Elizabeth Rose: Published Author.

"My book! It's the book I published."

"Well, don't sit there shaking like a leaf — open it."

— Anne and Marilla in Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel

Shaking like a leaf is probably the closest description for how I feel at this moment. Although, unlike Anne, I am not physically holding a hard copy of my book. No, I am sitting at the computer with this image before my eyes:

Rather surreal, is it not? All this time, I thought I would be jumping up and down when this moment arrived, but now that it is here, I am in shock. I think this emotion that everything is going to fade at a moment's notice, like a puff of blue-tinged smoke, will take some time to wear away. It has been an amazing journey, and as the cliche (but true) phrase goes, I couldn't have done it with each of you. If the excerpts I have posted here and on Unsinkable have peaked your interest or inspired you in some way, then you now have the opportunity to read my book in its entirety.

Click here to purchase a copy of Violets Are Blue.

"I never liked the water very much, at least not the water I knew. It was dark, dense, and deep. I much preferred dry land. There was something firm about dry land—I could trust it. Water changed all the time, lapping against the shore, pulling back again, rising and falling with the tide. Water was fickle and uncertain." — First paragraph of Violets Are Blue

VAB Update #3

Patience. It's a virtue I have not yet mastered, and think it will be some time before I do. For example, proof #2 of Violets Are Blue arrived on Wednesday! *insert excited squeals* We assumed that, since the corrections on the first proof were made, we would be all set and ready to release the book on Amazon sometime in the next few days. 

Fortunately, Create Space understood that even though we submitted the book in one format, we really wanted them to shrink the font and widen the margins, thus lessening the professional feel. I hated to ask for it, and I am ever so glad the great and wonderful Amazon.com took it into their hands to enlighten us in the world of book publishing. I don't know what we would have done without their infinite wisdom.

I hope you understand that that was all sarcasm. ;)

We're trying to make the changes as quickly and efficiently as possible, but it is proving to be a bigger to-do than we originally thought. So, I am here now, letting y'all know that it may be a while before we're finished. I feel horrible about asking y'all to wait longer, especially after we all thought it would be done by April 14th, but I know God has a plan for all this, and I am trusting in Him.

I'll still be posting occasional updates on Unsinkable whenever I have more news.

It's A Fact #98, #99, & #100

100 random facts about the Titanic.

 

98. Lord Pirrie did not sail on the maiden voyage of Titanic as planned as he was too ill to travel.

99. Titanic had a Turkish Bath, Gymnasium and a Squash Court.

100. There is a book about the Titanic being released very soon. 

Wow, hard to believe we've gone through all 100 of those! Care to comment with your favorites? :) 

Winner of Violets Are Blue

First of all, to answer your questions, no, this post is not late. :D I scheduled it to publish at 11:40 P.M. — the exact minute the Titanic hit the iceberg 100 years ago. However, since I'm sure most of y'all don't stay up that late o' nights, you're probably seeing this post on the morning of April 15th. Which is actually all very well and good, because the Titanic went under all the way on April 15th, 1912. And while I may have some qualms about everyone being in bed by 11:40, I am positive no one was up until 2:20. ;)

In all honesty, I think I'm still recovering from the shock that this event has been going on a whole year. How can it be? It seems like just yesterday I was getting all excited at the prospect of beginning Unsinkable . . . and at the same time, I can't recall a season when I wasn't publishing giveaway posts, contacting winners, releasing excerpts, or reminding Bree to post a few It's A Facts ever so often. 

All that to say, it's been a wonderful voyage, and I want to thank all of you from the depths of my heart for joining me on this adventure. We have hit a few minature icebergs throughout the course of our odyssey when giveaways were not ready on time, but never any so big that would sink this ship (and anyway, I brought enough lifeboats for everyone :)).

Drawing the winner for the final giveaway on Unsinkable was incredibly exciting. We had to manually count the comments — Blogger's new "reply" system in the comments inhibits comment numbering — and I am so glad the winner was not comment number 100 or something, which would have been directly in the middle and taken a long time to count whether you started at the bottom or top. :P 

And the winner is . . . 

Commenter #38, Näna!!! Congratulations, dear friend! (The foundation of our house may or may not have shaken when your name was drawn — I think it's just a rumor :D). E-mail me your mailing address, and I'll get your copy of Violets Are Blue sent out as soon as possible.

