A Debuntante through the years

Edwardian Debutante
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Hello,


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I am sorry I have not posted much of my story here... I have been writing I promise. As I have said in the past I usually have to write out my story in my notebook and then I type it up. Unfortunately with the heat wave we have had in Boston  and also due to some of the emotional issues I have shared I have not had the energy to sit at my computer and typed it up. As I have postponed my thesis I want to spend more time fun writing and then typing it up. In my story I am up to the year 1913. Daphne, the oldest daughter is now being presented into society. I was first introduced to the idea of a debutante through Gilmore Girls... though the debutantes have changed over time there definitely something very traditional about them.

I know it is old fashioned but there seems something about a girls debut that seems so nostalgic. In the books I have been reading The Dream Kingdom and The Restless Sea the author Cynthia Harrod-Eagles makes a girl's first season to be the height of their life. It is also a pivotal point in a girl's life... it is here the girl can finally leave the home and perhaps have some adventure. It is also during the season a girl had hopes to find love and marriage. (I had truly wished Downton Abbey had shown Lady Sybil's season.)

The book To Marry an English Lord writes "In the June fortnight between the Derby and Ascot, the seasons reaches its peak. Invitations like in stacks on silver salvers just inside every front door. More dinners, parties, balls, concerts, teas, breakfast even, than anyone can possibly attend. The aristocracy socializes morning, noon, and night, going without sleep for the sake of another dance or one last hand of 'baccy'" (p. 25).


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And now it is Daphne's turn to partake...

          It was now the early spring of 1913.  My sister, Daphne, was now eighteen and the height of her beauty and was preparing to be presented in society. Lady Adelaide had slowly come back to us, though she was forever weakened. She could be lively when she need be. Lady Adelaide had generously invited the position of tutoring and hosting Daphne for the season. When I asked her if she was sure about this position knowing how her heartache when Aurora died, she promised she was certain. Daphne was to attend the best of society. Father grumbled at the dressmaker's bill but mother  knew it was all the key to getting Daphne married off well. Mother wanted Daphne to be the talk of the town and mother was repeatedly telling Daphne she had the beauty to capture a viscount or earl if she put her mind to it.

      Daphne and I spent most of the spring practicing dancing and other refined manners. Mother though t best that I too be prepared for my debut. Of course by the time my presentation would come we would be at war and the season was hardly thought of. However, for now I was happy to have such an open time at Cranston Court. I enjoyed being able to see Lady Adelaide most everyday and I felt our presence was a comfort to her since Lord Welford had been splitting  his time between York and Manchester only rarely coming to Cranston. Parker was away at University and even when he had a holiday he spent it with some of his classmates. Marcus did the same.

      "Men were not to stay at the home," she once told me. I never knew if that was meant to console her heart or just a truth.

      And as Parker and Marcus were away Lady Adelaide enrolled Shane and Kelby to be our dance partners. Until now I only saw Daphne having a crush on Shane but it was during our time at Cranston I began to see Shane had feelings for Daphne. It all came on gradually it would be hard to pin point when I first notice an affection between them. Then one day we were dancing and the floor was too slippery and Daphne tripped and he gallantly picked her up and carried her to the sofa. I am sure any man would have done the same but there was a look that I saw pass between them. After that it was only looks I noticed. They had to be discreet as it would bring ruin to both Daphne and Shane if a servant to fall for a lady. While at this point it was only looks I never imagined either one of them would act on it. Daphne knew the desire mother had for her life and Daphne was the finest defender of propriety. So the moments of their affection would be off the page if it wasn't for my for my vivid imagination.

This has been particularly interesting in writing this part as my story is told from first person perspective, Rose's perspective and she is not with Daphne. So far letters have told the events of what is going but I need to think of other ways... perhaps more will be told when Daphne returns home.


Besides the books I have listed there have been some websites that have been quite helpful...

Tips for and Edwardian Ball

The Court Presentation

The London Season

The Edwardian Garden Party



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AVictorian.com - Victorian Presentation at Court

Rewriting...enjoying the process.

Since finishing my semester I have been enjoying getting back into fun writing and enjoying bits and pieces of it with you my loyal readers. I have written about my writing process a bit (post: Writing is my oasis) about how I have to hand write my stories and then bit by bit type them up. I have discovered that one thing that is useful to me is when I am writing my stories and I feel like I have written my characters into a corner, it helps to type it out. Through typing and giving my mind to meld it over I can usually work out how to get my character out of the corner. I have found this beneficial. 

