Rebecca Brandewyne - Blog.

CHRISTMAS CHEER!

2006-12-24T13:53:00.000-06:00

Usually, my husband, John, and I do Christmas at our house for our family. But this year, we're going to my folks' house instead. I'll admit I'm looking forward to not having to prepare the Christmas feast, since at the moment, I'm suffering from a badly impinged shoulder, which has made a lot of things, like cooking, difficult for me. So, now that all the shopping's finished, all we have to do is load the presents in our car and go.

In the meantime, I'm watching George C. Scott in A Christmas Carol --- my favorite version of the movie and an early Christmas gift from my son, Shane.

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!

THE CRYSTAL ROSE!

2006-12-01T11:40:00.000-06:00

My new novel, The Crystal Rose, goes on sale today! I hope you'll all pick up a copy and enjoy reading it!

About the book:

A stranger presses a letter into her hand...and unlocks the past she thought had been destroyed. England, 1850: As she makes her way through London's crowded streets, Rose Windermere is nearly knocked to the ground by a man who whispers a dire warning...and presses a letter into her hands before fleeing. The letter seems innocuous enough --- merely plans for a gentleman to meet his lover. But for Rose, the mark with which it is sealed recalls her idyllic childhood in India and a world that was destroyed one terrible night, when an uprising left her dearest friend, Hugo Drayton, dead. Amidst a city enthralled by its Great Exhibition, Rose is pulled back into the exotic land of her youth, as the past comes unimaginably alive. Caught in a web of deceit and intrigue, she must unravel the strange machinations of a man whose lust for power will threaten a monarchy --- and her own heart!

Publishers Weekly Review:

In romance veteran Brandewyne's latest entry, idyllic days in India in the 1830s are cut short for young Rose Windermere when her best friend, Hugo Drayton, is murdered, along with his parents. Fearing for their own safety, Rose's family moves back to England. Fifteen years later, Rose is shopping at the market when a strange man thrusts a letter into her basket and, before fleeing, cautions her to guard it with her life. Seeing the seal of Hugo's family on the letter, Rose surmises that it must concern the business of Hugo's cousin, and the veiled message inside indicates a lovers' rendezvous. Soon, however, Rose suspects she's being followed, and with a little investigation finds that her pursuer is Raj Khanna, a handsome Indian businessman, who's after the letter for reasons far graver than romance; amid rising suspense, Rose uncovers a plot to assassinate Queen Victoria and the truth about what happened to her beloved Hugo. Fast-paced, rooted in solid period details and supported by a fine cast of secondary characters --- especially the scrappy street urchins who come to Rose's aid --- Brandewyne's latest is another winning romp. (Dec.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

The Crystal Rose has also been selected by the Rhapsody Book Club as a "hot book," and it is being offered as an ebook by Mira Books, as well.

WHAT BOOK DID YOU READ?

2006-11-27T15:53:00.000-06:00

Read my post What Book Did You Read? today at Romancing the Blog!

A BARD'S TALE.

2006-10-06T08:56:00.000-06:00

Read my post A Bard's Tale today at Romancing the Blog!

THE STRIPPER.

2006-09-13T12:56:00.000-06:00

These past several days, I've been stripping---my maternal grandparents' old Victorian mantel, that is.

This is the second of the two mantels I inherited from my grandparents. I've previously blogged about the first mantel, which is now a lovely focal point in our living room.

It's taken my husband, John, and me two more years to get to the point where we could begin restoring the second mantel, which is going in our master bedroom. We left the second mantel for last because it's much more massive and ornate than the first mantel, so we knew it was going to prove a great deal more work, which would be quite time consuming, as well. So far, we've been right about that.

We've already labored off and on for days, stripping off all the mantel's old varnish, and we've just now reached the stage where we think we've got it all, and we can begin sanding the wood to prep it for staining. We're going to stain this mantel mahogany, too, just as we did the first one (most all of our furniture is mahogany or dark cherry).

