Hello, my fellow writers and readers, and welcome to my new (and slightly improved) Fictionpress profile! I figured it was time, after being a member for God knows how long, to flesh out my information a bit. I’m long-winded when it comes to everything else – why not this?
The A in my penname stands for Abby, which is, obviously, my first name. The G is my middle name, Gayle. I was blessed with a rather ingenious mother who thought it was mighty clever to name me after both a soap opera villainess and my maternal grandmother. I was not to be Abigail. I was to be Abby Gayle! And thus began the question of, "Your real name is Abigail, though, isn’t it?" after introducing myself as Abby. Thanks, ma.
I’m nineteen years old in age only. In appearance, I could easily pass off as a woman in her mid to late twenties. In demeanor, though, I shift between antiquity and immaturity. I find it difficult to say that I have an "old soul" when I giggle maniacally at any sexual innuendo whatsoever. I also find it hard to say that I have the personality of my fellow peers, since I spend most of my time studying instead of patronizing other bookish people at the library.
I guess I should take this time to talk about my hobbies. Besides writing, I’m an avid pursuer of beautiful things. There is nothing more satisfying, to me, than to be in the presence of beauty, be it a painting, a film, or a woman or man. I am a classically trained artist in pastels, oils, and watercolors. I began lessons with a master at eight, and I continued taking these lessons until he passed away when I was sixteen. I may have not picked up a brush or chalk since, but I have not deserted art. I am also a fan of theatre – musical and not. Not much of a thespian myself save for a few roles as the villainess in school plays, I attend as many plays as possible and tend to gush about them for months when they are through.
Musically, I tend to prefer classical music to anything else. There’s something about the harpsichord that twines my creativity around its keys. I guess that is what happens when one ventures into the intricate and saucy world of historical fiction! Musical theatre does not inspire me much, but I enjoy listening to it. My favorites are The Scarlet Pimpernel, Les Miserables, Jekyll and Hyde, and A Man of No Importance. I’m also a fan of Opera – my favorites being Rigoletto, Dido and Aeneas, and Don Giovanni.
My favorite book is I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis. I tend to lean more towards nonfiction and classics, but I am just so in love with Ms. Kalogridis’s work that it should be illegal! Haha. I like to read anything that prompts me to learn something, be it through that book or a novel sparking interest in a topic that I have yet to research much. My other favorites include: The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, Wives & Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell, and Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
And that should be it! Below are descriptions of the work that I am currently stuck on, writing, or intending to write in the near future. I do hope that you enjoy whatever I post, review it, favorite it, and encourage me in my future exploits!
Farewell!
What are you currently working on?
Little Lamb When you place two exceedingly passionate, vibrant human beings within shouting distance of each other, things are bound to happen. A twenty-six year old Caroline Lamb and Lord George Gordon Byron, two years her junior, fall madly in love with each other after her one attempt at being coy is passed off by him as indifference, fuelling his desire to have her to himself. Her love for her family - her distant but loyal husband, William, and her young, retarded son, Augustus - is quickly under fire as Byron's jealousy rages and her desire to please him becomes an obsession.
Stories on Hiatus
A Casanova's Caress. The society known as the House of Casanova was created in 1801, merely three years after the death of Giacamo Casanova. It was, at its founding, a group of men that strove for what the man of their constant adulation strove for: nights filled with passion, mornings filled with passion, and afternoons filled with passion. By the time Filipe Giordano became the leading member, it had become something very different. The men had begun competing for the attention of the Florentine women. When they were not happily drunk and in the arms of some Venus, they were silently ripping each other to shreds. The main storyline of this story will follow Filipe as he falls in love with Elettra Carducci, has to decide whether to kill the beautiful Marie Bellegrade or not, and fights against the constant conspiring that has him on edge. Also, there will be short stories or sketches posted up every once in a while that tell the exploits of previous or future members of the House.
Ideas in Progress
With Eyes of Prussian Blue When Constance, an up-and-coming portrait painter, is recruited to paint a portrait of the upstanding Mainwaring family, she does not expect the twists and turns that will follow. Neither does the man paying for the painting, Theodore, the head of the household, father, and husband. Gossip begins to seep through the walls of her studio when his invalid wife's health begins to decline further and he does not send Constance away in order for his wife's final weeks to be spent surrounded with family and family only. She is to finish the painting despite his wife’s condition. But when the older woman asks Constance for a favor, things change in the young woman’s life, and they change fast.
Completed Works:
En Plein Air. After Frédéric Bazille is killed on a battlefield during the Franco-Prussian war, he recollects his relationship with Pierre-Auguste Renoir, his closest friend. This is a one-shot, and I'm endlessly proud of it. Expect much more work about the Impressionists soon!
We are Noble. While I'm finished with the first draft, I am soon going to begin on a second, adding in more characters and developing those already in it further. After reading it over, I realized that Manius kept changing his appearance, as did a few of the others. I must remedy this!
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