Happy Birthday Pride and Prejudice

To celebrate the bi-centenary of arguably the best romantic book in the world, it seems an appropriate time to quote from a small tome I own entitled “The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen”. Flicking through it, I came across extracts from her letters to her niece Anna Austen, written in 1814, offering tips in the novelist’s art.

Listen to this advice about writing what you know:

We think you had better not leave England. Let the Portmans go to Ireland, but as you know nothing of the manners there, you had better not go with them. You will be in danger of giving false representations. Stick to Bath and the Foresters.

On practical plotting:

Your aunt C. does not like desultory novels, and is rather fearful yours will be too much so, that there will be too frequent a change from one set of people to another, and that circumstances will be sometimes introduced of apparent consequence, which will lead to nothing. It will not be so great an objection to me, if it does. I allow much more latitude than she does – and think nature and spirit cover many sins of a wandering story…

On the need for consistency in characterisation:

I like your Susan very much indeed, she is a sweet creature, her playfulness of fancy is very delightful. I like her as she is now exceedingly, but I am not so well satisfied with her behaviour to George R. At first she seemed all over attachment and feeling, and afterwards to have none at all; she is so extremely composed at the Ball, and so well-satisfied apparently with Mr Morgan. She seems to have changed her character.

On finding a situation that works, and the right sort of character-chemistry:

You are now collecting your people delightfully, getting them exactly into such a sport as is the delight of my life; - 3 0r 4 families in a Country Village is the very thing to work on – and I hope you will write a great deal more, and make full use of them whilst they are so very favourably arranged. You are now coming to the heart and beauty of your book…

Not much different to the advice writers get two hundred years on. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Find my Regency romances here: http://www.wendysoliman.com

Or follow me on twitter @wendyswriter

Wendy

Is it still a man's world?

As a writer, it’s obviously important to get the facts right. But does that always happen? Take your average hero, for example. Admiral Lord Nelson. Now there’s a man worthy of the accolade in ever I heard of one. And yet he was only five foot six tall. Now that wasn’t considered below average in his day and yet have you ever read a Georgian or Regency romance with a hero that short?

Thought not.

How about an ugly hero come to that, or one with a squint, male pattern baldness, missing limbs or bad breath. I’ve yet to read of a hero who’s human enough to possess any such flaws. In fact I’ve seldom encountered one who doesn’t top six feet, has a muscular physique, a full head of thick hair and thighs that look damned good in tight pants.

Why is that, do you suppose?

Personally I reckon us girls ‘invent’ the sort of man we wouldn’t mind bumping into in a dark alley and then just add the features that do it for us. My heroes are always…well, tall dark and handsome. How stereotypical is that? In my own defence, some publishers do kinda insist upon hunky heroes, presumably because romances are predominantly read by woman and they’re supposed to fall in love with the guy.

Which leaves the poor old heroine to take the brunt of any physical shortcomings on offer. I mean, if every single historical romance had a handsome hunk playing the male lead and a drop dead gorgeous female with an hour glass figure sharing the limelight, things would get pretty boring. I’ve read books that feature heroines who are timid, (don’t try that one at home), plain enough to fade into the woodwork, myopic, flat-chested and even disabled. Daphne duMaurier’s wonderful novel The King’s General is a fabulous example of how that can work when handled with skill and sensitivity.

My novel Downsizing features a (shock, horror) overweight heroine. It’s a contemporary and tackles the misery of obesity, the scourge of the modern age. A lot of women, struggling with their weight because they don’t look the way society say they should, will identify with my heroine, but wouldn’t have dreamt of making the male lead a fattie.

See what I mean? It’s still a man’s world.

Downsizing by W. Soliman available from Musa Publishing and Amazon.com  http://bit.ly/XRdnA7

Wendy

A Silly Start to the Week

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.

The national anthem of Greece has 158 verses. No one in Greece has memorized all 158 verses.

There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.

The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."

I love obscure facts and came across these on a website the other day. An amusing way to brighten up a Monday morning. Enjoy!

All of the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction are stuck on 4:20.

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, or purple.

"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt."

All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.

There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula" and it can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: "LA"

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

In most advertisements, including newspapers, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.

Enjoy your week.

Wendy

A Gentleman's World

Readers of regency romance can’t help being aware that the gentlemen’s clubs were enthusiastically patronised by the elite in society. The represented a female-free haven from the stresses and strains of the social season, an environment in which a little male bonding went a long way. Each club epitomised common interests – political, artistic, sporting and military, for example. They were exclusive, sophisticated and seeped in tradition. Most were a collection of several rooms that afforded their members elegant dining, plenty of space to relax and, most importantly of all, gambling—the scourge of the Regency age and beyond.

The most famous club of all is White’s. It started life in 1693 as a public coffee house but after being burned down in 1753, it moved to St. James Street, where it still exists today. Beau Brummel immortalised the place when he sat in the famous bow-windows and passed judgement on the fashion sense of the passing gentry. 

Boodles established itself as a political club but Brooks was far more popular during the Regency years since it was best known for its gambling. Charles Fox is reputed to have played for twenty-two hours straight, losing 11,000 guineas – a fortune. Overcome by debt, he was apparently so popular that his fellow members helped him out.

It’s a testament to the bond between members that even as recently as 1973, when Lord Lucan allegedly killed his nanny in mistake for his wife, the members of his elite gaming club closed ranks to shield him from the full force of the law. Perhaps they succeeded because he’d never been seen since. Well, not officially anyway.