I was supposed to be out on our patio today, making sure all the mantel's old varnish is indeed gone and getting started on the sanding. But instead, I spent most of this morning answering interview questions in connection with my forthcoming novel, The Crystal Rose. So I'm getting a very late start this afternoon on the mantel. Nevertheless, I've got to get on with it, since I don't know how much more time I'll have to work on it in the coming days.

A couple of weeks ago, I submitted a second version of my proposal for my next novel to my editor (she didn't think the first one was detailed enough), and I'm hoping she is going to approve it any day now, so I can get started writing the actual book. That, of course, will sharply curtail all the time I have to do things like refinishing mantels.

In the meantime, I've finished repainting our bedroom walls---and succeeding in convincing John that the new color calls for redecorating everything else in the room, too. *vbg*

HARLEQUIN'S EBOOK BOUTIQUE.

2006-08-27T10:21:00.000-06:00

This past week, Harlequin Enterprises Limited announced "the launch of four digital entertainment ventures, specifically: Harlequin Mini ™ eBooks, Harlequin Mini™ Round Robin eBooks, the launch of the eBook Boutique on eHarlequin.com and a platform for gathering reader-generated content."

The Harlequin Mini ™ eBooks are "short-series eBooks written by Harlequin authors, including New York Times and USA Today bestselling writers—ideal for readers who want a 'quick fix' but don’t have the time for a longer novel." Ten new Mini ebooks will be available during the August launch, with four new Mini ebooks per month afterward. Each will cost $.99 to download.

The Harlequin Mini Round Robin ebooks will be launched by a published author, with subsequent chapters being created by fans and aspiring writers. Downloads will initially be free.

Harlequin Enterprises Limited is at the leading edge of digital publishing,offering about 40 new titles every month in eBook format. As of today, all of these titles will be available in the new eBook Boutique at http://ebooks.eharlequin.com/. It will be the exclusive eRetailer for the Harlequin Mini and Harlequin Mini Round Robin eBooks. eBooks from the eHarlequin Boutique will be available in three formats—Adobe PDF, Microsoft Reader and Mobipocket.

"Harlequin has an unmatched involvement, engagement and participation with its readers," says Pam Laycock. "Because of this intimate relationship, Harlequin is going beyond reader participation in the Round Robin to tap the creativity and wisdom of our global community via http://www.writeharlequin.com/. We ask such burning questions as 'What Is Love?' or 'What Was Your Worst Date Ever?' and anyone and everyone can send in responses. A collection of the most appealing answers will be published in a digital format early in 2007 and then later as a print version."

So if you haven't dropped by Harlequin's website lately, stop by and check out these latest offerings!

ARE YOU BEING SERVED?

2006-08-19T09:37:00.000-06:00

Read my post Are You Being Served? today at Romancing the Blog!

CLEAR THE DECK.

2006-08-15T11:00:00.000-06:00

My husband, John, and I have had a very busy last several days. We got our unwanted deck safely torn down --- no easy feat. But fortunately, John had worked out just how it needed to be removed, so it didn't accidentally smash through our French doors below or do any other damage while it was in the process of being taken down.

So, now, it's gone, and our patio is bright and sunny again --- although it will be a while yet before we can enjoy it once more, as we've still got a lot of clean-up to do. My son, Shane, is lending a hand with all that, and we're salvaging all the wood we can to recycle by using it in another project we have planned for the future.

Meanwhile, John and I have also cleared much of our bedroom and got half the repainting completed. We hope we'll be finished with everything by the end of the week.

In between times, I've been working on my proposal and answering email from readers, which has got backlogged over the last few months. So I hope all of you who have written to me during that time have now received a reply.

In addition, yesterday was my stepdad's 80th birthday. So all the family gathered around for that. We had a lovely birthday dinner and celebration!

A WINDOW ON THE WORLD.

2006-08-07T12:15:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting here, gazing out the new window my husband, John, installed in our bedroom this weekend.

Previously, we had a sliding-glass door there, which led to a deck we never used, as we prefer our patio downstairs. So, now that John's got the window in place, the next step is to tear off the unwanted deck, which blocks the sun to our patio.

