tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130296872024-03-16T11:08:38.307-07:00Books, Tea, and Other Obsessions
An historical author shares her obsessions with books, tea, chocolate, wine, and whatever takes her fancy!Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.comBlogger977125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-13257185083361393842024-03-16T11:07:00.000-07:002024-03-16T11:07:52.305-07:00Weekend Links<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivG2mdpo1e_5te37BhyLa0vZeLmE_uyhIvVwvEFGkUHaLpq_wCFT_CUEK7DLEI6JIfSg_mdjrAjTZ5bARpcCXKqQkkiZ25UQCLYgoUlJUd9Ma_BIDDg8F_T2Ili1lHsGqgo8BunkeNwowFeG8vsWleeCmbkOYi05LBmWxXyFGGhP6JdJCOxttg6Q/s1080/Simple%20Green%20St.%20Patrick's%20Day%20Instagram%20Post.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivG2mdpo1e_5te37BhyLa0vZeLmE_uyhIvVwvEFGkUHaLpq_wCFT_CUEK7DLEI6JIfSg_mdjrAjTZ5bARpcCXKqQkkiZ25UQCLYgoUlJUd9Ma_BIDDg8F_T2Ili1lHsGqgo8BunkeNwowFeG8vsWleeCmbkOYi05LBmWxXyFGGhP6JdJCOxttg6Q/s320/Simple%20Green%20St.%20Patrick's%20Day%20Instagram%20Post.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> And....tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day! Be sure and get your green out. I'm on deadline (book due Monday, eek), and getting ready to launch another book next week ("The Earl's Cinderella Countess"), so here's some distractions for you today...<p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a60177568/queen-charlotte-dress-untold-lives-exhibition-kensington-palace/?fbclid=IwAR1iS6L1BeUol7mtN0adz0UZVNvsYatjN_9in8HXNt2z75J68A63D1_HEDA">Queen Charlotte's only surviving dress on display at Kensington Palace</a></p><p><a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/best-cocktail-cities-in-america-8604950">10 best cocktail cities in America</a></p><p><a href="https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2024/03/13/bath-body-works-launches-bridgerton-collection/?fbclid=IwAR3l46e4GbAiMsbU-DzwHcCisnKnDynoRP205iIHQOpO_VpDpGXKQwOPXVo">Bath and Body Works launches a Bridgerton collection</a></p><p><a href="https://geediting.com/people-who-were-bookworms-as-children-display-these-unique-traits/?fbclid=IwAR0E-JQClzeAKLRyNOuhPYltbkPaQqY7RW1-spAvdbJyEyEaN79jBDNcCOw">Traits displayed by people who were bookworms as children</a> (raises hand)</p><p><a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/culture/2024/mar/10/fate-of-precious-henry-viii-stained-glass-in-dispute-as-haunted-house-auction-halted-at-last-minute?fbclid=IwAR0HrEm08tfqKmGoe5kMIB36nDergMadAPza0xovdxBMJUdvvi3vScZGvmk">Henry VIII stained glass</a></p><p><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/the-best-looks-from-the-2024-oscars-red-carpet/ar-BB1jEVBm">Oscar fashion moments</a> (I thought there were some lovely gowns this year! And some whackery, of course)</p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-37179465445889024212024-03-09T14:18:00.000-08:002024-03-09T14:18:09.741-08:00Weekend Links<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4yi0crrxS_80PMru4r4hRnG6buviVX6dDJ24Bo5UYL3hsJE2OLprtvYD6qVpBocUalVGCGs-ypg1OnvL9HAE7uCoItcQqyh3ygqVQmUbWRTzI2XzaeXpPQAzEnfI2pVKhbTVfiplniS_7vGDogdqmwrXshIyyi3c78vBSHg_m1BYmClqNITv3g/s1500/EarlsCountess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1022" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4yi0crrxS_80PMru4r4hRnG6buviVX6dDJ24Bo5UYL3hsJE2OLprtvYD6qVpBocUalVGCGs-ypg1OnvL9HAE7uCoItcQqyh3ygqVQmUbWRTzI2XzaeXpPQAzEnfI2pVKhbTVfiplniS_7vGDogdqmwrXshIyyi3c78vBSHg_m1BYmClqNITv3g/s320/EarlsCountess.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /> How is it March already??? It's been wild here, moving into a new place, trying to finish a book (one week til deadline!), having a new book on the 26th ("The Earl's Cinderella Countess"). I Am Tired! So here's some fun stuff to read...<p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://time.com/6898561/oscar-for-best-costumes-2024/?fbclid=IwAR2372obqiPXNZeGDTf16zx66bKXZsjOKW3L7UVxx1kD_AUXeadr1OV9W-M">Talking About the Oscar for Best Costumes</a></p><p><a href="https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/international-womens-day-quotes?fbclid=IwAR0kmAlZ19707DQjAbIoteJ3EhQ7Mj8gt5c_xy-g2VUSeyQUZws4DGudNHY">International Women's Day quotes</a></p><p><a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/victorian-women-mummy-theft?fbclid=IwAR2vvR0M_nVSY3gwkx5p2Fa4s3JyQV887aZfR89x6TnQeqPon4hFSF8kAgU">The Victorian ladies who smuggled a mummy case out of Egypt</a></p><p><a href="https://www.marthastewart.com/parisian-decor-8576630">How to bring Parisian design into your home</a></p><p><a href="https://tomandlorenzo.com/2024/02/audrey-hepburns-iconic-sabrina-gown-designed-by-givenchy-to-be-auctioned/?fbclid=IwAR1HoRp1jlT6Et5nKllG4H04KoAitYP1O8k6OSqYdu7eCPAfT5GYOlgeZCM">Audrey Hepburn's "Sabrina" gown to be auctioned</a></p><p><br /></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-37272534965857971342024-02-17T13:48:00.000-08:002024-02-17T13:48:27.149-08:00Weekend Links<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghuXaRDsSoNbi61OFkHxSRDH6MXXwqRjAJWUBSv7RyLTfK2XYtR3Ddbz2pEKFKbZi6D-rFsXvKwOBCaYpOA1MPUpxWc1MBrayGvl0bSnRw1FY83Jno4WKoE0kImQhDQT-uHUDRkp9imZ95cBXAQiCDE2V8XP0a0hKIUAfwS-yThXv1qwk-kODaZA/s899/EmilyParis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghuXaRDsSoNbi61OFkHxSRDH6MXXwqRjAJWUBSv7RyLTfK2XYtR3Ddbz2pEKFKbZi6D-rFsXvKwOBCaYpOA1MPUpxWc1MBrayGvl0bSnRw1FY83Jno4WKoE0kImQhDQT-uHUDRkp9imZ95cBXAQiCDE2V8XP0a0hKIUAfwS-yThXv1qwk-kODaZA/s320/EmilyParis.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />I can't believe it's the middle of February! We got moved into the new house (sort off--there are still lots of boxes piled up everywhere, but at least they're all in one place). The dogs looove their huge new yard, and I like having more shelves for books. We also got through Valentine's Day (my sweetie usually works that day, so we go out to dinner on the 15th, and I hit the 50% off chocolate shelves at the grocery store). Hope you are having a good almost-time-for-spring, too. Here's a little reading for you...<p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/first-viking-woman-america?fbclid=IwAR3mOA3ykWpni5tdnqLg3VbO-SRzMQNUNsnpUvUMBoIqhgM4eGRwgxYiAAQ">The first Viking woman to sail to North America</a></p><p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kissacastaneda/2024/02/09/love-the-saltburn-house-heres-how-to-buy-your-own-country-estate/?sh=6315b7c64769&fbclid=IwAR2pkydm-_k8moel9AKbtnyIcv8x5pXjH9JrJVaygjqgMzI5bEkSJqwIPnU">The Saltburn house</a></p><p><a href="https://recipesdirect.com/recipe/pineapple-whip?msg_id=iid0p52t15md0fw5y9l2ddmsfo79u6ex&md5=21c9ddc8c36749f76820d9e9eaaf4605&type=content&utm_source=intro_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HeroButton&lctg=846f3f7010c94ed024614a1fbddfa71e&fbclid=IwAR2tINOV77p3dw9nJ3CLeeWk_9c47WxpGQmW9MKoKrxsEOmEc1BSf-1293s">How to make your own Dole whip!</a> (If I can't get to Disney this year, I'll make it come to me...)</p><p><a href="https://lithub.com/write-while-lying-down-on-finding-rest-in-creative-labor?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Lit%20Hub%20Daily%3A%20February%2015%2C%202024&utm_term=lithub_master_list&fbclid=IwAR0DffhLkJYCWsbuMUlM_dgZydgBOq9vQKdLTq5Wri01mVof67CN8faYaEE">Finding rest in creative labor</a></p><p><a href="https://lithub.com/youve-got-mail-poring-over-the-love-letters-of-robert-browning-and-elizabeth-barrett-browning/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Lit%20Hub%20Daily%3A%20February%2014%2C%202024&utm_term=lithub_master_list&fbclid=IwAR1NDvxT4tKA0Te8uHZB7trUzksG3PQS9OnV6gnoZHKeKmvYDW9snNhc9Rw">Reading the letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning</a></p><p><a href="https://www.marthastewart.com/pink-cocktail-recipes-8558414">20 gorgeous pink drinks</a></p><p><a href="https://www.foodandwine.com/tea/high-tea-milestone-hotel-pastry-chef?utm_campaign=foodandwine&utm_content=evergreen_smarttag&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=65c258738b17820001a51e09&fbclid=IwAR1OUpFUJHr7vq4JeF1i0DLJkkJO90xLjHmrUAF1w3kmREeo_rjr79y9CX4">Questions about afternoon tea?</a></p><p><a href="https://deadline.com/video/shardlake-trailer-disney-plus-series/?fbclid=IwAR0DffhLkJYCWsbuMUlM_dgZydgBOq9vQKdLTq5Wri01mVof67CN8faYaEE">New trailer for "Shardlake"</a> (can't wait for this, I love these books!)</p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68226509?fbclid=IwAR2m0OBIpBzQC4WVe3UUfPg4U9auTDYw14DSfVnsAKwMHrZxCE-w2O8wHGM">Eiffel Tower made of matchsticks</a></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-5032941759418552632024-02-10T10:14:00.000-08:002024-02-10T10:14:36.835-08:00Weekend Links<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHT64wdbr0IS0_PLfWNBiBc02IRTePauRpMn1HtlJxvTSnJzrkfGWckUWzIMnl7dXuNZX0H-AgjZuXIxyfzSxgZR75UQq1rvIEKHabJQ6SQB97jcDIRh8OpZDT_pxPfBVAKr4j_a-ZeHo8C99PqTOXcHGOuOKbe4ua2EPlQq7NTRDEtdjdWF4keg/s1080/Sign%20up%20for%20my%20newsletter%20for%20the%20chance%20to%20win%20my%20big%20March%20giveaway!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHT64wdbr0IS0_PLfWNBiBc02IRTePauRpMn1HtlJxvTSnJzrkfGWckUWzIMnl7dXuNZX0H-AgjZuXIxyfzSxgZR75UQq1rvIEKHabJQ6SQB97jcDIRh8OpZDT_pxPfBVAKr4j_a-ZeHo8C99PqTOXcHGOuOKbe4ua2EPlQq7NTRDEtdjdWF4keg/s320/Sign%20up%20for%20my%20newsletter%20for%20the%20chance%20to%20win%20my%20big%20March%20giveaway!.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Happy weekend, everyone! It's cold and snowy here, perfect writing in my pajamas weather. Here are a few things to read as we stay warm and cozy... <p></p><p><br /></p><p>(and as I'm slooooowly unpacking here at the new house, I'm finding lots of reading-related goodies that need new homes! Giveaways coming up)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/queen-victoria%E2%80%99s-wedding">Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were married on this day in 1840</a></p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/seiji-ozawa-conductor-dead-2357f6d9e24ed469f52e08be87ad745f?fbclid=IwAR0awVbbxcuO5tHTxeapATXOb-rXHjiWnl2rBGX-XDQ8dZo3RE3wOhP2Xg0">The great conductor Seiji Ozawa passed away</a></p><p><a href="https://www.eater.com/24057315/how-to-throw-fondue-party-recipes?fbclid=IwAR1BFyHMMnkccDqiEKnSO9PzVpw0b_EX9xCqeN0Vup2DuJhGawi6eEGBjDw">How to throw the ultimate fondue party!</a> (I am thinking about this for a housewarming...)</p><p><a href="https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/mary-queen-of-scots/mary-queen-of-scots/life-and-deathline-of-mary-queen-of-scots/">Mary Queen of Scots was executed on February 8, 1587 </a>(lots of royal landmarks this month!)</p><p><a href="https://www.theatermania.com/news/fawlty-towers-stage-play-written-by-john-cleese-to-premiere-in-the-west-end_1728950/?fbclid=IwAR02W_NZ7JfGy0g3OfYaAzwBCWNGwtcSbLSHG3_DMURD21oehZ2HCTU7pfQ">A new Fawlty Towers stage play is coming!</a></p><p><a href="https://londonist.com/london/books-and-poetry/literary-footprints-2024-walking-tours-around-literary-london?fbclid=IwAR3en_-uJNAzrr_2gezxB5MnBg72CunxA9gZYl14cOVHhbDu3gp8Haa5PkA">Walking tours around Literary London</a></p><p><a href="https://people.com/audrey-hepburn-rare-photos-paris-8558128">6 rare Audrey Hepburn in Paris photos</a></p><p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2024/02/09/queen-camilla-king-charles-health-update/72539854007/">And best wishes to King Charles for a swift recovery</a></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-33000843497718063262024-01-27T20:00:00.000-08:002024-01-27T20:00:56.812-08:00Weekend Links<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn1r8BmfsZFlwZDgq65KbrKqHiZMaRXnN0Skg2xOFz0UhC3SuqrLSrxMvN45wt5M4UbB-dZTb0DU11xMgTk7fFODwrzPgla4iBhri6yZhERGohsdCUm9zx-NFzbnm9Otx0tHG6jDziSBJB4nPDoUbZ6U7wwDIGatm-FVbXPx-RtSfTyfvOz3fxqw/s366/GovernessMarriage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="232" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn1r8BmfsZFlwZDgq65KbrKqHiZMaRXnN0Skg2xOFz0UhC3SuqrLSrxMvN45wt5M4UbB-dZTb0DU11xMgTk7fFODwrzPgla4iBhri6yZhERGohsdCUm9zx-NFzbnm9Otx0tHG6jDziSBJB4nPDoUbZ6U7wwDIGatm-FVbXPx-RtSfTyfvOz3fxqw/s320/GovernessMarriage2.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><br /> Happy almost-February! I can't believe how fast this month has gone. We've been moving into a new house, and that's taken over most of my life lately. There are still books piled on the floor waiting for new shelves, and a few hiccups to deal with (yay, washing machine leak!). But the dogs love their new yard, and I'm getting organized.