First Step to Writing a New Novel

I have not finished the revision of my mediaeval novel but, after a lot of thought about the characters, plan and plot while doing housework, gardening or shopping, I am almost ready to begin writing Tuesday's Child, the follow on novel from my published novel Sunday's Child, and Monday's Child, which will be published in spring, 2016.

Before I begin a novel I name the main characters.

To choose the hero's name I searched The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names. I want a strong name which also implies an element of light-heartedness. My first choice was Harry Royston, but the name of the  heroine, who took part in Sunday's Child, is Harriet. So Harry, which would have been ideal is unsuitable because Harry and Harriet would be confusing.

So, back to the Dictionary to see if I can find the right name for the gentleman I have in mind.

Suite Francais

A friend and I went to see Suite Francaise on Sunday afternoon. Can't praise it enough. I didn't know it was based on a non-fiction book. Must read it.

Historic London - Bus Tour

On Saturday a friend and I went on a London Bus Tour, which allows the passengers get on and off whenever they want to.

It was very interesting seeing how London developed over the centuries north and south of the River Thames.

Sandwiched between very modern buildings and narrow roads and lanes are many small and large mediaeval buildings to admire.

A building which fascinated me was the St George, the narrowest pub in London a tall black and white timber building, which I hope to visit.

The tour clearly delineated London from the oldest to the most modern parts.

All in all, a day well spent.

Medieval Novel, Revision, Sequence of Events

Apart from reading each sentence carefully and rewriting it if necessary, it is also important to make sure that the sequence of events is correct.

This morning I realised that after the birth of their son, Nicholas told his wife that his father was delighted, but he and his father have not spoken since the child was born. I should have written that Nicholas told his wife he knew his father would be delighted by the birth of his grandson, or something similar.

Carried away by writing the story, it is all too easy to overlook such inconsistencies.

Medieval Novel. Revision With Style.

While I revise my medieval novel set in England during the reign of Edward II I get rid of repeated words and phrases.

I also rephrase sentences which contain gerunds that I tend to over use. For example:-

I changed "...trying to smooth away his pain" to "in an attempt to smooth away his pain."

Another examples follow.

I replaced "Yvonne broke her fast in the great hall before going..." with "Yvonne broke her fast in the great hall before she went..."

After I tweak the next 100 pages I shalll read the novel from beginning to end to check I for the last time.

I hope that the rewrite will be stylish after so much hard work.

Medieval Novel Revision and Emotion

This morning I continued to revise my medieval novel set in the reign of Edward II of England.

From the day of her birth the heroine's life takes many twists and turns, some of them tragic. While she grows from childhood into a capable lady,  I'm happy when she is and cry when she does. I hope that when the novel is published my readers will be swept away on the same tide of emotion and care deeply about her.

Raised Bed & radishes.

I have an eight foot by four foot raised bed in which I planted rows of baby lettuce, radish, rocket, carrots, turnip and beetroot. All of the vegetables, which I make good use of, are flourishing. Radish and turnip greens as well as beetroot leaves can be cooked and enjoyed in various ways.

Today, I ate this season's first radishes with crackers spread with Philadelphia cheese. Previously, I bought some radishes from the supermarket. They were large, a little woody and almost tasteless. My home grown ones are tender, juicy and slightly spicy. My grandson, who popped in after school to give me a slice of upside down cake that he made in food technology, agreed with me when he  tasted the radishes.

Such a humble salad vegetable but so delicious. I shall plant another row elsewhere.

Mediaeval Novel - Final Revision

I wrote my mediaeval novel set in the reign of Edward II of England a few years ago. Since then, I five of my novels have been published and a sixth has been accepted for publication. In between writing those novels and dealing with lots of 'writerly' matters as well as the demands of daily life, I have dipped in and out of my mediaeval novel. Now, I am determined to finish the revision, but the main problem is that I have dipped in and out of it so often that I see what should be on the page, not what is actually on it. Sometimes it seems as if it will never be ready to submit but, fingers crossed, I shall submit it in June.