Of course, since installing the window also meant putting in some new drywall, our entire bedroom now has to be repainted. But since I've been wanting to repaint it for ages, I'm delighted about this. :)

Sometimes, change is a good thing.

CALLING ALL ROMANCE READERS.

2006-07-26T10:17:00.000-06:00

PW Daily announced today that HarperCollins Publishers is launching an online writing contest for romance readers:

Partnering with the online entertainment company FanLib, HarperCollins is unveiling a contest for romance readers that invites them to create an original story on the Web. Sponsored by the house's Avon Books imprint, the "Express Your desires" contest is scheduled to launch on August 23 and will unfold over an eight-week period.

To find out more about the contest, enter chapters, and have a chance to win "fabulous prizes, including a discussion with an Avon Romance editor," visit the Avon FanLit: Express Your Desires page at HarperCollins.

JUMPING ON BANDWAGONS.

2006-07-25T10:57:00.000-06:00

Yesterday at No rules. Just write., author Brenda Coulter blogged about Those Boring Book Trailers.

Now, I know book trailers appear to be one of the latest fads. But for the moment, I've decided I'm not going to jump on this particular bandwagon. Over the passing months, I've had a look at several book trailers, and there are a number of reasons why they don't work for me.

But the main one is this: After watching a few of them a couple of times, then showing them to my husband, John, to get his thoughts on them (and to find out whether he --- being the techno-wiz --- could make one), I realized one very important thing: I couldn't remember the title of a single book for which I'd seen a trailer, even if I'd seen the trailer repeatedly.

Naturally, this was not a point in their favor.

So, in the end, I opted not to go this route during the annual overhaul of my website, which I'm in the midst of right now and hope to have completed within the next few weeks or so.

This year, I've finally made a stab at learning CSS, and while I can already see some benefits to it, I can also see a lot of problems with it. One of these is that although HTML was easy for me to learn, I'm finding CSS much more of a challenge, and I've got too much else on my plate right now to devote the time necessary to it. So I'm not implementing it across the board.

Among other things, I need to finish proofing my galleys for my forthcoming novel, The Crystal Rose, and to complete the proposal for my next book, too.

So, that's it for today.

NEW WORDS.

2006-07-08T11:26:00.000-06:00

Did you know that it was two hundred years ago that Noah Webster published his first dictionary? It was titled A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language and contained 37,000 entries. When Webster died, the rights to his dictionary were acquired by the Merriam brothers.

Recently, Merriam-Webster released a list of nearly one hundred new words that will appear this fall in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. It includes words like google, himbo, ringtone, and text messaging.

How many of these new words do you know? If you'd like to find out, you can see a partial list or take a short quiz.

LET FREEDOM RING.

2006-07-05T11:13:00.000-06:00

Read my post Let Freedom Ring today at Romancing the Blog!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

2006-07-02T14:57:00.000-06:00

We all have moments in our lives that, for whatever reason, we vividly remember ever after.

One of my most treasured times will always be July 4, 2002. How do I know the exact date? Because that was my best and most memorable Independence Day.

Most of the others have long since faded into the recesses of my mind, a melange of summer barbecues spent with family and friends, of waving flags and shooting fireworks. Yes, a few July 4ths stand out vaguely: the year a Roman candle I was holding accidently caught fire and went off in my hand; the year a bottle rocket fired by my then-brother-in-law went haywire, landing in our box of fireworks and setting them all off at once, sending us all scrambling for safety.

Still, I don't recall the years those things happened or much else about those Independence Days, either.

But I'll always remember July 4, 2002.

I was in England, then. My husband, John, wasn't my husband then, but we had traveled to England to be married on August 1st, and not being a resident, I had to be in the country for some number of days beforehand, in order that we could wed. My son, Shane, was with us, and both he and I were bemoaning the fact that we were going to miss celebrating Independence Day.

Naturally, with my husband and his family and friends all being English, there was a great deal of good-natured bantering about this. They made remarks such as how they had "captured" two American "colonists," and Shane and I responded with things like "the British are coming!"

July 4th finally arrived, and when darkness fell, Shane and I sat rather glumly in front of the TV. Everyone else had disappeared, knowing how low our spirits were, I mistakenly believed.

