The Joy of Laughter - The Laughter of Joy : by Alice Rosewell

 My first reaction to the theme of this month’s blog was ‘Laughter! Don’t they know there’s a pandemic on?’ Quickly followed by ‘I really must get out more.’  I suppose that in my mind I was equating laughter with levity in the face of other people’s personal tragedies. There is not one soul in the world who will feel better for the knowledge that I am miserable, so I need to get over myself on that one.  I found it difficult to move on from that, as, like many, I have found the relentless constraints of Covid increasingly difficult to endure, but it was worth the effort. 

On to laughter as humour. I like to keep my writing light-hearted and draw on life experiences for the absurdness of daily living. In my first novel, “Irrelevant Women” the embarrassing scene with the naked man is an almost verbatim account of an incident that happened to me and a friend while out walking.

I love the humour of P.G.Wodehouse, loathe slapstick, love Dilbert, and just don’t get some of the “comedy” you find on Netflix.  Humour is such a personal and cultural phenomenon, it defies description in just a few words. But we all know that our sense of humour is a sensitive and fragile thing, so when a friend tells a joke that we don’t find funny, we can smile and even chuckle, much as we would if that same friend asked us to admire a hideous hat, or sticky grandchild, and thus, feelings are not hurt.

So, is there a kind of laughter that is universal? I think there is. As I sit at my keyboard, I am imagining a time, hopefully soon, when I will meet up with a good friend after more than a year. We will smile, we will cry, and we will laugh. I know we will, and all before uttering a single word. This is the laughter of joy. I’m smiling now as I imagine the scene; we will spot each other across a crowded car park, hurry towards each other and indulge in the longest hug we’ve ever shared. We will laugh at the sheer relief and joy of being together again, and I’m pretty sure that any stranger witnessing us will smile too. 

My name is Alice Rosewell and I live in the city of Bristol in the South West of England (UK), the city where I was born.  I write in British English, so I hope that American readers will not be put off by British spelling of some words. 

The first story I remember writing was at primary school, about the age of 7. This was followed by a dry spell which latest about 50 years during which I got through University, brought up a couple of kids, and had a successful career in IT. 

I had the outline of a story which I’d dreamed up one evening in the pub, but that sat in a folder for about a decade until I got made redundant for the 3rd time in one year! This event coincided with the Kindle becoming mainstream, and Indie publishing an option. I dusted off my few pages of ideas and got to work. For the last few years, I have been writing contemporary women’s fiction, publishing three novels: Irrelevant Women, The Kite Makers, and my latest, An End to Dreaming.  A good friend described my writing as intriguing, uplifting, and will not give you nightmares!  I think that about sums it up.

Donna Hatch

The last few years have brought several major changes to my family and to me. One of the biggest changes involved our family moving lock, stock, and barrel from the Phoenix area to a town outside of Seattle. Talk about a climate change! We did trade blue skies for gray, but we also traded brown and dust, to green and lush.

We do have blue skies, too. Some of the locals refer to them as Sun Breaks. They come and go, amid sunshine and rain, almost daily, providing a wonderful diverse weather all year long. We even usually get a little snow—well, it falls anyway, though it usually does not stick for more than a day or two. My children were super excited when they had their first ever Snow Day but felt a little cheated that they only got one!

Our move came as a result of a job opportunity for my husband. Four of our six children still live at home, so the drastic change has been an adjustment for everyone. However, two years later, we are all settled in quite happily with new schools, friends, and jobs

.

Not only has Washington been better for my husband’s career, but it has also improved my health. I enjoy the great outdoors much more now and have become an avid walker, hiker, and even camper—although I still don’t love to rough it. I suffer from fewer migraines and cluster headaches now and have even taken up a little (very little, mind you) gardening. So far, most of my plants are still alive (knock on wood).

Best of all, the move also took me away from my day job in Arizona so I decided to make a career out of writing. That was one of the best decisions of my life. Writing full time has been a rewarding experience. April 18, 2017 marked the release of my nineteenth published title, my sweet Regency Romance, The Matchmaking Game. It never ceases to amaze me that the more I write, the more my Muse talks to me.

This past weekend, I did something I’ve wanted to do for years—go on a hot air balloon ride. This all came about as a result of a scene I wrote in my current manuscript. I wanted to get the sensory details just right, which is difficult to do second-hand. So with my husband’s encouragement, I booked the flight. It was unforgettable. If you’ve never been on a hot air balloon, you’re missing out. The Puget Sound from 3000 feet in the air is one of the most awe-inspiring views I’ve ever seen. I gained a whole lot of details for my book, as well as a memorable experience.

This summer I am going to England for the very first time. Like the motive behind my hot air balloon ride, I have reached a point where I am no longer content doing second-hand research; I want the full sensory experience. In my three weeks’ there, I will visit London, Brighton, Bath, Jane Austen's Chawton Village, and the Lakes District. I can hardly wait!

Despite our new adventures, we haven’t forgotten our roots. Our family still travels back to Arizona frequently to visit family and friends. We sure wish we could see them more often! We’re always happy to return home to the good ol’ Pacific Northwest where it’s cool and green. Now, if only I could convince my son to move here with his wife and baby daughter so we could see them and our sweet little granddaughter more often!

Please LIKE my FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/RomanceAuthorDonnaHatch/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/donnahatch

Check out my Pinterest boards here: https://www.pinterest.com/donnahatch29/

Here is the link to subscribe to my weekly newsletter where I share Regency/Jane Austen-esque research and trivia, as well as share news: http://donnahatch.com/subscribe/

If you would like a free ebook of my sweet full-length Regency Romance novel, The Stranger She Married, you can get the download here: http://donnahatch.com/stranger-she-married-free-download/

Overheard... while traveling

“Her stories are all about place.”

I have been looking forward to the Genre-istas May blogoversary for months. To celebrate, we are hosting International writers and sharing what makes locale so special. Those who know me will realize why I have been so excited; I love writing about place. And my most special place is Italy. It got a brief cameo in my last novel, UNTANGLING THE KNOT, and claims the entire setting for my next one. Place is so important to my writing that it is even in my tagline, Journeys Inspired by Love.

What is it about place that inspires me as a reader and a writer? It feels colorful to me, filled with food, and scenery and accents and architecture. The light is different in each location (think Picasso on the Riviera). The color of food is unique to place. I visualize the reds of pasta and wine in Italy versus the earth tones of spices in Morocco. All of these things can be used to show, rather than tell, about the place.

Of course there is also accent or language, and in this authors are cautioned to be careful. I recently read a fantastic guest post on Kristen Lamb’s blog, discussing dialogue. In it the guest, Les Edgerton, reveals the challenges of writing great dialogue. One of these pitfalls is when the words selected actually pull the reader from the story and remind them they are reading. Some examples of this are: overuse of a single word, like an endearment, using dialogue tags other than said, and overuse of a foreign language or local slang. I can recognize myself in this last one as I had to edit 40 Brilliants (said by my British hero) out of my current manuscript (and p.s. foreign language always goes in italics; just f.y.i.).

Since all of these things, and more, make up an authentic international story, May will be a great month to ask questions of our guest bloggers who might have advice on the scent of their foods, the color of their sky, the sound of their traffic and alternate words to use for describing when something is really fantastic.

Buona Fortuna,

Deanne
www.deannewilsted.com