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In my current story I got to a scene that I didn't honestly know how my character should respond. An author should know everything about a character but in my times of writing as much as I put myself in a character sometimes my character goes places in the story I never imagined when I started. I am still an aspiring author so I wonder if this is common. Because I had put my character in a situation I did not know how to respond to, I decided the best thing for my story was just to begin again. I went back to the start of the story I liked and began from there and re-wrote lots of pages and now I am writing with any spare moment I have. 

I know as a writer you pour your heart into your work. I know I am constantly looking in my thesaurus to find the right word perfect word to grasp at what I mean and with that sometimes it is hard to cross out paragraphs or tear out pages. It was hard for me but I feel in sometimes in doing this I get to the best in your story and the best out of my characters. As much as it sucked to tear out pages of my hard work I am happy I did because I feel my story has gone to better place.

I know I am still a naive writer but if you are a writer and feel stuck in a corner I recommend going back to a paragraph, a page, or a scene you like and start over again. It might help. More thoughts from a naive writer click here...

Well put Hemingway
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Heroine in the rain

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Every heroine deserves a great moment in the rain. This is a truth from both period dramas (rather they happen in the book or not) and modern TV and movies. There just seems to be something about the rain that makes a scene more romantic. I am happy I let my heroine, Rose, have her moment... 

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A Folly
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         At that moment we heard the overcast sky give a little grumble and the pale gray sky was now presenting us with a summer shower. Kelby without thinking took my hand and lead me to the Temple of Diana. It wasn't really a temple just a folly. It had been popular in the eighteenth century for grand estates to build these little arch ways and call them temples. Now they mainly served as places to hide during the rain. But it was the closest structure to the backwoods and a good place to wait out this summer storm. Even though it was the closest structure we were still soaked causing a shiver over my body. Kelby must have seen me shiver as he pulled me close into his arms and held me there. I think outside of Marcus, who used to hug me when I had bad dreams, Kelby was the first man to hold me.

            "Come let's get me home," he said once the rain had stooped.

            "Oh Kelby I do not want to go home. I cannot face her."

            "Miss Rose, one must never be afraid to face your fears." With that he took his thumb  and brushed the hair that had fallen in front of my face. "But perhaps you need some tea to strengthen you up." And he gave me a little smile.

            I was only eleven so I could not explain how I really felt then but I mark this down as the beginning of my love for Kelby Gray.

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Here are some great rain moments...

Colonel Brandon and Marianne
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My new favorite..

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And probably the most famous...

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And in modern days...

Jim and Pam
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Sweet Home Alabama
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Saw this on pinterest and just thought it was funny...

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Needless to say when the time does come, I hope I get a romantic moment in the rain. 

A naive writer's sentiments

One of the many blogs I follow is Scribble Chicks. It is written by 4 women who blog about being a writer. I find it very amusing. Well in Monday's post Confession they wrote:

MYTH: You can tell you are supposed to be or are a writer because you cannot imagine living life without writing and you don't enjoy the time when you aren't writing.

They explained this as a myth because...

TRUTH: There are definitely times when I greatly dislike writing. Usually it's when my deadline is creeping up on me and I have gotten myself backed into a wall in my story. There are often times during breaks in deadlines when I really wonder if I have another book in me. Or after I've gotten a contract when I stare at a blank Word document and I can't for the life of me figure out a good opening scene.

To read more click here 

I know right now I am just an aspiring author with this blog and some poems I got published my high school literary magazine as my only publishing credits. So I know I do not feel the pressure of a deadline on me... though I will say I do try to publish here once every 2 days. Though I write frequently in between to prepare for up coming post. And I know I have never gotten a contract so I can't go against their truths but I do question their myths.

Over my trip with my mom I told her even though I am in grad school for Library Science, I long to be a writer and I think the reason I gave was much the same as the myth. When I can't fun write thanks to school it is hard and I long to write again. Then when I can write, thanks to summer or long snow storms, I feel like writing is the only thing I should be doing. Rather it be this blog, my journal, or my story I love seeing my thoughts on paper. Sometimes writing is the only thing that makes sense in my life and in my stories I can escape and make sense of things. Maybe in my naive sense I feel like that is why people enter the world of writing.

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I am still thinking over this myth. Maybe if I ever truly become a published author I will understand the pressure of a deadline. Right now in my writing I have finished my story The Sisters of Pine Haven and have sent it to my mom, my current editor, to read over. In the fall I have to write my Master's thesis so I don't think I will get back to it until after that. Now I am just trying to work on my story, Rose Gray, as much as possible. Then with two stories under my belt and having finished Grad-school I might feel like seeking publication. Right now I still believe this...

