Contest!

I have been quiet lately over the summer and into the fall, but that's only because I've been hard at work on my novel. I always think about posting here, and I'll even begin writing a new entry now and again, but then the pull of my novel begins to become more and more insistent and my unfinished posts are left to languish in my draft folder.

If you want to know the truth, I think my novel is a little jealous of my blog.

And that's ok. Because I'm the mother and my novel is still breast-feeding (forgive the metaphor, but it's what I'm dealing with here) so my world revolves around her right now. It's very exhausting, but also rather exciting - seeing her really begin to take shape. (Yes, my novel has a female gender. Just like boats and cars and the Starship Enterprise.)

This past September I even traveled to New York with her. Baby's first outing. I attended the New York Pitch conference had had the opportunity to discuss my book with five big time editors in the Big Apple.

In the next few weeks I'll discuss everything at length with you and tell you about my trip in detail. It was really life-changing - in regards to my novel.

In the meantime, I also went to the Decatur Book Festival this past September with fellow writer Dale Spencer and we stood in long lines in the heat and the rain just to get author signatures on three major titles. And now we are offering them to you!

The titles up for grabs are:

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancy

Reboot by Amy Tintera

And
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

 You can also find the contest on Dale Spencer's website.
Enter the contest below and Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Short History of Wedding Traditions

This past weekend, one of my dearest friends tied the knot. She and her now husband have an absolutely beautiful story and it was wonderful to watch them both fall in love.

Before the wedding, she asked me to do some research on wedding traditions. She was looking for information to include in the wedding program for the guests, wanting it to read more like a playbill rather than a mundane series of events (i.e. "The Seating of the Grandmothers, The Lighting of the Unity Candle, etc.).

There was info on the bridesmaids and groomsmen including how they met and knew the bride and groom and the important roles they played or would play in the couples lives. It was really beautifully done as was the wedding itself, full of meaning instead of feeling like a formality.

The research itself, for me, was incredibly interesting and I wanted to share some of my findings with you, from the origins of the oldest of wedding traditions to their evolution into modern day ceremonies. Of course, wedding traditions and ceremonies vary vastly according to different countries, religions, and cultures. My research mostly pertained to western Christian traditions.

Attendants

Best Man

          In earlier times, the groom often kidnapped his bride. He always held her on his left side to keep his sword hand free to fight off rival suitors or enraged relatives. To this day, the groom still stands to the right of the bride.

If the groom needed help with the kidnapping or the ensuing fight, he would choose a best man.

In later centuries, on the day of the wedding, it was the job of the best man to ensure that the groom didn’t turn back for any reason once he had set out to meet his bride.  He was also responsible for giving the groom a small good luck charm to carry in his pocket, which later translated into a small sum of money to pay to the church minister.

Maid of Honor

            The Maid of Honor is a relatively recent development. Historically, the wedding party only consisted of a bride and a groom. In more recent years, when much more planning and effort were put forth, the bride would ask her closest friend for advice and assistance, which then developed into the maid of honor role, who was traditionally an unmarried woman and carried the title of chief attendant.

Bridesmaids and Groomsmen

          Beginning in the 17^th century, it was thought that weddings were attended by evil and malevolent spirits who wanted to harm the bride and groom. Because of this, the closest friends and family would stand with the couple and dress like them in order to confuse the spirits. The tradition continues with bridesmaids typically wearing the same dress and/or colors at the wedding.

Ceremonial Traditions

Are you with the Bride or Groom?

          Feuding families often arranged marriages in order to end wars between clans or factions. In order to avoid bloodshed at the weddings, the best man made sure that the families sat on opposite sides of the room or church.

Who gives this woman to be married?

            Women were the property of their fathers up until the time of their marriage. In ancient times, the giving of the bride usually included her dowry and other property and goods.

Tying the Knot

          The phrase refers to the ancient marriage tradition of handfasting, where the hands of the bride and groom were bound together as a symbol of their unity.

Honeymoon

            Long ago the honeymoon often preceded the marriage! This began happening when the grooms would kidnap their brides. They would then go into hiding for a period of thirty days, or a moon cycle. During this time, the drink of choice was honeyed wine. Hence the term honeymoon.

The Bridal Veil

          The Bridal Veil has a wide and varied history.

            Ancient Greeks and Romans believed that if the bride wore a veil, she would be protected from evil spirits.

            Medieval traditions also saw the bride wearing a veil in order to confuse evil spirits. It was believed that the bride appealed to evil spirits because of her happiness, thus her face was covered in order to conceal her joy from the spirits.

            The veil was also used in arranged marriages particularly because the groom might back out if the bride was thought to be plain. By wearing the veil the groom was kept committed and the veil was also seen as a symbol of the obedience or submission of the bride to the groom.

