Monthly archive

April 2010

Thursday, April 29, 2010

In which we bid Blogger goodbye!

Today's post is my last at Blogger. The Great Blog Migration--it just seems like it should be capitalized, doesn't it?--begins tomorrow, and I hope to have received all of my new log-in information this weekend and be back to blogging regularly starting Monday. The change to you, dear reader, is that if you want to leave a comment on the new blog, you will have to create a log-in ID, just as you did here at Blogger. That's it! Everything else will be muchly the same, and all of my files will be on one server. (Which is far more tech than I actually want to know, believe me.) I am crossing fingers and toes that the Great Blog Migration will mean that my tweets and Facebook updates will no longer lag by a day, and that my photos will upload properly! (FYI, I haven't the faintest notion of whether the past year's posts on Blogger will still be available as an archive, or if they will disappear into the ether, so by all means, if there's an entry you want to revisit or link you want to be sure to save, go and find it now.)

In the meantime, you might want to check out the delightful new spot for booklovers, Paperback Dolls. I guest blogged for them today on the subject of my Texas heritage. Enjoy--and I will see you at my new bloggy home! (Remember, you will be able to find me at www.deannaraybourn.com/blog or by going to the main page at www.deannaraybourn.com and scrolling down to the blog link at the bottom.)
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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

In which you might have missed me

because I certainly missed you, my dears! I am still playing dodgeball with blogger--it wasn't speaking to my server, yada yada, and as of May 1, as I've said, it will no longer be hosting my blog. I don't know details of the transfer, or even where I'll be blogging, but I will keep you posted the minute I hear something. Keep checking back, and be sure to use the main page of the website with its blog link if everything else fails. (It's all very Daniel Day-Lewis in "Last of the Mohicans", isn't it? "Stay alive...I will find you!")

So last week was the big vacation, and OH MY. Hasn't Vegas changed in the past decade or two? The husband has been there recently on business, but I haven't, and it came as a shock to see how built-up it's gotten. (And how close the mountains are. Seriously, how did I forget there are mountains looming almost at the edge of town?) I suppose it wasn't a very good idea to schedule my annual physical for this morning after a week of modest hedonism--the doctor took one look at my back and said, "Do you sunbathe?" Oops. Um, no, except at the Venetian pool where the bell tower rings the hour and there are pool attendants delivering chilled herbal towels. I mean, if they had poolside cocktail service I would be there STILL.

And my weight, not surprisingly, is up a pound or two after eating our way through some extremely good restaurants. Unexpectedly, the best meal we had was lunch at Canaletto--limoncello, pears and prosciutto, a gorgeous salad, and pasta Bolognese. And a breadbasket the size of my head. We had dinner at Delmonico's one evening and it was delicious, but by that point, I had eaten so much rich food that I would have been perfectly happy with some celery and a wheat cracker. If we'd stayed another day, I probably would have come home with gout. Or an inflamed liver. Or any of the other woeful maladies of the overfed and overwatered. But it would have been worth it just for the beignets at Bouchon alone. (If you find yourself with a morning in Vegas, pawn your children for breakfast at Bouchon. I'm not kidding. You can always win the money back at the slots. You'll thank me.)

The Venetian, besides the lovely pool and superb restaurants, has a shopping arcade where I spotted the MOST gorgeous gown. (I was RITA shopping, you understand.) It was black and mermaidy in style, made of ruched tulle, which sounds vile, but I promise was exquisite. I went to try it on and the sales clerk informed me it was one of a kind and my size. And $9200. That's $9200 AMERICAN DOLLARS. I laughed and told her it was beautiful but that was SO not going to happen. I don't care if I win the lottery, I am never going to spend that much on a dress I plan to wear once. I could buy a CAR for that.

