Steampunk Lincoln from fanpop.com

For the past two weeks I have been researching the steampunk genre. I started because I was curious about what the genre was all about.

What precisely is steampunk? Simply put, steampunk is a science fiction/fantasy genre that centers around the mystique of steam powered engines and clockwork mechanisms, which is most commonly found in a Victorian (or Victorian-like alternative universe) setting. A more intense perspective on the genre can be found on Katiebabs’ 3-part blog series.

This genre looks fun. And funky. And totally intriguing. So, now I feel punk’d –steampunk’d, that is.

I think I’ll have to write one.

What a delightful new (to me!) author.  I downloaded The Wicked West to my Kindle on release day because of some glowing reviews of the authors on other sites I follow. Thought a short story –and a Western, to boot! –would be a good way to try this new author.  Boy, was that a great idea!

The Wicked West is the story of Sherriff Hale and Lily Anders. Hale struggles to come to terms with his sexual impulses. Lily’s just looking to start over and indulge in some fun with her sexy neighbor. If you’re looking to get a taste of a BDSM erotic story, I highly recommend as the subject is handled with tact and sensitivity. Top notch storytelling!

I love to ‘discover’ a wonderful new author that I can follow. AndVictorica Dahl (http://www.victoriadahl.com/) is the latest addition to my list.

One of my favorite historical romance writers –Elizabeth Hoyt –is offering a serial novella for your reading pleasure.  

Chapter Two is available from her website.  Enjoy!!

Wow.

It seems amazing that an entire year has almost passed by since the last time I went a little nuts and decided to try to write a novel inside of 30 days. 

And, yet, here we are again. Three weeks before the kickoff of NaNoWriMo 2008.

NaNoWriMo 2008

What is NaNoWriMo?  Quite simply, it’s a contest for novelists. It’s also unlike any other contests out there.

There are no entry fees and no judges. The contest is with yourself. The goal: to write 50,000 words within the month of November. The fun is in banishing your internal editor for the month and write with pure abandon. You have permission to write a story with plot holes the size of moon craters. You have permission to butcher the rules of grammar and punctuation. You even have permission to write utter dreck. So long as you write 50,000 words within the month you win!

This will be the 10th anniversary for NaNo. It’ll be my third year.

Have I ‘won’ and written 50k words? Nope.

How can I recommend the contest if I haven’t even won? Because the very first year I participated in NaNo I was able to finally teach myself how to truly write with ‘pure abandon’.

I used to struggle and try to get every word, every sentence, every plot point just right before I could continue. Needless to say, before long I was stuck in the bog of my story and unable to get forward motion. NaNo, in my very first year, helped me to finally break free of all of that with my writing.

Was my writing good? Nope. In fact, I ended up tossing the entire first 20k words which were a strange mix of backstory and random attempts to elude my internal editor (who I like to call Grumpy Gregory when he’s at his worst). However, the next scene was an absolutely, pure gem. A compelling opening scene that I never knew I had in me.

That’s what NaNo represents for me: a personal challenge to continue to step up my writing game. It’s hell and joy all wrapped up into one crazy event. People all over the world participate and commiserate and cheer each other on.

Unfortunately, this year I’ll be on the road for work from Oct 26th until the 7th of November, so it would be insane to even consider attempting the contest this year.

Will I do it anyway?

Probably.

In fact, I’ve already ordered the t-shirt. 

I’ve never been to a writer’s conference of any sort. They sound wonderfully eventful, informative and inspiring. And the romance conferences sound like a real treat.

This week kicks off the annual Romance Writers of America national conference in San Francisco. I won’t be going. I’m just not in a place with my writing yet that the investment seems worthwhile.

I’ll bet the writing boards will be very quiet this week.

So, what’s to do while everyone’s whooping it up by the bay?  The Not Going to Conference Conference looks like a fun alternative for those of us staying at home. There are different virtual workshops every day, so come by and check it out.

There’s always next year for the big one. Here’s wishing for a completed manuscript in time!

While I’ve been remiss in posting on this blog recently, I haven’t been neglecting my writing. I might not write every single day, but I’m writing every week and making steady progress.

