Writing My New Historical Novel

fter my last novel, Monday's Child, which will be published in Spring, 2016, took me fourteen months to write I decided I need to write faster. I set myself the task of finishing a 75, word novel in 75 days or less, and to enter a young adult fiction competition as well as a short story competition. I've entered the competitions but fallen short of my target to finish Tuesday's Child yesterday. However, the good news is that I've written 65,000 words without stopping to edit, revise and check my research.

In order to reach my goals I stopped posting on social media. I've missed chatting, reading posts and posting messages but it's been worthwhile.

I know that many authors write a couple of thousand words or more a day but I don't have time to, so I'm pleased with my achievements.

Rosemary Morris

www.rosemaymorris.co.uk

Line Editing. Checking 'and'.

Yesterday, I took a day off. Today I felt guilty so I finished checking how often I wrote 'and' in Monday's Child the sequel to Sunday's Child a romantic Regency novel. I have divided sentences into two, rephrased sentences as well as occasionally, very occasionally using gerunds.

Special Offer:Tangled Love:Set in 18th C England

Tangled Love was shortlisted at the Festival of Romance for the best Historical e-book in 2012.

Extract from a 5* Amazon review. "Set during a time of religious turmoil in England, 'Tangled Love' is a worthy historical novel as well as a fast-paced romance. Through its pages the reader learns of the social and divisions of faith during the time of Queen Anne and is shown the very limited destinies available to women at the time. There is also a mystery here concerning possible secret, hidden treasure and a lively sub-plot involving a second romance between two of the subsidiary characters."

Tangled Love is on special offer for £.84 and $2.84 from:

www.amazon.com
www.amazon.co.uk
https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore

Can't Take It

4 and 3/4 year old granddaughter cane out of her reception class at primary school, looked at her mother, pressed her hand to the side of her forehead and said: "I can't take this any more."

Daughter thought. Sorry kid you've got ten more years to go.

Mind you granddaughter's excellent teacher said she has settled in very well and made several friends.

Change in the Weather

The weather is very mild for this time of the year but after a few chilly nights all the scarlet flowers fell off my runner beans. It's almost October and the weather's will become colder. Hopefully, I'll be able to re-pot my blueberries and prepare for winter.

Scribbled Notes

Apart from my shorthand notepad full of scribbled notes, which I have dealt with, I also have a notebook with scribbled details of websites, reviewers, blog spots, e-mail addresses etc., etc.  I am now working through it methodically. Visiting on-line sites, contacting people etc., .

 

I always enjoy the after effects of tidying up my office aka the spare bedroom, and shredding all the junk mail etc., which I add to the compost heap. I’ve also enjoyed filling a new notebook with neat entries which I can find without squinting at any scribbles or having panic attacks because I can’t find something important. 

 

Tangled Love.18th Century Novel. Review + Special Offer

 

 5.0 out of 5 stars A highly enjoyable read!, May 13, 2012

By 

Maggi Andersen "Maggi" (Australia)

This review is from: Tangled Love (Kindle Edition)

In 1693, loyal to his oath of allegiance to James II, ten year old Richelda's father follows James to France. Before her father leaves he gives her a ruby ring and makes her swear an oath to try and regain their ancestral home, Field House.

The story begins when Richelda at 18 is orphaned, and lives in run-down Belmont House with her mother's old nurse and her dog, Puck. Richelda can only dream of living the life she was meant for and hopes her childhood friend, Dudley, will honor his promise to marry her.

When Richelda's wealthy aunt, who had been disinterested in her welfare up to now, takes her to London and arranges her marriage to Viscount Chesney, the new owner of Field House. Richelda is both delighted and dismayed. She cannot trust the handsome Chesney, even though she is desperate to honor her oath to regain Field House

I enjoyed this historical romance very much, it's well written and Morris knows her history and understands the society of the period well. The heroine and hero are both attractive and likeable. I wanted to see them get together in the end. What stood out for me in this romance is the shrewd knowledge of human nature, Morris displays. Her character's rash actions, mistakes and foibles are always understandable, and never detract from the good characters of both.