In later traditions, the white veil represented purity. The bride traditionally wore the veil over her face throughout the ceremony and it was only lifted at the end. If the groom lifted the veil, it was a symbol of his dominance, but if the bride lifted the veil, it was a symbol of her independence.

To Christians, the veil was and is a symbol of modesty and sexual purity. The veil was also a symbol of inner beauty and the groom married the bride with the veil on to symbolize that beauty may fade, but love is eternal.

            

The Bouquet

      Flowers have been around at weddings as early as the ancient Greeks who used to wear them in garland wreaths around their head, a la Julius Caesar. They often contained bulbs of garlic as well, for the smell was thought to ward off evil spirits. 

      The use of garlic and herbs for protection was carried on for many centuries before being abandoned for more fragrant florals. In medeival times, it was customary to bathe only twice a year. Bath times usually fell before Christmas and during summer. Since it was considered fortuitous to wed in the Spring, most brides and grooms weren't at their freshest, so flowers were carried and herbs were sewn into dresses and pockets to make the ceremony more enjoyable for all involved. 

     In later centuries, flowers are still carried for luck, protection, fertility, and symbols of love and womanhood in bloom. 

    Starting in the Victorian Era, most flowers began to have special meanings attributed to each one and were carried as messages to one another. Tulips and Roses meant Love, Violets represented Faithfulness, Daisy's were Innocence, and Carnations meant Fascination. You can find a lengthy list of flower meanings here.

     As for the famous bouquet toss, the Victorian bride would give her flowers to her friend to pass on protection and wish her luck. The tradition has since evolved in a toss where the lucky woman who catches it will be the next one to wed.

Engagement Rings

            The tradition was born in 1215, when the pope issued a mandatory waiting period in between the engagement and the marriage. The wealthier classes began giving engagement rings at this time. The pope also issued a law stating that all marriages must take place in a church and that an exchange of rings would symbolize the union.  The rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because it was believed that that finger contained a vein that led directly to the heart.

Something Old, Something New…

          The traditional saying goes:

Something old, something new

Something borrowed, something blue

And a silver sixpence in her shoe.

            The tradition dates back to Victorian England and each trinket carried or worn by the bride was thought to bring good luck and good fortune to her marriage.

          Something Old – Thought to be a symbol of the bride’s past and the life she is leaving behind as well and her desire to stay connected to her family even as she begins her own.

            Something New – A symbol of optimism and hope and of the new union being created by the bride and groom.

            Something Borrowed – Thought to be a symbol of borrowing happiness from a happily married woman so that her happiness will carry over to the new bride. It is also thought to symbolize the love and adoration the bride has for the person that she borrowed from.  

            Something Blue – The color blue symbolizes fidelity, loyalty, modesty, purity, and love and has been associated with weddings for centuries.

            Sixpence – A sixpence is a coin made in England from the 16^th-20^th centuries. It was made of silver and worth six pennies. The wedding tradition dates back to Victorian England but borrows from an earlier Scottish tradition where the groom placed a silver coin in his shoe for luck. The bride usually wears the coin in her left shoe and it is thought to represent wealth and financial security.

Unity Candle

          The lighting of the Unity Candle is one of the most recent wedding traditions with roots beginning in the early 1900’s. The bride and groom light a single candle from two separate individual candles to symbolize the union of two families and two souls.

Throwing Rice

            This may be the oldest wedding tradition, dating back to the ancient Egyptians and Hebrews who threw rice at the newly married couple as a symbol of fertility. Over the years the rice has given way to bird seed, bubbles, and sparklers.

You May Now Kiss the Bride

          In ancient Rome, Christians used the wedding kiss as a symbolism of the scriptures saying that two souls have now become one flesh. Early Christians also believed that clinking glass at the wedding or the reception would scare off the devil. The couple would then exchange a joyful kiss.

            Ancient Romans used the wedding kiss as a binding of the wedding contract, hence the saying, sealed with a kiss.

            Either way, the wedding kiss is one of the longest standing wedding traditions still in existence today. 

So there you have it. The act of marriage has long been one of religious symbolism, secular  tradition, and all around superstition. And maybe next time you attend a wedding, you'll have something to break the ice with when you're seated with a group of complete strangers.

What have been some of the strangest or most interesting wedding traditions you've witnessed?

Writing Vacation

You know you are a struggling writer when you look forward to vacation because you know you'll finally have time to actually write.

 The trappings of everyday life usually suck all of the motivation and creativity right out of me. But vacations, specifically beach vacations, are a really revitalizing time.

They are usually so low-key and relaxing - no agendas or schedules to adhere to - so I can just read, write, and relax to my heart's content.

