Excuses, favorites, and an ARC giveaway

[stephanieburgis]

Sorry for the radio silence, guys! Things are a bit tough here at the moment in terms of health and energy. Because of my CFS, our usual state of play is for Patrick to do all the housework, dog-care, and at least half the childcare, which leaves me with enough energy to do half the childcare, write fiction, write lots of emails and a couple of

Comments

[anonymous]

So sorry to hear you're both feeling under the weather - please let Patrick know I hope he's back on his feet soon. :)

Now then, my favourite historical period, eh? Easy! Medieval England circa 1066 to about the mid thirteenth century. I reckon I could have lived quite happily in medieval Northumbria.

BTW, apologies, I just can't get the hang on this OpenID thing, so I'm having to post as Anonymous.

Sam aka @FutureNostalgic on Twitter and owner of the blog of the same name.

[stephanieburgis]

I'll pass on the good wishes to Patrick, thank you! We really appreciate them.

Mmmm, medieval Northumbria. I would love to read a book in that setting! And you are hereby entered in the giveaway. :)

[jennreese]

Gah! Sorry to hear you're both still down and out. That must be so difficult and frustrating. Sending tons of hugs and chi and good thoughts to all of you.

Thanks for the tip off to Nigella Lawson. I've never really been drawn to her shows either, but I'll check out some of her recipes. :)

I don't want to be entered in the drawing because historical fantasy is not my thing (except for Kat!!!), but my favorite is Lions of Al-Rassan, set in Moorish Spain.

[stephanieburgis]

Thank you! We really appreciate them. And ooh, I really liked Lions of Al-Rassan. I like almost all of Guy Gavriel Kay's historical fantasies - I can't wait to read his new one as soon as it comes into paperback in the UK...

Because I want to hedge my bets ...

[hooton]

(a) Well, my personal favourite historical period at the moment is the English Civil War of 1642 - 1651 because it was a period of incredible turmoil in the UK, which gets little to no coverage in schools nowadays. However I'm also v. fond of the 1660 - 1714 (all naughty goings on, twisted Jacobean drama and rebellion).

(b) Favourite historical fantasy novel at the moment is Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard - it's set in 15th century Aztec society and is a fantasy/mystery. I loved it because it's completely different.

(c) I read Midnight Never Come and really enjoyed it.

CFS and being ill generally suck, so hope you and Patrick are feeling better soon.

Oooh - and I finally got my hands on a Kat arc. Currently reading it and thoroughly enjoying it (and hee for having my name in an actual book!)

Re: Because I want to hedge my bets ...

[stephanieburgis]

Oh yay for the ARC, and even more that you're enjoying it! That makes me really happy, especially after the help I got from you and your dad. :)

I loved Servant of the Underworld! And if you love the Civil War period, you have to try the second book in the Onyx Court Series, In Ashes Lie - I didn't find it as emotionally compelling as Midnight Never Come and A Star Shall Fall, but I really admired how she was able to pack in so much Civil War-era political history and tie it so closely to her faery court.

You're hereby entered in the giveaway!

[fabulousfrock]

It's hard to choose a favorite historical period! The Victorian era has long been my favorite, but I've started to get more fascinated by the late 18th century...the age of enlightenment leading into revolution in France and America and just a lot going on all over the place... I also must admit some affection for pre-WWI America, which seemed like a good time to be alive (at least, in the middle/upper classes)...a lot of optimism going on there and the excitement of new technology and some wonderful artistic sensibilities as well.

And lest I not be completely Euro-centric, Meiji-era Japan is pretty fascinating to me too...and ancient/Romance of the Three Kingdoms type China, although my view of that mostly comes via Japanese entertainment and is probably not very accurate.

[stephanieburgis]

Ooh, lots of fascinating periods. You are hereby entered in the giveaway! :)

[anonymous]

Have you made any Nigeria recipes? I was a fan too until I realized every recipe I tried had missing ingredients or wrong directions. Now I just look at the pictures and dream.

Feel better...Ysabeau

[stephanieburgis]

Eek! Which cookbook were you using? So far all the recipes I've used from Nigella Express have actually worked really well, so I haven't been disillusioned yet...*knocking on wood*

And thank you for the good wishes! *hugs*