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All four novels are now available either as complete online reads, or to download in PDF.
They all concern themselves with life in the first century Roman empire. Although they were written as an attempt at Romance, they do not fit the criteria for the dedicated Romance reader, who will find them slower and more complicated than stories published by HM&B et al. Lovers of Historical ficiton will find them light on detail and too focussed on relationships.
Ah well.
Many thanks to readers and to the keepers of the fiction directories who help connect readers with great online fiction.
Complete online novel at PETRA
DOWNLOAD PDFs
BOOK 4 AD120
Aya grew as a filthy scavenger, trailing the Bedouin caravans that crossed the Nafud wastes and the Rub’ al Khali. Bought from the arena as a young man, his new life as Sethos, the adopted son of a wealthy Roman merchant, is stained by the stigma of his past.
Jaida and her sisters were raised in luxurious slavery, destined to be the virgin oracles of Isis at provincial temples throughout the empire. When the fall of a dice brings the girls’ future into question, it is Seth who must define freedom and slavery, life or liberty – for himself and for them.
He has money, strength and cunning, and she has no more than her faith.
The gods are fickle. When they move among men, they all have their own pieces in play, some fuelled by anger, greed and vengeance.
But Isis is Queen of Heaven - Goddess of ten thousand names; she is every goddess. For every god of stone and wood, she is their mother, their sister, their lover and their nemesis.
And somewhere she will have an accounting....
Complete online novel at BRITANNIA
DOWNLOAD PDF
BOOK ONE AD78
Maia and her step-brother Cilo were raised in an opulent villa in the Seine Valley, by their vile step-mother.
Cilo enlists in the army in Britannia at fifteen.
Lucius, Luc, is commander of an auxiliary cavalry unit of Legio XX, Valeria Victrix. The son of a Caledonian mercenary who joined Rome, he and his four brothers are renowned soldiers of great ability and bravery.
At 25 he has served ten years, is looking at another fifteen, and has had enough of killing. Exhausted and battle fatigued after the brutal AD77 Cambrian campaign, he has been weighing up his chances of survival as a deserter.
Maia is married off to her stepbrother, but is abandoned again when he returns to his post. Seizing her chance to escape, she joins an exclusive group of travelling priestesses on their way to Britannia. But they can only take her some of the way, and she finds herself moving through a complex web of lies and deceptions, where everyone she meets has a separate agenda.
If she can only trust Lucius, he can take her to her husband.
Everything she knows about the world will change, if she can survive the journey.
Complete online novel available at HISPANIA
DOWNLOAD PDF
BOOK TWO - AD82.
First century Spain was divided into three provinces: Lusitania and Baetica in the south, and Tarraconensis in the north. While the southern and central areas, once subdued, were quickly Romanized, the northern areas, up into the Pyrenees, maintained a ‘seething’ peace.
Although the siege of Numantia in 133BC marked the end of organized resistance to Rome, the Celtiberian tribes maintained their heritage of warrior elites, and their hatred of Rome. They accepted the comforts, infrastructure and the benefits of Empire, while remaining independent tribal city-states under the control of noble families.
The heroine, Marella is the daughter of one such family. The Lusones were one of the most powerful tribes in northern Hispania, with their power centred in Caesaraugusta. To the west, the most influential family was the Arevaci. Their base was the tribal capital of Numantia, a place as revered in Spanish history as Masada in the Holy Lands, and for much the same reason.
Falsely accused by a vile and corrupt Druidic high priest, she is set to be executed. Her rescuer is Marcus, a Roman deserter from Britannia who has made his home in the Gallego valley above Caesaraugusta.
Finding no purpose in the life he leads, bored and frustrated, he relishes the chance to face the challenges that come with saving the life of this young noblewoman. Her best chance of survival lies in travelling across the province to Numantia, and her only chance of survival is to do that with Marc.
Somehow they must stay ahead of High Priest Leucetius and the priests of a Romanised and corrupted temple; Marella's noble brother Taran and his standing army; and Rome herself.
