by Roseanna White | Sep 1, 2014 | Uncategorized
Okay, so I’m not technically at the lighthouse right this moment. Unless you happen to be reading this when we, in fact, are. But you wouldn’t know that. And neither would I…
The point being, I’m on vacation! Woot! Much-needed and much-anticipated. So no blogging this week. I’m too busy getting sunburnt (yes, I’m wearing sunblock. But I’m still getting burnt, because apparently I only have to think about sunshine to get burnt…), building sandcastles, and reading.
See you back here next week!
by Roseanna White | Aug 28, 2014 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
I admit it–I don’t read for pleasure as much as I used to. Mostly because during the school year, I spend so many hours a day reading to my kids, writing, and editing that by the end of the day, my eyes and brain say, “Nope, we’re done. Stare at the television or go to sleep. Those are your choices.”
But there’s another reason. It’s because I’ve trained myself so much to be an editor that I can’t read a book without noting what I’d ask the author to change…and that get really, really annoying when I’m just reading for fun, LOL.
Now, the mark of a truly excellent book is when the editor switches off, or at least finds nothing to whine about. That happens, and I love it when it does. But other times…yeah. I recently read a dystopian where the character at one point mentions that in her town, there’s no music. She barely has a concept of what it is. Then a few scenes later, she likens someone’s breathing to a concertina. Um, no. If you don’t know what music is, you aren’t going to think in terms of instruments. Sorry. A first person book that suddenly goes out of POV and tells me what another character is thinking? Shudder. And that historical full of inaccuracies? Ouch.
I guess it’s kinda like a doctor watching a medical show. Or someone in law enforcement watching CSI. They’re going to notice the faults, the things the show gets wrong, and it’s going to ruin it for them. Sadly, that’s how some books are for me these days. It’s one thing to notice all the typos, which I’ve always done. But these days, it’s so much more than that.
But then it makes me wonder.
How can God stand to watch us?? LOL. I mean, He’s got it all right. He knows what He’s doing. He knows the right thing, the wrong thing, the so-so things we could do in each moment, and He sees how often we go the wrong way. How often we miss the mark.
And I can imagine Him in heaven, with his metaphorical red pen, saying, “You know, if you’d just let me give you some advice right here…”
But here’s another thing I’ve learned about editors–you have to let them give you advice. Freelancers you hire, and you can totally choose whether to take their advice or ignore them. When you’ve signed a contract with a publishing house, you kinda have to listen to what they say. Kinda. But you might be surprised at how many authors refuse, and take the cancellation of their contract over giving over control of their story.
What about in our lives? Do we give over control to Him? He, who is the ultimate author? The ultimate editor? Who understands far better than we do where the plots of our lives are going? Who knows what’s relevant and what isn’t? Where our focus should be?
Lord, be my editor. Catch all my errors and help me correct them. Cut out all that fluff I don’t need in my life. Keep my words tight and true to You. Lord, be my editor…and help me to take Your perfect advice.
by Roseanna White | Aug 27, 2014 | 20th Century, Remember When Wednesdays
Let’s blame it on being an American–I know little about the details of how a king (or queen) becomes a king (or queen). In my head, it’s an instant thing when the previous monarch passes away. A bit, I suppose, like the swearing-in of the vice president as president when the president dies. It happens within hours. Voila. Done.
And yes, to a point that’s how it is. Researching the Edwardian era, I of course discovered that King Edward died in May of 1910–a mere 3 months before The Lost Heiress begins. But in my head, that meant the transition was already over. His son, King George, became king. Voila. Done.
I honestly didn’t think to look into any more than that while writing The Lost Heiress. I turned it in. No biggie. Then I started my research for The Outcast Duchess, and through that reading realized the error of my ways. And saw that King George’s coronation hadn’t been before my stories started. Oh no. It was smack dab in the middle of Brook’s first Season in The Lost Heiress–June, 1911. A year after his father’s death. A year, obviously, to prepare for the momentous day. In my story–and I didn’t once mention it. Yikes!
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| King George V in coronation robes, 1911 |
Luckily, it’s early days yet in edits, LOL.
Though books set up to WWI are deemed Edwardian, King George V was the king all through my series. And though it was his father who set the standard for the extravagance and luxury that made the era famous, I have to say I think I would have liked George much better. Where Edward was over-indulgent, George was more restrained. Where Edward was uninhibited, George seems to have been composed. They were two very different men . . . and yet, in his journal after his father’s death, George wrote that on that day he lost his dearest friend–his father.
Sniff. Sniff, sniff.
