and breaking, the rules set by the church, society, etc. However, the director's choice of music does make sense when you look at the dances, the manners, and expectations of one another of this time period.
My point is this: They had plenty of famous contemporary composer to choose from and they picked someone who had died more than a decade before Marie Antoinette was born. I have nothing against Vivaldi's music. It's glorious, full of tension and resolution, but the likelihood of the court listening to something from 30 years in the past would have been slim to none. People were moving forward, looking to the future, not concerned so much with the past. And while Vivaldi influenced many composers, like Mozart, his burial was modest.
On another note: My dau, who is 31 months old, is brilliant. LOL Not that I am biased, or anything. LOL Why do I say this? Well, because she is constantly surprising me. For instance, today I wrote down her name. I know she can read her name, so I asked her what it said. Predictably, she told me. Then, I spelled out "mommy" and asked her what it said. She glanced at the word and said, "Mommy." I did the same with "daddy", "cat", and "dog". Now, we have worked with her on all of these, but it's been a month or more since we did anything. However, that she can recognize these words is pretty amazing. Of course, I have nothing to compare this with, so I could be completely wrong. LOL
It's a beautiful day here, so those of you in miserable weather, I wish you sunshine and warmth.
Marci
One of the first awards I saw was for costumes. As each movie and its costumes were shown, music from the movie was played. I don't remember the name of the person who won, but I do remember the award went to the designer of Marie Antoinette costumes. The costumes were sumptuous. (How could they be otherwise?) The music was, um, the wrong period. LOL The piece they played was by Vivaldi, a Baroque composer most famous for his Four Seasons. Matter of fact, I think the music played at the Oscars was from Four Seasons. Um, if I remember correctly, Marie Antoinette was born after the Baroque period ended (1750). And trust me, one of the most famous Baroque composers of this time, Bach, wasn't known by the general public, including the courts, until the mid 19th c. At which point, he was "rediscovered" due to Fanny Mendelssohn and her brother, Felix, and their performance of his "St. Matthew's Passion". Bach's fame was secured at this point, for obvious reasons.
Now, I know this is nitpicky, but, honestly, there were many well-known composers of the time that appeal to current audiences. A few I can name off the top of my head: Mozart, Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, although he was much later than the first three and more of an early Romantic period composer...
Okay, am I losing you yet? LOL Yeah, I tend to get too technical when I start talking about music.
I do believe their choice came from the structure of Vivaldi's music more than the timeliness of it. In Hollywood's mind, they equated Louis XVI's court with the rigidity of Baroque music. Classical period also had a great deal of structure, but the Classical composers used the Baroque masters as their springboard for innovation in music, testing, and breaking, the rules set by the church, society, etc. However, the director's choice of music does make sense when you look at the dances, the manners, and expectations of one another of this time period.
My point is this: They had plenty of famous contemporary composer to choose from and they picked someone who had died more than a decade before Marie Antoinette was born. I have nothing against Vivaldi's music. It's glorious, full of tension and resolution, but the likelihood of the court listening to something from 30 years in the past would have been slim to none. People were moving forward, looking to the future, not concerned so much with the past. And while Vivaldi influenced many composers, like Mozart, his burial was modest.
On another note: My dau, who is 31 months old, is brilliant. LOL Not that I am biased, or anything. LOL Why do I say this? Well, because she is constantly surprising me. For instance, today I wrote down her name. I know she can read her name, so I asked her what it said. Predictably, she told me. Then, I spelled out "mommy" and asked her what it said. She glanced at the word and said, "Mommy." I did the same with "daddy", "cat", and "dog". Now, we have worked with her on all of these, but it's been a month or more since we did anything. However, that she can recognize these words is pretty amazing. Of course, I have nothing to compare this with, so I could be completely wrong. LOL
It's a beautiful day here, so those of you in miserable weather, I wish you sunshine and warmth.
Marci
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