<p></p><p>Here are a few fun things to read, if you also need some distraction....</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vogue.com.au%2Ffashion%2Fnews%2F60-of-the-best-fashion-moments-ever-seen-on-film%2Fimage-gallery%2Faa45c5446b23e9abecb886cf210a8c55%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0tnCAlyrPBBtvoFLM80s1tApL1Nc9wbnLY0Esm83nfgFat3DopAxdBnTk&h=AT3pbLZZDEAxB4jhk1piiFgrLFaNSHoT0Vrm4WbR4GPLy7CDl1YD5NtfgIrXOduMz0IAdgZ8Rjtb_Kk17nSFddNkIO4BoIhF8DNs6eoUekkFdXsoLkYJSzo4rMxPRBtiHHUw62eSBDrmSaDYBA&__tn__=%2CmH-R&c[0]=AT2ep5J4KVp4wn03oYqzx6XPe17_RZCPGsH1VT-hY50DiOxOjXWRkRRfuImThHrnCRbo3CKEE_OSP4BvXY4mBCYaQWqSaDUySaqvHCF7IanQAeoqri7exMgsAeeABYFpmCwZZ8kZdMJY4-m7lOoOGC9UUz9oU1Xpft6ZOH4Xe35o-Qc0Lq-Xsg">60 of the best fashion moments in film</a></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/jan/22/oldest-known-scottish-tartan-piece-glen-affric-peat-bog-recreated?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3y8ugQ4D2vyr0ztuHVtjXQESMenLsUflsRRAebncMsSCKm631JAxqGkjg#Echobox=1705918551">Oldest known Scottish tartan can be worn again!</a></p><p><a href="https://www.scotland.org/events/burns-night?fbclid=IwAR2MTZ5fC6dbiwNVpk7vrh3X8oI8ViCmfuddHjMNjWfZSqhacdHaGeK71zs#:~:text=Burns%20Night%20is%20a%20time,Scotland's%20enduring%20legacy%20of%20creativity">This week was Burns Night</a></p><p><a href="https://www.krqe.com/news-resources/ranking/albuquerque-tearoom-makes-yelps-top-100-list-for-2024/amp/?fbclid=IwAR2AILxz-IVCJvt24eBrA--_UYJcuXvN1NGPm0GZT5B9TbMIUC7xy3ZgcD8">Albuquerque tearoom makes Yelp's top 100 list</a> (I love this place!)</p><p><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/scientists-reveal-everyday-drink-tea-aging-1863263?fbclid=IwAR1DcF3E4qTSznFqNCag815_myVN65TBq2oUo5h4ANSbyVrAz37ldrkjhNA">Drinking tea might slow aging!</a></p><p><a href="https://screenrant.com/northern-exposure-show-streaming-update-prime-video/?utm_campaign=TrueAnthem-SR&utm_medium=Social-Distribution&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2gKMrv_EACBMkJapaxaA6ZC0dyRu4nXPhg5MRA4n0Dz-vqetXTsBrUC-8">Northern Exposure is finally available for streaming!</a> (one of my favorite shows)</p><p><br /></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-77724539835264228232024-01-06T09:39:00.000-08:002024-01-06T09:39:05.245-08:00Favorite Links of the Weekend<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfRnAXuU1UCh1kxj6y3O7jubTVey3e2OaAmuPmnw74c4FkrFlNCwsOEIRKs-LHSZNMjvqa1EHAIIQjWBTv3n1pQOVte3ZzAEVCVzxpny8QQW-1mtiOykQN_W6s9ga0a8vbdBhXaFrkto_-66d8NPFu-jXlflGAvOs7SCxhRMfAu_Dm2GD8rwTsUA/s1179/winterreading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1173" data-original-width="1179" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfRnAXuU1UCh1kxj6y3O7jubTVey3e2OaAmuPmnw74c4FkrFlNCwsOEIRKs-LHSZNMjvqa1EHAIIQjWBTv3n1pQOVte3ZzAEVCVzxpny8QQW-1mtiOykQN_W6s9ga0a8vbdBhXaFrkto_-66d8NPFu-jXlflGAvOs7SCxhRMfAu_Dm2GD8rwTsUA/s320/winterreading.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Whew! We made it! Holidays are behind us, new year ahead. (and my birthday next week, and new book to start writing). I hope you had a peaceful season, with lots of books as gifts.....<p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/who-is-princess-mary-of-denmark?fbclid=IwAR2Nb6StLyU_34rAMh5-ymDgmowXwSYq4bnDVz5Tdg54zEWmWVbxqxvMdE4">Who is Princess Mary, the next Queen of Denmark?</a></p><p><a href="https://anglotopia.net/royals/royal-101-pets-from-king-charles-iis-spaniels-to-king-charles-iiis-jack-russells/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=royaltopia-daily-update&fbclid=IwAR20jwuBIhllOWTGi8gBBMytxwM3eSoH9QRpZs5SZJZ9UHsBNkmHnUEiZTI">Royal Pets</a></p><p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chaddscott/2024/01/02/santa-fe-new-mexico-winter-wonderland/amp/?fbclid=IwAR0RGIJGHCCqK6cHeuuqV2v1eg3uTRkxZuKFMsTEdbLmb2wm8C6B0CAUZEs">Santa Fe, NM: Winter Wonderland</a></p><p><a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/marais-paris-neighborhood-guide-8420281">Guide to the wonderful Marais</a></p><p><a href="https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/12/30/the-chelsea-arts-ball-1947-the-most-scandalous-party-of-new-years-eve/?utm_source=drip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekend%20Conversation%20Starters&utm_content=Weekend%20Conversation%20Starters&fbclid=IwAR1GHR-vUupjs7yU9z7WpXllrqEwOBEWpS5z2YECtFEVHR9ojK_Oz3kdt0c">The most scandalous party of 1947</a></p><p><a href="https://variety.com/lists/2024-oscar-predictions/">Oscar predictions 2024: who are your choices??</a></p><p> </p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-66471036401268569952024-01-04T08:18:00.000-08:002024-01-04T08:18:04.258-08:00Free Book!!!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-25OBzhlu2ISDyU_6NLnG_B4Se8ySjoWxWd5pwfhTYJ4Gksbk5tHYQr-7bIfhLnYqKR-72H8aSa8hvJxu3Z0sbgEDCNAR2Evj0b_kKBbA-vavYSO68EbEFAcgMig36d7BOhfq1LZtQUYWOxPrptyXeNEhev53xjsrDK2Zs7oDdZ_vD01MG9gmvA/s346/BecauseOfMissE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-25OBzhlu2ISDyU_6NLnG_B4Se8ySjoWxWd5pwfhTYJ4Gksbk5tHYQr-7bIfhLnYqKR-72H8aSa8hvJxu3Z0sbgEDCNAR2Evj0b_kKBbA-vavYSO68EbEFAcgMig36d7BOhfq1LZtQUYWOxPrptyXeNEhev53xjsrDK2Zs7oDdZ_vD01MG9gmvA/s320/BecauseOfMissE.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /> <span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Free Regency romance book!!! Don't miss out on book one of "The Regency Rebels" </span><p></p><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">In the wake of a horrible accident that killed the wretched man who was to be her husband, Lady Elizabeth Everdean has fled to Italy, where she vows to become a great artist—and to never let another man control her destiny. Sir Nicholas Hollingsworth is as renowned as a war hero as he is as a rake. When the man who saved his life in battle asks him to find his missing sister Elizabeth, he departs <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit;" tabindex="-1"></a></span>at once for Venice. Only he never expects the object of his search to become the object of his desire… Originally published in 2001 "An excitingly sensuous tale yet darkly haunting tale of love..." RT Book Reviews</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QLCRRVC">Because of Miss Everdean (Regency Rebels Book 3) - Kindle edition by McCabe, Amanda. Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.</a></div></div>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-67504643149523387732023-12-15T21:20:00.000-08:002023-12-15T21:20:30.621-08:00Some favorite books this year<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVumxyciAmqhEUfO3IG6GgJT7o24gfKVeY_SE7FoIJ7MKxrbkomjqUrQJSH0qUxnpRlXncZMcbN7ENrDswctSJLLYNidQB8CBNX9BishOljoAC8Ag8KYObwLQBy1lbYYe3S0l0N3QccOlvtVC7mlBHrAAarp08ndFfn3k-Aimlt_-BvDQ4_9apqQ/s350/PoetryCover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="232" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVumxyciAmqhEUfO3IG6GgJT7o24gfKVeY_SE7FoIJ7MKxrbkomjqUrQJSH0qUxnpRlXncZMcbN7ENrDswctSJLLYNidQB8CBNX9BishOljoAC8Ag8KYObwLQBy1lbYYe3S0l0N3QccOlvtVC7mlBHrAAarp08ndFfn3k-Aimlt_-BvDQ4_9apqQ/s320/PoetryCover.jpeg" width="212" /></a></div><b><br /> Just a few of my favorite reads this year! What were some of yours??</b><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Trust</i> by Hernan Diaz (I can see why it won the Pulitzer...)</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Even through the roar and effervescence of the 1920s, everyone in New York has heard of Benjamin and Helen Rask. He is a legendary Wall Street tycoon; she is the daughter of eccentric aristocrats. Together, they have risen to the very top of a world of seemingly endless wealth—all as a decade of excess and speculation draws to an end. But at what cost have they acquired their immense fortune? This is the mystery at the center of </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic !important;">Bonds</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, a successful 1937 novel that all of New York seems to have read. Yet there are other versions of this tale of privilege and deceit.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> Hernan Diaz’s </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic !important;">TRUST </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">elegantly puts these competing narratives into conversation with one another—and in tension with the perspective of one woman bent on disentangling fact from fiction. The result is a novel that spans over a century and becomes more exhilarating with each new revelation.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> At once an immersive story and a brilliant literary puzzle, </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic !important;">TRUST</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> engages the reader in a quest for the truth while confronting the deceptions that often live at the heart of personal relationships, the reality-warping force of capital, and the ease with which power can manipulate facts.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Good Night, Irene</i> by Luis Alberto Urrea (like so many other historical fiction readers, I am beyond burned out by WWII right now, but I loved this look at the Clubmobile women and their friendships...)</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">In 1943, Irene Woodward abandons an abusive fiancé in New York to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe. She makes fast friends in training with Dorothy Dunford, a towering Midwesterner with a ferocious wit. Together they are part of an elite group of women, nicknamed Donut Dollies, who command military vehicles called Clubmobiles at the front line, providing camaraderie and a taste of home that may be the only solace before troops head into battle.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">After D-Day, these two intrepid friends join the Allied soldiers streaming into France. Their time in Europe will see them embroiled in danger, from the Battle of the Bulge to the liberation of Buchenwald. Through her friendship with Dorothy, and a love affair with a courageous American fighter pilot named Hans, Irene learns to trust again. Her most fervent hope, which becomes more precarious by the day, is for all three of them to survive the war intact.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Making of Poetry: Coleridge, the Wordsworths, and Their Year of Marvels </i>by Adam Nicolson (because I can't get enough of Romantic poets, and this is a gorgeous book...)</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;">June 1797 to September 1798 is the most famous year in English poetry. Out of it came Samuel Taylor Coleridge's </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic !important;">The Rime of the Ancient Mariner</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"> and “Kubla Khan,” as well as his unmatched hymns to friendship and fatherhood, and William Wordsworth’s revolutionary songs in </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic !important;">Lyrical Ballads</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"> along with “Tintern Abbey,” Wordsworth's paean to the unity of soul and cosmos, love and understanding.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />In </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic !important;">The Making of Poetry</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;">, Adam Nicolson embeds himself in the reality of this unique moment, exploring the idea that these poems came from this particular place and time, and that only by experiencing the physical circumstances of the year, in all weathers and all seasons, at night and at dawn, in sunlit reverie and moonlit walks, can the genesis of the poetry start to be understood.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The poetry Wordsworth and Coleridge made was not from settled conclusions but from the adventure on which they embarked, thinking of poetry as a challenge to all received ideas, stripping away the dead matter, looking to shed consciousness and so change the world. What emerges is a portrait of these great figures seen not as literary monuments but as young men, troubled, ambitious, dreaming of a vision of wholeness, knowing they had greatness in them but still in urgent search of the paths toward it.