by hollandrae | Feb 5, 2020 | Musings, My Books, Research
Cities do not speak. Beaches do not dance. Mountain ranges do not dream. Places are not, intrinsically, human. The humanity we derive from them is based in our own perception, the sights, sounds and smells that form a location or environment in our mind. There is no...
by hollandrae | Nov 18, 2019 | Industry, Musings, My Books, National Novel Writing Month, Romance Novels
The first time I did National Novel Writing Month, I didn’t realize there were rules. I had heard in some writer’s group or class or online forum that in the month of November, writers try to write 100 pages. I was a freshman in high school and 100 pages was a lot...
by hollandrae | Nov 11, 2019 | Characters, Industry, Musings, My Books, Reading
I don’t remember ever being anything but a storyteller. When I was young, I wanted to be many things – a movie director, a perfume maker, a chocolatier (that dream hasn’t fully disappeared), a scientist, but all of those unique and creative dreams stemmed directly...
by hollandrae | Nov 4, 2019 | Art, Beauty, Historical, Musings, My Books, Regency, Romance Novels
I want to tell you about a house. It would be better to call it an estate, really, with a sprawling, rolling yard, protected from the street with towering bushes, a private drive, a personalized name in brass plating on the stone pillar at its end. I am in love with...
by hollandrae | Oct 21, 2019 | Characters, Musings, My Books, Reading, Romance Novels
I am six years old, sitting in my playroom with one of several cartoon-covered journals in my hand. The pages are scribbled with thousands of single-syllable words in pinks and purples: character names, magic spells, fantastical places I’m going to visit one day. I am...