But then, much to my surprise, John called for Shane and me to come out into the garden. I couldn't imagine why, but when we appeared, The Star-Spangled Banner began to play; an American flag was run up; and a gorgeous fireworks display commenced.

John's family was in the garden, and many of the neighbors in the other houses all around had come out into their own gardens, too, to watch. We all stood there for the duration of the American national anthem---a fabulous version John had previously recorded on a CD for this event---and watched the fireworks.

Normally, England shoots fireworks on November 5th, which is Guy Fawkes Day. But John had explained to the owner of a local fireworks shop (which was closed in the off season) why he desperately wanted a fireworks display, and the very nice owner had not only opened his shop, but also put together a special sequence of fireworks to go off in time with The Star-Spangled Banner.

As the final notes sounded and the finale of the fireworks burst in the night sky, all the Brits cheered and applauded. But of course, I was so touched that I just stood there and cried.

I know there'll be other July 4ths in my life. But I doubt that any will ever prove as lovely and memorable as that one, spent in the very country from which we Americans celebrate our independence.

Have a safe and happy July 4th weekend!

ON PUDDINGS AND TARTS.

2006-06-30T10:43:00.000-06:00

Today is my husband John's birthday (Happy Birthday, sweetheart!). So I've decided that this afternoon, I'm going to make him a Bakewell pudding or tart (I've yet to determine if there's actually any real difference between the two, or if some people simply call them puddings, while others call them tarts).

Anyway, this is a sweet that, according to legend, originated quite by accident around 1860, at the White Horse inn, in the market town of Bakewell, Derbyshire (some insist the pudding's been around since the Middle Ages, and that it was the tart that came about by accident in the nineteenth century). John, who's an Englishman, lived in Derbyshire most of his life, and he adores Bakewell tarts (as he calls them).

Unfortunately, the first one I ever made was an unmitigated disaster!

The last time I was in England, I bought a marvelous British cookbook, Traditional British Cooking (consultant editor Hilaire Walden), which gives both British and American measurements, as well as oven temperatures not only for Agas, but also for traditional British cookers and American stoves. The only problem is that the slash marks that separate all these look very much like italicized number ones, and on a couple of lines, that was the way I inadvertently misread them. So I wound up with way too much of some ingredients.

As a result, my poor tart went haywire. John, however, being the darling he is, bravely ate it, while trying to figure out exactly what I'd done wrong.

Since then, I've made a couple more attempts to bake this tart. The last one was nearly right---except that even though I'd set my oven for the correct temperature and time, it was still too hot, resulting in a rather burned crust and an underdone filling.

I finally consulted John's daughter, Chrissy, who makes scrumptious Bakewell tarts, and she gave me a list of instructions that I hope are going to cover all contingencies. *g*

So, wish me luck. I'm off now to don my apron and to embark upon my quest for the perfect Bakewell tart.

THE FIRST FIVE PAGES.

2006-06-29T11:26:00.000-06:00

Today at Romancing the Blog, Lori Devoti writes about hooking readers within the first five pages of a novel. She says that:

Over and over you hear that agents, editors and even some reviewers only give a book or manuscript five pages (at most) to grab them. That competition is so intense, that if in under 1,500 words or so they don’t think the book/writing is up to par they will move on–slap a rejection in an envelope, or stick the manuscript on the don’t-bother pile. Studies show that readers do the same thing when shopping–they pick up a book, read the back, then flip it open to the first page, scan a bit, then either put it back on the shelf or buy it.

Right about now, some of you may be wondering how agents, editors, reviewers, and readers can determine whether they will like a book just by reading its first few pages. Many people will tell you that it all comes down to a writer's voice and whether that voice appeals to them.

But I've often wondered if there's a great deal more to it than that. I've actually long been curious about whether a novel's opening paragraphs hook us as readers has something to do with the kind of learners we are.

Do visual learners long to "see" description, for example? Do auditory learners yearn to "hear" dialogue? Do physical learners itch to "undertake" action?

