What are you up to?

Puma

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And that's exactly why well-written books are having trouble these days. I'm afraid it's going to get worse instead of better with the surge to e-books. Puma
 

Skibone21

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Hello and welcome! I say that like I'm even a blip on the radar - I have been around AW a few years, but don't seem to say much, and never leave the Historical fora. :) I'm in VA too, BTW.

Hedy is FASCINATING and I've often been amazed she hasn't been novelized before. A scientist and game-changer in WWII? Holy smokes, this woman's contributions resonate still today. And did you know she performed the first cinematic, ahm, "Big O" - she starred very early on in a very odd flick called "Ecstasy".

Hello fellow Virginian! Yes I love Hedy even though she wasn't used for more than sitting pretty and acting stupid a lot of the time. She was good at it and she didn't mind it so much. The beauty doesn't seem to be the same now and I get teased for all the black and white pictures of old dead ladies I have in my phone as background lol. There are plenty of crazy stories surrounding her especially the one about her hiding from a husband or boyfriend and sleeping with a man so he wouldn't tell on her. I actually have that movie in my DVD collection. Of course it wasn't an official release like they put out recently.
 

DianeL

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Hello fellow Virginian! Yes I love Hedy even though she wasn't used for more than sitting pretty and acting stupid a lot of the time. She was good at it and she didn't mind it so much. The beauty doesn't seem to be the same now and I get teased for all the black and white pictures of old dead ladies I have in my phone as background lol. There are plenty of crazy stories surrounding her especially the one about her hiding from a husband or boyfriend and sleeping with a man so he wouldn't tell on her. I actually have that movie in my DVD collection. Of course it wasn't an official release like they put out recently.

Ahh, that Hedy - a busy girl indeed. :)

Cooee, I've bookmarked your blog but didn't see a "Follow" button so my apologies I won't show as a disciple! For everyone whose blogs I've marked, I'll follow all I can - this weekend I have some time set aside for working on revisions, and I'll do my follows too! I'll also add to my links on my own sidebar.
 

cooeedownunder

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The Follow Button is on the right hand side - two under my photo icon. If you click on the one that looks a bit like animal paws it brings up a follow box.
 

Dave Hardy

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Been slack as all hell. I've been editing a bit on a forthcoming Sword & Sorcery, and doing some piddling promotion for my novel.

Starting this weekend I'm back to work on my Natchez Trace/Mississippi outlaws & pirates saga. I feel like I've taken a wrong turn or two (or forty) and need to straighten the road before I can move on.
 

DianeL

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Have gotten some good revisions done this weekend, but of course it never feels enough. Word count is significantly down, tightened the Author's Note (-slash-glossary), and have been getting into dialogue but count is still going down slowly rather than up. Ugh, always a million miles to go, though ...
 

pdr

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Just to note.

The co-op's launched. We're linking up with those of you who offered blog support.

Fingers and toes crossed for us please!
 

DianeL

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I've followed everyone who has a follow button, bookmarked the rest, and have linked several posts. If I missed following anyone, please let me know.

On topic: I am hating life, trying to do a job which requires help, with no help. Gah.
 

Tom from UK

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I'm looking for blogs to link to. They have to be principally about historical stuff or historical novels and they have to have been appearing for long enough that I know they won't vanish as soon as I recommend them. I've linked to angeliz2k because her (truly impressive) blog is the sort of thing that is likely to interest people who read blogs by historical authors. Are there any others like that?

I'm not making a general value judgement about blogs - just about the blogs that I want to link to. My blog has enough random photography and chat about poets that I like. I need to keep some sort of focus.

EDIT: Nan Hawthorne has just joined AW. Her blog - http://www.nanhawthorne.com/ - looks pretty much spot on the sort of thing I'm talking about. I probably ought to add that.
 
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SquareSails

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Great idea, Flicka. Thanks for starting the thread.

I think I probably have the least amount of formal education of anyone here -- high school diploma only.

My current WIP is set in 12th century Hiberno-Norse Ireland and Scotland. MC is Somerled, progenitor of the Lords of the Isles.

I made a major blunder recently; I sent five queries before my book was ready. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Soooo, after a request for a full that resulted in a very nice rejection, I took some time to read about opening chapters, hooking the reader, etc. I downloaded and read fourteen bajillion opening chapters on my Kindle Fire and peeled down their layers. Almost all of them broke the rules mentioned in the how-to books, which left me more confused than before I started. It also infected me with the worst case of writer's block in the history of writer's block. For three weeks, I could do nothing. I even tried to list goals for my opening scene, just to get something on paper. When I was finished, my list looked like this:

1.

Finally...FINALLY, I think I have pushed through it.

Looking forward to finding out more about all of you.
 

Puma

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Welcome, Square Sails. Let me assure you, you're not the only one who's jumped the gun.

Don't know if it will help you or not, but first chapters, or the opening 1,000 or so words, are always acceptable as posts in Historical Share Your Work. Sometimes it can help immensely to get some feedback from peers. Puma
 

c.e.lawson

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I'm looking for blogs to link to. They have to be principally about historical stuff or historical novels and they have to have been appearing for long enough that I know they won't vanish as soon as I recommend them. I've linked to angeliz2k because her (truly impressive) blog is the sort of thing that is likely to interest people who read blogs by historical authors. Are there any others like that?

