Back to Top

Monthly Archives: August 2007

I recently read THE IMMORTAL DINNER, by Penelope Hughes-Hallett, subtitled “A Famous Evening of Genius and Laughter in Literary London”. The book centers around a dinner party held by painter Robert Haydon whose guest list included John Keats, William Wordsworth and Charles Lamb. There’s lots of interesting background information on the participants and their contemporaries.

For example, there’s an account of Coleridge composing poetry “in walking over uneven ground, or breaking through the straggling branches of a copse-wood” while Wordsworth preferred “walking up and down a straight gravel-walk, or in some spot where the continuity of his verse met with no collateral interruption.”

Maybe it’s presumptuous, but I love it when I read about famous writers with similar habits to mine. “Thinking walks” are part of my own writing process. I’m more like Wordsworth–I like a reasonably level path, to keep my mind free to focus on my story–which is a good thing as copse-woods are scarce in my neighborhood.

Another account that made me smile was this one by Marianne Knight, one of Jane Austen’s nieces. “I also remember how Aunt Jane would sit quietly working (which meant sewing) beside the fire in the library, saying nothing for a good while, and then would suddenly burst out laughing, jump up and run across the room to a table where pens and paper were lying, write something down, and then come back across to the fire and go on quietly working as before.”

I always keep a writing pad in my purse, one by my bedside, and one on the kitchen counter for just that reason. Ideas don’t always come while I’m actively writing–perversely, some of the best ones come when I’m doing something else. Perhaps it’s because sewing and walking, both rhythmic activities, loosen up the creative process for me as they do for other artists I know.

Do you have any favorite accounts of famous writers’ processes? Are there any quirky habits you use that help you be creative, whatever your field of endeavor?

And to anyone who sees a woman striding through a neighborhood muttering to herself, remember she may not be crazy. She may just be a writer. 🙂

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

The past two weeks, I’ve been at the Jersey Shore*, observing egregious fashion choices (short shorts are NOT for everybody), eating way too much ice cream, and of course reading books.

I’ve devoured at least five thus far, with a sixth about to be finished, if I have my way.

During the summer, I don’t get a lot of time to do my own writing (my Son is in Camp Mommy, so I am on call most days), so I make up for that by reading a ton.

My favorite thing to do is to rotate genres: First romance, then action, then sci-fi, then historical fiction, then back to romance, etc. So this summer I have read Barbara Hambly‘s fourth book in the Benjamin January series, Die Upon A Kiss, Tara Janzen‘s Crazy Kisses, MaryJanice Davidson‘s Drop Dead, Gorgeous, Liz Carlyle‘s Never Lie To A Lady, and Lee Child‘s Tripwire.

I’ve read all of these authors before; summer beach reads are not for experimenting, because if you hate the book, you’re stuck in the sand with it.

I don’t do any research reading during the summer because I get too frustrated at not being able to write; instead, I try to figure out what it is I like about each author I read. Hambly I love for her language and ability to make any setting–in this case, 1830s New Orleans–come alive. Her hero, Benjamin January, is a complex character who you really come to know, and who grows throughout the course of the series. Tara Janzen’s Crazy series are fast-paced, delicious fun, great for her ability to get into a man’s head. Lee Child is just plain brilliant. Liz Carlyle’s writing is lush and gorgeous, and this hero is just about perfect for me–nothing gets to my heart like a tortured alpha male. And MaryJanice Davidson’s voice is so fantastic I don’t care her plots are as thin as some of the bathing suits I’ve seen on the beach this week.

Next week, we go back to reality: Brooklyn, school, writing, washing my own dishes, the possibility of sweatshirts. But right now I’m reaching for another book in the huge pile and savoring the last few days of summer.

Megan
*on dial-up, so no pictures.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Replies


Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born on this day in 1797, the daughter of radicals Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. Well-educated and not particularly happy at home (there was some friction between Mary and her stepmother Mary Jane Clairmont), it was only natural that when a handsome young poet showed up, she’d fall in love and run off with him. Mary’s step-sister Claire Clairmont, who later had a torrid affair with Byron, accompanied them to Europe.

Shelley already had a wife, Harriet, but these were the heady days of sex, opium, and the sonata form. Godwin, his radical sexual politics put to the test, became estranged from his daughter.

In the summer of 1816, Shelley, Mary, and Byron were in Switzerland and it was there, in response to a challenge to tell the best ghost story, Mary started to write Frankenstein.