I don't know whether any studies have ever been conducted in this regard. But I think it would be interesting to find out whether there is, in fact, any correlation between learner types and opening-paragraphs preferences.

I know that, personally, I'm mostly a visual learner and that books that open with description are much more likely to appeal to me than novels that open with either dialogue or action. But then, I didn't grow up with a bunch of technological gadgets that constantly made a variety of sounds or with video games that enabled me to engage in nonstop action, either.

But my son, Shane, did, and he's a physical learner.

Is the way in which we learn due solely to our genetics, solely to our environments, or to a combination of both? Would Shane have been a physical learner without technology? Or did technology encourage him to become a physical learner?

I don't know. What I do know is that he prefers books that open with action.

What about the rest of you? What kind of learners are you---and what is your own preference when it comes to a novel's opening paragraphs?

TEA FOR TWO.

2006-06-25T13:07:00.000-06:00

Every so often, my mom and I get together for lunch. Whenever we do, we like to go to one of the tea rooms here in my hometown.

This past week, we decided to pay a visit to Aunt Hattie's Tea Room. The time before that, we went to Miss Emily's Tea Room. There are others, but we enjoy these two the most.

Aunt Hattie's is located in Delano, which is one of our historic districts. In decades gone by, Delano was a red-light district, with a number of saloons and gaming establishments frequented by, among others, dance-hall girls and gunslingers. Wyatt Earp was once a keno dealer there. Now, however, Delano is home to a number of unique shops and restaurants, Aunt Hattie's among them.

Miss Emily's is located in Riverside, which is another of our historic districts. In decades gone by, Riverside was filled with fashionable Victorian houses, many of which have been restored over the years and are truly lovely. Now, it's also home to several Museums on the River, as well as to the forty-four-foot-tall Keeper of the Plains, Blackbear Bosin's gorgeous sculpture, which stands on display at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers.

Even though our tea rooms are relatively new and not authentic, Mom and I adore them because they're quaint, charming, and quiet---just the place to have not only a good lunch, but also a good conversation. This is our time for mother-daughter heart-to-heart talks.

Afterward, we always go shopping. Sometimes, we return home loaded down with parcels; sometimes, we don't buy anything. Either way, we're invariably worn out at the day's end. Still, it's a good kind of tired---the kind that comes after a pleasurable outing spent with someone you love.

I always look forward to these tea-for-two days with Mom.

SIMPLE YET PROFOUND.

2006-06-22T11:31:00.000-06:00

Last night, I watched the AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Sean Connery.

Sir Sean has always been one of my favorite actors, so it was not only nice to see him honored, but also interesting to learn more about his background. Needless to say, his body of work is outstanding. But what really impressed me was the speech he gave when he accepted his award.

During that speech, Connery said something very important---and I think perhaps surprising to many in the audience. He said that although it had taken him more than seventy years to realize it, his big break in life had actually come when he was just five years old.

That was when he had learned how to read.

He went on to explain that it was that simple yet that profound, that if not for books, plays, and scripts, he wouldn't be where he is today.

Like many of his generation, Connery left school when he was only thirteen, so had no formal education. But still, he had the ability to read all those books, plays, and scripts that opened so many doors for him and helped to establish his highly successful career as an actor.

Personally, I believe the ability to read is the most important skill a person can possess. Being able to read is a key that unlocks a vast treasure chest of time, knowledge, and opportunity. It can take us back through the ages of history or enable us to stand on the horizon of the future.

Sadly, however, there are still millions of people who are functionally illiterate or who cannot read at all.

According to the most recent National Assessment of Adult Literacy, approximately 63 million people in the U.S. alone have only basic reading skills, and another 30 million people have reading skills at the below-basic level. Fifty-five percent of adults in the latter category did not graduate from high school, and although those adults who read at the below-basic level were fewer in number in 2003 than in 1992, those adults who read at the proficient level were also fewer in number in 2003 than in 1992.

You can help change all that by donating money and/or time to any of the fine literacy programs that exist all over the world---or just as Connery's parents did: by ensuring that your own child learns how to read.

In the words of Connery: It's that simple yet that profound.

