by Roseanna White | May 29, 2013 | 17th-19th Centuries, Remember When Wednesdays
Have I mentioned yet that I metaphorically typed The End last week? =) I did! Finished up Circle of Spies on Friday, so join me in a victorious “Woot!” LOL
I’m sure I have something fun I learned in the final research for that, but yesterday I hurriedly prepared a post I’d forgotten to do beforehand in the rush of that final stretch of CoS, so I thought I’d share that instead. 😉
Did you realize that we’re currently in the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812? Yep! It will stretch into the beginning of 2015, though I’m especially glad to celebrate the events of late 1814, including the Battle of Fort McHenry–the event that serves as the backdrop for the climax of Whispers from the Shadows. This is a war that’s been largely forgotten, which is kinda sad. Today I’m talking a bit about it on Regency Reflections–please stop over and say hello!
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The Chasseur, one of the most famous privateers of the War of 1812. This Baltimore
captain harassed the British merchant fleet in their own waters. |
You know, it’s really kind of funny. When reading the Regency-set
novels I so love, I often find references to the on-going war with
France and the audacity of Napoleon. Only rarely, however, do we see the
British perspective of another war going on at the same time, one with
the upstart Colonists that had declared their independence a generation
before. Even America often forgets their War of 1812, and in
Europe…well, it tends to dim in comparison to the Napoleonic Wars. It’s
become overlooked by both sides. But oh, how interesting it is! Read the Full Article
by Roseanna White | May 27, 2013 | Word of the Week
I love these words with a long history. =) To mix things up today, I’m going to present this one as a
list. Wanna take a guess as to which one I was looking up for the end of my spy story? LOL
Primary use (you know, the part of your face) – Old English
Used of any prominent or projecting part – 1530s.
To say something is under (one’s) nose “in plain view” – 1540s
(verb) to perceive the smell of – 1570s
something obvious – 1590s.
Pay through the nose (bleed) – 1670s
(verb) to pry, search – 1640s
To turn up one’s nose, “show disdain” – 1818 (earlier hold up one’s nose, 1570s)
Odor, scent (the nose of a perfume) – 1894
Many extended meanings are from the horse-racing sense
of length of a horse’s nose, as a measure of distance between two
finishers – 1908
(verb) to look down one’s nose – 1921
by Roseanna White | May 23, 2013 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
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| Baby at Play by Thomas Eakins, 1876 |
As a mama working from home with two home schooled kids, one of whom is only kindergarten aged, I know a lot about interruptions. People frequently ask me, “How do you get anything done?” And in answer, I usually have to shrug. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I only do by popping earbuds in and turning on some instrumental music to drown out Max & Ruby or Octonauts. Sometimes I do a lot of growling about, “Please, just five minutes without squabbling. Please.”
For the most part, my kids are good at entertaining themselves. But as I was trying to hammer through the last few chapters of my manuscript the other day, I found that the interruptions were of a certain type. Rowyn was building. And when Rowyn in building, I hear a lot of this:
“Look, Mommy!”
“Mommy, see what I did here?”
“Hey, Mama, do you know where the other piece like this is?”
“Mommy, ta-da!”
Despite being pulled yet again from my story, I had to smile. It’s such a cute and intrinsic part of childhood, isn’t it? That need to be not just noticed but acknowledged. To have one’s actions and accomplishments cheered and encouraged.
I remember those days. I remember standing at the edge of the pool and saying, “Watch, Mommy. Mommy? Hey, Mommy, watch me! Look what I can do!” before jumping in. I remember rushing in from a day of school, waving the picture I’d colored or the fat red A on the top of a test. I remember my mom smiling and laughing, giving me a kiss. Even though sometimes she was probably thinking, “Yeah, look at you, jumping into the pool exactly like you did twenty seconds ago.” 😉
An adorable part of childhood, to be sure. And yet…not peculiar to our early days, is it? Maybe I don’t have to show my mother every paragraph I write anymore (I mean, as I write it–she still reads most of what I put to paper, LOL). Maybe my every move isn’t a cry of “Look! Notice me! Approve of what I’m doing! Be proud!” Not aloud–but we never really outgrow the instinct, do we?
I can’t design a book cover without showing my husband or best friend. I can’t finish a hard day without inviting someone to note all I accomplished. I can’t scrub a floor without surveying it at the end and saying to my kids, “Just look at that! Doesn’t that look nice?”
People crave approval like we crave air–it’s a necessary part of who we are. We need those pats on the head. We need the smiles. We don’t necessarily need someone to say, “Wow, that’s the best thing ever!” We just need to know they see. That they notice. That they care.
It can be tiring to be the one always having to notice, without often being noticed (says the mom with young kids who really don’t care about a clean floor, LOL). But you know, people pay attention to that too–and more, God does. I think he must smile over our every indulgent smile. I think He must pat our backs when we pat the back of another. I think He loves little more than watching His children love one another.
