Writers Circle

Your work is wonderful. Give you the chance of surviving OTMAA, albeit only in fiction is charming. What has me on tenterhooks is the issue of custody of the little Tatiana.

It should be resolved before long.

It should be resolved before long.

It has just been settled!

One of the fun things in Days is that both RHB and I created our own original characters.

RHB created Samantha Cohen, who made her first appearance in our original Days series.   Since Sam is her character, I'll let RHB explain more about her.

I myself created Kathryn Munro, or Kole as she likes to be called.  Here is a profile I made when I first created her.

Name:  Kathryn Octavia Lenore Munro.  Nickname, Kole (condensation of her name).
Age: 30
Colour of hair and eyes:  Brown
Known Relatives:  Charlie and Chloe (parents), William (brother)
Place Of Birth:  Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  She and her family moved to Bangor, Maine when Kole was five.
Career:  U.S. Air Force and NASA.
Fiance: Rick Baker.  He's a investment banker in Bangor.

Of course, since I wrote that, things have changed.  Kole is no longer engaged to Rick, in fact, she ended up marrying Alexei and took the name Katerina Feodorovna when she converted to the Russian Orthodox Church.  They are currently expected their first child (Kole's first pregnancy ended with pre-eclampsia).  However, this pregnancy will be carried to term.

Kole is an astronaut, and comes from the year 2071.  On a return to Earth, the space shuttle she was piloting went through the infamous Bermuda Triangle and ended up crashing in 1920's Russia.  On the Moon, she had been stationed on the Romanov Moon Base, destiny.  Of course, NAOTMAA took her in and she and Alexei fell in love.  A couple of seasons back, the whole family was briefly transported to 2071, so Kole could say good-bye to Rick and her life there.  She knew she belonged with Alexei.

Hey guys!

So I am intending to turn "Devilish Blue Dress" into a novel, for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). In the spirit of it, I'm completely DUMPING what I have written and starting from scratch. I want to have the historical aspects be as realistic as possible, so I have some essential questions that I must ask.

What language did Aleksei speak most, English or Russian? Would he have spoken Russian to Liza? What kind of compliments would he have given to her? What kind of physical gestures would he have used (kiss on the hand, things like that)?

What kind of meeting would it have been? Formal or casual? Would they have had tea or a meal? What would they have had to eat or drink? What room would it have been in? How long would Liza have stayed? What kind of decorations would there have been, paintings, flowers, etc? What kind of plates/silverware would there have been? How would everyone have been dressed? Would Liza have had time alone with the children? What kinds of things would they have done?

How was the telegram ordering the execution of the Imperial Family delivered?

If I think of any more questions I'll let you know.

I wanted to clarify: By "they," I meant Liza and the Imperial Family, not just Aleksei.

Some more questions:

When did Aleksei leave for Stavka for the first time? When did Nicholas go? (in other words I want to make sure that both are present when I write the flashback which introduces the Imperial Family into the story, this flashback can be set in 1915 or 1916, whichever is more realistic/historically accurate)

Oh, where would Liza have skated at if she was invited to perform at the palace? Is it possible to assume that the weather would have frozen the water the day before Nicholas/Aleksei were to leave for Stavka? If not, could someone suggest other possible dates for this flashback to take place?

Simply because I mention it, were any of the Imperial Family familiar with the Puccini opera Tosca, and were the Russian people aware of it?

What kind of income did a young officer on the Standart have? How did one get to be on there? What kind of social class were they? What kind of dwelling would his family have lived in?

I'm sure I'll think of more I just want to make sure I get the details right!

I have one! What is "Devilish Blue Dress"??

OMG! I thought people would remember my story! I posted a link to it in my thread here.

Rather than find it, I'll give a synopsis.

Kaitlyn is a spoiled American figure skater training with Tatiana Tarasova and Alexei Yagudin in Moscow (I'll have to change their names when I actually publish this thing but for now it's fine). While helping Alexei put some things in the basement of her training rink, she stumbles across a mysterious blue dress. The design makes it seem as though it came from the 1950s. She puts it on, and finds herself in a forest.  After walking around, she is transported back. The next time she puts on the dress, she is at a skating performance, introduced as "Elizaveta Kuznetsova." She puts on the dress again and again, and each time she finds out something new about Liza, while every other time, she is transported back to the forest. Through computer research, she finds Liza was a promising figure skater in her own time, who had known the Imperial Family by way of her brother, Nikita Slavnov, who was an officer on the Standart. Liza was something of a pioneer in the sport and art, taking a chamber orchestra with her to perform various pieces of music as she skated, and incorporated various ballet and gymnastics moves on the ice. Her husband was later an officer in the Red Army, very influential the way I figure it, and if the historical questions about the telegram ordering the execution of the IF fits, he would be the one to deliver it. Liza finds out about the order, and decides to tell her brother, an officer in the White Army. She is the only person who knows that he is, in fact, THE Officer.

