Thursday Thirteen: Historical Quotations of Love

By Jacquie Rogers

1. Who can give law to lovers? Love is a greater law to itself. ~~Boethius (Anicius Manlius Severinus), De Consolatione Philosophiae

2. All the pictures that hung in my memory before I knew you have faded and given place to our radient moments together. Now I cannot live apart from you...Your words are my food, your breath my wine. You are everything to me. ~~Sarah Bernhardt

3. Love is a blazing, crackling, green-wood flame, as much smoke as flame; friendship, married friendship particularly, is a steady, intense, comfortable fire. Love, in courtship, is friendship in hope; in matrimony, friendship upon proof. ~~Samuel Richardson

4. As for me, to love you alone, to make you happy, to do nothing which would contradict your wishes, this is my destiny and the meaning of my life. ~~Napoleon Bonaparte

5. 'Tis said of love that it sometimes goes, sometimes flies; runs with one, walks gravely with another; turns a third into ice, and sets a fourth in a flame: it wounds one, another it kills: like lightning it begins and ends in the same moment: it makes that fort yield at night which it besieged but in the morning; for there is no force able to resist it. ~~Miguel de Cervantes

6. We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end. ~~Benjamin Disraeli

7. Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get--only with what you are expecting to give--which is everything. ~~Katharine Hepburn

8. I cannot exist without you--I am forgetful of every thing but seeing you again--my life seems to stop there--I see no further. You have absorb'd me. I have a sensation at the present moment as though I were dissolving... I have been astonished that Men could die Martyrs for religion--I have shudder'd at it--I shudder no more--I could be martyr'd for my Religion--Love is my religion--I could die for that--I could die for you. My creed is Love and you are its only tenet--You have ravish'd me away by a Power I cannot resist. ~~John Keats

9. Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage. ~~Lao-Tzu

10. The hours I spend with you I look upon as sort of a perfumed garden, a dim twilight, and a fountain singing to it... you and you alone make me feel that I am alive. Other men it is said have seen angels, but I have seen thee and thou art enough. ~~George Moore

11. At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet. ~~Plato

12. There is no disguise which can hide love for long where it exists, or simulate it where it does not. ~~La Rochefoucauld

13. Love, and you shall be loved. All love is mathematically just, as much as the two sides of an algebraic equation. ~~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Honorable Mentions, because verse messes up the numbering:

With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls,
For stony limits cannot hold love out,
And what love can do, that dares love attempt.
~~William Shakespeare

Love wing'd my Hopes and taught me how to fly
~~The Oxford Book of English Verse

Love, and you shall be loved. All love is mathematically just, as much as the two sides of an algebraic equation. ~~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Love is like the wild rose-briar;
Friendship like the holly-tree.
The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms,
But which will bloom most constantly?
~~Emily Bronte
Sources:
Quotations.Com
Bartleby

Happy Valentine's Day!

Myspace *** Bebo *** Faery World

Faery Special Romances *** See the book video
Royalties go to Children's Tumor Foundation, ending Neurofibromatosis through Research

Coming soon: Down Home Ever Lovin' Mule Blues

The Love Cycle: Romance Novels and the Working Girl

By Eliza Tucker

At the turn of the twentieth century, London, Paris, and New York attracted dreamers and bohemians. Young suburban women who, when finished with as much school as their parents deemed necessary, shuffled into big cities in search of employment. Excited by stories of girls making the munificent sum of $8 per week, young women went from milliner to florist, factory to laundry-room in search of the ideal job and the ideal wage.

The Industrial Revolution set more than just machines in motion. Working-class women were thrust into close proximity to men on a continual basis in every part of their lives. Girls were allowed to walk city streets, to dine with men in certain establishments, and to date without supervision without suffering much in the way of tarnished reputations. In many ways, the working-class woman enjoyed more freedom than the lady of fashion.

With literacy on the rise, romance lived in the dress factories and sweatshops, where the hopeful young employees read books during breaks, hoping for better lives. In The Long Day by Dorothy Richardson, the narrator considers the role of fiction in the lives of working girls of her era, New York City in 1905:

Promptly at half-past twelve the awakening machinery called us back to the workaday world. Story-books were tucked away, and their entranced readers dragged themselves back to the machines and steaming paste-pots, to dream and talk as they worked, not of their own fellows of last night’s masquerade, but of bankers and mill-owners who in fiction have wooed and won and honorably wedded just such poor toilers as they themselves.

