Late to the Downton Abbey Party

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. ;-)

Things That Spark My Imagination

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

Featured

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

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!!!