Refilling the well

At this time of year I slip away to Turkey to visit family and friends. The change of scene and the kind welcome is always very refreshing. It helps enormously to shake me out of a tired routine and doubts about the latest WIP.

My current WIP is set in Istanbul, when it was Constantinople. I wanted to write a story about Lady Hester Stanhope but not with her as heroine. Bit by bit the elements have come together and she plays an important role without in any way compromising her character or the events of her stay in Constantinople.

Staying with family and living in Turkish society is also providing material for background events and characters. And of course, there are the usual holiday pleasures of blue sea and sky, the fragrant pinewoods and the scent of the myrtle bushes that grow around my little house.

Time for a swim....and then tea - in a tulip glass - under the pine trees.

The Sharpe Compendium • A great source of Regency era information with LOTS of Sharpe.

Regency era costumes, uniforms, weapons, transport, Army info, recipes, and lots more. All with photos galore of Sharpe and his men. Enjoy!

 http://sharpecompendium.net/wp/
#The Sharpe Compendium

 • Everything you wanted to know about Richard Sharpe but were afraid to ask.

Thomas Hope & the Regency style - Victoria and Albert Museum

Thomas Hope & the Regency style - Victoria and Albert Museum

                 

                       The conservatory steps

This is what a Romantic novelist looks like

Writing Awards

Thames Valley Writers' Circle is a supportive and energetic group that welcomes anyone who wants to write - in any genre and at any level. And as a bonus, we regularly invite members to contribute to an anthology which our webmaster patiently and painstakingly crafts into an attractive book.
This year our new anthology: 'Pick and Mix: a mouth-watering selection' was entered into the national competition run by Writers' News and the David St John Thomas Charitable Trust.
To our delight, it won first prize [from thirty entries]. To our even greater delight, it was also judged to be the 'Winner of Winners' overall in the competition, which consisted of fiction, non-fiction, self-published books, poetry, young adult and children's books, as well as anthologies.

http://www.thamesvalleywriterscircle.org/

Lily of the valley

In the language of flowers, the lily of the valley signifies the return of happiness. Legend tells of the affection of a lily of the valley for a nightingale that did not come back to the woods until the flower bloomed in May.

On 1st May, traditionally, women sell bunches of lily of the valley in the streets of French towns. Young men buy them to give to their sweethearts.

23rd April : Dragons and maidens...and St George

Y Ddraig Goch

This dragon is a symbol to fire the heart of anyone with Welsh blood in their veins. Here he is "passant" in heraldic terms, signifying greeting and [maybe] welcome. Of course he welcomes you in. Why not? He can eat you later.
The Welsh dragon is a Celtic symbol of great age and its origins are lost in legend. It is said that Romano-Welsh soldiers used the red dragon on their flag in the Fourth Century. The dragon is also tied into the legend of King Arthur - his father was Uther Pendragon. This dragon is a symbol to unite people [except maybe at Twickenham for the rugby...]

What a contrast with the loathsome monster of general folklore. From all corners of the world, tales represent dragons as evil, heartless beasts, seeking a bed of treasure to sleep on. Here they will slumber for up to a thousand years. But let anyone invade their lair, and they will strike in terrible revenge, killing a village or so and carrying off maidens to devour at their leisure.

In comes St George, cast forever as the fearless slayer of dragons. In this picture, he is in time to save the maiden.  There's a story in here.

Happy St George's Day, everyone and everywhere. Let all your dragons [bar Welsh ones] be slain.