Do you believe in spooks?

The Haunted Homes of England,
How eerily they stand,
While through them flit their ghosts--to wit,
The Monk with the Red Hand,
The Eyeless Girl--an awful spook--
To stop the boldest breath,
The boy that inked his copybook,
And so got 'wopped' to death!

from "The Haunted Homes of England" by Andrew Lang
(Read the rest here.)

Borley Rectory (shown here) has been called the Most Haunted House in England. Though the house was built after our time and has since burned down, the ghosts must have been around for much longer and reports of their activity continue.




The legend goes that a monk from Borley Monastery had fallen in love with a nun and both were killed when caught trying to elope. Here's a photo purportedly of a monk walking near a grave on the grounds. Click here to read more about the hauntings at Borley.

The National Trust has just released a list of the 10 most haunted historic houses in England. I've been to only one of them--Dunster Castle--but did not see its famous Green Man, alas.

I do love the whole idea of weird phenomena. While touring the area around Loch Ness I kept my eyes peeled--in vain--for the monster. When at stately homes reputed to house ghosts (tour guides often make a point of mentioning them) I kept a lookout but never saw anything. Sigh...

My only possible brush with the paranormal occurred at my first visit to a friend's Civil War era house in Pennsylvania and it could all just be overactive writerly imagination, since my friend had already boasted of how haunted the house was. I felt shivery the whole time I visited, although I'm hardly ever cold and it was a warm summer day. When touring one of the upstairs bedrooms I got a strong impression of having a young child hanging on my leg. My friend told me one of the most active ghosts in the house was a small boy who often liked to attach himself to motherly visitors. Yes, I was spooked. But that was my first and last ghost encounter and I'm not convinced it wasn't my imagination.

I still love the idea of ghosts and will probably put one in a story someday. I know there have been a number of Regencies with ghosts in them but have to confess the only one I've read was Eileen Putman's THE PERFECT BRIDE, which I enjoyed very much.

So do you believe in spooks? Have you ever had a haunting experience of any sort? Have you visited any of these famous haunted homes and what did you see? Do you have a favorite romance with a ghost in it?

In any case, Happy Halloween! Don't eat any more candy than I will! :)

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

A Book By Any Other Cover Would Read as Sweet?

Folks who've been reading this blog for a while know that I love to talk about covers...


What's good, what's bad, what we like, what we don't like...

What we think enhances the experience of the book, or hurts it...

And whether it's even possible for a bad cover to diminish one's reading experience...

Here are a whole bunch of different Pride and Prejudice covers.

(I found them on a neat website, http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk, which has a lot of fascinating stuff on it.)

Which covers do you like? Which is your favorite? Why?

Which do you hate? Which do you think is the very worst? (And why?)

Do you think any of these covers are good enough or bad enough to change a person's reading experience one iota?

All comments welcome!

And remember -- next Tuesday (always the first Tuesday of the month!) is our JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB. Stop by to discuss the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle version of Pride and Prejudice!

Cara
Cara King, author of My Lady Gamester, who can't always think up something clever to say in her sig line

Our winner!

Lily, you have won a signed copy of My Fair Mistress!
Please send your contact details to riskies@yahoo.com

Thou droning bat-fowling hedge-pig! By Diane Gaston

Here's what you get when I can't think of a coherent blog topic....

1. In revenge for Megan's Free Rice link, I offer you the Shakespeare Insult generator, courtesy of my friend Julie. This wonderful website offers you a cornucopia of the perfect insult, like, "Thou pribbling idle-headed wagtail" or apropos of this blog,"(you) speak an infinite deal of nothing."

I was, by the way, briefly up to level 46 of 48 on Free Rice and I have donated over 2,000 grains of rice. So Far.


2. The BBC website has a lot of interesting stuff on it, not the least of which are listings of tantalizing shows like, The Age of Excess: When Britain Went Too Far, which is about the excesses of the 18th century. If you click on Empire and Sea Power on the side menu, you get all sorts of wonderful stuff, like an animation of the Battle of Trafalgar or The Waterloo Game. Seriously, there are a bunch of intriguing articles on this site. My only complaint is that they do not call The Regency, The Regency, but lump it into the Georgian period as "Empire and Sea Power."

3. Contrast this website with the BBC America one, which prominently features what's new on Hex. If you dig a little deeper, however, you can find a British American Dictionary equally as cumbersome, but with the redeeming feature of showing British insulting words.



