As Cinderella sang on the original Disney film, ‘A dream is a wish…your heart makes…’ If you are a creative individual and you have an artistic dream…I get to play fairy Godmother today because here is a website for you (unless you’ve already heard of it in which case here it is again)… (I can’t remember the exact words a fairy Godmother is supposed to say while waving her wand so let’s try, “Do Re Me Fa So La Tiiiie” Kickstarter.com is the most amazing place where creative dreams can come true! Have a look and tell me what you think. The great thing is…even if you don’t have any artistic dreams, you can help make other people’s dreams come true…if you wish!
The Book Designer…
If you’re a self-published author, want to be a self-published author or just a writer in need of inspiration I found a great blog that may help you. It’s called The Book Designer. The man behind the site is a professional book designer and writer. He covers all sorts of topics including ways to become a better writer. He has an article on free-writing I highly recommend. If you’ve read The Artist Way, free-writing is similar to morning pages or stream of conscience journal writing. One commenter after the article mentioned that she does free-writing on the computer and turns off the monitor so there’s no visual interruption to the flow. I use the computer because my hand goes numb very quickly using a pen, but I’d never thought of blinding myself to the page. I had to try it. So I set the timer on my clock for fifteen minutes, closed my eyes and started typing whatever came into my head. It felt SO good! My brain feels like its been vacuumed, sucked free of mental dirt. Even if you don’t want to self publish, if you’re a writer or someone who wants a happier brain have a look at the article and give free-writing with your eyes closed a go. I know from experience that when I do my morning pages every day my creativity blossoms, but I found it a bit of a chore. Now that I found an enjoyable way to clean my brain I’ll be doing it every morning. Read the article and see what you think.
Lucky Lovers…
There are a number of on line libraries, but my favorite isĀ Project Gutenberg. For anyone who loves reading or writing Regency romances they have a fantastic Regency reference book. 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose This was published in 1811 and marketed at young men who wished to speak about vulgar things in front of the ladies without the ladies understanding. It could also be called A Dictionary of Cant for the year 1811. The snippets explaining the meaning of the words are more interesting than the words. They create this snapshot of the time. You can read it on line or download an e-book copy for free! How lucky is that? [Read more…] about Lucky Lovers…
2011, A great year…
I’ve made up my mind; 2011 is going to be a great year. 2010 was a year of being ill. So thanks for coming 2010 (there were some lovely days), but don’t come back! [Read more…] about 2011, A great year…
Book review: A Very Merry Chase…
If you’re dying for a funny regency romance and you love Georgette Heyer, you’ll love A Very Merry Chase by Teresa Bohannon. The author sums it up, “Set in early 19th century Regency England, and harking back in style to the heyday of Georgette Heyer and Barbara Cartland, A Very Merry Chase is a comedy of manners and errors that boasts empire fashions, dashing characters, verbal sparring matches and witty repartee mingled with just a hint of mystery, danger and intrigue.”
It’s a classic Regency Romance and I give it four shiny big stars! When I started reading it was nearly bed time. I told myself I’d just read the first chapter. Ha! By four in the morning I had to force myself to stop and go to bed. After about two hours sleep I got up to see my Goblin off to work and then after waving him away with bloodshot eyes, I finished the book. It was that good! I loved all the main characters including the bad guy (who isn’t very lovable, but there’s something about him that makes me hope he has a happy end somewhere). I wish my characters could have dinner with Bohannan’s characters or meet them at a house party. I’ve never had that reaction to a regency romance before. After the short excerpt there’s a link to download a free pdf file of the first chapter (which I think is one of the funniest first chapters I’ve ever read!). [Read more…] about Book review: A Very Merry Chase…
And the Universe smiled…sort of…
Today I managed to scribble messages of love on two specially purchased Christmas cards. I made a great start – instead of writing ‘Hello’ I wrote ‘Hellow’. My head cold has been doing weird things to my head (weirder than normal). [Read more…] about And the Universe smiled…sort of…