Away from the capital, the Roman world was a complex, sometimes bloody blend and clash of cultures. The people were as many and varied as they are today, not stereotypical Roman ladies and gents consumed by the politics of Caesar's court.
Hispania is a glimpse into the less well known lives of Rome.
Complete online novel available at CALEDONIA
DOWNLOAD PDF
BOOK THREE AD84
By AD83 the Romans in Caledonia held a line of glen-blocking forts, (now known as the Gask Ridge forts, from Glasgow to Perth) and the three active legions, XXth, IXth and IInd, were split along this defensive line.
Calgacus was one of a number of first century Pictish barons; part of a landed class in northern Celt society with access to slaves, money, men and arms. He fixed on the plan to unify the Caledonian Celtic tribes against Rome, beginning with the tribes of the Forth-Clyde area.
After a crushing defeat at a fort along the Roman line, Calgacus tried the following year to bring in all the Pictish tribes, and rallied an army of perhaps sixty thousand men (and women) for the Battle of Mons Graupius.
Once Calgacus' lover, Eirbrin has been sent north to her family lands on the Gleann Mor above Inbhir Nis. Fanatical dedication to the fight to free Caledonia from Rome has been her only way to deal with the deep and disabling shames of her past.
When she meets Antony she believes she has found a mystic, a man of power who can help her to overcome the demons of guilt and shame.
He is a spy, a Natione - native Britons conscripted to the Roman auxiliary army - used extensively by Agricola in the Caledonian wars, where the Celt's guerrilla tactics and harsh terrain made success near to impossible.
Everything about him should warn Brin of his deception, but her longing to atone, her need to be free of shame, and her growing desire for him allow her to deny or justify any doubts that come.
To him, she should be no more than an enemy; and with her ties to the leader of the Picts, a formidable source of information. But as they move through the Caledonian midlands toward the gathering battle, her beauty and courage, her innocence and the unfaltering faith she places in him draw him into an impossible situation.
Trapped between an irresistible love and an immovable duty, he must find a way to untangle his web of lies, or return to a life of service, to live or die alone.
Both of them should know better.
L.
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Friday, May 28, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
BOOK LEARNING
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Fr Bob mentioned religions needing to ease up on fundamentalism, and it reminded me of Buddha saying, “When you know the rules, burn the books.”
*Allegory - no one advocates burning any books.
This story is ‘based on fact’, (poetic license inferred) but here’s my understanding of this process.
When I was little I loved horses. I rode them, I drew them, and I read about them. The kids at school who went to pony club wore Jodhpurs, stack hats and RM Williams leather knee boots to ride. They discussed rising trots, cruppers, bell boots and breastplates.
I rode barefoot in whatever I was wearing that day. I told them I had a screwball pony and they laughed and laughed. He was a skewball, but I should call him a pinto or a painted horse.
I couldn’t afford pony club, but I read and read and studied and studied horses.
Then one day I went mustering. An old ringer there said, “You catch that creamy horse.”
Full to brimming with booklearning, I suggested, “That is a palomino.” And I was right.
But the old bloke smiled and said, “Is it, mate? Well, I just call him creamy and he knows who I’m talking to.”
Years later, working in western Queensland, I heard horses referred to as a red ‘orse, yella ‘orse, brown ‘orse, mangey ‘orse, bally ‘orse and wally ‘orse. I never once heard a ringer comment on his mate’s rising trot – his head “like a dropped pie,” yes - but never his scuffed boots or bell covers.
The point being that pony club is a wonderful hobby, and dressage a beautiful sport, but when people are horsemen by day and night, they seem to have less to say about the rules.
It seems true of everything in life, that the people who know best what they are talking about, do less of the talking.
-
Fr Bob mentioned religions needing to ease up on fundamentalism, and it reminded me of Buddha saying, “When you know the rules, burn the books.”
*Allegory - no one advocates burning any books.
This story is ‘based on fact’, (poetic license inferred) but here’s my understanding of this process.
