​Several people have asked me about the progress of our squatting nest of mistle thrushes. The news is suprisingly good. All 5 fledged and flew, despite the prowling of a couple of local cats and the interest of a magpie, all of which were seen off by the parent birds. Above are a few photos we managed to take through the window.
 
Watching their development stage by stage, I feel a metaphor coming on. Writing a story can begin with a confused bundle of small ideas that gradually grow and become more distinct until (hopefully) it flies. My very first piece of fiction writing began like that, some years ago. I submitted the original for feedback from a professional writers’ organisation, after which, following much editing and resulting re-shaping, it was my first entry for the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme in 2010. After yet more work it was at last accepted for publication in 2015, so the whole process took a little longer than the 17 days from hatching to flying by the next generation of mistle thrushes.
 
Don’t forget to enter to win A MASTER OF LITIGATION in the Goodreads Giveaway which ends on June 4th.

​Another unexpected visitor this spring is a pair of nesting mistle thrushes (the UK's largest songbird, so called because they eat mistletoe). We were away for the second half of April and perhaps the quiet lulled the home-seeking pair into the false assumption that our little section of an old lime-stone barn was deserted rather than converted. We’d seen them flying around, then spotted this mossy nest, on the small window ledge of the downstairs loo window, quite a vulnerable position given the possible predators around. The young have just hatched so we hope they survive once they are big enough to put their heads above the parapet. This time of year is very diverting, with the swifts, house martens and pipistrelle bats that variously occupy our eaves over the summer.
Currently, I’m not doing much writing but am occupied with historical research, when not gazing out of the window at the wonders of nature.

We spied this pair of alpacas on a walk from Embsay, near Skipton (see the sheep hiding in the dip?).

As a writer it’s quite challenging to try and be different. Years ago I was in sales and marketing for a few years and learnt about identifying USPs. I quite liked what my HNS reviewer said: “The element that sets Ms Fisher’s work apart from other romantic historical fiction is her concern with the social issues of the period…period romance with a bit of substance, but never heavy and boring.” (review of Rose Glace).

​In my Regency Master Series, you therefore won’t be surprised to find political themes woven around the central romance. A MASTER OF SPECULATION has a radical former naval captain taking action to prevent the execution of one of Napoleon’s former marshals, A MASTER OF INDUSTRY has a wealthy earl developing a conscience about employment of children in mills. Watch out for A MASTER OF LITIGATION, due out in May, which has a conventional barrister using his role in court to question the government’s repression of the people.

 ​Congratulations to fellow MuseItUp author Caitlyn Callery, whose regency romance Incognito is one of the finalists in the 2017 UK Romantic Novel Awards. See www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/news for more details. It’s the second year in succession a MuseItUp author has been in the running. Last year MuseItUp writer Lesley Field was shortlisted for her regency story Dangerous Entrapment. Selection is on the basis of assessment by panels of readers, so check them out, you may enjoy them too.

Thinking of trying your hand at writing? MuseItUp is open to new approaches, without needing to go through an agent. Check out using the link on my Home page to MuseItUp Authors’ blog (scroll down to Feb 26th 2017).

Catchup to Ketchup: Here’s how they made it in the regency period—and a use for stale beer!
 From Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery, first published in 1747!

New Year - new role. Writing-wise I’ve at last begun the first draft of my third regency romance and hope to publish in the summer. However, quite a lot of my time in the next three months will be taken up with training as a Community Library Volunteer, one of about 60 or so who will be helping keep our local library open for business from April onwards. Our local county council has to apply funding cuts to local service provision somewhere and, like a number of others, the library service is being severely cut (principally in paid staffing). Although it is great that so many of us have come forward to help share the load it is a great shame that redundancies of expert, professional librarians are being enacted across the county. Hope 2017 holds something special for you. Keep reading!

Who invented Christmas cracker jokes?
Crackers themselves are thought to have been invented around 1850, but the inclusion of jokes came much later, in the 20th century. The jokes themselves however, were around long before that. The British Library holds a copy of “The Witling”, a book of conundrums published in 1750. Many newspapers ran a section on conundrums and riddles to entertain readers around the Christmas period. So the answer is - the jokes themselves pre-dated inclusion in crackers by 200 years or more. I even came across that well-known “When is a door not a door” (When it’s a jar), in use in 1816. Here are a few more:
1. If all the alphabet were invited to dinner, why could they not all accept the invitation? (Because 6 of them come after T)
2.Why is a bankrupt like a young devil on an outhouse? (He is imp-over-i-shed)
3. Why is a pig with a curled tail like the ghost in Hamlet? (Because it could a ‘tale’ unfold)
4. What is lengthened by being cut at both ends? (A ditch)
5. When may a man be literally said to be head over heels in debt? (When he wears a hat which is not paid for)
6. Why is a tragedy a more natural performance in a theatre than a comedy? (Because the boxes are always in ‘tears’)
7. What sea would one wish for on a rainy night? (A-dri-atic)
8. Why is a person much troubled with the lumbago like a garrett? (Because he is a rheum-atic)
9. Why is the Lord Chancellor like a taylor? (Because he justifies long bills)
10. When you put on your stockings in the morning, why are you sure to make a mistake? (Because you cannot avoid putting your foot in it)
My personal favourite is this one (published in 1770):
Why is the Navy like Lady Grosvenor? (Because she is miserably manned)
I think this was casting aspersions on the efficiency with which the ship “The Lord Grosvenor” was operated, rather than the manhood of Lady Grosvenor’s husband, but who knows!
Seasons greetings to all my readers and grateful thanks for your continued support and feedback.