And that, I believe, brings me full circle!

Is today giving you any reason to use a Shakespearean insult or a British insulting word?
None for me so far.

I'm off to get my hair colored-with-highlights at Vidal Sasson, so I'll see you later.

Diane-who-hopes-she-doesn't-use-a-Shakespearean-insult-after-her-hair-is-done

Chat and contest with Tracy Anne Warren!

We're thrilled to welcome national bestselling, RITA-Award winning Tracy Anne Warren, author of six Regency historical novels published by Ballantine Books. Her debut novel, The Husband Trap, is the winner of numerous awards including the RITA, the National Readers’ Choice Award, the New Jersey Golden Leaf, and the Golden Quill. All three of her Trap Trilogy novels appeared on the USA Today Bestsellers’ List. The Wedding Trap also appeared on The New York Times Bestsellers Extended List and the Borders’ Group List of Bestselling Single Title Romance Paperbacks. She's here to talk about her October release, My Fair Mistress, the first in The Mistress Trilogy, and your relevant question or comment will enter you into a drawing for a signed copy of the book. The usual rules apply--no masquerading under different handles--we shall give you the cut direct.

Tracy, welcome to the Riskies. Tell us about My Fair Mistress.
It would be my pleasure. My Fair Mistress is set in 1812 London and tells the story of young, aristocratic widow, Julianna Hawthorne, and darkly handsome Rafe Pendragon, the financier to whom her brother is deeply in debt. Julianna seeks out Rafe, intending the ask the dangerous, sexy businessman, known as ‘The Dragon,’ to accept an alternate form of payment, hoping he will be satisfied with jewelry and paintings. Instead, he tells her the only thing of value he wants is her as his mistress for six months. He never expects her to accept, but to both their surprise, she says “yes.”


Tell us about the next two books in the series.
The second two books feature Ethan and Tony, best friends of Rafe Pendragon’s, the hero in My Fair Mistress.

In The Accidental Mistress (November 2007), the heroine, Lily Bainbridge stages her own death in order to flee an arranged marriage, then takes the guise of an independent London widow. But when dangerously attractive rake, Ethan Andarton, Marquis of Vessey, decides to make her his mistress, her passion for him just may prove impossible to resist.

And in His Favorite Mistress (December 2007), debonair bachelor Tony Black, Duke of Wyvern, finds himself entangled in a sensual battle of wills with vivacious Gabriella St. George, the daughter of Rafe’s most hated enemy. Soon Gabriella wants Tony’s love, but will passion be enough to melt his icy heart or will he make the biggest mistake of his life and let her go?

What sort of research did you do?
For My Fair Mistress I researched the various neighborhoods in London during the Regency, referencing both The A to Z of Regency London and The London Encyclopedia. I wanted to give my hero a respectable, though not tony address somewhere away from my heroine’s Mayfair townhouse. I decided Bloomsbury fit the requirements rather nicely. I also needed another location where Rafe and Julianna could meet for their clandestine rendezvouses without anyone else being the wiser. And then I am always researching various other details from whether men had buttons on their shirt sleeves––they did––and what the most popular dress colors were in 1812 and 1813–jonquil, Princess Elizabeth lilac, Devonshire brown, Pomona green and willow green were a few.

The Risky question--is there anything in the book you consider risky or that surprised you (or your editor)?
I think the premise itself is rather risky––deliciously so since Julianna decides to barter her virtue to Rafe and become his temporary mistress, rather than see her family in ruin. She would rather give herself to a man for a few months than sell herself into a loveless marriage, as most ladies would have done.

What are your influences / what do you like to read?
I read a variety of books, mostly fiction, and my favorite remains romance. Right now, I have been enjoying a lot of paranormal romance. I also recently caught up with the rest of the world and finished all seven books in the Harry Potter series. Wow, what great books.

What's next for you?
I just completed the proposal for the first book in my next Regency romance trilogy––a lush, vivid tale that takes place in 1810. Once all the details of my new contract are complete, I will let my readers know. Please visit my website at www.tracyannewarren.com for the latest news and updates!

Tracy will pop in during the day to answer questions and chat and you'll have the chance to win a signed copy of her book--come on in and join the fun! We'll announce the winner on Monday night.

Costumes Galore!

