I Choose Love
This week has been a tough one. The final push leading up to the US Presidential election became more contentious and volatile, pitting friend against friend. And it didn't end when the election was over. Much to my dismay, things only got worse. Riots in the streets and even more heated arguments online as to who is "right" and who…
Think Outside, No Box Required
I did a bad thing. This past Saturday was the monthly meeting for one of my local chapters. I was running a bit late thanks to Los Angeles area traffic, and when I arrived ten minutes after the meeting start time, I did something I had never done before: I sat in my car for five minutes just staring out the…
But it's a tree...
Having researched Georgian and Regency England for going on three years now, I sometimes forget that what are commonplace language references for me are not familiar words and phrases for those not as entrenched in the period as I. During one of my Sunday Snippets, I had my Hero get out of bed on a cold winter's morning, don his banyan…
A Month-Long Challenge
I decided to do something a little nutty this year. I decided to sign up for NaNoWriMo. That's National Novel Writing Month for those who don't know. It's a challenge, really. A challenge I take upon myself to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. That averages out to 1,667 words each day. Every day. For thirty days. On good…
You Pad Your What?!
In my third instalment of It's Research I Swear, I mentioned an exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art called Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715-2015. It covered a broad range of periods and clothing styles, but since I write stories taking place in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, I focused my visit on those pieces. Among the…