Winston and Winnie Are Dead

Winston and Winnie, a pair of plump wood pigeons annoyed me when alive. They pecked at any greens in the garden which were not covered with netting and stone seeds I put out for smaller birds.

On Friday, feathers floated on the surface of my small garden pond. This morning, I saw  feathers scattered over the lawn near the pond. I assume a fox from the nearby woods caught them or, maybe, a cat.

So sad not to have seen them today.

Winston and Winnie are Dead

False Pretences a Romantic Regency Mystery is a Guest

My novel, False Pretences. a Romantic Regency Mystery and I are guests at Story Teller Alley, do pop in and visit us at: http://storytelleralley.com/falsepretenses (My hostess misspelt pretenses and will correct it, so you might need to visit: http://storytelleralley.com/falsepretences.)

What is Romance?

 

What is Romance? Not an easy question to answer. I suppose everyone has a different opinion.

 

The cynical poet, Lord Byron wrote:

 Romances paint at full length people’s wooings,

But only give a bust of marriages;
For no one cares for matrimonial cooings,
There’s nothing wrong with a connubial kiss:
Think you, if Laura had been Petrarch’s wife,
He would have written sonnets all his life?

 I prefer a poem written by William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle (17^th Century)

 There is no happy life

But in a wife;
The comforts are so sweet
When they do meet.

 Two figures but one coin;

So they do join,
Only they not embrace,
We face to face.

Ah, you may sigh that is romance in marriage.

 But romance is much more. In the Middle Ages it was a narrative in verse or prose about the adventures of chivalrous knights and adoration of an unattainable lady, which had little in common with real life. King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table and the tale or Lancelot and Guinevere have fascinated the romantic at heart for generations.

Then there are the songs of troubadours, Henry VIII’s Greensleeves, and in more recent times one of my favourites, Unchained Melody.

 

Too Many Strawberry Plants?

On a sunny day the fragrance of ripe strawberries growing in the garden tantalises the taste buds. The pleasure of biting into a sweet, sun-warmed strawberry is far superior biting into one from the supermarket. With this in mind, I ordered 36 strawberry plants, 6 each of 6  varieties, which should provide fruit from April to September.

I'm an optimistic organic gardener, who always imagines bumper rewards from my small fruit and vegetable plots, some of which are in the front garden, some and in the back garden as well as those in pots. However, after I placed my order I panicked. Where would I find the space to plant them?

I decided to pot up the twelve plants which fruit earliest in the year and put them in the greenhouse where I will pollinate them with a paint brush.  The remainder should thrive in plant troughs.

If I plant all of them in John Innes Number 3 compost I should have plenty of fruit for the next three years which will repay me for my investment. Hopefully, not only will I have fresh strawberries to eat, I will also  have enough to make jam and, maybe, cordial.

My Organic Garden

I woke at 6 a.m. and worked on my novel and other 'writerly' matters until 10.a.m when  I went into my organic garden.


I thinned a row of turnips and used the greens to steam and then stir fried them with thin slices of sweet potato cut in half, tofu and rice, and added a vegetable stock pot cube, lemon juice and black pepper for flavour.


Turnip greens are very nutritious so I felt virtuous while I ate lunch.


During the morning I sorted out more plant pots and arranged them on a shelf in the shed.


To straighten it, I tied the stem of my patio cherry tree, which I had planted in the garden, to a pole. It is in full flower. This year I shall find a way of protecting the cherries so that the birds don't eat them the second they ripen.


I then harvested some baby carrots and stored them in the fridge. Afterward I potted up French Beans and covered them with polythene. French Bean seeds can be temperamental so I put two in each pot in the hope that they will sprout. Finally I sowed cucumbers in pots and stood them in a heated propagator.


Tomorrow I'll sow peas, which are soaking in water to encourage them to sprout.


All in all, a happy, productive morning.