Congratulations on your well-deserved AFI Life Achievement Award, Sir Sean!

THE DOLLHOUSE - PART 3.

2006-06-03T12:51:00.000-06:00

Several of you have written to me, asking for updates on my dollhouse. I finally got my husband, John, to take some new pictures. The poor man actually hauled this huge creation outside, in order to get some full-length shots that wouldn't be cluttered with the furniture in our family room, which is where my dollhouse is currently residing.

We've made quite a bit of progress since the last time I blogged about my dollhouse. The exterior is now pretty much complete, including the weathervane on the tower and the installation of the four porch lights, which have been wired (John hard wired them---more about that in a later blog), so they actually work. The dollhouse on the top is mine; the one on the bottom is from the Dura-craft San Franciscan Dollhouse box, which shows the original model.

As you can see, we've made some modifications to the original---raising the roof of the tower, adding a dormer (which gives the smallest room inside a lot more space), and doing some extra trim. The crescent moon over the top door is there because I've named my dollhouse Crescent Moon House. An Irish seer is going to live in this house. I'll tell you about her and show you pictures of her in a later blog, as well.

John didn't realize the front door was open when he took these pictures of my dollhouse. The fact that some of the window tops are down, however, illustrates one of the problems with the Dura-Craft San Franciscan Dollhouse. The windows are very difficult to install and require a great deal of tweaking over time in order to get them to open and close just right. Three of them still need a little adjusting. Some people get so frustrated by this that they simply glue all the windows shut. But we decided to have them all work.

Here is another shot, showing the dormer we added. Right now, we have my dollhouse set up on a small worktable, which you can also see in these pictures. But eventually, it will have a permanent base, with a lawn and a gazebo.

Our next task is to continue work on the interior.

Read: The Irish Seer.
Read: The Dollhouse - Part 2.
Read: The Dollhouse.

THE IRISH SEER.

2006-06-17T10:24:00.000-06:00

Even before I began building my dollhouse, I knew who was going to live in it---an Irish seer. Spiritualism, fortune telling, etc., were all in vogue during the era of my dollhouse and widely practiced not only professionally, but also as hobbies. Table turning (also called Table Tipping), was a fashionable parlor game, and around the turn of the century, Ouija boards began to be produced, as well.

My Irish seer was to be a mysterious practioner of these arts, holding seances and telling fortunes in her parlor. Her name would be Morgaine, and she would be modeled after the Irish goddess Morrigan, whose symbol is the raven.

I scoured the Internet, in search of the perfect doll. But of course, there was none to be found, at which point I decided to commission a doll especially for me and my dollhouse.

During my searching, I had been very impressed with the work of dollmaker Diane Taylor, of La Boheme Dolls. So I e-mailed her and inquired whether she would be willing to undertake the making of Morgaine. Much to my delight, Diane agreed to accept the commission.

There followed a flurry of e-mail exchanges, during the course of which the design of Morgaine was developed. Later, Diane sent fabric samples from which I was able to choose those I wanted to be used for Morgaine's clothing. I also sent Diane some material I had already bought to make the tablecloth for Morgaine's fortune-telling table, so that Diane could match colors that were to be used in Morgaine's parlor.

Little by little, my doll began to be created. It was a fascinating process, with Diane keeping me updated with information and pictures all along the way. Morgaine's pet raven was completed first, and I was so excited to see the photos of it, as it was just what I had imagined.

Finally, there came the day when Morgaine herself was completed. Diane made several pictures of her and uploaded them to La Boheme Dolls. You can see them here, just as I first saw them.

Needless to say, I was thrilled by this beautiful miniature creation---Morgaine is only 5 1/2" tall (which means that in real life, she would stand 5' 6" tall). So, obviously, to work on such a small doll and to make it so outstanding really requires a tremendous amount of skill and talent.

Thank you so much, Diane, for bringing my vision of Morgaine to life for me!

Read: The Dollhouse---Part 3.
Read: The Dollhouse---Part 2.
Read: The Dollhouse.

THE DOLLHOUSE.

