A few months ago my agent sold FOLLY’s audio rights to Random House Audio/Listening Library. The audio will be released the same day as the hardback book—January 23rd, 2014. Janet Stark, the producer of the audio book, contacted me yesterday to ask my opinion about a possible voice-over actor named Katharine McEwan. Katharine is a British native living in LA. Not only is she a voice-over actor but she acts in movies, too. I listened to the audio sample and fell in love with her voice! Today Katharine agreed to the project, and now my character, Vicky Darling, has a voice! A very beautiful voice, and I know Katharine is going to do a fabulous job. Have a listen here: Katharine’s audio sample.
It’s exciting enough to become a published author but to hear my character come to life is even more amazing.
Behold the beautiful jacket for A MAD, WICKED FOLLY! This version is a first pass, which means it’s an early draft, not the completed one, but I wanted to share it with you now. It will be perfect when it hits the bookstores in January, but I think it looks great as it is. The very talented Lori Thorn, who designed the cover for Marie Lu’s LEGEND, created it. I love it so, so much. What more could a writer ask for?
Also a big thanks to my photographer, Edda Taylor, who did a stellar job on my bio shot. I hate having my picture taken and I’m always so stiff and nervous, but Edda put me right at ease. Edda understood that I wanted something artistic, something my character Vicky, an artist herself, would be proud of. Her studio is in Crown Point, Indiana in the Old Lake County Courthouse, which was built in 1878 and on the Register of Historic Places. The place is atmospheric and very elegant and Edda uses the natural light from the old Palladian windows to create her photographs.
My debut novel, A MAD, WICKED FOLLY, is based during the Edwardian era (1901 to 1910), which is a time when women were demanding the right to vote and the right to govern their own lives. During that time, women were expected to be little more than wives and mothers; misogyny was the norm and women were often treated as ornamentation. Today, women vote and have control over their own lives, yet we are still treated as ornamentation, and misogyny is alive and well.
You only need to listen to music today to understand how sexualization of women is accepted in popular music. Don’t believe me? Listen to the repulsive lyrics to the hit song Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke.
Disgusting right? I can’t imagine listening to that on the school bus. What is such a song saying to young, impressionable girls?
They don’t have to listen to it, you might argue, but according to Miss Representation, an average teen consumes ten hours and 45 minutes worth of media each day. Three out of four girls admit feeling depressed, guilty, and shameful after spending three minutes leafing through a fashion magazine. 48 percent wish they were as skinny as the models. 31 percent admit to starving themselves to lose weight.
But the good news is, young women still want to be leaders, still want to strive to reach their goals. But why should they have to do so with such awful labels, like bitch and slut, pinned on them? Why should they have to struggle with self-doubt and poor body image as they work hard to achieve their dreams?
I’ve learned to reject the idea that my value lies with I look or how I fit in, but I didn’t feel that way as a teen and young adult. I remember feeling awkward, embarrassed, wrong. Terrified of being labeled, it was easier to fade into the background where I stayed, unnoticed, until I found what made me happy. For me, it was horses, music, drama, and the outdoors. Today, it’s writing, gardening, and taking care of my farm animals. For my protagonist Vicky in A MAD, WICKED FOLLY it’s art.
I believe that each one of us possesses a unique personality that’s unlike any other, and finding what brings you joy will help develop that uniqueness. And it will help you reject the lie that you aren’t good enough or beautiful enough.
Here is the anti-dote to Blurred Lines: Beautiful Flower by India Arie.
I absolutely love clotted cream, and when I moved back from England I realized it’s not easy to find it in American grocery stores. Last year I did a little research and learned how to make it. Making clotted cream is really fun and easy to do. And today on The History Kitchen I explain how to make this quintessential British treat and its mate, the scone.
Today on Corsets, Candlesticks, and Cutlasses I talk about what Victoria Darling, my main character in A Mad, Wicked Folly, would have tweeted. There’s also a little bit about the Victorian and Edwardian version of Twitter.
Please excuse my messy blog! I’m in the middle of updating everything and creating new pages, etc. It’s a big disorganized at the moment! But it will be a shiny, beautiful new blog when I’m through, especially because the most awesome Hafsah of Icey Designs created my new look. What’d you think?
Meanwhile, here’s a picture of my baby Alpine doeling, Tonks, in my house (it was cold that night, she’s in the barn now, promise!).
I’ve just heard today that my new publisher, i5, has sent THE ORIGINAL HORSE BIBLE to the printer. It will be available in August. Until then, enjoy the book trailer produced by the amazing Striking Media.
Welcome to the online home for my young adult contemporary and historical fiction, and for my equine non-fiction. Have a look around and read a first chapter or two by going here.
Read more about me.
Or get in touch!
