5 on Friday - Set 97

WELCOME to the 99-cent December Book Blowout Event

My debut Dark Ages vampire novel SAINT SANGUINUS is proudly taking part in this exciting month-long e-book sale.

Browse through 11 genres by 100 independent authors

For more information,
CLICK HERE to visit the BOOK LOVERS BUFFET

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Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

This week takes me on a little stroll down holiday memory lane.

These pieces are newer versions of those that were once on my Christmas cassette tapes, or are from tapes that I associate with Christmas because that's when I played them. And when I say tapes, I mean wa-a-y-y back in the 80s when I used to listen to them on my ghetto blaster, in my bedroom.

1 - Arioso by J.S. Bach - Noa Gabay and Megan Morris

I used to have this absolutely lovely tape of harp music. It was dark pink with an 18th century white-wigged lady on the front. I tended to play that tape excessively once Christmas rolled around.



2 - Yuletide Garland - Liona Boyd

My family used to have this collection of Christmas music by Canadian classical guitarist Liona Boyd. Somehow it seemed to make its way to Toronto with me when I moved out on my own in my early twenties.



3 - Sleigh Ride from Three German Dances by Mozart - Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

This piece was on a classical music tape that wasn't geared toward the holidays, but I used to cue this one up when I was listening to Christmas music.



4 - Waltz of the Snowflakes by Tchaikovsky - Kirov Ballet Orchestra

Obviously, where would my Christmas be without The Nutcracker? It has been a part of my musical Christmas landscape since I was a small child, when my sister and I opened up a gift addressed to both of us--a double album of the full ballet score by the London Symphony Orchestra.





5 - Believe in Your Dreams and They'll All Come True - From the 1974 Little Mermaid soundtrack, composed by Ron Goodwin

Here in Halifax when I was growing up, the local TV station always broadcast a trio of Oscar Wilde-based animated specials at Christmastime:

The Happy Prince
The Selfish Giant
The Little Mermaid

These weren't Christmas specials in the literal sense, but each story revolved around the values of the Christmas season. In The Little Mermaid especially, the music has always stayed with me--so much so, that when I've needed a cheerleading boost for myself when things weren't working out, I've often turned to this song.

It begins at the 8:20 mark and runs to the 10:50 mark.

Thursday Thirteen - 236 - 13 Courtesans by Guest Blogger Deborah Hale

WELCOME to the 99-cent December Book Blowout Event

My debut Dark Ages vampire novel SAINT SANGUINUS is proudly taking part in this exciting month-long e-book sale.

Browse through 11 genres by 100 independent authors

For more information,
CLICK HERE to visit the BOOK LOVERS BUFFET

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Also taking part in the Book Lovers Buffet is this week's guest blogger, Deborah Hale, writing as Elizabeth Charles.

For those of you who remember Deb from her previous visit here, she's a fellow author from my local writers' group, Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada.

Welcome, Deb!

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It is fitting that I should blog about 18th century courtesans here at A Piece of My Mind, since the arts represent a common thread among these thirteen women.


Most acted or danced professionally at some point in their careers or modelled for portraits by famous artists of the day. Others wrote books about their lives or inspired others to write of them.

Courtesans were the Madonnas, JLos and Angelinas of their time, superstars whose glamorous lives were chronicled in the scandal magazines for the titillation of squire’s wives like Mrs. Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer.

Though they may have secretly envied the courtesans’ wealth, amazing clothes and sexual freedom, they could feel fortunate and virtuous when those women succumbed to debt, drugs, STDs or the toxic affects of lead based cosmetics. See what you think of these thirteen Baroque superstars…


1 - Gertrude Mahon was the half-sister of the Earl of Kerry. She eloped with a gamester who deserted her shortly after she gave birth. When her mother died and her half-brother refused to help her, the beautiful Gertrude went “on the town” to make a living. Her tiny size and love of bright-colored gowns earned her the sobriquet “The Bird of Paradise.” In later years she became an actress in Dublin then faded into obscurity.




2 -Harriet Powell worked in Charlotte Hayes’s famous brothel in King’s Place. That may be where she met the widowed Kenneth McKenzie Lord Seaforth. Harriet became his mistress and later his wife. He commissioned her portrait by Joshua Reynolds, in which she holds a little bird.




3 -Nelly O’Brien also modeled for Joshua Reynolds. After a brief career as an actress, she became the mistress of several prominent men including the Earl of Thanet and Viscount Bolingbroke, to whom she was rumoured to have borne sons.