2005-09-24T16:07:00.000-06:00

First of all, thanks so much to all of you who bid on the LarissaFund auction to help Larissa Ione and also for the Romance Designs prize packs to benefit other victims of Hurricane Katrina. Your bids and donations were greatly appreciated!

In other news, I accidentally sprained my wrist rather badly this week. So, needless to say, I'm having a difficult time typing...still have a clunky bandage rapped around my wrist for support.

Anyway, aside from spraining my wrist this week, one of the things I did was to buy a dollhouse kit. I've always wanted one of these, and since the one I wanted, the San Franciscan, was manufactured by Duracraft, which company went out of business this year, I decided I had better buy one while there was still one to be bought.

This is (hopefully!) what it will look like when finished:

As you can see, it's a beautiful Victorian Painted Lady.

Right now, however, it's in dozens of pieces, which my husband, John, and I carefully counted, measured, and marked last night, to be certain the kit was complete and not missing any parts.

This morning, while I was asleep, John glued the base together to make a start, and this evening, we plan to begin construction on the shell itself.

John was amused because I already know who is going to live in the house and what her story is. He said I was putting the cart before the horse, since the house isn't even built yet. I only smiled and replied, "I'm a writer. I always know my characters and their stories before I ever start putting anything down on paper. Why should my dollhouse be any different?"

He realized, then, that a dollhouse is really just an imaginary world, much like those I create in my novels. So I think this is going to be a fun project! I'll let you know how it goes.

Read: The Dollhouse - Part 3.
Read The Dollhouse - Part 2.

THE DOLLHOUSE - PART 2.

2005-12-17T15:23:00.000-06:00

As you know, sometime ago, I purchased a Dura-Craft San Franciscan dollhouse kit. If you've never built a Dura-Craft dollhouse before, the first thing you should know about these kits is that they are not for beginners and/or those who lack woodworking skills or who lack access to someone who does have woodworking skills and who is willing to assist with assembly.

Mott's Minishop has this to say about Dura-Craft dollhouses:

"Though they are complete kits, usually with everything needed to complete the house as shown in their pictures including siding and shingles, they are more complicated to put together than more expensive kits. Larger models include press-wood used in some parts of the house for walls and/or floors. Also, in some models, instead of solid wall pieces, you are given strips of wood that you must first glue together before you can tilt them up into place to assemble the frame of your house. And though several of the models come with working windows, they are NOT pre-assembled windows. You must put them together and each window and door can have as many as 10-15 individual parts. Smaller models are made from 1/8" die-cut mahogany plywood."

Fortunately, my husband, John, has built a real house from scratch, so he is fully equipped with all the necessary woodworking skills to assemble a dollhouse. Even so, assembly has been slow, not only because we've only worked on the dollhouse for short periods of time, but also because a lot of the work, while not difficult, has proved tedious and time consuming, such as assembling all the doors and windows. The actual hard part was subsequently fitting the bay windows.

Here is a photo of my dollhouse during that process:

I've chosen different colors for my dollhouse than what Dura-Craft used for its model. As you can see, I've painted my own dollhouse a deep teal, accented with garnet and seafoam green.

Because the San Franciscan has what I consider to be a couple of drawbacks, John and I have also, as we've gone along, made some modifications to my dollhouse, such as the installation of full interior walls complete with doors (Dura-Craft supplies only three-quarter walls without doors), and a large dormer in the top story, which provides a great deal more space for the smallest room. We've raised the roof on the tower, as well.

We did try the Magic Brick product Dura-Craft supplied for the foundation, but as I wasn't happy with the result, John later removed the Magic Bricks (they scraped off fairly easily), and I bought sheets of Houseworks real clay bricks to use instead. So far, we've got those on one side of the foundation, and I'm quite pleased with them, as I think they look much more realistic and far more in keeping with the scale of the dollhouse.

Once we finish bricking the other side of the foundation, the exterior of my dollhouse will finally be complete. Then we'll begin the process of installing all the electrical work, which must be done before wallpapering and otherwise decorating the interior.

All in all, I'm finding construction of my dollhouse to be an enjoyable creative experience. I'll keep you apprised of our progress.