So I pootled off, and wouldn't you know, I found a dress almost identical, but many, many dollars less. Almost nine thousand of them, in fact. I tried it on, fell passionately in love, and now I have a dress and can still send my daughter to college. It's a win for everybody. (And if she decides to wear it to prom in two years, I will actually be making money.) Come to think of it, I did make money in Vegas. I kept finding hot slot machines, and now my husband thinks I have mystical powers because I would point to one and say, quite mysteriously, "This one is getting ready to pay." And it did. Three times. Then I went cold, but hey, it was fun while it lasted.

But enough about me, darlings. What have YOU been up to? Oops, just a little more about me--I want to plug the book festival being hosted by the Danvers Public Library in Danvers, Massachusetts. If you're in the greater Boston area--or not and just like a long car ride--come and be a part of the fun! Details on the Tours page that you can find by clicking on the Author page.
Thursday, April 22, 2010

In which my theme song is "Happy, Happy, Joy, JOY!"




Last week, lovely reader Jackie sent me a set of photos she had taken of herself in full Lady Julia rig! She commissioned a costumer and milliner to make a gown and hat from a description in Silent on the Moor, and the results are truly spectacular. Her dressmaker is the extraordinary Christine Hall, and her milliner is doing gorgeous things over at Topsy Turvy Designs. (I am warning you, do NOT click on those links if you don't have time to spare, because you will seriously fall down the rabbit hole. I could spend hours marveling at the pretty.)Jackie's friend, Michael Haight, a wonderfully talented photographer, took the pictures, and you can learn more about him here.

I am tremendously grateful to Jackie for sharing the pictures, for two reasons. First, they are just too lovely for words, and I am always amazed and humbled when readers are inspired by Julia Grey books to go and do something creative for themselves! I always say that my Julia Grey is mine, but the Julia Grey you read is yours and both are entirely valid. It's such a thrill to see a reader's take on how Julia would present herself. (And I was a little spooked that Jackie accessorized this ensemble with a peacock fan because there happens to be a decidedly different peacock in Dark Road to Darjeeling...) So, bouquets of thanks to Jackie and everyone else who worked so hard to make something so beautiful and let me share it with my readers.

*Please note, I'll be appearing on Anjuelle Floyd's BlogTalk Radio show, Book Talk, Creativity, and Family Matters on Saturday, April 24 at 3pm ET. You can click on the link above to listen, or phone in if you have questions to ask. The call-in number is 347-215-7740. See you there!

(Housekeeping note--this blog was supposed to post last Monday, but my website's server is in a fight with Blogger, and woeful things have happened as a result. Also, please note that as of May 1, my blog will no longer appear on Blogger because they are eliminating the publishing platform I use. I have no idea how the transition is going to take place, but you can always find me by going to the main page of the website, www.deannaraybourn.com and scrolling down to the blog link. If you click on your bookmarks and I'm not there anymore, just click around and you'll find me, I promise!)
Saturday, April 17, 2010

In which we talk about writing music

From time to time the topic wanders to writing music. It could also be knitting music or painting music or music to detail your car by, I suppose. Some of you have offered great suggestions--much appreciated!--and some of you have been interested in what is hanging around my ipod. I always lay in a supply of new music for each book. I mix it with some of my old favorites. (The soundtrack to "Last of the Mohicans" is superb writing music.) Last week I ordered a few new CDs to add to the mix. Here's what just got loaded onto the ipod:

*"Pride and Prejudice: Music from the Motion Picture". I was watching the movie with Keira Knightley the other day and it suddenly occurred to me that I had entirely overlooked getting my hands on the soundtrack--something I rarely do when it comes to Jane Austen movies.

*Sherlock Holmes: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Not all of the tracks will work because some of them are very fast-paced, but the music is interesting and would make a superb background for writing an action scene.

*"Becoming Jane: Original Score". Lovely.

*"Brideshead Revisited: Original Score". I haven't yet seen the film--my loss, I'm sure, as I love Emma Thompson--but the soundtrack is superb. A little sad, which is sometimes just right for working.

I also bought several tracks by ES Posthumus. You'll recognize lots of their music as movie trailer pieces that are superb, but seldom featured on the actual soundtrack. This was a reader recommendation, and a fabulous one.