Liza is found dead at the place she trained at, strangled. Throughout the story, through flashbacks, I introduce several suspects for who could be the murderer. Liza was wearing the dress. Somehow, it has managed to survive 90 years, altered by the various ladies who have worn it to fit their own time periods. Those who wear the dress are doomed to suffer the same fate as its original wearer, only they are found strangled in a forest, by a tree that has NO carved into it. Kaitlyn thinks if she can solve Liza's murder, find the real killer, she can avoid that fate.

Eee, that said I just remembered some ESSENTIAL questions!

What was the landscape and environment outside of Moscow like in 1918? What was the weather like in July (1918 obviously)?

Thanks and I hope you like the synopsis!

Sorry, I rarely read fan fics. Its a good story though, and the only thing I'm wondering what time frame this is in? Alexei was 13 when he died, and thus doesn't leave much in the way of a friendship.

He spoke Russian most, though his French and English were used enough so he wouldn't forget them, he would have most likely spoke Russian to Liza. Compliments like Your skating is marvelous, or Your skating is quite good.

If they met on the Standart, it would probably be a semi-casual, or a little more formal. If Liza was very educated, then she  might speak English or French to them, but Russian would be most likely. You should add a note about how Liza is a nickname given by an English cousin or something of the sort, because AFAIK, Liza wouldn't have existed in the early 1900s in Russia.

I mean Russian language of course!

Kaitlyn is a spoiled American figure skater training with Tatiana Tarasova and Alexei Yagudin in Moscow (I'll have to change their names when I actually publish this thing but for now it's fine). While helping Alexei put some things in the basement of her training rink, she stumbles across a mysterious blue dress. The design makes it seem as though it came from the 1950s. She puts it on, and finds herself in a forest.  After walking around, she is transported back. The next time she puts on the dress, she is at a skating performance, introduced as "Elizaveta Kuznetsova." She puts on the dress again and again, and each time she finds out something new about Liza, while every other time, she is transported back to the forest. Through computer research, she finds Liza was a promising figure skater in her own time, who had known the Imperial Family by way of her brother, Nikita Slavnov, who was an officer on the Standart. Liza was something of a pioneer in the sport and art, taking a chamber orchestra with her to perform various pieces of music as she skated, and incorporated various ballet and gymnastics moves on the ice. Her husband was later an officer in the Red Army, very influential the way I figure it, and if the historical questions about the telegram ordering the execution of the IF fits, he would be the one to deliver it. Liza finds out about the order, and decides to tell her brother, an officer in the White Army. She is the only person who knows that he is, in fact, THE Officer.

Liza is found dead at the place she trained at, strangled. Throughout the story, through flashbacks, I introduce several suspects for who could be the murderer. Liza was wearing the dress. Somehow, it has managed to survive 90 years, altered by the various ladies who have worn it to fit their own time periods. Those who wear the dress are doomed to suffer the same fate as its original wearer, only they are found strangled in a forest, by a tree that has NO carved into it. Kaitlyn thinks if she can solve Liza's murder, find the real killer, she can avoid that fate

Angie, have you ever seen the TV movie The Two Worlds Of Jennie Logan, starring Lindsay Wagner (of Bionic Woman fame).  This story of yours reminded me of that.   Here is the Wiki entry on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Worlds_of_Jennie_Logan

Sorry, don't want to be one of those awful spoilsport people one hears about and does everything to avoid but, in reply to the first post in this topic, although I didn't continue with the main season (credit for that must go to Tim and Jamie) and I didn't think up the name (Tim), technically, I started Days of OTMA's Lives!
Emily xxx

It's not a "fan fic," Talya. *cringe* I think I deserve more credit than that. I appreciate the answers, they help a lot! The reason I asked the questions about Aleksei was because I have one flashback involving a meeting with the IF. That's all.

So what diminutives for Elizaveta did exist at that time? This site: http://heraldry.sca.org/paul/e-f.html lists the following reference for Elizaveta (although spelled with an s rather than z, but same name)

Elisaveta (f) -- Russianization of Elizabeth ("God take my oath").

        Elisaveta, wife of the prophet Zakhariia. [Buk 502]
    Vars: Elisavefa (wife of the prophet Zakhariia). [Buk 502]

Wow Tim... I've never heard of that but looking at that Wiki, I think I need to consult with my fellow authors on the NaNoWriMo forum! I got the idea for the story from one of my favorite books when I was younger, "The Curse Of The Ruby Necklace," a Sweet Valley High mystery. I use something else as inspiration for my twist ending which I never intend to reveal until the book is done... I was going to mention what the inspiration was, but that would probably give the twist away!

and I didn't think up the name (Tim),

Actually, RHB came up with that.

Did she? Oh dear, my memory must be failing me early! Terribly sorry about that, Jaime!
Emily xxx