Tag: Romance

Wryson’s Eternity

On By ResaIn Book Review, Interview336 Comments

by: Shehanne Moore

As a huge fan of Shehanne Moore’s spirited, independent female characters in her period romance novels, this book has been long awaited.

“If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for.” –Oscar Wilde

The “Nicking Coat”

Oppressed & beaten by a beastly husband (Baronet Byron Jones), Lady Jones flees. To afford her vagabond lifestyle, she engages in petty thievery, lying, sleeping in forests and dealing with the less than savoury.

I now realize the hat is scripted black.

As she uses her coat like a tote bag for her nicked loot, I figured a man’s frock coat would have large pockets and the roominess required.

Shehanne – I just love the coat and hat. So her. I do love you calling her coat the ‘nicking coat.’ The woman lived rough for a bit.

Resa – Then one day, she haps upon a deserted cottage; where Gil Wryson haps upon her.

Shehanne – And that was it, but she had to like the wee life she’d set up for herself in Pencliff enough not to bolt and go back to the awfulness of life on the road. AND everything…even the way the mail worked and money worked with regard to banks in these days– all the things that made her life so difficult on the run– fitted..

The Ball & the Gown

In terms of defining what Eternity might wear, I looked at the out going Georgian era and the incoming Regency era.

Resa – I was tortured waiting! Was the ball in, or out? Why did you end up putting  the Ball in, and how did it serve the story?

Shey – … Okay Resa, well the simple answer to why I put it in, having decided for her to leave beforehand,  is YOU. Yeah, there you go. I thought about the fact that I’ve a ball or a dance/party, or a feast/dance  in quite a few books and these are tied with pivotal  moments in the plot.  

I also thought if she leaves  after saying she’s going, then he is going to find it hard to forgive her–they have somehow come together in the planning and prep for  this ball. And she has  a huge reason to quit while she’s ahead here in terms of news she gets that very day. But then I thought of you and the beautiful gowns you have designed for my ladies down the years and I thought what is a book without a ball and what is a ball without one of your gowns?

My first thought of the ball gown.

 Shehanne -I also thought when it comes to Wryson ever forgiving her, when it comes to  her thinking, she just might have  got something in the bag, with regard to  ‘the future?’ Him too. ’Well? That ball then sets up everything in terms of her state of mind as she goes to tackle what she must  tackle. It paves the way for how she is only paying half attention to what she really needs to have her eyes fully on because she’s let something into her life she can’t let in.    

Shehanne – It let me trowel on a bit of passion and anguish and quite a mess, shall we say, regarding what happens next? Things she feels responsible for, secrets she is going to have to keep, things about herself,  she doesn’t know she can overcome.   SO yeah, I think sticking to my original plan would have been wishy washy.

Resa – When her ball gown was first spotted in Gonetta’s, before I read on to any description of the gown, I immediately saw the green one in my mind. 

Shehanne – OOOOHHHHHH… the one Wryson had to pay from Gonetta’s cos she’d have nicked it otherwise.

Resa – YES, the one Wryson pays for – BUT – it is the image I got in my mind (being a costume designer) before I got to the parts where you describe the gown – a backless cream gown. . Can you believe how different our visions are? What do you think about that? 

Shehanne – I think it is great actually that the visions were different. It said to me that you were really picturing her–and green is a noted color she wears. I imagined  she was drawn to the shop  and it reminded her of past balls, even if the main one she remembers was the night she got pitched into a Turkey oak, after first chucking herself at the man she loved. 


--this is backstory before Wryson lands on her doorstep--

It reminded her of not living  hand to mouth on the road. So she wandered in and got herself a fitting with the intention of   dancing  on her own in Dark Falls--which we know she does-- in that gown. 

Alas it defied her nicking abilities. But she probably told herself she could maybe nick the dosh. She’s very good at NOT getting things done too. But being her she probably got fitted for more than one. 

So it was kind of deliberate on my part not to describe the gown at that point, because she is also capable of going there and nicking some other  gown off a rail of made but not paid for gowns.

Resa – I honestly like your gown better. What do you think about that?

Shehanne – What can I say but awwww…. truly, and you know a description can always be changed in a book.

