Wednesday's Women ~ Lexie Chambers

Wednesday is Heroine day, or Wednesday's Women. This week I'm introducing Lexie Chambers from Having Her Best Friend's Baby.

Lexie is one of those girls, that finds it easier to chat with her man friend (James Darcy) than girlfriends. In fact if she had to, Lex would find it hard to name a really close female she can talk to openly.

HEROINE:

Name: Lexie Chambers

Age: 34

Height: 6'

Hair colour: Blonde – long & wavy

Eye’s colour: Blue

Physical description: Slim, toned body, almond shaped eyes, full bottom lip, high cheekbones, and long eyelashes.

Family Affiliations: The youngest of two girls, has always been treated as a blonde bimbo by her parents and her older sister.

Career: Co-owner and head Ad designer of own Marketing business with James Darcy.

Basic Traits: Intelligent, funny, friendly, impulsive, stubborn, independent, lacks self-confidence around her family.

HER GOAL: To have a baby she can love and who will love her. Have her parent accept her for the person she is.

HER MOTIVATION: Wants to prove to her family that she is responsible.

CONFLICT: She wants to conceive her child by AI. She is afraid if she and James cross the line from friends to lovers she will lose him as a friend and a business partner.

HER CORE BELIEF: That sooner or later everyone she loves will turn his or her backs on her.

I'm still working on finding out more about both Lexie and James, as well as their story.

Sandie

Male Monday ~ James Darcy

Welcome to Male Monday. Let me introduce you to James Darcy, my hero from Having Her Best Friend's Baby.

HERO:

Name: James Darcy

Age: 34

Height: 6’ 6”

Hair colour: Black

Eye’s colour: Blue

Physical description: Athletic, with toned muscled arms and legs. Oval face, full lips, tanned complexion.

Family Affiliations: Only child parents divorced: Mother has had a sting of younger lovers and his father has been married 4 times.

Career: CEO & Co-owner of Marketing Business

Basic Traits: Strong, reliable, trustworthy, ambitious, and determined. Can be suspicious of women and their motives.

HIS GOAL: To make his business a success and to have his partner Lexie look at him as something other than just a friend.

HIS MOTIVATION: James wants to prove to his father that he can make his own way without the help of family money.
He has loved Lexie for years and she is the only woman he would ever think of settling down with and give his children the stable home he never had growing up.

CONFLICT: His father can be over powering and believes his way is always the best.
He wants to help Lexie conceive a child, but NOT via AI.

HIS CORE BELIEF: That he will never make a good husband or father as he never had an example of how to act like one, plus he is often told he is like his father.

Meet Lexie on Wednesday.

Sandie

A Contemporary Romance Novel

This is the contemporary novel I’ve been working on lately. It is also the one I have entered in the M&B New Voices Contest. Originally I was going to enter it in the Romance Writers’ of Australia High Five contest, but instead decided to use my Historical Romance for that one.

So here is the basic outline and blurb:

Title: Having Her Best Friend’s Baby

Hook: Best Friends become lovers – Marriage of Convenience

Setting: Sydney around the beach areas

Time Frame: Late October to Early July

Target: HM&B Sexy Sensation

Blurb:

Lexie Chambers and James Darcy have been friends since 1st grade and have a strong working and personal relationship. So it seemed natural to Lexie, that when she decided to have a child, that she would turn to her best friend and business partner for help.

James Darcy is less than impressed when Lexie tells him she wants to have a baby and wants him to be the father. He is even less impressed when she announces that it’s just his sperm she wants and not his body. The last thing James wants is to course problems with their friendship, so why is he so insistent that they conceive the baby the natural way?

What will taking the step from friend to lover mean to their friendship? Are they willing to pay the price?

Tomorrow I’ll post a brief character sketch for my hero James Darcy. I really like James, he is so good for Lexie, even if she doesn’t know it yet.

See ya around

Sandie

Shopping on Saturday

This was the first of my 'Shopping on Saturday' on my now defunct Historical blog.


Recently I took a workshop with Savvy Authors called 'From Farthingales to Flappers: What's in your Historical Heroine's Wardrobe', with Beth Daniels. It was all about finding the clothes for my historical heroines. Below is my shopping list from my first assignment. I had such a great time doing this workshop. 