When I was little I loved horses. I rode them, I drew them, and I read about them. The kids at school who went to pony club wore Jodhpurs, stack hats and RM Williams leather knee boots to ride. They discussed rising trots, cruppers, bell boots and breastplates.
I rode barefoot in whatever I was wearing that day. I told them I had a screwball pony and they laughed and laughed. He was a skewball, but I should call him a pinto or a painted horse.
I couldn’t afford pony club, but I read and read and studied and studied horses.
Then one day I went mustering. An old ringer there said, “You catch that creamy horse.”
Full to brimming with booklearning, I suggested, “That is a palomino.” And I was right.
But the old bloke smiled and said, “Is it, mate? Well, I just call him creamy and he knows who I’m talking to.”
Years later, working in western Queensland, I heard horses referred to as a red ‘orse, yella ‘orse, brown ‘orse, mangey ‘orse, bally ‘orse and wally ‘orse. I never once heard a ringer comment on his mate’s rising trot – his head “like a dropped pie,” yes - but never his scuffed boots or bell covers.
The point being that pony club is a wonderful hobby, and dressage a beautiful sport, but when people are horsemen by day and night, they seem to have less to say about the rules.
It seems true of everything in life, that the people who know best what they are talking about, do less of the talking.
-
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
A BIT LOST...
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I find finishing a novel is a bit like having had friends to stay. Even the ones you love dearly start to bug you after a bit.
Every day you wake up and they are right there, waiting to be fed, or needing research and information, or making demands and taking up the brainspace you need to get the simplest of life tasks done competently.
You get to wishing they’d go. You start getting irritable and start picking at them, little faults start to look grotesque, and you start arguing with them about what they’ve done or said….
Then they go.
Every morning you wake up and there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly urgent that needs your attention. You stare at the telly or the computer screen, but there isn’t anyone staring back.
Of course there is always something to be going on with – an idea for inviting some new folks to stay – or catching up with all the things in life that you put on hold while you were wading through a few hundred thousand words.
It’s not the same, though. You miss them.
I miss them.
-
I find finishing a novel is a bit like having had friends to stay. Even the ones you love dearly start to bug you after a bit.
Every day you wake up and they are right there, waiting to be fed, or needing research and information, or making demands and taking up the brainspace you need to get the simplest of life tasks done competently.
You get to wishing they’d go. You start getting irritable and start picking at them, little faults start to look grotesque, and you start arguing with them about what they’ve done or said….
Then they go.
Every morning you wake up and there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly urgent that needs your attention. You stare at the telly or the computer screen, but there isn’t anyone staring back.
Of course there is always something to be going on with – an idea for inviting some new folks to stay – or catching up with all the things in life that you put on hold while you were wading through a few hundred thousand words.
It’s not the same, though. You miss them.
I miss them.
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Saturday, May 15, 2010
LETITIA RECOMMENDS
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Hello again.
Today I wanted to mention a couple of online reads, not just directories but a couple of stories which I think stand out from the crowd.
PIXELNYX ORIGINAL FICTION
I’ve only read “The Komatsu Wombat and the Fantastical Anticlimax” – there are other stories, long and short there, but I loved this. Just loved it. I’ll go back for the rest.
EMBER by Bettie Sharpe
This was one of the first online fiction pieces I read, and it knocked my socks off. I came to the web with nasty preconceptions, and this was one of the stories that smashed those ideas to bits. It’s brilliant.
Do yourself a favour, goodly folk of readerdom, go and have a butchers.
Pip pip,
L.
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Hello again.
Today I wanted to mention a couple of online reads, not just directories but a couple of stories which I think stand out from the crowd.
PIXELNYX ORIGINAL FICTION
I’ve only read “The Komatsu Wombat and the Fantastical Anticlimax” – there are other stories, long and short there, but I loved this. Just loved it. I’ll go back for the rest.
