General update + recent reading

[luzula]

I hope you're all holding on and staying safe. ♥

I'm doing surprisingly well so far--you could even say that I'm thriving. Sweden is not actually in lockdown, but I am being more strict than government guidelines are instructing us to be--I'm only venturing among people to get groceries once a week. But I have my housemates for company, two dogs to cuddle, my work is mostly easy to do from home, I have plenty of fannish projects, I go running in a beautiful forest every day (though should work out more), and spring is here. A couple of weeks ago I had trouble with aches and pains from too much computer time, but once my sore throat cleared out and I could get enough exercise, that fixed it. I only check the news briefly once a day, and some days I forget to do it. No one I know is seriously ill. I am grateful for all these things.

Currently reading Christopher Duffy's other dense brick: Fight for a Throne: the Jacobite '45 Reconsidered (2015). This is in fact a revised version of his other book, and yes, it's an even better book and definitely contains useful things the other one didn't, but no one who was not, er, writing an ambitious historical divergence AU would need both. I also read Maggie Craig's Bare-Arsed Banditti: the Men of the '45 (2009) which is a companion volume to her book about the women. Skimmed some of it, but it did contain some very useful material for fic.

I'm still editing my long fic, but it will soon be done. Also I've got 7,000 words of a new fic which will probably be as long as the first one, if I manage to actually plot it out. I don't know what it is about this fandom that makes me write such long fic!

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Bare Assed Banditti is an amusing title -- she's referring to kilts, yes?

[luzula]

Yes. Though you know, British, so it's arse, not ass. : )

I understood the thing about no underwear under kilts so much better when I realized that underwear hadn't actually been invented yet, and no one was wearing underwear at all. This went for both women and men.

[jesse_the_k]

Was the "underwear hadn't been invented yet" something you learned from this author?

/runs to Duck-Duck-Go the history of underwear

(Seems like menstruation demands something to hold the rag in place.)

[luzula]

No, it was in some other book.

Menstruation!! Now I really want to know how they did that.

[regshoe]

19th rather than 18th century, but this video is pretty interesting—on the difficulty of researching such a taboo topic, as well as the details of what we do know!

[regshoe]

Glad to hear you're doing well!

I'm about three-quarters of the way through The '45 and really enjoying it (it's already inspired one more fic, in any case), so good to know Duffy's other book is also useful!

7,000 words of the new fic already—I continue awed by your writing ability :) Best of luck for the long historical divergence of the rest of it!

[luzula]

Yay more fic from you!

I feel like all my research reading is kind of dripping out my ears by now. It's very helpful when writing. : )

[hyarrowen]

More fic? Hurrah!

[china_shop]

So glad to hear you're doing well! ♥

and spring is here.

I have season envy! We're in autumn, and things are definitely cooling down.

[luzula]

If this had happened in November/December, it would definitely have been more difficult for me! I hope you'll do okay even though things are cooling down for you.

[auroracloud]

That sounds like an enjoyable way to spend a self-chosen semi-lockdown, yes! I wish I had dogs to cuddle. And roommates are starting to sound like a better idea each day, says she 30 days into the social distancing while living alone.

Bare-Arsed Banditti: the Men of the '45 is a rather colourful book title!

[luzula]

Roommates and dogs are pretty great, it's true. At first I was a little stressed because I couldn't control the risks that they were taking, but I guess I've accepted that now. And they're not really taking big risks.

[desireearmfeldt]

*waves hello*

[luzula]

*waves back, from the very safe distance of Sweden*

[seascribble]

I am glad you are doing well. <3

[luzula]

Thank you! Best wishes to you, as well. At least you also have pets to cuddle?

[seascribble]

Dunkin' is being an asshole about letting any of the other pets into the living room, but fortunately we have a lot of space.

[hyarrowen]

… pictures of the dogs?

[luzula]

In some future post, I promise! : )