Book Titles and Editoral Suggestions

The initial title Margaret Mitchell gave 'Gone with the Wind' was 'Pansy', the original name for Scarlett. Her publisher persuaded her to make the changes. Good thing she listened to her editor and the book became a best-seller.

There is a good lesson here for writers. When you land a contract, listen to your editor. Consider her advice. Just think if Margaret Mitchell had refused to make the changes, her book may have not sold as well with a title like 'Pansy', and it may not have become a movie. Another lesson is to think about your titles. You want them to have 'oomph', not be blah-say.

Someone not long ago told me she thought my titles for the book series would not bowl over readers and instead I should have titled them with the main characters role. I did not agree. After reading about Margaret Michell's changes, I am glad I chose the titles I did. So was my publisher.

Heroines and Blueberry Cobbler

There are so many ingredients that make a story good. Strong narrative and dialogue. Sensory description. I love these elements of writing, and the small additions that make a book come alive in a reader's mind.

Some of these additions are animals, pets, clothes, craft, and food. Food can express a mood, and if you are reading or writing a historical, it can transport you back in time.

Currently I am writing book 3 in the 'Daughters of the Potomac Series', entitled 'Beyond the Valley'. Here's a little snippet where I use food as a way to evolve my heroine Sarah.

          “And I am a good cook, baking mostly.”

          Mr. Sawyer’s brows shot up. “I am exceedingly fond of blueberry cobbler.”

          “I can do any task required of me, sir, including cobblers. I’ve run my own house, though a humble one.”

          “You would fit right in with my staff. My cook is in need of another pair of hands . . . .

Without giving the scene away, it seems she has hooked Mr. Sawyer with visions of blueberry cobbler and other delights on his china plate at the supper table.

I found this fabulous blog, Vintage Victuals. Here's a blueberry cobbler recipe that is to faint over.   

http://www.vintagevictuals.com/2009/05/blueberry-cobbler.html

Cover for 'Before the Scarlet Dawn'!

It has arrived!

In 1775, Hayward Morgan, a young gentleman destined to inherit his father’s estate in Derbyshire, England, captures the heart of the local vicar’s daughter, Eliza Bloome. Her dark beauty and spirited ways are not enough to win him, due to her station in life.  

Circumstances throw Eliza in Hayward’s path, and they flee to America to escape the family conflicts. But as war looms, it's a temporary reprieve. Hayward joins the revolutionary forces and what follows is a struggle for survival, a test of faith, and the quest to find lasting love in an unforgiving wilderness.

A Colonial Recipe From the Up-and-Coming Novel, 'Beside Two Rivers'.

From The Compleat Housewife, or, Accomplished Gentlewoman's Companion by E. Smith, published in London, 1754.

Instructions:

To make an Apple Tansey,
Take three pippins (apples), slice them round in thin slices, and fry them with butter; then beat four eggs, with six spoonfuls of cream, a little water, nutmeg, and sugar; stir them together, and pour it over the apples; let it fry a little, and turn it with a pye-plate. Garnish with lemon and sugar strew'd over it.

You can print this recipe out on a 3x5 card from here:
http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/food/appletansy.cfm

Some romantic inspiration.

More fodder for my files for future scenes.

100 years ago ~ July 24, 1911 ~ in my local newspaper it was reported that a young woman was rescued by a star football player. I wonder if she did not fain her trouble in order to get the attention of 'Eddie'. Kind of romantic to be saved by him, and since he was a star tackle for Princeton, this would have been big news in a small town newspaper.

Miss Elizabeth Whitter, daughter of Mr. Francis M. Whitter, of near Adamstown, who is spending the summer at Brighton Beach, N.Y., narrowly escaped drowning. Miss Whitter floated out beyond her depth and was rescued by “Eddie” Hart, captain of the Princeton football team. This is Miss Whitter’s second mishap, as on July Fourth she was rendered senseless by being hit by a floating log and was carried ashore by bathers.

This is Eddie Hart's photo and a link to a site more about him. www.collegefootball.org/famer_selected.php?id=10047

Incomplete Jane Austen

You never know, what you have tucked away in a draw may be worth a lot of money in years to come, or become a precious family heirloom passed down from generation to generation. For Jane Austen it took 207 years to find out what an incomplete manuscript was worth.

She began writing ‘The Watsons’ in 1804 after she had finished the first draft of Sense and Sensibility. She hadn’t gotten far into ‘The Watson’s’ and literary experts assume she had only written one quarter of the book in her own hand about a young girl brought up by her aunt.

For writers like myself who are fascinated with authors such as Jane, our eyes will gobble up her handwriting of this work in progress with notations and revisions. Hang on to your hat! You can see it here and read the text.

http://www.janeausten.ac.uk/index.html

Click on ‘Manuscripts’ and on the page click the manuscript you are interested in viewing. To the left will be the text typed out for you. To the right the text in Jane’s original hand.

This is an exciting manuscript. I loved reading through it, seeing how she made corrections and revisions. Imagine her sitting at her writing desk, dipping her quill into the inkwell and penning the words, her mind racing with imagery and the storyline she is so anxious to get down on paper. She had no telephone to interrupt her. No internet to distract her. It was just Jane and her imagination.

‘The Watsons’ manuscript was expected to sell at auction for as much as $490,000. But it ended up selling for a whopping $1.6 million in London this July. You can read about the auction here, and view the video of the sale.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14152092

If you read the text, please share your thoughts. Where do you think she was going with this story?