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Yeah my thoughts might be naive but I am hoping I will always love to write as it has been such a comfort all these years.

More from a naive writer:

A Naive Writer's Advice

posted: June, 2012

If you a published author I would love to hear your thoughts on this. 

A touch of Eloquence and Refinement

Hello,

As I have posted after visiting Newport I was quite inspired to write more of my story. The way I write is I have to write by hand and then I type it up. Well during the last month of school I did not get any fun writing done and then I did a lot of writing and now catching up on some typing. I will keep sharing chunks of my story as having you guys read my work keeps me motivated to finish.

So here we join Rose and her siblings after their younger sister, Georgina's fall in the creek. They have interrupted the luncheon Lord and Lady Welford are hosting and while Lord Welford looks at them as a nuisance, Lady Welford takes them under her wing.

I thought originally I was going to take this time to develop Rose and Kelby's relationship but as I was writing  I began to develop Rose and Lady Welford's relationship. Rose does not have a close relationship with her mom and Lady Welford is so nourishing it will play a big role in Rose's future. 

~~~~~~~Summer 1909~~~~~~~~~

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            They all seemed to accept us eagerly into their company as we were a new novelty. Marcus and Daphne being the oldest were asked the most questions. As soon as it was known about Georgiana's fall they were all astounded and wished to know every detail. Then they asked after her well fair. Marcus gallantly told them most of the details. He graciously left out that I was panning for gold or that I ruined my dress. Next they wanted information about where are parents were and why we didn't have any adult supervision. Marcus and Parker stumbled over these explanations. I am not exactly sure how the conversation changed but soon they discovered Daphne had a skill for the piano and they pleaded her to play.

            "Do you play Miss Rose?" Lady Welford asked.

            "Very little. I don’t enjoy practicing. I think my fingers are too stubby."

            This made Lady Welford and some of the other laugh.

            "Well then how do you spend your time?"

            "I like to read. I read probably more that I should."

            "No one can read the more than they should, one should always be a great reader," Lady Welford said.

           

            Lady Welford showed me a good deal of attention, which was unusual because unless I was getting in trouble by Nanny Alba for day dreaming in lessons most adults ignored me. I wasn't pretty child with soft brown hair and pale hazel eyes. The only thing I could think that distinguished me was a scar on my cheek from when I had the chicken pox. Lady Welford was so nice to me and I enjoyed the way she looked at me as if I was a piece of cake.

Doctor Gibson, told us Georgina was just fin and probably only needed rest. Lady Welford made sure she got it having a tray taken up for her to ear if she felt up to it and the most superior guest room made up for Georgiana. Lady Welford seamlessly entertained her guest and attended to Georgiana through the doctor and her instructions to Mrs. Banks. She also made sure to have some of our clothes sent from Cranston. Nanny Alba wrote that she was being too kind and that should come back home but Lady Welford did not agree with this plan. Cranston Court was truly her domain.   

            After the men had rejoined the women the luncheon transferred out to the gardens. Lady Welford had done some new landscaping in the gardens and was eager to show them off. She also invited her friends to take part in playing bad mitten and a game of croquet on the cleared lawns. Usually children would not be invited to these social functions but Lady Welford had insisted on our attending once we had changed into our own attire. Daphne was more than happy to accept.

                 

            I had hoped they would take us take us back to Aurora's room instead the maid took us to a guest room that was close to Georgiana's room. I guess the mystery of this was yet to be discovered.

            "She is so refine," Daphne said about Lady Welford. "All the ladies are. They are so delightful."

            I agreed they were all refine and eloquent. 

            Mother had eloquent friend but we were never allowed to interact with them, they were just names mother mentioned over lunch. At Southerton we were taught how to behave and how to interact with adults though we hardly ever did. We kept mostly to the nursery. Recently mother was asking for Daphne to sit with her friends at tea. Daphne was a few years from being presented, mother thought it was time she practice being a lady, and that meant sitting through tedious teas. Daphne never called them dreary though through her descriptions I found them wearisome. It was different with Lady Welford she wanted to hear about us and enjoyed listening to us. While she had plenty other guest I felt I was her most important priority and without noticing she had taken my hand in hers as if it were the most natural thing to do. 

An Edwardian Garden Party
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Getting back into the story...

Hello lovely readers,

As I have stated I have wanted to get some more writing in this summer. It is somewhat odd (in a good way) to go back to a story that I have had to put aside. I have gone through and re-read some of my writing and I wanted to share some of the story with you... 

Hope you enjoy. 