Last week I went down to Dallas to see an exhibit called "Star Struck: Hollywood Costumes and Designers, 1934-2006." It was a smallish exhibit (18 gowns plus a collection of sketches), but it was very comprehensive and had some great stuff. If you visit here very often, you know how excited I get about movie costumes! You can see an article about the exhibit here.

A few of the highlights were:

Replicas of the green and white organdy barbecue gown from Gone With the Wind and the Royal Ascot gown and hat from My Fair Lady (because the originals either no longer exist or can't be found). I've long had a lust for that hat (I LOVE hats!)


All the other costumes were originals, and included the red satin gown Nicole Kidman wore in Moulin Rouge





A couple of kimonos from Memoirs of a Geisha (not the ones in this pic, but similar)










The blue velvet suit from Titanic


And my very favorite, the wedding gown from Marie Antoinette! Photos weren't allowed in the exhibit, but this gown was in a case that could be walked all around, so I could examine the elaborate silver trim, the cut of the satin, the lacings up the back. It was gorgeous. Someday, if I ever get up the courage to get married, I've decided on an eighteenth century theme, with a gown like this one. :)













We're also coming up on my Very Favorite holiday--Halloween! I'm going to a party tonight, and this is my costume, based around a great hat I found at Target and some fabulous chiffon fabric for the sleeves.


Last time I was a witch it looked like this:


And Abigail is going as Snow White. Isn't she just the cutest Disney Princess ever??? (Victoria has a very cute Jack Sparrow costume, but alas won't wear it. I will try to get pics of her later).












Happy Halloween everyone! What is your costume, either real or fantasy?

Be sure and sign up for the Risky Regencies newsletters at riskies@yahoo.com, with "Newsletter" in the subject line. It's all treats and no tricks!

Time's A Wasting!

Most any author you know will complain about not having time enough to write. I am no different, but today, I want to discuss productive ways to procrastinate!

See, if you are being creative--even if you're not creating right at this very minute--I believe your brain is working on your WIP, or getting you geared up to balance the budget, or help your kids with their homework, or finish that report, or whatever it is your mind needs to concentrate on next. So I present some tried-and-true sure-fire time-wasters, as well as some new ones you might not have known about.

1. Check email. Because someone legitimate might have decided to offer you a million dollars in the last ten seconds.

2. Visit your news site of choice: Mine is the Huffington Post ('cause I'm a Proud Liberal; your causes may vary).

3. Free Rice: This site is a vocabulary test that donates ten grains of rice for every word you get right.

4. Mind Habits: This site provides mind games to "reduce stress and build self-confidence."

5. Your library, to check how your request list is shaping up (I'm 42nd in line to get 300, Diane!)

6. Go Fug Yourself: Plenty to mock.

7. The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks: If you're a word and grammar person, this is punctuation porn.

8. Hello Kitty Hell: Just in case you ever think you have a small obsession with your books, check these people out. Even Amanda isn't this nutty about HK! (Are you, Amanda?)

9. Amazon. You never know when you might see that ohmylord my favorite author has a new book coming out! Must get!

10. Clive, Orlando, Gerard, Jeremy Northam, some nude statue Janet saw, Elena, 'fess up who's your secret crush, Sean Bean, Takeshi Kaneshiro, etc., etc. ad abdomen.

So--what's your favorite way to procrastinate?

Megan

Military exploits and quotes

Today is the anniversary of two military events that had nothing to do with the Regency period: In 1415, Henry V won the Battle of Agincourt, one of the attempts by England to get a foothold in France (and am I the only person who prefers the Olivier version over the Branagh film?).

And in 1854, thanks to bungled orders, political infighting among officers, and the famed stiff upper lip, the Charge of the Light Brigade took place, when the 13th Hussars charged directly into enemy guns during the Crimean War; as a French general commented, "C'est magnifique mais ce ne pas la guerre." (Roughly translated as: it's magnificent, but not war. Well, it sounds better in French.)

I'd hazard a guess that we remember these events by the two poets who immortalized them rather by the history. Here's an excerpt from the famous St. Crispin's Day speech by Shakespeare:

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Tennyson, another master of the soundbite, immortalized the Charge of the Light Brigade, a peom that, if you are an English person of a certain age, you had drummed into you at school, or at least the more quotable bits of it:

Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Would we remember these two events--the English tried for a couple more centuries to claim bits of France, but failed; and the famous Charge was a tactical blunder of monumental stupidity--if it weren't for the poets?

