I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Sailor Jentle Waka Uguisu and Robert Oster Jade.
Ink Dupes #6: Sailor and Robert Oster
Posted in Ink
My ADHD brain in blog form.
Posted in Ink
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Sailor Jentle Waka Uguisu and Robert Oster Jade.
Posted in Pen Shows
The Los Angeles Pen Show was the fourth show location I’ve attended (DC, Baltimore, Philly, and now LA). There were a decent number of tables, but the layout was appalling.
We arrived around 10:30, assuming that would allow us to avoid the opening crush of people we’d heard a lot about.
Unfortunately, we arrived to find a line that wound down the corridor, out the door, and about half way down the building. Surprisingly, the line moved fairly quickly, but getting into the show was less than half the battle.
An unconsidered side-effect of arriving after the show had started was a lack of street parking. There wasn’t much to start with, but it was all taken by the time we arrived. Parking at the hotel ended up costing us around $20 for the little time we were there. I don’t want to know what people who stayed the whole day paid.
Posted in Pen Shows
As I sat down to write my post about the LA Pen Show, I realized I’d never written a post about the Philly show. Therefore, even though it’s over a month late, allow me to share with you my experiences at the Philly show.
We drove up from the DC area with a friend of ours, and, thankfully, there was no real traffic. Upon arriving, I realized how fortunate I am to have the DC and Baltimore shows.
My immediate thought was that the show is overpriced for its size. We paid $13 online (it’s $15 at the door), a single-day price higher than DC, Baltimore, and LA. It’s also smaller than those other three shows.
I will say that the aisles were roomy, on par with Baltimore and far surpassing DC and LA. The selection was fairly evenly dispersed between vintage, new, expensive, and affordable. There was a decent selection of inks. And, for the overall size of the show, a decent number of nibmeisters.
Posted in Book Blogger
by Caitlin Williams
Genres: Classical Rewrite, Historical Fiction, Romance
Release Date: June 7, 2015
Pages: 312
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★
So much in life depends on chance and sheer luck. How much do we often owe to being in the right place at the right time?
In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet plans to visit the Lake District with her uncle and aunt, yet ends up at Pemberley instead, just as, by coincidence, Mr Darcy also arrives home. They meet, understand one another better and all eventually ends well.
But what if they did not have such luck? What if Elizabeth actually went to the Lake District and was nowhere near Pemberley, and she and Mr Darcy never met again until another four years had gone by?
Now they are very different people, altered by marriage, time and situation, although, Mr Darcy’s failed proposal in the Parsonage at Hunsford still haunts both of them in different ways.
Elizabeth is a companion to her Aunt, Mrs Mountford, a widow of great standing in society who married exceptionally well and ‘Miss Bennet’ finds herself accepted in the very best of circles and able to marry whomever she might chose.
Mr Darcy did his duty by his sickly cousin, Anne de Bourgh, and married her to protect her from the tyrannical force of her mother Lady Catherine. He has come to Bath, however, a widower, with his family, the Fitzwilliams, and his sister, Georgiana. Darcy sees Elizabeth, the woman who rejected him, in the opposite box at the theatre and cannot help falling in love with her all over again. Now though, it seems there are even more hurdles to overcome for them to be together, including Elizabeth’s new suitor, the handsome and charming Mr Yorke.
Mr Darcy is still a little proud, still not able to ‘perform to strangers’. Can Elizabeth see past his reserve and awkwardness to the decent man underneath?
This book is a re-telling of Pride and Prejudice from Chapter 36 onwards (Darcy’s failed proposal and the delivering of his letter). It is a light-hearted mix-up of Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, with a nod and a wink towards Northanger Abbey.
by Darcie Rochester
Genres: Classical Rewrites, Historical Fiction
Release Date: September 27, 2018
Pages: 340
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★
After the deaths of their parents and the public disgrace of their youngest sister, the Bennet ladies are alone in the world. It falls upon Elizabeth to navigate their way, a nearly impossible task given their meager funds. When she becomes reacquainted with Mr. Darcy, she hopes she has found her salvation. But it is ruin he offers her.
This book contains dark themes and scenes of a sensual nature. Reader discretion is advised.
Posted in Ink
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Bungubox Kabayaki of the Hamanako Eel and Bungubox Nostalgia.
