"Roundheads and Ramblings"

September 2017

A Tour of Henrietta's Oxford

Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 11:12 AM

For those of you just starting to read Henrietta's Journal, here's a tour of some of the scenes in the book. The pictures are fairly modern, I'm afraid--there were no cameras in 1832--but then, Oxford doesn't change all that much from one century to the next,

Henrietta and Julien met in Duke Humfrey's Reading Room, a section of the Bodleian Library dedicated to the preservation of rare medieval manuscripts. The manuscript Julien wanted to see--Digby 209--is real and as fascinating as he made it out to be. I used to have some snapshots of the cartoon sketches in its margins, but they have escaped me, so you'll have to settle for this view of the shelves and reading alcoves.

Henrietta and Julien shared their first lunch at the White Horse Pub and their second at the Turl. The Turl has now closed, I'm sad to report, but the White Horse is still the best place to hare a Ploughman's Lunch.

Here's a plate of sausage rolls.

On the second weekend Sir Ephraim invited Julien to attend church with the family at St. Michael's at the Gate on Cornmarket Street. This church with its Norman tower was built some time between 1000 and 1050, according to local records.

Other locations the young couple explored were Godestow Abbey, where Eleanor of Aquitaine was rumored to have locked up the Fair Rosamund to keep her out of the clutches of the lecherous King Henry II. (The story is entirely apocryphal.) The ruins, however, do lie close to the wonderful Trout Inn, which you might recognize if you were a fan of the "Inspector Morse" series on PBS.

Henrietta also took Julien to see the Botanic Gardens and watch the young chaps punting on the Cherwell River.

Launch Day Is Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Posted on Sunday, September 17, 2017 1:50 PM

With every new book I publish, I make the same plea: If you are planning to purchase the Kindle version of my new book, please do so by pre-ordering it or at least placing your order on the FIRST day the book is available. What difference does it make to you whether you get your copy of Henrietta's Journal on Tuesday morning or by Friday of next week? Well, there is the small matter of pricing. The pre-order costs $2.99; after Launch Day, the price will jump to $4.99. Think of that price reduction as a bribe if you must. I prefer to see it as a way of saying "Thank You" for supporting my writing addiction.

Why do I care? Because when you buy your copy may determine the ultimate fate of the book. I'm not going to try to explain Amazon's algorithm for determining a book's sales ranking. Even if I fully understood it today, they might well tweek it a bit tomorrow. The general pattern, however is clear:

WHEN you buy a book matters more than the simple act of buying it.

* If nobody buys my new book on the day it comes out, its ranking will be something like #487,352 — and from there it’s a long, hard climb to the best-seller list.

* If ten fans choose to buy a copy of the book on random days during the first two weeks, the rating may move to five figures instead of six, but not many readers will take a chance on a book that’s only #7,294.

* But if those same ten fans pre-order Henrietta's Journal, it has a great chance of being a “best-seller” from its first day of publication. And those at the top of their category tend to stay there because the ranking inspires others to purchase the book.

That’s why pre-orders are so important to authors. They are one of the kindest gifts you can give your favorite author. So here's the bottom line. If at all possible, please place your pre-order right now--or tonight, or tomorrow. If you can't do it then, try to order your regular copy early on Tuesday, September 19th. Click HERE to do it right now.

I value all sales, of course. Just yesterday, someone purchased a copy of my first Civil War book, A Scratch with the Rebels, which I published ten years ago. I'm delighted and grateful. All sales are important. But for this one upcoming date, your actions can make an enormous difference in the fate of Henrietta's Journal.

Thanks for being a loyal reader.

What's New and What's Next?

Posted on Saturday, September 16, 2017 10:21 AM

Yesterday, I tried to give you an idea of what “Henrietta’s Journal” is all about. Today, here are the answers to a couple of questions that keep popping up.

Q. Are these all new characters, or is there a connection to your other books?

A. For the most part, the Beauchenes are an entirely new family. However, it helps me to visualize the story if I can relate it to others I’ve written, so there’s at least one connection. Sharp eyes will recognize Elizabeth Dubois, whom you have met before in “Damned Yankee” and “Yankee Reconstructed.” In those books she was an old lady, the widowed mother of Susan Grenville, and grandmother to the Grenville children. In this story she is still a young woman in her thirties, and her daughter Susan appears briefly at age seven. Elizabeth befriends Henrietta early in the new book, helps her adjust to life in Charleston, and serves as godmother to Henrietta’s children.