Resa – Well, I am thrilled you had a ball. It is a pivotal bit, and if it was a movie, the big money beauty scene. Of course the carriage bit is the big money stunt scene.

Shehanne – Alas, I always see book scenes as movies. One of my fav freelance regular writing gigs ever was for girl’s comics for DC Thomsons. YOU HAD TO WRITE IN STORYBOARDS. YES!! So many frames per episode, dialogue/thoughts and instructions to the artist only on each frame. Always end with a cliff hanger.

Back in London

Resa – Here are the drawings, for court & carriage! The full skirt outfit would have already been in her closet before she escaped. The other, would be a new dress, the latest Regency fashion.

Shehanne – Yes, I forgot she has a fancy new coat for the court scene, her ‘other’ fellah having had enough of her special one.

Shehanne – It is what I imagined… Fashionable, dressy because she would need to be both and not look like  a ragbag.. There is the bit about Billy having taken her famous coat —obvi she left the cottage in that coat and he would have seen to it that she got some decent clothes  in London. And yes the first would have been the kind of dress she’d have worn to balls before and during Byron.

Inspirations

Resa – So I was inspired to draw Eternity in a metaphoric sense. I had thought “Hair of flames” because what comes out of her mind and mouth is so fiery, literally, but this came out of me. Did I capture her in that metaphoric sense?

Shehanne –  You have captured her perfectly. You always have the sense of my ladies but she’s off the scale in many ways.

She’s wild, she’s free, she’s guarded, she’s bruised, she’s moody, she’s mouthy.  She walks tightropes when it comes to functioning. She is her own worst enemy, Above all else she is a survivor and it has been of some horrific things. She is really very difficult and you have amazingly captured all of that.  Wryson is of course not in the best of places himself, but even if he was he’d still be emotionally confused by her.

Resa – You recently posted about Mary Eleanor Bowes, the great-great-great-great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth the Second. At 11, she was left the richest heiress in England, between 80 and 120 million in today’s terms.  Twice married, she was beaten, burned and more by her husbands.

Shehanne – I thought I’d blog a little of some of the inspirations cos I started as I aye do, with no plot just the idea of picking up the woman who makes a very fleeting, at a distance, appearance in “O’Roarke’s Destiny” and setting her in an abandoned house cos I love abandoned houses.

“Suppose she is sitting there and passing herself off as whatever and then Wryson turns up and says it’s his house,” I thought. Then I obvi had to suss it out from there and I also thought at that point of the dreadful hubby and the unhappy countess.

Read about Mary Eleanor Bowes on Shehanne’s blog

Shehanne – Despite a descendant marrying into royalty and giving birth to Elizabeth 2nd, the story is not THAT well known. But it is interesting on so many levels. I primarily used the violent hubby because I needed a reason for Lyon to have a hold on her.

Resa – You built a strong, feisty female character, in a time where women had no rights. It’s inspirational.

Shehanne– You are right re: the lack of rights. I gather that Mary was not sympathized with because of the lovers, because of a lot of things she did and it was something that she actually got a ruling in her favor.

About Shehanne Moore

“I christen all my characters with care. I actually love thinking of what their name is going to be.“

A native of Scotland, I believe -About

Wryson’s Eternity is available on Amazon. Just click on the book cover and go there!

Shehanne – I did do a play list for the story… it is a bit long, possibly the longest I’ve done for a book play list.

Resa– It’s a fab Play List. If anyone cares to listen just click on the enhanced drawing of Eternity on the right, and it will take you there!

From Shehanne’s Play List!

🌟🌟I have read all of these fab Shehanne Moore Books. 🌟🌟 Just go to an Amazon anywhere, to find them!

The Sad Café II

On By ResaIn Art Gown Muses, Art Gowns Art338 Comments

Featuring poetry by Holly Rene Hunter

& Allegorical Drawings by Resa

There is music. The cafe is filled with revellers. Their drunken laughter is loud, but the seasons slip away, and they need something to remember.

A year has passed, and I still light my candles for the window and hope fades like summer into fall.
The mirror has no mercy, a reminder of all that has passed through these hands. There is no holding back the past or what lies ahead.

The night deepens as we raise our glasses to the seasons of honey and fire and the aching memory of lovers slipped away.