This was supposed to be the moment where I said, "Disappointed you didn't win? Well, never fear, because Violets Are Blue is now available on Amazon.com for a very affordable price!" However, some unforseen delays have come into our path (remember what I was saying earlier about icebergs?), and it appears that VAB will not be released for another week or so. :/ But don't fret! I will be publishing one last post on this site when it is up for purchase, as well as an announcement on my main blog.

Until then . . . "let us not say goodbye, but as the French would have it, au revoir!"

The Giveaway Is Closed!

As of now, the final giveaway on Unsinkable for a signed copy of Violets Are Blue is closed, and no new entries will be accepted. 

Thank you so much for entering! I confess I am quite eager to find out which comment random.org will pick. ;) Check back on the 14th for the winner!

It's A Fact #93, #94, #95, #96 & #97

100 random facts about the Titanic.

93. The rudder weighed 101 tons and was made from six separate parts

94. All children in First and Second class were saved (5 first and 24 second class, per Board of Trade report.)* See Below

95. Of the 73 children in Third Class only 23 were saved

96. Titanic had a crew of 898 of which only 210 were saved

97. Third class passengers were not locked in their accommodation during the sinking

It's A Fact #88, #89, #90, #91 & #92

100 random facts about the Titanic.

88. The Titanic came from No 3 slip Queens Shipyard

89. The Thompson dry-dock was designed to accommodate the Olympic class vessels

90. The hull shell plating on Titanic was 1" thick

91. The anchors weighed 31 tons in Total.

92. Over three million rivets were used in the construction of Titanic

It's A Fact #83, #84, #85, #86, & #87

100 random facts about the Titanic.

83. The two outer propellers had a diameter of 23' 6" while the centre or turbine one was 17' 0" in diameter.

84. Titanic had the first ever swimming pool built into a vessel.

85. White Star had difficulty in assembling a crew for Titanic due to a manpower shortage

86. Due to serious coal strike White Star were forced to transfer all their coal stocks to Titanic

87. All the engineering staff both White Star and H&W were lost in the disaster

 

March Excerpt of Violets Are Blue

This is it — the final excerpt of Violets Are Blue. I have chosen one that I think will whet your interest quite a bit . . . enjoy!

I had been reading but ten minutes when I heard footsteps coming from the kitchen, and then Robert’s voice. 

“Mum!” he gasped. “There’s a big commotion down at the harbor! Something about the Titanic!”

My heart beat rapidly.

“Really?” Mum asked quizzically. “That’s strange. Now Vi, wait one minute—” 

But she was too late. I had already flown from the bedroom, through the kitchen, and out of the apartment door. My feet pounded down the stairs, my sides heaving. All I could think of was seeing Lilli.

The harbor had never seemed farther; my feet had never moved so slowly. The wind beat against me, holding me back. Despite the fact that it was April, the evening air was cool, but I paid no attention to the chilly breeze. I ran with lightning in my steps. People stared at me as I ran, but I moved right past them. 

Why were the roads so long tonight? Why couldn’t my feet move more rapidly? I couldn’t contain my excitement; this was the moment for which I had waited several months.

A large crowd had gathered around the harbor. I saw a ship docked, but it was somewhat smaller than the pictures of the Titanic Robert saved from the newspapers.

That’s odd, I thought.

But I was given no more time to speculate it. As people poured forth from this ship, I finally saw the name painted on the side: R.M.S. Carpathia.

How could that be? Was another ship to arrive; a ship of which I was not aware? Fear started to seep through my bones. What had happened to the Titanic?

It's A Fact #78, #79, #80, #81, & #82

100 random facts about the Titanic.

78. Titanic did not have it's name painted in the ship while it was on the slipway

79. Olympic and Titanic cost £3 million for the pair

80. Titanic has part of the Promenade Deck plated in to allow better passenger comfort

81. Alexander Carlisle was Chief Designer for Harland and Wolff when order was placed

82. Cunard Line purchased the White Star line

March - April Giveaway

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED TOMMOROW.
It's here, y'all. The final giveaway . . . and the moment for which I've been waiting exactly 11 months. :) But before we get into all that we have a small matter to take care of — the winner of last month's giveaway. And that's not exactly a small matter. 

#29, Spicemuffin! Congratulations! You can e-mail Bree or fill out her order form here — whichever you prefer. I hope you enjoy your new ocean-themed blog design!