I'm not making a general value judgement about blogs - just about the blogs that I want to link to. My blog has enough random photography and chat about poets that I like. I need to keep some sort of focus.

EDIT: Nan Hawthorne has just joined AW. Her blog - http://www.nanhawthorne.com/ - looks pretty much spot on the sort of thing I'm talking about. I probably ought to add that.

Hi Tom,

The History Girls is a good blog - http://the-history-girls.blogspot.com/

I think this blog gives thoughtful reviews and interesting author interviews: http://readingthepast.blogspot.com/

This is a fun one - http://twonerdyhistorygirls.blogspot.com/

c.e.
 

Sunflowerrei

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I love Two Nerdy History Girls. I really enjoy Edwardian Promenade, too.

I'm new to AW, but I've been writing for years. I realized I don't have any "writer friends," at least not since I graduated college. I was a writing major and it was great, but I feel like my real development as a writer has only come in the last couple of years since I've been out of school.

I'm revising a historical novel, currently untitled, taking place in 1800 in England. I'm thankful that this second draft is better than the first draft and hope that the next draft will be better than the second draft. Then maybe it'll be ready for querying. Or not.
 

c.e.lawson

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Where've you been c.e.? We've missed you. Julie and I were wondering how your Sparta WIP was doing.

Hi pdr!

I was in my cave finishing this Sparta story. I still lurked on occasion. Now the story's polished and query/synopses are done, so I started querying a couple of weeks ago. Only sent out three so far. Got one reject, one "no response means no after two weeks", and waiting on the other I just sent out a few days ago. Why aren't agents banging on my door to represent me? :) This is a lonely process, and I'm having a hell of a time figuring out what to write next (though I want it to be in Sparta - prob aftermath of Sphacteria). Will send out a few more queries today. *fingers crossed*

How are you?
 

BAY

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c.e.,

Hey, glad you finished it. Have my fingers crossed for you because I enjoyed your excerpts in SYW and posts about it.

I did revisions in my WWII historical and have a family member, history major, looking it over. I'm thinking about self publishing it. That said, after revisions on it, I wrote a horror book which pulled me out of a funk. Historicals stay with you even with fiction. I'm gearing up for another historical, as in gathering info, but I'm learning Scrivener first and hope it helps me hold the research in one place.

Keep us posted and Good Luck!
 

DianeL

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I'm looking for blogs to link to. They have to be principally about historical stuff or historical novels and they have to have been appearing for long enough that I know they won't vanish as soon as I recommend them. I've linked to angeliz2k because her (truly impressive) blog is the sort of thing that is likely to interest people who read blogs by historical authors. Are there any others like that?

I'm not making a general value judgement about blogs - just about the blogs that I want to link to. My blog has enough random photography and chat about poets that I like. I need to keep some sort of focus.

EDIT: Nan Hawthorne has just joined AW. Her blog - http://www.nanhawthorne.com/ - looks pretty much spot on the sort of thing I'm talking about. I probably ought to add that.

I suspect my blog would not pass muster for your requirements - though it is primarily historical, it is also personal, humorous, and at times free-form - but the link is in my sig if you care to inspect. So far, new follows from our efforts here are pretty thin.
 

DeleyanLee

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I think I probably have the least amount of formal education of anyone here -- high school diploma only.

Definitely not.

I check the forum daily, but I don't always comment. My areas of interest/research seem to be the odd-out, but that's OK--you guys are fascinating and great at making me peek at other times and places than I've looked at before.

Presently, I'm revising a Historical Fantasy set in Plantagenet Ireland (1205 CE). I also have a Historical Fantasy in mind for the Victorian era (Jack the Ripper), but haven't gotten the main POV character firm in my mind yet, so without him, it's not going anywhere. I also have another idea, probably set in the 19th century, but haven't nailed it down more than that yet.

I've also spent time reading about ancient Egypt (Old Kingdom preferred), 1920's America, and have lately found myself reading up on William the Conqueror and the building of the Forbidden City (I got a Pekingese last year--natural curiosity there ;) ). I never know what might catch my fancy and I'll start reading up on.

I also write straight Fantasy (contemporary)--I have a story in AW's Absolute Visions published this year. I have a deep fascination with the legendary and mythical, which covers a lot of historical events and personages.

Pleased to get to know all of you a little better. :D
 

Skibone21

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Hi guys I've been reading a blog by Martin Turnbull for months now. He is a historical fiction author that went through the query process without success and decided to try his hand at self-publishing, detailing it all. I'm not sure if you want to add his link to the list since I'm not sure he's a member, but I think it's nice to see an author documenting his struggles literally rejection by rejection and now sharing his success also. The link is http://martinturnbull.wordpress.com/. If you're writing about the 1930's-50's he gives lots of history on the places to be in Hollywood at the time.
 

cooeedownunder

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Goodluck girl. I also enjoyed your SYW posts

Hi pdr!

I was in my cave finishing this Sparta story. I still lurked on occasion. Now the story's polished and query/synopses are done, so I started querying a couple of weeks ago. Only sent out three so far. Got one reject, one "no response means no after two weeks", and waiting on the other I just sent out a few days ago. Why aren't agents banging on my door to represent me? :) This is a lonely process, and I'm having a hell of a time figuring out what to write next (though I want it to be in Sparta - prob aftermath of Sphacteria). Will send out a few more queries today. *fingers crossed*

How are you?