EMBER by Bettie Sharpe
This was one of the first online fiction pieces I read, and it knocked my socks off. I came to the web with nasty preconceptions, and this was one of the stories that smashed those ideas to bits. It’s brilliant.
Do yourself a favour, goodly folk of readerdom, go and have a butchers.
Pip pip,
L.
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Friday, May 14, 2010
BOB SQUAD
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Hi folks.
If you feel there is something you'd like to do this winter to help people doing it tough, why not pop over and visit Fr Bob Maguire. Fr Bob is all over this technology caper - as you will see.
Call in to Fr BOB’S FOUNDATION and maybe buy a Viva la Bob tee shirt. Bob is blogging, too. His links are all there.
Some people are born great, some have greatness thrust upon them, and some, like Bob, stay behind to clean up the mess.
Thanks Bob and team.
L.
Hi folks.
If you feel there is something you'd like to do this winter to help people doing it tough, why not pop over and visit Fr Bob Maguire. Fr Bob is all over this technology caper - as you will see.
Call in to Fr BOB’S FOUNDATION and maybe buy a Viva la Bob tee shirt. Bob is blogging, too. His links are all there.
Some people are born great, some have greatness thrust upon them, and some, like Bob, stay behind to clean up the mess.
Thanks Bob and team.
L.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
BRAVE NEW WORLD
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "GO CHECK OUT:":
It seems that there is a lot of discussion out there in cyberspace about the direction of publishing in general. To add to the argument there is self publishing and self promotion vs the publishing house contract... one author I know says that her experience of the contract was that apart from the initial interest in her book the publishing house soon forgot her and her book as they moved on to the next author in line... and even when she self promoted and got books sold she was giving the publishing house their cut for doing nothing... if you can afford the initial outlay of paper print and sell your book and yourself to any and every market ... you reap the rewards... ebooks is fine... but giving your work away has to be argued as a negative ... as an author you worked hard to write the stories you should be rewarded financially... my question is does ebooks create a culture of something for giving nothing... does this devalue the work of the author...
That is a story I have heard repeatedly. I watched 'Jen Bynre Presents' with Di Morrissey, Bryce Courtenay, Lee Child and Matthew Reilly who all STILL do most of their own promotion. Anything they can do, they do.
Here is a link which discusses some of the rationale in giving books away:
BAEN LIBRARY.
Yes, I do think digital delivery will mean a sizable loss for authors, as it has for musicians. But I am so tech illiterate, I don't even begin to question what the solutions are there.
Self publishing works, sometimes. For their faults, editors and publishers do tend to have a finger on the pulse of what is going to sell, after all, they rely on sales themselves. If a novel has a flaw which makes it unacceptable to publishers - and that does not neccessarily mean it is badly written - it may have a small audience or be too long or too short or too graphic etc, I fear for its chances of huge retail success.
People do it, though. They make up their costs and then some, and good on 'em. Whatever works.
If webficiton authors can broaden their genre preference, advertisze collectively, and work out some quality assurance criteria, they need not ever have to give the publishing companies a share.
I'm just not confident that the community is coherent enough to do that. Maybe I'm worng.
EDIT: Wrong. Wrong. Just plain wrong. Coherent as. Just couldn't co any more herently if it was glued with a big sticky glue thing.
L.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "GO CHECK OUT:":
It seems that there is a lot of discussion out there in cyberspace about the direction of publishing in general. To add to the argument there is self publishing and self promotion vs the publishing house contract... one author I know says that her experience of the contract was that apart from the initial interest in her book the publishing house soon forgot her and her book as they moved on to the next author in line... and even when she self promoted and got books sold she was giving the publishing house their cut for doing nothing... if you can afford the initial outlay of paper print and sell your book and yourself to any and every market ... you reap the rewards... ebooks is fine... but giving your work away has to be argued as a negative ... as an author you worked hard to write the stories you should be rewarded financially... my question is does ebooks create a culture of something for giving nothing... does this devalue the work of the author...
