It just keeps getting weirder and weirder...and other misc.

I'm still at the beginning of William M. Thackeray's Vanity Fair and it is not your average Regency novel; it just keeps getting weirder and weirder....and funny, too, especially the part where Becky Sharp is forced to share a bed with one of Sir Pitt Crawley's female servants; the same bed where Crawley's wife had passed away.  Lt. George Osborne is another story altogether.  I also seem to notice a trend in Regency and Victorian literature; most men are named John, James, Thomas, Henry, George, Charles, Edward, Edmund, Robert, Roger, or William.  For women, it's Jane, Emma, Emily, Anne, Elizabeth, Mary, Molly, Louisa, Julia, Susan, Charlotte, Catherine, Isabella, etc.

On an unrelated note, I was reminded this evening about a particular song in Sunday School that I had to sing.  It was this song in particular:

If I listened to this song/video as a kid right now, it would've driven me insane (as an adult, I could only tolerate about 30 seconds of it).  As we did the Father Abraham "dance," I had but one thought in my little elementary school age mind: since when was Abraham Lincoln in the Bible?  For those reading this blog entry and grew up in Sunday School singing the "Father Abraham" song, what were your first impressions of it?  Did you get the Biblical Abraham confused with our 16th president like I did?  In a way, Father Abraham is the Christian version of the Hokey Pokey dance: right arm, left arm, chin up, spin around, shake it all about, turn yourself about, etc.  Also, there was one song titled Fishers of Men and as a kid, I had no idea what being a "fisher of men" was.

I would love to continue the blog but I've got to be up early tomorrow for work.  Fin.

Jane Austen: Detective.....and other stuff.

I'm now a fan of this awesome book series by author Stephanie Barron.  Basically, the series features Jane Austen as a detective!  Well, not in the Sherlock Holmes sense, but more as an amateur sleuth, per se.  I've read three books in the series and I'm currently reading a fourth Jane Austen mystery book (not in any particular order).  It's really neat to see how Jane would've acted as a detective/writer.  In the series, the reader is introduced to Jane Austen's family, namely her brother Henry and his wife, Eliza de Feuillude and her other brother Frank Austen, a naval captain.  I haven't read further into the series yet so I haven't "met" Jane's other siblings.  Jane's own mother seems to be similar to that of Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth Bennet's mother in Pride and Prejudice.  If you loved Jane Austen's books, I highly recommend this mystery/detective series.  Right now, I'm reading Jane and the Ghosts of Netley.  After I'm finished, I will move from Regency to Victorian literature with Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.

I'm still thinking about my ideas for my own Victorian era novel.  I still haven't drafted an outline just yet.  I usually like to write a short story version of the novel first and then compose an outline from that.  I'm excited and nervous at the same time.  I may not be on the New York Times bestseller list but it doesn't hurt to dream.

On an unrelated note, I started to gain some of the weight that I had lost years ago.  So, I've been exercising again and changing my habits...again.  It's frustrating but I think I might consider getting help from a nutritionist or dietician.  If I have a strict, structured diet, I can stick with it and lose more weight.  After church, I spent my afternoon going on a 5 mile walk.  At the four mile mark, I contemplated going seven or eight more miles but at the five mile mark, I was tired and I didn't want to push myself.

Tomorrow, I may go for a bike ride along the boardwalk of Mission Beach to Pacific Beach and back.  It's a lot quicker than simply walking from MB to PB and back and a lot more fun.

Fin.

Writing historical fiction

The plot for my historical, "period piece" novel keeps unraveling every day.  After reading tons of Regency and a few Victorian era fiction books, I want to tackle my own Victorian era novel.  Half of the plot makes sense and half of it doesn't. 

And no, I don't have this on paper, though it will be pretty soon.  I'm itching to write the darn thing even though I still have tons of research to do.  If I don't write something, my brain will probably explode from all the information retained in it.

What I have considered doing was to do an outline, character sketches, and a short story version while doing my research simultaneously.  I am not sure if this is a good idea or not.  I have a story in my head that's just dying to be on the New York Times bestseller list.

For those that are curious, I won't divulge the entire plot because I like to keep my ideas rather than have someone steal them.  Basically, it's a love story, though not the mushy type because I hate mushy romances.  It's also Christian themed, however, I'd like to make it appeal to secular as well as Christian audiences.  Any advice or criticism is welcome by me as I am learning and growing in this kind of thing.

Sorry this blog entry is short.  1,000 Ways to Die is on.  Fin.

P.S. If you have any questions or comments about the blog, visit theshannifesto@gmail.com.