Category: Research
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York Castle’s Role in the Final Chapter of “Lyon in Disguise” from Dragonblade Publishing (Arriving 17 December 2025)
The final chapter of Lyon in Disguise, which releases December 17 and is currently on preorder, is set around the York, England, and specifically York Castle. At the time the story is set, meaning late 1812 and early 1813, York Castle was used as a prison and a place for hanging of criminals. The last…
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Pull Out Your Cloaks and Coats
The time of the year has come to pull out the cloak, coat, pelisse, wraps, and spencers. At least, it is for those of us who live in climates that have winter from November/December to March/April and have frosted fields, snow on the ground for months on end, and the weather can remain at freezing…
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Blessed Be this All Hallow’s Eve
Given that this is one of the few posts a year that can step beyond the boundaries of the Regency time, I took full advantage of it. The lore of witches, those with mystical learned skills or powers, are mentioned in tales of old, centuries before any sect of the Christian religion was formed. “In…
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To Be An Editor
Most of what I ran across as I gathered information for this topic was in regard to final content of a text prior to publishing such as a book, newspaper or magazine. Editors typically do the following: Read content and correct spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. In other words, they look for and correct mistakes. Rewrite…
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Rules of the Road for Regency Language
Writers of Austen-based or broader Regency fiction regularly discuss the use of language by a modern writer for that period. I, too, reflect on my approach—which I considered for quite a while in my historical fiction based on Jane Austen’s life. For general language, I take the actor’s approach when preparing to play an historical…
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Murder, Theft, and Guillotines: The Colorful Lives of Jane’s Family & How They Influenced Her Novels
Murder! Theft! Guillotines! Dive into the colorful lives of Jane Austen’s family members and how they influenced her novels.
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Ghostwriting and Other Gory Tales
Ghostwriting, and other gory tales ‘Though I prefer first-rate fiction, for the last few years my reading seems to have been concentrated on letters and journals and biographies. It doesn’t bother me to read while I am writing… I mean, I don’t suddenly find another writer’s style seeping out of my pen. Though once, during…
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Vertigo in the Regency
In January of this year, after having 4 barometric migraines in 5 days, I found myself on the floor in my library, vomiting into the trash bin. For the next two weeks, I was told I had positional vertigo, but they didn’t want to treat it beyond medications to control the dizziness and nausea until…
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What Did Jane Austen Look Like?
What did Jane Austen look like? No one really knows. Which is to say: We know fairly precisely her size and shape, but only a little of what her face looks like. A forensic analysis done by clothing expert Hilary Davidson in 2015 details Austen’s figure. Davidson has since written books on Austen and Regency…
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Apples Here, There, and Everywhere!
While the harvest season has those on tenant farms working to bring in crops, it has those in London enjoying fresh produce and an opportunity for seasonal dishes. From pumpkin or squash soup to roasted corn, the imagination might take a cook anywhere with such bounty. Fruits included pears, grapes, nuts, strawberries, cherries, melons, green…