What are your favorite quotes? Any from romance?

Jane Lockwood is blogging over at History Hoydens today and there's a contest! Also don't forget to sign up for the Riskies newsletter at riskies@yahoo.com.

My heroes are girls, too!

In last week's experiment with Gender Genie 4 out of 6 Jane Austen heroes tested out as girls based on their dialogue. Thinking this might reflect the gender of the author, I decided to try some heroes from period novels by men. I ran Sir Walter Scott's Waverley and Guy Mannering and found they squeaked out as males, though not by a lot. Going back a bit earlier, I checked out Robinson Crusoe. According to Gender Genie, this macho survivor is overwhelmingly a girl. (Wonder what this means for his Man Friday?)

I boldly took the next step: putting some of my own heroes' dialogue through the thing. Ack! My last two heroes, Verwood of SAVING LORD VERWOOD and Jeremy from LADY DEARING'S MASQUERADE both tested about as girly as Mr. Knightley and Captain Wentworth. Though I put it down to period dialogue, it still scared me. Though both these books did well, perhaps readers prefer heroes in modern historical romance to speak a bit more like modern men (none of the words used by Gender Genie to differentiate between male and female are anachronistic to the Regency).

So I ran dialogue for several popular (and RITA winning) historical romance heroes through the tool. And to my great relief, Rothgar from Jo Beverley's Malloren series and Reggie Davenport from Mary Jo Putney's THE RAKE AND THE REFORMER both tested out in a similar range.

I feel vindicated. Readers are smart enough to recognize a character's masculinity despite period dialogue. Whew! :)

Just for giggles (and you thought we were done--ha!) I decided to run a contemporary romance hero through the tool. I chose Ken from Suzanne Brockmann's OUT OF CONTROL. I figured a modern Navy SEAL ought to test out male. He did, with the most masculine score of all the heroes I ran through the tool. So maybe Gender Genie has some validity for those writing contemps.

Anyway, I'm done worrying about Gender Genie. I will just have to find something else to obsess about now. :)

Is there anything you get OC about? Re works-in-progress or anything else? Do you dive into these things or wisely avoid the temptation?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

AUSTEN TREK: Once Upon a Rec Room

Or, if Jane Austen wrote Star Trek...

Hidden in the Federation Archives is this never-before-seen account of Yeoman Rand's first days on the Enterprise:

Every stardate now brought its regular duties;--Captain Kirk's orders were to be recorded; some new part of the ship to be discovered; and the Bridge to be attended, where officers spent hours staring at whirling lights and, on occasion, falling out of their chairs.

Yeoman Rand, however, knew no one and, consequently, spoke to no one, and no one spoke to her. The wish of a numerous acquaintance on the ship was uppermost on her mind, and her heart wished it anew after every fresh proof, which every stardate brought, of her knowing nobody at all.

She made her appearance in the Rec Room; and here fortune was more favourable to our heroine. Captain Kirk, the only inhabitant of the ship with whom she had as yet exchanged more than half-a-dozen words, was present; he, with infinite condescension, engaged her in conversation.

The captain seemed to be about four or five and thirty, was of middling height, had a pleasing countenace, a very intelligent and lively eye, and, if not quite handsome, was very near it. He talked with fluency and spirit--and there was an archness and pleasantry in his manner which interested, though it was hardly understood by her--or, if truth be told, by himself.

Forming his features into a set smile, and affectedly softening his voice, he said, with a simpering air, "Have you been long on the Enterprise, Yeoman?"

"About a week, sir," replied Rand, trying not to laugh.

"Really!" with affected astonishment.

"Why should you be surprized, Captain?"

"Why, indeed!" said he, in his natural tone. "Were you never here before, Yeoman?"

"Never, sir."

"Indeed! Have you yet honoured the Sick Bay?"

"Yes, sir, I was there last Monday."

"Have you climbed in a Jeffries tube?"

"Yes, sir, I was in a Jeffries tube on Tuesday."

"In engineering?"

"Yes, sir, on Wednesday."

"And are you altogether pleased with the ship?"

"Yes--I like it very well."

"Now I must give one smirk, and then we may be rational again."

Rand turned away her head, not knowing whether she might venture to laugh.

"I see what you must think of me," said he gravely-- "I shall make but a poor figure in your log tomorrow."

"My log!"

