It's A Fact #12

12. The port of registry was Liverpool.

It's A Fact #11

11. The ship was officially named in Southampton

VAB Update

Hello all! This is Elizabeth Rose, on her own laptop. *sigh* Thanks to Brianna, I was able to figure out how to sign myself in again on this computer, after certain difficulties. I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to be able to go on my dashboard and post without having to use my dear momma's computer. :)

The other day I had a thought: we do It's A Fact, monthly giveaways, and later on there will be guest posts and articles about different topics relating to the Titanic. However, the only thing we put up on Unsinkable relating to Violets Are Blue are montly excerpts. 

To add more color and dimension to this event, I have decided to post occasional updates on VAB. Do you think that might suit you?

Here is the first one:

After having written VAB, edited it for several months, and then sent it off to a book agent, I am now almost finished editing for the second time. My current word count is 51,730 words. This will probably reach a little over 52,000 words by the end of the editing process. I'm very excited about all this, because I've added some new chapters at the beginning, and I'm changing the ending a bit. Not too much; I'm only tweaking a few details. 

A few of you may already be aware of this, but Ethan's last name has changed many a time. It has been Clarke, Graham, Blakeney, and a host of other last names. Finally, about two months ago, I settled on Hartley as his last name, because I liked the sound of "Ethan Hartley" better than any of the other former surnames I had given him. Well, unbeknownst to me, Hartley just so happens to be the last name of the bandmaster on the Titanic! How neat is that? I'm extremely eager now to see how I can add that into the story...

Well, I'd better get back to my editing. Au revoir!  

It's A Fact #10

10. The ship was owned by the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, not White Star Line.

It's A Fact #9

9. J. Bruce Ismay did not dress as a woman to escape in a lifeboat.

May Excerpt of Violets Are Blue

Yes, I know it says "Bree," but this is really Elizabeth Rose. Blogger has been having some problems lately, and for some reason, it won't allow us to sign Bree out of her Blogger account. So, you'll just have to trust me on this. :)

A new month, a new giveaway, all this must mean (you guessed it!)... a new excerpt of Violets Are Blue!

I couldn’t fall asleep that night. Mum and Father were up late talking, and I tossed and turned, hearing the murmur of their voices in the background. My covers felt heavy, and I pushed them away; moments later, I was yanking the sheets back up to my chin, shivering. Was I sick? Placing a hand to my sweaty forehead, I tried to determine whether I had a fever. I didn’t feel any warmer than normal. My stomach churned with nervousness. What were Mum and Father talking about? And what on earth did Mum mean by “no stranger will be staying under my roof ever again”?

Finally, I gave up on trying to sleep. Slipping out of bed quietly so as to not awaken Emma, I tiptoed down the hall to my parents’ bedroom. I couldn’t hear voices anymore, only the sound of deep, even breathing that came through the door. They were asleep.

I raised my hand to knock on the bedroom door, but paused. I hated to awaken them. Instead, I made my way further down the hall to the staircase, and then down to the kitchen. Filling the tea kettle with water, I set it on the stove to boil. I felt like a cup of tea.

“Violet?” someone murmured from behind me. The voice was sleepy. 

I turned to see Mum standing in the doorway. 

“Why are you up, dear?” she asked.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Mum was silent for a while. The only sound in the still room was the quiet bubbling of the boiling water. The pot began to steam. I took it off the stove and prepared the tea quietly.

“Violet…” Mum said softly. She stroked my cheek.

“What is it, Mum?” I asked curiously.  

“Vi, we’re going to America.”

“To-to America?” I gasped, not believing. “You mean—to visit?”

“No, dear,” she answered sadly. “To live.”

All the air in my body seemed to go out.

May - June 2011 Giveaway

We had a great turnout for our first giveaway here on Unsinkable! Many, many thanks go out to everyone who participated. But, there can only be one winner. And that winner is...

Congratulations to Destiny! Please contact me for details on how to claim your prize. 

And to everyone else: don't fret that you didn't win. There are plenty of giveaways to be won here on Unsinkable. Which brings me to this month's giveaway...

This month's lucky winner will receive two Titanic pendants and a chain of their choice from Ziggles!

Oh, the Ways You Can Win!

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

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.

+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 end on June 12th at 11:59 P.M. CDT. The winner will be announced on June 14th, as will the next giveaway.