One Blissed-Out cat.

[erastes]

It's very easy to make Lili happy.  Turn the radiator on.    She was so unhappy yesterday because it was dark and overcast all day (NOT cold, I hasten to add) but as she is Spanish (she spent her first year there, at least) she reacts badly to any days without sun. Despite, I need to point out, a layer of fat that I feel guilty about and a fur coat that a polar bear would find a little too warm.

Would it be too outrageous to buy her a light box?  Do they do them in cat-size?  She might even let me borrow it.

On The Macaronis today, Mark R Probst (The Filly) discusses whether modern language is ever acceptable in an historical novel, and yesterday Charlie Cochrane (Aftermath) talked about the wonderful resource that is old newspapers.  Tomorrow I'll be posting some of my favourite gay historical art, (because I am the smutty one, after all).  We are attempting to get the Blog moving now, with regular posts at least 3 times a week, so if you haven't added it as feed - DO IT!

Comments

[shoeless-girl.livejournal.com]

I bought myself a daylight bulb earlier this year and it did wonders for my mood, especially with the onset of winter. It only cost about $10 (3 pounds) and it just fits in a normal light fitting. I wonder if something similar could help Lili?

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Ooo - I'll definitely get some of those - I'm actually DREADING winter more and more as I get older - thanks!

[sleveen.livejournal.com]

I adore old newspapers - I can pore over them for literally hours, especially the ones from "my" time periods of interest - the late Vic era and the 1920s/1930s.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

They are very very addictive!

[aunty_marion]

Do you mean a light box of the sort you use for viewing photographic slides/negatives? or the sort that helps with SAD? If the latter, remember they don't give off any noticeable heat. This, I think, is the type a friend of mine has.

edited to fix wonky HTML....

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Ouch! Well she's not getting one of those! She'll have to make do with the radiator. Perhaps Dad will get me a sad box for Christmas.

[norton-gale.livejournal.com]

Language is one element that can really alienate (or draw in) readers. As you say, it can come off sounding ridiculous to ape historical language that's wildly different than that spoken today, yet in most cases you don't want to sound too modern and risk losing the realism of your story.It's also challenging to find the right tone if the story is set in a country where the characters don't speak the author's native language.

My biggest beef about language in historical fiction is the use of stilted, unnecessarily formal dialogue. I want my characters to sound natural, so they often speak in incomplete sentences and use the slang of the applicable period.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Yes, you've hit the nail on the head there - slang of the period! Not "get bent"

[lareinenoire.livejournal.com]

Lucy has taken to basking in the sun on the futon and then sitting on me as if that will cool her down. Silly dog.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I don't know Lili can stand it, but she's never happier than when boiling!

[mzcalypso.livejournal.com]

My first cat liked to bask on the desktop when she got older -- I had one of those metal lamps with an extendable, jointed metal arm that clamped onto the desk. I put a towel on the desk and focused the light about a foot above that--it was her 'beach.' That close, she only needed a 40-watt bulb. Kittybliss!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Aw! Yes, Lili is drawn to the "heat" of a bulb too, I have two art deco cabinet with globes and she will huddle up to the globe in the evening (still in front of her radiator) - she's squashed up next to her radiator right now because there's no sun - but it's still not cold. Severus is a real English cat, comes in soaking wet and covered in mud. You can't get Lili to go out!