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The artist Tom Hammick accompanied Nicolson for much of the year, making woodcuts from the fallen timber in the park at Alfoxden where the Wordsworths lived. Interspersed throughout the book, his images bridge the centuries, depicting lives at the source of our modern sensibility: a psychic landscape of doubt and possibility, full of beauty and thick with desire for a kind of connectedness that seems permanently at hand and yet always out of reach.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The God of Endings</i> by Jacqueline Holland (a vampire book but not really. Possibly my favorite of the year? At least, it was until another title swooped in at the end!)</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Collette LeSange has been hiding a dark truth: She is immortal. In 1834, Collette’s grandfather granted her the gift of eternal life and since then, she has endured centuries of turmoil and heartache.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Now, almost 150 years later, Collette is a lonely artist running an elite fine art school for children in upstate New York. But her life is suddenly upended by the arrival of a gifted child from a troubled home, the return of a stalking presence from her past, and her own mysteriously growing hunger for blood.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Combining brilliant prose with breathtaking suspense, Jacqueline Holland's </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic !important;">The God of Endings </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">serves as a larger exploration of the human condition in all its complexity, asking us the most fundamental question: is life in this world a gift or a curse?</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Small Angels</i> by Lauren Owen (technically a 2022 book, but I didn't read it until this year, and woo hoo was it spooky!)</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lucia and her sisters grew up on the edge of Mockbeggar Woods. They knew it well—its danger, but also its beauty. As a lonely teenager, Kate was drawn to these sisters, who were unlike anyone she’d ever met. But when they brought her into the woods, something dark was awakened, and Kate has never been able to escape the terrible truth of what happened there. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Chloe has been planning her dream wedding for months. She has the dress, the flowers, and the perfect venue: Small Angels, a charming old church set alongside dense, green woods in the village that her fiancé, Sam, and his sister, Kate, grew up in. But days before the ceremony, Chloe starts to learn of unsettling stories about Small Angels and Mockbeggar Woods. And worse, she begins to see, smell, and hear things that couldn’t possibly be real. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Now, Kate is returning home for the first time in years—for Sam and Chloe’s wedding. But the woods are stirring again, and Kate must reconnect with Lucia, her first love, to protect Chloe, the village, and herself. An unforgettable novel about the memories that hold us back and those that show us the way forward, this is storytelling at its most magical. Enter Small Angels, if you dare.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>Marry Me By Midnight</i> by Felicia Grossman</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic !important;">London, 1832</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">: Isabelle Lira may be in distress, but she's no damsel. Since her father’s death, his former partners have sought to oust her from their joint equity business. Her only choice is to marry—and </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic !important;">fast</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">—to a powerful ally outside the respected Berab family’s sphere of influence. Only finding the right spouse will require casting a wide net. So she’ll host a series of festivals, to which </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic !important;">every</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> eligible Jewish man is invited.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Once, Aaron Ellenberg longed to have a family of his own. But as the synagogue custodian, he is too poor for wishes and not foolish enough for dreams. Until the bold, beautiful Isabelle Lira presents him with an irresistible offer . . . if he ensures her favored suitors have no hidden loyalties to the Berabs, she will provide him with money for a new life.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Yet the transaction provides surprising temptation, as Aaron and Isabelle find caring and passion in the last person they each expected. Only a future for them is impossible—for heiresses don’t marry orphans, and love only conquers in children’s tales. But if Isabelle can find the courage to trust her heart, she'll discover anything is possible, if only she says yes. </span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Good Wife of Bath</i> by Karen Brooks</span></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span class="a-text-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic !important;">In the middle ages, a famous poet told a story that mocked a strong woman. It became a literary classic. But what if the woman in question had a chance to tell her own version?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">England, 1364: When married off at aged twelve to an elderly farmer, brazen redheaded Eleanor quickly realizes it won’t matter what she says or does, God is </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic !important;">not </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">on her side—or any poor woman’s for that matter. But then again, Eleanor was born under the joint signs of Venus and Mars, making her both a lover and a fighter.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Aided by a head for business (and a surprisingly kind husband), Eleanor manages to turn her first marriage into success, and she rises through society from a cast-off farm girl to a woman of fortune who becomes a trusted friend of the social-climbing poet Geoffrey Chaucer. But more marriages follow—some happy, some not—several pilgrimages, many lovers, murder, mayhem, and many turns of fortune’s wheel as Eleanor pursues the one thing that all women want: control of their own lives.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Last Devil to Die</i> by Richard Osman (I admit, I was a teensy bit disappointed by the last Thursday Murder Club title, it felt a bit like wheel-spinning though was still delightful. This had a new emotional depth to it all...)</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 700 !important;">It's rarely a quiet day for the Thursday Murder Club.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Shocking news reaches them—an old friend has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The gang's search leads them into the antiques business, where the tricks of the trade are as old as the objects themselves. As they encounter drug dealers, art forgers, and online fraudsters—as well as heartache close to home—Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim have no idea whom to trust.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />With the body count rising, the clock ticking down, and trouble firmly on their tail, has their luck finally run out?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Marry and Bright</i> by Teri Wilson (the whole trilogy was a delight!)</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="a-text-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic !important;">Mixing business with weddings</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Both up for the editor-in-chief position at </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic !important;">Veil</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> magazine, Addison England and Carter Payne are fierce adversaries. But despite their bickering, the pair has to work together and prove themselves before the magazine’s Christmas deadline. Stepping in to pose as the bride and groom for a wedding shoot starts the unexpected change from rivalry to romance…until they discover the “fake” vow exchange was entirely legal. Now the newlyweds have to decide if power really is their ultimate endgame. </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl</i> by Renee Rosen</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">In New York City, you can disappear into the crowd. At least that’s what Gloria Downing desperately hopes as she tries to reinvent herself after a devastating family scandal. She’s ready for a total life makeover and a friend she can lean on—and into her path walks a young, idealistic woman named Estée. Their chance encounter will change Gloria’s life forever.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Estée dreams of success and becoming a household name like Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Revlon. Before Gloria knows it, she is swept up in her new friend’s mission and while Estée rolls up her sleeves, Gloria begins to discover her own talents. After landing a job at Saks Fifth Avenue, New York’s finest luxury department store, Gloria finds her voice, which proves instrumental in opening doors for Estée’s insatiable ambitions.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA9mo-wv2yLqDjRo8o4uaCpS-TjixDBFQZVf_R9T3xDC-DyMVfd2ineq8JSYikP_4_RHXlNTTehmvaUqzwPe8yVpB80duAKHjT2_UkW-ZMZR9FIra-0zzwOH-43hALl7RmjTNiOwUWZpUt4G5V8jbiRtk5gbRdXR4DD-9hTWfTIiWF0jnbxjQz6g/s1000/TomLake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="663" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA9mo-wv2yLqDjRo8o4uaCpS-TjixDBFQZVf_R9T3xDC-DyMVfd2ineq8JSYikP_4_RHXlNTTehmvaUqzwPe8yVpB80duAKHjT2_UkW-ZMZR9FIra-0zzwOH-43hALl7RmjTNiOwUWZpUt4G5V8jbiRtk5gbRdXR4DD-9hTWfTIiWF0jnbxjQz6g/s320/TomLake.jpg" width="212" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />And my very favorite of the year! I could NOT put it down. <i>Tom Lake</i> by Ann Patchett (Patchett is such a hit and miss author for me. I loved Bel Canto and Commonwealth, didn't care for The Dutch House, and love her non-fiction essays, especially "Dog Without End." This was full of love and hope and sadness and choices in life and paths we don't take)</span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="a-text-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic !important;">Tom Lake</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.</span></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-34853335214829834012023-12-15T20:54:00.000-08:002023-12-15T20:54:23.933-08:00Weekend Links<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGg0mHPt_YDHvGnlp4rf-OPA9CQ9hi6bvwZzKxH06m2hq4Tt43KADI6USHYCGTsNK-BrS-K5CWvj8da4zqonGvwHisiyIJcExUXBIgVqA7qbuzT53wuftgKVtE7mSaPXF2mHHbZSXU-2wGQZCvcq6BBc7n7V3kzxtHknrFdzT9eztMWxJOs9dajQ/s211/Bath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="211" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGg0mHPt_YDHvGnlp4rf-OPA9CQ9hi6bvwZzKxH06m2hq4Tt43KADI6USHYCGTsNK-BrS-K5CWvj8da4zqonGvwHisiyIJcExUXBIgVqA7qbuzT53wuftgKVtE7mSaPXF2mHHbZSXU-2wGQZCvcq6BBc7n7V3kzxtHknrFdzT9eztMWxJOs9dajQ/s1600/Bath.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /> Happy weekend, everyone! I can't believe Christmas is next week, eeekkk. Wasn't it just August last week?? I am not ready! (we also just closed on a new house, yay, so I'm trying to pack all these books, boo. Send me your moving tips!). To distract us from the season, here's a few things to read. (And happy birthday tomorrow to Jane Austen!)<p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.instyle.com/audrey-hepburn-fashion-8406720">Audrey Hepburn's still-legendary fashion moments</a></p><p><a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/g46091809/swedish-royals-tiaras-2023-nobel-prize-ceremony/">Show-stopping tiaras for the Nobel ceremonies</a></p><p><a href="https://www.pedestrian.tv/bites/the-holiday-cottage-gingerbread-house/?fbclid=IwAR1DK0t1EcS6CtcUtB8n2bwqZvaRGJwyPN-2JxWz0uvPyr3dUom6VY5M8So">A gingerbread version of "The Holiday" cottage!</a></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/dec/06/tudor-collyweston-palace-northamptonshire-found-in-garden-by-amateur-archeologists?