Stitches Thru Time: Medieval

Showing posts with label Medieval. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Painter of Romance - Edmund Blair Leighton

Edmund Blair Leighton

I'm not a huge fan of art. I never learned the true appreciation of it in High School, however there are a few artists that have captivated me. One of them is Edmund Blair Leighton. I'm sure you've seen these paintings around at one time or another, but if not, you're in for a treat today. Because his paintings are gorgeous.

Leighton paints what is referred to as "historical genre scenes" with a very romantic feel. Typically, they are regency or medieval era. I'm including a few of my favorites with this post. :D

Edmund Blair Leighton was born in London, England on September 1, 1852. He attended college at both the University College School and the Royal Academy School. He began exhibiting his work in 1874 at the Royal Academy, and succeeded. Apparently, he did well enough as a professional painter to support his wife and two children. For Edmund's family, painting was a heritage. His father was a painter, which aided in Edmund's acceptance into Royal Academy, and interestingly enough, Edmund's son also followed in their footsteps and chose painting as a profession.

Accolade (1901)
Public Domain

Because I adore his art so much, it was shocking to me that Leighton was not considered among the ranks of truly great artists. In his obituary, which was printed in a magazine, Leighton was "a painter who, though he did not attain to the higher flights of art, yet played a distinguished part in aiding the public mind to an appreciation of the romance attaching to antiquity, and to a realisation of the fellowship of mankind throughout the ages."

Next Door Neighbor (1893)
Public Domain

Appreciation of the romance attached to antiquity. That must be why I like his work so much. :) To me, his work captures stories in still form. I could stare at them for a long time imagining what is happening in that scene.

What do you think of his work? Who is your favorite painter?

Friday, May 17, 2019

Author Chat with Sherrinda Ketchersid

Welcome, Sherrinda! We’re tickled to have you on Stitches Thru Time. And congratulations on your new release Lord of Her Heart!

I’m excited to be here. Thanks for having me.

Good! Let's just right in. Historical romance encompasses a huge range from Biblical era to the Vietnam War, but one of my personal favorites is the medieval period. Castles and chivalry, knights and kings, the occasional damsel in distress, it’s all fascinating. What prompted you to write in this era?

I think my love for medieval stories began when my dad drew pictures of knights and fair maidens for me and my sisters to color. He loved the era and even wrote a medieval fantasy novel published by Thomas Nelson. When I decided to fulfill my dream of writing a book, there was no question what era to write. Little did I know at the time, medieval stories were not ‘the rage’ in the Christian market. Thanks to my publisher, Smitten at Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, who took a chance on my story, I will now see my dream of being published realized.

How fun is it that your dad had a medieval book out too? Speaking of the occasional damsel in distress, your heroine, Jocelyn, could have been one … and yet she’s not. How did you balance this take-charge lady with the constraints of that era?

Good question. Yes, it wasn’t easy for women in the middle ages, but the more you read into the history of the times, you find women who rose in prominence and did amazing things. What I love about Jocelyn is her love for her father and her memories of home drove her to face her fears, doing everything within her power to get home. The difficulty for me was to make Jocelyn likable in the midst of her fierce determination. She was a wee bit too sassy in the early draft. My hope is that I balanced Jocelyn’s kindness with her sass to where readers like her as much as I do.

No romance would be complete without a swoon-worthy hero and Malcolm certainly fits that mold. Why are readers going to fall in love with him?

I immediately want to ‘heave a sigh’, because Malcolm is every woman’s knight in shining armor. He knows his strength and abilities, but his focus on chivalry and his care of Jocelyn softens his warrior personality. I think what I love most about Malcolm is his sense of humor. While powerful in mind and body, he allows his humor out to play, which delights Jocelyn—and me—to no end. I’d be remiss not to mention that he is a good kisser.

A good kisser goes a long way in a romance! There’s also a bit of a mystery in this romance as well as a really nasty person. I love a story with a good nasty in it! Let’s not give any spoilers, but tell us if you had fun writing this into the romance.

Boy, did I have fun writing my villain! In fact, I got so carried away with making her horrible, I had to tone her down. It was fun to think of ways my villain could frustrate Jocelyn, and I had trouble limiting the number of bad things my villain orchestrated. I was thinking of the evil Ursula in The Little Mermaid when I should have been thinking more in the line of the step-mother in Cinderella. Yes, the step-mother was mean, but not over the top crazy like Ursula. I had to learn to make the villain nasty, but believable.

Of course, we’re going to recommend that everyone read Lord of Her Heart! But I think this one would also appeal to the YA market. It’s a clean read, so mothers and grandmothers can feel good giving their teenage girls a copy … after they’ve read it, of course. ;)

Is there anything you’d like to share with our STT readers before you go?

If you haven’t read a medieval romance, I’d encourage you to try one! There are a few clean and Christian medieval authors out there, such as Tamara Leigh, Jody Hedlund, and Melanie Dickerson (just to name a few). It’s a fun time to explore and get lost in. Thanks for having me!