Posted in Book Blogger
by Sue Barnard
Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Classical Rewrite
Release Date: October 6, 2018
Pages: 252
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Was this what really happened to Romeo & Juliet?
Think you know the world’s most famous love story? Think again. What if the story of Romeo & Juliet really happened – but not quite in the way we’ve all been told?
This part-prequel, part-sequel to the original tale, told from the point of view of the Friar, tells how an ancient Italian manuscript reveals secrets and lies which have remained hidden for hundreds of years, and casts new doubts on the official story of Shakespeare’s famous star-crossed lovers.
If you love the Romeo & Juliet story but are disappointed with the way it ended, this is the book for you.
Posted in Book Blogger
by Samantha Whitman
Series: Ditching Mr. Darcy, Book 2
Genres: Classical Re-write, Historical Fiction
Release Date: July 20, 2018
Pages: 402
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Letting the man of her dreams go would have been much harder had he been a real person. Living happily ever after with her soul mate would be much easier if reality was as uncomplicated as her dreams. And for Elizabeth Baker, the future would be much clearer if the lines between dreams and reality were not blurring yet again.
Posted in Ink
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Diamine Aqua Blue and Montblanc UNICEF Blue.
by loverofeevee
Genre: Harry Potter
Word Count: 19,937
My Rating: ★★☆
The usual story. Manipulative Dumbles, Harry gaining his independence. This takes place after Harry’s third year. It was a perfectly normal day in Privet Drive. The birds are singing, the bees are buzzing, and the Dursleys were their usual cheerful selves. Then suddenly… Now, what on earth is going on this time!
Genre: Harry Potter
Word Count: 94,234
My Rating: ★★★
A gift from his uncle Vernon gives Harry a new way to fight the Dark Lord.
Posted in Book Blogger
Genre: Harry Potter
Word Count: 187,589
My Rating: ★★★
Harry has learned the prophecy and he does not believe that a schoolboy can defeat Voldemort, so he decides that if he is going to die then he is first going to live.
Posted in Book Blogger
by Samantha Whitman
Series: Ditching Mr. Darcy, Book 1
Genres: Classical Re-write, Historical Fiction
Release Date: December 7, 2017
Pages: 357
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★★
What would you do if you crashed your car into a ditch and woke up as the main character of your favorite book? What if nothing happened the way it was supposed to? What if you met the dreamiest romantic hero in literary history and yet you fell in love with someone else instead? What would happen if you never woke up again? What would happen if you did? Elizabeth Baker is about to find out.
Posted in Ink
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Robert Oster NG Special ’16 and Diamine Golden Honey.
Posted in Book Blogger
by Cynthia Hand Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton
Series: The Lady Janies, Book 1
Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Retelling
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Pages: 512
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…
Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…
Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.
The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?
Posted in Book Blogger
by Cynthia Hand Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton
Series: The Lady Janies, Book 2
Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Retelling, Classic Rewrites
Release Date: June 26, 2018
Pages: 464
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
My Rating: ★★★★★
You may think you know the story. Penniless orphan Jane Eyre begins a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets one dark, brooding Mr. Rochester—and, Reader, she marries him. Or does she?
Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions, in which all is not as it seems, a certain gentleman is hiding more than skeletons in his closets, and one orphan Jane Eyre, aspiring author Charlotte Bronte, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood are about to be drawn together on the most epic ghost hunt this side of Wuthering Heights.
Posted in Book Blogger
by Kerri Maniscalco
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper, Book 2
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Horror, Romance
Release Date: September 19, 2017
Pages: 480
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Posted in Miscellaneous Information
This post is a cross between genealogy research and random thoughts. As I’ve been delving back into my genealogy research, I’ve come across an increasing amount of uses of necronyms.
For those unfamiliar with the term, a necronym is a reference to, or name of, a person who has died. In this case, I’m referring to naming a child after a dead sibling. Thinking in terms of modern-day expectations, necronyms seem a little insensitive, almost like parents are simply replacing their child. However, I found reference in one of the articles I read to naming conventions and traditions. For example, there were traditions that dictated parents name their eldest son after his paternal grandfather. So if that son were to die, the next son born would be given the same name.
by Kerri Maniscalco
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper, Book 1
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Horror, Romance
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Pages: 352
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.