That is a story I have heard repeatedly. I watched 'Jen Bynre Presents' with Di Morrissey, Bryce Courtenay, Lee Child and Matthew Reilly who all STILL do most of their own promotion. Anything they can do, they do.
Here is a link which discusses some of the rationale in giving books away:
BAEN LIBRARY.
Yes, I do think digital delivery will mean a sizable loss for authors, as it has for musicians. But I am so tech illiterate, I don't even begin to question what the solutions are there.
Self publishing works, sometimes. For their faults, editors and publishers do tend to have a finger on the pulse of what is going to sell, after all, they rely on sales themselves. If a novel has a flaw which makes it unacceptable to publishers - and that does not neccessarily mean it is badly written - it may have a small audience or be too long or too short or too graphic etc, I fear for its chances of huge retail success.
People do it, though. They make up their costs and then some, and good on 'em. Whatever works.
If webficiton authors can broaden their genre preference, advertisze collectively, and work out some quality assurance criteria, they need not ever have to give the publishing companies a share.
I'm just not confident that the community is coherent enough to do that. Maybe I'm worng.
EDIT: Wrong. Wrong. Just plain wrong. Coherent as. Just couldn't co any more herently if it was glued with a big sticky glue thing.
L.
-
Saturday, May 8, 2010
GO CHECK OUT:
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Hi everyone.
I thought I might remind readers to go and have a look at some great sites.
Have you checked out ERGOfiction, a great e-zine for web fiction fans.
BLUE DOG BLURBS has updated, too, for some more quick fic and a new play.
I have been devouring anything I can find on the future of publishing. I think it has to go digital. I also think the standard in popular (pulp) fiction on the shelves is falling, and book sales are not rising. Makes sense to me, especially when there need not be a middleman in the transaction between author and reader.
Time will tell.
Don't forget to check Tonya Moore's listings at WEB FICTION DIRECTORY.
There are new listings in many genres, all the time at ONLINE NOVELS.
Jennifer has an enormous selection of fiction in all genres at FREE ONLINE NOVELS.
Support the online community, and get the word out there. If you attend a writers' group, let the members know how high the quality of fiction is here, and get them thinking about the possibilities for idie publishing online.
If you have been thinking about the freedom of online publishing, but are not tech minded, drop me a line and I will direct you to a community who can help and support you in using FREE web pages for your work.
Best wishes to all.
L.
-
Hi everyone.
I thought I might remind readers to go and have a look at some great sites.
Have you checked out ERGOfiction, a great e-zine for web fiction fans.
BLUE DOG BLURBS has updated, too, for some more quick fic and a new play.
I have been devouring anything I can find on the future of publishing. I think it has to go digital. I also think the standard in popular (pulp) fiction on the shelves is falling, and book sales are not rising. Makes sense to me, especially when there need not be a middleman in the transaction between author and reader.
Time will tell.
Don't forget to check Tonya Moore's listings at WEB FICTION DIRECTORY.
There are new listings in many genres, all the time at ONLINE NOVELS.
Jennifer has an enormous selection of fiction in all genres at FREE ONLINE NOVELS.
Support the online community, and get the word out there. If you attend a writers' group, let the members know how high the quality of fiction is here, and get them thinking about the possibilities for idie publishing online.
If you have been thinking about the freedom of online publishing, but are not tech minded, drop me a line and I will direct you to a community who can help and support you in using FREE web pages for your work.
Best wishes to all.
L.
-
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
PETRA APOLOGIES
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I am so sorry PETRA is taking so long to get up online. For a story finished three years ago, it is very reluctant to leave the nest.
I just can't get it right, it's making me crazy.
I go off and read net fiction instead. I like a quiet room to write in; finding netfiction is like sitting in a street cafe and trying to concentrate. Everytime I stall, I start clicking through reviews and glancing at promising stories.
Net communities can be risky, I've found.
I saw a nasty blow up a little while ago. A person made a lot of positive comments, then began to be less positive, then became relentlessly critical, then blew up unexpectedly in everyones face; feeling the lack of direct engagement through the process as rejection and worse, feeling an expression of other's success was intended as a direct criticism of his.