Thanks for stopping by and giving us the skinny on your book, Lord of Her Heart. I know our readers are going to want to connect with you, so we'll list your social media contacts here: Image may contain: Sherrinda Ketchersid, smiling, eyeglasses and text

Image may contain: Sherrinda Ketchersid, smiling, eyeglasses and text

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SherrindaKetchersidAuthor/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/sherrinda

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherrinda

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sherrinda/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19022507.Sherrinda_Ketchersid

Website: https://www.sherrinda.com

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Interview & Giveaway with Debbie Lynne Costello

Today I am so excited to welcome blogging buddy Debbie Lynne Costello to Stitches Thru Time! She has a new release to celebrate and I think ya'll are going to love what she's got to share.

Debbie Lynne Costello is the author of Sword of Forgiveness, Amazon's #1 seller for Historical Christian Romance. She has enjoyed writing stories since she was eight years old. She raised her family and then embarked on her own career of writing the stories that had been begging to be told. She and her husband have four children and live in upstate South Carolina with their 5 horses, 3 dogs, cat and miniature donkey.

Connect with Debbie Lynne:

www.debbielynnecostello.com
www.theswordandspirit.blogspot.com
www.HHHistory.com

https://www.facebook.com/debbielynnecostello

https://twitter.com/DebiLynCostello

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+Debbielynnecostello

https://www.pinterest.com/debbielynne1/

Welcome Debbie Lynne! We're so glad you could visit us today. Tell us about your book.

The Perfect Bride is about Avice and Philip who grew up together and are best friends. At a time when men did not have female best friends, Philip has learned to ignore the jabs. But what Philip doesn’t realize is he has fallen in love with his best friend—and he is the only one who can’t seem to see it other than Avice, his best friend. Avice has loved Philip since she was a little girl. Her biggest challenge in her life is making Philip see her as the grown woman she has become rather than the little girl who sat in awe of him as he told his tales of squiring. But when danger lurks around the corner for Avice’s father she may just have to forget love to save the man who raised her.

So, the hero must convince the heroine to fall for another lord? Sounds intriguing. Where did the inspiration for this story come from? I really hadn’t planned on that part of the story, but as I was telling Avice and Philip’s story it began to evolve. And sometimes you just can’t stop what has to be told. That was kind of what happened with this situation. There was no other way to write it. They had a story to tell more than I had a story to tell! :)

Your Heroine has an interesting name. Where did you come up with it?

I like authentic names for my characters. There are some sites in the UK where they have records of people in medieval times. I love that site! That is where I always go for my names. They tell you the name and how often that name was seen in that area and at what periods of time. I saw Avice and I knew that was my heroine.

You mentioned that your hero was a minor character in another story in this series, was it difficult to flesh out the story of a minor character? Can you tell us a little about that process?

Because I knew the theme of our novella collection, it did help a lot in the fleshing out of the character. It really is much the same as you’d do for a first time character one makes a hero. You have to determine who this person is. What makes him tick. Is he serious, fun, the life of the party? Is he a ladies’ man, etc. There are a lot of questions you have to ask the character.

You’ve mentioned to me that spiritual elements play a huge role in your writing. Can you tell us what spiritual elements you’ve woven into this story?

One of the spiritual elements in the story is trusting God for what is best for you. Avice prays for Philip to see her as a woman he could love. She feels like frustrated that God doesn’t hear her prayers. Though she doesn’t make any outward advances on Philip, she does in the fact that she goes to see him every day. It isn’t until she realizes that maybe God is saying no and she relinquishes her will to God’s will that God begins to move in her life.

Why did you choose the Medieval time period?

I love the chivalry, and the fact that men are men and women are the softer partner. Call me old fashion, but I think God knew what He was doing when He created man to be the stronger vessel and woman the weaker. I don’t mean weak minded but we are not as strong as men. Men were designed to look after and take care of the family. Woman were designed the nurturers. We are the ones who have tender hearts and can be more understanding. So a shorter answer is I love the chivalry, the knights in shining armor, and the damsels in distress. Although you’ll find I never have a weepy, weak heroine. I believe they can be kind and tender hearted and very strong!

Can you tell us what are you working on next?

I would love to! I am working on the sequel to Sword of Forgiveness. And yes it is set at Rosen Craig with Lord Bryce, the same place that The Perfect Bride is set. I’m excited to finally get to write the sequel. It really has been so much fun. Lots of turmoil in England at the time and Bryce is having to deal with it all.

Very interesting. Looks like you have some great stuff going on. Thank you so much for being with us!

Thank you for having me on here today, Amber! I’m looking forward to chatting with your peeps! I love meeting new readers and talking with some who know and have read my stories.

Check out The Perfect Bride on Amazon

In celebration of her new release, Debbie Lynne is offering us TWO giveaways! A rafflecopter that goes along with her blog tour, and one just for us at Stitches Thru Time. So leave Debbie Lynne a comment to get your name in the drawing for a signed book of your choice. (Ebook for outside US)

And here is the rafflecopter giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway