I've finished the second draft of Christmas with You, book 2 in Malcolm and Louise's series. It's on track for a July release date. đChristmasđ in July and all! It takes place immediately after One Day with You.
I'll announce here and my newsletter when its released!
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In Smuggler's Captain, Nadia is a smuggler of fine goods from mainland Europe, China, and India. She is also vehemently against slavery in any form and refuses to trade with the Americas or the British East India Company. She forges her own contacts. Today we'd call them fair trade.
Here are a couple links along with a book I used for research in writing this story. This is far from an exhaustive list of resources and I am far from an expert.
Slavery during the Regency period (janeaustendetectives.com)
When I think of the French fleeing the Revolution, I think of The Scarlet Pimpernel. (The 2 movies I watched, not the book which had a terribly racist section they didn't add into the movies.) You know, the one, the masked hero spiriting the hapless prisoners from under the noses of Revolutionary Guards and the Directorate themselves.
Most of those fleeing France did so after war broke out. Ok, these articles called them emigres not refugees, which is an interesting distinction.
During the Terror, no one was safe from scrutiny or potential execution, ultimately not even Robespierre himself. This omnipresent sense of fear inspired many of lesser means to flee France, often without much preparation and therefore no money or helpful belongings. Those who left France were a heterogeneous bunch socioeconomically and professionally, although the vast majority of migrants were men. While these people came from diverse financial backgrounds, they all more or less suffered the same poverty while traveling. In his thesis "'La Généreuse Nation!' Britain and the French Emigration 1792-1802", Callum Whittaker recounts that while leaving France one aristocrat "disguised herself as a sailor, and hid for a day in the hold of a ship underneath a pile of ropes". Also, captains and sailors saw this as an opportunity to earn a little on the side, and so they levied taxes on the emigrants, leaving them on the shores of another nation with nothing. Yet still, thousands chose this path of discomfort and destitution because it at least provided the promise of peace.
In One Day with You, Louise Ardenne flees her small fishing village in France for the relative safety of England right across the English Channel. She pays a ship's captain to smuggle her across, and has to sell everything but the clothes on her back.
Listen, I'm the first to admit maintaining an attitude of gratitude is not the easiest thing in this world. Everything seems designed to suck the gratitude, patience, and hope right out of you.
At night I try to recite at least 3 things I'm grateful for before sleep. Sometimes it's as simple as having a roof over my head and food on my table. Others it's more involved--I'm grateful for time with my dog, time with family, great co-workers. Even if I've had a great writing day, I remember to be thankful for that.
I've also started saying thank you for the simplest things. A green light? Thank you. No one at the stop sign? Thank you. A quiet day at work? Thank you.
I listen to meditation and do my best, even in conversation to find the positive. I'm really good at pointing out the positive in others. Me? Not so much. But here are a couple articles I've read over the years and I really highly recommend any video by The Meditative Mind.
How to Develop an Attitude of Gratitude - Declutter The Mind
Why an Attitude of Gratitude Is Essential (And How to Develop It) - Lifehack
I've written a little about smuggling along the British coast before. Smuggling really was something of a British past time. (Anyone watch Poldark?) All classes participated in one form or another be it the smuggling of, a one off run, or a purchaser of smuggled goods.
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| Smugglers, circa 1785 (from BBC article) |
Here's another article on it. Defying National Identities: trans-Channel Smuggling during the Napoleonic Wars, 1803 – 1815
This one is more on causes of crime from the BBC, Highway robbery and smuggling.
Horse Guards. Apparently it's 2 words, not Horseguards as I always thought, but Horse Guards, which really does make more sense. Its name not withstanding, its the building for the British Army Headquarters. It'd probably be simpler if they called it that, but not nearly as colorful!
It's one of those super cool old buildings in London I need to see if for no other reason than the history of it all.
The Horse Guards date back to Oliver Cromwell in August 1650 when he ordered Sir Arthur Haselrig, 2nd Baronet to raise a regiment of horse.
By the Napoleonic Wars:
On returning to civil duties again in 1795 The Blues were expected to maintain public order in Loughborough and Coventry; developing the doctrinal laws of absolute military necessity. They also patrolled the shoreline for smugglers.
I love the website An Historian About Town. But the Wiki page also give a bit of history.
Its function during the Napoleonic Wars was more office space. It housed the Secretary at War (War Office) and the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.
I hope you've had the chance to check out Nadia and James's Smuggler's Captain. I love their story, and hope you do, too! I'm heavy into initial edits for book 2, which picks up only a few weeks after Smuggler's Captain ends. Don't worry, this book (as all my stories!) has a happy ending. I just don't write anything else!
Here's an excerpt from Her Captain's Honor. Working on the cover and finishing up the story now! Hopefully for an August release. This is the first page from chapter 1, which isn't necessarily the finalized first page.
London, England
January 1797
Captain James St. Clair nuzzled his lover’s neck. The warm, soft spot by
her shoulder, that smelled of lavender and hope.
“Good morning,” Nadia Koltsova whispered, and he could hear the smile in her sleepy voice.
“The sun’s not
yet up.” He slipped her chemise from her shoulder and kissed her bare skin. “It
can’t be morning.”
Nadia laughed, a
low enticing sound that made him want to stay in bed with her all day. All the
days. Who needed to work? The duke could surely survive another day without his
reports.
