My other thought, in addition to everything above, is that emergency trumps custom every time, and twice on Sundays. It can be as simple as Monsieur Evil is on his way over here right now, and Jack is standing right over there, and he seems a right fellow.

You know, Go. Go now. Here is my greatcoat, slip under the back of the tent. Head north if you can. I haven't seen you.

I'd have thought that having someone markedly lower class than her would actually be less compromising, reputation-wise; I mean, ladies were alone with menservants at times, weren't they? Without there being the kind of hoo-ha that would ensue if they were alone with gentlemen?

Hmm. Definitely true about the servants--women would go out riding with a groom, and presumably it'd take a lot of work NOT to be alone with one's butler or footmen upon occasion. But I have the impression that if a lady was alone overnight or longer with a man, if he were more or less of her class she could salvage her reputation by marrying him, which wouldn't be an option if he wasn't. What I'm a little less clear on is how much it'd hurt the woman's reputation--it's not the kind of thing you routinely stumble across in primary source documents!

Would it be better or worse that she is in mouring, Susan? It seems to me that could tip it either way -- either she would be presumed to be too sorrowful to get Up To Anything, or it would be the equivalent of Scarlett O'Hara in the red dress at the ball.

And I think that a combination of setting the French officer up as not fully aware of the social statures involved, and having an English officer give it his blessing, would help readers see the situation as realistic. Plus, you have the war trumps all card.

Ooh, OR you could have the French junior officer recruit a French female servant/camp follower to act as a chaperone, and then have her run off into the night shortly afterward, possibly after stealing everything interesting from Jack and Anna.

Challenge #19 (stomach challenge) is now closed.

This week's challenge (#20) is: escape.

I just got back from SF, and I can't think of anything witty to say here, so: drabble on!

I need a bit of help. I know some of you have published books, and given a tremendous boost of confidence, I can't stop thinking about writing my own.

I've no idea how to get a literary agent, but I've got some help coming on that, on the how to of it, but I'm unsure on how to proceed on writing it, on how to set it up. Do I write the whole thing, pay an editor, and then submit?

If it's a collection of essays, do I need to write/include an outline?

What exactly is the process?

ETA: This should go in Great Write.

Am I being a jackass? I do that, sometimes. I feel like I just fell off a turnip truck.

I don't think you're being a jackass. I'd give advice only I don't have any idea.

Nope, you're not being a jackass. I think it's a fine idea. You might read back through this thread if you've got the patience for it, and skim for some of the fine advice deb's been giving Susan who's got a couple of books in process herself, and for a sense of how the process works. Like Nova, I don't have any personal or direct advice to give myself, but this is definitely the right place for it. This thread does move a little slower than the norm, though. I find it invaluable.

And the one piece of advice I do have is to start. You can sort the other stuff out on the way, but take advantage of your confidence and enthusiasm, and get the ball rolling now.

Allyson, you aren't being a jackass -- the people who have been published are probably just not around right now. Rest assured, they'll offer plenty of info.