This entertaining discourse over the daily task of box-making follows:

IN WHICH PHOEBE AND MRS. SMITH HOLD FORTH UPON MUSIC AND LITERATURE

Don't you never read no story-books?" Mrs. Smith asked, stirring the paste-pot preparatory to the afternoon's work. She looked at me curiously out of her shrewd, snapping dark eyes as she awaited my answer. I was conscious that Mrs. Smith didn't like me for some reason or other, and I was anxious to propitiate her. I was pretty certain she thought me a boresome prig, and I determined I'd prove I wasn't. My confession of an omnivorous appetite for all sorts of story-books had the desired effect; and when I confessed further, that I liked best of all a real, tender, sentimental love-story, she asked amiably:

"How do you like 'Little Rosebud's Lovers'?"

"I've never read that," I replied. "Is it good?"

"It's fine," interposed Phoebe; "but I like 'Woven on Fate's Loom' better--don't you?" The last addressed to Mrs. Smith.

"No, I can't say that's my impinion," returned our vis-à-vis, with a judicious tipping of the head to one side as she soused her dripping paste-brush over the strips. "Not but what 'Woven on Fate's Loom' is a good story in its way, either, for them that likes that sort of story. But I think 'Little Rosebud's Lovers' is more int'resting, besides being better wrote."

"And that's just what I don't like about it," retorted Phoebe, her fingers traveling like lightning up and down the corners of the boxes. "You like this hot-air talk, and I don't; and the way them fellows and girls shoot hot-air at each other in that there 'Little Rosebud's Lovers' is enough to beat the street-cars!"

Phoebe goes on to tell the story of 'Little Rosebud's Lovers,' which is complete with an exotic setting (South Carolina), two lovely sisters (but only Rosebud had a demeanor to match her physical beauty; the other, Maud was jealous and spiteful), and Harvard-grad lover (who turned out to be 'a villain of the deepest dye'). The story-book fans go on to discuss the plot holes in a way that would fit well on a current-day lit forum:

"Where did she get the money to come to New York with?" interrupted the practical Phoebe. "That's something I don't understand. If she didn't have no money to hire a room at a hotel down in South Carolina for overnight, I'd like to know where she got the money for a railroad ticket."

"Well, that's just all you know about them swells," retorted Mrs. Smith. "I suppose a rich man's daughter like that can travel around all over the country on a pass."

The banter continues for a chapter, and gives us a great look into the origins of romance, while the book glimpses how average girls fit courtship and passion into otherwise taxing lives. Write on, romance authors!

Punctual Punctuation

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.~~Mark Twain

originallytherewerenopunctuationmarksorevenspacesbetweenwords

But that was rather difficult to read. The Romans sometimes used a dot between words, which later changed to a space and became standardized with the printing press, as did many other punctuation conventions--more about that later. The Greeks gave us paragraphos, or paragraph breaks--a horizontal line inserted when starting a new line of thought. Of course, there might be three or four pages of text in one paragraph, but what breaks there were certainly did aid in readability.

The period or "full stop" still wasn't used consistently. Medieval scribes often used daggers, flowers, birds, and other ornaments to indicate paragraphs or footnotes. In fact, punctuation was used more for speaking--reading the text out loud--than for reading silently. In other words, where a speaker should pause, the writer inserted some sort of mark. No regard was made to such things as dependent clauses, dialogue, or things of that ilk.

So let's skip ahead to a Venitian printing shop in the late 1400s, and visit Aldus Manutius (1449-1515). What an innovator he was. He was the first to publish classics without annotations or other distractions. Italics typeface is attributable to him. Periods, commas, and some grammar conventions came about because if his scholarly efforts. And yet, the print shop stayed in business for years, so he must have been somewhat profitable while swimming against the tide. His grandson, the younger Aldo, recorded punctuation rules in 1566. Three generations of the Manutius family defined the look and content of books today.

The Next Generation

At the beginning of the 1600s, punctuation was still used more for elocution than to delineate syntax. Not until Ben Jonson's posthumously published work, English Grammar (written in 1617 and published in 1640), was punctuation used syntactically and in a way that made sense. This small book can be somewhat daunting to read, however.

"There resteth one generall Affection of the whole, dispersed thorow every member thereof, as the bloud is thorow the body; and consisteth in the Breathing, when we pronounce any Sentence; For, whereas our breath is by nature so short, that we cannot continue without a stay to speake long together; it was thought necessarie, as well as for the speakers ease, as for the plainer deliverance of the things spoken, to invent this meanes, whereby men pausing a pretty while, the whole speech might never the worse be understood."

That means punctuation makes a sentence more easily comprehended. Makes one appreciate Strunk & White.

Contemporary Punctuation

From Punctuation in English Since 1600, which cites Encylopaedia Britannica:

"It was the lexicographers Henry Watson Fowler and Francis George Fowler in The King's English, published in 1906, who established the current British practice of light punctuation. Punctuation in the United States has followed much the same path as in Britain, but the rules laid down by American authorities have in general been more rigid than the British rules."