4 -Nancy Parsons eloped to the West Indies with a Captain Horton. When he died or deserted her, she returned to England and became mistress to the Duke of Grafton. The duke flaunted her openly while he was prime minister, much to the shock of King George III. Nancy later became the mistress of the Dukes of Portland and Dorset and finally married a viscount fifteen years her junior. 18th century gossip Horace Walpole referred to her as 'the Duke of Grafton's Mrs. Horton, the Duke of Dorset's Mrs. Horton, everybody's Mrs. Horton'.




5 -George Anne Bellamy began life as the illegitimate daughter of Lord Tyrawley, British ambassador to Portugal, who had her educated in a French convent. She grew up to become an actress, playing Juliet to David Garrick’s Romeo. After many liaisons and years of extravagant living, she fell into debt and ill-health and wrote a book, An Apology for the Life of George Anne Bellamy, perhaps to raise some money.




6 -Kitty Fisher was another favourite of Sir Joshua Reynolds and was rumored to have spent £12,000 a year (over a million dollars in today’s money!) Beautiful, witty and well-educated, she became the subject of a nursery rhyme “Lucy Locket lost her pocket, Kitty Fisher found it…” She married the son of a Member of Parliament, and died of the effects of lead-based cosmetics.




7 -Nancy Dawson became so celebrated that she had a well-known melody named after her. It later became the tune for “Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush.” A dancer at Sadler’s Wells, she later danced a lascivious hornpipe (?!) in the Beggar’s Opera, which was acclaimed in a ballad.




8 -Polly Kennedy Jones inherited the house of her friend Nancy Dawson after Nancy died. Polly’s powerful patrons included Sir Charles Bunbury, Lord March, Lord Palmerston and George Selwyn. When her brothers were charged with murder, Polly used her influence to get their death sentences commuted, much to the outrage of the popular press.



9 -Anne Catley was the daughter of a coachman and a washer woman whose beauty and fine voice made her much sought after. Her fee for singing was 40 guineas a night (about $4000 today). She took a succession of lovers by whom she had ten children. She eventually settled in Ealing with a major-general and gave lots of money to charity. She died of consumption at the age of forty-five and had a book written about her.







10 -Grace Dalrymple Eliott began life as the convent-educated daughter of a Scottish lawyer. After her husband divorced her, “Dally the Tall” flitted between London and Paris, mistress to several wealthy, titled men including The Duc d’Orleans and the Prince of Wales. Imprisoned during the French Revolution, she managed to escape the guillotine and wrote a book about her adventures.




11 -Sophia Baddeley came from a family of musicians. At the age of 18 she eloped with an actor and went on the stage herself. Though she was not a very good actress, her looks and fine singing voice made her a celebrity. Estranged from her husband and running up debts, she began to take wealthy patrons including Lord Melbourne and the Duke of Northumberland. Extravagant spending and an addiction to laudanum brought about her downfall. She was the subject of a book written by her friend Eliza Steele.



12 -Emily Warren was recruited and trained by one of London’s most notorious madams after she was discovered begging on the streets. Reynolds painted her as Thais and lauded her “faultless and finely formed” figure. William Hickey wrote of Emily in his Memoires of a Georgian Rake. She was the mistress of his friend Bob Potts when she died suddenly of a fever in India.




13 -Elizabeth Armistead rose from obscurity to become the leading courtesan of her time. Unlike many who rose and fell from favor in a twinkling, Mrs. Armistead reigned for more than a decade. Her patrons included the Earl of Derby, the Duke of Dorset and the Prince of Wales, but her heart belonged to the young politicians of the Whig party. Her later life took an even more fascinating turn when she became the mistress and wife of the most celebrated man of her era. I was so enthralled with Elizabeth Armistead’s life and times that I used them as the basis for my novel Confessions of a Courtesan!



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Thank you, Deb - I've been hanging on every word! It's the research obsessed in me.

Deb is offering a copy of her book to one lucky commenter. Good luck and Happy Thursday Thirteen!

The Serialists - Scene 78

WELCOME to the 99-cent December Book Blowout Event

My debut Dark Ages vampire novel SAINT SANGUINUS is proudly taking part in this exciting month-long e-book sale.

Browse through 11 genres by 100 independent authors

For more information,
CLICK HERE to visit the BOOK LOVERS BUFFET

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~










I'm now posting with The Serialists which appears on Wednesdays.

To recap this dark fantasy story so far:

As a small boy of seven, Scorpius was fetched from the nursery where he'd been raised to live among the nobility - fetched not by his family, but by a falconer to serve as his apprentice.

