Author: mlamonica1015

Regency Valentine’s Day

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With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I started wondering how people celebrated during the Regency. So, I set out on a mission to find answers, and there were many. The internet is filled with authors and enthusiasts who have already blogged about Valentine’s Day during the Regency. So, instead of rehashing information, I’ve decided to direct you to a few of these blogs.

The first is Donna Hatch’s Valentine’s Day in Regency England. Donna talks about exchanging cards and how people of all classes celebrated. She also provides a link to an interesting blog post she wrote about the history of Valentine’s Day.

Donna Hatch also posted her Valentine’s Day in Regency England on Historical Hussies. On this one, there are pictures of Regency Valentine’s cards. I included both locations in my post because, on my screen, the text is cut off. I tried using a different browser and had the same problem. I’m not sure what the issue is because it’s the only post on Historical Hussies with that problem.

The next is A Regency Round-Up on Valentine’s Day by Kristen Koster. Kristen’s post is from 2012, and I guess there wasn’t as much information available ten years ago because she states this at the beginning of her post. However, she has some beautiful pictures of cards from the late eighteenth century, and they are similar to what people in the Regency would have given to their Valentine.  

The last one is Regency Valentines by Sabrina Jeffries. What I like most about Sabrina’s post is she has a link to making your own Regency valentines. I love this! I explored the link, which took me to Pinterest, and discovered that Sabrina has several boards like this, including one on letter writing. If you love all things Regency, then I suggest following Ms. Jeffries on Pinterest.  

How do you plan to spend Valentine’s Day this year? Are you giving handmade gifts like they did during the Regency?

2021- A Joyous Farewell.

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It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone. I don’t know about you all, but I’m a little glad to see it go. 2021 seemed like one let down after another, starting with the winter storm and ending with the phrase “Thank you for calling *** *** Customer Support.” Yep, that’s where I’ve been. I’m working customer support for a company that steals a little piece of my soul every time the phone rings. The bottom really fell out this year. I feel like I did pretty well most of the year. I held onto my optimism until the bitter end. But November really took it out of me (seriously, someone hit my Jeep in a parking lot and left the scene), and December stole what little was left. (Ironically, I’ve just been recognized for my optimism at *** ***.)

I do have some good news. The cover is finished, and the betas are reading Hudson’s story as I write this. By the time I post it, I’ll likely have their feedback. I can’t wait to hear it all. It will be so refreshing to get back to something normal. In the meantime (which is in between calls), I’m working on my next series. I’m not revealing anything until I publish Hudson’s story, though.  

So, now that all the Christmas is packed up, I’m getting back into the swing of things. I’m not giving up. Things may have gotten complicated, but this too shall pass. I’m not quitting writing. I can’t leave writing. Being away from it has been so depressing. This year I didn’t make a New Year’s resolution. I’m making a commitment to myself.

Here’s to the new year. May your 2022 be filled with blessings.

XX

Meredith

Halloween and the Regency

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It was during the Regency when Mary Shelley published “Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus.” The Creature, commonly called today Frankenstein’s monster, is a major part of modern-day Halloween. It’s used in advertising, television shows, and movies. It’s everywhere. I was putting up my decorations (Frankenstein’s monster included), which got me thinking about Halloween during the Regency. Did people celebrate it? Was it widely celebrated like it is today? Most people are familiar with Halloween’s Celtic origins and the many ways it’s celebrated today, but they’re not familiar with how societies celebrated it in the past.

Halloween during the Regency era wasn’t the big to-do like today. It was popular in areas with Celtic origins like Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, but you weren’t likely to be invited to a grand masquerade ball in London. Still, Halloween in Celtic areas was more hiring fairs, bonfires, and fortune-telling games than costume parties. Popular games included tossing apple peelings over one’s shoulder. A woman would peel an apple and toss the peeling over her shoulder. The discarded peeling was to create the initial of her future husband. Another popular game was Bobbing for Apples (a game still popular among many.) In historical times however the initials of each player were carved into an apple. Each player then retrieved an apple, and the person whose initials they drew was their future spouse.

In England, however, Guy Fawkes Day was the more popular holiday. In 1605 Guy Fawkes and a group of Catholic rebels planned to blow up Parliament. On the 5th of November, Guy Fawkes was caught before he could ignite the gun powder. This event is known as the Gun Powder Plot, and it created Guy Fawkes Day. Guy Fawkes Day was typically celebrated with a large bonfire to represent the failed attempt on Parliament.

So, if you prefer historical accuracy when reading Regency books, I advise caution when choosing one centered around Halloween. However, if it takes place in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, or a neighboring English village, it’s more plausible than a London setting. But keep an open mind when choosing. If the location is London, maybe the main character (or the host) has Celtic heritage. Furthermore, toeing the line of society is often exciting in a story.

