So...by this time you've likely noticed that I haven't posted for several weeks. What, as I'm sure you've been wondering, could have caused this delay? (At least I hope that's what you were wondering...)
No, I didn't get pulled into a mass of overtime projects for my day job (thank goodness). And no, my computer didn't die, nor did I lose access to the internet.
Sadly, I must confess--it wasn't because I was writing like a madwoman on my manuscript, either.
But this time--unlike my previous silences--I have a legitimate reason. I was traveling (and unlike my crit partner Lacey Kaye, I did not plan far enough in advance to present you all with pre-prepared posts).
I spent the first week of June in Denver, Colorado, attending a work-related conference. My favorite part would have to be either high tea at the Brown Palace Hotel or the demonstration of the British Library's new program, Turning the Pages. Take a look at their website--you'll marvel at the wonders they're working with digitization!
Then, a mere two days after I returned to Seattle, Mr. Mercer and I boarded another plane, this time for a two-week holiday in England. Yessss! I can hear you shouting in glee along with me. England! The land of Jane Austen, of Robert Adam's amazing Georgian interiors, of the Prince Regent. Bath, Brighton, Royal Tunbridge Wells. London.
Did someone say research trip??
Never fear, I'll bring you up-to-date on my adventures abroad. I just have to put my notes together with the brochures, the postcards, the photos...sigh. Well, I have to get organized.
So to tide you over until then...a brief sidenote. Tonight I attended the booksigning for Shannon Hale's recently released novel Austenland.
Here's the premise: our heroine, the appropriately-named Jane, is a huge (one might almost say obsessed) fan of the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice. So much so, in fact, that she can't resist a trip to the Austen-themed resort, Pembrook Park.
As I sat and listened to Hale's charming, witty, and laugh-out-loud commentary on her own Austen (or was it Colin Firth?) obsession, I couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu. In a sense, the past two weeks were my own version of Austenland. I crammed as much of Regency England as I could into our travels.
I can't wait to relive it all again with you!
P.S. For more on Shannon Hale, check out her interview on NPR.
0 comments:
Post a Comment