Marriage Annulments in Jane Austen’s World

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Marriage was a serious business in the regency. Divorce was nearly impossible to obtain, but what about annulments? What happened if a young person ‘married in haste’ but then repented of his or her decision? Annulment, when possible, was the best option to end a marriage since it did not carry the social stigma of a divorce (which was nearly impossible to obtain). Unlike a divorce, an annulment voided a marriage, making it as if it … Continue reading →

Not a typo—I really meant Nuncheon

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On more than one occasion I’ve had a well-meaning reader point out to me a ‘typo’ that wasn’t. I’ll be the first to admit, my typing is less than perfect and typos get by me sometimes. But every once in awhile, I actually typed a weird looking word right.  The word in question is a weird one indeed. It looks like a modern word we use, sort of sounds like that word, seems like it … Continue reading →

A Less Agreeable Man: Deleted Scene#4

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Writers have a saying, ‘You have to kill your darlings’, which means stuff gets cut in the editing process. It’s tough, but it has to be done.  Scenes get cut for number of different reasons. This one, like the first in this series,  suffered the axe when I applied the ‘does it make a difference’ test. In other words, if I cut this scene does it make any difference in the story? In this case … Continue reading →

Rising Waters: A Totally Different Game

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Sometimes you wake up and really do find everything has changed. In case you missed part 1 or 2:  Rising Waters, part 1 Risings Waters Part 2 Writers are told to avoid clichés. Clichés like: When she awoke that morning everything had changed and nothing would ever be the same again. In general, that’s good advice. Except when that’s exactly what happens. Monday morning was a little different. The rain had let up just a … Continue reading →

A Less Agreeable Man: Deleted Scene#3

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Writers have a saying, ‘You have to kill your darlings’, which means stuff gets cut in the editing process. It’s tough, but it has to be done.  Scenes get cut for number of different reasons. This one suffered the axe for a different sort of reason. After doing some research I discovered that women did sometimes attend funerals during the regency era. (Click here for a fascinating article on the topic.) It seemed very much … Continue reading →