Category: British countryside
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Whither shall we Wander
It’s the middle of April, and it looks like spring is finally upon us. The early flowers are poking their heads above the earth, trees are starting to bud, and while there’s still the possibility of snow should the temperatures drop a bit, any such insult would be fleeting. And, of course, in the spring,…
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‘Friendly Companionship’ in ‘Terrible Environment’
In a recent blog, we saw the importance of books to soldiers in the field during World War I and World War II. Several Jane Austen novels, as well as a book about Austen’s work, were among those. Question: How did the soldiers, sailors, and air personnel get their copies? In the first war, large…
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Avoiding the Winter Doldrums, Austen Style
Those that know me can confirm winter is not my favorite season. While it makes for an excellent time to cozy up with a book or sit and write, I’m hard pressed to agree any day that freezes the water in your eyes before you can blink is better spent outside than in. However, I,…
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This Special Time of Year
Hello friends! It’s December and I thought I would take this moment to give you a glimpse of myself. Most everyone loves this time of year regardless of your religious traditions. It seems almost ingrained in the human experience to love the cold and dark days at the end of December (at least for the…
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One Meal Away From Starving
Hi there. Hope all of you are doing great. Well, it is time once again to hear the ranting from my brain. This time, I am going to talk about food. If you didn’t already know this, I am president of a nonprofit farmers/artisan market, so I am dealing with fresh, local food items all…
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Where Our Characters Stand…
“…their lives were linked and interwoven in innumerable and often intimate ways and because this…land shaped all who lived along its rivers, by its swamps and on its islands and sandy hills, even as those who lived there shaped the land itself.” Erskine Clarke, Dwelling Place All-too-often we see Austen in terms of interiors: a…
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Modern Mudlarks
I am slowly but surely working on my latest bit of JAFF. Due to my health, this is the first time I have used what is referred to as “pantsing,” or “writing by the seat of your pants” as opposed to having a clear-cut and detailed outline. There are all sorts of reasons for this,…
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He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me!
Sending or bringing someone flowers has ever made the recipient feel special. But for a fastidious gentleman following the rules of polite society and not wanting to excite expectations, what bouquet might he gift a young lady of his new acquaintance?
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Tunbridge Wells and Textured Settings
One of my favorite things about writing JAFF is researching new places for my characters to visit. I have only been to England once, when I was thirteen, and sadly I hadn’t yet fallen in love with Jane Austen. My older sister was doing watercolors of cottages and ecstatically pointing out literary connections to almost…