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Author: Colin Rowland

A Jane Austen Trivia Thursday

A Jane Austen Trivia Thursday

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Image by Mike Singleton from Pixabay For today’s version of Trivia Thursday, I offer a selection of trivia for Jane Austen fans. As some of you know, I create variations on her most famous work, Pride and Prejudice. The following list is not confined to that novel, but rather explores the author’s influences and the times she lived in: Anonymous Authorship During her lifetime, Jane Austen did not take credit for any of her creations. The title page of her first novel, Sense…

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Good Riddance 2024, Hello 2025!

Good Riddance 2024, Hello 2025!

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Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash Happy New Year to everyone. Let me start by wishing a not so fond farewell to the dumpster fire that was 2024. Rather than dwell on the year that’s now behind us, I want to suggest a few tunes to help welcome the new one. Let’s start with one of the few U2 songs I can listen to without cringing: Next, I want to lighten the mood with a catchy Bruno Mars tune: How about a live performance…

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Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Christmas to all!

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Image by Sabrina Belle from Pixabay I have a confession to make. As the years pass, Christmases from the past hold even greater meaning for me. Every memory shines bright, unmarred by flaws. Though some must have been less than perfect, I cannot recall them and feel no shame in admitting it. Some of them, however, are more vivid than others, for various reasons, often humorous. I remember vividly the year my father, in what he probably thought was a fantastic idea, brought…

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A trivial Regency Christmas

A trivial Regency Christmas

Photo by Elliott B on Unsplash With Christmas a mere six days hence, wouldn’t it be entertaining to explore a few Regency Christmas trivia and traditions? I’m glad you agree with me! Here we go, in no special order: 1. Christmas Trees Were Not Yet Common The Christmas tree we know and love was not popular in the Regency era. It did not come to England until Queen Victoria’s reign, due to the fact that her husband, Prince Albert, brought the tradition with…

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Elizabeth’s Choice – an excerpt from Gianna Thomas

Elizabeth’s Choice – an excerpt from Gianna Thomas

Hello again! How nice it is to be back with ‘A Glimmer of Gold.’  One of my favorite books is ‘Elizabeth’s Choice,’ and I thought that you might like some information concerning the writing of this particular Pride and Prejudice variation. Unlike my other books, this one required quite a bit of research. Part of that included learning about clipper ships. Although clipper ships reached the height of their popularity in the 1840’s, the Baltimore clipper ships began to be…

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Universal Beauty

Universal Beauty

Image by G4889166 from Pixabay Aah, the joys of advancing age and receding memory. I knew I had a post due this week, but forget all about it until this morning! In keeping with December’s Christmas them, please enjoy an assortment of images to highlight the beauty of the Milky Way galaxy and the universe: Photo by NASA on Unsplash What, you might ask, does this have to do with the season? A lot, in my opinion. Image by Yol Gezer from Pixabay It is truly humbling and awe-inspiring…

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The season begins!

The season begins!

Image by Claximoli from Pixabay December is here, so in keeping with Rowland family tradition, I’m going to start celebrating the season early. To be honest, I’m far from the first of my brothers and sisters to do this; my eldest sister started decorating before Halloween. But don’t worry, I have no plans to get sentimental right out of the gate. Instead, I came across an AI joke generator that I decided to try out. While the results aren’t side-splitting, with a few…

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The Times, They Are A-Changin’ — And a sneak peak

The Times, They Are A-Changin’ — And a sneak peak

The weatherman was finally correct, unfortunately: The image at the top of the page is twenty-four hours earlier than the second picture. Snow started here two days ago and is forecast to continue until morning. To date (and I realize winter doesn’t begin for another four weeks or so), we’ve had more so far than we had all of last winter. The first major winter snowfall of 2024 happened in spring! Of course, it was closely followed by another and…

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Update

Update

Image by Pexels from Pixabay I seem to recall mentioning my intention to rewrite and improve one of my earliest publications, “Hidden Desires”. When I began, I thought, foolishly it would seem, that I could finish the modifications and get it published in time to mark the new year. Today, I want to announce that I am fully committed to fulfilling that promise—twelve months later, but still in celebration of the dawn of 2025. I’ll spare you the reasons for the delay. Let’s…

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Lest We Forget

Lest We Forget

Photo by Chris Sansbury on Unsplash I confess to feeling a little morose on this particular Monday. November 11 or “Remembrance Day” as it’s called here in Canada, is a day of reflection and gratitude for me and my family, as it is for many across the world. The day brings somber memories of my father, who passed away in November 2011. Dad served in the US Marine Corp during  WW II. He spent the war in the South Pacific, and was on…

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