Thoughtful About . . . Thanks

Thoughtful About . . . Thanks

by | Apr 25, 2013 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized

Tuesday night/Wednesday was, let’s say, not great. When I went to bed at 11, I’d meant to set my alarm for 5:30 but forgot. I wanted to get up early to write, but I’d been waking up early on my own, so I figured I’d be fine.

At 1 a.m., a very distressed “Mommy!” woke me up. Poor Xoe (7) was sick. And proceeded to be sick every half hour, meaning that neither of us had the chance to go back to sleep. At about 3, I had the thought that, unlike the last time we had a sick kid in the middle of the night, there was nothing going on this Wednesday that I would have to plan around. We could just rest.

Thank you, Lord.

The pattern continued until, oh, 5:00. I fell back into bed that time staring at the clock and wondering if, unlike every other time, either of us would manage to get back to sleep before the nausea struck again. Oh, I prayed so. I prayed so with every fiber of my being, as I had been praying for the last two hours.

Women Doing Laundry by Jahn Ekenaes
(Oh yes, thank you for washing machines!)

Downstairs I heard the whir of the dryer. The chug of the washer. And it occurred to me that plenty of times over the past two years, one or the other of those machines had been not working improperly, either plain not going or not draining right. But tonight, both were behaving beautifully as they washed the sheets and towels and clothes soiled from upset bellies.

Thank you, Lord.

At 6:00 when I heard the bathroom door creak again, I realized I had actually slept for the first time since those two hours at the beginning of the night, and that Xoe had too.

Thank you, Lord.

Though my poor little dumpling understandably asked when she was going to stop and feel better, she smiled as I tucked her, yet again, into bed.

Thank you, Lord.

A mere half hour later, Rowyn woke up. Too chipper for his exhausted mama, waaaaaaaaay too bouncy. But chipper and happy and healthy.

Thank you, Lord.

By no means was this a great day. Certainly not the day I’d planned when I meant to set my alarm and wake up early to write. We weren’t out basking in the beautiful 75-degree sunshine like I would normally have wanted.

But you know, it’s just the flu. It passes quickly. We can deal with it. We have the blessing of being able to redo our schedule at the drop of a hat, thanks to homeschooling. I work from home, so I can just declare it a sick day if I have to. We can rest, we can recuperate, and we can so what needs doing. And oh, how much doable it all seems when I remember to take those moments between the yucks and exhaustion to

Thank you, Lord.

The Manners of George Washington

The Manners of George Washington

by | Apr 24, 2013 | 17th-19th Centuries, Remember When Wednesdays

One of the most interesting things I learned about the Colonial era in my research was the manners and rules of civility gentlefolk were to know. The Colonial Williamsburg site has a page on the Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation, as transcribed by George Washington at the age of 16 or so, when he lived at Ferry Farm. It can be found several other places around the web too.

Reading through the 100+ rules of etiquette really enriched my understanding of the culture of the time. And explained some things. You know how you get that particular feeling of decorum and elegance from paintings of the time? These rules actually make it pretty clear it wasn’t a trick of the artist. I’m going to give y’all a taste of some of their rules and manners. The spelling and capitalization are all George’s. =) Enjoy!

~In the Presence of Others Sing not to yourself with a humming Noise, nor Drum with your Fingers or Feet.

~Shift not yourself in the Sight of others nor Gnaw your nails.

~(One of my favorites) Shake not the head, Feet, or Legs rowl not the Eys lift not one eyebrow higher than the other wry not the mouth, and bedew no mans face with your Spittle, by approaching too near him when you Speak.

~Kill no Vermin as Fleas, lice ticks &c in the Sight of Others, if you See any filth or thick Spittle put your foot Dexteriously upon it if it be upon the Cloths of your Companions, Put it off privately, and if it be upon your own Cloths return Thanks to him who puts it off.

~let your Countenance be pleasant but in Serious Matters Somewhat grave.

~Shew not yourself glad at the Misfortune of another though he were your enemy.

~Superfluous Complements and all Affectation of Ceremonie are to be avoided, yet where due they are not to be Neglected.

~Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive.

~Undertake not to Teach your equal in the art himself Proffesses; it Savours of arrogancy.

~Do not express Joy before one sick or in pain for that contrary Passion will aggravate his Misery.

~ Mock not nor Jest at any thing of Importance break no Jest that are Sharp Biting and if you Deliver any thing witty and Pleasent abstain from Laughing there at yourself.

~ Wherein wherein you reprove Another be unblameable yourself; for example is more prevalent than Precepts.

~ Wear not your Cloths, foul, unript or Dusty but See they be Brush’d once every day at least and take heed that you approach not to any Uncleaness.

~ Run not in the Streets, neither go too slowly nor with Mouth open go not Shaking yr Arms kick not the earth with yr feet, go not upon the Toes, nor in a Dancing fashion.

~ Eat not in the Streets, nor in the House, out of Season.

~ Speak not of doleful Things in a Time of Mirth or at the Table; Speak not of Melancholy Things as Death and Wounds, and if others Mention them Change if you can the Discourse tell not your Dreams, but to your intimate Friend.