"Yes, I know exactly what you will say: Friday, went to the Rec Room; wore my red dress with the three-inch skirt--long black boots--appeared to much advantage, particularly in the gap between the aforesaid items; but was strangely harassed by a queer, half-witted man, who would make me talk with him, and distressed me by noticing my legs."

"Indeed I shall say no such thing. I had much rather you notice my legs now, on the ship, than wait until we are on a planet, when there are certain to be bizarre blue growths on them."

And don't forget -- on the first Tuesday of November, we'll be discussing the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle Pride and Prejudice!

Cara
Cara King, who would far rather climb in a Jeffries Tube than wear a miniskirt

My Fair Lady by Diane Gaston

This Saturday I caught My Fair Lady on TMC.

My first introduction to My Fair Lady was from a record (those vinyl things that look like an oversize DVD ). The local grocery store ran a special on show tunes, each week an album of a different musical. My sisters and I played the My Fair Lady record, as well as the others, over and over until the words were embedded in our memories. Of all the show tunes, though, My Fair Lady was my favorite.

Shortly after, the play came to the National Theater in Washington, DC, and my sisters and I were allowed to take the bus all-by-ourselves into the city. I remember the adventure of this solo journey more than I remember seeing the play, even though it was my first experience of going to a “real” play.

I wish I could have loved the movie of My Fair Lady, but I never have. It never matched what my imagination created for My Fair Lady when I listened to our soundtrack from the grocery store. The performances are marvelous, especially Rex Harrison and Stanley Holloway; however, I never thought Audrey Hepburn (who I love in her other movies) was the right Eliza. (Julie Andrews, who created the role of Eliza on Broadway, ought to have had the part)

My favorite character was Freddie (played by Jeremy Brett), who I felt had the best song, On the Street Where She Lives. I thought he was so romantic, just wanting to be on Eliza’s street, ready to do her bidding. He still was the most handsome fellow in the movie.

The story is, of course, set in Edwardian times, a beautiful fashion period, like the Regency, and a time, like the Regency, where class differences were noteworthy. Watching the movie, I realized the set rather imprinted on me what a London street ought to look like. There were lots of white buildings and wrought iron. When I went to Covent Garden, I think I expected Eliza Doolittle’s Covent Garden. In any event, I loved the movie set. I loved how the set looked when Freddie walked down the street where Eliza lived. That felt like London to me.

After watching the movie, I just have to believe that My Fair Lady was one early experience that fostered my love of England and, ultimately, of the Regency.

What early experiences led you to love the Regency?

There’s a touring company performing My Fair Lady. It is coming to The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC this December and maybe to a city near you.

Soundtrack Of Your Life

Let's talk a bit about an aspect of movies that is often not even really noticed, but which can make or break a story--the soundtrack.

Something of a tangent, but not entirely: last weekend I went to see Elizabeth: The Golden Age. I was really looking forward to it, since I liked the first Elizabeth film. The Elizabethan era is one of my very favorites. In grad school, I specialized in Elizabethan poetry, so I know that the history in that movie was, well, a big crock of almost total nonsense. I expected that would be true of The Golden Age, as well, and also that the costumes would be stupendous (if sometimes a bit silly--what was up with that gigantic flower??). I wasn't disappointed by either. What I didn't expect was that it would be something of a snooze-fest. It even made Mary Queen Scots and the Armada dull going, and even Clive Owen (looking quite yummy in his scruffy-explorer Walter Ralegh get-up) seemed to be sleep-walking through it all.

The first movie was highly suspenseful, dark, almost claustrophobic. It captured the danger of the times so well, and also the lavishness and the delicious bawdiness. Christopher Eccleston was an intensely menacing Duke of Norfolk; Cate Blanchett an astoundingly perfect queen (as she also was in TGA, though far too young-looking). That tension was lacking in this new film. It gave me way too much time to eat my Sour Patch Kids and ponder such stream-of-consciousness matters as--"Why does Phillip II persist in giggling constantly? Why does he only have such lame lines as "What of the Jesuit?" And which one is the Jesuit anyway? Rhys Ifans? Or that crazy kid who looks like a Calvin Klein underwear model? No, I think he's supposed to be Babington. Maybe. Why get an actress of Samantha Morton's caliber to play Mary Queen of Scots if they're not really going to use her? She should star in her own movie. Mary: Age of Extreme Foolishness. I would definitely go see that. She'd have to lose that weird Scottish accent, though, and sound French like she's supposed to. Wow, I do like that gown Abbie Cornish is wearing. Wonder where I could get one?"


