Category Archives: language choices

Esperanto, the Language of Peace

Posted on August 4, 2021 by Regina Jeffers

What do you know about the universal language Esperanto? Some of you may have come across it in a low-budget horror movie staring a 33-year-old actor by the name of William Shatner, who later became Captain James T. Kirk of … Continue reading →

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Cozy Up to an Austen-Inspired Mystery with the ReRelease of “The Phantom of Pemberley”

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Regina Jeffers

The Phantom of Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery was my sixth Jane Austen book. It was originally released in 2010 by Ulysses Press. As Ulysses no longer publishes fiction stories, I had my rights to the book returned to … Continue reading →

Posted in book release, British history, Georgian England, gothic and paranormal, Great Britain, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, language choices, legends and myths, Living in the Regency, mystery, Regency era, Ulysses Press | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Pride and Prejudice and Nuance, a Guest Post from Leila Eye

Posted on December 4, 2020 by Regina Jeffers

Whenever you start to become a fan of something, that’s when you tend to pay attention to the nuances and all of the details involved. You start placing more importance on what makes something different rather than just what you … Continue reading →

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George Wickham: How Jane Austen Masterfully Uses a Minor Character to Drive the Main Plot

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Regina Jeffers

How a Minor Character Controls the Story’s Action: Jane Austen’s Use of George Wickham On Monday, I interviewed our favorite Austen bad boy, Mr. George Wickham. Actually, I held a celebrity intervention, but as an afterthought to that momentous event, … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Britain, Jane Austen, language choices, Living in the Regency, Regency era, word play, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Are You Familiar With These Words and Phrases?

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

Spillikin ~ The Oxford Living Dictionaries gives us: [treated as singular] A game played with a heap of small rods of wood, bone, or plastic, in which players try to remove one at a time without disturbing the others, while Wikitionary … Continue reading →

Posted in etymology, language choices, Pop Culture, tall tales, vocabulary, word origins | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Colorful, Colored, and Colorless Words: Fixing Writing Errors

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

Do you recall the dreaded 500-words’ essay often assigned by English teachers? Do you also recall the sinking feeling of coming up with 500 words on a subject for which you held no opinion? Do you also recall writing something … Continue reading →

Posted in eBooks, editing, language choices, publishing, word choices, word play, writing | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Do You Know These Words and Phrases?

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

Dead as a Doornail. The “doornail” is the plate or knocker upon which the hammer of a door knocker strikes. Phrases.org gives us this explanation on the origin of the phrase. In 1350,  William Langland used the phrase in a translation … Continue reading →

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Do You Know These Words and Phrases?

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

These are some of the words and phrases I have encountered of late while reading. Some I knew the meaning and some I did not. Even when I knew the meaning, I was interested in the word’s origin or how … Continue reading →

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Do You Know the Origin of These Words and Phrases?

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

Do You Know The Origin of These Words and Phrases? I have been editing again, as well as judging a few writing contests. The process had me searching out some of the least common words and phrases I encountered. Check … Continue reading →

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More Doublespeak and Euphemisms

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Regina Jeffers

We all love delightfully delicious euphemisms, but we do not all know the source of some of our favorite phrases. Here are a few more tidbits to add to your supper conversation.  The sources of many of the entries are … Continue reading →

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