“Open the
curtains,” Nadia requested, rolling in his arms and sliding her fingers along
his spine. “Fiona should be here shortly.”
James had no
idea how she knew when her lady’s maid would arrive, but quickly did as
requested. Stepping into the chilly bedroom air, he flung open the curtains to
show the still darkened landscape below.
“See?” He climbed
back into bed, ignoring the banked fire, and kissed her slowly. “The sun is not
yet risen.”
“Hmm.” But Nadia
didn’t turn to look outside, nor did she contest his statement. She slid her
leg along his, the warm wool of her stocking covering her own legs.
Breaking the
kiss, James looked to the windows and another day. They only had so many together
and each dawn shadowed the next. He’d soon be recalled to the army, and—then what?
He had no idea, the future was so uncertain.
France continued
to amass troops and demand concessions from its neighbors. James knew it was merely
a matter of time before Britain was again at war on the Continent.
“You’re thinking
loud enough to wake the entire house.” Nadia pressed her lips to his and
brushed her fingertips over his brow. “We still have time.”
“Aye.” He wasn’t
entirely certain he agreed there, but settled against the pillows and gathered
her into his arms.
On the bedside
table lay her kindjal, a wicked looking double-edged knife. It caught his eye,
as it often did, and James used it as an excuse to change the subject.
“Where did you
get your dagger?”
Nadia pulled
back and blinked in the still darkened room. Then she laughed, a soft sound, and
rested her head against his chest. “We’ve known each other less than a month, I
cannot share all my secrets.”
Don't you love the mythos that spring up around certain people? This is the movie I want made! According to IMDB, it's in production, so we'll see. đ€đ€
The Lioness of Brittany, Jeanne de Clisson (1300–1359). I can't remember where I first heard this story, and there isn't a lot written about her, but I absolutely love it. I use a (very shortened) version of it in One Day with You, my free short story introducing Louise and Malcolm.
From Ancient-Origins:
In the midst of the Hundred Years War between England and France, an enraged French noblewoman turned pirate named Jeanne de Clisson took to the sea with a fleet of warships. She mercilessly hunted down the ships of King Phillip VI to avenge her husband’s death. For her ferocity, she eventually became known as the Lioness of Brittany.
Jeanne and her crew were ruthless in their goal and would slaughter almost all of the crew of the King’s ships, leaving just two or three sailors alive, so that the message would get back to the King that the Lioness of Brittany had struck once again.
Jeanne de Clisson: The Lioness of Brittany (rejectedprincesses.com)
Lioness Of Brittany: History And Amazing Facts About Jeanne De Clisson - Icy Tales
I'm tired. I'm sure you are, too. It's hard keeping up with everything. What we want to do--tv shows, movies, books--and what we need to do--work, bills.
A friend of mine once said keeping the kitchen clean meant the whole house felt cleaner. And while she's right, I sometimes find it hard to keep anything in my house clean. It's so draining when I have a regular day job and writing (which I do love!) and other things I enjoy like playing with the dog or reading or watching the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series...
Those days it's harder to keep high vibe. Which is a shame since I like that feeling! I know I always say one day at a time but some days I want to sleep through them.
On Saturday April 30, 2022 (Or Sunday May 1, depending on where you live) we witnessed a partial solar eclipse. Well, witnessed if you lived parts of Antarctica, the southern tip of South America and the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. I do not, so I 'witnessed' via photos.
Omens, portents, signs (good or bad), eclipses have a long and varied history. They're still pretty cool, what with the way our solar system works, moving planets and moons into position
EclipseWise - Eclipses of History: Part 1
just so. Pretty darn cool.
Predicting the Emperor's Future
Surviving records have shown that the Babylonians and the ancient Chinese were able to predict solar eclipses as early as 2500 BCE.
In China, solar eclipses were thought to be associated with the health and success of the emperor, and failing to predict one meant putting him in danger. Legend has it that 2 astrologers, Hsi and Ho, were executed for failing to predict a solar eclipse. Historians and astronomers believe that the eclipse that they failed to forecast occurred on October 22, 2134 BCE, which would make it the oldest solar eclipse ever recorded in human history.
Precious Records of Eclipses in Muslim Astronomy and History - Muslim HeritageMuslim Heritage
Catalog of Solar Eclipses: 0001 to 0100 (nasa.gov)
NASA - Solar Eclipses of History
Solar Eclipses in History (timeanddate.com)
In One Day with You, the first in my free short story series about Malcolm and Louise, Malcolm uses a private hired coach to take him and a family from London to Dover. $$$$$ right there. Since he wanted privacy, he paid for it.
Hired coaches typically took on as many paying customers as possible. The more the better, even if the passengers had to hang off the back of the carriage. Money brought privileges! Or should that be bought...
Here are a couple sites on travel in Georgian/Regency England.
Historical Hussies: Carriages and Coaches in Regency England
A Regency Era Carriage Primer - Kristen Koster
Coach Travel in Regency England: Stage and Mail Coaches - Donna Hatch
Regency Fashion: Carriages, Coaches and the Barouche – Regency Reader (regrom.com)
I know things don't change overnight but come on! A little change? Please? Positive--I should be clear here. Positive change please.
How do you get through your days?
The Lady's Pirate Excerpt 2 : ✔️Man in distress ✔️Allies to Lovers ✔️Sexy times ensue “You’re still here,” she said into the dark...
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