Invitation

Delighted to invite you to visit Sara-Jayne at: http://sayssara.wordpress.com where I am her guest.


Can't describe how I feel when I see myself and my historical fiction featured.

Bribery - Gambados - Granddaughter

I bribed my granddaughter to be good, not only with me, with a promise to take her to Gambados, an indoor play area. Earlier in the week, I promised to take her on Sunday because my daughter said she had behaved well throughout the Easter holiday. She was so excited that she told the plumber, the postman and everyone else she came into contact with: "My grandma's taking me to Gambados."


So, yesterday, with cucumber and cheese sandwiches, shortbread topped with chocolate, and small cartons of apple juice for lunch, she had her reward, and I deserve wings and a halo. Gambados is an indoor children's play area. The music turned up to full volume, excited children's chatter etc., and adult conversation conducted loudly in order to be heard is deafening.


My five year-old granddaughter's enthusiasm and happiness made the visit worth while although my wings and halo haven't appeared. From 10 30 a.m. when we arrived until we left at 12.45 she did not stop smiling. She climbed up the platforms to the overhead area with tunnels and other challenges, drove bumper cars making three point turns and reversing with expertise, hurtled down a long slide as well as riding a horse on the fairground style carousel.


She loved our visit so much that I've promised to take her again if she continues to be good.


I took her home, and then, for an end of the holidays treat, we went to our favourite vegetarian Indian restaurant, Sakonis, in Harrow.


Full to the brim with good food, we went home and I dashed down to Asda to buy some Schlur and nibbles to contribute to Watford Writers official change of venue from Cha Café to Oddfellows Hall.

False Pretences a Romantic Regency Mystery - Back Cover

False Pretences

By Rosemary Morris

Traditional Regency Romance

 

Five-year-old Annabelle arrived at boarding school fluent in French and English. Separated from her nurse, a dismal shadow blights Annabelle’s life because she does not know who her parents are.

Although high-spirited, Annabelle is financially dependent on her unknown guardian. She refuses to marry a French baron more than twice her age. 

Her life in danger, Annabelle is saved by a gentleman, who says he will help her to discover her identity. Yet, from then on nothing is as it seems, and she is forced to run away for the second time to protect her rescuer.

Even more determined to discover her parents’ identity, in spite of many false pretences, Annabelle must learn who to trust. Her attempts to unravel the mystery of her birth, lead to further danger, despair, unbearable heartache and even more false pretences until the only person who has ever wanted to cherish her, reveals the startling truth, and all’s well that ends well.

 

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/our-authors/63-our-authors/authors-m/378-rosemary-morris

www.amazon.co.uk and www.amazon.com False PretencesB009YK1MFO, Nook and other online retailers.

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

http://rosemarymorris.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/writerinagarret.

 

 

Extract from False Pretences a Romantic Regency Mystery

False Pretences by Rosemary Morris

Romantic Regency Mystery

Abbreviated Extract from Chapter One

1815

 

“My dear child, you are fortunate,” said Miss Chalfont, headmistress of The Beeches Boarding School for Young Ladies. “Your guardian has arranged for you to marry, Monsieur le Baron de Beauchamp.”

Annabelle looked up with a mixture of astonishment, disbelief, and intense indignation at the arrangement that took no heed of her wishes. “I am to marry a man I have never met?”

With restless fingers, Miss Chalfont adjusted her frilled mobcap. “Yes, your guardian has arranged for you to marry Monsieur le Baron tomorrow.”

Annabelle stared at her kind teacher as though she had turned into a monster. “Mon dieu!” she raged, reverting to the French she spoke when she was a small child. “My God! Tomorrow? My guardian expects me to marry a Frenchman tomorrow? Miss Chalfont, surely you do not approve of such haste.”

“Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.” Miss Chalfont tapped her fingers on her desk. “My approval or disapproval is of no consequence. Your guardian wishes you to marry immediately so there is little more to be said. A special licence has been procured and the vicar has been informed.” Miss Chalfont smiled at her. “You have nothing to fear. This letter informs me that Monsieur speaks English and lives in this country.”