And you? Any new gloriousness to share?
Friday, April 16, 2010

In which we ponder fashion

Historical fashion, that is. Lately it seems everywhere I look, fashion is casting an eye to the past. There was a stab at a Watteau train on "Project Runway" last week, steampunk corsets were featured in a catalog that popped in my mailbox--even Forever 21 is getting into the mix. I saw flirty little tulle skirts in the window at my local mall, a pleasantly trashy take on Degas. And I started thinking about the movies I've seen that feature incredibly delicious clothes--the brocade confections of Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette", all of the alluring white lawn in any Jane Austen adaptation. And I think we've been robbed.

I know it must have been horrifically uncomfortable to wear most of those things. Well, perhaps not the Empire styles of Jane Austen's time. Most of those girls look as if they were wearing their nightgowns. And one isn't really surprised that this high-waisted, casual look was the result after the towering powdered headdresses and panniers of the late 18th century. But still. Historical clothing is unspeakably gorgeous, all those feathers and swathes of costly lace that were doubtless crafted by blind nuns. (For a peek at a true lace-aholic, check out the profile of Rita Lydig in Annette Tapert's The Power of Style. It takes rather a lot of nerve to wear 11th century altarcloths as tunics, don't you think?)

And I think men are missing out as well. Besides Darcy's obvious aloof charm, I think it's his wardrobe that attracts us. Flowing white shirts, preferably dampened by a dip in the pond, and skintight breeches are an arresting look. They can take a milquetoasty sort and make him irresistible, while an already handsome man becomes a threat to public safety. (More than one of us might end up wandering beneath the wheels of a passing carriage while admiring a tight thigh, I suspect.)

How much nicer we would all look if we went around in silks and velvets and ribbons rather than Juicy Couture tracksuits and gym shorts! I strongly suspect that loosening our standards in what we wear has resulted in loosening our standards of polite behavior. I'm not talking about morality--what you get up to with our without your girdle is entirely your own business. But I think it's entirely likely that when men no longer felt the need to go out without their hats and neatly-pressed handkerchiefs, they left something of their best manners behind too. And the same goes for us! There's an entire generation of young women who think that flip-flips are the same as shoes and that it is perfectly acceptable to flash their nethers as they exit a car because Britney and Lindsay do. (Ironically, women have only worn underwear for a very short period of history, but one must respect the Bennet girls for never showing off what they oughtn't. Even Lydia.)

I'm not naive. I know it would be monstrously uncomfortable and hideously expensive. I know the vast majority of us would have to make do with grotesquely shapeless garments of homespun because only the aristocracy could afford beautiful clothes. (And by law, they were the only ones permitted to wear them for many centuries.) I also know it would throw us back into gender roles that were too restrictive, and nobody wants that. But just imagine the sweeping whisper of a silken train behind you, the rustle of taffeta petticoats, the clip of tiny pearl-encrusted heels, and the shade from a parasol thick with fringe. Being held by a gentleman wearing black breeches and an inviting smile. Now, doesn't that sound nice for just a day or so?
Thursday, April 15, 2010

In which I know paella


Well, not really, but at least now we've been introduced. Yesterday I slipped away from the desk for a few hours to take a paella class, and goodness me, but wasn't it nice? There was wine, there was tapas, and there was a paella cooked by somebody who isn't me, so all was right with the world. I was too busy sucking down olives and sangria to take a picture, but galpal Jomie was at the ready and photographed it before we descended like locusts. Isn't it beautiful? And since we have a paella theme going today, I am including a video clip that makes me laugh like a loon every time I see it. Yes, that is Jamie Oliver. Dressed like a prawn.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010

In which people just amaze me

No, really. I've mentioned before how wonderful Nora Roberts has been to me, and I say nice things behind her back a LOT. Now I have someone else to praise loudly. Yesterday a reader alerted me to the fact that Carolyn Hart did something VERY nice in the latest installment of her hugely successful Death on Demand series--she mentioned me. IN HER BOOK. Her bookselling sleuth, Annie, is ringing up a customer who is buying an assortment of "wonderful new writers" and I am listed as one of them. How fabulous is that?!?