 Tangled Love, is on special offer for £1.84 OR $3.05.

Available from:-
https://museituppublishing.com/bookshopwww.amazon.com.www.amazon.co.uk and elsewhere.

 

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

 

 

 

 

Home Grown Organic Salad .

Delicious lunch today. The only two things on my plate which were not home grown were an avocado and some Port Salut Cheese, even the salad dressing was homemade with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt  and home grown herbs.

Menu.

Drink. Apple Juice made with apples from the garden

First Course

Lollo rosso lettuce mixed with a small grated courgette and shredded dandelion leaves.

Mixture of runner beans, carrots and the last of my new potatoes with chopped chives in home made mayonnaise

Cherry tomatoes.

Cucumber with a little celery salt.

Avocado with a dash of vegetarian Worcester sauce.

Dessert.

Plain Yoghurt with summer fruit jelly made last year.

Yummy, yummy for the tummy, as my young grandchildren say.

Mind you, I couldn't do so much organic gardening without a gardener who comes once a fortnight and does all the heavy work.

New Car

I decided to scrap my car. It needed more repairs than it is worth. I am now the proud owner of a Silver Vauxhall Corsa. Its compact, easy to drive and cheap to run. Lucky me. After the fiasco with the AA and being stuck at home it's a relief to be mobile again.

Guest on Sara-Jayne's Blog

Today, I am fortunate to be a guest on the following blot.

http://sayssara.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/mondays-friend-rosemary-morris/

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

Not a Bowl of Cherries

Two weeks ago my car broke down.

 

The AA mechanic said it needed a new starter motor and said: “Don’t turn off the ignition and take it to a garage.” I replied that it was Sunday and the garages were closed so I would prefer to take the car home and, if it would not start on Monday, ask the AA to relay it to a garage.

 

The mechanic instructed me to take it to Quick Fit. He told me that the AA would not take the car to a garage on the following day because I could not call on them for a problem which had already been dealt with by him. Pressurised and vulnerable I took the car to QF.

 

From then on there as a long saga at the end of which the starter motor had been replaced after which a new ignition (coil?) was needed. After the coil had been fitted the sensor (?) did not recognise it.

 

Fortunately, I have AA repair cover so I will be reimbursed for the above repairs which add up to £461. However, the car had to be taken to Mercedes-Benz. When I first approached the AA I was refused a relay. I then queried it and, finally, after ‘your call is important to us…etc., explained the tale of the breakdown and my need for the car to be relayed. Thank goodness the relay was authorised.

 

I will have to pay Mercedes £120 for looking at the car and further repairs, if the car can be repaired.

 

Deep, deep sigh, heaven only knows if or when I will get my car back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buzz Deal $0.90 & £0.77 ends 12 p.m 17/08

Rosemary Morris’s The Captain and the Countess set in 1706 is available as an e-book for 77p from www.amazon.co.uk and for $0.99 from www.amazon.com,

https://museituppublishing.com, kobo and elsewhere until midnight on the 17^th August.

 

His heart captured by the Countess, only Captain Howard sees pain behind her fashionable façade and is determined to help her.

U is for Understand

U is for Understand

 

Before I submit my novels to my publisher, MuseItUp Publishing, I work with an online critique group and read my chapters aloud on critique evenings at Watford Writers. I am always grateful when a critique comments that they don’t understand something.

 

For example:in my current novel, Monday’s Child, Christies will auction some valuable items. I wrote about the events leading to this at the beginning of the novel but when I referred to it in Chapter Twenty-Two some of my critiquers did not understand the reference.

 

My characters, their motivations, and the plot and theme are clear in my mind. It is for me to make sure that my readers understand everything.

 

Rosemary Morris

Historical Novelist

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

 

Mother's Day Today

It's Mother's Day in England. I'm admiring the gorgeous roses my youngest son and his family gave me when they came to lunch yesterday.