Anyway, the point of all this is that there were a few scenes I liked. The one where the crazy underwear model tries to shoot Elizabeth; Mary's execution; the one where the storm that will destroy the Armada (not, as the movie would have us believe, Clive Owen) is brewing, and Elizabeth walks out on a cliff in a flowing white chemise. Oh, and the Volte dance bit. I do love bits with dances. Those scenes had a power lacking in much else, and one of the important reasons was the very effective use of music.

Another movie that did this very well was Marie Antoinette. I liked it despite the very bad screenplay and the less-than-stellar acting because, aside from looking gorgeous, it sounded weirdly great. The montage of life at Versailles set to Vivaldi; the masked ball where dancers twirl around to Hong Kong Garden. Terrific, if also very, very odd.

I like to set my books to soundtracks, too. This is a great way to waste time not writing while also feeling like I am doing something productive for my creative process. My current WIP is the second in my "Muses of Mayfair" series, Clio's story, set in Sicily in 1818. Here are a few songs I've found for it:

1) Albinoni's Adagio

2) Dave Matthews Band, Crash

3) Mozart, Der Holle Rache (the Queen of the Night's second aria), The Magic Flute

4) Nickelback, Rock Star (I'm usually contemptuous of Nickelback, I admit, but this one has a Big Dumb Fun infectiousness, much like that "tell me what you want what you really really want" Spice Girls song. Maybe I should include that one, too)

5) The Cure, Pictures of You

6) BowWowWow, Aphrodisiac (stolen from the Marie Antoinette soundtrack, which I like to listen to when on the treadmill)

7) Mascagni, Intermezzo sinfonico from Cavalleria Rusticana

I need something for a skinny-dipping scene, too, if anyone has any ideas...

If you did a soundtrack for your own WIP, or your favorite book, what would it include? Anyone seen any good movies lately???

Cocktails Are Go!

I have a headache. Not the usual lord-it's-my-turn-post, what-the-heck-am-I-going-to-write-about headache, but a HEADACHE headache.

As in, I went out last night to see Jane Lockwood and Colette Gale read from their respective works last night and had a few cocktails headache. Ouch. Remind me not to make that a habit, it's painful.

Anyway, although I am not generally a fan of listening to people read aloud, I really enjoyed what I heard; Jane's book, for example, has some really funny parts that would probably get lost in the reading if it were just me and my old inside-head reading voice and not Jane's delicious British accent. And Colette imbued her much more serious reading with a stark intensity that matched the mood of the book.

So, yeah, it was fun. And drinks were had. And the best part, of course, was hanging out with other authors.

Today, I have to take that inspiring feeling of camaraderie and sit down by myself at the keyboard and continue writing. A solitary endeavor, yes, but I've got virtual support all over the darn place. So headache and all, I am going to knock out some pages so I can feel proud to belong to such great groups as the Riskies, the community of authors, and women who don't mind saying naughty words in public.

I have no witty questions to ask (remember the headache thing, above?); just a 'thank you' the community we've gathered here, and it's fabulous having such great friends. And, if you'll excuse me, I'll just go be lying down for a little bit.

Megan

Bad Girls! In NYC Tonight!

Jane Lockwood (Forbidden Shores) and Colette Gale (Unmasqued) are reading from their books tonight at Virgins' Night at the In the Flesh Reading Series hosted by Racher Kramer Bussell. It's free! There will be free books (Colette's) and cupcakes and all sorts of good naughty stuff:

8 PM
Happy Ending Lounge, 302 Broome St., NYC

But, but ... wait a minute. Virgins' Night?

Yes. It's for debut erotica writers reading their stuff aloud for the first time.

Jane and Colette, plus the other writers, will each have ten minutes to read aloud their hot stuff. Jane reports that she's too busy to even be nervous, but she's sure she will be when it comes down to it.

I've read parts of my books aloud--it's actually something I quite like when I've got over the oh my god how could I write such a clunky sentence feeling and just enjoy the sensation of performing, and gauging the audience's reaction.

What about you? Do you enjoy listening to authors read their work? How about books on tape or CD? If you're a writer, do you like to read your work aloud and who have you read it to (pets excluded)?

Captain Wentworth is a girl?