And as for this month's giveaway, the final Unsinkable giveaway . . . *wipes a quick sentimental tear* . . . We couldn't exactly end this year-long event without a bang, now could we? :)

The final Unsinkable giveaway winner will receive a free signed copy of my book, Violets Are Blue!

Oh, the Ways You Can Win!

*Since this is the last giveaway to be featured on Unsinkable, every entry's previous worth has been doubled.

mandatory entry: Follow Unsinkable and leave a comment saying you do.

+2 extra entries: Follow Elizabeth's blog, Living on Literary Lane, and leave a comment saying you do.

+2 extra entries: Follow Bree's blog, He Designs My Life, and leave a comment saying you do.

+2 extra entries: Put the giveaway button (found on the sidebar) on your blog's sidebar.

+2 extra entries: Put the Unsinkable button (found on the sidebar) on your blog's sidebar.

+6 extra entries: Post, tweet, or Facebook about this month's giveaway and leave a comment with the link (publish the comment 6 times so as to be entered the proper amount of times).

This giveaway will close on April 12th at 11:59 P.M. The winner and next month's giveaway will be posted on April 14th. 

Good luck, ladies!

The Giveaway Is Closed!

As of now, the February - March giveaway is closed, meaning from this point forward, no new entries will be accepted. 

Thank you so much to all who entered! The winner and next month's giveaway will both be up by the 14th, per our usual. And I'd stop by that day if I were you . . . methinks y'all will like the final (!!) giveaway. :)

Blessings!

It's a Fact #75, #76, & #77

100 random facts about the Titanic.

75. Titanic had three electric elevators for passenger use.

76. Steam whistles were fitted to the two forward funnels

77. No 4 funnel or the aftmost one was a dummy

February Excerpt of Violets Are Blue

And *cough* I do *cough* know that it's not technically February anymore. 

Here's this month's excerpt! I hope y'all enjoy it — it's one of my father's favorite scenes. :)

“Well, I’d best go take the children out,” I said quickly. “Come Grace.” I took her hand, and nodded for Henry to follow me.

“Watch out for automobiles as you cross the street!” Mum said.

“We will,” I promised. 

The street was crowded with the noisy automobiles, and it was quite dangerous, for they could easily run over a young child. Henry was fascinated with them, thinking it a wonder that people could travel from place to place without a horse and buggy, but I thought the whole business of them was silly. I much preferred riding a horse. Automobiles were one of the few things that always would bother me about the city; among others being the noise and the smells and the crowds.

“Watch out!” I cried, yanking Henry back by the collar of his shirt, to keep him from being hit by an automobile. The angry driver honked his horn at us as he screeched past us and on down the street.

“Take better care, Henry,” I scolded him, when we were safely on the sidewalk once more. 

“I wanted to see it…” he whined. “You never let me see automobiles up close.”

“That’s because they’re dangerous!” I snapped back. “Mum instructed me to take care of you, and I have no wish to repeat the incident that occurred with Helen and the harbor.”

“Do you have to bring that up again?” Henry asked, rolling his eyes. “It’s getting a little old. Helen fell into the harbor almost three months ago.”

“I don’t care—that doesn’t mean I’m going to be careless again!” I turned around and started walking backwards, facing Henry so that I could see his face.

“Violet…” Henry started to say.

“Listen to me,” I said. “You need to learn that it’s not good to run into—” 

“People?” 

I turned around instantly, realizing that I had just run into Ethan. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Ethan,” I stuttered, blushing. “I was just talking to Henry here about the seriousness of running into the street.”

“Ah,” Ethan said, leaning back on his heels with his hands in his pockets. “But it seems that, while you are giving excellent instruction to your brother about why you shouldn’t run into the street, you saw no harm in running into me.”

“It was an accident,” I protested quickly. “And I feel very remorseful of it.” 

“I know, Violet—I really am not that bothered.” He grinned. “Though… it was quite funny.”

I rolled my eyes. “For you, perhaps!” I retorted. 

“Fair enough,” he said quickly. “Now, where were you going?”

I love my brother's creative mind.

My seven year old brother, Ethan, loves creating things with Legos. From microwaves with spinning discs on the inside and a door that opens to a tour bus complete with bunk beds, he has one creative mind and a pair of very gifted hands. We all think he's going to be an engineer someday. :)

Here's one of his most recent creations, which especially made me smile . . . 

