It’s that time of year when my wife and daughter leave to visit her mother for the summer. Of course, I’m not exactly on my own, as older sons are both still at home. They don’t go anymore, as they both are old enough to have responsibilities now. One might think that with the lack of distractions I get lots done in the summer. While that usually is the case, it takes me a little while to get used to…
I am not a big fan of film musicals. I love music, but when it comes to throwing songs into a film, I’m of the mind that 99% of them should stay far away from each other. In my opinion, they rarely achieve an amiable collaboration; either the music overpowers what the actors are doing, or vice versa. Of all the films I have seen that attempted this marriage, I consider no more than three or four watchable and of…
Writing is not an easy business. As with anything, it takes practice and dedication to improving one’s skill, and while I can not speak for other authors, I am always finding something new I’m doing wrong, things that I can do better, or habits in my writing that I try to avoid. Creative writing can be a completely different beast altogether. While a certain measure of research goes into any writing, much of creative writing comes from within. One thing…
Here is my second installment of Second Impressions! This one is about a K-Drama television series that I dearly love. Second Impressions – It’s Okay to Not Be Okay “Don’t make the same mistake I did and try to run when you can’t even walk. When you’re tired, get some rest. When you’re sad, go ahead and cry. It’s okay to take a break. Then one day, there will surely come a day when you’ll be able to run again.” —It’s…
Though my brother spoke of the coming of spring, I have not seen anything of it yet. We are still cold and we are getting enough snow to bury us until June, as this photo from my front window will attest. As I spoke at some length about this in my last post, I will not bore you any further. But you can likely tell by my choice of image that I am eager to leave the winter behind and…
Hello! I am Gianna Thomas, author of several Pride and Prejudice Variations and Regency Romance consisting of The Four Lords’ Saga Series. Is Gianna Thomas my real name? No, it is not, and I’ll tell you why. As a reader, would you appreciate going to a Regency Romance author’s page and finding Children’s coloring books, health books, a couple of cookbooks, a book on how to build a rowboat, some Regency Romance books, and other genres mixed all together? I…
Those familiar with my work know that I have spent the last seven or eight months writing the Elizabeth Said, Darcy Said series. I have finally come to book six, which is the dramatic finish to this saga. As a reward to those who have read these stories, I offer an excerpt, where Darcy and his companions have arrived at Longbourn to find the manor in turmoil because Lydia has run off with Wickham in the middle of the night. Mr….
As you may or may not know, an earlier version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was entitled First Impressions. And as we all know, first impressions can be misleading. But what if you decide that something is actually worth a second look? That leads us to what I hope will be an occasional series: Second Impressions. This will address works (books, television shows, etc.) that are worth not only a first look but a second look. In line with that,…
For today’s blog post, I thought I would discuss romance archetypes. There are, of course, numerous archetypes out there, so this may only scratch the surface. But I am noting some that are of particular interest to me. I’m also granting them names for ease of reference. Finally, while I am discussing male characters primarily, these can apply to female characters as well. The Rogue Qualities: Engages in an occupation such as a pirate, smuggler, or thief. Usually self-assured. Makes…
I have been thinking about changes I’ve gone through since I decided to follow (far, far behind) in my brother Jann’s footsteps and become a published writer. Part of the impetus was my move to Calgary to help care for my mother, but a larger consideration was the fact that I was fast approaching retirement and wanted something that would keep me busy and generate extra income. Jann had been writing for a few years and his choice had…