E is for Erin

2004 at my sister's wedding

Nice to meet you.  My name is Erin Kane Spock.  When I married, I almost didn't take the name Spock for two reasons:

1.  I am a Trekkie, but was not prepared for the level of teasing and STUPID jokes that people make when they hear the name.

2.  The Kane family has a very strong family identity.  For a long time, I was lead to believe that we were actually the superior race.  Forget racial tensions and skin color, it was all about the Kane's, FTW.  I have since gotten over this misconception.  The Kane's are just as messed up as any other family (sorry Grandma).

This is a casual costume. 

My name, Erin, means Ireland.  I lived in Ireland as a child and young adolescent.  There aren't many Erins there, but there was a popular brand of soup.  So, I was frequently Erin Barley Beef or Erin Oxtail... it was great.  By which I mean, it was terrible.  When I moved back to the USA, I was determined to go by my middle name (or a derivative thereof) Christina.  I sat down in class along with 5 other Christy, Chris, Christine, Whathaveyou.  I stuck with Erin.

1979ish, my first marriage was short lived.

I never really got over the disappointment that I was not born a princess.  I am sure this is what lead me to Renaissance fairs during high school.  My interest in costuming translated into a fascination with history in college.  My focus of study was the Renaissance and Reformation, specifically social history and costuming.

(c) Richard Lowe

My love of all things Elizabethan inspired my choice of topic in regards to romance.  While I do love reading Regency, I found the Tudor/Elizabethan era woefully under represented in the genre and thought I might create a niche for myself.  Instead what I found is that the Elizabethan era is this weird period of time in between medieval and Regency that doesn't seem to have a market within the Romance spectrum (more suited for historical fiction).  Personally, I love the potential of the era.  The costumes, the opulence at court, political intrigue, new discovery, the art, dance, entertainment, bi-polar morals... even the arcane.  So many possibilities.  It's the bridge to modern times, with the advent of the shopping mall, more regular bathing, literacy, and social mobility.  Obviously, I still hold on to hope.  I would like to be published and I believe the stories are good, but I would not be writing at my best if I were to choose a different era at this time.  I have stories in my head that need to get out and I will continue to write Elizabethan era romance until a different sort of story becomes dominant in my psyche.

A big wheel, the closest thing to flying.

I have two finished Elizabethan era historical romances, Courtly Pleasures and Courtly Scandals.  I am currently working on my third, Courtly Abandon.  I have ideas for completely reworking Courtly Pleasures (and returning the original version to its original name, Courtly Love), but that is not a priority.

E is for Erin.  I've been blogging for a year, I figured it was time I properly introduced myself.  Nice to meet you. :)