Writer’s Groups:
Kentuckiana Romance Writers –Come check out these wonderful writers!
Outreach International RWA — An online RWA chapter that provides high quality workshops.
From the Heart Romance Writers — An online RWA chapter with over 200 members. Very useful forums.
Romance Writers of America — The best thing I ever did as a writer was to join RWA.
My Articles:
Architecture at the Royal Academy of Arts
Writers’ Resources
Ackerman, Angela & Becca Puglisi, The Emotion Thesaurus. 2012. You’ve probably seen this on a lot of other people’s lists. It truly is helpful when you’re stuck trying to come up with something fresh to write.
Margie Lawson — When it comes to writing courses, you can’t do much better. Go purchase her Deep Editing and Empowering Characters’ Emotions lecture packets now. You won’t regret it.
Michael Hauge — I first encountered Hauge’s “Identity to Essence” lecture at a RWA conference. Wow. It’s my favorite way to conceptualize a romantic plot and make sure I have the needed tension.
Snyder, Blake. Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need. Michael Wiese Productions: 2005. Another good resource for plotting your book.
The Chicago Manual of Style. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010. You may think you know your grammar, but there is always something to learn.
Caldarone, Marina & Lloyd-Williams, Maggie. Actions: The Actors’ Thesaurus. Drama Publishers: 2004. This is a thesaurus of action words, plain and simple. It is also a fantastic tool to amplify the power of your writing.
People who do Regency Research way better than me:
Kristen Koster (Kristen calls herself a “research ninja,” and she is!)
Candice Hern (Candice’s Regency World is an excellent source for all things Regency, particularly fashion and people)
Michele Sinclair (Michele has a wide collection of Regency topics. I could spend days clicking on links.)
Dorset History
The Dorset Page Click on the “History” tab for some really wonderful links to local history
Dorset Maps A free page containing old maps of Dorset
Udal, John. Dorsetshire Folk-Lore. 1922. Takes a look at old sources to come up with a discussion of customs, superstitions, songs, and games from Dorset, many in the 19th century.
Miscellaneous British Research
Geograph I love this resource. The object of Geograph is to collect photographs of every square kilometer of Great Britain.
The Woodland Trust Their guide to native and non-native British trees has been extremely helpful. Great pictures.
Timpson, John. Timpsons English Eccentrics. Norwich: Jarrold, 1994. This book is fascinating. Learn about people like the 5th Duke of Portland who painted all the rooms in Welbeck Abbey pink (Pepto-Bismo-ish) and then installed in full view a lavoratory basin in each.
Leapman, Michael. Eyewitness Travel Guides: Great Britain. London: Dorling Kindersley (P) (A), 2003. These guides are actually pretty helpful when I want to know what the countryside, houses, and monuments look like and can’t travel to England myself.
Regency and Georgian Resources
Laudermilk, Sharon H., and Teresa L. Hamlin. The Regency Companion. New York: Garland, 1989. Man, I wish this source was easier for everyone to come by. Kindle anyone? This source is wonderful and covers from A to Z of life in the Regency Ton.
Hay, Douglas, and Nicholas Rogers. Eighteenth-Century English Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. A useful source, largely for learning about the lower classes.
Girouard, Mark. Life in the English Country House. New haven, CT: Yale University press., 1978. Girouard is an architectural historian, and there’s a very interesting chapter in this book covering the years 1770-1830.
Yorke, Trevor. Georgian & Regency houses explained. Newbury: Countryside Books, 2007. Everything you need to know about the details of Regency architecture.
Salisbury, Deb. Fabric à la Romantic Regency: a glossary of fabrics from original sources 1795-1836 including their uses, contemporary opinions, technical information, and the occasional definition: a record of who wore what, and when, from royalty to the charity poor. Abbott, TX: The Mantua-Maker Historical Sewing Patterns, 2013. So, the title tells you exactly what it is, but it doesn’t tell you that you’ll drool as you read about some of these fabrics. Incredibly useful source.
Cunnington, C. Willett. English Women’s Clothing in the Nineteenth Century. New York: Dover, 1990. Nice illustrations of each year.
Calder-Marshall, Arthur. The Grand Century of the Lady. London: Gordon & Cremonesi, 1976. Discusses everything from domestic economy to gambling ladies and old maids to food and drink.
Colley, Linda. Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837. Yale University Press: 1992. An exploration on the formation of British identity. I even read this one in grad school.
Willett, C. and Phillis Cunnington, The History of Underclothes. New York: Dover Publications, 1992. Has a good chapter on what both men and women wore during the Regency.
Murray, Venetia. An Elegant Madness: High Society in Regency England. New York: Penguin, 1998. If you’re writing Regency, this is one you need in your collection.