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The Dark Castle Lords Newsletter
November 2006
Welcome to November’s edition of The Dark Castle Lords Newsletter
In this months issue:
1. Castle of the Month – A Short History - Castello Sforzesco , Milan, Italy
2. Recipe Corner - Eels baked in wine - 15th
century English
3. Travel Tips - What should I do to keep my
property safe while I’m travelling?
4. Author Profile – Patricia Kemp (Veronica Towers
- Author
of Naked Visions Silver Blue Dreams)
5. News from the Romance Industry – How I
thought of the Romantic Times magazine By, Kathryn Falk, Lady of Barrow
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1. Castle of the Month
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Castello Sforzesco dates from the 15th
century when Francesco Sforza started rebuilding the castle in 1450 a
top of an older castle which was built by Galeazzo II during the later
half of the 1300’s.
In 1499, the dukedom of Milan was being disputed by the king of France,
the German emperor and members of the Sforza family. These disputes lead
to the castle becoming involved in countless attempts by the foreign
powers to gain control of the city of Milan.
Between 1515 and 1534, the French under Francesco I of Angouleme held
control of the castle and the dukedom of Milan. It was back in the hands
of the Sforza family for only a short period of time when in November of
1534, Francesco Sforza left the dukedom and castle to the emperor
Charles V of Spain.
In 1549, the Spanish started a massive rebuilding program which saw
Castello Sforzesco turned into a fortified citadel. By the early 1700’s
the Spanish were ousted and a new era of ownership was about to begin.
The Austrian’s remained occupiers of the castle and the dukedom of Milan
until 1859, when the province of Lombardia was unified with the Kingdom
of Sardinia. During this transition the castle was attacked and looted
by the local citizens who stripped the castle of all its furniture, arms
and provisions.
In 1893, the architect Luca Beltrami saved the castle from destruction
by fully restoring it to its former glory. The restoration work lasted
until 1903 and now houses a museum.
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2. Recipe Corner
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Eels baked in wine
INGREDIENTS:
• 3-4 lbs. eels
• Salt
• Saffron
• Pepper
• Red wine
Method :
If using fresh eels skin & clean, then cut them into portion-sized
pieces.
Lay them in a baking dish and sprinkle on salt, pepper, & saffron. Add
enough red wine to just come to the top of the eels.
Cover the dish and place in a 375° F oven.
Bake for approximately 30 to 45 minutes, or until the eels are
thoroughly cooked and tender when tested with a fork.
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3. Travel Tips
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What should I do to keep my property safe
while I'm travelling?
• Make an arrangement with a neighbour, friend or relative to check your
home periodically.
• If a friend or neighbour cannot collect your mail, make arrangements
for it to be held at the Post Office.
• Purchase automatic light timers for lights and a radio. Plug a cheap
radio into a timer so you can have some noise in the house during part
of the day.
• Check your insurance for expiration dates and coverage for your
automobile, home and the valuables that you’ll take with you, as well as
those you’ll leave at home.
• Put your valuables and jewellery in a safety deposit box. If you don’t
have, or can’t get access to a safety deposit box, you still want to
hinder a hurried burglar by hiding valuable items in your house.
• Notify the local police and security System Company to immediately
consider any alarms as real. Leave with them the names of anyone
responsible to watch over your house.
• Move houseplants away from direct sunlight, water thoroughly and wrap
pots with plastic. Most plants can then live without further watering
for two weeks.
• Empty the refrigerator of items that might spoil.
• Cancel or hold your newspaper delivery.
• You might want to turn your refrigerator to its lowest setting.
• Turn water heater down to the lowest setting.
• Be sure to leave the house warm enough in the winter. You may want to
reduce your bills, but you may need to keep the house from getting too
cold to protect your water pipes.
• Leave shades or drapes as you normally do.
• Lock all doors and windows including basement & garage.
• Unplug electronic items, such as, your computer to protect them if you
have a storm while you’re gone. Remember to unhook your phone line from
the modem.
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4. Author Profile
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Patricia Kemp (aka Veronica Towers)
Patricia is a married mother of 8 and
a registered nurse in the state of GA. I work weekends in Home Health. I
have been a long time reader and only a recent writer.
My novel is a Sensual Regency Romance. I am currently hard at work on
the next book in the series, Only in Her Dreams.
Posted By:Veronica
Get this video and more at MySpace.com
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5.
Romance Industry News
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HOW I THOUGHT OF THE ROMANTIC TIMES MAGAZINE
By, Kathryn Falk, Lady of Barrow
I have always been an avid reader. My mother read to me nightly and
when I learned to read, I carried on her passion for books. In grade
school and junior high, I would go through shelves of novels and
biographies at the local library, and spent most of the summer
reading at least one or two books a day.
I was an adult, and still a great reader, when a new type of
historical fiction appeared on the scene (books by authors Kathleen
Woodiwiss, Rosemary Rogers, Jennifer Wilde, etc.), I became
fascinated by the numbers printed, nearly 1 million
copies, and reports of the growing sales for this type of fiction.
What happened was timely. Woodiwiss and Rogers had opened the
bedroom door for historical novels, coinciding with the women's
sexual revolution. Avon books' editor, Nancy Coffey was the first to
publish new novelists who had a talent for integrating sweet
sexuality into the plot. It's hard to believe that opening the
bedroom door was a revelation, but it was. (A young reader's
curiosity in this department was usually the confessional magazine
found at one's mother's hair salon!)
These new books tapped into the secret fantasies of women who loved
to read. This began happening in the middle to late 1970s, along
with bra-burning.
I decided around 1979 that if the books were selling hundreds of
thousands of copies, and I was curious to know more, there must be
other readers just like myself. They probably wanted to know what I
wanted to know, and the answer seemed to be a newsletter.