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2JMhMwtOC7GS5unpzp56fU-bdCBkCagFkAnLfRZRSzppf19eQU5Vx1JWo#Echobox=1701874959">Lost Tudor palace found in garden</a></p><p><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/medieval-wedding-dresses-trend?fbclid=IwAR3Qr0u2szbnFvwbDFyrSzXXktB6zt1Zh7l38zK4BjNoxm2XxWv742_U2Wg">Medieval-inspired wedding dresses trending now</a></p><p><br /></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-85921367254874384672023-12-06T09:54:00.000-08:002023-12-06T09:54:13.511-08:00Book Release!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gNgzpn60ybYjf_mPpI2ZPJwoK_bIaqSuFTafJ6ErSYi5liDPRJv4KFdog0AFfXRh988E2Tf1QMU9ZPMK2HW3jpn2VO21MO_GWbegnoBEyyMllaehocErRNFNAFjzAarsgQ2kGybJPrDQcmsdRWfN-Aso-zxb4cpCtMbkkZLePVdO_KvW8lvX_A/s1080/Add%20a%20subheading%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gNgzpn60ybYjf_mPpI2ZPJwoK_bIaqSuFTafJ6ErSYi5liDPRJv4KFdog0AFfXRh988E2Tf1QMU9ZPMK2HW3jpn2VO21MO_GWbegnoBEyyMllaehocErRNFNAFjzAarsgQ2kGybJPrDQcmsdRWfN-Aso-zxb4cpCtMbkkZLePVdO_KvW8lvX_A/s320/Add%20a%20subheading%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><span class="a-text-bold a-text-italic" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic !important; font-weight: 700 !important;">Mysteries swell in London's snowbound Hell</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><span class="a-text-italic" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic !important;">The Other Face of the Christmas Shilling - Kathy L Wheeler</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Lady Thomasina Staunton takes refuge in an abandoned house as far from London, her friends, and her family, as she can get. But her ruse of an absent husband fighting the French backfires. Horribly so.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />When Florentine Comier, former Duc of Bouchard, returns unexpectedly from months of travel, he is shocked to find a stranger living in his home, claiming to be his wife.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Despite the deception, Florentine cannot help being drawn to the beautiful and rebellious Lady Thomasina, and soon discovers a love he never believed possible. But danger looms on the horizon as not everyone believes decent Frenchmen exist on England’s shores.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><span class="a-text-italic" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic !important;">A Christmas Ha'penny's Worth of Love - Amanda McCabe</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Lady Elizabeth Rathburn hates being apart from her Miss Greensley's Girls and being forced to stay at her bullying father's cold, lonely estate. She hopes she might at least find her old friend, a handsome young man she only knew as "Mick," but he no longer appears in their old meeting spot by the river.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Until she finds out "Mick" is actually Lord Michael Hamilton, the son of her family's old enemy! Worse—her father insists she must marry Lord Michael to seal a new business deal and end the enmity. Feeling betrayed, Eliza runs to her beloved La Sous Rose at Christmas time, only to be trapped in a snowstorm with Michael, the one man she despises—and desires. The man who declares he has loved her all this time, but how can she trust him now?</span> </p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>2.99 Today Only!</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gaming-Hell-Christmas-Kathy-Wheeler-ebook/dp/B0BZWKV8CK/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1DHZKK1U9PQ60&keywords=gaming+hell+3&qid=1701885165&sprefix=gaming+hell+3%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-4"><br /></a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gaming-Hell-Christmas-Kathy-Wheeler-ebook/dp/B0BZWKV8CK/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1DHZKK1U9PQ60&keywords=gaming+hell+3&qid=1701885165&sprefix=gaming+hell+3%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-4">Buy Link</a></b></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-13431303605056141802023-12-03T19:40:00.000-08:002023-12-03T19:40:13.471-08:00Weekend Links<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0O3o_HsIvdXZTfbq-0KpycayV7VPGEouiEw-x24DfZhsNdA_oVUidUoZFIt3PUq_REDYtGx7TTYPK2NCJu4BVA9OgK7LKxU6uTdhkxjrqfiAYz5dqq6f94QkIQxCNUxRn9K0FeTp467XYnyIX19TKuzD-mSPaQRn0Q-GkVrvt9iE7adTILSHZTQ/s2048/Gruet3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0O3o_HsIvdXZTfbq-0KpycayV7VPGEouiEw-x24DfZhsNdA_oVUidUoZFIt3PUq_REDYtGx7TTYPK2NCJu4BVA9OgK7LKxU6uTdhkxjrqfiAYz5dqq6f94QkIQxCNUxRn9K0FeTp467XYnyIX19TKuzD-mSPaQRn0Q-GkVrvt9iE7adTILSHZTQ/s320/Gruet3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Just a few more hours left this weekend! And I'm going a little crazy, hoping to close on my own mojo dojo casa house this week (and start moving, eeek). So here's some fun reads...<p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/25/1208466566/fresh-air-marks-the-100th-birthday-of-legendary-opera-soprano-maria-callas">Happy 100th birthday, Maria Callas</a></p><p><a href="https://booktrib.com/2021/11/29/how-birthdays-defined-the-life-of-louisa-may-alcott/">Also, happy birthday to Louisa May Alcott!</a> (I remember when my grandmother gave me a copy of "Little Women" when I was a kid, because I luvvvved stories of writerly girls in olden tymes. I didn't like it quite as much as she thought I would, but I did like it. Also, #justiceforamy)</p><p><a href="https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2012/09/frances-hodgson-burnett.html">Also, also, happy birthday to Frances Hodgson Burnett!</a> (I read "The Secret Garden" to pieces when I was a kid)</p><p><a href="https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-exploring-canyon-road-santa-fes-timeless-gallery-district?fbclid=IwAR3TIWrRCpkejzbWaYHYFPN7TQdLyS1YOIqB98Tr2onXANqtezv-bbQu_Z8">Exploring Canyon Road</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-22207766544546887982023-11-25T13:54:00.000-08:002023-11-25T13:54:42.262-08:00Book Sales and Giveaways<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTc02HHLAgAqFi7qxEDv4DA9N4YPufOIAS1Vk0twjvt3pC18x9vhMbme794u3MI-OuqkbOb_okmDudJ2PyPwSd-l1PIFQ6Bgw5lAjumhxFGPxlyAe_oUgIKssA1ZVBb-tD0lgDV1zKiM3aXk1Q2d3DMlfEH3V88QMigDR6AylXqrlItzYzQjKiw/s843/BFSale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="843" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTc02HHLAgAqFi7qxEDv4DA9N4YPufOIAS1Vk0twjvt3pC18x9vhMbme794u3MI-OuqkbOb_okmDudJ2PyPwSd-l1PIFQ6Bgw5lAjumhxFGPxlyAe_oUgIKssA1ZVBb-tD0lgDV1zKiM3aXk1Q2d3DMlfEH3V88QMigDR6AylXqrlItzYzQjKiw/s320/BFSale.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxC6wO8r2PrZYLh-6ap01fMrxh3ajD42hWbbbnuT5RofLn5SX3EPVAsYVF7IzPGZupbaF8fgvO59dbeDjM3W1lebTFTJkHDgBr1XwtKG5DsNuZX8YC1_7wHc9z2k9KAE4tLdUkAg3V1BqX3vPEdkFUVOiXBo5pHUeAesqSnRgM5HU1cEw8idag_g/s940/OHContest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxC6wO8r2PrZYLh-6ap01fMrxh3ajD42hWbbbnuT5RofLn5SX3EPVAsYVF7IzPGZupbaF8fgvO59dbeDjM3W1lebTFTJkHDgBr1XwtKG5DsNuZX8YC1_7wHc9z2k9KAE4tLdUkAg3V1BqX3vPEdkFUVOiXBo5pHUeAesqSnRgM5HU1cEw8idag_g/s320/OHContest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-25444385087912977492023-11-25T13:52:00.000-08:002023-11-25T13:52:19.091-08:00Weekend Links<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLlGE6Un8FmZQOil538ciAOfcuI_aFj8gZWeUVzOi_a10cHsZXjcfVlknasE7XjQyJcjxOg0m-DCDKWSvsvZZ4i8Kj5iGIl4UJboQZlPs9OOTscBMrotj0XJb_tDuvBa-YDhquMUh6iX-VSCb9xHHXyu8g7K1G6joVvJugM385ACO_cxC_v_16Q/s1024/WinterGarden1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLlGE6Un8FmZQOil538ciAOfcuI_aFj8gZWeUVzOi_a10cHsZXjcfVlknasE7XjQyJcjxOg0m-DCDKWSvsvZZ4i8Kj5iGIl4UJboQZlPs9OOTscBMrotj0XJb_tDuvBa-YDhquMUh6iX-VSCb9xHHXyu8g7K1G6joVvJugM385ACO_cxC_v_16Q/s320/WinterGarden1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Happy post-Thanksgiving weekend, everyone! I hope you had a lovely day, with lots of pie. (my holiday was quiet, since my mother just got out of hospital, but we had a yummy lunch and watched the parade and "Doc Martin" marathon on PBS...) Now back to writing! (hopefully! The fourth of my Santa Fe 1920s mysteries was turned in, now I'm contemplating my next project and starting to pack for a move)<p></p><p>In the meantime, here's a bit of distraction reading for you...</p><p><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/princess-of-wales-royal-strathmore-tiara">The return of the Strathmore Rose tiara</a></p><p><a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/the-crown-auction?fbclid=IwAR1oryfWMcYc58WU5IS6p9G5P973jPbfFdCEDwMLvRukgkMLM2_rZl2dUp0">You can buy costumes and props from "The Crown"</a>!!! (I'd love the coronation robes for washing dishes and walking the dogs)</p><p><a href="https://britishperioddramas.com/news/wolf-hall-the-mirror-and-the-light-bbc-tv-series-adaptation/?fbclid=IwAR3k9hbrMwiyjQSp1iUseJC2sXUfczwkRrKJIw42BBFwaVgueqJKqubXk-E">"Wolf Hall" will return for part 3</a></p><p><a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/luxury/tudor-gatehouse-spectators-gallery-hunt-henry-viii-for-sale-b1121185.html?fbclid=IwAR0qdb4zPPi2RIQjxPm9w5CUiOVGDOmI_MB11bwMuo1bMKMrn6RND4Y2J2E">And a Tudor gatehouse is for sale</a></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/17/as-byatt-a-life-defined-by-literature?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook&fbclid=IwAR36-r6NIOSzAwEjPEEtgrQrEGi9bU4Jynfhd39qsGit_NvGK8cwS3YUF7k">A.S. Byatt passed away</a> ("Possession" is one of my favorite books of all time)</p><p><a href="https://londontopia.net/culture/the-oldest-bookstores-in-london-a-journey-through-literary-history/?pk_campaign=feed&pk_kwd=the-oldest-bookstores-in-london-a-journey-through-literary-history&utm_source=weekly_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=anglotopia_newsletter&fbclid=IwAR0fcsguoiuvHwFN6AvxiWZxUfQ-lAcQrIqkCAGDT31mfgtUHY4_LgW99GM">The oldest bookshops in London</a></p><p><a href="https://themillions.com/2023/11/the-book-that-made-the-bard-400-years-of-shakespeares-folio.html?oly_enc_id=4468C1054834I1Y&fbclid=IwAR2wBkTKMS6NHrcr0MjJwehtae9plqxqz9u4TMjnv-EbRtge3HcR0jZmTf0">400 years of Shakespeare's First Folio</a></p><p><br /></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-41387756262035359942023-11-20T14:04:00.000-08:002023-11-20T14:04:45.779-08:00Heroine of the (slightly-post) Weekend: Queen Alexandra<p> Sorry I'm late!!! This week's Heroine is Queen Alexandra, who died on November 20, 1925...</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizuRbLoLyWFbFzT4bL5b23vH3vxCWwMwlVluVLBR6DDuZ5syFDjL_72TGO-XyruW-tw-bpdl9tZgQzUdWkHWxSriShmnIsFLzCy3naBAjhpkc_42MfhAthuZ6HYweEC3TAwryhRGR5bRtOepT-20YgGNMMk3TY-n0ydjkzEFfcI-bJBWenWi6JHQ/s273/Alex2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="220" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizuRbLoLyWFbFzT4bL5b23vH3vxCWwMwlVluVLBR6DDuZ5syFDjL_72TGO-XyruW-tw-bpdl9tZgQzUdWkHWxSriShmnIsFLzCy3naBAjhpkc_42MfhAthuZ6HYweEC3TAwryhRGR5bRtOepT-20YgGNMMk3TY-n0ydjkzEFfcI-bJBWenWi6JHQ/s1600/Alex2.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><br />Born December 1, 1844 in Copenhagen, she had a surprisingly humble start in life! One of 6 children to Prince Christian of Schelswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel, she was of a cadet branch of the Danish royal family. With only a small income, the family lived a small-scale but very happy family life at their Yellow Palace grace-and-favor home. The girls made their own clothes, and Alix shared a room with her sister Dagmar (future Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia). They were very close, and loved games and family dinners, which showed in her future desire to build just such a close family for herself.<p></p><p>In 1861, after a "scandal" involving a music-hall actress, Prince Albert Edward turned 20 and his parents decided it was high time he got married and settled down. With the help of eldest daughter Princess Vicky, Crown Princess of Prussia, Victoria scoured the <i>Almanach Gotha</i> for suitable German princess, but they all had one problem--they were not pretty. And "pretty" was the number one requirement for the prince. The undisputed loveliest princess of them all was Alix of Denmark, "the only one to be chosen". Victoria reluctantly agreed, and the young couple "accidentally" met while touring the cathedral at Speyer on September 24, 1862. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7FpRIHgw4jHRT4e9l9EQyUgkxFy4IQZTGelHJ8umNMrqYhScFcJ9j2FwplYFDicIBtzG4KfCBUL4uI9dFtArW8aOKbiYS9ZZ_-VWMAgbhgCSY4akNxHhmJCX3iUzQTxbtX90PL3C1vWFjWILPxEokUWz1PWRP8I8-eLoQYwAlQ4n94u-Xz2THAA/s297/Alex3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="170" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7FpRIHgw4jHRT4e9l9EQyUgkxFy4IQZTGelHJ8umNMrqYhScFcJ9j2FwplYFDicIBtzG4KfCBUL4uI9dFtArW8aOKbiYS9ZZ_-VWMAgbhgCSY4akNxHhmJCX3iUzQTxbtX90PL3C1vWFjWILPxEokUWz1PWRP8I8-eLoQYwAlQ4n94u-Xz2THAA/s1600/Alex3.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><br />In March 1863, Alix traveled to England with her family, and was married on March 10 at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. It was a controversial choice of venue--not close to London, small, not much room for a grand guest list, not many suitable places to stay (only her immediate family was there from Denmark, and Queen Victoria, widowed, watched and wept from a balcony). At the end of 1864, her father became King of Denmark, and Prussia invaded the Danish territory of Holstein, instilling a lifelong hatred of Germany in Princess (now) Alexandra and creating a source of fiction between her and Queen Victoria.<p></p><p>Her first child, Prince Albert Victor, was born prematurely in early 1864, starting Alexandra on a devoted (not always happily) motherhood. Eventually she would have 6 children--"Eddie" was joined by George, Louise, Victoria, Maud, and a boy who died soon after birth. "She was in her glory when she could run up the nursery, put on a flannel apron, wash the children herself and see them asleep in their little beds." But the birth of her third child in 1867 left her with rheumatic fever, resulting in a permanent limp and exacerbating her deafness. It also meant she couldn't keep up with her husband's constant whirl of social life as much, and she started to retreat into her own world of family and dogs, her own friends and charity work, at their homes of Marlborough House in London and Sandringham House in the country.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZUFBROgef6s0WvRwcmfL0ulco3bEJJ_xAaGzrKjFjIQ4bleXPgWYsXi05LeZDNmM4iCy7lEHJNs-3NoXHYgjk40oOXoU5W-C6cMH9RdYI0dVYaE6SatB6ug5nRWCppsUQjiiIby_qV3KDzVsXagPorpbKfi-gJ0bYwKN6siaQzqYmNLZR-InKRw/s308/Alex1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="164" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZUFBROgef6s0WvRwcmfL0ulco3bEJJ_xAaGzrKjFjIQ4bleXPgWYsXi05LeZDNmM4iCy7lEHJNs-3NoXHYgjk40oOXoU5W-C6cMH9RdYI0dVYaE6SatB6ug5nRWCppsUQjiiIby_qV3KDzVsXagPorpbKfi-gJ0bYwKN6siaQzqYmNLZR-InKRw/s1600/Alex1.jpg" width="164" /></a></div><br />Her marriage, though a success in many ways (Alexandra was a very popular princess and queen, and they worked well in partnership) was also marred by Edward's constant and blatant infidelities and Alexandra's hearing loss. But her appeal for the public never waned, she was always considered beautiful and charming, and devoted to her charitable works, especially her interest in nursing and healthcare (Alexandra Rose Day is still an ongoing fundraiser).<p></p><p>in 1901, she finally became Queen! She increased her charities, but otherwise continued as she had been, doting on her grandchildren. In 1910, she traveled to Corfu (she often visited her family around the Continent, and her brother was now King of Greece; she had also purchased a holiday home in Denmark with her sister, where Empress Marie lived after the Russian Revolution), but was quickly summoned back to London when her husband collapsed. After his death, she wrote "I feel as if I have been turned to stone, unable to cry, unable to grasp the meaning of it all." She moved from Buckingham Palace back to Marlborough House.</p><p>She suffered from ill health for the last few years of her life, and died of a heart attack at Sandringham. She was buried at St. George's, site of her "inconvenient" wedding, with her husband.</p><p>Sources:</p><p>Georgina Battiscombe, <i>Queen Alexandra</i> (1969)</p><p>David Duff, <i>Alexandra, Princess and Queen</i> (1980)</p><p>Richard Hough, <i>Edward and Alexandra</i> (1998)</p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-50588605166217232342023-11-11T20:05:00.000-08:002023-11-12T20:14:46.233-08:00Heroine of the Weekend: Vivien Leigh<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw-7gM2SvltREp8fPhyphenhyphenD68xJljHt1DJwhrpKlmOAE5IZQXzZMKsVHuCcCXAoe2Hqtu7N-1EqvJ996FcnblQmAaOk4qbd7RN1etehQqZB_yYRQVjdkdoZJ9dspNT9asKpuvcRGRw6LQMm7OgKfgk9lQZVi2DIpFZXssB2xT8OgYcID8PdMDd_oKA/s598/Viv1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="474" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw-7gM2SvltREp8fPhyphenhyphenD68xJljHt1DJwhrpKlmOAE5IZQXzZMKsVHuCcCXAoe2Hqtu7N-1EqvJ996FcnblQmAaOk4qbd7RN1etehQqZB_yYRQVjdkdoZJ9dspNT9asKpuvcRGRw6LQMm7OgKfgk9lQZVi2DIpFZXssB2xT8OgYcID8PdMDd_oKA/w229-h289/Viv1.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /> I used to maintain a list of historical women here I called "Heroine of the Weekend" (since I posted them on weekend). I love discovering new-to-me extraordinary women in history and delving a bit into their lives and times, but life got in the way and I didn't have the time to continue for a while. I'm eager to start this feature again, even sporadically, and see who we can discover. Let me know if you have any ideas for future features! And take a look at past essays in the side panel...</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Today's heroine is one of my very favorite actresses, the complex, wonderfully beautiful, immensely talented Vivien Leigh, who was born November 5, 1913 and died July 8, 1967. The winner of 2 Oscars (<i>Gone With the Wind</i> and <i>Streetcar Names Desire)</i> and a Tony for <i>Tovarich</i>, she had a 30 year career, Despite her great film successes, she considered herself mainly a stage actress. <span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">"I'm not a film star—I'm an actress. Being a film star—just a film star—is such a false life, lived for fake values and for publicity. Actresses go on for a long time and there are always marvellous parts to play," she said. She faced many challenges ub ger short life, roles she longed for and lost, a serious battled with bi-polar disorder abd TB (which led to her early death), as well as the collapse of her great love for Laurence Olivier. Always, she was tough, hard-working, never giving up.</span></span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdBU43tZH-lMS6gNGbfkDsKuHGfxtykG2B8dPS28e0rXj52O9Pf8xFJ_mPiJtGYCsu6qzHV6WNEPNWn90C-rIRLWw_k8aM6e8zeVq4Bz90ND7qXt4Zfh6CxL9_MAC9bgJLYjnX6rzVadKJBOjom_6c3tMpg8alIt9oRPSLLZnvzpu0TZgp3TltA/s960/Viv5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="748" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdBU43tZH-lMS6gNGbfkDsKuHGfxtykG2B8dPS28e0rXj52O9Pf8xFJ_mPiJtGYCsu6qzHV6WNEPNWn90C-rIRLWw_k8aM6e8zeVq4Bz90ND7qXt4Zfh6CxL9_MAC9bgJLYjnX6rzVadKJBOjom_6c3tMpg8alIt9oRPSLLZnvzpu0TZgp3TltA/w231-h297/Viv5.jpg" width="231" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><br />She was born in India, where she had her first stage role as Little Bo Peep at 3, and at age 6 was sent to Catholic school in England. After her schooling, she was accepted at RADA, but dropped out soon after meeting and marrying conventional, older barrister Leigh Holman in 1932 and having her one child, Suzanne, 1in 1933. She went back to study part-time, and managed to get a role in in the play <i>The Mask of Virtue</i> (1935). She got good reviews and lots of notice (except grumblings that her voice was too small for the large space!) Later Leigh said </span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"> "some critics saw fit to be as foolish as to say that I was a great actress. And I thought, that was a foolish, wicked thing to say, because it put such an onus and such a responsibility onto me, which I simply wasn't able to carry. And it took me years to learn enough to live up to what they said for those first notices.</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; text-wrap: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivien_Leigh#cite_note-31" style="background: none; color: #3366cc; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">[29]</a></sup><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"> I find it so stupid. I remember the critic very well and have never forgiven him"</span></span><p></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">In 1935, she first met Olivier at the Savoy Grill, and despite their current marriages were instantly drawn to each other and embarked on a passionate affair.. She played Ophelia to his Hamlet at a famous production at Ellsionore, where the weather was stormy and Vivien was worse, having her first major breakdown.</span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEWPD-gGESW8SU1KB3-FIIUzVtxMfpi0ZKs3YoKtENLzUqAhL08tO4V0rw9RHamvqOWvYIpkkYvdZdzCGzo7Tu7xgxYFg6d2-U3I2JJE8biPH2hE88Ezgo2Tq3NhxJizuhBiM0uxhz7XvFqnG2VyK20ELk4r5qj5W1dMq0tkjz4ldV8cFHMujTw/s800/Viv9.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="800" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEWPD-gGESW8SU1KB3-FIIUzVtxMfpi0ZKs3YoKtENLzUqAhL08tO4V0rw9RHamvqOWvYIpkkYvdZdzCGzo7Tu7xgxYFg6d2-U3I2JJE8biPH2hE88Ezgo2Tq3NhxJizuhBiM0uxhz7XvFqnG2VyK20ELk4r5qj5W1dMq0tkjz4ldV8cFHMujTw/w294-h184/Viv9.jpg" width="294" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><br />Her first major movie <i>Yank at Oxford</i> (1938) and it gained her attention in America. Soon after the pair embarked for the US, Oiliver to stare in <i>Wuthering Heights</i>, Vivie convinced she could bag THE part of Scarlett O'Hara. She did, of course, and embarked on a long, grueling shooting schedule, with her favorite director replaced, illness, feuds with the likes of Leslie Howard. Worst of all, she was separated from Olivier. </span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">"Puss, my puss, how I hate film acting! Hate, hate, and never want to do another film again!" she wrote to him in anguish.</span></span><p></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">After GWTW her career was never the same. She became a phenomonon, garnering all acclaim, including the Oscar. But it wasn't entirely what she wanted. </span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"> "I'm not a film star—I'm an actress. Being a film star—just a film star—is such a false life, lived for fake values and for publicity. Actresses go on for a long time and there are always marvellous parts to play."</span></span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhforvDQTFczFy3r1MhGKQRpWbCv8fUXuVIgDTbFkjFrpi68iKycsq7yyLn7fb6nl63vqK1RyizrNtJp-5F6qyvhL9sU9p8lntgCgPCKc8BQkKR4z4Cw7Dsyp4_b0ACC8XdeMd38P8VvffH-kZqlzZdNSqlzwJglA7xJYcUZKwfaomFkRc-iaAlIg/s1600/Viv3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1278" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhforvDQTFczFy3r1MhGKQRpWbCv8fUXuVIgDTbFkjFrpi68iKycsq7yyLn7fb6nl63vqK1RyizrNtJp-5F6qyvhL9sU9p8lntgCgPCKc8BQkKR4z4Cw7Dsyp4_b0ACC8XdeMd38P8VvffH-kZqlzZdNSqlzwJglA7xJYcUZKwfaomFkRc-iaAlIg/s320/Viv3.jpg" width="256" /></a></span></div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><br />On May 31, 1940, finally free, the pair married , and headed off to mount a production of <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> in New York. (after Vivien being disappointed in losing the role of Rebecca opposite Olivie). The play was terrible flop and huge financial disaster for the could. Their follow-up was luckier, a film version of <i>That Hamilton Woman. </i> They returned to England on the eve of war, where Leigh performed for the troops in North Africa (where she probablu first contracted TB), and Olivier made his great, and very patriotiocally stirring <i>Henry V</i>.