I Promise I HAVE Been Writing...

Dear Folksies:
     Contrary to popular belief, I've been doing a LOT of writing recently. Why the secrecy? Well, this is actually non-fiction writing. For the past three or four months, actually, I've been hard at work on developing a new bit of blogspace to further and officially explore my triplet of other passions:

Food, Fashion, Art.

Lipstick & Gelato will give me a happy, organized outlet for all three while I people can still keep tabs on my reading and writing here on The Inkpen Authoress! I love a fresh start, a new focus, and a place to show my pretty things. Lipstick & Gelato will take the place of A Butcher, A Baker, A Candlestick-Maker  as my "other blog," and will focus on these three main things:

Recipes: In the Kitchen, on the Gelato side of the house I share all things edible: recipes new and old, hole-in-the-wall spots for a fine meal, foodie friendships, cooking challenges and more.

Fashion: In the Closet (or Lipstick gallery) I talk about style, beauty, dressing my ‘curvy’ body gracefully, and all things related to looking your best. Some of my inspirations style-wise are Audrey Hepburn, Amy Adams, Tanesha Awasthi, Kate Spade, Zooey Deschanel, classic and vintage silhouettes, and rich colors.

Art: My art is...all around! From fashion-sketches to food illustration, to quick sketches done on the sly under the nose of a snobby Starbucks barista, I throw my art into this blog the way I fit it into daily life: here and there, in all the nooks and crannies.

Think you're interested? Bookmark the blog (www.lipstickandgelato.com) so that when it goes public on August 11th, you'll be prepared! Spread the word with the image below on all your preferred venues of social media, and until the day you can actually get into the blog (which is, again, August 11th), follow Lipstick & Gelato on Instagram! 

Cheers to all of you! Thanks for being such ducks and putting up with my random silences!

Il Lato Negativo Dell'Amore

"I peered at Lord Grosvenor's name and the pretty scrawl in Clarisse's handwriting below: 'La mia bella amante? Oh my, Clarisse! That is bold. Calling Lord Grosvenor your 'beautiful, illicit lady-love' will certainly win his affections. It might affront his masculinity, but he'll be quite glad you think him beautiful; he's so sure on that point himself!"

- Chapter One, The Windy Side of Care

Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight release of.... Cinque Scarpetto di Cristallo! 

At the end of last week my fellow Five Glass Slippers authors and I were informed that Rooglewood Press (our publisher) was all set to release an Italian translation of our stories! It seems ridiculous to think that Lady Alis, Prince Auguste Blenheim, Laureldina, Sir Humphries, and the step-sisters will be available to Italian readers across the world in print and ebook formats, but so it is. Right now some gondola-man in Venice could be posing with his arm slung round a pole reading about Charlotte Russe from his Kindle. I am actually wildly excited about this. Plus, try saying "Cinque Scarpetto di Cristallo" without grinning. It's nearly impossible. "Scarpetto" is a classy trade-in for "slipper" I think.

Know any Cinderella-loving Italians? Mind pointing them in the direction of Cinque Scarpetto di Cristallo? I think they'll love it, and I am thrilled to death to see Rooglewood putting this book in the hands of foreign readers who might find it difficult to enjoy the stories as much in English. We are informed this is the twelfth in a long line of governesses who have come to look after the children. Good heavens. I mean to say that it is the first translation of (hopefully) many that Rooglewood will endow the world with. Three cheers for Rooglewood Press, Five Glass Slippers, and the grand old tale of Cinderella!
Hip, hip, huzzah!
Hip, hip, huzzah!
Hip, hip, huzzah!

Guess What the Cat Just Let Outta the Bag?

Last Friday, I got my first paycheck. Could it be that I am finally moving out of perpetual Micawberism to something a bit more...pocket-moneyish? Seems like. The first week of nannying went quite well and my two wards and I even wrote and illustrated bed-time books for them. That was, after all, Lila's (5) first condition upon hearing I was an author: "Can Miss Rachel help me write a book? She can write the words and I'll draw the pictures." And so we did. This masterpiece is entitled: The Princess And Her Dragon and is about a royal who is afraid of the dark and the brave and "huge-big" dragon named William who is given to her as a gift to puff fire all night so she won't be without light. Lila dictated to me and most of the words were her own. (Including the rather pithy line: "And she was no longer afraid because she had the moon and the stars and fire and she knew that light was on her side.") In case you were wondering, for Lila, this was rather autobiographical. All except the dragon part. She specifically asked to write a book to read before bed so she would not be afraid.

I am excited for two reasons:

#1: I ought to be getting Elisabeth Grace Foley's Mrs. Meade Mysteries Vol. I today and I am looking forward to being able to read these stories in paperback edition. I am in the middle of three books right now so I can't start straight away, but I shall soon!

#2: Anne Elisabeth emailed me this morning and we have an official release date for Five Glass Slippers! Not certain whether it was meant to be public but I tweeted and spilled the proverbial beans before giving it much thought so, you will all be able to purchase this amazing collection of stories on

June 14th, 2014

And you know what's even cooler about this news? You can officially pre-order Five Glass Slippers on Amazon.com! Also, go add it on Goodreads too! I know it's an amazing book because I let myself read the first chapter or two of each story and not only are the stories rather wonderful, but the book itself is precious in terms of interior design. You'll simply have to wait to find out what's what because I obviously cannot show you the galley-proof I also received in my inbox. If I've been a bit in regards to my own writing, it is only because I'm still editing Anon, Sir, Anon and it's going slowly because of work and on top of this, I'm about to start formatting a friend's debut novel and I'm in the depths of reading a certain amazing epic that, for all its virtues, must be read on the computer and is undoubtedly long (Wonderfully long, but length means time). So all that means that even if I knew what my next project was going to be, I have no time for it yet. So there. If you are interested to learn more about the various Cinderellas in Five Glass Slippers, you must head over to the blog dedicated to just such things and check it out! I cannot wait for June to come around so you can all read The Windy Side of Care...truly, I have a feeling you're going to like Alis... And now for some entirely random items on the list of things that you didn't need to know but will probably be interesting all the same:

Hand massages feel divine

Someone actually made the scones from my last post 

 If I was a character from LotR, I would be Sam, evidently

Agents of SHIELD's latest episode just about killed me

I am apparently a good public speaker

I am fonder than ever of Wodehouse

Our team is officially over 100% funded for our trip to Romania!

Introducing my Lad....

It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to....The Highland Laddie. Aye, you heard that right. I used some of the money I had collected over the summer and bought myself a laptop! Originally I had thought to name it--him, rather--The Italian Prince. But then I began to think about the fact that I've never been into Italian-things (except Dean Martin and "Mambo Italiano"...and my cousin's lasagna....and cannoli....) and of course what came to mind next was Scotland. Because if it has always been a fond dream of mine to...

Well...nevermind that.

But suffice it say, I love the accent, the culture, the music, everything! And by naming this computer The Highland Laddie it even has its own song if I happen to lose it:

"Oh where, tell me where, has my highland laddie gone?

Oh where tell me where has my highland laddie gone?

He's gone with streaming banners where noble deeds are done

And it's oh in my heart that I love my laddie well."

See? Perfect. So everyone? Meet Laddie. I am so excited about the ease of writing with this new computer! Finally I have a place of my own wherein I can spin my dreams and stories and tales and things without fear of being interrupted! My heart is full of the blessing of it. The Lord totally worked everything out: from letting me go down to GA to work for a month and make a  bit of money, to leading my cousin to this computer (which was an amazing deal, being refurbed and all...) Everything had God's hand on it which makes me smile even broader. No more having to cram 1,000 words in the hour between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning before Daniel wakes and needs his computer for work! And did I mention that Laddie has amazing speakers? 

I'm listening to my High Kings pandora station at 47% speakers and it's almost too loud. *happy sigh* So here's to long life and happiness for Lad, inspiration and creativity for me, and an equal share of happiness and blessing for the rest of you!