I think my other children will pop in this morning and then I'm going out to lunch with my daughter and her children at our favourite restaurant Zakoni's in Harrow. The sun is shining and I'm looking forward to a happy day.

Mind you, for those of you who do not have children, do bear in mind what my late mother always said: "If you don't have them to make you laugh, you don't have them to make you cry." Believe you me, I've had my fair share of laughs as well as more than my fair share of tears.

Spring Day

Son number 3 and his wife and family came to lunch today. I made a peas, potato, cauliflower and curd cheese curry, a lady's finger curry and urad  (black beans the size of moong beans but oval in shape) cooked with yoghurt and spices served with jaggery ( palm tree sugar) chappatis, flat breads,  brown rice, grated cucumber in spiced yoghurt and mango pulp,

After lunch we sat in the garden on the first real day of spring. Faint perfume came from a long narrow bed of daffodils, narcissi, yellow and white tulips. The first delicate blossoms on the bullace tree - wild plum tree - was silhouetted against a clear blue sky. Bliss!

New Review of Far Beyond Rubies

The following review of Far Beyond Rubies has 'made my day".

5.0 out of 5 stars Far Beyond Rubies is a Gem, March 27, 2014

By 

Nancy Jarrell - See all my reviews

This review is from: Far Beyond Rubies (Kindle Edition)

“Swounds, he thought, I am expected to marry and produce a male heir. An image of Juliana filled his mind. She would grace these ancient walls better than any other lady he knew. But what would she say whenhe revealed his past?”This is but a snippet of the delightful prose found in Far Beyond Rubies by Rosemary Morris. The author perfectly achieves the delicate balance of elegance and spice, humor and pathos, in this tale that takes place in England during the reign of Queen Anne.

The settings and characters are exquisitely detailed and described, from cruel and scheming relatives to determined orphans, and an unusual hero with mysteries of the orient in his silky, spicy past. Throw in some extremely amusing servants and landladies, and one is set for a thoroughly charming reading experience.

 

Rosemary goes beyond the mere surface of the era, rewarding the reader with an enchanting story set against a vivid backdrop of the of the culture, politics, and belief systems of the times, and the issues that developed when East met West: Fascinating. Lovingly and beautifully rendered throughout.

And the book trailer of the novel can be viewed on my website.

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

Taking a Step Back

When writing a novel I usually forge ahead trying to write 2,000 words a day until, triumphant, I type The End. However, I have slowed down and put aside the sequel to Sunday's Child, Monday's Child set in the Regency period. for a few days. I have made notes on how the plot develops in the remaining third of the book, and on tying up loose ends, but I need to think them through. On Monday, refreshed by distancing myself from my hero and heroine for a few days, I hope to return to Monday's Child full of enthusiasm.

Threatened with a Policeman

When reading this, please bear in mind that no one has ever threatened to report my 4 year-old granddaughter to the police. My only mention of the police was to explain that her chocolate drops had to be paid for, and if they were not the shop keeper might summon a policeman.

Today I took her out to lunch. I didn't finish all of my meal so she told me in no uncertain terms that a policeman would punish me for not eating up. I would be taken away and cry because I would never see her again.

The child not only provides me with material for novels, she is also a budding author. Due to her vivid imagination, her mother and I are very nervous about what she says to her teachers at pre-school

Far Beyond Rubies by Rosemary Morris - Book Trailer

I'm delighted to announce that the book trailer for Far Beyond Rubies is now on you tube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NpGoKe3qjs&feature=youtu.be

Comments would be very welcome,

All the best,

Rosemary Morris

Plotting Monday's Child

I never plot my novels in advance in detail, but I do know what is going to happen and how the novel will end.

I am now approximately two thirds of the way through my new novel, Monday's Child, the sequel to Sunday's Child. I have a main plot and a sub-plot and was not sure of the sequence of events. This morning, I wrote a 1,000 words and then listed the events and the order in which they will take place - very satisfying!