Isn’t it amazing how many different sorts of collections there are out there? I know that I’m constantly amazed when I catch a report of some person’s passion for an item which I wouldn’t have considered valuable…like the lady that collects dryer lint. Yes, you read that right. That little vent in the front of the dryer that most of us empty straight into the trash is something that at least one woman considers worthy of being collected. She makes art out of different colors it seems.
Now most of us, me included, will claim that we drive our living partners insane with the stacks of books we have carefully stored in our closest and on shelves. Yes…I know where each and every book is dear!!!! So no thinking you can sneak a few into the donation bags; that will be the book I go looking for next. LOL! I really do have a collection of paperbacks that I consider quite worthy of taking up space in my home. My passion for writing grew out of a very healthy appetite for reading.
The other thing that I’ve always enjoyed is sewing. I adore fabric. My family might try to tell you that I’m insane about it but…really….I can pass up a fabric store. Just not on sale day. The type of sewing that I enjoy most is historical. I can spend hours reading old tailor’s notes to decipher just what they were talking about. More than half my closets are full of vintage creations that I actually find a surprising number of events to wear them too. My husband and I normally attend formal night on a cruise ship in our Victorian evening attire. Hey, they said formal but they didn’t give a year. But we also often go to tea with friends that have a similar passion for dressing retro. Searching for gloves and silk top hats is a major pass time for us.
So what do you enjoy seeking out and claiming as your own? One of my friends reveled recently that she has been collecting spoons. I never knew until one of our vintage outings snared her an old spoon rack. She proudly unrolled the fabric she’d been keeping her spoons in when we got that rack mounted on her wall. She has over sixty! I also keep a list of what my friends collect so that I can present them with truly unique gifts at the holiday seasons. My mom loves hummingbirds, another close friend likes dragonflies and still another is enthralled with tea cups.
This topic snared my attention because when I’m writing about history (like my latest Scottish Highlander romance, To Conquer a Highlander, in stores this month!) I notice how these people didn’t have time for all the things that we get to enjoy today. Every item they owned was hand made and often produced within twenty miles of their location. People crafted during the winter and farmed when Spring melted the snow. They did amazing embroidery and leather work with tools that would drive us insane with frustration today. They chiseled stone because it was what they had at hand and raised monuments that we still struggle to comprehend how they achieved what they did. But it all began with one person’s enjoyment of something…So what is yours?
TO CONQUER A HIGHLANDER BY MARY WINE-IN STORES JULY 2010
A fierce Highland laird ready to kill for king and country…
When Torin McLeren discovers his neighbor’s plot against his king, he takes their daughter as his prisoner, thereby stopping her father’s plot from going forward. But that leaves him with a woman under his roof whom he can’t ignore, and not just because she’s his enemy’s daughter…
A woman who’s as much trouble as she is temptation…
Shannon McBoyd decides to use her captor to experience passion for the first time, and then to destroy him. But her plan goes awry because once she has lured Torin into her bed, she no longer wants to hurt the one man who seems to value and understand her…
Even if her father will kill him-and her-when he discovers what they’ve done…
About the Author
Acclaimed author Mary Wine has written nearly twenty works of erotic fantasy, romantic suspense, and historical romance. An avid history-buff and historical costumer, she and her family enjoy participating in historical reenactments. Mary lives with her husband and two sons in Yorba Linda, California. For more information, please visit her website.
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