Scorpius soon learned that a close encounter with a dragon was preferable to the cruelties of the nobles he'd once hoped were family. His master did whatever he could to shield Scorpius from the world outside their cottage, but the falconer was merely a servant who must obey his own masters.

An attempt on the life of a young noble while on a hunt sent the falconer and his apprentice on abruptly different paths, bringing Scorpius into the service of Lord Thibault's noble house.

We now continue with Scorpius at age nineteen.

You can follow the progress of this story arc by clicking on the Works in Progress link just under the blog header.


Scene 78

Reaching up, the chancellor pulled his hat free from his head, revealing stubbly growth instead of full locks of hair. Scorpius’ pulse quickened in alarm that the duke’s advisor should perform a gesture of deference before him. Turning swiftly to be certain there was no one approaching, Scorpius rounded on the chancellor, whose head remained bowed as he stared at the ground between them.

In the growing light, the striped hair pattern of the Sibiu people showed even in the closely cropped stubble emerging to spill its secrets.

It was all Scorpius could do to stifle the gasp that choked him. “You, my lord,” he said.

The chancellor’s gaze lifted to bore into Scorpius’ own.

“You approved her name on the guest list,” Scorpius said.

“It’s time to take chances,” the chancellor said as if begging forgiveness.

Scorpius turned and covered his mouth with his hand, as if the tumult of questions inside him threatened to spill out like a bout of sickness. He felt the chancellor close the gap between them. Scorpius’ skin prickled at keeping his back turned to such a noble, but turning now would force him to graze the chancellor’s body. He straightened instead.

The years since he was a small boy, newly arrived at the falconer’s as his apprentice, fell away as Scorpius recalled what had happened to his former master. Richolf had been witness to secrets over which the nobles were only too willing to kill one another. Possessing those secrets had led to screams, nightmares and wounds that never healed.

Now Scorpius knew that the chancellor belonged to the Sibiu people. His body trembled as he stood with the noble a hair’s breadth behind him. His hand still stung from the cut the chancellor had given him upon awakening.

“It’s only fair that you should know something about me,” the noble said. “For I know something about you. Something that could change your life in ways you once only dreamed of.”

Scorpius’ heart beat so fast he felt unsteady. “My lord,” he whispered.

“The young lady whose approval has been given by the dukessa and myself is from a well-placed family to the north, whose grandsire will be arriving shortly to collect her. And to make arrangements if the duke so desires to make an alliance between their houses.”

It was hard for Scorpius to concentrate on the chancellor’s words when his pulse surged so loudly in his ears.

“I will arrange for you to attend me when the duke holds audience with her grandsire,” said the chancellor. “It is crucial that you see for yourself what sort of family this man represents.”

Did he mean for Scorpius to scout the terrain between the noble houses on behalf of his master Lord Thibault? Or did he mean what Scorpius’ pounding heartbeat suggested?

“All families have faces they show to the world, and faces they protect. Injured sides, shameful sides, monstrous sides. Some families have mysteries, never solved. Until someone uncovers just the right shape to solve the puzzle.”

The chancellor stepped around Scorpius to stand before him. “You will report to me regarding your master’s involvement with the Sibiu, and in return I will ensure you’re in the drawing room when the lady's grandsire arrives. Agreed?”

Bowing and sweeping a hand toward his heart in reverence, Scorpius said, “Agreed, my lord.” He remained bowed until the chancellor placed his hat once more upon his head, turned and strode back toward the gardens.

© Julia Phillips Smith, 2011

5 on Friday - Set 96

WELCOME to the 99-cent December Book Blowout Event

My debut Dark Ages vampire novel SAINT SANGUINUS is proudly taking part in this exciting month-long e-book sale.

Browse through 11 genres by 100 independent authors

For more information,
CLICK HERE to visit the BOOK LOVERS BUFFET

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~









Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

It's December! It's December! It's December!

To celebrate the kick-off to my favorite season, here are five songs I've enjoyed singing in choirs over the years. I had to bow out from my regular choir schedule this year in order to get SAINT SANGUINUS published, and I keenly miss the preparations for a Christmas concert that usually fill up my calendar about this time.