Snakes and Metaphors

suspended

At the top of the stairs the hours pass hurriedly, lovers flee the break of dawn.  Subdued seduction , silhouettes in flickering candlelight.

In black tie and silk gowns, the bourgeoisie sip cognac , exhale circlets of smoke from cigarillos into the softly whirring blades of a bamboo fan.

The walls are thin and the wood floor is bare. Music drifts upward, slips under my door, “La Vie En Rose”, the sighs of desperate lovers , their bodies pressed against one another. 

At my mirror I braid silver thread through my hair. Should the Frenchman return I am wearing the dress he likes. Last night he signaled with a stone at my window . 

He has taught me how to say I love you and other endearing terms in his tongue. 
At the hollow of my throat I dab a bit of the perfume he bought for me in Berlin. I’m not sure that is true but I like the scent.

He wants me to follow him but he is not my kind. The weak can not survive love that is bound to die nor can they forgive.

All Poetry © Holly Rene Hunter – Visit House of Heart to read more of her fabulous poetry!

All drawings © Resa McConaghy

Thank You!

Holly for contributing your luscious poems to this collaboration & to Gigi for being the hallway model (where the music notation is actually the first 5 bars to La Vie en Rose).

La Belle Époque 

On By ResaIn Gowntoons, Princess Blue Holly218 Comments

In America it was the Gilded Age, in the United Kingdom it was the Victorian era and in France it was La Belle Époque.

Dahlings, Welcome to the 1880’s

Inspired by Tissot’s fashion prints of the era, Art Gowns has designed its own gowns, and gone back in time to show them off. Made possible by Venus and the moon, we went through the the Tangle-Heart and moved backwards 137 years.

Rebecca, the first to land in 1888, went about setting up a fashion show at Le Chat Noir. Her palazzo pants, carefully hidden by the period’s draping fabrics, allowed her to move around without arousing suspicion.

The venue was a one night extravaganza at La Chat Noir in  the Montmartre  district of Paris.

Thought to be the first modern night club, it was opened on 18 November 1881 and closed in 1897.

NOW, Here’s Rebecca!

Thank you, Rene! We have a thrilling show tonight, so let me get right at it, and present les beaux modèles de la Belle Époque!

First out on the stage is Modèle de Robes d’Art, Shey. Shey is dressed for afternoon tea or “gouter” as known in Paris. Her fan’s print is inspired by the new Japanese aesthetics.

Next out is Gigi dressed for a night at the theare! Her asymetric ruffles play second fiddle only to her Statue of Liberty inspired diadème.

Now, back from her gown change is Mademoiselle Rene with a very Special announcement!

Thank you, Rebecca! Mes Chéris, all of us at Art Gowns put our design hats on and created a special La Belle Époque Super Hero outfit for Princess Blue Holly. Art Gowns presents:

Princess Blue Holly in la Belle Époque Super Hero Outfit

What an honour! Thank you to all! This is a momentous outfit! I love the boots, and they only take a half hour each to button up.

It must have been very difficult to be a female Super Hero in the 1880’s. So much beautiful fabric would make flying a bit of a challenge. Snagging would be an issue and the corsetry is somewhat confining when delivering the martial arts moves.

Check out the Freedom difference between 2025 and 1888! ……. aaaand back to Rebecca!

Thank you Princess Blue Holly! You look simply marvellous. That is one special outfit.

Perfect for taking the carriage to the fashion shops, Dale wears a travelling jacket of pinstripe twill, with brocade fishtail skirt completed with a voile tail under a ruched and layered silk bussel. A dainty reticule is the perfect accessory.

It’s a sunny day and Rene is back in another costume change. This is a miracle considering all the buttons she had to do up, as the zipper was not invented until 1917. She is off to the museum with a rose detail parasol and rose reticule.

It’s “dinner at eight” and the opera for Modèle de Robes d’Art, Marina. A rose print corset top with a panière effect from the waist to hips is a lovely accentuation to the fitted fishtail skirt.

Holly is off to a fancy party in white silk with red ruffle corset top and a skirt of silk Swiss dot. A lush red bow sets off the rose detailed bussel and tail with ruffles on the inside and out.

I’m sad to say the show has come to an end, buts let’s hear it for Mademoiselle Rene, who shall bid you adieu.