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Those were the grand days for us children at Southerton. Without mother and father there we were under the care of Nanny Alba. Every day after lunch she took a long nap  and expected us to do the same. Instead as soon as the weather turned warm we would run all the way to the Back Woods not stopping for any breath. It was here we all plotted out the grand adventures we desired for our lives. I wasn't old enough to plan a grand escape. I still loved our home. It had been a part of our family since King Charles II. It wasn't grand compared to Cranston Court but it was a prized estate. I was still finding nooks and crannies when to hide in for hours. My ancestors took Southerton Green from a simple hunt lodge to its grand scale built in the a modern architecture in the Georgian style. My grandfather used to tell me of the grand days of Southerton when they would throw lavish parties on the scale of a Duke and Duchess. I promised him I would recapture those grand day and bring them back to Southerton.

            Of course in a few years I would learn of the financial destitution of our family and I would know to become a grand family we once were was utterly hopeless. Right then in 1909 I thought no family could be better off than us, Harringtons at Southerton Greens with a house in London and plantations in India.

            "Rose I want to play!" My little sister Georgina called from the side.

            Georgiana, my younger sister, who still at five had her baby fat including pudgy cheeks and stubby legs. No one seeing her then would realize she would become England's high class model by the time she was eighteen, of course by that time she was going by the name Gigi Harris. She would always long for adventure and to be taken seriously but for the most part she was held back because of her younger sibling status.

            "I am not playing!" I yelled back.

            To be honest I was panning for gold. The water was up to my knees and turning my dress from soft blue to an ugly brown as the mud splashed on me. I was  bent over with one of cook's pie pans, scrapping the bottom, hoping to find any sign of gold. In one of our history lessons we had learned about the California Gold Rush in 1849 and I had hoped our creek could be lined with gold but no one had ever looked. I now knew why no one looked because the water was almost a numbing cold and there seemed to be little success no matter how long I looked.

            "Rose, I want to play."

            "No you can't, mother says you can't come in the creek."

            "Please!" She begged.

            "Daphne, you are suppose to be watching Georgiana," I pleaded.

            "No you promise you would do all my chores  and when mother is not her and we are not with Nanny Alba that includes taking care of Georgiana."

            "But-" I moaned.

            "Do you want me to tell mother you broke the teapot?"

            "I wasn't trying to break the teapot," I grumbled to myself.

            I didn't really think it was my fault that Pippin came running through the room as I was trying to host a tea party for my doll, Camilla Jayne, but I was pretending she was Queen Victoria. I had to use the best teapot for Queen Victoria, and with its hand painted flowers and gold trimming it was by far the best in the house. I was holding the now infamous teapot when Pippin came into the room, jumped on me, knocked me down, and the teapot to the ground. Daphne was the only witness and now she had black mailed me into doing her chores for a moth. Years later I would find out Daphne told mother did not punish me because she hated that teapot. It had been Grandma Harrington's but mother and Grandma Harrington never got a long so she was glad when it was broken. If I had known that then I would have never put up with Daphne's behavior.

            "What are you doing," She yelled at me. Daphne finally noticed that my dress had become soaked and practically ruined with mu stains. 

            "Panning for gold like they did in California."

            Shane hearing this chimed in "There is not gold in that creek, if there was Lord Welford would have already dug it up."

            "What would my father do with little rocks bigger than finger nails. Rose, if you find any gold you can keep it," Parker said pretending to stick up for his father, who was known in parliament as being one of the cheapest Lords in the House.  Penny and Pence Welford, I had once heard father call Lord Welford.

            "I agree with Shane there is no gold in the creek," Daphne said "and now you have ruined your dress for something that doesn't exist. Now got out of that and act a lady."

            By now all attention was shared between me standing in the creek and Daphne standing on the bank. No one but Kelby had seen Georgina make her way into the creek and slip on a rock, and she had gone under with a splash or gasp to get our attention. The splash that did get out attention was Kelby jumping into pull Georgiana out of the water. In slow motion I watched Kelby grab her and saw her limp body lie across his arms. He laid her on the grass to get any water out of her lungs. She coughed some up, opened her eyes, and then quickly fainted again.

            Without thinking Kelby scooped her back up into his arms and ran in the direction of Cranston Court.

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A new cover...

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One of my favorite things when I get really into a story I am writing is to find an image and to think I want that for my cover (if I could). For my last story Sisters of Pine Haven I found the one below. Now for my story Rose Gray (working title) I found the above picture.

I know most of my story takes place in pre-WWI and will go into WWI .This 1920's hat is not very appropriate for the time period (I know) but I feel the 1920's is when my character will step beyond her comfort zone and be the heroine we desire.