The fact that my name is in print in Laughed 'Til He Died is pretty fantastic. (I think my Tweet referred to yesterday as a steaming pile of awesome, covered in awesome sauce, with a six-layer awesome torte for dessert.) But what's extraordinarily lovely is that I also get--entirely as a bonus, you understand--a very good lesson in how to be successful. And by that I don't mean how to acquire success, but how to WEAR it. Nora Roberts and Carolyn Hart top the bestseller lists regularly. They could just sit home and count their money and break in their diamond shoes, I expect. But they don't. Instead they do really nice things for people they have NO reason to help except that they ARE nice. I think it says something huge about a person's character when they are gracious to people who can't help them, so in my book, these two women are about as wonderful as it gets.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010

In which we talk books

If you are looking for a nicely juicy book to sink your teeth into, you might well enjoy Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo. I tore through it last week, and although it is non-fiction, it reads like a thriller. The book chronicles the nefarious deeds of John Drewe, a con artist who managed to dupe the art world for several years, sending commissioned forgeries into circulation and faking the provenance of each piece to lend authenticity to his cons. (The most fascinating tidbit is that he did so by putting material into museum archives, rather than taking it out.) Read an excerpt here.
Monday, April 12, 2010

In which we are talking books

In the comments section of Saturday's blog, reader Con requested that I post a link to the Guys Lit Wire book drive to benefit underfunded reservation schools. (Guys Lit Wire is a blog devoted to bringing books to boys, let the choir say "Amen!") Native American reservation schools are so often in need, and no child should go without books EVER. And since I am Native American (Creek), I am particularly happy to pass along the link to the book drive. Guys Lit Wire has done all the heavy lifting; all you have to do is click on the link to one of the online retailers and follow the directions--all from the comfort of your chair, if you're so inclined. Thanks for passing this along, Con!
Saturday, April 10, 2010

In which yesterday was a bit trying

For reasons that are so dull I won't even begin to torment you with them, yesterday was a bit poo. One of those gray, blah days that aren't dramatic or truly awful, just a bit poo for lots of small, niggling reasons. And then a reader emailed me and absolutely made my month. I hope to be able to share the content of what she sent--they are photographs that are really stunning and I'm waiting on permission to post them--but I could not wait to blog about how wonderful it is to get something unexpected. And I wonder, who in your life could stand a little wonderful? Is there someone you could let bask in your approval for just a bit? It could be an email, a note, a phone call; two minutes out of your day to say to someone else "You're fab. I just wanted you to know I noticed."

Lately I've been musing on the notion of giving what you lack. It's a terrifying principle, really, but it fits perfectly with my notions of how things happen to work in the universe. (See Shinn, Florence Scovel.) The idea is that if you are lacking in money, give some away. If you are lacking in time to yourself, give your time to someone else. If you think you have nothing to wear, donate some clothing. The rationale behind this is that whatever you think you lack, you're probably wrong. We live in a state of abundance that we often cannot recognize because we're too busy comparing ourselves to those we think are more successful. We perceive ourselves as lacking, but in giving we discover that we aren't lacking at all. It's our perception that is wrong, not our situation. Interesting concept, no?

And since so many folks seem to struggle with feeling undervalued or underappreciated, I thought it might be nice to consider putting value and appreciation out there because it just might find its way back to you. And if you need a little something to warm you up, please know that I appreciate you madly. No, really. I am tremendously pleased to have so many readers who drop by my little corner of the blogosphere, and I thank you for sharing a few minutes each day here. I'm already thinking of a few others I can appreciate today, how about you? Drop a comment in the blog if you like, letting me know who in your life--teacher, child, yoga instructor, nanny, child, whoever--you plan on appreciating today. I'd love to know!

And if you are in the Newport News area, I am signing TODAY at the Barnes and Noble on Jefferson! Details on the "Tours" section of the "Author" page of the blog. I will be there from 2-4 and would be thrilled to see you there!