Mes Chéris, bon soir! We hate to leave, but it’s time to return to the future! Please enjoy Arabesque No.1 by Claude Debussy, while the beaux modèles de la Belle Époque make their departures.


No one saw when the AGM’s made their way back through the Tangle-Heart as contrails. All landed safely in the Bosque by Tim’s.

However, as Rene began her journey to the future she encountered a strange energy.

She landed back at Tim’s in Rebecca’s Black Bamboo, but she wasn’t herself, nor all there.

No one was worried! All were sure Princess Blue Holly would save her.

However and unfortunately, as you and I know, Rene IS Princess Blue Holly!

Princess Blue Holly & Rene Rosso Character © Resa McConaghy & Holly Rene Hunter

Since 2019

Visit them on their blogs!

Dale – Holly – Gigi – Marina – Shey

Visit Rebecca!

Visit Tim At Off Center Not Even

Tissot – I

On By ResaIn James Tissot, Tribute123 Comments

Tissot, a name I hadn’t heard much. Then the AGO announced an exhibit featuring their collection of 2 oil paintings, 1 watercolour and 30 etchings on paper.

A Most Enchanting Day at the AGO

The Fashionable Beauty (1885)
  • There were several variations of the “Fashionable Beauty”
  • This one was from the hip up.
  • Some were more whispy, some more dense
  • Camera on portrait stage setting

In the last decades of the nineteenth century, James Tissot portrayed women within the contradictions of the period.

Political Woman (1885)

Modernity via the speed of travel, fashion and commodity culture is juxtaposed with the constraint of women’s every day lives.

Flaunting the “Masculine” Realm

  • The Newspaper (1883)

A well dressed woman reads a newspaper. The fashionable Japanese-influenced wallpaper lining the wall informs of her engagement with the outside world & knowledge of trends.

Fashion magazines and novels were appropriate for Victorian women.

Newspapers were linked to men, as they symbolized factual knowledge and interest in global politics. Although, the image below depicts another reason a woman would read a newspaper.

Without a Dowry (1885)

The above image portrays a young woman and her mother in a Parisian park. The black clothing suggests they are mourning a male relative, and are without a dowry. The daughter sits in an available position, while the mother searches the newspapers for marriage offers.

Dreaming (1881)

More About the Artist

“Best known for his paintings of fashionable figures, Tissot began his career in Paris. While he turned down Edgar Degas’s invitation to exhibit with the impressionists, he shared the groups desire to portray scenes of modern life in an innovative style. He moved to London in 1871 after fighting in the Franco-Prussian War, and became a popular painter of Victorian scenes, particularly those showing young women in typically modern moments, before returning to France in 1882.” – Art Gallery of Ontario

Portico – National Gallery, London (1878)

Moral Ambiguity, a Central Theme

Sunday Morning (1883)

A well dressed young woman walks to church holding a bible. Her raised eyebrows and tentative gaze pose the question, does she need to atone for her sins, or is she nervous about being late for service?

Horizontal women’s bodies were lubricous from a voyeuristic perspective.

Slumbering female figures had erotic connotations in the Victorian Era, especially in semi-conscious states like dreaming or sleeping.

The Fan (1876)

Now discredited – The below woman’s twisted hand was indicative of the pathological disorder – hysteria. This “chic” female disease was considered fashionably feminine and modern.

Sleeping Woman (1876)

The moral ambiguity of Tissot’s images was integral to their popular appeal.

British critics claimed they were too, risqué, too French.

  • The Hammock (1880)

A Personal Fascination

Other than the title, I know only that the etching below is in the Hippodrome (ℹ︎ Met Museum site). I was mesmerized by it. All that skin makes the costumes seem so modern and the Statue of Liberty crowns were piquing.

The Ladies of the Chariots (1885)

I can’t get everything into 1 post, so there will be a Tissot – II. In the meantime, I leave you with a shot of the 1 watercolour with gouache on paper.

Waiting (late 1800’s)

The young girl’s bored stare, pale skin, under eye circles with oversized bonnet and gloves (highlighting weight loss) suggest tuberculosis.

“Consumption” was coined a term, as it consumed patients, and ate away bodies.