Side Note: If my working title is Rose Gray does that make anyone think of 50 Shades of Grey? I have never read them (and I never will) but I don't want a reader to think my book is closely related to that. Let me know your thoughts.

I do not own these pictures so I know they probably will not be my cover art but I do like them and I find them very inspiring. I can't wait to one day be published and get to chose the art work for my cover.

Some descriptive writing

"A desire to write grows with writing"-Desiderius Erasmus 

In my last post about my story (which is still untitled) I wrote sharing my story with you my loyal readers it kept me inspired me to continue writing my story. So I hope to continue sharing bits of my story with you. I may not be able do to so regularly as I find I write better when I write with my hand and then I type it up. It is a very long process but it is so far the only way it works for me.

As much as I love writing plot, I love more the moment where I can get out a few good sentences of descriptive writing and make my characters or my setting seem more real. I am just at the beginning of my story so I am really working on some descriptive parts so my characters come to life for me and for my readers. So I wanted to share those parts with you...

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This wasn't a journey this was a new beginning.

            Parts of this narrative I remember as if they were yesterday even though they happened years ago. Some parts of this story I have conjured up out of my imagination to make sense of the outcomes. Therefore, I cannot call this a true account of my family but it is the truest account you ever hear.

           

            There was a time when we were all joyful and innocent to ever changing. Before the war and the destruction that followed in its wake. The war had changed our family in so many ways as it had for so many others. Before the war it didn't matter that Parker was heir to Cranston Court and best friends with Shane Gray, who was the oldest son of Cranston's head cook. Daphne would be happy to wear a daisy chain necklace and Marcus dreamt of exploring the deep jungles of Africa. Back when we were children we would spend our summer afternoons in the Back Woods wading in the creek that divided Cranston Court from Southerton Greens. I remember her we could be a thousand miles away from everything and everyone with only our dreams to play out. But that was before the Great War. The Great War that had killed Shane and made our poverty known. It was all due to the war. It was the reason our lives had changed forever.

Summer 1909

Those were the grand days for us children at Southerton. Without mother and father there we were under the care of Nanny Alba. Every day after lunch she took a long nap  and expected us to do the same. Instead as soon as the weather turned warm we would run all the way to the Back Woods not stopping for any breath. It was here we all plotted out the grand adventures we desired for our lives. I wasn't old enough to plan a grand escape. I still loved our home. It had been a part of our family since King Charles II. It wasn't grand compared to Cranston Court but it was a prized estate. I was still finding nooks and crannies when to hide in for hours. My ancestors took Southerton Green from a simple hunt lodge to its grand scale built in the a modern architecture in the Georgian style. My grandfather used to tell me of the grand days of Southerton when they would throw lavish parties on the scale of a Duke and Duchess. I promised him I would recapture those grand day and bring them back to Southerton.

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Dress Inspiration #1
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Lady Welford was perfection itself. She had delicate features from her ivory skin, her gentle hazel eyes and her fair auburn hair that seemed properly placed as a crown on her head with no strand out of a place. Her dress was done in the stylish 'Empire' revival fashion that was coming back into style with lots of subtle lace and beading on the top, then a large cherry silk ribbon that had a large flower pin on in it, fading to a soft pink with deep inverted pleats at the back which went down to a little train. One would think that the dress being so subtle in would wash her out but it didn't. Lady Welford was true beauty. Her figure was particularly graceful and it was a style in which elegance reigned. A beauty like I had never seen before in such a way that one could tell the outside was due to reflect the inside. She looked down and saw little Georgiana looking almost lifeless and had overwhelming compassion.

            "Oh my goodness is all right?" Lady Welford asked with watery eyes.

            "Yes your lady. She is fine now thanks to Mrs. Gray, she probably just needs some rest," Marcus said.

            "Well of course. We have several guest rooms she can stay in. Mrs. Banks," she called the house keeper over. "Will you make sure to find the little girl a place to rest and get some food for the children and have them take it into the nursery. Then when we are done with our guest in the library."

            "Elizabeth!" Lord Welford stunned by her.

            "And maybe some dry clothes for the young ladies."I did feel a little embarrassed by my outfit. "Also Mrs. Banks we might want to fetch the doctor. And all of you will stay here till your sister is all better. Mrs. Banks make sure to also write Southerton we would not want Mr. Harrington to worry."

            "Our mother is not home your lady," Marcus said.