 I'm planning to write some new chapters, revise some old ones, and do a massive overhaul on a major character while I'm enjoying the sun, sand, and surf.

Of course, I'll be reading as well. I always feel like vacation time is catching up on my reading time and I love going to the bookstore that first day and browsing the shelves for the perfect beach reads.

I may have been a bit ambitious with my stack of books this year, but I know I'll get to them eventually.I'm starting with Shadow of Night and Life After Life.

Do you write more or less when you are on vacation?

ARC Giveaway's

The lovely book muses over at The Midnight Garden are holding ARC giveaways of two amazing summer books.

The first is of Siege and Storm, the second book in author Leigh Bardugo's wildly popular Grisha Trilogy. Enter to win.

 The second is The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancy, an edge of your seat post-apocalyptic novel that some are already touting as the next Hunger Games.

Head on over and enter to win, and give them some much deserved praise, not only for their generous offer, but for being such a wonderful literary source to all of us book lovers.

Good luck!

Book Review ~ Grave Mercy

I read a lot of books, and I have yet to review a single one here on my blog. Here is a post to remedy that oversight.

I recently finished a wonderful book called Grave Mercy, the first in the His Fair Assassin Trilogy. I enjoyed it so much, I thought I would share it with you.

I absolutely love reading a book blurb and thinking, "I have never read anything remotely similar to this". That's exactly what crossed through my mind when I read the synopsis for Grave Mercy. There weren't a lot of reviews associated with the book, but I saw that it was repeatedly recommended by other authors I love so I figured I would give it a try. I couldn't be happier. Grave Mercy is an action packed novel that rarely stops to breathe and had me hooked by the end of the first chapter. The b...moreI absolutely love reading a book blurb and thinking, "I have never read anything remotely similar to this". That's exactly what crossed through my mind when I read the synopsis for Grave Mercy. There weren't a lot of reviews associated with the book, but I saw that it was repeatedly recommended by other authors I love so I figured I would give it a try. I couldn't be happier. Grave Mercy is an action packed novel that rarely stops to breathe and had me hooked by the end of the first chapter. The book follows Ismae, a seventeen year old novice living in a convent of trained nun assassins. Yes, you read that correctly. After being sold off into marriage at 14 by her heartless father, Ismae escapes to a convent off the coast of Brittany, where she learns that her real father is actually Mortaine, the god of death. Blessed with special powers, Ismae begins her training to fulfill her duty as a handmaiden of death. After three years of being trained in the arts of combat and killing (she excels in the poison department), Ismae is sent outside of the convent on her first big assignment. She must infiltrate the court of Anne, Duchess of Brittany, find out who Anne's enemies are, and dispatch them. But Anne's court is a nest of vipers, and any one of them could be a spy for France, including Duval, Anne's half-brother and the man Ismae is slowly losing her heart to. The book sets fictional characters like Ismae and her convent co-conspirators smack dab in the middle of real life historical figures and events and does so with an air of authenticity that helps to build a world that is both intriguing as well as believable. It's clear that author Robin LaFevers did her research and the result is a seamless integration of reality and fantasy. I very highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys exceptionally strong female characters, historical fiction with just a dash of paranormal influence, and steamy romances that don't overpower the story. I'm looking forward to the sequel Dark Triumph. I give Grave Mercy four out of five stars.

To Read or Not to Read

Apologies for allowing so many weeks to pass between posts. I have been furiously trying to complete the first draft of my novel that, according to my book resolutions, is woefully behind. I've also been reading some fantastic books.

Which brings me to a question that I've been asking myself quite a bit lately.

As a writer, I've often wondered if one should forgo reading as they are working on a novel, especially when writing a first draft.

Now I love reading, I always have, but I worry that as I'm reading a particular author or genre of books, if it will influence my own writing. And for the record, I think influencing and inspiring are two very different things.

I know this is a very short entry - but what do you think? Any thoughts?

Guilty Pleasures ~ A Valentine's Day Post

So it would appear that the most "romantic" day of the year is upon us.

Valentine's Day.

The holiday, also known as the Feast of St. Valentine, has been around for over five hundred years now and is varyingly viewed as a celebration of love (women), or an elaborate conspiracy of the greeting card and candy companies (men).

Some look forward to showing that special person or the people in their lives just how much they care. Some dread the day, feeling an overwhelming sense of inadequacy at living up to their partner's expectations. Others loathe it as the lemon juice to the paper cut of their "unattached" state of being.