</span><p></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">Leigh sufferered miscarriages, and the mental troubles increased. The couple went ton tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1948 (soon after Olivier gained knighthood, making Vivien Lady Olivier). It went on for many gruelling months, and though a great success Vivien's health broke down further. Olivier said he "lost Vivien in Australia"</span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">Throughout the '40s and '50s there were many movies and stage prductions (including <i>Ceaser and Cleopatra</i> and <i>Antony and Cleopatra</i> together). "</span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">The reviews there were also mostly positive, but film critic Kenneth</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Tynan" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #3366cc; font-size: 14px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Kenneth Tynan"> </a>Tynan <span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"> angered them when he suggested that Leigh's was a mediocre talent that forced Olivier to compromise his own"</span></span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBbENIlV6i3Mnz10iJZWDzFH4ZDMytgnNyM7Wx0kZ6MhPA1ZMEB69U6Gw-EjiOyTtJ4fKCoMjWI6SIO1v4O_jmDxwX868Nitw7nPt0BsMMFFV6RQylmCVrX-SqmsvG9ORpOWwdDKxL1bU_D1tC6fhsnO2l-iacycp0HeeAtk9znBDmBshxWMSlQ/s1600/Viv6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1173" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBbENIlV6i3Mnz10iJZWDzFH4ZDMytgnNyM7Wx0kZ6MhPA1ZMEB69U6Gw-EjiOyTtJ4fKCoMjWI6SIO1v4O_jmDxwX868Nitw7nPt0BsMMFFV6RQylmCVrX-SqmsvG9ORpOWwdDKxL1bU_D1tC6fhsnO2l-iacycp0HeeAtk9znBDmBshxWMSlQ/w196-h288/Viv6.jpg" width="196" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />She performed Blanch in <i>Streetcar...</i> in the West End in 1949 (326 performances) which led to the film version and her second Oscar. In 1953, her marriage rocky, she went to Ceylon to film <i>Elephant Walk</i>, where she threw herself into an affair with actor Peter Finch, and feel deeper into mental illness. She was replaced by Elizabeth Taylor, and Olivier took Vivien home to the US for treatment. Later, after partial recovery, there were more plays, especially Shaw and Shakespeare, as well as a few films, such as <i>Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone </i>and <i>Ship of Fools</i>. After parting with Olivier (how went on to marry actress Joan Plowright) she entered a long, stable relationship with actor Jack Merivale, settling into life on a country estate with lots of cats. She died at her London flat of TB on July 7, 1967</span><p></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px; margin: 0.5em 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> When asked if she believed her beauty had been an impediment to being taken seriously as an actress, she said, "People think that if you look fairly reasonable, you can't possibly act, and as I only care about acting, I think beauty can be a great handicap, if you really want to look like the part you're playing, which isn't necessarily like you."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">Director George Cukor described Leigh as a "consummate actress, hampered by beauty",</span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">and Laurence Olivier said that critics should "give her credit for being an actress and not go on forever letting their judgments be distorted by her great beauty."</span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">Garson Kanin shared their viewpoint and described Leigh as "a stunner whose ravishing beauty often tended to obscure her staggering achievements as an actress. Great beauties are infrequently great actresses—simply because they don't need to be. Vivien was different; ambitious, persevering, serious, often inspired"</span></span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">Some sources:</span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 12.6px;">Bean, Kendra. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">Vivien Leigh: An Intimate Portrait</i><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 12.6px;">. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Running Press</span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 12.6px;">Coleman, Terry. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">Olivier, The Authorised Biography</i><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 12.6px;">. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005</span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 12.6px;">Edwards, Anne. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">Vivien Leigh, A Biography</i><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 12.6px;">. London: Coronet Books, 1978 edition</span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 12.6px;">Spoto, Donald. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">Laurence Olivier: A Biography</i><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 12.6px;">. London: Cooper Square Press, 2001</span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 12.6px;">Strachan, Alan. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">Dark Star: A Biography of Vivien Leigh</i><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 12.6px;">. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2018.</span></p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 12.6px;">Vickers, Hugo. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">Vivien Leigh: A Biography</i><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 12.6px;">. London: Little, Brown and Company, 1988 editionyg</span></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-36221372214449287052023-11-11T19:08:00.000-08:002023-11-11T19:08:41.598-08:00Weekend Links<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_w4Xyrj2wgWg1KggXRToUOldwUlBXjxEmdaXymSFMM9Gfw6UTNZHNC6u0sS9w_JGadyMdCJALadPYu5zW8VAEFn9Ge3Spi101jYh-VoyGr5_qWav-_VfIKEVWmJYJp6aQGAxGPxQk3f0BqPiqZdzqkylWI-LeKi-BFHDR0mJzVViQ3Ji5Gmcsw/s450/autumn1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="450" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_w4Xyrj2wgWg1KggXRToUOldwUlBXjxEmdaXymSFMM9Gfw6UTNZHNC6u0sS9w_JGadyMdCJALadPYu5zW8VAEFn9Ge3Spi101jYh-VoyGr5_qWav-_VfIKEVWmJYJp6aQGAxGPxQk3f0BqPiqZdzqkylWI-LeKi-BFHDR0mJzVViQ3Ji5Gmcsw/s320/autumn1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Happy middle of the month! Thanksgiving is just week after next (and I need to start my pies--my holiday assignment), and Christmas looms ahead, along with my birthday and the stress of moving house. (Fingers crossed, we will close on our new house Dec. 10!). I also just turn in one book (the 4th 1920s Santa Fe mystery), and am starting on another (the second Matchmakers of Bath story). Whew!! This is always a wild time of year, but I think it will be doubly do this year. Any time management advice??<p></p><p><br /></p><p>In the meantime, a few fun things to read and distract ourselves:</p><p><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fhackspirit.com%2F9-signs-youre-a-complex-thinker-whose-mind-works-differently%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0SHqJ1r1QJtoS0oPeApoyRLBRBZM6YuRJylGtqIalvmvOCMwJIFYPXRjU&h=AT23PI-ZU_JsVomAo-yM5tKOtLTdAj7JkuTl-AfWAgwl069vP7tJHJPdePV6AkOoc_EDQNyzLI5rXw81i25Ejcoor82b2cWTVvy9NcLdhtcYVe7OMgP0wZkuXJrt4Ext4-7EIKgFx_2F8XfCFg&__tn__=%2CmH-R&c[0]=AT1WNiAgUaDtLd1hqR6RxJPWFqzVcnB_Kh6xYuHxCENTbX7mCmxgpT3wyRWzxC0IU50i4hjcgkHonJ8RDoXpcgTZwRF-mMZKp6nlOk4leQlIxILvr6T9APoWg3NodDKOMrSzsWHbElFyqyiO8zqpxeyE4LDGnqSjh0COMaB59cPQwzaHbR2kKA">9 signs you're a complex thinker whose mind works differently</a></p><p><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fhackspirit.com%2F9-signs-youre-a-complex-thinker-whose-mind-works-differently%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0SHqJ1r1QJtoS0oPeApoyRLBRBZM6YuRJylGtqIalvmvOCMwJIFYPXRjU&h=AT23PI-ZU_JsVomAo-yM5tKOtLTdAj7JkuTl-AfWAgwl069vP7tJHJPdePV6AkOoc_EDQNyzLI5rXw81i25Ejcoor82b2cWTVvy9NcLdhtcYVe7OMgP0wZkuXJrt4Ext4-7EIKgFx_2F8XfCFg&__tn__=%2CmH-R&c[0]=AT1WNiAgUaDtLd1hqR6RxJPWFqzVcnB_Kh6xYuHxCENTbX7mCmxgpT3wyRWzxC0IU50i4hjcgkHonJ8RDoXpcgTZwRF-mMZKp6nlOk4leQlIxILvr6T9APoWg3NodDKOMrSzsWHbElFyqyiO8zqpxeyE4LDGnqSjh0COMaB59cPQwzaHbR2kKA">The oldest bookstores in London</a></p><p><a href="https://themillions.com/2023/11/the-book-that-made-the-bard-400-years-of-shakespeares-folio.html?oly_enc_id=4468C1054834I1Y&fbclid=IwAR2e9Tq1JpkNZ22NTYnQuNG5yH6b8qMtoG-ADzHvuphEH4qWXSvSUkBDzsQ">400 Years of Shakespear's Folio</a></p><p><a href="https://www.tatler.com/article/ruby-wreath-tiara-crown-princess-mary-napoleon-tiara-of-the-month?fbclid=IwAR3_b3mJKHtdcuEkXl2cCJveLry1BJbURz35pegnWSroAoU5R4beXML-Fqs">Tiara of the Month: The Danish Ruby Wreath</a></p><p><a href="https://lithub.com/the-most-unlikable-woman-on-sofia-coppolas-stymied-quest-to-bring-undine-spragg-to-screen/?fbclid=IwAR2v2RYRY33Rcx-g479ZfURSKxa2IOhAgR619G0uLiWEWoUOTFo26Y70i30">Sofia Coppola's Stymied Attempt to Bring Undine Spragg to the Screen</a></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/85abab0b-b214-469b-b4ba-ebc5b29ef86c?fbclid=IwAR0lcJ9J6j-EBA47rWAm074qAlpuIxvtfFjofEt9v6U1NZTp1i7iB2MDvtI">Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius</a></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/07/stories-poems-louisa-may-alcott-little-women-author-eh-gould?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3g0BgimYzdQroAJksWaIol13sANkLnZ0lC4rhkTGS7eYpvj8UPG1vLGnk#Echobox=1699378837">Researcher uncovers possible new works from Louisa May Alcott</a></p><p><a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a45756222/queen-letizia-crown-princess-mary-state-banquet-2023-tiara-photos/?fbclid=IwAR0AP5RJl99ItgUftflsAhvHcAmY061Hsske-Lk_650ctuizDeu3yQ2hPTk"> Two very different tiaras at a state banquet</a></p><p><a href="https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/traditional-christmas-recipes-from-the-1920s/?fbclid=IwAR1tgsjOhL3Jqdu11CJI6onnGwUbDUthvd_erEO2sxtOWUNGaaTBtDojA4k">26 Christmas recipes from the 1920s</a></p><p><a href="https://tellyvisions.org/article/murder-easy-first-images-cast-uk-release-date?fbclid=IwAR0AP5RJl99ItgUftflsAhvHcAmY061Hsske-Lk_650ctuizDeu3yQ2hPTk">First look at Agatha Christie's "Murder is Easy"</a></p><p><br /></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-46131558149036562442023-11-04T10:24:00.003-07:002023-11-04T10:24:45.825-07:00Weekend Links<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4DpqMaeUDa2CzhigY0jf6ERjxU0VfWUUqIyVO3HSWPr8Jc3Nv4sbERKplXYYGA4uoHSwAIgirneQp9Fu4N59Us8gpQc9ERukMOEhETPSzjzksYGfKjjcErLB5MetkICOa1eGIbog7O63-fR9jlV4CmEKj932g4cHXeew-V778OiYJwUbJ0TaaA/s225/Hygge1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4DpqMaeUDa2CzhigY0jf6ERjxU0VfWUUqIyVO3HSWPr8Jc3Nv4sbERKplXYYGA4uoHSwAIgirneQp9Fu4N59Us8gpQc9ERukMOEhETPSzjzksYGfKjjcErLB5MetkICOa1eGIbog7O63-fR9jlV4CmEKj932g4cHXeew-V778OiYJwUbJ0TaaA/s1600/Hygge1.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /> Happy autumn, everyone! Don't forget to turn your clocks back this weekend. I confess I sometimes have a tough time with the early darkness and cold, but I do love cozy quilts, cashmere shawls, and holiday lights, so it's hygge time! Also reading and writing time. I have a deadline this week (book 4 of the 1920s Santa Fe mysteries), and finally got the top of my library's holds for <i>Tom Lake</i>. What are you reading this week??<p></p><p>In the meantime, some fun tidbits...</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://tellyvisions.org/article/murder-easy-first-images-cast-uk-release-date?fbclid=IwAR0m58qqxr0rOBDdHD56TTktbky_yTpwmIcAs45AswxzAI8Jk1cwR2iLvNE">First look at Agatha Christie's "Murder is Easy" cast</a></p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20231031-how-virginia-woolf-and-the-bloomsbury-group-unbuttoned-britain">How Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group Unbuttoned Britain</a></p><p><a href="https://womenshistory.si.edu/stories/danced-history-maria-tallchief-quarter-release?fbclid=IwAR3sPHXGKKXpq0caKF_lRaB1MERVR-OI-6sMwsTHzD9T588wmztp-dy0ncg">Maria Tallchief quarter released</a></p><p><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/an-early-charlotte-bronte-story-speaks-to-the-authors-lifelong-fascination-with-the-supernatural-180983156/?fbclid=IwAR370YU0xTI2AjDMLFKr_8zoX7IizToTEOIJwCxknBHSoSbwW0xRbt0Awvw">An early Charlotte Bronte story</a></p><p><a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/war-of-the-operas-gilded-age/?fbclid=IwAR0dkjZ5EyvUzQaSFvus_nzcTgyUT3BNTMmGRb_WXv2FyII9U7DfaeZkCHE">The war of the opera houses in The Gilded Age</a></p><p><a href="https://www.askamanager.org/2023/10/this-is-how-you-can-protect-your-local-library.html?fbclid=IwAR2pBS9E5mo5SFFnQCNB7XG_qLNR_CH76Vfsa8QEAcNsSgf-TBfWE_sHzP4">How you can protect your local library</a></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-44712218574440584752023-10-28T10:21:00.005-07:002023-10-28T10:27:37.607-07:00Book Release!!!