Sometimes I need the reminder to slow down and notice. To spare those few seconds that make another’s day. So this is me reminding myself. And it’s me reminding you. Pay attention today. Take a few seconds to let those in your life know you’re watching, you’re really seeing them, that their ever little action is a precious part of your day, of your life.
Cherish those ta-das. There’s nothing else in the world like them.
by Roseanna White | May 22, 2013 | 17th-19th Centuries, Remember When Wednesdays
Last week I had the opportunity to take my kids with our home school group to Carlisle, Pennsylvania for a day’s tour of the
Army Heritage Center. With displays on everything military from the French and Indian Wars through the War on Terror, I knew they would have fun–and I was hoping to come away with some nice pictures and research on that early stuff, since I seem to have fallen into writing books about wars. 😉
Our tour began in the Colonial section of the center, where we got to watch a blacksmith at work in the Carlisle Forge. I’ve had this pleasure before, but it never really gets old to see how they take hunks of formless steel and turn them into works of art or function. What especially amazes me is how these dedicated reenactors can explain so much about the early days of our country and the craft they obviously love while performing it before our very eyes.
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A few of the pieces this smith had done, based on
original artifacts he had seen |
This gentleman explained about how a blacksmith was one of the most important people to any army. Each regiment would have one, but he would rarely see any fighting–they kept him well removed from the front lines, because he was too valuable to lose. He also explained, when someone mentioned how very lovely the pieces are, that what we deem beauty–those delicate curls and whisper-thin pieces of iron–were actually there for economy’s sake. Iron was expensive, and never wasted. They made pieces as thin as they practically could to conserve the resources, and tapered them at the ends for the same reason.
From there our group ventured into more modern times, but I didn’t pay quite as much attention to those. 😉 I was far more intrigued by the recreation of the Yorktown Redoubt…
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| Revolutionary War Blockhouse |
…and in hearing the tales told to us by this wonderful historian at the Revolutionary Block House. We didn’t get to go into the watch tower, but I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the guide talk about the long rifle he carried, the state of the roads in the day (I didn’t realize they left the stumps of the trees they cut for roads, accounting for all those terrible bumps!), and why it was necessary to boil the salted fish three times before consuming it. Yes, to remove all the salt…but also to remove all the maggots. (Eww!) He also explained how the term “mess” came to be used for food in the military. Whenever they had fresh meat, each man would get a hacked-off portion. But they weren’t exactly trimming steaks here–some men would end up with nice meat, others with nothing but bone and fat. So a group of six or so would throw this mess into a pot together with whatever vegetables they might have been given. The result was a stew that gained flavor from the bones and provided something to actually eat from the meat.
Our final stop of the day was to venture into the model of a Logg House. Originally set up to be supply stations between the forts during the French and Indian War days, they afterward became vital to settlers who wanted to trade, water their horses, or get fresh food. Unfortunately, most of these two-room homes were destroyed during Pontiac’s War in 1763.
All in all, a fun day of hands-on discovery! (Oh, and the kids had fun too…) 😉
by Roseanna White | May 20, 2013 | Word of the Week
I’m in a sprint toward the end of Circle of Spies (woo hoo!), and in my marathon writing these last few days have been looking up a lot of words’ etymology. This is the first time in a good while I’ve had a historical character prone to slang, and slang is so tricky! Good thing I enjoy learning this stuff. 😉
So from my bushel of new-found knowledge I have chosen
snap for today. =) Because Slade really, really wanted to tell Marietta to “snap out of it” during the scene I was writing last night. I mean,
really wanted to. But I
knew that wouldn’t work, so I had to prove it to myself.
Snap became a verb in the 1520s, meaning “to take a quick bite” and taken directly from the noun of the similar meaning, which dates from the 15th century. These two meanings were related to animals–a critter snapping its jaws around prey. The meaning of “to break suddenly” came along in the early 1600s (and I had no idea it was nearly a century after “bite”!) “To snap” mentally might be literally from that “break” meaning, but it came way late to the game–as in, 1970s.
Football move? 1887. Sound fingers make? 1670s. (See, I probably would have guessed that one came first. Shows what I know, LOL.) The turtle? 1740s. And then, aha! Snap out of it. My target phrase was a bit older than I thought but still of no help to my 1865 story, joining the party in 1907.
On an unrelated note, I discovered this weekend that
Fairchild’s Lady, the FREE novella sequel to
Ring of Secrets, is available for
pre-order on Amazon! I have a post set up dedicated to it on its release day, June 1, but thought I’d mention it today too. 😉
And just for the fun of sharing, today begins our last week of our school year! Woot!!! =)
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.