No matter how you look at it though, Valentine's Day is a holiday. And what is a holiday without a few traditions? Cards, chocolates, flowers, dinner reservations, wine, champagne, or for those of you who hate the day ~ dressing in all black. I've spent V-Day with sweet boyfriends (and some not-so-sweet ones), and on my single years, I've gone out with groups of girlfriends in similar situations to celebrate ourselves with good food, romantic movies, and fun company.  No matter what my romantic status is, I've never hated Valentine's Day. Even if I don't have a significant other, I still see it as a day to celebrate all of the ones that I love in my life ~ especially family and friends.

This year I'm single and looking forward to a quiet night in with one of my Valentine traditions ~ a good meal, a glass of wine, and a great piece of literature (i.e. a romance novel).

Now, I'm really not one to read very many romance novels. I only crack one open two, maybe three times a year (February 14th being one of them), and I usually keep them a secret. They are my guilty pleasure and something about this day makes me want to get lost in one of those extremely sappy bodice-ripping regency sagas with awful dialogue, laughably heightened emotions, and highly improbable yet exceedingly satisfying scenarios usually involving a rakish duke, a villainous lord, an innocent yet sensual lady, and a horse.

There is always a horse (not in a nasty way ~ I'm not into those kinds of novels).

They always employ predictable formulas and there's always a happy ending (usually several of them, if you catch my drift), but they always put a smile on my face and I suppose that's all that matters.

So, my wish is that you may enjoy this day, whether you're single, attached, hopeful, jaded, or cynical. Love is a wonderful thing, and I think it's perfectly acceptable to have one day a year to celebrate it indeed.

And now I'm off to choose my guilty pleasure.

Some of these Scottish Highland novels look pretty interesting...

Happy Valentine's Day

Driven to Distraction

Well in checking over my resolutions from the beginning of this month I can see that I'm doing exceptionally well in some cases, satisfactory in others, and piss-poor in at least one.

The book reading is going beautifully and I've already read five books since the first of January, which is probably why my writing is suffering. I've been spending my free time with my nose in a book instead of actually working on one.

So my next priority will need to be learning to organize my time in a more productive fashion. I will readily admit that I get distracted too easily...especially if my laptop is getting wifi. In fact, the time between writing this sentence and the previous one was the length of four Lizzie Bennet Diary videos. Yes, I have a problem.

I wouldn't necessarily label it as procrastination...(dots signify time spent looking up procrastination definition on dictionary.com, which lead to looking up dawdle, which is a variant of daddle, which means to toddle, which reminds me that I'm watching my niece in the morning, which makes me think I need to call my sister to check on the times, which, oh my word what was I doing in the first place, oh yeah), since it's not as if I'm trying to put off writing my novel ~  not like I would a homework assignment or cleaning the bathroom ~ I just get distracted.

I needed some incentive, something to make me really focus, the way nano did all of November. So I went ahead and sent out the first eight chapters to my beta readers. Now I know that it's end their hands and soon they'll be wanting more, so I really have to get myself in gear.

Beta readers are wonderful things and we'll discuss them in a future post. For now though, I have to stop talking to you and get back to work.

...After two more Lizzie Bennet Diaries...

Happy Writing

Resolutions

Well, it's that time of year again. The exciting new beginnings time that bursts out of the gate on January first in all of it's good intentions and clean-slatey gloriousness.

I'm sure we all have simply lists of things that we hope to accomplish in the next 365 days. I, for one, have never been the type to make any New Year's resolutions ~ something I'm reversing starting today.

You see, I actually do have a list of things that I hope to accomplish this year. Two lists if I'm being really specific ~ one for my personal life (which I'll keep to myself), and one for my writing life, which I'll share with you now.

I've been mulling over this list for the past week, trying to decide what I need to get done this year in regards to my novel and what seems like a feasible schedule to work with. I've never really done this before so my plans may need to be pretty flexible, but I'm hoping to be able to stick with it as closely as possible. 

So, without further adieu....

Writing Resolutions 2013

• Finish first draft of Novel by January 31^st, 2013
• Give book to Beta Readers by February ^1st , 2013
• First edit/revisions by April 1^st, 2013
• Second edit/revisions by June 30^th, 2013
• Query letters to agents by August 1^st, 2013
• First draft of second novel complete by December 31, 2013

Other Resolutions 

• Blog several times a week
• Keep a journal
• Read 4 books a month
• Read at least 50 books this year 

I have to admit, I feel a lot better having written all this down. Having a plan is great motivation and, I think, helps to keep one from getting too distracted in the long run. Plus, it will be fun at the end of the year to see how far I've come and what all I've accomplished. (Unless I've accomplished nothing, in which case it will be very depressing.)

      So, Happy New Year to you all. I hope each of you is successful in your plans.

 

      What resolutions have you made for 2013? 

 

      Happy Writing.