NOTE: I had to make a guess at what things would cost.

Dressing a Duchess during Henry VIII period.

Shopping List:

Underwear ~

2pr Stockings - 50s
2 Chemises - 2p
2 Petticoats - 30p
1 Farthingale - 40p
1 Corset - 20s
1 Bumroll - 6p

Outer Clothes ~
1 Perlet - 1s
1 Kirtle - 1 pound
1 Gown - Velvet w/embroidered trim - 4 pound
Sleeves - Velvet w/sable fur - 1 pound
1 Stomacher - Velvet w/lace over - 2 pound

Day Dress ~

Satin Kirtle & sleeves - 1 pound
Bodice w/square neckline - 40p

Accessories ~

Shoes ~

1pr Gold embroidered slippers 4s

1pr Black satin slippers 2s

Hats ~

Velvet w/gold trim - 1s

Purse - 1.5d

Jewellery ~

Earrings - 2 pound

Bracelet - 50s

Carcanet - 5 pound

Ring - 8 pound

That concludes my first Historical shopping trip.

Sandie

Another Recycled Blog ~ Jane's World ~ Love and Friendship

Love and Friendship, is a series of letters, written mostly by Laura to the young daughter (Marianne) of her childhood friend Isable. This is one of Jane Austen’s early works, and I found it entertaining and full of wit, for one so young and a minister’s daughter.
These letters, I think, show Jane’s humorous side. The Republic of Pemberley, description ‘Love and Friendship’:

This tale, in epistolary form, is one of Jane Austen's Juvenilia. Love and Freindship (which is usually cited in Jane Austen's original spelling) is an exuberant parody of the cult of sensibility, which she later criticized in a more serious way in her novel Sense and Sensibility. For the main characters in Love and Freindship, including the narrator Laura, violent and overt emotion substitutes for morality and common sense. Characters who have this "sensibility" fall into each other's arms weeping the first time they ever meet, and on suffering any misfortune are too preoccupied with indulging their emotions to take any effective action. They use their fine feelings as the excuse for any misdeeds, and despise characters without such feelings.

I found myself laughing many times throughout the story at Jane’s description of situations, and I wondered where she came up with these ideas. I think, like many of Jane’s novels we wonder if she did in fact those around her to draw on her characters.

Here are the first three letters in this tale of sorry and woe.

Letter the First from Isabel to Laura

How often, in answer to my repeated intreaties that you would give my Daughter a regular detail of the Misfortunes and Adventures of your Life, have you said "No, my freind, never will I comply with your request till I may be no longer in Danger of again experiencing such dreadful ones."


Surely that time is now at hand. You are this day 55. If a woman may ever be said to be in safety from the determined Perseverance of disagreeable Lovers and the cruel Persecutions of obstinate Fathers, surely it must be at such a time of Life.


Isabel.

Letter 2nd Laura to Isabel

ALTHO' I cannot agree with you in supposing that I shall never again be exposed to Misfortunes as unmerited as those I have already experienced, yet to avoid the imputation of Obstinacy or ill-nature, I will gratify the curiosity of your Daughter; and may the fortitude with which I have suffered the many afflictions of my past Life, prove to her a useful lesson for the support of those which may befall her in her own.


Laura.

Letter 3rd Laura to Marianne

AS the Daughter of my most intimate freind, I think you entitled to that knowledge of my unhappy story, which your Mother has so often solicited me to give you.


My Father was a native of Ireland and an inhabitant of Wales; my Mother was the natural Daughter of a Scotch Peer by an Italian Opera-girl -- I was born in Spain, and received my Education at a Convent in France.


When I had reached my eighteenth Year, I was recalled by my Parents to my paternal roof in Wales. Our mansion was situated in one of the most romantic parts of the Vale of Uske. Tho' my Charms are now considerably softened and somewhat impaired by the Misfortunes I have undergone, I was once beautiful. But lovely as I was, the Graces of my Person were the least of my Perfections. Of every accomplishment accustomary to my sex, I was Mistress. When in the Convent, my progress had always exceeded my instructions, my Acquirements had been wonderfull for my age, and I had shortly surpassed my Masters.