Annabelle scowled. Her hands trembled. For the first time, she defied her head mistress. “Nothing to fear? My life is to be put in the hands of a husband with the right to…beat me…or…starve me, and you say I have nothing to fear, Miss Chalfont? Please believe me when I say that nothing will persuade me to marry in such haste.”

Not the least display of emotion crossed the head teacher’s face. “You should not allow your imagination to agitate your sensibilities. For all you know, the monsieur is charming and will be a good, kind husband.”

“On the other hand, he might be a monster,” Annabelle said.” ‘

“He is described as a handsome gentleman of mature years.”

“One would think the description is of a piece of mature cheese or a bottle of vintage wine.”

Miss Chalfont frowned. “Do not be impertinent, Annabelle, you are not too old to be punished.”

“I beg your pardon, ma’am, but please tell me how mature he is,” Annabelle said, her eyes wide open and her entire body taut with apprehension.

“Monsieur le Baron is some forty-years-old.”

“How mature?” Annabelle persisted with her usual bluntness.

“He is forty-two-years-old.”

Annabelle stood, bent forward, and drummed her fingers on the edge of the desk. “Please be kind enough to inform my guardian that I will not play Guinevere to an aging Arthur. I would prefer to build my nest with a young Lancelot.”

 

False Pretences is available as an e-book from:

 

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/our-authors/63-our-authors/authors-m/378-rosemary-morris

www.amazon.co.uk and www.amazon.com False PretencesB009YK1MFO, Nook and other online retailers.

 

Sunday's Child a Romantic Regency Novel - Back Cover

Sunday’s Child by Rosemary Morris

 

Back Cover

 

 

Georgianne Whitley’s beloved father and brothers died in the war against Napoleon Bonaparte. While she is grieving for them, she must deal with her unpredictable mother’s sorrow, and her younger sisters’ situation caused by it.

 

Georgianne’s problems increase when the arrogant, wealthy but elderly Earl of Pennington, proposes marriage to her for the sole purpose of being provided with an heir. At first she is tempted by his proposal, but something is not quite right about him. She rejects him not suspecting it will lead to unwelcome repercussions.

 

Once, Georgianne had wanted to marry an army officer. Now, she decides never to marry ‘a military man’ for fear he will be killed on the battlefield. However, Georgianne still dreams of a happy marriage before unexpected violence forces her to relinquish the chance to participate in a London Season sponsored by her aunt.

 

Shocked and in pain, Georgianne goes to the inn where her cousin Sarah’s step-brother, Major Tarrant, is staying, while waiting for the blacksmith to return to the village and shoe his horse. Recently, she has been reacquainted with Tarrant—whom she knew when in the nursery—at the vicarage where Sarah lives with her husband Reverend Stanton.

 

The war in the Iberian Peninsula is nearly at an end so, after his older brother’s death, Tarrant, who was wounded, returns to England where his father asks him to marry and produce an heir.

 

To please his father, Tarrant agrees to marry, but due to a personal tragedy he has decided never to father a child.

 

When Georgianne, arrives at the inn, quixotic Tarrant sympathises with her unhappy situation. Moreover, he is shocked by the unforgivably brutal treatment she has suffered.

 

Full of admiration for her beauty and courage Tarrant decides to help Georgianne.

 

Spring Really Is In The Air

The birds that visit my organic garden know spring is in the air. The male blackbird and a pair of jays bathed in the water around the rim of my small pond, and then shook the water off their feathers.


While I get on in the garden I pause to admire butterflies and a narrow border filled with daffodils, white single and double tulips and narcissi, which have a wonderful fragrance.


The bluebells are almost in flower, but beautiful as they will be they grow like weeds and are overtaking the rose bed. I dug up loads last year but they are persistent so and sos.


Tomorrow I shall pot up runner beans and French beans, sow cucumbers, squash and pumpkins as well as moving plants from the greenhouse to the garden.