Sources: Life Goes On

First, please read On historical writing.

Now, enjoy this list of references I used while writing this...thing, hahaha.

(By the way, I'm not going to put every website I used, specifically from Wikipedia--assume that unless otherwise noted I got my information from the pages linked to within the article, but still within Wikipedia--for example, I got my information about Alan Rufus via Gunhild's page plus information gathered from the Earl of Richmond page.)

1840s fashion (Wikipedia)
Fashion 1800 (victoriana.com)
Gunhild of Wessex (Wikipedia)
The American Metropolis by Frank Moss (1897)
Historical Fashion Blog
And because I don't know exactly how a house is built...

Herm...so I just found this youtube video on "The Secret Lives of Trolls". Now I'm wondering if my portrayal of Jeff as a "Troll" is accurate. Is he possibly a "Troll Slayer"? I'm not sure. I envision him as writing both sides of the argument. So on one hand, he's both Troll and Slayer, with the Slayer always winning. BUT at the end of the day, he's commandeering the conversation so that his voice is the loudest, which is standard Troll operating procedure. So, like everything else, it's highly debatable, but I still think he'd describe himself as a Troll in order to commandeer the title to discredit the Trolls--he trolls the Trolls, thus making him a Troll.

OMG. So, I'm working on my family genealogy and while I "quickly" lost track of the Flusches (I only got a generation or two further than I'd previously found), I have discovered that I can trace my lineage to AT LEAST 1000 AD Germany. And, I just found that in 1063 one Bernhard II. von Werl built Arnsburg Castle, hehehe. All I've really wanted to do is to say that there's a castle in my family and there is!! I haven't gone about verifying the information yet; I've currently got 7 tabs open where there's at least one generation further for me to go. I'm incredibly thankful to Bernd Josef Jansen because he's done a heck of a lot of work. I need to figure out how we're related.

Research for Guarding Princess

So, it's no secret that I enjoy doing research for my books and sharing it with others. Had I been thinking about it, I'd have included the research I'd done for Life Goes On  in the print version (reality is that I'd totally forgotten about the research because after about halfway through it was no longer necessary).

Anywho. Here's my list of sources for Guarding Princess (name may change).

Ironically, this first source on basic use of a quarterstaff seems (to be blatantly) geared towards men. Hopefully I'll remember to include them in my acknowledgements especially since I really want to use their techniques and they seem to be unique.

I might be in over my head here: Historical Dance
--Umm...yeah. Did not realize just how specific dancing can be. Alas, looks like to be in any way accurate, for what I want I cannot stick with the ONE ballroom dance I'm kind of comfortable with--the Waltz. Sigh. Luckily, while the dance must be accurate for my taste, I'm not stuck with being historically accurate (yay for made up countries!).

So...never use an adverb to modify the verb said. Given that this is one thing I disliked about Life Goes On (it's a repetitive and dull way to go about things), I'm a bit annoyed that I didn't stumble upon this tip earlier. Granted, variety is necessary, so breaking this rule occasionally is fine. Some authors (ex: Stephen King) say to never venture beyond said. I agree in most cases, but again, you need the variety. Still, it's a very good tip which FORCES a writer to figure out another way to express the feeling of the dialogue.