Author Archives: Lis'Anne Harris

About Lis'Anne Harris

Historical Romance Author

Garrow’s Law

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L-R: Mr. Silvester (Aidan McArdle); Mr. Southouse (Alun Armstrong); William Garrow (Andrew Buchan); Lady Sarah Hill (Lyndsey Marshal); Sir Arthur Hill (Rupert Graves)

If only I’d known of this brilliant BBC 18th century drama series while writing Sweet Salvation, I could’ve made Alex’s trial at the Old Bailey much more realistic. I think I did well enough using the research I found at the Old Bailey website, but being the visual person I am, I would’ve placed my characters in the spaces they would’ve actually filled.

Judge Buller (Michael Culkin)

Of course, all of my story and characters are purely fictional and I took great license with the proceedings and judgement handed down by my Judge Thompson. I enjoyed imagining the scene and I hope my readers loved the visual I tried to create. :-)

Lady Sarah & Mr. Garrow

As for Garrow’s Law, I can’t say enough good things about this series. For those who have a passion for 18th century British history, especially in regard to the legal system, this drama is a must see. The visual details are stunning, the language understandable, and the characters feel true to their time.  I can’t wait for Season 4 to begin, but I’m saddened  there will only be four episodes.

Mr. Silvester & Mr. Garrow

Center: The ever self-serving Lord Melville (Stephen Boxer)

The deceased Mr. Southouse's nephew, George Pinnock (Harry Melling)

Sir Arthur Hill

Love!

Late to the Downton Abbey Party

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I love Pinterest. Now I have a place to save all those wonderful images I find and want to keep for future reference. Bookmarking/Favorites doesn’t give me the necessary visual for why I bookmarked something and storing them in a folder on my hard drive doesn’t give me the ability to click the picture and be taken straight to the Internet site where I found the image. Most of all, I love seeing what those I’m following are finding on the world wide web that may inspire my writing worlds. That’s how I discovered Downton Abbey.

One had posted a picture of a castle and titled it Downton Abbey. I was quite confused because I knew the place depicted was Highclere Castle in Berkshire. So I did a quick Bing search and became even more confused. I called my bff, Tracy (of Cotton Creek Soap Co.), and asked her if she knew what this show was all about and why I’d never heard of it. Turns out my cable t.v. package doesn’t include any BBC channels, but the show’s being aired on PBS.  Excellent news, but I’d already missed all of season one and most of season two.

Yesterday, I found the episodes to view online and I’m SO hooked! I love everything about this series drama. The storyline includes the goings on of the upstairs family/downstairs servants, is rich with awesome visuals, and each episode plot is compelling.

I have a lot of catching up to do before the next episode of season two airs. If I’m not seen around the nets for the next several days, you’ll know why. ;-)

Diagram of a Frigate

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Research! It leads me down paths I never expected to travel. In Sweet Liberation, Lady Joanna spends a great deal of time on the earl of Sener’s frigate.  I needed to know the layout of the ship in order to accurately portray how the couple and crew would live and interact with each other in their floating castle.  This image, while a bit difficult to decipher at first, helped me tremendously, along with Ship’s Miscellany: A Guide to the Royal Navy of Jack Aubrey by Michael O’Mara Books Limited.

This image of the HMS Surprise was the inspiration for Sweet Liberation.

Things That Spark My Imagination

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Sometimes, when I struggle to find the right words to convey what I’m seeing in my mind, I resort to searching Google and Bing for pictures that give my creativity a boost.  Several special  images have remained in my collection  for years and still never fail to spark my imagination anew.  Here are a few that helped me in the telling of Alex and Desiree’s story.

Seaton Tor on the windswept coast of southern England.

The front side of Alex's castle.

All Desiree wanted.

The dower house.

The gallows.

The highwayman.

The trial at the Old Bailey.

Mrs. Crawley's Inn

The master bedchamber.

The library, but with a different desk and high-backed chairs.

The castle kitchen.

The castle kitchen.

The Great Hall of Seaton Tor.

If you've read Sweet Salvation, you know exactly what this represents. ;-)

Sweet Salvation

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Tears she’d held back fell freely as she dropped to her knees in the surf, scooping sand and saltwater to scrub the blood from her hands.

“SWEET SALVATION is a fabulous Georgian historical romance that will leave readers begging for more!” ~ Virginia Henley, New York Times Bestselling Author

LADY DESIREE FRAZIER finds herself the object of a scandalous auction.  Belittled for her stuttering speech, no man wants her to wife. Anger and disgust stiffen Desiree’s resolve to gain control of her life.
LORD ALEXANDER EVERDON, is in London to rescue his wayward brother. What he doesn’t expect to stumble upon is the noble Lady Desiree surrounded by lascivious lechers.
BOUND TOGETHER in a wild bid to free Alex’s brother from a date with the gallows.  Desiree must save Alex’s life and expose a murder plot before she can revel in his Sweet Salvation.
Reader praise for Sweet Salvation:
“This romance swept me off my feet. Great hero and heroine and charming supporting characters. I loved watching this heroine find her strength.” ~ Smart Girl’s SciFi
“I loved this book, it is a must read. The characters are charming, riveting, full of desire to know more about them. I just couldn’t put the book down. The authors ability to take you back in time is incredible.” ~ San
Sweet Salvation

So Much to Read, So Little Time

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Finally, my Beacon Published entries have been read, scored, and the scoresheets returned to the contest coordinator. 