~ Go not thither, where you know not, whether you Shall be Welcome or not. Give not Advice without being Ask’d & when desired do it briefly.

~Reprehend not the imperfections of others for that belongs to Parents Masters and Superiours.

Word of the Week – Tycoon

Word of the Week – Tycoon

by | Apr 22, 2013 | Word of the Week

In Circle of Spies, my villain is a railroad tycoon. Slightly tricky because I don’t want to imply that any of the actual railroad men were anything like him, LOL, but I digress. As I was blasting through the scenes last week, I very nearly had my hero contrasting himself with good ol’ Dev and calling the man a tycoon. Then I thought I’d better, you know, actually look it up…
And I’m glad I did. Because though I would swear I’ve watched documentaries that use the word for men of that era, it’s anachronistic to do so. The word originated in 1857, very specifically–it was used by foreigners to the shogun of Japan. Directly from the Japanese word taikun, “great lord or prince,” it was used by the shogun’s supporters to indicate that he was more important than the emperor.
In 1861 the word crossed to America and was used, again specifically, in reference to Abraham Lincoln. But it wasn’t applied to successful business in general until after World War I!
So while I couldn’t use it to speak of Devereaux Hughes, I did find the history intriguing. =) From the shogun to the president, and then nearly fifty years before it gained it modern meaning. 
Thoughtful About . . . Neat and Tidy

Thoughtful About . . . Neat and Tidy

by | Apr 18, 2013 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized

Anyone who knows me knows this title is not about my house. 😉
As I stood in front of my stove cooking dinner (mark it on your calendar!) the other night, with my head still in my novel (not rare enough to be noted, LOL), I got to thinking. I’d just written an out-of-the-blue line about my hero returning a borrowed fob. No big deal. Except that until that moment I didn’t know he had borrowed the fob…though I mentioned his pocket watch and its attaching chain in chapter 2. So back I went to the beginning, did a little tweak to the line, and voila. He pulled out his borrowed fob.
See? Neat and tidy.
This is the sort of thing I take great care with in my books. I don’t like any reference to be in vain, so I always make sure everything is woven all the way throughout. But, let’s face it, these small details will probably go unnoticed more often than not. Right? The cynical side of me might say, in moments of exhaustion, that they go unappreciated. But when someone does catch these little carried-through threads, I hope it makes them go, “Aha! Nice!” Occasionally I’ll get a note from a critique partner or editor or reader letting me know they noticed something like this, and it makes me grin.
Yes, in fiction, all loose ends must be tied. All dangling threads snapped and pulled out. All lines and scenes and plots neatly ordered.
But in life?
Maybe because I focus so much on this sort of thing in my stories, I find myself looking for it in the real world too. Looking for those “Aha!” moments. Those times when it becomes glaringly clear why that thing happened a month or year or decade ago. I daresay I’m not alone in that–we all like to find reason in the seemingly-random, right? I usually call it looking for God’s hand. Which it is.
But as I stood there stirring my ground beef and thinking about watch fobs, it occurred to me that sometimes those threads are crucial…but so very small they really will likely go unnoticed. And if that happens in my books, which are crafted by small-visioned me, how often is that the case in life, where the omniscient God is the author? How many times do things never make sense to us, never even gain our notice…yet were crafted with such perfect care by Him?
Life, to our human eyes, is messy. Often ugly. Always beyond our total comprehension. But you know, I think if we could look at it through the Author’s eyes, we’d see where every thread is pulled through. Where every loose end is tied off. Where every tear we shed, where every dream we dream matters in our life story. I think, if we could see it in the right light, life would look a lot neater.
The reality is, we’re incapable of that. And that’s okay too. Because just like most people will never pause to think, “Wow, she wove the watch fob back in two hundred pages later!”, it’s not necessary that we notice every time God makes sense of things. It’s enough to know He does. To be able to see the big ones. It’s okay to wonder about the ones we never see reemerge.
Because He’s got it all under control. And sometimes I can just hear Him whisper, “Just hold on. You’ll understand in another few chapters…”
Circle of Spies Cover!

Circle of Spies Cover!

by | Apr 17, 2013 | Uncategorized

Last Wednesday I talked about it . . . today I’m showing it to you! =)

I’ve since learned some fun background on it too. First, the designer is the same one who designed Love Finds You in Annapolis, MD. =) This is Garborg Design–and I got a message saying the model is the designer’s cousin. Fun! I love learning that the models I gasp over are related to someone or another. Makes it so much more personal. I usually assume cover models are just hired models, so learning they’re friends and relatives of the designers or members of a publishing house always makes me grin in delight. And this beautiful Ms. Garborg (or whatever her name may be, LOL) is so lovely, and such a good Marietta. I couldn’t be happier. =)

I also got a note from the costume designer, saying how glad she was I liked the ensemble. Naturally, I had to gush in response, because ohmygoodness. The more I stare at this dress (which is a lot, LOL), the more I love it in all its details.

And so we can see all the covers of the series together… (there will be a second novella between 2 and 3 too, though we have no cover yet *grins*)

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