In my Mind, every Virtue that could adorn it was centered; it was the Rendez-vous of every good Quality and of every noble sentiment.


A sensibility too tremblingly alive to every affliction of my Freinds, my Acquaintance, and particularly to every affliction of my own, was my only fault, if a fault it could be called. Alas! how altered now! Tho' indeed my own Misfortunes do not make less impression on me than they ever did, yet now I never feel for those of an other. My accomplishments too, begin to fade -- I can neither sing so well nor Dance so gracefully as I once did -- and I have entirely forgot the Minuet


Dela Cour.


Adeiu.Laura.

Here are a few of my favourite lines from other letters in ‘Love and Friendship’.

After having been deprived during the course of 3 weeks of a real freind (for such I term your Mother), imagine my transports at beholding one most truly worthy of the Name. Sophia was rather above the middle size; most elegantly formed. A soft languor spread over her lovely features, but increased their Beauty. -- It was the Characteristic of her Mind. -- She was all Sensibility and Feeling. We flew into each other's arms and after having exchanged vows of mutual Freindship for the rest of our Lives, instantly unfolded to each other the most inward secrets of our Hearts. -- We were interrupted in the delightfull Employment by the entrance of Augustus (Edward's freind), who was just returned from a solitary ramble.


Never did I see such an affecting Scene as was the meeting of Edward and Augustus.


"My Life! my Soul!" (exclaimed the former) "My Adorable Angel!" (replied the latter), as they flew into each other's arms. It was too pathetic for the feelings of Sophia and myself -- We fainted alternately on a sofa.

Then there is this one:

She had not time to answer me, for every thought was now engaged by the horrid Spectacle before us. Two Gentlemen most elegantly attired, but weltering in their blood, was what first struck our Eyes -- we approached -- they were Edward and Augustus. -- Yes dearest Marianne they were our Husbands. Sophia shreiked and fainted on the Ground -- I screamed and instantly ran mad. -- We remained thus mutually deprived of our Senses some minutes, and on regaining them were deprived of them again. For an Hour and a Quarter did we continue in this unfortunate Situation -- Sophia fainting every moment and I running Mad as often. At length a groan from the hapless Edward (who alone retained any share of Life) restored us to ourselves. Had we indeed before imagined that either of them lived, we should have been more sparing of our Greif -- but as we had supposed when we first beheld them that they were no more, we knew that nothing could remain to be done but what we were about. No sooner, therefore, did we hear my Edward's groan than postponing our Lamentations for the present, we hastily ran to the Dear Youth and kneeling on each side of him implored him not to die. -- "Laura (said He, fixing his now languid Eyes on me) I fear I have been overturned."

The spelling mistakes are those of Miss. Austen, can’t you just see her sitting at her desk writing madly as the ideas pop into her head. I wonder if she thought her novels through?

If you’d like to read the full tale you can find it here at The Republic of Pemberley


I borrowed the book of Jane’s early works from my local library, so if you’re like me and love to curl up with your book, try my library or a second hand bookstore.

Sandie

A Blog Recycled ~ Jane Austen

I know it's been ages since I last posted a blog. I've been busy, with family things, writing, and other stuff. To top it all off, I'm recycling blogs. Why? Because in my usual fashion, I get so caught up in the moment, that I don't stop to think about the work load I'm putting on myself. Yes, I'm talking about all those extra blogs I had going there for a while. You will see they are no longer on my navigating bar. That's right I've put them to bed.

So back to my recycling. Even if I do say so myself, I did have some good ideas for posts. Because I'm having trouble posting here at the moment with all that is still going on in my life, I'm recycling the posts from my now defunct blogs. First up is my look into famous or influential women in history. Who better for me to start with than Jane Austen?

Jane Austen, born December 16th, 1775 at Stevenson, Hampshire England, the seventh of eight children, and the second daughter. Jane’s life was not unlike that of many of her heroines, raised in a family on medium income, where the daughters would need to marry into money, as there was little to be bestowed upon them when their father’s died.