The R.M.S. Titanic {full view}

A lifeboat {please forgive the horrible quality!}

Propellors

Isn't that adorable? :)

It's A Fact #71, #72, #73, & #74

100 random facts about the Titanic.

71. Titanic had twelve water tight doors.

72. The doors would close automatically if water should reach them.

73. The doors could also be controlled electrically from the Bridge.

74. The time required to fully close the doors was between 25 and 30 seconds.

February - March Giveaway

I owe y'all a huge apology for how long I've delayed this giveaway. We've had some problems, our plans have shifted, and it took a while to figure everything out. But now that it has been figured out, I am at liberty to post the winner and this next giveaway. 

And the winner of the tea collection is . . . 

#17, Jessica! Congratulations! Please e-mail me at literarylaneblog[at]gmail[dot]com, and we'll get your tea collection to you ASAP. :)

And this month's giveaway, you ask? . . . 

The winner of the February - March giveaway will win a specially-designed ocean theme blog design, made by my sister, Bree, of Aeronautical Graphics. This is a package not offered in her shop and made exclusively for this giveaway, so you don't want to miss it!

Oh, the Ways You Can Win!

Please comment once for each entry (except the last two).

mandatory entry: Follow Unsinkable and leave a comment saying you do.

+1 extra entry: Follow Elizabeth's blog, Living on Literary Lane, and leave a comment saying you do.

+1 extra entry: Follow Bree's blog, He Designs My Life, and leave a comment saying you do.

+1 extra entry: Put the giveaway button (found on the sidebar) on your blog's sidebar.

+1 extra entry: Put the Unsinkable button (found on the sidebar) on your blog's sidebar.

+1 extra entry: Follow Aeronautical Graphics.

+3 extra entries: Post, tweet, or Facebook about this month's giveaway and leave a comment with the link (publish the comment 3 times so as to be entered the proper amount of times).

This giveaway will close on March 12th at 11:59 P.M. The winner and next month's giveaway will be posted on March 14th. 

Good luck, ladies! 

The Giveaway Is Closed!

Yes, I *am* aware this is late . . . I completely forgot to schedule the post I was feeling generous. 

This month's giveaway is officially closed! That means that as of now, no new entries will be accepted. Many thanks to all who entered; 'twas our most successful one yet! The winner, as well as the next giveaway, will be posted tomorrow. 

Blessings!

It's A Fact #66, #67, #68, #69, & #70

100 random facts about the Titanic.

66. The lifeboats were 2 wood cutters 25'2" long by 7'2" by 3'0" deep with a capacity of 40 persons each.

67. There were also 4 Englehardt collapsible boats 27'5" by 8'0" by 3'0" deep with a capacity of 47 persons each.

68. All lifeboats were fitted with Murrays disengaging gear to simultaneously free both ends.

69. The lifeboats were stowed on hinged wood chocks on the Boat Deck.

70. Titanic was equipped with eighteen compasses. 

January Excerpt of Violets Are Blue

I hope y'all enjoy this month's excerpt!

The next time I awoke, it was evening. Dr. Baylor was leaning over me, listening to my heart. 

“Hmm…” he said. “Hmm, indeed… hmm…”

I wish he would say more then just “hmm.” It was beginning to bother me.

“Hmm…” he said once more. “Yes, Mrs. Bradshaw, you have done well. Rest is all she needs. By tomorrow morn, she shall be fit as a fiddle.”

“Thank you, sir,” Mum said gratefully.

“What exactly made you faint, miss?” The doctor’s gray eyes peered over his wiry spectacles and seemed to bore into me.

“I… I don’t know…” I said, struggling to remember. The images in my head were growing stronger, but they were still very faint. “I… I think I was overly-tired… from the factory.”

“Ah, yes.” He nodded his balding head. “Those factories are no good for people, especially the young ones.” He shook is head sadly, then looked sternly at Mum. “I would advise you to keep your daughter out of the factories, ma’am. Out for good. That heat can do mighty bad things to children. Fainting’s not the worst that could happen.”

Mum protested that she had no other choice; her children would starve.

“I know what you mean, ma’am,” Dr. Baylor said sympathetically. “Believe me, I do. But hear me out: that factory will do nothing but harm to your daughter. It’ll do harm to you, too.”