Is she waiting for someone or something?

Is she waiting to heal or die?

Photos © Resa McConaghy – Taken January 7, 2025

Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada

Information Source: The Art gallery of Ontario

Detour on the Eternal Road

On By ResaIn Out of the Box Book Review343 Comments

by – John W. Howell

The plan was to read an advance copy of Detour on the Eternal Road, do some drawings of Sam and do a pre-release promo post. Well, I “took a wrong turn in Albuquerque“, hit a detour and missed the print release.

So the road trip, of a post lifetime, passes through Albuquerque? Well, no, but it does pass through 1881!

Resa –  John, Detour on the Eternal Road is set in the past, present and possible future of earth’s history and in the possible eternality of existence. You animate eternity’s goings on with non-haloed, wingless angels helping to guide souls to their eternal home. The adventures are  informative, but mostly harrowing. 
Yet, through “it all”*, the message remains uprightly positive. I’m not talking about the ending, per se, but the body of your story. Is this purposeful, or unconscious?

John – I have always carried a positive attitude regarding life. It is no surprise to me that this comes through in my writing even in the most dire of circumstances. You mention the ending which I don’t want to spoil for folks is an example of this positivity. It does rain a question about how much responsibility each of us has to take for the existence of evil on this Earth.

Hello! I’m Sam. When not on the road guiding souls to their eternal home, I’m at home on my cloud.

CLOUD WEAR is a custom wardrobe designed especially for me by Resa, who at this point remains earthbound.


Resa – Do you, or did you ever have a crush on Sam?

John – Sam is an agglomeration of every woman for  whom I have had the honor of having feelings. Of course, I love her.

PRESENTING – CLOUD WEAR

1. Windy Day (sun dial on wrist) - 2. Grecian Ode - 3. Rock'n'Roll Angel - 4. Fortune Teller - 5. Dream Away - 6. Honey 7. Surprise! (all blue beads and earrings made from dew and raindrops)

Resa – Without preaching any religion, you metaphorize good and bad/evil with god and the devil. In the story our protagonists, Sam and James angels, are presented moral dilemmas.
What say you to the idea that I think you are speaking to man’s “better angels”?

John – I think you have figured out the fact that I believe there are angels that walk among us. I also believe we all have inside of us the ability to behave as if we have been anointed with title ‘angel.’ On the corresponding side we all can be perfect devils at times. The control of the dominate characteristic is left up to how we were raised and our perception of what constitutes goodness.

Resa – So John, this is the third book in the Eternal Road series. I’ve read the first two and this one seems, in its fictional light, more politically predictive than the other books. It seems a pejorative on the future, on behalf of mankind’s progeny. Can you speak to that?

John – Since my books are written in the present tense it might appear as if there is a perjoritive view as the reader moves through the action. Quite the contrary the story attempts to provide human kind with a tool that can be used to continue the species forever. Yes we have to look at nuclear war as a possibility, but the essence of the story which is repeated is that all mayhem is preventable.

The one pejorative view that I will raise my hand to is the increasing dependence the average person has on Government. I believe in the government being representative of the people and not an entity that exists for itself.

“Lincoln’s Bedroom” in the White House.

What does this have to do with Detour on the Eternal Road? We go to the White House?

Yes, but which wing and what rooms ?

Below – A Made to Scale Replica of the East Wing

The replica is 60 feet long & 20 feet wide. The Artists, Historian John Zweifel and his wife Jan, took 25 years to complete it. It includes all furnishings. The clocks tick, flags wave, phone rings and TV’s work.

Looks fab when you enlarge it!

On Its 200th Birthday in 1992 – This to scale replica of the East Wing of the White House was presented in a special issue of LIFE magazine.

1 - First Lady's Dressing Room
2 - President's Bedroom
3 - Family Sitting Room
4 - Yellow Oval Room
5- Treaty Room
6 - Lincoln Bedroom
7 - Lincoln Sitting Room
8 - State Dining Room
9 - Red Room
10 - Blue Room
11. Green Room
12 - East Room
13- Library
14 - Map Room
15 - Diplomatic Reception Room
16 - China Room
17 - Vermeil Room

On the Left: Legend to all 17 rooms in the East Wing

I think you can enjoy this book without reading its predecessors. However, certain questions will come up, such as this question I asked John after I read the first book.

