Regency Romance Novels

I've been taking photographs

Still editing…when I’m not taking pictures…

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It will take a few more weeks of editing before the story is ready to go on line. It’s getting a three layered mega-edit. I go over it with my new handy dandy editing program that checks spelling and grammar (but it doesn’t catch everything). So the Goblin then edits one chapter at a time. I then I go back over it again and smooth out anything I’d missed. The process is slower than I’d like it to be, but I’ll be less stressed when I send it out into the world.

In this neck of the woods Fall has arrived. The leaves are falling off the trees and the sky has turned grey. Earlier this week I woke to find the countryside shrouded in fog. I love fog! I tried to resist, but I had to take my camera out and see if I could find some pictures. It was cold enough to persuade most of the dog walkers to stay home, but not cold enough for gloves so for most of my walk it was like having the countryside to myself. I particularly wanted to try and capture the thinning trees with their sparse leaves dotting the fog. That was my hope. Here are my favorite shots. [Read more…] about Still editing…when I’m not taking pictures…

Moments from a windy walk…

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This afternoon I looked out the window at the windy sunshine and decided I had to take my camera for a walk. I forgot to grab my music so I listened to the wind rushing through the trees. Clumps of small fluffy clouds meant it was a hit and miss. On seeing a shot I had seconds to turn on the camera and focus… I managed to catch a few (when my camera strap wasn’t blocking the viewfinder). Lately I’ve been reading Haiku (and trying to live more in the moment ie Cari-ku) so I wrote a little poem about each shot. If one of the pictures inspires a different haiku or poem feel free to share it in a comment… [Read more…] about Moments from a windy walk…

Shots from Monday Morning…

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The epilogue to Dancing the Maypole is unfolding (just a very little way to go). Yesterday I went into Stamford to help a friend pack up her flat. You know you’re out of shape when after attempting to squash five overcoats into one of those air lock bags lifting the bundle makes your arms ache (to be fair this was after hours of packing bags, taping up boxes and generally getting in the way and rudely asking every five minutes ‘is that rubbish?’). The Goblin dropped me off on his way to work so I had an hour before she was expecting me so I headed for the meadow by the river to take photos. It was a lovely day, but exhausting. Today I woke up late feeling like I could cheerfully sleep the rest of the day so I crawled back in bed with the book I’ve been reading (Harriette Wilson’s Memoir’s) and stayed there for hours without any intention of getting up. You’ll be hearing more about Harriette! I’ve known about her for ages, but as she was a pricey prostitute (courtesan) I presumed it would be boring. I’m the bore for passing judgement before I’d read the first few pages. [Read more…] about Shots from Monday Morning…

Friday in Stamford…

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Yesterday I spent the day in Stamford. It was my turn to help clean the chapel, but we didn’t have to do much as intrepid Bill (an Irishman in his 70’s with a bad shoulder) had already cleaned half the building. Thank you Bill! While waiting for my fellow cleaners in the garden the sun came out and then a strange cat appeared. All black except for the tip of its tail which was white, it was long and lean with a long face, like an ancient Egyptian cat. And as soon as it saw me it started talking and staring at me as if attempting to hypnotize me into producing some nice tinned tuna out of the air. The day was pleasant if exhausting (not so much the cleaning as the walking around carrying a heavy bag). After several hours in the bookstore I bought a sandwich and walked to the meadow near the river where I found some photos as it started to rain. These were some of my favorite shots of the day. [Read more…] about Friday in Stamford…

Millais must have been haunting my camera…

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On Saturday I got to go out for the day. Outside the sun was shining through the trees over this little pond. I only had my i-phone so I didn’t think any of the photos would turn out, but I got several magical shots (at least I think they’re magical). When I was taking the pictures I was focusing on the light and shadows on the water… [Read more…] about Millais must have been haunting my camera…

Book Review: The Treasury of Flowers…

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This afternoon I stopped off at my favorite charity shop to see if there were any interesting books and I found one called ‘The Treasury of Flowers’ by Alice M Coats (published 1975). I’ve had a fearful fascination of plants and flowers since I was a small child. When I was about 4 and a half we moved out of town to this small farm. One morning I was out in the fields with my mother when she pointed at foxglove and said, “That’s foxglove! Don’t touch it or you’ll die!” The big red mushrooms with pretty white spots in the surrounding forest were similarly pointed out along with black widow spiders. “You see that black spider with the red spot? If it bites you, you’ll die!” Needless to say, along with a fear of imminent death I developed a fascination for flowers. Obviously I didn’t grow into a botanist, but thankfully one doesn’t have to be a scientist to enjoy flowers or even go near flowers. One can look at pictures.

As long as there have been books there have been books on flowers. Coats’ book is a presentation of 118 prints by various artists over the centuries that have been overlooked because they’re small (some of them very small). I didn’t really understand what exactly the book was when I bought it. I just noticed it had prints of flowers starting from the early printing press using woodcuts through to the mid 1800’s and I thought it might be interesting. It is! Coats unearths all sorts of interesting facts and vignettes about the artists and plants in the prints. Plate 32 alone makes this book a treasure. [Read more…] about Book Review: The Treasury of Flowers…