Wendy

Whacky New Year Resolutions

Yep, it's that time of year again. It's time to put the festivities behind us, throw out the leftovers and embrace the new year with firm resolutions to...to what? To lose weight, to give up alcohol, to quit smoking? Gym memberships soar, diet foods enjoy their five minutes of fame, and well...you know how it is.

I was curious to know what sorts of things people resolve and came across these on line. Do people really want these things?

I will try to figure out why I really need nine e-mail addresses.

I resolve to work with neglected children -- my own.

I will stop sending e-mail, ICQ, Instant Messages and be on the phone at the same time with the same person.

I will spend less than one hour a day on the Internet. This, of course, will be hard to estimate since I'm not a clock watcher.

I will read the manual... just as soon as I can find it.

I will not ring the stewardess button on airplanes just to get her phone number.

I resolve to work with neglected children. (my own).

I will answer my snail mail with the same enthusiasm with which I answer my e-mail.

When I hear a funny joke I will not reply, "LOL... LOL!"

And my personal favourite - I will gain 40lbs because my mum always said I was too skinny. (I wish!).

What have I resolved? I gave up making them years ago because I don't cope well with failure. Even so, I'm quietly resolved to have the courage of my convictions - make of that what you will!

Whatever you resolve for the new year, I hope it works out for you.

All the best for 2013.

Wendy

Merry Christmas!

Whether this represents the holiday for you

or if this is more your style

or, er, this best represents the present you'd like to receive from Santa

A very merry Christmas and happy and prosperous new year to you all. And many thanks for reading my ramblings over the past year.

Wendy

Compromising the Marquess

Many thanks to all of you who stopped by for the Hot Nights Blog and left comments. Dita Škarste is the Hot Autumn Night Blog Hop grand prize winner from the blog, Love Is A Many Flavored Thing. The winner of a copy of my novel, Compromising the Marquess, is Susan Frances. Congratulations Susan, your prize is on its way to you.

You could still win a copy of Compromising the Marquess by following my launch blog tour to the following stops. Good luck!

Virtual Book Tour: Compromising the Marquess by Wendy Soliman

Compromising the Marquess

by Wendy Soliman

December 3 – 14

Historical romance author, Wendy Soliman, takes the first installment of her Forsters series from Carina Press, COMPROMISING THE MARQUESS, on a virtual book tour.

Genre: Historical Romance, Regency

Tone: Regency, light-hearted

Heat Level: Hot

Elements/Tags: Regency romance, historical romance, Regency newspapers, Fanny Hill

Publisher: Carina Press
Publishing Date: December 10, 2012
Format: eBook
Words: 83,000

Back Cover Blurb:

Leah Elliott and her sister Bethany remove to the south coast, where Leah makes a living by picking up tidbits of gossip for a scandal sheet about the local family of consequence, the Forsters. She erroneously reports that the marquess, Hal Forster, is about to marry a local lady. To make up for her mistake, Leah offers to act as Hal’s paramour. In return he agrees to educate her in matters of romantic love, acting out scenes from Fanny Hill, a book which they have both read.

Leah discovers that Hal has a young Frenchman hidden on his boat, which makes her suspicious. During a grand ball at Forster Hall, the Frenchman kidnaps Leah, using her to lure Hal into a trap. Using her wits, Leah manages to warn the man she has fallen in love with that he’s in deadly peril. Managing to overcome his foes, Hal concentrates on discovering the truth behind the fire that killed Leah’s father and supposedly destroyed the rare books he so treasured. His efforts lead them both into more danger when they have a deadly confrontation with a scoundrel at an inn in the backstreets of London.

Deeply in love with his feisty scribe, Hal proposes marriage. Leah realizes that true love simply doesn’t recognise the class divide invented by society and joyously accepts him.

In a sentence:

A sparkling Regency in which a marquess finds his destiny in an impecunious siren with a beautiful voice and scorching pen.

Meet Author Wendy Soliman

Wendy Soliman was brought up on the Isle of Wight in Southern England but now divides her time between Andorra and West Florida. She lives with her husband Andre and a rescued dog of indeterminate pedigree named Jake Bentley.

The Isle of Wight is full of historic buildings, which is where she acquired her love of history, absorbing it like osmosis. She is the author of nine single-title Regency romances and is excited about her up-coming series charting the fortunes of the Forster dynasty.

When not writing she enjoys reading other people’s books, walking miles with her dog whilst plotting her next scene, and is on a one-woman mission to save the wine industry from the economic slump. Well, someone’s got to do it!

Contact email: wendysoliman@rocketmail.com
website: www.wendysoliman.com
Facebook: Wendy Soliman – Author
Twitter: @wendyswriter
 

Giveaways:

• One randomly drawn commenter from each tour stop will win a copy of COMPROMISING THE MARQUESS.

Tour Stops & Dates

Week of December 3

Dec. 3: Love Saves the World
Dec. 4: Cocktails & Books
Dec. 5: Novel Reflections
Dec. 6: Bodice Ripper Novels
Dec. 7: Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
STOP #2: Dec. 7: Ex Libris

Week of December 10

HRD: Dec. 10: Book Whore Blog
Dec. 11: Reading Romances
STOP #2: Dec. 11: The Book Vixen
STOP: #3: Dec. 11: Seductive Musings
Dec. 12:
Dec. 13: RomFan Reviews
STOP #2: Dec. 13: Love Romance Passion
Dec. 14: Book Lovin’ Mamas