Resa – “Eyes are mentioned on almost every page, mostly due to travelling, but I could not find the colour of Sam’s eyes. I also searched brown, blue, hair…no luck. Thing is, I was thinking of drawing Sam as an angel, maybe no wings. This way I could do a gown.”

John – “You are not crazy. You won’t find a color of Sam’s eyes since I very seldom describe the characters in terms of physical attributes. My reason for doing this is I would rather the reader form an image in their mind of what the characters look like. So you can make her eye color whatever pleases you. She is more your character than mine since you invested your time reading the book. “

So, if you are thinking of jumping straight to book 3, you might want to read a few of the Amazon reviews on the first 2: Eternal Road & The Last Drive. OR read my Out-of-the box reviews.

Eternal Road – by: John W. Howell
The Last Drive ~ John W. Howell

Or read the books.

Click covers of Eternal Road or Last Drive & go to John’s Amazon page, where you will find these, their reviews & many of his other books!

To buy a print copy of Detour on the Eternal Road click on the above cover.

To Pre-Order the EBook, click on Abstract Art Sam below!

John W. Howell

About

“it all”* – Read the book and find out!

Victorian Sonnet

On By ResaIn Romance, Tribute455 Comments

Inspiration came in 2 boxes from Diana – Myths of the Mirror

Linens & laces inherited from great grandmother & grandmother to mother then her, became all mine; an Art Gown to share.

Her beauty holds memories of Victorian times, and the bright light of many tomorrows.

Victorian Sonnet is dedicated to Diana, her great grandmother Emilie, her grandmother Truly (Caroline), and and her mother Tineke (Dutch nickname for Anna Martine). 

Sonnets from the Art Gowns

Structure

Iambic pentameter – 5 feet to a line – 4 lines to a verse – 3 verses & a couplet

Rhyme scheme – ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG

Third verse volta

I

Dear Diana your lace and your linen
Great grand mother, grandma, mother then you
Woven treasure fair sent passed on to begin
Romance dance a dress white and blue.

Lace held, fabric draped inspiration gold
Creation libation confusion strewn
All threads gay with gathers theirs to unfold
Ancestry, a love light shimmering through!

Yet should something arise break then the spell
To find magic's construct tattered  and torn
Ere rendered fore tendered tossed into the swell
Became fragments merely blithely left lorn.

Our memory painted lingers in mind,
Inherited Victoriana's time.

                                                               © Resa

The Making Of

When the fabrics arrived, I threw the lot on top of Lilac Fan Dance. There was also a fabulous mosquito net with cotton top.

There were various lace yardages
2 delicate bed jackets
A huge lace tablecloth
Large assortment of doilies & table covers

When the time came to begin, there was so much lace and linens, I needed to spread them all out.

All laces and fabrics were hand washed, and tested for tensile strength.

A bertha collar was formed from a bed jacket’s trim and lined with mosquito net.

An underskirt was cut from the cotton top of the netting.

Mosquito netting was added to the underskirt to make it full length. Lace cut from the lace tablecloth was sewn on top of the netting.

A blue linen jacquard tablecloth was formed into a corset shaped top with straps into a plunging back.

My friend Kat gifted me a new Judy, so I transferred the gown to her. She also sent massive yardage of new, but cut into, winter white synthetic curtain sheer, found for a pittance at the good will.

After washing, the sheer was cut into a 3 tiered overskirt, and trimmed with the lace yardages. The sheer makes a solid backing that fortifies the antique laces.

Two side tails were draped in bias from the sheer, then trimmed with edges cut from the lace tablecloth.

A third centre tail was draped from the mosquito netting on bias. This tail was trimmed with the last of the lace yardages. It was then filled in with geometrically placed doilies, table covers and bits of cut up lace edgings.

A bussel was formed from blue serviettes that matched the bodice’s tablecloth, and eyelet lace trim from the second bed jacket.

Vintage hand covered buttons adorn the bodice.

Voilà! Victorian Sonnet

She’s so beautiful, I went overboard taking pics.