Read The Dollhouse - Part 3.
Read The Dollhouse.

THE IDEA STORE.

2006-05-15T10:39:00.000-06:00

Read my post, The Idea Store, today at Romancing the Blog!

HOT READS, HOT RODS.

2006-04-02T14:01:00.000-06:00

We're now three races into the Formula One season. This weekend was the Australian Grand Prix, but my husband, John, said it should have been renamed the Calamity Grand Prix, as nearly half the field was out by the end of the race.

A number of crashes resulted in the safety car having to be dispatched around the track four times. Even the ubiquitous, seven-time world champion, Michael Schumacher, suffered a rather spectacular smash-up. My favorite driver, Juan Pablo Montoya, nearly lost his own car at the exact same spot, but managed to recover, only to fall prey to electrical failure.

Still, I was happy that John's favorite driver, Kimi Raikkonen, managed to place second, at least, although we had both hoped that he would catch Fernando Alonso in the end. But it wasn't to be. From beginning to end, despite all the mishaps that occurred to many of his competitors, Alonso ran away with the race.

Although I'm a big fan of Formula One, I know that many of my colleagues prefer Nascar, which has teamed up with Harlequin to produce Nascar-themed romances.

USA Today reports that:

"It's a partnership between two extremely brand-loyal groups," says Kerry Tharp of NASCAR. "We're trying to reach out and do more to appeal to our female fan base."
NASCAR fans buy $2 billion in licensed products annually. Harlequin devotees bought 130 million books last year.
"It's a very good fit," agrees Marleah Stout of Harlequin, pointing out that women account for 40% of the sport's fan base.

I wonder what Formula One's female fan base is like---and if there will ever be Formula One-themed romances, as well. I can at least hope. *g*

THE HOURGLASS AND MANGA.

2006-04-01T14:20:00.000-06:00

Occasionally, at Romancing the Blog, I've talked about the changing demographics of the romance market and where the romance genre might be headed in the future.

Recently, I read an intriguing article on how the population of the U.S. is going to look in the coming years. The article describes an hourglass formation: top heavy with Baby Boomers, bottom heavy with the Millennium Generation, and with Generation Xers squeezed in between.

What all that means is that both Baby Boomers and the Millennium Generation are going to become increasingly important to anyone with a product to sell, and that includes publishers and authors.

Already, we know that Baby Boomers, who have traditionally formed the core of mass-market paperback buyers, have turned more and more to hardback and trade-paperback formats instead, which have larger type that is easier for aging eyes to read. But as Baby-Boomer readers make the transition from mass-market paperbacks, they are not being replaced by their younger counterparts from Generation X and the Millennium Generation. So both publishers and authors need to find new avenues to reach younger readers.

Not long ago, I received my copy of Harlequin's Worldbeat newsletter in the mail, interested to see that Harlequin is branching out into the manga market.

Harlequin and Dark Horse Comics---the world's leading publisher of licensed comics material---have teamed up to publish Harlequin books in manga format in the United States, Canada, U.K. and Australia. Mangas (literally meaning "cartoons" or "comics" are stylized graphic novels that originated in Japan and are read right to left. Dark Horse is publishing manga adaptations of six top-selling Harlequin titles under the Harlequin Ginger Blossom banner.

The article goes on to say that the Harlequin Ginger Blossom banner is composed of two lines, one (Harlequin Pink) for younger readers and one (Harlequin Violet) for "more sophisticated readers," and will be published "approximately every three months."

In addition, according to the April 2006 issue of RWA's Romance Writers Report, Dorchester Publishing is "currently seeking manuscripts for a new line of romances, due to be published in 2007."

To be packaged with modern anime or manga-style covers, these romances will be targeted toward a younger, hipper audience than old-style traditionals. While the content can be of any subgenre of alternative romance (paranormal, futuristic, fantasy or other), the books will feature a young woman (18-25) stolen from her normal life into an alternate universe---a universe that challenges all she thought she knew.

It will be interesting to see how these various forays into the manga world perform for the romance genre.