Now it seems to be happening again. Bummer.
I need to get back to my quiet world. Except it appears there is good reason to believe that electronic delivery is THE way forward for all writing. I'm a bit excited by the prospect. I wonder how quickly the general public will accept digital books. I can't see why it would take long. Trees are much loved. Hand held devices are much loved.
eFiction other than the aforementioned ghoulies and ghosties must find a place to establish itself. We live in interesting times.
-
I am so sorry PETRA is taking so long to get up online. For a story finished three years ago, it is very reluctant to leave the nest.
I just can't get it right, it's making me crazy.
I go off and read net fiction instead. I like a quiet room to write in; finding netfiction is like sitting in a street cafe and trying to concentrate. Everytime I stall, I start clicking through reviews and glancing at promising stories.
Net communities can be risky, I've found.
I saw a nasty blow up a little while ago. A person made a lot of positive comments, then began to be less positive, then became relentlessly critical, then blew up unexpectedly in everyones face; feeling the lack of direct engagement through the process as rejection and worse, feeling an expression of other's success was intended as a direct criticism of his.
Now it seems to be happening again. Bummer.
I need to get back to my quiet world. Except it appears there is good reason to believe that electronic delivery is THE way forward for all writing. I'm a bit excited by the prospect. I wonder how quickly the general public will accept digital books. I can't see why it would take long. Trees are much loved. Hand held devices are much loved.
eFiction other than the aforementioned ghoulies and ghosties must find a place to establish itself. We live in interesting times.
-
Monday, May 3, 2010
DIALOGUE DILEMMA
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Oh, now there’s a good question.
Elaine pointed out that there were places in BRITANNIA where ‘the dialogue drops me back into the 20th Century’. That is a fault I have to correct, because there should be no jolt. All of the dialogue should be modern, the slang and references should all be immediately recognizable to today’s reader. It is obvious, though, that some colloquialisms are a step too far – Studmuffin.
I spoke once to an editor who found anachronisms like this extremely jarring. She mentioned a western story, where a Native American character ‘inched’ forward. Others don’t notice, or don’t mind so much. One reader commented that the dialogue was like standing in the same room listening to people speaking.
I will have to let you into a poorly kept secret. Many of the characterizations, situations and dialogue in these stories are reactive. Most appear directly as a result of a strong dislike of preset frameworks accepted in Romance fiction. Not in the formula itself, in the ‘norms’ that have developed.
The dialogue is my reaction against the pseudo classical dialogue I found in so much Historical Romance. Quazi Austen; almost but not quite. Then in some Roman historicals I found characters speaking what I’ve come to refer angrily to as pseudo-dago. Some form of insulting non-specific Mediterranean-ish dialect which not only disrupts normal syntax, but is even occasionally accompanied by mispronunciations. Intelligent Romans – but they don’t speaka so good English.
There is also this thing with the depiction of Celts especially in pop culture, as filth covered semi-Neanderthal creatures living in mud and sod huts even into the C3rd and C4th. Primitive and dirty. Not too bright. Not as human as us. It’s a pet peeve.
The result for me was historical figures in a historical framework who speak and act much as someone you might meet tomorrow on the street.
Then there is the villain in HISPANIA as a rapist. Sorry, that is a direct reaction against my visceral hatred of the idealization of sexually violent and abusive men. I can’t hear anymore about the rape fantasy being the one and only erotic ideal in modern women’s fiction. There are 10 well defined common female sexual fantasies. [I point out here a distinction from specific erotica based on BDSM. Separate issue, different genre.]
I can’t stand it.
I can’t stand the notion that if a man is sexually violent, verbally and emotionally abusive, a drinker, gambler and womanizer –a rake - all he needs is a woman who loves him enough and he’ll come good.
