While researching my next book, I wanted to know about the effect of the Gold Rush on the indigenous people who lived in California.
I needed to know more about the Nisenan People. For over 10,000 years, they lived in prosperous harmony with the land and its animals. They were “a vibrant, sophisticated nation of people.”
I then discovered a connection to my older daughter that amazed me.
Is everything mysteriously connected? Read More »
I recently came back from the Romantic Novelists Association conference, held in the beautiful Royal Holloway university college on the edge of London. It was my fourth RNA conference and I’ve been thinking about what I’ve learned over the years. I hope my top tips will help you,
How to survive a conference: 5 Top Tips Read More »
When gold was discovered in California in 1848, I expected it to be front page news. How was it actually first announced? And why in this mysterious way?
The strange way a world-changing event was announced Read More »
I love maps. I keep a road atlas in the car and for years resisted the new-fangled corner-cutting of Satnav (although I’ve learned to embrace that particular technology). Here’s how one map got me into trouble. In the early days of researching To The Wild Horizon, I downloaded this map from Wikipedia, drawn in 1907. I
How the wrong map led to re-writes Read More »
How I look back over the previous year and plan for the next one. The difference between dreams and goals
Using the peaceful time between Christmas and New Year to look back and look forward Read More »
Thorstein Veblen coined the terms conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure in 1899. Here I explore the concepts, and link the Gilded Age industrialists to today’s tech billionaires.
A Nineteenth Century Concept still with us today Read More »
I have been thinking about my own use of real places in my books. In Under A Gilded Sky I had a clear picture of various locations in my head. But I wanted to anchor as many scenes as possible in real places.
LET’S GET REAL – using real locations in historical fiction Read More »
My novel has this dedication: For my daughter Rebecca, whose bravery and determination inspired this book. 1991 -2018. I thought I might tell you more. When I was breastfeeding my daughter, I got lots of reading done. For night feeds I couldn’t read in the dark, and a strange thing happened. The stories started to
Why I wrote Under a Gilded Sky Read More »
One of the attractions of writing about the dawn of the Gilded Age was that I love the shape of the dresses worn at that time. For several decades in the mid 19th century, American women’s dresses had been a one-piece with a tight bodice and bell-shaped skirt. In the 1870s this all changed. Influenced
What Women Wore : could you cope with a bustle? Read More »
In the opening of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mr Bingley causes a stir by being worth £5,000 a year. He is then eclipsed by the even bigger catch – Mr Darcy – who is rumoured to have £10,000 a year. Yes, £10,000! But what do these sums actually represent? (As a side observation, Mr
Women barbers, summer farm hands and auctions – researching money Read More »