OUTTAKES

Serendipity

November, 2023 – The 2 boxes arrived, from Diana. Lilac Fan Dance was still in the making. I knew Diana was mid book. In May, 2024 Victorian Sonnet was begun. 6+ months later, the gown and Diana’s book – Tale of the Seasons’ Weaver – were finished, more or less at the same time.

Release – January 2, 2025

Available exclusively on AMAZON – Worldwide

About

How is an art gown like a good book?

You hate it to end!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Delta Pearl Duology

On By ResaIn Out of the Box Book Review234 Comments

You can judge these books by their covers!

“Multi-genre author Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene presents her most mysterious, magical creation – the steampunk riverboat filled with enigmatic people and clockwork creatures.” 

The cover Teagan designed is every bit as charming as the unbridled whimsy behind it.

A Gift of Steampunk Gowns

When I told Teagan I was making the post an Art Gowns special feature because of the glorious steampunk gowns, she created 4 original gown designs for the post! 
I am so excited.

FIRST - ALL ABOARD THE DELTA PEARL

In the early days of following Teagan’s blog, I participated in Teagan’s ‘Three Things” that readers suggest that helped drive her blog serials.

Resa – I can only remember leech barometer (pedestrian name). Do you have a list of what I contributed?

Teagan – I kept a matrix of the random reader things. Yours were:  flat iron, Gibson Girl hairdo, Pince-nez, Tempest Prognosticator, brooch, crochet hook, rum, and jet (as in the gem or beads).

The Gibson Girl hairdo helped inspire the “look” of the character Eliza Needleman. Jet, I used to name the character of the apprentice librarian. Pince-nez exposed a bit of vanity for the secretly nearsighted chief porter, Garnet Redford when Eliza loaned him her pair to see something in the workings of her music box.

Emeraude on deck at night

I’m honoured to say I was gifted ebook copies of “The Illustrated Delta Pearl”. Unfortunately you can’t buy one. This is a tad sad, as Teagan’s images are magnificent.

Resa – So Teagan, why can’t others buy the illustrated versions of The Delta Pearl and The Geostrophic Pearl?

Teagan – I had almost finished the illustrated version where I made a gigantic number of images — when Amazon made a change to their policy regarding internal book images which didn’t allow mine.  I didn’t want six months of work to go to waste.  So, I gifted illustrated copies to a handful of people.

I felt like a kid reading the books. I could hardly wait for the next chapter’s picture.

Captain Cecil Perlog with Onyx Owl

Resa – How long … months … weeks did the serial run on your blog?

Teagan – I started writing (and “finished”) The Delta Pearl in 2016.  However, I wasn’t satisfied with my work.  Feeling the story needed a “middle,” I put it on my blog as a serial, getting 3 random reader things from followers, which inspired new content.  To my delight, the story was warmly embraced.  It seemed the “end” was really just the middle of the story, and serial episodes went on from there.  The Delta Pearl was my longest running blog serial at about two years.

Resa – How long did it take to put The Delta Pearl & Geostrophic Pearl into book form?

Teagan – Hummm…  I had several stops and starts, mostly with deciding how I wanted to format it.  The serial episodes also had to be edited to adjust for “bookizing.”  After it was finished, I decided to illustrate it, and that took another six months.  Then of course, I had to start over again when Amazon changed their images policy.  All in all, it took a couple of years.

Emeraude falling from height

Resa – What made you decide to create a duology?

Teagan – Several things 1) I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback about writing shorter length books, like the light-horror 1920s series “A Medium’s Peril.” (By the way, I plan to have a new novelette in that series ready for Halloween.) 

2) The Delta Pearl was becoming a large manuscript when I started illustrating it, and my admittedly old computer was bogging down due to the manuscript size. 

3) I could feel a distinct transition point in The Delta Pearl story-line when I started to reveal more about the riverboat.  With those things in mind, I decided that it would be best as a duology (even though the manuscript became smaller when I had to remove the illustrations).

Victor and Emeraude ashore

Resa – Your visions of Steampunk are vivid, exciting and appealing, It is a sub culture even today. I’ll bet those involved in today’s steampunk would go wild over your images.

Teagan – You are so kind, Resa. Thanks, that means a lot to me.  My take on steampunk is not really typical. It often has a dark, even sooty aesthetic, reflective of the coal-burning that created the steam-powered gizmos. The Delta Pearl is bright, whimsical, and opulent. I hope I managed to give the words the same feelings you got from the images, since they are not in the published version.

