Friday, February 15, 2008

A New Year




I happened to come across a couple of books that looked worthwhile--royal books, of course--and thought I'd share. "Charlotte and Leopold" looks interesting---Charlotte was the daughter of the Prince Regent and Caroline of Brunswick--and should have been Queen and would have been...if she hadn't died during childbirth. Talk about a nation mourning! It was devastating to England when she died--everyone was grief stricken, similar to the way people grieved when Diana died. And although Leopold wasn't a favorite of the royals, she adored him and he cared for her deeply. They lived at Claremont, a huge home, which was filled with happiness and activity. It was there that she died.
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The other book is about "Marie Therese" who was the daughter of Marie Antoinette. You dont hear much about her, but it appears someone has done a book. I can't even imagine the poor girl's pain...going on without her brother and mother and father. But, she did.
Another daughter I wonder about is Hortense, daughter of Josephine Barnoparte. But I do have a book about her, so I really should read it so I don't have to wonder anymore. But....time....do we ever have enough time?
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Speaking of time...since the end of November I have been working 6 days a week at my job. I work at an insurance company and we were about as busy as I've ever seen them. I didn't have a minute to read, write, critique or blog. After hours on the computer, who wanted to read or write? I managed a few hello's on my space, and on my email. I got through half of "The Diana Chronicles" by Tina Brown...not bad...not bad. Its a bit sensationalized, I thought. But if you have a chance to read it, I don't think you'll be too dissapointed.
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This is the first week where my life sort of got back to normal! I dont usually work 6 days. So, after a bit of rest I've started surfing, and I came across a wonderful royal group called WORLD OF ROYALTY. It's a group for royal lovers---obviously---but whats nice about it is that you can set up your own royal page just the way you like it, and get involved in different royal groups and topics. Its not exactly a forum...its sort of a my space sort of thing for history and royal lovers. Here's the link in the event you want to check it out.
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How did I find this wonderful little place? I was surfing one of the sites I like called Royalty n u --- and it looks like the owner of that group started this one. If you'd like the link to Royalty n u, its http://www.royalty.nu/
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I'm so happy at last that these busy months are over! I've missed my royal books and sites and all my writing friends. I'm so, so proud of a couple of my friends who've made some very nice sales this year! 2008 is going to be a good year...I can tell. I'll wait till their books are out before I say anything. (One is scheduled to come out in April!) I've also been tipped off about a big, delicious, juicy biography that will be coming out probably in 2009. I was lucky enough to talk with the author and give her my opinion on the personality. Not trying to be secretive here... I'll share it with you as soon as it's ready to come out. I got to read a bit of it and believe me, I was in my happy royal fog for days. You will be too.
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What am I reading now? I'm trying to finish "The Diana Chronicles" and I'm also reading "Born to Rule" by Julia P. Gelardi.
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And "The Other Boleyn Girl" will be coming out in the movies soon. Phillipa Gregory is the author of that masterpiece. The story is fiction...but it should be good. The stills from the movie look excellent. Overall, I think it'll be a wonderful year for those of us who love the royals...