Even today, punctuation rules are fluid and each publishing house has its own "style" which may or may not conform with late 20th Century's accepted standards. Most large publishers are using fewer and fewer commas whether a pause is indicated or not. My publisher, however, inserted hundreds of commas in my last book because they adhere to the standard comma rules. They do not, however, adhere to the standardized rules for interrupting dialogue with body motion--there's a house "style" for that. It behooves a writer to read a few books from her targeted publisher to find out how that house punctuates. There are vast differences.

Just for fun, try the Eats, Shoots & Leaves' Punctuation Game.

Contest!!! For a chance to win Into the Woods by RR Smythe, join the Keely list (announcements and newsletters only). Winner will be drawn from the list of subscribers at 11:59pm June 30.


Jacquie



Jacquie Rogers
Faery Special Romances (May 2007)
Take a look at the book video
Royalties go to Children's Tumor Foundation,
ending Neurofibromatosis through Research

You Could Win a Free Book!

Enter a drawing to win a free copy of Faery Special Romances!

All you have to do is sign up for Keely's yahoo list. Keely is the star of Faery Special Romances and is constantly reminding me that she starred in the 2006 PEARL Award winner for best short story (No Law Against Love). Actually, I wrote the story, but Keely...let's just say she's really wanting to star in a Hollywood blockbuster.

Anyway, the drawing will be held at 11:59pm PDT on June 7, so sign up soon!

Click to join keely

More contests to follow, but you only have to subscribe to Keely's list once. She'll have some Faery Good Advice!

Thanks!
Jacquie


Jacquie Rogers
Faery Special Romances (May 2007)
Take a look at the book video
Royalties go to Children's Tumor Foundation,
ending Neurofibromatosis through Research

World War II

I have to admit I have a soft spot for the two world war periods, especially from the English perspective. My parents were children in WWII and have told me of their memories of bombing raids and air raid shelters, wearing gas mask around their necks as they went to school.

I have an extra interest in WWII now because I've been offered a contract from Wild Rose Press for a WWII novel set in England 1944.

The Great War (1914-1918) was such a changing time. It was the first time women really came into their own and showed the male population that they could do more than simply housekeep and mother.

Although the times were hard and full of despair, such dramatic periods of peoples lives often give the best stories. What better way to create a happy ever after? The hero has been through hell in the trenches and the heroine has been left at home wondering, hoping, praying for news of her lover? There is no need to fight each other when there are larger issues to contend with!

WWII (1930- 1945) brought changes to the world again. Women, especially English women had a guaranteed place in this war: they served as nurses, ambulance drivers, in the munitions factories and on the land. They kept the country running, but they also became truly independent of people in their own right. Their dress styles changes as did their attitudes. The Americans came to England and showed English girls another type of man -- brash, cheeky, fun-loving and often much more wealthier. The GIs introduced new faster dances, which actually lifted the woman in the air and whoops, showed off her underwear!

All periods of history can be made interesting for a story, and wars give a double spin on things - the man away fighting, the woman home waiting and working, keeping it all together for her lovers return.

How can anyone say this isn't an interesting time to write about?

Plumbing: Very Good to Have

I must admit to enjoying our soft and convenient way of life. I like canned and frozen foods, microwave ovens, central heat, and definitely cars. The local water district decided to test just how appreciative I was. I got out of bed this morning, only to discover we had no water. Ack! What's a modern girl to do?

Or not do. Here's a list:

Couldn't take a shower.
Couldn't run the dishwasher.
Couldn't wash my hands after making sausage patties (made do with Clorox Wipes).
Couldn't run the clothes washer.
Couldn't, er, flush, meaning I couldn't do other things, either.

And worst of all . . . Couldn't make coffee!!!

So let's talk plumbing. Lots of civilizations in the past have had excellent plumbing systems, some, like Ancient Crete or Rome, rivaling what we have today. We don't often think of these things because Britain (after the Romans left) and America had, well, pathetic or no plumbing.

When I put together the words "ancient" and "water," I think Roman aquaduct. Bowdoin College has a good online article, ARCHAEOLOGY 291: The Roman Aqueducts and Water Systems. Of course, there's always a price to be paid.

Here's a terrific site that tells all about plumbing through the ages, ThePlumber.com. Did you know ancient Crete boasted ". . . the world's earliest "flushing" water closet." Or Egypt where "Excavators of the mortuary temple of King Suhura at Abusir discovered niches in the walls and remnants of stone basins. These were furnished with metal fittings for use as lavatories." Want an armrest on your toilet? "China has flushed Britain's claims to have invented the water closet down the pan with the discovery of a 2,000-year-old toilet complete with running water, a stone seat and a comfortable armrest."

Interested in Americana? Here's the history of outhouses, where you can find out the actual function of a two-holer, and why there's a moon cut into the door. How about outhouse folklore? "The outhouse was movable and Grandpa always located it so that the door was directly behind an oak tree to which he would affix a panel of boards, so that you could use the outhouse with the door open, the advantage should be obvious." Outhouses of the American West has pictures, trivia, lore, and even jokes--a great site to check out.

Ah, here's a prize. How about a biblography champberpots and other interesting facilities

Now, I'll tell a story on my own family. I grew up on a farm outside Homedale, Idaho. My great-grandmother lived about twenty miles away, in Parma. She was getting up in years, and her mother, who was nearly 100, lived with her. One year, for Mother's Day, My dad and grandfather decided to install bathroom facilities in the pantry, a fairly good-sized room off the kitchen. So when they showed up with a tub, toilet and sink, my great-grandmother (an immaculate housekeeper) chased them out of her driveway with a broom because she was so appalled to think that anyone would do "their business" in her house. How disgusting!

A week later, Dad and Grandpa built a little building near the house and installed the facilities, then connected it to the main house with a roofed walkway. And everyone lived Happily Ever After.

The point of this story is that we shouldn't force our values onto our characters who live in another time and another place. I think the story about my great-grandmother is funny, but she sure didn't, and neither did her mother.

But back to the broken water main. When basic services are interrupted, I'm always grateful to live now, even though I've always thought I would fit in better had I been born at least 150 years ago. Honestly, I truly appreciate our precious running water, and the same goes for the drain pipes that take the waste away.

Of course, we probably won't get too much into, er, bathroom habits in our stories, but still, it's part of your character's world, and who knows when the opportunity for a little bathroom humor might arise. I say, if it's good enough for Will Shakespeare . . .

Despite the complexity and supreme cleverness of his manipulation of language, Shakespeare was a popular entertainer in his own time. It's a matter of great curiosity, therefore, that perhaps the greatest author of bathroom humor has today been appropriated by the cultural elite.

-----
Jacquie Rogers
2006 PEARL Award Winner, Best Short Story
Keely's blog
Faery Special Romances (May 2007)
Royalties go to Children's Tumor Foundation, ending Neurofibromatosis through Research

Comfort Zone

For the authors of historical romance, we get write about our hero and heroine falling in love in far away, often exotic locales, be it a castle, a harem, or an oasis in the desert. With each page, we build up the sexual tension between the couple, usually hindering them along the way through several misunderstandings. All such hurdles are set aside when it's time to explore their physical attraction (at least until the next chapter anyway). But every author has his or her comfort level with writing the love scene.

So, I'd like to know, what's your comfort level? Do you prefer fleshing out details or allowing readers to use their imagination? What's your reaction to reading an explicit love scene vs. a milder depiction?

Happy writing,
Lisa

Finding Faeries in History

We storytellers have lots of choices when it comes to picking faery lore. Depending on when and where the story is set, the Fae World can differ drastically: Norse, Irish, Scottish, Bavarian, French . . . each pre-Christian region and era developed its own belief system. Faery lore has only one universal truth: Tinkerbell is an invention of Disney.

I found several sites that helped tremendously when I was building my world for Faery Special Romances, my May release. Maybe you will find these sites useful, too.

Here's one of my favorite starting-off sites, Faerie Central. Not only is there an image gallery and links to other great sites, you can also find brief essays on these topics:

• Existence of faeries
• Definition of faeries
• Description of faeries
• Faeries across history and cultures
• Organization of faeries

. . . well, you get the picture. Lots of info (although not indepth) on this site. You can even buy a magic wand!

Here's a faery good site, but I have no idea who runs it. You'll find a terrific recap of general Fae history, and then links to other pages, which get more specific. For instance, there's a listing of the various types of faeries, from Pixies to Goblins, and a couple pages of Faery Herbs and Charms. Browse around and you'll find all kinds of good stuff.

For instance, you could find out (like I just did) that faeries didn't get wings until the Elizabethan Period. Oh well, my medieval faeries have wings. I made them up so I can give them wings if I want to. (That's what's so great about being a writer--your story is the only thing on the planet you can actually control!)

The Faery Crossing is a bit difficult to navigate, although beautiful, and can give you pointers on such things as "The Care and Feeding of Faeries." You might want to head straight for A Compendium of Faery Folke, where you'll find very nice listing of all types of Fae from A to Z. Here's a sample: "Gean-canach: Ireland. "Love-Talker"; a solitary faery who personifies love and idleness. He appears with a dudeen (pipe) in his mouth. It is very unlucky to meet him."

When I was first building my faery world, I soon came to realize that many of the internet sites combine the old mytholgies with the new. Even though the new are based on the myths of, say, the Tuatha de Danann, be aware of modern influences.

I hope you have a faery good time surfing the 'net! If you find some good sites, please let me know!

TTFN,
Jacquie
Visit me at Myspace
Keely's Faery Good Advice blog
Faery Special Romances (May 2007)