1 - Lo How a Rose E're Blooming - Tyler Junior College A Cappella Choir



2 - Noel nouvelet - King's College Choir, Cambridge



3 - Joseph, lieber Joseph mein - Volkssing Akademie



4 - The Boar's Head Carol - Mars Hill Madrigal Singers



5 - Jeg er så glad hver julekveld/I am so glad it's Christmas Eve - Oslo Fagottkor featuring Celine Hristov

Thursday Thirteen - 235 - 13 Facts-are-Stranger-Than-Fiction Things About the Halifax Explosion as Told by Guest Author Jennie Marsland

WELCOME to the 99-cent December Book Blowout Event

My debut Dark Ages vampire novel SAINT SANGUINUS is proudly taking part in this exciting month-long e-book sale.

Browse through 11 genres by 100 independent authors

For more information,
CLICK HERE to visit the BOOK LOVERS BUFFET

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For this week's Thursday Thirteen,











I'm handing the mic over to my fellow Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada author Jennie Marsland.

Welcome, Jennie!






Julia, it’s great to be here today.

As a fellow history buff, you know I love chatting about the real event that serves as a backdrop for the love story in Shattered, my latest release, set in 1917 in our hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Great War era fascinates me, because of the scale of the conflict and the dizzying pace of change that went with it – which is also a novelist’s dream.

Between 1914 and 1918, the Victorian way of life was swept away by new technologies, morals and manners. Women got the vote and entered the work world in droves. Cars, electricity and telephones became commonplace. The generation that fought in the Great War experienced the Great Depression and sent their sons to World War 2. They grew up with horses and buggies and lived to see men walk on the moon. I can’t help but admire them.

So, I’ve written a story about two people struggling to find their place in the face of all this change – and ultimately, disaster.

I’ll give you the cover blurb of Shattered for details:

Liam Cochrane no longer belongs. He lost his youth and his brother on the battlefields of Europe. Now he’s home in Halifax, Nova Scotia, trying to dull his pain with liquor and the occasional willing woman. He’s become a stranger in the North End neighbourhood where he grew up.

Alice O’Neill has never belonged. Able to read music, but not words, she dreams of teaching piano – and of Liam, who has held her heart for years and never known. But Liam has shadowy ties in England that he’s revealed to no one, and in that fall of 1917, Halifax is on a collision course with fate. On December 6, a horrific accident of war will devastate the city’s North End. What will be left for Liam and Alice when their world is shattered?

That ‘accident of war’ was the Halifax Explosion of 1917, an event that changed the face of the city forever. For Thursday Thirteen, here are the facts of what occurred on the fine morning of December 6, as Halifax geared up for another busy wartime day.












1 -In Halifax in the fall of 1917, you could get a dinner of roast chicken with steamed potatoes and creamed carrots, followed by a choice of desserts – apple pie, custard, tapioca and other sweets – for 25 cents. A new business suit cost $18 to $35.

2 -The reason for Halifax’s existence is its harbour, one of the largest and deepest in the world. As an added bonus, the harbour proper is connected by a narrow channel (The Narrows) to an inner harbour (Bedford Basin) that can’t be seen from the open ocean. This made the city strategically vital as a shipping point for troops and supplies during both World Wars.

3 -14 harbour pilots and 8 apprentices were handling a shipping volume of 17 million tonnes a year at the time of the explosion. Traffic on the Harbour had never been so frantic.

Those working on the water knew an accident was inevitable, but everyone was more concerned about the possibility of enemy attack. In 1917 aerial warfare was in its infancy, and no one could be certain that Germany hadn’t secretly developed planes that could fly across the Atlantic or take off from the decks of ships to bomb North America. Submarine attack was an even more real possibility. The entrance to the Harbour was closed with nets from dusk to dawn, meaning all traffic had to come and go during daylight hours, increasing the congestion.

4 -The Explosion occurred when the French vessel Mont Blanc, loaded with picric acid, TNT, benzol and gun cotton, collided with Imo, a Belgian relief vessel, in The Narrows. Fuel drums on Mont Blanc’s deck caught fire, turning the ship into a floating bomb that drifted into Pier 6 in the city’s North End and detonated, destroying the community of Richmond and killing over 2000.



















5 - The Halifax Explosion is still the largest non-atomic, non-natural explosion in recorded history. It was used as a case study in predicting the effect of the atomic bomb.

6 -A half-ton piece of the anchor from Mont Blanc landed over 2 miles away from where she exploded.

7 -A huge tidal wave followed the blast. Sixty-four workmen at a pier were killed by a boulder believed to have come from the bottom of the Harbour. Ships touched bottom as the wave swept outward to shore.

8 -One sailor was swept off the deck of his ship by the wave, then dumped on the deck again in the backlash. He survived.