Otherwise, it was haphazard. The only way to find an historical
romance paperback (there were no hard covers then for romances) was
to discover it in a book rack or used book store in your
neighborhood. No one seemed to know what was coming out next or who
the authors were. There was no way knowing what was going on
behind-the-scenes of this new genre called "bodice rippers" by the
cynics, and "historical romances" by the publishers (the
old-fashioned type books with no sexual description were designated
as historical fiction).
With only my intuition to lead me, I decided that there was a vacuum
in the market, so I made a plan to produce an 8 page glossy
newsletter. But I had no credibility. My previous work experience
was starting dollhouse and miniature shops in Manhattan and writing
two dollhouse type books. I made a proposal for an encyclopedia of
historical romance going back to the Brontes and ending up with the
post 1970 historical authors. No publisher ever wanted the entire
book, and it had such a nice title: Ladies of the Knight. Pinnacle
books wanted the post-1970 authors, and would name it Love's Leading
Ladies. It was one of the first trade size books printed, and the
first for romance.
As I was writing the book I was planning the newsletter. But I soon
discovered that I had enough information to fill a much larger
publication, however glossy paper was expensive and I wasn't
financially solvent. I'd just moved to Brooklyn and noticed that the
local newspaper was able to pack in a lot of information in 24
pages, so I found out the name of the printer and learned how to lay
out a newspaper.
My first edition (24 pages) was published in June of 1981, it was
tabloid style, and quite prettily designed by a neighbor who would
help me on evenings and weekends. There were only 30 historians
being printed in a two month span that summer, so I included reviews
of all of them, with ratings. I discovered that the publishers knew
ahead of time what was coming out, so I compiled a preview section.
The centerfold was devoted to the history of one of the top
historical series ever published in Europe and America, my all-time
favorite, Angelique by Sergeanne
Golon.
Meanwhile, the contract from Pinnacle books required me to write 65
profiles on the leading romance writers. I wasn't familiar at the
time with Harlequin and MacFadden authors, but I included their
leading lights in Love's Leading Ladies. That assignment not only
gave me credibility to be publishing a newspaper called ROMANTIC
TIMES, but introduced me many new contemporary authors: Janet
Dailey, Jayne Krentz, Diana Palmer, Anne Hampson, Violet Winspear
were so popular then. As was Danielle Steel and Barbara Cartland.
Looking back to that era, the most successful writer of the time was
Barbara Cartland. I'm proud to say she became my mentor and showed
me kindness and support, and by example, how important it was for
women to support women in the publishing business.
I didn't realize for several years as Romantic Times flourished and
grew, and I struggled about 16 hours a day 7 days a week, that I was
the only woman who owned anything in publishing. Harlequin, the new
Silhouette line (Simon and Schuster/Pocket) , Ecstasy (Dell), etc.
were all owned by corporations and headed by men. Only the editors
were women.
Until the arrival of Ellora's Cave 6 years ago, there were no women
publishers, and except for Oprah or Martha Stewart's magazines,
women magazine publishers were few and far between.
Looking back, twenty-five years, I'm proud and a bit astonished that
Romantic Times has grown from newsprint to white paper, and now it's
glossy paper, over 100 pages, sometimes 180 book reviews inside, and
there's color on each and every page. To think I started with a
couple of thousand dollars, no office, and 2 employees, and today
there are 70 on our payroll, is more than I predicted!
Since my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's I began to gradually
retire from running the magazine on a day to day basis, and now I've
discovered something new to study and write about.
I've experienced that same intuitive feeling, that same "vacuum in
the market” for another subject. Whereas once I thought a romance
publication was a good idea, due to so many women buying romances,
now I think a metaphysical/holistic magazine is a viable idea for so
many women who read new age nonfiction and soon Lotus Circle Fiction
(a forthcoming line of books from Ellora's Cave).
I may be 25 years older but in my heart I'm experiencing the
excitement of discovery. There's a unique passion when you can bring
something original into fruition. In my case, my venue is books,
something to read.
Next year the publisher of RT BOOKreviews Magazine and I are
planning to start a quarterly publication devoted to expanding
consciousness, enlightenment, empowerment, quantum physics and the
mind, alternative and Chinese medicine, psi phenomenon, and other
spiritual and psychic topics
For those who have watched the films: "What the Bleep Do I know:
Down the Rabbit Hole" and "The Secret, " you will somewhat
understand my frame of reference.
I'd like a publication that would keep me and kindred spirits on the
cutting edge of knowledge about reality and the universe. I believe
we can continue to grow spiritually and those who understand the
spiritual pathway may are my next body of readers. A publication is
needed now to satisfy our curiosity and to bring us all together for
conferences, demonstrations, plus fun and friendship.
I hope I answered the question of how I started.
In a nutshell, I believed Romantic Times Magazine was wanted/needed
by avid readers like me who had no information available. I was a
bookworm my whole life so I never had to do marketing research. I
was one of the readers of mass market books.
How did I know to start a publication? It felt like a good idea, and
I believed in my intuition.
As for manifesting it to what it is today, I'll start by saying I
had no idea how to do it, but I was just afraid to fail.
I had a vision and I learned as I went along. I was proof that
"thoughts make things."
**** Used with kind permission***
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Next months Issue
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1. Castle of the Month – A Short History -
Wedderburn Castle, Scotland
2. Recipe Corner -
Partan Bree (Crab Soup) by Jennifer Mueller
3. Travel Tips -
Travel Scams And The Unsuspecting Traveler
By Ian White
4. Author Profile – Denise
Lynn (Author of Dream Knight)
5. News from the Romance Industry –
We hope you have enjoyed reading November’s edition and if you have any
suggestions or comments about any part of the newsletter then please
feel free to contact us.
Best Wishes
Stuart and Pam
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