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Longest Title Ever
When doing historical research, you end up reading strange books with strange titles. Take, for instance, this classic that was written for young men reading law in the Inner Temple by one Mr. John Impey: The Practice of the Office of the Sheriff; Shewing The Powers and Duties of those Offices. The Manner of Appointing the High Sheriff, the Under Sheriff and their Deputies. The Elections of the Serrifs of London and Middlesex with the Bye-Laws of the City Relating Thereto. The Nature of Actions by and Against Sheriffs Including All the Modern Determinations and Necesary Precedents of Retursn to Writs &c. Also The Practice of the Office of the…
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That Old Time Feeling
Writing is, by necessity, a profession of emotions. This is not going to come as any kind of surprise to readers, especially Romance readers. Emotions are at the heart of character, and character is at the heart of story. And at the heart of the human brain is a quirk that by describing a feeling, you invoke it in yourself. So, there’s no part of writing a novel that is not going to put the writer on an emotional roller coaster. And people wonder why we tend to drink so much… But there are other ways that the work itself gets emotionally involving. One comes at the very beginning. There…
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In Praise of Villains
So, there I was, reading away. It was the latest book in series I love, approaching the suspenseful climax, I was in the groove, the author was in the groove. All was right with the world. Then it happened. The villain turned stupid. Made a sudden,s attack for no reason than an explosion of temper They had been something of a martinet all along, but then, in the turn of a sentence, lost their mind. I hate this. I don’t want the villains to be weak, or stupid, or suddenly short tempered. I want a smart villain, with their overall badness paired with a forward-thinking outlook. I want dark intelligence. …