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Jessica Edouard

~ Aspiring Historical Romance Author

Jessica Edouard

Tag Archives: Historical Romance

“No, sweet child, unicorns are #Not real, but they sure make #pretty pictures.”

24 Saturday Jun 2017

Posted by Jessica Edouard in Blabbering, Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Blogging, Concept, Fantasy, Fiction, Genre, Historical Romance, Meme, Myths, Scotland, Unicorns, Words, Writers

unicorn

Dearest me, did I really say that? I crushed my granddaughter’s heart the day I revealed to her that “unicorns weren’t real,” and, emphatically added, “they did not dance on rainbows.” Why? I thought I was doing the “grandmotherly” thing and told her what I believed as truth. Yet, how could I explain away that even I dabble in fables dusted with a hint of other-worldly magic, as easily as dusting our movie time popcorn with salt?

I retracted my statement. And like every great parent, I now buy her everything “unicorn” that I can get my hands on. Hoping, she will forget those atrocious words that came out of my mouth. Right?

How exactly did Scotland come up with this mystical white pony to be it’s country’s talisman? ( I see that most times it is depicted the size of a horse, but also has been represented as small as a goat, so pony is plausible.)

Continue reading →

#GoodTimes

04 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by Jessica Edouard in Blabbering, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

#AmWriting, Characters, Historical Romance, Medieval Humor, Meme, Paranormal Romance, Picts, Romance, True Humor, Writers

photo_by_nightingalestorm13-d7g2vmg

Ellyn Catherine Archer

I hoped for something a little more…lol!

#DearDiary

20 Thursday Oct 2016

Posted by Jessica Edouard in Blabbering, Novel, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

#AmWriting, Ancient Aliens, Authors, Concept, Debut, Historical Romance, Novel, Paranormal Romance, Picts, Romans, Scotland, Scotland Romance, Writers

I cannot believe my pledge to become more diligent, at least a monthly visitor, to my personal blog has gone to pot. What does this say about me as a writer? Am I not dedicated? Do I not care? Am I saddened to think my story has not materialized, picked up by a big house and made into the next academy award winning movie, yet?

alien

A bit of each I imagine or Aliens makes it a whole lot easier. I think always about what I am going to post or talk about and then, you guessed it, two months have past and I can barely remember my password. Of course I haven’t jotted the code anywhere with the million other combinations for each of my gazillion accounts. Why would I be so sane? Continue reading →

Let’s Talk About #Woad Baby!

20 Wednesday Jul 2016

Posted by Jessica Edouard in Blabbering, Novel, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Am Writing, Authors, Characters, Debut Author, Dragons, Fantasy, Historical Romance, Novel, Paranormal Romance, Pict History, Picts, Romance, Scotland, Scotland Romance, Writers

pict-main.jpg

Thank you, BraveHeart, for showing us woad’s unsubstantiated use in native Scotland. Hopefully, that paint you applied was not mixed with semen as a wild, I read it on the internet so it must be true, story goes…

But did you know-

Woad is a plant that flowers yellow and has beautiful full green leaves. When made into a tea you can extract its pigment which is blue. Of course, you knew that, but what about the fact that the plant was commonly used as an antiseptic and now is being used to help fight breast cancer?

Or that when used as a dye the plant is famous for fabrics, preventing colored cloth, not only its famed blue, from fading in direct light or by heavy washing. The seeds, de-winged, produce an oil that can be used for making soap. Hey, I thought everyone was dirty back in the early centuries. Not so.

Also, woad is perfect for using in magic rituals when you find yourself shape-shifting and or determining past lives. Chinese medicine hails its valor for curing throat ailments and the common cold. Although beyond goats, the plant is not edible for livestock.

In the 1500’s Queen Elizabeth issued a proclamation, “Against the sowing of Woade.” Too much land was being used to cultivate the crops and not being used for harvesting grains. The plant does grow wild but during the time of food shortages and famine, no one person could sow more than 20 pounds yearly. A single parish could have no more than 40-60 acres.

Continue reading →

In the land of “I do.”

01 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by Jessica Edouard in Blabbering, Novel, Uncategorized

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

#AmWriting, Authors, Characters, Concept, Cool Wedding Facts, Debut, Debut Author, Historical Romance, Novel, Old World Weddings, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Picts, Romance, Writers

 

Did you know these crazy facts about ancient world weddings?

 
Melded together over the years, different cultures and their customs have created a hodgepodge ceremony we now engage in our declaration of ultimate love. So let us peek at a few.

 
Wedding vows did not take place within the church or religious houses. The commitment occurred at the bride’s home, her intended’s household or outside the chapel door, blessed inside after the initial ceremony. Celts preferred to remain outside among nature and barefooted, connected to mother earth.

 
Hand-fasting was a trial arrangement. No need for pre-marital jitters here, after a year and a day the agreement between the two to either split or to make their union official would be finalized. To get married no formal contracts or ceremonies were necessary. Simply giving your consent freely and stating your commitment was enough to see you dually hitched.

 
Public contracts were necessary later in history due to legal claims and other religious changes.

 
Blue, brides in Western civilizations more often wore a blue gown on their wedding day as was associated with faithfulness, purity and later the Virgin Mary. White was not a favored color until after the 19th century. Did you know the color white was worn by French Queens while in mourning? No, I did not.

 
Bridesmaids were a needed distraction. These women were required to dress in a similar fashion to confuse malicious spirits intent on harming the bride, and that is not all. The bride’s bouquet contained herbs warding off these same intended party crashers whose goal was to curse the blessed virgin. Well that, and if covered by a veil these evil machinations would be unable to see their intended target. That or scared off by wedding bells. Duh!

 
Groomsmen were the protectors of the lucky woman from thieves out to steal her dowry, her person or even her life, ensuring the maidens timely arrival to the ceremony in all aspects, including the potential runaway. The best man often had the role of ultimate guardian and remained armed and ready to protect the groom from perhaps angry family members who may try to intercede the wondrous event, retrieving an abducted sister, daughter or cousin. Hence the groom and groom’s man kept their right hands free in case needed for defense. Forgiveness was a possibility with the cooling off period of a honeymoon or the groom coughing up some mullah and doling out a bride’s price.

 
I will not spoil our romantic versions of love within a marriage or the freedom of marrying by choice, most often quite rare. 

 

That is where your historical romance authors come in to tell a fine tale! 

 

Write On! ❤ Jessica

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