I’d say the thousands of women a year who die in Domestic Violence incidents could argue persuasively against that ideal. If they weren’t dead. Worldwide 30%-50% of all women experience DV, 70% of female homicides are DV. Yes, that means you are twice as likely to be murdered by the ‘rake’ you love as by a stranger in the street at night.
It is alright to have a misogynist or a malignant narcissist as hero. Quite acceptable. But a rapist as antagonist is pushing the limit, I’m afraid; not allowed.
Also, my boys have a fair degree of sexual self control. That too, is a direct result of the poor chaps who people Romance novels and who gad about in a state of painful priapism from the moment they see the heroine. I never knew, growing up, that if a man discovers a persistent groaner throbbing away in his trousers; it is evidence of his deep and eternal devotion. All those boys I could have lived with happily ever after, if only I’d recognized the sign.
Last of course is Magic Dick. That’s an illusion where lovers spring together and pound away to the 1812 Overture - and fireworks light up the sky. I wish I had some magic dick.
I don’t dis Romance novels. They are very popular. I just cannot write them to accepted form – I react.
L.
-
Oh, now there’s a good question.
Elaine pointed out that there were places in BRITANNIA where ‘the dialogue drops me back into the 20th Century’. That is a fault I have to correct, because there should be no jolt. All of the dialogue should be modern, the slang and references should all be immediately recognizable to today’s reader. It is obvious, though, that some colloquialisms are a step too far – Studmuffin.
I spoke once to an editor who found anachronisms like this extremely jarring. She mentioned a western story, where a Native American character ‘inched’ forward. Others don’t notice, or don’t mind so much. One reader commented that the dialogue was like standing in the same room listening to people speaking.
I will have to let you into a poorly kept secret. Many of the characterizations, situations and dialogue in these stories are reactive. Most appear directly as a result of a strong dislike of preset frameworks accepted in Romance fiction. Not in the formula itself, in the ‘norms’ that have developed.
The dialogue is my reaction against the pseudo classical dialogue I found in so much Historical Romance. Quazi Austen; almost but not quite. Then in some Roman historicals I found characters speaking what I’ve come to refer angrily to as pseudo-dago. Some form of insulting non-specific Mediterranean-ish dialect which not only disrupts normal syntax, but is even occasionally accompanied by mispronunciations. Intelligent Romans – but they don’t speaka so good English.
There is also this thing with the depiction of Celts especially in pop culture, as filth covered semi-Neanderthal creatures living in mud and sod huts even into the C3rd and C4th. Primitive and dirty. Not too bright. Not as human as us. It’s a pet peeve.
The result for me was historical figures in a historical framework who speak and act much as someone you might meet tomorrow on the street.
Then there is the villain in HISPANIA as a rapist. Sorry, that is a direct reaction against my visceral hatred of the idealization of sexually violent and abusive men. I can’t hear anymore about the rape fantasy being the one and only erotic ideal in modern women’s fiction. There are 10 well defined common female sexual fantasies. [I point out here a distinction from specific erotica based on BDSM. Separate issue, different genre.]
I can’t stand it.
I can’t stand the notion that if a man is sexually violent, verbally and emotionally abusive, a drinker, gambler and womanizer –a rake - all he needs is a woman who loves him enough and he’ll come good.
I’d say the thousands of women a year who die in Domestic Violence incidents could argue persuasively against that ideal. If they weren’t dead. Worldwide 30%-50% of all women experience DV, 70% of female homicides are DV. Yes, that means you are twice as likely to be murdered by the ‘rake’ you love as by a stranger in the street at night.
It is alright to have a misogynist or a malignant narcissist as hero. Quite acceptable. But a rapist as antagonist is pushing the limit, I’m afraid; not allowed.
Also, my boys have a fair degree of sexual self control. That too, is a direct result of the poor chaps who people Romance novels and who gad about in a state of painful priapism from the moment they see the heroine. I never knew, growing up, that if a man discovers a persistent groaner throbbing away in his trousers; it is evidence of his deep and eternal devotion. All those boys I could have lived with happily ever after, if only I’d recognized the sign.