I had just enough time to read Midnight Rose by Shelby Reed (LOVED IT!!!) and was looking forward to sinking into another amazing story by a fellow FCRW chaptermate, but alas, the Beacon Unpublished judging has begun.

I must be quite insane…I took on 10 entries. (*_*)  The contest hit its maximum number of entries, YAY, but now I’ll have to put a hold on the huge TBR stack staring me in the face.  

Plus, I’m still in the final stages of preparing my own debut novel, Sweet Salvation, to meet the world. (New Page Alert! Look in the bar above. ;-)  )

Thank heavens I have the world’s best editor!  Leanne has held my hand through every step of the process and I’ll never be able to thank her enough. :-)  

I LOVE books!!!

Hurry! There’s Still Time to Enter the Beacon Unpublished Contest!

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Unpublished Beacon Contest

 
First Coast Romance Writers

THE BEACON – 2011 Unpublished Division

An Award for Excellence in Romance 

The Unpublished Beacon for 2011 opens for submissions August 1 and closes August 31.

Finalists will be notified October 22

Feedback will be sent to all entrants by October 31st, in time to prep for the Golden Heart®!

Winners will be announced December 15

Final round judges are listed below:

Historical/Regency
Agent:   Kevan Lyon of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
Editor:  Holly Blanck of St. Martin’s Press

Single Title Contemporary
Agent:  Michelle Grajkowski, 3 Seas Literary Agency
Editor:  Leah Hultenschmidt, Senior Editor, Sourcebooks

Contemporary Series
Agent: Weronika Janczuk, Lynn C. Franklin Associates
Editor: Laura Barth, Assistant Editor, Harlequin

Fantasy, Futuristic, or Paranormal
Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates
Editor: Lauren Plude, Editorial Assistant, Grand Central

Romantic Suspense
Agent: Nalini Akolekar of Spencerhill Associates, Ltd.
Editor: Leis Pederson, Associate Editor, Berkley

Young Adult
Agent: Beth Miller, Writers House, LLC
Editor: Susan Litman, Editor, Harlequin

Erotic
Agent:  Laura Bradford of the Bradford Literary Agency
Editor: Ralene Gorlinsky, Publisher, Ellora’s Cave

Inspirational
Agent: Mary Sue Seymour, The Seymour Agency
Editor: Rachel Burkot, Harlequin Love Inspired, Editorial Assist

Chick Lit, Women’s Fiction, or Mainstream
Agent: Lauren Ruth of Bookends, LLC
Editor: Tessa Woodward, Associate Editor, Avon/Avon Impulse

Questions? Contact our contest chair at beaconunpub@firstcoastromancewriters.com.

 First Coast Romance Writers 2011 Unpublished Beacon contest:  

  • All entries will be judged by two trained judges. At least one of them will be a published author./li>
  • Each finalist will be judged by an editor and an agent
  • Finalists will have an opportunity to revise based on judges comments before the final round
  • Each entrant will receive their overall ranking compared to other entrants
  • Our Beacon_Scoresheet_Sample is designed to provide detailed critique and feedback

Judges: First round will be judged by at least one published author and one trained judge. Final round will be judged by an editor and an agent in each category. 
Final round judges are subject to change when unavoidable.

Eligibility: Open to all authors of romantic fiction, not contracted/published in book length fiction (40,000 words and over) in the last 3 years. RWA membership is not required for entry. Contest is limited to the first 125 entries.

Fee: $25 FCRW members, $30 RWA member (not FCRW), $35 non-RWA member 

TSTL

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When an author creates a protagonist who’s TSTL (too stupid to live) it’s beyond irritating.  The only characters keeping me in the story now are…  Well, I’m not sure who’s keeping me in the story.  Maybe a cop named Costanza.  His reaction to the snakes in the closet had me laughing so hard I was crying.

 I’m on book 8 of 17 and it’s become quite apparent the heroine doesn’t have any growth arc.  I was warned of this last Thursday, but I suppose I was hopeful.  I’ve now lost all hope and I was so looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the this series.

Will I be able to suspend my disbelief  through 9 more of them?  I don’t know.  I just don’t know.

5 Free E-Books Every Writer Needs

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Posted by Jane Friedman of Writer’s Digest.

1. 70 Solutions to Common Writing Mistakes by Bob Mayer. A fabulous resource from an experienced novelist.

2. 279 Days to Overnight Success by Chris Guillebeau. If you dream of being a full-time writer, this is the e-book for you! About 11,000 words of fabulous advice.

3. How to Write a Great Query Letter by literary agent Noah Lukeman. Lukeman is the author of several fabulous how-to books, including The First Five Pages. This free one on queries will not disappoint.

4. What Publishers Want: An Author’s Guide by Greenleaf Book Group. The good people at Greenleaf have made this brief guide available to beginning writers who are just getting into the writing and publishing game.

5. Smashwords Book Marketing Guide: How to Market Any Book for Free. This gem just came out this past month. An excellent starting resource.