An Etymological Blast Back to the Past

 with Guest Eva Maria Hamilton

Happy Birthday, Seekerville!!!

I’m honored to have been invited to guest blog today!

Thank you, Seekers!

But I can’t believe it’s the last day of the Birthday Bash! What will we do with all the party decorations, the left over food, the music that keeps playing in our heads?

How about we use them to get through NaNoWriMo!

Is anyone participating? I can’t since I need to finish my WIP. Nevertheless, even if you’re like me and can’t fully participate, we can still write along with everyone else, feel the camaraderie, write incredible amounts of words, and speed to the finish line.

And speaking of speeding, my poor truck driver told me he got a ticket bringing the supplies for next month here. So please, since I have to pay the ticket anyway, stock up for next month. It’s going to be a ton of work, but we wouldn’t have it any other way, now would we?

But that’s enough talk about the future. It’s time to take a trip back to the past. We’ll be visiting my favorite Online Etymology Dictionary http://www.etymonline.com/ This is where I look up every word in my historical romance novels to make sure the words I use existed when my story took place.

And for those of you who don’t write historicals, I hope you’ll still find it useful. And of course it’s fun. There are tons of words I come across by accident where their origins or meanings surprise me.

So let’s take a look at a few:

Writer (n.)- Old English writere “one who can write, clerk; one who produces books or literary compositions,”… 

Writer’s cramp- attested by 1853

Writer’s block- by 1950.

Don’t you love the fact that before 1950 writer’s block didn’t exist. Jane Austen you were so lucky! ;)

Novelist (n.)- “writer of novels,” 1728…Earlier in English, it meant “an innovator” (1580s)

An innovator- sounds good, don’t you think?

Novel (n.)- “fictitious narrative,” 1560s, from Italian novella “short story” originally “new story” from Latin novella “new things”…Originally “one of the tales or short stories in a collection” (esp. Boccaccio’s), later (1630s) “long work of fiction,” works which had before that been called romances.

So the novel was born from romances! Well then, let’s look into that…

Romance (n.)- c. 1300, “a story, written or recited, of the adventures of a knight, hero, etc., often one designed principally for entertainment,”… Literary sense extended by 1660s to “a love story.” Meaning “adventurous quality” first recorded 1801; that of “love affair” is from 1916.
Romance novel attested from 1964.

Anyone else, think that the term romance novel existed earlier then 1964?

And now, what about love:

Love- Meaning “a beloved person” is from early 13c. The sense “no score” (in tennis, etc.) is 1742, from the notion of “playing for love,” i.e. “for nothing” (1670s).
For love or money- “for anything” is attested from 1580s.

Love Seat- from 1904.

Love-letter- from mid-13c.

Love-song- from early 14c.

To fall in love- from early 15c.

To be in love with (someone)- c.1500.

To make love- from 1570s in the sense “pay amorous attention to;” as a euphemism for “have sex,” it is attested from c.1950.

Love life- “one’s collective amorous activities” is from 1919, originally a term in psychological jargon.

Love affair- from 1590s

No love lost (between two people)- is ambiguous and was used 17c. in reference to two who love each other well (c.1640) as well as two who have no love for each other (1620s).

Well, even though “make love” meant something different before 1950, I don’t think I’d use the term, considering what modern readers would assume it meant!

And therein lies some of the fun.

So let’s have a quiz.

Who came first, the hero or the heroine?

I’ll answer that at the end. But in the meantime, let’s look at some words that might accidentally creep into an historical novel. Here are a couple I’ve had to delete from my manuscripts and my writing vocabulary. And let me tell you, sometimes it’s easy to find a replacement word and sometimes it’s next to impossible.

Quite: early 14c., adverbial form of Middle English quit, quite (adj.) “free, clear”. Originally “thoroughly;” the weaker sense of “fairly” is attested from mid-19c.

I can’t quite tell you how many times I’ve wanted my characters to use this word. But since I haven’t written a manuscript later than 1814, I can’t, which of course is quite unfortunate.

And here’s another phrase that I dance around quite frequently.

You’re Welcome: as a formulaic response to thank you is attested from 1907.

Can you believe it’s as late as 1907? My poor characters must come up with so many other ways to express this common response, unless of course I just argue that they’re ahead of their time. ;)

And now back to heros versus heroines.

Hero (n.)- late 14c., “man of superhuman strength or physical courage,” from Latin heros “hero,” from Greek heros “demi-god” (a variant singular of which heroe), originally “defender, protector,”… Meaning “man who exhibits great bravery” in any course of action is from 1660s. Sense of “chief male character in a play, story, etc.” first recorded 1690s. First record of Hero-worship is from 1774.

Heroine (n.)- 1650s, from Latin heroine… “a female hero, a demigoddess” (e.g. Medea), from Greek heroine, fem. Of heros… As “principal female character” in a drama or poem, from 1715.

So the hero wins! No surprise there for anyone who’s ever studied women’s history.  But let’s not delve into that today. This is still a party! And anyway, it’s your turn now. Look up a word you’re curious about and share it in the comments. I can’t wait to see what everyone uncovers! And someone will get a chance to win a copy of my novel, Highland Hearts.

So Happy NaNoWriMo Eve!

I wonder when that term will enter the online etymology dictionary? 


Eva Maria Hamilton is the author of Highland Hearts, a Love Inspired Historical novel published by Harlequin. Her novel, Highland Hearts, is an Historical Romance Finalist, as well as an Inspirational Traditional Romance Finalist in the Heart of Excellence, Reader’s Choice Contest, and was an Inspirational Series Finalist in the 2013 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence.

Highland Hearts

Scotland 1748

The Battle of Culloden is over, but one Highlander’s fight has just begun…

Logan McAllister survived years of indentured servitude in the Americas to reach this moment. Now he’s returned to Scotland, ready to redeem the secret promise from Sheena Montgomery’s father – that his years as an indentured servant would earn him Sheena’s hand in marriage. But when he arrives home, he learns that Sheena’s father has died, his contract has been lost… and Sheena is engaged to another man.

To connect with Eva Maria Hamilton online, please visit her at www.evamariahamilton.com

KLOUT with Guest Eva Maria Hamilton

 Happy Birthday Seekerville! 

I love celebrating Seekerville’s birthday for the whole month October, so please join me in savoring a big piece of cake while you read this post!

As many of you already know, I love this blog, so when Tina invited me to do another guest post, I was honored. Thanks Tina! And thanks to everyone else who makes this blog so great!

Now a guest post on Seekerville cannot be taken lightly. We all come here for something - inspiration, learning, camaraderie… So what could I write about that hasn’t already been touched upon?

Welcome to my introductory post about Klout!

 

And yes, I know I spelled it wrong, but this is about Klout.com - a web service that measures the amount of influence you have in your social networks - facebook, twitter, google+, linkedin, foursquare, youtube, etc. (Plus more to be added in the future, like bit.ly, BranchOut, and so on.)

Some people are for it, others are against it. But I’ll spare you the arguments, because whether you agree with it or not, you’re probably already on it!

That’s right. Anyone with a twitter account, who hasn’t actively opted out, is on it. Even if you’ve never signed up, your name is there, along with your score, for those of us who are on it to see.

So, people know your score, even if you don’t.
Just think about who might be viewing you – readers, editors, agents, fellow writers…

I’m guessing that fact may have sent some people to Klout.com to see what their score actually is, so we’ll just wait for them to come back before we go on.

Ah, you’re back… good!

Now that you’ve been to Klout, and saw your score, let me explain a couple of things. The average person has a Klout score of 40, and apparently, the higher up your number goes, the harder it is to keep climbing.

Back in March of this year, with the old formula, there was only one person who scored 100 – want to guess who it was?

Drum roll please…

And please make it loud enough to be heard over the legions of screaming young female fans…


Justin Bieber

However, now that the new formula has been put into place, Justin Bieber has a score of 92, and Barack Obama is the new high scorer at 99.

Curious to see what other celebrity scores are?

Based on the new formula, here are a few:
(However, please keep in mind that these scores may have changed by the time this is posted, since Klout is ever evolving)

•    Ryan Seacrest = 89
•    Anderson Cooper = 87
•    Oprah Winfrey = 91
•    Taylor Swift = 90

But let’s also look at some famous authors:
•    Nora Roberts = 60
•    Francine Rivers = 52
•    JK Rowling = 21

And of course we must check out some of the Seekers:
•    Missy Tippens = 60
•    Myra Johnson = 54
•    Mary Connealy = 48
•    Julie Lessman = 43
•    Ruth Logan Herne = 38
•    Pam Hillman = 36
•    Cara Lynn James = 30

As you’ll see with your Klout score, everyone’s score fluctuates depending on what you’re doing online from day to day. But don’t panic if you take a week off from social media, there is a 90-day window (where recent activity is weighed more than older activity), so your score should never fluctuate too much.

But what is the score based on? According to Klout, your score
“…Incorporates more than 400 signals from seven different networks (if you opt to include them all). We (Klout) process this data on a daily basis to generate updates to your Klout Score.”

For instance, here are some signals that they use from Facebook:

•    “Mentions: A mention of your name in a post indicates an effort to engage with you directly.

•    Likes: The simplest action that shows engagement with the content you create.

•    Comments: As a reaction to content you share, comments also reflect direct engagement by your network.

•    Subscribers: Subscriber count is a more persistent measure of influence that grows over time.

•    Wall Posts: Posts to your wall indicate both influence and engagement.

•    Friends: Friend count measures the reach of your network but is less important than how your network engages with your content.”

And here are some signals Klout uses for Twitter:

•    “Retweets: Retweets increase your influence by exposing your content to extended follower networks.

•    Mentions: People seeking your attention by mentioning you is a strong signal of influence. We also take into account the differences in types of mentions, including ‘via’ and ‘cc.’

•    List Memberships: Being included on lists curated by other users demonstrates your areas of influence.

•    Followers: Follower count is one factor in your Score, but we heavily favor engagement over size of audience.

•    Replies: Replies show that you are consistently engaging your network with quality content.”

There are so many other things I could discuss about Klout, like Perks (free gifts!), Achievements, and so on, but I did state that this was only an introduction…
However, I’ll leave you with a few more tidbits:
•    Klout looks at how much content you are creating and compares it to how much you engage people
•    They insist that it’s better to have a small, engaged network than a large, unengaged one
•    No one is penalized for engaging with people who have lower Klout scores then them
•    And let’s not forget the new “Your Moments” page. Here you are able to see which of your posts generated the most interaction with your community. Hence, by analyzing this, you can see what works best, so you can duplicate it in the future

Now, let’s go out there and create some great content that engages our communities!

Eva Maria Hamilton is the author of Highland Hearts, a Love Inspired Historical novel published by Harlequin.

Scotland 1748
The Battle of Culloden is over, but one Highlander’s fight has just begun…
Logan McAllister survived years of indentured seritude in the Americas to reach this moment. Now he’s returned to Scotland, ready to redeem the secret promise from Sheena Montgomery’s father – that his years as an indentured servant would earn him Sheena’s hand in marriage. But when he arrives home, he learns that Sheena’s father has died, his contract has been lost… and Sheena is engaged to another man.

 
If anyone is interested in reading the first scene from Highland Hearts, please follow this link: http://amzn.to/HighlandHearts

And if you would like to watch the book trailer, please click on this link: http://evamariahamilton.com/

To connect with Eva Maria Hamilton online, please visit her:
website: www.evamariahamilton.com
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEvaMariaHamilton
twitter: @HamiltonEvaM


To be entered for a chance to win a copy of Eva Maria Hamilton’s novel, Highland Hearts, tell us your Klout score. And enjoy celebrating Seekerville’s Birthday!

Comment today! Check out our Birthday Presents!

Seekerville Welcomes Guest Eva Maria Hamilton

Bring it on Speedbo!

Congratulations to all of you who have taken this Speedbo challenge! It will take a lot of hard work and mental power to get you through this, so with the release of my novel Highland Hearts this month I’m here to offer my publication story as motivation for you to get to those beautiful words: the end.

But first fill up your cups and plates at the buffet table with whatever you have been craving most – this is Speedbo after all and you’ve been working hard so you deserve it!

Now, let’s start at the very beginning… no wait, that’s a line from The Sound of Music… Ahem… Let’s fast forward past my formative years where I devoured books…

I wrote my first novel about five years ago. Back then, I wrote in complete isolation. I didn’t know the RWA existed or writer’s conferences or critique groups or any of the rest of this writing subculture. I just felt the need to write a story while I was bedridden during a difficult pregnancy – which is a whole other story!

Suffice it to say, when my daughter was born that sweet romantic novel got tucked away. But after a couple of years I pulled it out. I couldn’t just forget about it and I started editing it. Then I began scanning the internet, researching publishers and agents until I found something that I literally couldn’t believe was real – a library in a major city about an hour away from where I live was hosting a Romance Writer in Residence. I didn’t know what to expect from this but I knew I had to be a part of it. This seemed like divine intervention!

During the course of two months in the fall of 2009, I used this program as a crash course on the romance industry. In that time, I submitted a part of my manuscript to the Writer in Residence, Deborah Cooke. It was fantastic to have a successfully published author critique my work. And to top it off she thought it had potential! Seriously, I asked her – so this whole publishing thing isn’t just an online scam? She assured me it wasn’t. And how could I not believe her, she was in fact a case in point, being a New York Times bestselling author and all! And as the saying goes, she had never lied to me before! Lol

So all these people telling aspiring writers to read what they want to write wasn’t just a way to sell more books… Hmmm… Well I had been working my way through the classics for some years, but there was little chance that I would find a time machine to take me back to write along with Jane Austen, Charles Dickens or the Bronte sisters, so what should I read?

Again, the answer presented itself… Deborah had guest bloggers from all different genres of romance come by to chat and that is when I got introduced to Inspirational Romance thanks to Linda Ford and Lyn Cote. Needless to say I was hooked! I searched Inspirational Romance out on Harlequin.com and joined that friendly community forum. And I read several titles such as A Forever Christmas by our very own Seekerville writer Missy Tippens who introduced me to this remarkable blog, which added to my knowledge of writing immensely and let me meet some fabulous writers both published and aspiring of course! And that’s why I didn’t just bring a batch of cookies today, you all deserve more, so I brought a whole buffet!

Anyway, back to that book. I rewrote it more times than I care to count but it never quite fit the line I was targeting. So in the spring of 2010 I wrote Highland Hearts with Love Inspired Historical in mind, but before I sent it in I submitted it to a couple contests to get some feedback. And then I waited. And waited, until I got that feedback. And then I revised. And revised. Lol By the end of 2010, a year after I started seriously looking into publication, I sent in my manuscript to Harlequin and I got “the call” in April 2011 with the news that Highland Hearts was set for publication nearly a year later in March 2012! So you see it can be done!

Here is the back cover description of Highland Hearts set in 1748 Scotland:

Logan McAllister survived years of indentured servitude in the Americas to reach this moment. Now he’s returned to Scotland, ready to redeem the secret promise from Sheena Montgomery’s father – that his years as an indentured servant would earn him Sheena’s hand in marriage. But when he arrives home, he learns that Sheena’s father has died, his contract has been lost… and Sheena is engaged to another man.

If anyone is interested in reading the first scene from Highland Hearts please follow this link: http://amzn.to/HighlandHearts And if you would like to see the book trailer for Highland Hearts please follow this link: http://evamariahamilton.com/ But then of course please come back!

Now I know from reading this blog we all have different paths to follow on the road to publication, but the one thing that is constant for all of us is that the only way to actually get a book published is to write one! So go for it! Do what you love to do – write! And let us know where you are in your writing journey so we can cheer you on!

And if you’d like to be entered into the drawing for a chance to win a signed copy of Highland Hearts please answer the following question: since I am always looking out for new names for characters, what are some of your favorite Scottish names, both first and last names, male and female? (Winner announced in the Weekend Edition)

Thanks again for having me on Seekerville today! I’ll be checking in to respond to comments so let the party begin!

BIO:

Eva Maria Hamilton spent years studying people from all different areas of academia and brings that understanding of the human condition into each of her written pieces. An advocate for lifelong learning, Eva Maria Hamilton studied in both Canada and the United States, earning a diploma in Human Resources Management, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, an Honors Bachelor of Arts Degree in History, and a Master of Science in Education.

 

Today is another day of our March Speedbo. Find out more about Speedbo and our exciting weekly prizes here. Comment today for a chance to win! Winners announced in the Weekend Edition.