9 -Another sailor was blown half a mile from the deck of his ship to Needham Hill. He was picked up later, semi-conscious, wearing one shoe but not a stitch of clothing, battered but with no grave injuries.

10 -300 train cars and 20 locomotives were destroyed at the rail yard and the North Street train station.

11 -Halifax’s first motorized fire truck, the Patricia, responded to the fire on Mont Blanc and was destroyed at the waterfront along with the fire chief’s car. All in both vehicles were killed.

12 -After the Explosion, while everything possible was being done for the human victims, a committee was also formed to rescue injured and homeless animals. Horses, of course, were still very important in 1917, and many were killed or hurt.

13 -The youngest victim of the explosion was six days old.

The Serialists - Scene 77

I'm now posting with The Serialists which appears on Wednesdays.

To recap this dark fantasy story so far:

As a small boy of seven, Scorpius was fetched from the nursery where he'd been raised to live among the nobility - fetched not by his family, but by a falconer to serve as his apprentice.

Scorpius soon learned that a close encounter with a dragon was preferable to the cruelties of the nobles he'd once hoped were family. His master did whatever he could to shield Scorpius from the world outside their cottage, but the falconer was merely a servant who must obey his own masters.

An attempt on the life of a young noble while on a hunt sent the falconer and his apprentice on abruptly different paths, bringing Scorpius into the service of Lord Thibault's noble house.

We now continue with Scorpius at age nineteen.

You can follow the progress of this story arc by clicking on the Works in Progress link just under the blog header.


Scene 77

Scorpius sank down upon the hay, arms gathering up his dog as he closed his eyes against the graying sky. He hadn’t realized he’d slept until two booted feet stopped in the hay beside his head.

Instantly awake, he grabbed for his knife but only managed to cut his hand along the edge of the sword that had anticipated his move. When he heard the dog growl, Scorpius barked the command to stay, sick at the knowledge he may have delivered the animal’s death sentence.

But a chuckle soon dispelled that fear—only to replace it with the hair-prickling realization that these were the chancellor’s boots and sword.

“You only come out here when you’re troubled,” the chancellor said.

“My lord Chancellor,” Scorpius said, pulling himself to his knees.

“Bring the dog.” The older man turned and strode from stables, barely rustling the straw. Scorpius gazed over at his former master’s hunting dog, crouching at the ready but awaiting his signal. No wonder he ran to him when he needed solace. They understood each other.

Trotting to catch up, Scorpius pressed a kerchief to his hand to stop the bleeding.

“You have reason to be troubled,” the chancellor said when they were out of range of eyes or ears from the stables and storage huts.

Scorpius tried to form a way of saying why he’d done nothing but lay there all night staring into the gloom while his master slept soundly. But there was no way of doing so without betraying Lord Thibault’s trust. The only sound was their footsteps over the forested path as they made their way into the trees left unshaped by the gardeners.

Finally they came to a sheltered grove with an overturned tree that the chancellor sat upon. Scorpius stood before him with the dog at heel. A sense of dread warred with curiosity inside him.

“Your master has made no advances toward the young lady who showed interest at the ball.”

“He knows she meets with the dukessa’s approval, my Lord Chancellor. And yours.”

“Then why does he meet with the Sibian?”

Scorpius’ heart seemed to stop beating. Yet he took in a steadying breath. He must not falter before the chancellor. “Why do you think, my lord?”

The chancellor blinked and looked away. “This is most unexpected.”

The memory of the young lady’s edge of ferocity when compared to the other prospective brides brought a wry smile to Scorpius’ face. “It isn’t really, my lord.”

Training his gaze upon Scorpius, the chancellor’s own worry lined his face in a way Scorpius had never witnessed before. It flooded Scorpius with a desire to reassure the older man, though speaking for his master was folly.

“You have been very discreet,” the chancellor said. “I have merely been doing this longer than you have.”

Scorpius bowed in acknowledgment.

“You must tell me if you think your master intends to ask for her hand.”

“What would happen if he did?”

“Our kingdom and Sibiu have been at odds for twenty generations,” the chancellor said. “I don’t know why her name was approved for the guest list.”

“But who else approves it except you, my lord?”

Scorpius watched in fascination as the older man paled and looked away.

© Julia Phillips Smith, 2011

5 on Friday - Set 95

Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

This week's set goes out to all you Walking Dead fans out there, or lovers of apocalyptic fiction.

1 - It's the End of the World as We Know It - R.E.M.



2 - Until the End of the World - U2



3 - The End - The Doors



4 - The End of the World - Skeeter Davis



5 - Nothing But Flowers - Talking Heads