Reading Ruth Goodman’s “How to Be a Victorian”

Post published:August 6, 2019
Post category:History
Reading time:4 mins read

Ruth Goodman is one of my favourite historians. I’ve watched several of her shows and have seen her as a guest on other history programs, and am always impressed by how she tries to live as period-authentic as she can during a project. I don’t have that much commitment to anything!

I’ve recently finished her book How to be a Victorian, which I was very excited about. If you’ve read this blog before you’ll know that my favourite part of history are the smaller, everyday moments of regular people – and that’s kind of Ruth’s whole thing. This quote from the book is a prime example of why I love her – when talking about dry rubbing instead of washing, she writes:

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Exciting writing news!

Post published:March 5, 2019
Post category:Writing
Reading time:1 mins read

So, ha, in all the excitement and all the announcing it all over social media, I somehow managed to overlook my own blog. I'm thrilled to announce that I've signed with literary agent Kelvin Kong of K2 Literary! Even though it's been a few days, it's still sort of sinking…

Semi-Retired Hens: In praise of the best writing group

Post published:February 18, 2019
Post category:People Seeker of the Lost Song Writing
Reading time:4 mins read

One February morning last year, I shuffled along a snowy Toronto sidewalk, internally freaking out. I was on my way to the very first meeting of my new writing group. My friend Teri had set it up, and while I trusted her, I didn't know what to expect. Would we all…

I’m Samantha Garner, author of The Quiet is Loud, which was shortlisted for the 2022 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. A Canadian of mixed Filipino-Finnish background, my character-driven fantasy and sci-fi novels explore themes of identity and belonging. View The Quiet is Loud on the StoryGraph, Bookshop.org, and Goodreads, or click the image below to learn more about it, and where to buy.