I think one of the things I admire most about this man who is king during my stories though, is his own tale of love.
You see, he wasn’t always the heir-apparent. He was the second son, and his brother was the one everyone thought would be the next king. He thought his destiny was to serve in the Royal Navy, and he embraced that gladly. He fell in love with his German cousin, but the families didn’t approve the match. He proposed anyway–she refused him and married the heir to the king of Romania instead.
Two years later, George’s older brother Albert, the presumed heir, became engaged to a cousin the family did approve of–Princess Victoria Mary of Teck. The family called her May (as there was kinda still a Victoria on the throne at the time…) But only six months into their engagement, Albert died of pneumonia.
It was grief that brought May and George together. They mourned Albert together. They comforted each other. And they fell in love. Theirs was a story of socially-acceptable-matches meeting deep-from-the-heart love…and oh, how history needs those!
Though King Edward was known for his affairs and paramours, King George was known for his dedication to his wife. He had a hard time, he himself admitted, expressing his feelings out loud. So they exchanged love letters all their lives.
Sniff. Sniff, sniff.
Yes, this is a king who deserves some mention in my series! And though in The Lost Heiress I really only mention his coronation a couple times, I’m going to try to put a bit more about him in later books. Because though I’m calling this an Edwardian series, Edward was gone. George was ruling. And he was setting an example that deserves to be noted.
by Roseanna White | Aug 25, 2014 | Word of the Week
My kids made me look this one up the other day, wondering if pig and pigment were related…giving that Xoe’s been studying base words and prefixes and suffixes, this is a logical question. =)
So away to www.etymonline.com I went. To discover that, as I suspected, no. Pigment is not from the same root as pig.
Pigment, as it happens, comes from the pigmentum, meaning “color matter, paint.” Pretty much what I expected. It comes in turn from the Latin verb pingere, meaning “to paint.”
Pig, on the other hand, has obscure roots. It existed in Old English, but the experts think it might have been borrowed from the German or Dutch word for swine, which was big/bigge. They seem to agree that it was originally spelled with a B.
Interestingly, some of the nicknames for a pig–porker, grunter–came about because sailors’ superstitions forbade them from uttering the word “pig” while at sea! Can’t say as I knew that one, LOL.
Happy Monday!
by Roseanna White | Aug 21, 2014 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
This marked our first full week of homeschool. And I admit it–I haven’t adjusted yet. I’m still a wee bit frazzled by how much long it’s taking us this year (so far–hopefully it’ll streamline a bit), and what that means in terms of time to do other things. So I figured today, I’d just chat about some random things.
* That homeschool. Yeesh! I forgot how much longer 1st grade takes than Kindergarten. But adding in that extra amount of work for Rowyn…all of which must be hands-on for me at this point…puts another hour or so on my instructional day. I wasn’t prepared for that! But both kids are doing great with their respective work.
However, my brain is back is Edwardian Yorkshire. Because, you see…
* Last Thursday, on my birthday, I got to have an editorial call with my new editor, on The Lost Heiress. Maybe some people wouldn’t want to schedule such a thing for their birthday, but I knew well I’d have fun–and I did. I love talking story. I was emailed seven pages of notes, compiled from three different editors, and we went through them point by point. I had an hour before the call to review them and brainstorm, and oh my gracious. Such fun!
See, as a writer, I’m not a this-is-the-only-way-it-can-happen person. (Most of the time.) I’m constantly daydreaming about what ifs for my stories. Coming up with alternate ways the characters could reach the same places. So when an editor says, “This could be stronger,” I just have to tap on that door of imagination and let the ideas fly. It’s So. Much. Fun for me. =D
So in the week that’s followed, I’ve been spending all the time I can on those revisions. Of course, it being the first week of school, that’s not as much time as I would like…
And…
* I’m adding words! Yikes! LOL. I’m going to have to go back afterward and trim some other parts down, to get that word count back down on target. Not the fun part.
* I need a haircut. I have an appointment for next Thursday, but I have no idea what I want. Right now it’s about 3 inches below my shoulders. I like the length, but I want some life in it. Suggestions??
* My poor cat has had UTI for two months now. She’s been on antibiotics since mid-June. The oral ones made her puke, and the injections don’t seem to be helping. Which means she’s showing me her pain by making messes. I’m about at my wit’s end there…
* I’m making French onion soup tomorrow! Woot!
* And I should probably go take a shower before it’s time for school again. So until next time, there’s the randomness from the brain of Roseanna.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. Having successfully launched two homeschool grads, she now spends her time writing fiction, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years, as well as a fantasy series and contemporary mysteries and romances. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.