<p> Do you feel ready for snow, cocoa, presents? Romance??? Do you love the opulent sopa opera-ness of "The Gilded Age"?? I have the book for you! My new Christmas anthology, "A Gilded Age Christmas" is out now! (I have an enormous love for all those things, too, as well as Edith Wharton books, so I loved writing this story)</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS43eb8ma_340Eotbalwi512SteDEkBzDg-Fm7huzg1W9BJCtH32uDorcFkSFHvKtXBkGDtqQSMPVtxkZ_zQgtAXIQE3hxAtY__WgxHLj3ex3R3M7oh83wz-O9JuypZqWMFCB0vIDGRkVQRiYI2BnEmOsveEHHdZYoGWhL9UDCK5KuK36o1uklwg/s512/GildedAge1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS43eb8ma_340Eotbalwi512SteDEkBzDg-Fm7huzg1W9BJCtH32uDorcFkSFHvKtXBkGDtqQSMPVtxkZ_zQgtAXIQE3hxAtY__WgxHLj3ex3R3M7oh83wz-O9JuypZqWMFCB0vIDGRkVQRiYI2BnEmOsveEHHdZYoGWhL9UDCK5KuK36o1uklwg/s320/GildedAge1.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><br /><p><span class="a-text-bold" face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700;">Two festive romances set in the glamorous Gilded Age</span><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><span class="a-text-bold" face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700;">Two short romances</span><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><span class="a-text-italic" face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Celebrate a Gilded Age Christmas!</span><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />In Amanda McCabe’s </span><span class="a-text-italic" face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">A Convenient Winter Wedding</span><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px;">: marrying Connor O’Neill is about survival for penniless heiress May Van Der Berg. The distant self-made millionaire is far from the passionate husband she’d once dreamed of…except for </span><span class="a-text-italic" face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">that </span><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px;">scorching kiss! In Lauri Robinson’s </span><span class="a-text-italic" face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">The Railroad Baron's Mistletoe Bride</span><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px;">: after years of estrangement, romance blooms when Kurt invites store clerk Harper and their shared niece to spend Christmas at his mansion. But are they just a family for the holidays? </span></p><p><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />"Amanda McCabe's historical romances never disappoint and A Convenient Winter Wedding is a superb Gilded Age novella full of wit, passion and emotion written with plenty of style and flair. With characters readers will love and plenty of drama and intensity to keep them hooked, A Convenient Winter Wedding is an enjoyable historical novella from Amanda McCabe's very gifted pen." --Amazon Review, 5 stars</span></p><p><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gilded-Age-Christmas-Amanda-McCabe-ebook/product-reviews/B0BW12ZVYQ/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews">Buy Link</a></span></p><p><br /></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-36373316179036087532023-10-28T10:15:00.001-07:002023-10-28T10:15:08.733-07:00Weekend Links<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8kGAySb7mb5YIt_3F1j3d5jokXZgCZFcZOALT3rLcgeBRvztitFLneLPOZOIF7VS78bWsn0bpIuu6oe2rcQ-0V3Hcgp5JtvpddNH5lyxtnFd42jTC35gARGIYqpX3bkRNssCCASRT7e3Iov0sAHDWBu3L7LRf1wihG67YZD2NHMMwzBvhC8gHA/s800/Autumn3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8kGAySb7mb5YIt_3F1j3d5jokXZgCZFcZOALT3rLcgeBRvztitFLneLPOZOIF7VS78bWsn0bpIuu6oe2rcQ-0V3Hcgp5JtvpddNH5lyxtnFd42jTC35gARGIYqpX3bkRNssCCASRT7e3Iov0sAHDWBu3L7LRf1wihG67YZD2NHMMwzBvhC8gHA/s320/Autumn3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Happy Saturday, everyone! It's my favorite time of year--almost Halloween! I love the crisp leaves, the cooler nights, the lovely apples (and apple pies) at farmers market, getting out my (copious) collection of scarves. And watching spooky (not gory!) movies and reading creepy books (just finished "Small Angels," it was delightfully creepy...). What are some of your favorites? Let me know in the comments, and in the meantime here's a few things to read...<p></p><p>(I'm also hoping to have some more "Heroine of the Week" posts soon! Let me know who you might like to see profiled)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a44912657/the-gilded-age-filming-locations-max/?fbclid=IwAR0QYrn_xLD-_8UQoXd-dMWVtzfjndvdyO1z5pPccY79bHfUUO2cPW-DhYM">The opulent film locations of "The Gilded Age"</a></p><p><a href="https://www.askamanager.org/2023/10/this-is-how-you-can-protect-your-local-library.html?fbclid=IwAR2P9jAZ-6oQxnAMGqqEsYvSSGSZHwz3BMVXdqKiuUWB5bR0jvmeNt2i8OU">How protect your local library</a> (from Ask a Manager, a wonderful advice site!)</p><p><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/venice-design-guide?fbclid=IwAR1q1Qo-F5OwCZjf9UpM8VN1k0zVwhenmxciEyTvAuGonkhwEED4d30c0to">A designer lover's guide to Venice</a></p><p><a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2023/10/british-library-digitizes-its-entire-chaucer-manuscript-collection/">The British Library digitizes its collection of Chaucer</a> </p><p><a href="https://aelarsen.wordpress.com/2022/01/06/the-king-agincourt/?fbclid=IwAR1DNPuPM3hZ85GzQZqUK1ABrCdtLhvzbF5z_sxg-1hS4AzrYlSz6j-G-rQ">Yesterday was the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt</a> (how did films get the battle right or wrong?)</p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-67121511.amp?fbclid=IwAR0UQ0GmZz0uu9iixKSqPEBLGVzul4SJoBzuD2_yo8grvximKYO_oAka7zk">Birthplace of the Bronte sisters goes up for sale</a></p><p><a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/12-best-things-to-do-in-santa-fe?fbclid=IwAR02qeNvVBTPWPkPH4Lv_s3chaA2UVUfDug5FEkYuOd7j-KH5__IPWSkjUk">12 best things to do in Santa Fe</a></p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/interactive/2023/villers-charlotte-du-valdognes/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNjk3MDgzMjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNjk4NDY1NTk5LCJpYXQiOjE2OTcwODMyMDAsImp0aSI6IjVmNDVlNTZjLTc2ODEtNDhhMS05MTQzLWZjM2U0ZWUwMmZlMSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9lbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50L2ludGVyYWN0aXZlLzIwMjMvdmlsbGVycy1jaGFybG90dGUtZHUtdmFsZG9nbmVzLyJ9.AIiYaLopd2jV6DO1lhKz6nE9U7WmUH5WhUDGuuPkuCY&itid=gfta&fbclid=IwAR1AIcgjZC4UVoFCe8wfnbvF68GgTqiTEcCeHqwMKWTvH15Sws1UqkLuTXs">They said it was a masterpiece...when they thought a man painted it</a></p><p><a href="https://everydayparisian.com/francophile-gift-guide/">The Francophile gift guide </a>(for the Francophile in the your life, cough cough, me)</p><p><br /></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-33683185261990245392023-10-15T17:43:00.003-07:002023-10-15T17:43:42.669-07:00Weekend Links<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_CWitt9DsjWD77aWPaGHknEOdga9YJmuk3kmIsmI9j6cG8mDFyaugBBmZPoP3F5QxUGnGoq9DY6fTmsOpigyG57hPEITna3LupgHcfniOm6vRjsp8iZ9tRjPbeNs4ZWab-p2afQj7pbRM444nDDqy6yoPZWPEK0W8vyhAIlqYe5DkqQFc2XazA/s2048/Angel2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_CWitt9DsjWD77aWPaGHknEOdga9YJmuk3kmIsmI9j6cG8mDFyaugBBmZPoP3F5QxUGnGoq9DY6fTmsOpigyG57hPEITna3LupgHcfniOm6vRjsp8iZ9tRjPbeNs4ZWab-p2afQj7pbRM444nDDqy6yoPZWPEK0W8vyhAIlqYe5DkqQFc2XazA/s320/Angel2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in peril this week. The news is heartbreaking. I'm so glad I have all of you.<p></p><p>If you're in need of some diversion for a few minutes, here's some reading:</p><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/12-best-things-to-do-in-santa-fe?fbclid=IwAR2YpDuASo95ygCQuhFz1b7bBKjo5NTPISvh9G7qqSbpdQ8CIarcLU1XFik">12 best things to do in Santa Fe</a></p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/interactive/2023/villers-charlotte-du-valdognes/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNjk3MDgzMjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNjk4NDY1NTk5LCJpYXQiOjE2OTcwODMyMDAsImp0aSI6IjVmNDVlNTZjLTc2ODEtNDhhMS05MTQzLWZjM2U0ZWUwMmZlMSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9lbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50L2ludGVyYWN0aXZlLzIwMjMvdmlsbGVycy1jaGFybG90dGUtZHUtdmFsZG9nbmVzLyJ9.AIiYaLopd2jV6DO1lhKz6nE9U7WmUH5WhUDGuuPkuCY&itid=gfta&fbclid=IwAR2248nRh-DaQj5P5U98BaGTBP7AHphJAZNtSMbNRFGKjc-OA5jtz48tnQA">They said it was a masterpiece--when they thought a man painted it</a></p><p><a href="https://www.tatler.com/gallery/vienna-1900-an-imperial-and-royal-collection-sothebys-sale-geneva?fbclid=IwAR1EDsA-HsT5LIOtKCQwEk7zFTpJWx3UNIDVkvRu6OY3hnRkN4iocw436_4">Want the Empress </a><a href="https://www.tatler.com/gallery/vienna-1900-an-imperial-and-royal-collection-sothebys-sale-geneva?fbclid=IwAR1EDsA-HsT5LIOtKCQwEk7zFTpJWx3UNIDVkvRu6OY3hnRkN4iocw436_4">Sissi look? Jewels go to auction</a></p><p><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/fashioned-by-sargent-boston-museum-of-fine-arts?fbclid=IwAR1OKLfbeKkYMvOSPUKE95gzuumAsnaMHAkdLp8q21c9RxrE_QKuzkQ0-HM">In John Singer Sargent's Portraits, the Fashion Comes First</a></p><p><a href="https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/bbc-to-broadcast-stage-shows-to-mark-shakespeares-first-folio-400th-anniversary_1535611/?fbclid=IwAR0YaRt6hixy9Ss-jQdH0vqktnyc4nywQsygfvZirGF0MkDcy6fxboZnxVY">BBC to broadcast show celebrating 400th anniversary of the First Folio</a></p><p><a href="https://www.charleston.org.uk/exhibition/bring-no-clothes-bloomsbury-and-fashion/?fbclid=IwAR3tzJ-9_0uyMlsV6g3roEcpUkwsEq3dJVE6UssG5CgpKpovZov-7q8zMyk">Bloomsbury and Fashion</a></p><p><a href="https://www.getty.edu/news/walking-the-streets-of-turn-of-the-century-paris/?fbclid=IwAR2gR4cpxfg4bYMaPyf_86xbs8Wet0rw_byihPc46uijnvIueC2C_tskfWw">The streets of turn of the century Paris</a></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-41590338407082781602023-09-24T11:14:00.002-07:002023-09-24T11:14:24.059-07:00Weekend Links<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkDTozQyOS9R6o6teBKDU7JAkFSIuWkzEU8dwC2jtNsPu6-wNv9zPPA0h1da2EBGnLngH5EmNZYiI0S5BHWm1Yg4KYwqLmQ5GBLNstggvlnPuLyti5gZaDkSxwWow21IJINAVpeGeWXoM8mDGWTlZsz6LoZQNav2Bi-wdNSq6WsmVEQ8IzVPQwg/s1200/AustenAutumn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkDTozQyOS9R6o6teBKDU7JAkFSIuWkzEU8dwC2jtNsPu6-wNv9zPPA0h1da2EBGnLngH5EmNZYiI0S5BHWm1Yg4KYwqLmQ5GBLNstggvlnPuLyti5gZaDkSxwWow21IJINAVpeGeWXoM8mDGWTlZsz6LoZQNav2Bi-wdNSq6WsmVEQ8IzVPQwg/s320/AustenAutumn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Happy (sniffle, cough) weekend! Or not so much around here--after over 3 years of good luck, I have covid!!! Luckily, it just feels like a no-fun cold and is getting better, but my writing was set back for a few days and I spent far too much time watching videos of dogs and cats pretending to talk (that Penny the cat, hilarious!). But here are a few other reads I found, and happy autumn! I love this time of year. Crisp breezes! Beautiful colors! Apple cider! Striped sweaters! Best of all...Halloween<br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz50d8n2xplo.amp?fbclid=IwAR0DOq4zxlKsSNPNdzwZwR94nCNFbEjkbdBup6jyy2Unuah3mfwWu4SEvZc">Shop once owned by Anne Boleyn's father up for sale</a></p><p><a href="https://www.foodandwine.com/cocktails-spirits/spirits-the-art-of-the-aperitif">The art of the aperitif</a></p><p><a href="https://www.messynessychic.com/2021/12/03/before-cher-horowitz-had-her-computer-closet-marie-antoinette-had-the-wardrobe-book/?utm_source=drip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=13%20Things%20I%20Found%20on%20the%20Internet%20Today&utm_content=13%20Things%20I%20Found%20on%20the%20Internet%20Today&fbclid=IwAR0zimVuJgkTE6Ub8Gs3WbeR9D4wQW8AQ3J6g_gyfNnjY4jVzdaoTxYB_Fo">Marie Antoinette's Wardrobe Book</a></p><p><a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/new-mexico-museum-of-art-new-building-sante-fe-vladem-contemporary-7970243">A new museum here in Santa Fe</a></p><p><a href="https://daily.jstor.org/the-home-science-labs-of-english-noblewomen/?fbclid=IwAR2PeFIS4rxLudimmHVMELjbB1jcLaay9Mk6KCQ82Hg5UAp7cLjvadUkqpg">The home science labs of 18th century English noblewomen</a></p><p><a href="https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/ranking-the-hercule-poirot-actors/?fbclid=IwAR2MdED0eXLWAAvrdoWSP65bfdAJrmNVWThgnO6CDgmWm0RpiQxnthQYqMU">Hercule Poirot actors ranked</a></p><p><a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/oppenheimers-los-alamos?fbclid=IwAR0KBWAxlSNW6JapHEUx3L5RiHhyPvs86FccXHf_sfSaO7kD_BX3Z4_zep0">What Oppenheimer's Los Alamos looked like</a></p><p><a href="https://collider.com/bridgerton-funko-pops/?fbclid=IwAR1CwVCBw3BrrcIrheQwz7zGyn-JQOmCYFzJpL8LAVtNwjx9KO66KbRVmiU">Bridgerton Funko Pop figures</a></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-89435204341687951922023-09-15T15:04:00.002-07:002023-09-15T15:04:42.064-07:00Weekend Links<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyqlDmVHc9kP_mEenj_MO8K0zHzSqIJeX249lF0aLXGLt7cWL-CAdzhY7yoWUNXem98G_-RNkYI_gmgwlxTacJp2ltJhSR3cB3yAUi_g4TD5DKbGHKCEyCsiJ99OfRKKKi5Y_xBvvg2laZ3phLdRcmNximx82U7zYiqH54n3_XNSG4fKA_SWSug/s2048/KateCostume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1883" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyqlDmVHc9kP_mEenj_MO8K0zHzSqIJeX249lF0aLXGLt7cWL-CAdzhY7yoWUNXem98G_-RNkYI_gmgwlxTacJp2ltJhSR3cB3yAUi_g4TD5DKbGHKCEyCsiJ99OfRKKKi5Y_xBvvg2laZ3phLdRcmNximx82U7zYiqH54n3_XNSG4fKA_SWSug/s320/KateCostume.jpg" width="294" /></a></div><br />Happy almost-autumn! It's finally cooling down here after a scorching dry summer, and I'm so excited! It was also Fiestas time here, and Kate got very into it. Here are a few fun reads to take us through the weekend...