            "Well then it is settled, you shall all stay the night," it was almost as she could feel her husband getting mad. "Now Welford, I want you to smile and remember we need votes."

Dress Inspiration #2
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            All what Lady Welford asked to be done was done in an orderly fashion. Her manners reflected her charming beauty for they were winning and never commanding and she show complete empathy to those around her.

            I would find out years later as perfect as her world seemed she terrible lonesome. Her husband would spend months away at a time her some was away at school, and while Lord Welford brought her back a nice broche or a new necklace it never replaced her heart's cry. By the time I learned this would be too late for me to do anything about it. I put this now so you would know the whole story and it will impact future events of this narrative.

            Cranston Court stood as a relic to the Tudor years with a lookout tower and lots of outset windows and it always had a feeling that a knight on white horse would be coming about any moment. Though it was a Tudor relic on the outside on the inside it looked more like a French Chateau done highly in the Rococo style that was ever so popular at the end of the last century. Lady Welford was an American Heiress through and through coming from a family who had their money from mill factories and investments in both railroad and a shipping industry. She had insisted for many modern improvements to be done to the house including new pipes, fitting windows, and dumb waiters so the food would be warm when it reached the dinner table. Most importantly she had the money to back up her insistence.

Painting of Derbyshire
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Side note: I have changed the date from 1906 to 1909 to bring them a little closer to WWI. I also changed my heroine's name to Rose... I couldn't really get attached to the name Esther.

So my story begins...

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My life begins with a letter. Maybe I should say my life changed with a letter since I received the letter when I was twenty-three. My new life began with a letter.

My dearest hope,

If you doubt the words I spoke to you the other night, don't. I have made you the promise of my love and my devotion forever.

I have ordered us a simple state room on the Northern Star Liner, it leaves from Liverpool on Monday and we will sail to New York as man and wife. No one can stop us not even the King, I promise. If you love me meet me at the Euston Station for the 6:15 AM train to Liverpool. I will be waiting to take you into my arms and away from all things long ago. 

Believe me when I say, all my love,

K

So begins my story...

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Somewhere I was told an author does not to share your work. It might have been when Norman Mailer was on Gilmore Girls and was talking to a reporter (picture above). He said he never talked about his work. I don't understand this. I mean I know I am not a real author and by that I mean I am not published (minus this blog). I don't know how not to share my writing... I love it so much and when you love something you want to share it. I mean If you follow me on pinterest you will see my love of Downton Abbey, Jane Austen, and other things. So why can't I share my writing? Besides this blog might be the only way I am ever published. I used to blog my story, the Sisters of Pine Haven, and it kept me motivated to finish. Then my friend told me a publisher would not touch my story if I kept it open for the public (that makes sense so I limited who could see the blog). Though I still long to share my writing. If I should never get published at least I would know the blogging world would see my story and know my passion. So I don't know what is better...

My new story starts in 1906, goes through WWI and then ends in the 1920's. The scene I shared is Kelby Gray (my hero) promising to take Esther Harrington (my heroine) away from their past. Then the story flashes back to summer of 1906 when the kids still have very idealistic views of the world but that all the ideals come crashing down during WWI. Marcus Harrington (oldest brother) is eager to fight but his father doesn't want him to go so he has to run away to join the military. Marcus' best friend Shane Gray comes with him and together they join up. After Shane is shot Marcus becomes a shell of his former self and is sent back home. Not long after the news of Shane's death Daphne (Esther's sister) marries Parker Welford (Lord Welford's son). This shocks Esther because she always knew Daphne loved Shane. This marriage pleases her mother as she knows it is good security. Some where in this Esther and Kelby fall in love which is not at all good because Kelby is the son of Lord Welford's cook and mother finds out. So now her mother sends her to London to stay with Daphne and Parker. In this time her mother promises Esther's hand to Lord Welford (Parker's father). Kelby and Esther know the only way they can be together is if they run away.

This is a story I have been playing through my head for a year or so and I really hope to finish this story. I have this brief outline but I am excited to see where the characters take me.

Found these images on Pinterest and thought they would be good settings for my story... 

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Southerton Greens... The Harrington's home

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Cranton Court... Lord Welford's home

Even if you guys don't know it this blog was a big support for me to finish my last story, which was a huge accomplishment for me. (It just needs to be edited and published... but I am working on it). So I wanted to share the starting point of this story. 

Thanks for your support.