After Shelley’s death in 1822 she returned to England and supported herself as a writer until her death in 1851, penning short stories, essays, poems, and reviews, and several other novels.

I’m not doing justice at all to Mary’s adventurous, unconventional, and sad life, so I encourage you to read a book that does–Passion by Jude Morgan. It’s about the women who became entangled with Byron, Shelley, and Keats, beautifully written, and with a wonderfully strong sense of time and place. I was going to save this one for my beach reads, or best reads of 2007 blog, but it’s so good I have to tell you about it right now, and what better time than Mary’s birthday.

Have you read this book or any other book, fictional or biographical, about the Godwins, Mary, Shelley, Byron et al? Do you have any recommendations?

Subscribe to the Riskies newsletter at riskies@yahoo.com with NEWSLETTER in the subject line for monster sightings; and there are only two days left to enter my contest at www.janetmullany.com.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 15 Replies

The term “beach reads” is a bit of a misnomer as torrential rain early in the week and then record-high temperatures later in the week limited beach activities during my vacation last week. And if anyone thinks rain means more time indoors and more time to read hasn’t been on vacation with 3 kids between the ages of 4 and 11. To avoid too much cabin fever at the cottage we made excursions to local caverns and children’s museums instead–fun places but not conducive to reading.

So I read only about half as much as last year but thoroughly enjoyed what I did get to. I am desperately trying to catch up with my fellow Riskies’ new releases. Though I couldn’t get a copy of Amanda’s A Notorious Woman (had to order it) I did bring along Janet’s The Rules of Gentility. A delightful spoof of a Regency (IMHO the best spoofs also show love for the subject) and had me laughing out loud a number of times. I couldn’t explain it all to my children, of course, but now they want to read it when they’re old enough. 🙂

Next I picked up Pam Rosenthal’s The Slightest Provocation. I’m not surprised it finaled in the RITAs. The characterizations are deep and true, the sex is earthy and more real for not being perfect. Sorry, Pam, I know I’m not doing the book justice here but my brain is too fried to come up with better descriptions. Anyway, I recommend this to anyone who hasn’t read it yet.

On the last day I picked up Loretta Chase’s lastest release, NOT QUITE A LADY. In the flurry of unpacking and such I still haven’t finished it but so far it’s got the classic Chase mix of angst and humor. I can’t wait for things to settle down so I can enjoy finishing it!

As to other vacation activities, I can’t resist talking about roller coasters. Tuesday we had the perfect day to visit Cedar Point: overcast and late in the season, lines were short to nonexistant. It was great fun riding the coasters I rode as a teenager–the Blue Streak, the Wildcat, the Gemini–and taking my kids on them for the first time. Because we had to deal with a lot of different ages in our party I wasn’t able to try some of the new, scarier coasters–like the Top Thrill Dragster, pictured right. I’m told the G forces are amazing. Maybe next year. Maybe.

Bringing this post back to relevance, I couldn’t resist checking out the history of roller coasters. I was delighted to learn that there even were two roller coasters built in France in 1817: the Les Montagues Russes a Belleville (the Russian Mountains of Belleville) and Promenades Aeriennes (The Aerial Walk). You can read more about them at www.ultimaterollercoaster.com.

I suspect it would not have been considered ladylike (particularly for an English heroine) to ride one of these French coasters but wouldn’t it be fun to work it into a story?

So before it’s completely over, what were your best reads and rides of the summer?

Elena, still wrestling mountains of laundry
www.elenagreene.com


Sometimes I wish I read faster.

I had friends in college who could read a novel in an hour. There are times when I sigh, and think how many books I could read if I were like that.

And I don’t read particularly slowly, either — but I have so many books I want to read…and I get further behind every month.

Sometimes, though, I suspect that I get more from a book than those old friends of mine. Maybe they were really skimming the book, and getting the story but missing the details, the setting, the subtleties.

And even if I’m not getting more details of the story than they were, perhaps I’m paying more attention to the prose. (Or is that just wishful thinking?)

How about you? Do you wish you read faster? Or do you think you’d miss too much if you did?

Remember: next Tuesday in the Jane Austen movie club we discuss the Ang Lee/Emma Thompson Sense & Sensibility!

Cara
Cara King, author of My Lady Gamester and writer of silly taglines which no one reads

Follow
Get every new post delivered to your inbox
Join millions of other followers
Powered By WPFruits.com