Jane’s father Rev. George Austen the local rector at Stevenson and his wife Cassandra (nee Leigh) by all accounts had a loving marriage. Jane enjoyed reading, learnt to draw and play the piano (although rather poorly. Sound like anyone?) 

  

 

From many of Jane’s letters to her beloved sister Cassandra, Jane came across as a girl/woman who enjoyed the company and affection of many who attended the social gathering of the time.


In one letter she writes about a mutual flirtation with Thomas Lefroy. Thomas is believed to have been Jane’s great love interest, but because he had no money of his own and the fact Jane, herself had no money coming her way, they did not pursue this relationship.

Jane write to Cassandra saying:

"Tell Mary that I make over Mr. Heartley and all his estate to her for her sole use and benefit in future, and not only him, but all my other admirers into the bargain wherever she can find them, even the kiss which C. Powlett wanted to give me, as I mean to confine myself in future to Mr. Tom Lefroy, for whom I do not care sixpence. Assure her also, as a last and indisputable proof of Warren's indifference to me, that he actually drew that gentleman's picture for me, and delivered it to me without a sigh.

Friday. -- At length the day is come on which I am to flirt my last with Tom Lefroy, and when you receive this it will be over. My tears flow at the melancholy idea."

Now that is just too sad.



 

Was this were Jane draw her inspiration for her novels? Did she cast the spiteful Mrs. Mitford as one of her characters? Mrs. Mitford’s description of Jane as "the prettiest, silliest, most affected, husband-hunting butterfly she ever remembers" sounds somewhat like Lady Catherine De Bourgh.

When Jane died 18th July 1817 at the age of 41, she life behind a legacy of wonderful novels written by a woman of great imagination and humour.

 

The inscription on Jane’s grave at Winchester Cathedral:

                                  In memory of


                               JANE AUSTEN,

                     youngest daughter of the late

                       Revd. GEORGE AUSTEN,

             formerly Rector of Steventon in this County.

            She departed this Life on the 18th July 1817,

              aged 41, after a long illness supported with

               the patience and the hopes of a Christian.

                    The benevolence of her heart,

              the sweetness of her temper, and

            he extraordinary endowments of her mind

          obtained the regard of all who knew her, and

          the warmest love of her intimate connections.

          Their grief is in proportion to their affection

           they know their loss to be irreparable,

        but in the deepest affliction they are consoled

       by a firm though humble hope that her charity,

          devotion, faith and purity have rendered

          her soul acceptable in the sight of her

                          REDEEMER.




Jane’s novels continue to fascinate readers the world over and with many either made into mini-series for television or movies, the interest in Jane’s work is sure to continue to grow.

Sandie


 

Another Crazy Month

SO you remember the idiot who booked into 3 courses while camping? Yes, well she’s back. This month I’m doing 50k in 30 Days with my RWAustralia buddies, I’ve pledged to write 50k and edit 80k, not too hard you would think right? Well that would be the case had I not also signed up for another Margie Lawson’s course ‘Writing Body Language and Dialogue Cues’, as always with Margie’s courses ‘FANTASTIC’. My problem is working out which manuscript to work on first.

Of course that would be way too easy for me, so I’ve also signed up ‘Power of the Right Question’ with Susan Meier, Make a Scene with June Diehl, Show Don’t Tell with Flo Fitzpatrick, and Heroine’s Journey: Adapting Four-Structure to the Character-Driven Story all with Savvy Authors. I LOVE Savvy Authors, so many cool and fantastic courses.

Then just to mix it up a little, I’m checking on my son and daughter-in-laws house while they are away touring Europe. Three days a week, I drive the 45 minutes to their house, collect the mail, check the house and drive home, in all it takes me about two to two and a half hours.

Thinking about this now, it may not have been a good idea to take on so many projects. But, than I’ve never been very good with organising my time. Which is why no housework is getting done around here, oh that’s right it very rarely gets done anyway. I need a genie, one that will give me heaps of great tasting low fat chocolate (because I'm on a diet) and who will do all my housework. LOL.

Until I get time to write another blog. Have a good one.

Sandie