Have you read any Halloween-themed Regency books? What did you think? Were they more historically accurate or modern? Let me know in the comments or send me an email. Happy Halloween, everyone.  

Update

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I set out to write this post to apologize and explain my absence in the virtual world and my lack of progress on producing a book, but you deserve more than apologies and excuses. So, I’m going to give you some truths. I can’t remember the last time I worked on Hudson’s story, and I can’t promise it will be out this year. For a while, I got lost writing and outlining other stories. I outlined my next series entirely, but that stopped. A series of events happened (the Delta variant hit my community hard, financial troubles, someone broke into my car, and I almost had to quit college) and I lost my drive to continue. I considered giving up writing. I can’t keep up with newsletters, social media, and blogs. I’m constantly busy in my daily life. I have to make time to write most of the time, and sometimes I’m just too exhausted. I can’t keep up. When curveballs come my way, it derails everything. This is likely the reason why I’m struggling right now. I’m too overwhelmed.

The night I quit writing completely was the night someone broke into my car. I was up that night like I am most nights writing. I was sitting on my couch working on the first book of the next series, and I didn’t hear anything. My dogs didn’t hear anything. We discovered it when my husband went to work. That didn’t sit right with me. Whoever did it could see my light on and possibly heard my TV. The incident kept me up for days and completely destroyed my creativity.

Over this past week, though, a couple of things happened. My mother-in-law paid the rest of my tuition for this semester. I’m truly blessed to have such a wonderful mother-in-law. She’s one of my biggest champions. I can’t thank her enough for this. When I discovered I couldn’t cover the tuition, I cried. I felt defeated. I’m so close to graduating, and I worked so hard to get here. I was so depressed even my dog Chewie (yes, short for Chewbacca) became depressed. I hadn’t seen him that miserable since my dog, Cotton, died. (Cotton was his best friend and mine.)

The other thing that happened some might consider trivial. Last week (Thursday) was the Field of Dreams Game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox. I’m a huge baseball fan. I love watching it, I love playing it, I love movies and books about it. I love everything about baseball. As I watched what I consider a perfect baseball game, I was filled with tremendous joy. It was like a dream. They incorporated the movie and historical aspects so well I was blown away. And to make things better, it was great gameplay. Several home runs were hit into the cornfield, including the game-winning home run. After this game, while sitting quietly alone in my living room, I realized I don’t want to quit. I want to keep writing. Writing brings me joy, similar to the way that game did. I love creating stories, even if the process gets chaotic sometimes. Seriously, sometimes I get ahead of myself, and plot holes develop. (That’s what is currently wrong with Hudson’s story. I completed it, but there is a plot hole I have to work on.) I spent this past week updating my Facebook and website. You might have noticed. I know Facebook gives notifications about that sometimes. I’ve also been working on my time management, so I won’t neglect my blog, newsletter, and social media. I know I’ll hit a few bumps and forget to log in or post a blog because I’m a forgetful person. I get distracted easily. But I won’t let it lead to long periods of silence, and if I need to take some time, I will let you know.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding. I will leave you with this promise. I won’t quit writing and leave a series unfinished. If I had decided to quit, I would have finished Hudson’s story. Have a great weekend, everyone.

X

— Meredith

Happy 2021

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Well, I don’t know about all of you, but I am glad 2020 is over. A few days before New Year’s, I looked back over my goals for the year, and I didn’t fully accomplish one. Now, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a productive year, but it wasn’t nearly as productive as I’d hoped. But now it’s on to 2021, and hopefully, this year will bring many blessings to us all.

Currently, I’m working on Hudson’s story, which will end the Second Sons Series, but I have a few ideas on what to do next. I’ve got a couple working series ideas and a few stand-alone ideas. I’m also working on updating my website. With Covid hitting our family and then taking time off has put me behind on so much. I noticed the font on my website changed (I’m sure I got an email about it, but I honestly don’t remember). I don’t know how I feel about the new style. What do you all think about it? 

I don’t regret the time off, though. It was sorely needed. I spent most of my time in my pajamas playing the Nintendo Switch (a gift the kids got for Christmas) with the family. But now I’m ready to get back into the swing of things.

 Here’s to 2021! May it be a prosperous year filled with blessings.

Welcome

mlamonica1015

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog. If you haven’t already, you can sign up for my newsletter to keep up with current projects and events. Here I plan to share ideas with you, talk about current and past projects, my research and writing process, and any other little things you might find interesting. I encourage you to reach out to me with questions or if there is something you would like me to write about. You can even send me a message just to say hello.

I look forward to hearing from you all.

X

– Meredith