I’m also the closest I’ve ever been to finishing a manuscript. It’s exciting and scary all at the same time! It’s amazing how much I have learned throughout this process and I’m not even done yet.

Already I know that this ms is going to need a lot of work once done. Some of the work will have to be surgically removed because it’s really bad or the story has simply changed since I wrote earlier parts. There’s also the need to go back and add scenes and plot points in order to make the story stronger and more cohesive. And I can’t wait to finish so I can get started!

As I gear up for the edits, I’ve been trying to hone my critique skills. And I’ve discovered a wonderful site that’s dedicated to crits.

CritiqueCircle.com is an online community of writers dedicated to providing and receiving quality critiques. It’s a unique and user-friendly site that works on a credit system. Simply, users earn points for completing crits and will be able to submit a work for critique by exchanging points that they earned. There’s a robust area that’s FREE for users who sign up. I’ve been poking about for a week now and I’m very impressed with the calibre of both the writing and the interaction of participants. Very professional. For advanced users, or those desiring more flexibility, there is an optional pay-area that’s full of some wonderful added features.

However, it’s not at all necessary to pay for the service. The basic fee-free site is robust and addictive –I can see that I’ll be spending a lot of time there, learning and honing my ms. Drop by and give it a try!

I got it!

It was six long weeks in the Amazon-Kindle-Circle-of-Hell, but now I have the Kindle I’ve coveted in my hot little hands!

Now that I’ve got a solid week of use under my belt, I feel I can give the device a fair review. So, here goes.

My first impression? The Kindle, much like me, is simply not photogenic. It’s much smaller than it looks in photos. It also looses it’s clunky, outdated feel in person –it’s more svelte and modern in person. It’s also darker than I thought, all in shades of eggshell and gray; very different from the whitened photos but not unpleasant.

It’s very intuitive. Yes, those long, long buttons on the side are easy to bump if you try to hold it by the side edges. I’ve found that if I keep it mounted in it’s cover it’s easy to hold there with a natural resting place for your fingers, so page turns are a discrete click with barely a thought.

The cost of ebooks for the Kindle vary from FREE books through Project Guttenberg to reduced pricing for recent releases. I’ve also found some great discounts for bundled ebooks –Harlequin is selling the monthly pack of 6 Blaze releases for $9.99, or 60% LESS than the same package for sale directly from the publisher on the eharlequin site.

I also traveled this week with my Kindle and loved the ease of use. I simply made sure the antenna was turned off and clicked my way single handedly though a fun story while I waited for the plane, waited for an appointment and waited to get sleepy at night.

All in all, I LOOOOOVVVE my Kindle. It’s fun and easy to use and I want to carry it everywhere. The only downside I can see right now is that I’ll be reading even more than I usually do, so hurry up Amazon and keep the new novels coming to Kindle format!

Pounds (£), shillings (s) and pence (p) made up the basics of British currency in the Regency period. Traditionally, money was issued in coins however there were bank notes in use, issued by various banks. Bank notes were pre-printed like modern day money however each one was filled in by hand upon issuance with the date, name of the payee and the cashier’s signature.

4 farthings = one penny

12 pence = one shilling

Ten shillings and sixpence (“ten and six”) = half a guinea

Twenty one shillings = one guinea

Copper/Bronze Coins

1/8 d                half farthing

¼ d                  farthing

½ d                  half penny                     “ha’pence”, “hap’ney”

Silver Coins

1 d                   penny                           “copper”

2 d                   twopence                     “tuppence”

3 d                   threepence                   “thruppence”

4 d                   groat

6 d                   sixpence                       “tanner”

12 d                 shilling                          “bob”

2 s                    florin

2 ½ s                half crown                    “half a crown”

5 s                    crown                          “bull”

Gold Coins

10 s                  half sovereign               “ten bob”

20 s                  sovereign                     “quid”

21 s                  guinea

Paper Notes

½£                   1/2 pound

1£                    1 pound note                “quid”

5£                    5 pound note                “fiver”

10£                  10 pound note              “tenner”

20£                  20 pound note

100£                100 pound note

200£                200 pound note

1,000£             1,000 pound note

Want to know what it’s worth today?  The following website will convert the value of a British pound from as far back as 1830 to the current day value in US dollars.

Measuring Worth.com