Mary Jo Putney

Mary Jo Putney

Patricia Rice

Patricia Rice

Susan Fraser King

Susan Fraser King

Anne Gracie

Anne Gracie

Nicola Cornick

Nicola Cornick

Andrea Penrose

Andrea Penrose

Christina Courtenay

Christina Courtenay

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Sherrie wields a sharp whip. But that’s why I need an editor. 🙂

I typed bif sky country in the post below, not big sky, and she kindly fixed it for me.

I really am lousy at proofreading. My eye-brain connection just doesn’t do that thing. I do generally get most things right first time, thank heavens, but I’m also deeply grateful for spellcheck, critique friends, and good copy editors. Spellchecking e-mail, however, feels like cheating. (I didn’t say that made sense did I? Are blogs supposed to make sense?)

Is it cheating to spell check a blog? I’m not sure yet. And it wouldn’t have helped if I’d typed bit sky, bib sky, or perhaps even bic sky. Feel free to catch the typos every time I post. I won’t do it deliberately, I promise. But I won’t spellcheck, either.

For all Canadians, happy Victoria day!

Cheers,

Jo

Let’s crack some virtual champagne!

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It’s exciting to see this get underway. With such great company, this should be fun.

I’m Jo Beverley, an English word wench, though I’ve lived in Canada for decades. I’m just back from a trip to England, visiting friends and relatives and doing research. I love to write and talk about English history.

The thing that always astonishes me about England is that there’s still a lot of open space, even though it’s a densely populated country. What’s more, because anywhere fertile has been intensively farmed for centuries if not millennia, there isn’t that much woodland to obscure views. At times it really is big sky country.

I’ll post pictures now and then, but for now, here is a picture from one of London’s famous parks — Hyde Park.

Park_1

Jo Beverley
http://www.jobev.com

Is it Soup Yet?

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When the Word Wenches approached me about the blog project, I asked two questions:  can I wear thigh-high stiletto boots, and can I carry a whip.  The answer was "Yes" to both, and the rest is history!

In real life I’m a freelance editor and writer.  In my fantasy world I get to rub elbows with my favorite authors whose books just happen to occupy a permanent spot on my keeper shelf.  (Can you spell "dream job," boys and girls?)

I’ll be working behind the scenes making sure the blog machine runs smoothly, and even jumping in with a post now and then.  We have some fun things in store for you, so I hope you’ll drop in frequently and join the discussions.  (Admit it–haven’t you always wanted to hang out with a group of wenches?)

Sherrie Holmes, site manager and chief whip yielder

Once Upon A Time…

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Once upon a time….

Don’t lots of good tales begin with “once upon a time?”  This tale started when three historical romance authors kicked around a familiar topic: to blog, or not to blog.  Blogging looked like it could be a fun way to connect with readers, but who had the time?  Not only were we all busy (isn’t everyone?), but I suspect that most writers, at heart, don’t think we’re very interesting.

            But our friends are very interesting!  A group blog would have a wider reach while reducing the amount of work per author.  It’s a rare person who can be witty seven days a week.  But seven authors working together might be able to manage it.  Particularly if some have pseudonyms, which would offer even more possibilities. 

            The first three wannabes did a wish list of other writers we’d like to blog with.  The list included authors whom we knew and admired—other long-term veterans of the storytelling business. 

            We sent hopeful invitations to the wish list.  They all accepted.  Joy!  Bliss!  Panic! 

            To make our lives easier, we also enlisted a taskmistress—a site manager who would learn the techie stuff and keep us in line.  We also found a most excellent web goddess to design a simple look with a touch of historical ambience. 

            And here we are.  All seven of us started in historical romance, or that special subset known as Regency romance.  We all still write historical romance—and proud of it!—though several of us have added other strings to our bows.  We want to chat about the writing life, interesting bits of history, and whatever takes our fancy.

            Mostly, we’d like to write about what interests you, the readers.  Blogging is an interactive activity (though not, we hope, a contact sport!)  Let us know what you’d like to hear about—comments are very easy to post. 

            Do you want to know where we get ideas?  (Everywhere, but the details are interesting.  <g>)

            Would you like a scholarly dissertation on childbirth in the early 19th century?  On the history of contraceptives?  Or how crazed writers sound when they’re on deadline and the !#$%&* computer crashes? (That is not a pretty sight!)

            Ask questions, make comments.  Let’s have fun together.

            Let the blogging begin!

Mary Jo Putney

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