Last of course is Magic Dick. That’s an illusion where lovers spring together and pound away to the 1812 Overture - and fireworks light up the sky. I wish I had some magic dick.
I don’t dis Romance novels. They are very popular. I just cannot write them to accepted form – I react.
L.
-
Sunday, May 2, 2010
HEYA.
-
It's been the best of weeks, it's been the worst of weeks.
I got plenty done, word count wise. Got into the headspace.
But my sick hen gave up the ghost, and another little one was attacked by something and had to be put down. Now one has an infected eye. My Gran had chooks for years that never once got ill.
A friend was rushed to hospital, and is bruised all over from needle jabbers.
My pup gave up trying to give me his frizbee, and following the sound of him whine/growling, I found him repeatedly putting the frizbee on top of Misty, the Siamese princess. She was not happy. Ears flat unhappy. She doesn't DO frizbee.
I accidently mixed up my old animals medications and gave the old cat the old dog's antihistamine. Spent the day on google vet and watching him anxiously as he slept peacefully through the ordeal. Luckily I didn't give the dog his thyroid med. lol.
My boys trooped off somewhere for the long weekend and I have no washing or washing up to do. I miss having something to complain about.
I finally got to see Avatar. I finally got to see Inglourious Basterds.
There was some sort of glitch showing in Google Analytics on BRITANNIA and HISPANIA pages. I emailed all the people who had returned 'form errors' I hope. If you left a comment and haven't had a reply, try again or email. Sorry.
I read, I slept, I sat alone in the computer nook. My autistic cat came and stood in front of the monitor, and the pup put a foot on my lap to draw my attention. Then Kitty sat on the keyboard, and the pup whined and pulled the zipper on my pocket. When I pulled the cat down onto my lap so I could continue, the pup grabbed my sleeve and then my hand in his mouth.
I thought when my kids grew up and became independant, I would be free to choose my own pasttimes and activities. No. Wrong.
Wouldn't change it, tho.
AHA!! And a STOP PRESS happytime moment. BRITANNIA just went into the ONLINE NOVELS April Most Popular read list. Thanks folks.
L.
-
It's been the best of weeks, it's been the worst of weeks.
I got plenty done, word count wise. Got into the headspace.
But my sick hen gave up the ghost, and another little one was attacked by something and had to be put down. Now one has an infected eye. My Gran had chooks for years that never once got ill.
A friend was rushed to hospital, and is bruised all over from needle jabbers.
My pup gave up trying to give me his frizbee, and following the sound of him whine/growling, I found him repeatedly putting the frizbee on top of Misty, the Siamese princess. She was not happy. Ears flat unhappy. She doesn't DO frizbee.
I accidently mixed up my old animals medications and gave the old cat the old dog's antihistamine. Spent the day on google vet and watching him anxiously as he slept peacefully through the ordeal. Luckily I didn't give the dog his thyroid med. lol.
My boys trooped off somewhere for the long weekend and I have no washing or washing up to do. I miss having something to complain about.
I finally got to see Avatar. I finally got to see Inglourious Basterds.
There was some sort of glitch showing in Google Analytics on BRITANNIA and HISPANIA pages. I emailed all the people who had returned 'form errors' I hope. If you left a comment and haven't had a reply, try again or email. Sorry.
I read, I slept, I sat alone in the computer nook. My autistic cat came and stood in front of the monitor, and the pup put a foot on my lap to draw my attention. Then Kitty sat on the keyboard, and the pup whined and pulled the zipper on my pocket. When I pulled the cat down onto my lap so I could continue, the pup grabbed my sleeve and then my hand in his mouth.
I thought when my kids grew up and became independant, I would be free to choose my own pasttimes and activities. No. Wrong.
Wouldn't change it, tho.
AHA!! And a STOP PRESS happytime moment. BRITANNIA just went into the ONLINE NOVELS April Most Popular read list. Thanks folks.
L.
-
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