Q. I want to know more about Henrietta’s later life as the Civil War draws nearer. Will there be a second book?

A. At the moment I am planning a second volume. Of course, I can’t promise anything, for, as Henrietta would be the first to tell you, life changes very rapidly. However, as my mother would have said, “I’ll do it, God willin’ an’ the creek don’t rise!” But here’s what I think will be coming a couple of years down the road.

The idea for “Henrietta’s Journal” came out of a rough sketch for a much larger book dealing with the beginning of the Civil War, its effect on the cotton trade, and some interesting but little-known facts about southern blockade runners, spies, and smugglers during the war. The diary Henrietta kept was originally going to hold some clues to a couple of mysterious happenings in the larger book. Then the diary took on something of a life of its own and became a stand-alone novel. The next book will take place some twenty-five years later. The main characters will be Henrietta’s children (now all grown up). They will solve some of their 1860s dilemmas by re-discovering the diary their mother wrote and uncovering the clues she left in the journal.

Eventually the two books will have close ties. I’m even considering an electronic edition for the two stories that would let the reader click back and forth between Civil War crises and the unsolved issues in the 1830’s journal. I’m as curious to know what will happen as you are!

Want to know more? Pre-order the Kindle edition at https://www.amazon.com/Henriettas-Journal-Compromise-Carolyn-Schriber-ebook/dp/B074S97SVJ and receive your copy on September 19. (You’ll also save $2.00 off the list price if you order before Tuesday.)

The Amazon print version is now functional and available at: www.amazon.com/Henriettas-Journal-Compromise-Carolyn-Schriber/dp/0990797597. With luck, you could have your copy by Monday.

Or order a trade paper edition at https://www.createspace.com/745653

Four Days and Counting

Posted on Friday, September 15, 2017 11:25 AM

What’s more fun than peeking into someone’s diary and learning all their secrets? Well, how about an entire novel, written as diary entries that chronicle the story of a marriage?

Henrietta’s Journal is a historical romance. Henrietta is a 20-year-old English girl, raised among the sheltering walls and dreaming spires of Oxford. In 1832, her diary begins with the first day she meets Julien, a handsome and wealthy cotton broker from Charleston, South Carolina. The two could not be more unsuited to one another, but their attraction is immediate and unbreakable. A whirlwind courtship, a hasty marriage, and a stormy journey across the Atlantic-–and Henrietta finds herself in a strange new world. Charleston in the 1830s is an insular society controlled by a small group of families who consider themselves a new aristocracy of culture, wealth, and refinement. Their public buildings are modeled on Greek and Roman styles. Their children receive classical educations. They spend their days recreating the past, while relying on black slaves to do the hard labor that makes such leisurely white lives possible. As a ruling social class, they do not welcome outsiders.

Henrietta declares she will never be a slave-owner. Julien replies by agreeing, because in South Carolina, a married woman is not allowed to own property of any kind. Henrietta tries to hold onto her independence; Julien and his father will not even allow her to choose the name of her first-born child. Henrietta’s every word and action are noted down for criticism and correction. Julien’s younger brother, a lecherous and vicious drunk, is forgiven for any misdeeds because he is still young. She soon gets the message. Men may do as they like. Women must do as they are told.

The book is a love story, but it also provides a revealing look into the contradictions and injustices of the South in the years leading up to the Civil War. The bonds between husband and wife are frequently tested by their differing value systems. Henrietta soon finds that she has compromised her own beliefs in order to keep the peace within her disapproving family. Then the principle of compromise takes on a life of its own, leading her further and further into a world where prostitution, rape, murder, opium addiction, and kidnapping are all excused as necessary evils.

The Amazon print version should be functional by the weekend.

Or order a trade paper edition at https://www.createspace.com/745653

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September 2017

A Tour of Henrietta's Oxford

Launch Day Is Tuesday, September 19, 2017

What's New and What's Next?

Four Days and Counting