Resa – The words work beautifully!

Airship Geostrophic Pearl controls

Resa – What drew you into Steampunk?

Teagan – In steampunk and diesel-punk you’ll usually find odd contraptions, and misfit characters.  I have always loved both, so I couldn’t resist

Jaspe -elegant Victorian man with a black cat

Resa – Okay, Jaspe is a heart throb, and you did great with his character. I think most females would fall for him. He loves cats. I should be head over heels. 

Teagan – I think you might be right, Resa. LOL.  I kept Jaspe an enigma throughout the story.  I don’t want to fully define him even now, because that makes him more interesting, and it lets the individual reader have their way about precisely who or maybe even what the Dealer actually is.  Whatever the case, Jaspe has a loving and loyal soul. Giving him a cat helped anchor that idea.

Victor

Resa – However, I developed a crush on Victor. What do you say to that?

Teagan – LOL. Victor is flattered, Resa.   I was fond of so many of these characters.  Most of them had little flaws, and that made me feel like a parent to all of them.  Although, I have definitely had crushes on some of my characters!  Especially Tajín in “Dead of Winter.” (Fans self) Ha-ave mercy! 

Resa – Yes! “Ha-ave mercy! (Turns up air conditioning) I read 3 instalments, and I know who that is.

Glorious Steampunk Gowns by Teagan


It’s time to say good-bye. Think I’ll take the Steampunk Speedboat to shore.

Naptha launch steampunk speedboat

About Teagan

Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene’s stories range from paranormal to high fantasy and urban fantasy, to whimsical versions of the various types of “punk,” to mysteries with historic settings… and anything else that strikes her fancy.

AND there is much more. To read ” Who is Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene” just click on the above image of Teagan and Onyx Owl!

Click on above pic of Emeraude annoyed by Obsidian to read a description and logline of the books

To buy The Delta Pearl Duology on Amazon, click on the books above!

With Hallowe’en coming up, A Medium’s Peril could be just what you’re looking for!

Click on above books to buy them on Amazon!


Lilac Fan Dance

On By ResaIn Burlesque, Floral239 Comments

A storm of uneasy was roiling within me.

All of the AGMs had a dedicated Art Gown, except Dale.

The only way to quell the turmoil was to whip up a gown. I figured four, five months tops.

Seven months later, Lilac Fan Dance was dreaming out of the Art Gowns atelier window.

The ruffly lace tail had become a total diva during its construction. What figured to be done in 3-4 hours took 3-4 weeks.

It was the same time consuming issues I’d encountered making the fans for Diane Lane in “The Big Town”.

It began with an 80’s floral print fabric draped on Judy. Surrounded with acetates, a sheer and lace harvested from “Atlantis Mermaid Love-In”, inspiration struck .

The harvested lace was not enough to fulfill my idea, so old lace curtain scraps were painted with acrylics inherited from my F-i-L. The dates on the tubes were from the 1990’s.

Once dry the paint was heat set, the lace cut into creative shapes and randomly gathered. The 3d lace pieces were strewn behind the gown, and it was evident backing yardage was required.

A strip of white curtain sheer left over from Belle Grâce was blotch painted with the remainder of the purple paint.

TA DA! Lilac Fan Dance – dedicated to Dale – A Dalectable Life

Suddenly, the day became dark and filled with the peal of Thunder.

Memories flooded in and I could see…

Diane Lane waiting on my front porch. She’d come to check out her fans.

Romanticized by the idea of the Burlesque circuit, Lilac Fan Dance built a fan out of peach blossoms from Dale’s peach tree on Tim’s magic tree sanctuary.

Unable to dance due to that she had wheels instead of legs, no arms of her own and no head,

…. she borrowed some of Mae West’s jokes and did a stand-up.

Happy with her time as an entertainer, but tired of life on the road, Lilac Fan Dance returned home.

“Positive thoughts generate positive feelings and attract positive life experiences. You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” -Mae West

OUTTAKES

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Lilac Fan Dance © Resa McConaghy – 2024

Peach Blossom pics © Timothy Price from Off Center Not Even