<p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/oppenheimers-los-alamos?fbclid=IwAR2_aSslyJ_cgRs-ItWkpmZg752rMFvAMCP_wvuItLkkJ8jmEZwGrbskt7w">What Oppenheimer's Los Alamos looked liked</a></p><p><a href="https://collider.com/bridgerton-funko-pops/?fbclid=IwAR0SazVx6WuuwVoNH5ut6poQqSEuBZMoKScGNTM76xfW2zdNJrT8RX9lI98">Bridgerton Funko Pops!</a></p><p><a href="https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2023-09-09/life-sized-statue-of-author-agatha-christie-unveiled-in-her-hometown?fbclid=IwAR0mfSjALstm6qiiydjUAMM7V4eqrB4s2NAw1LkNb0Lf2C86AfRVCb1AJvg">New Agatha Christie statue unveiled in Torquay!</a></p><p><a href="https://www.naturaldiamonds.com/epic-diamonds/sothebys-imperial-diamonds-auction/?fbclid=IwAR2itF5TTUGjw_LJfQbHrwKus_mgaxHK-n5VqswKKnpEcuMuZZuPESFByOM">Royal Jewelry Collection Up For Auction</a></p><p><a href="https://bookriot.com/authors-who-work-as-booksellers/?fbclid=IwAR3VNSmA23v0v7yhIBLxtnupCbU4pelE84F4C68Yqr3ODQxyVttHmJCmr0Y">Authors who work as booksellers</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/most-popular-european-cities-in-literature-ranked-aura-print?ueid=21c9ddc8c36749f76820d9e9eaaf4605&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Thrillist%20Daily%209%2F10%2F23&utm_term=Thrillist%20Daily&fbclid=IwAR2FrTEhnvTlZdMPA1Bp557vilV08N1_INZHzOb9ieEDMq40MhbBZRWp78E">European Cities That Appear Most in Literature</a></p><p><a href="https://www.tatler.com/gallery/100-of-queen-elizabeth-ii-most-elegant-outfits?fbclid=IwAR3sC_QMNO-d7tx6_lphTz0QDi30OPmEaZrkW9OuS2Zp7aWpBUm52iDHPXY">One Year On: Queen Elizabeth II's most elegant ensembl</a>es</p><p><a href="https://lithub.com/30-years-later-the-age-of-innocence-remains-scorseses-most-subtle-deconstruction-of-misogyny/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Lit%20Hub%20Daily%3A%20September%208%2C%202023&utm_term=lithub_master_list&fbclid=IwAR0mfSjALstm6qiiydjUAMM7V4eqrB4s2NAw1LkNb0Lf2C86AfRVCb1AJvg">The Age of Innocence</a> (one of my favorite movies)</p><p><a href="https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/ak3j5a/virginia-woolf-fashion-philosophy-bloomsbury-group?fbclid=IwAR08VMUNddwb4p1p69B357E3JDoxIxNszDvob_F_aSorjeBFTIkgjkXVOkI">Virginia Woolfe and the Philosophy of Fashion</a></p><p><a href="https://www.marthastewart.com/853430/favorite-lunch-salad-recipes">Favorite Lunch Salad Recipes</a></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-88859701382121788942023-09-15T14:50:00.001-07:002023-09-15T14:50:40.013-07:00Book Release!<p> Flora and Cho-Chou are back for another adventure!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTIOofbKyGdzmh_QLPJXl1alpCjjRjXY9HUCaFJp4ZEQLMTu2dwr8C60dmTSmE7Tvh8K11yWzw6Kry8mk4LIYecNIK6acZOswU-DE7F6orCJgaEBaGojeE2eRrm_VpcHUvKJQeX5SZTIqXGtVjw5TvtYEm5-dVYAOtImHBNewmY_MLFG3YJPNKzA/s500/Flora2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTIOofbKyGdzmh_QLPJXl1alpCjjRjXY9HUCaFJp4ZEQLMTu2dwr8C60dmTSmE7Tvh8K11yWzw6Kry8mk4LIYecNIK6acZOswU-DE7F6orCJgaEBaGojeE2eRrm_VpcHUvKJQeX5SZTIqXGtVjw5TvtYEm5-dVYAOtImHBNewmY_MLFG3YJPNKzA/s320/Flora2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">1889</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">With the wild chase for the late unlamented duke's diamonds finally over, business is booming for Flora Flowerdew's seance society, but she's bored with summoning ghosts with the help of her psychic Pomeranian Chou-Chou. She longs for adventure, like what she had with Benedict, and her Cockney maid Mary and journalist Evie as they chased across England and France in search of the diamonds. A late night visit from Benedict, Duke of Everton changes that. He was the last man she ever wanted to see again, with his frosty green eyes and rough laughter. But he needs her help. His great-aunt Imogen is being blackmailed--and it might turn London politics upside-down! Not to mention Ben's own matrimonial prospects.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Lady Imogen begs Flora to help her hide her naughty past. She insists they attend a country house party at Windermere Abbey, where all the thieving suspects will be gathered. A tangle of politics, passion, fear hang heavy in those lavish corridors, and Flora must sort it out before it's too late! And before her heart is lost, too...</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"I fell in love with Flora Flowerdew in the first book: Flora Flowerdew and Mystery of the Duke's Diamonds. So, of course, I absolutely had to read Flora Flowerdew and the Mystery of the Purloined Papers as soon as I could get my hands on it.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I was right.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">A wonderful Novella, it is light, easy to read, and full of mystery (and even some mayhem!). It was so wonderful to spend time with characters from the first book. Especially our reluctant duke: Benedict.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I sincerely hope we will be seeing more of Flora, Benedict, Chou Chou the psychic Pomeranian, and Mary the best friend any music-hall-dancer-turned-medium(ish) could have!" Goodreads Review</span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9DMYY4Z?binding=kindle_edition&qid=1694814289&sr=8-2-fkmr0&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tukn"><br /></a></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9DMYY4Z?binding=kindle_edition&qid=1694814289&sr=8-2-fkmr0&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tukn">Buy Link</a></span></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-12701755521372835502023-08-03T20:11:00.001-07:002023-08-03T20:11:21.203-07:00Book Release Day!!!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY49UYUqStFAkmrbNA7qXQKsRwBukdAq9J9FheyoiqKLPlKvMb9jtY2mjUB0zqL4HOu9Jdvw5mPZJy4dDqgOu579QAwvlSo4akXnU9MFSBtkYQfbsl-gLG5ju7tc71xyt_5yBHt7fh6_fz7rgOlpOdCg0eBR34d15CXFKPZXFq1Ti8bHSShsN5QQ/s2615/DeathComesToSantaFe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2615" data-original-width="1656" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY49UYUqStFAkmrbNA7qXQKsRwBukdAq9J9FheyoiqKLPlKvMb9jtY2mjUB0zqL4HOu9Jdvw5mPZJy4dDqgOu579QAwvlSo4akXnU9MFSBtkYQfbsl-gLG5ju7tc71xyt_5yBHt7fh6_fz7rgOlpOdCg0eBR34d15CXFKPZXFq1Ti8bHSShsN5QQ/s320/DeathComesToSantaFe.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><br />The third in my 1920s Santa Fe mysteries is out NOW!!! I am so excited about this book. I put so much of my love of this place, my love of Maddie and her quest to find herself, into these stories, I love having them out in the world...<p></p><p><br /></p><p><span class="a-text-bold" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700 !important;">Former New York darling turned amateur sleuth Madeline Vaughn-Alwin is once again thrown into a colourful yet deadly web of secrets, lies and soirees to die for!</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />It's the week of Fiesta in Santa Fe and Maddie is looking forward to enjoying the celebrations. But as 'Old Man Gloom' Zozobra goes up in flames, so too do Maddie's hopes for a carefree life . . . Human remains are found in the dying embers of Zozobra, and then Maddie and her dashing beau Dr David Cole find a body washed up in the arroyo at the edge of town.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Soon identified as Ricardo Montoya, a wealthy businessman and head of one of the most affluent families in Santa Fe . . . the plot starts to thicken. While his beautiful wife Catalina and her complicated children seem less than heartbroken at his untimely demise, and with many disgruntled locals crawling out of the woodwork, Maddie is surrounded by suspects.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />With the celebrations of Fiesta continuing around them, Maddie and her 'Detection Posse' get busy infiltrating the best parties and hobnobbing with old and new faces - but can they bring the murderer to justice before they strike again?</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #474646; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Santa Fe, a place of beauty and artistic inspiration, provides the perfect backdrop for the sympathetic sleuth. --Kirkus Reviews</span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #474646; font-family: Noto Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Death-Comes-Santa-Revival-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0BXPZ9C8P/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1CGFNJSFSOUPN&keywords=death+comes+to+santa+fe&qid=1691118380&sprefix=death+comes+to+santa+fe%2Caps%2C231&sr=8-1">Buy Link</a></b></span></span></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13029687.post-67241372132871482942023-07-30T13:39:00.002-07:002023-07-30T13:39:31.210-07:00Weekend Links<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1LFaQbWDckGszVlfAspHxlq3MCdifm_YVGZKUPKwpmqf4NWfcHP8uKrjiTotW3eJrJnbkGn_--ZinXM2wKcrPjXgtY-lnvDWJYiNL5qd7q60c2inUmJNVq-3VKu63uQzOs51e45oAJaUxgIYMyD-gH0WihBqagvP4blYwgCQsD4S7tcVvofTydA/s1080/Beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1LFaQbWDckGszVlfAspHxlq3MCdifm_YVGZKUPKwpmqf4NWfcHP8uKrjiTotW3eJrJnbkGn_--ZinXM2wKcrPjXgtY-lnvDWJYiNL5qd7q60c2inUmJNVq-3VKu63uQzOs51e45oAJaUxgIYMyD-gH0WihBqagvP4blYwgCQsD4S7tcVvofTydA/s320/Beach.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Happy almost August! (ugh, where did the summer go??) It's been crazy here, with the day job at its busiest and a book launch coming next week (<i>Death Comes to Santa Fe</i>, third in my 1920s mystery series!!!). Hope you are staying cool and getting your reading in. <p></p><p><br /></p><p> Speaking of reading, here's a few fun links I've found lately. Enjoy!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/emily-bronte.html">Happy birthday, Emily Bronte!</a> (July 30, 1818)</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/pompeii-kitchen-shrines-bakeries-pizza-fresco-archeology-russo-snake-find-2023-7?fbclid=IwAR3OpIVD9CSGUvMSi1t43U9XRF_5rTD6F04Js8oIlMDV9NN5WjPSTE66PI0">Pompeii's ancient fast-food markets</a></p><p><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-stunning-tudor-tapestries-restored-to-their-former-glory-180982584/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_term=7242023&utm_content=new&fbclid=IwAR1FPBY7SPV9hO9skW7mHwWnf9wQ7tcdH8GKrrvTU8xnqSHjuLvMLVayXdQ">Tudor tapestries returned to their former glory</a></p><p><a href="https://tomandlorenzo.com/2023/07/barbie-and-the-cinematic-history-of-weaponized-pink/?fbclid=IwAR24WGceJ9yCffhwbe7Bx1NoPYa-yQMXc5loSQckoeGEKbVKcqowtatn6ns">Barbie and "the cinematic history of weaponized pink"</a></p><p><a href="https://lithub.com/wherever-you-go-there-you-are-on-setting-and-society-in-pride-and-prejuduce/?fbclid=IwAR0Wof8LwCcO8zykIqUfgrsucyyO5RvSYRl_VyRQMZpQoeE63yZEE41kxvc">On setting and society in "Pride and Prejudice"</a></p><p><a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/landmarks-monuments/eiffel-tower-facts">12 Eiffel Tower facts</a></p><p><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-foundations-wolf-hall-tudor-estate-where-henry-viii-fell-jane-seymour-180970464/?fbclid=IwAR041U69fIanPNm-d0USWCcnX_KQdJJJLHcRlMk7GOgrMT-EcjiHtQ7z9Ow">Archaeologists unearth foundations of Wolf Hall</a></p>Amanda McCabe/Amanda Carmack/Laurel McKeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575437197334661544noreply@blogger.com0