Where in Williamsburg Can You Buy Diane's Book?

After Christmas we spent a few days visiting my in-laws in Williamsburg, Virginia, and this time we actually took a stroll down historic Duke of Gloucester Street to see the Christmas decorations. The weather was beautiful!

I knew from doing the booksigning that the Barnes & Noble in Historic Williamsburg didn't carry Harlequin Historicals, but emboldened by discovering my book in two local Northern Virginia bookstores, I set out on a quest to see where in Williamsburg I might find The Vanishing Viscountess on the shelf.

The answer? NOWHERE

After our walk in Colonial Williamsburg, we drove to the Barnes and Noble in "New Town" (a nearby trendy new shopping center/residential complex that is supposed to mimic a city street, except the fake rocks beneath the lamposts play Christmas music). No Harlequin Historicals there. In fact, they only had a very small Romance section tucked away in a corner beyond the manga and the sci fi. Why stores limit their Romance sections is beyond me. You would think they would love the genre which sells almost 50% of all mass market books.

But I digress.

I begged for us to make one more stop--A Books A Million store in a perfectly ordinary shopping center in Williamsburg. Surely they would carry Harlequin Historicals--But they didn't. By this time my husband and in-laws just wanted to get home to eat some dinner, so they wouldn't take me to check the local Walmart, which I was almost sure would have The Vanishing Viscountess.

I love writing for Mills & Boon Historical/Harlequin Historical. I think Harlequin Mills & Boon produce wonderful books and innovative ones. They are not at all afraid of taking a chance on new time periods and settings, like Amanda's A Notorious Woman, or on "the Regency underworld," my little niche. They continued to print Westerns when the other publishers wouldn't touch them.

The Harlequin Historical line was almost discontinued in 2003-2004. Instead, Harlequin turned the acquisition over to Mills & Boon Historical, which has done wonders with the bookcovers and has increased the number of books released per month. To save the line, however, they also limited distribution to only their best selling venues.

This means you don't see Harlequin Historicals in grocery stores or lots of places that carry the other Harlequin lines. Obviously, not every big bookstore sells them, either. If a bookstore does sell them, they are typically with the other Harlequin lines and are usually on a bottom shelf. You have to work hard to find Amanda's and my books in a bookstore.

Most of our Riskie readers are familiar with ordering books online , but if you want to buy a Harlequin Historical in a bookstore and you can't find it, there is something you can do.

Ask.

Ask a clerk if they have the book buried in a bottom shelf. If they don't, ask the clerk to order a copy. All of the bookstores that did not carry The Vanishing Viscountess told me they could order it for me.

And if you do see Harlequin Historicals in a bookstore, do us a favor and turn some of them out so they catch the browsers' eyes.


Everyone have a very safe and happy New Year's holiday! This is not one of my favorite holidays, because of the whole drinking and driving thing and because my kids will be "out there" where people are drinking and driving. My husband, the cats, and I will stay at home and watch TV and maybe have champagne. However you celebrate...stay safe!

And let me know if you see my book on a bookstore shelf. Oh, Michelle Willingham's latest Harlequin Historical is out in January, too, so also look for hers. We'll be interviewing her this month.

Today I'm off to see PS I Love You...again! Yippee.

New Year's Fun!

Warning: Totally frivolous and useless post ahead! Some of you probably need a little break from the holiday craziness (like me!), so here are a few fun Internet finds to wile away some quiet moments as you plan your New Year's Eve.

Cat Head Theater: Animated cats performing a scene from Hamlet 'Nuff said.


A music video using scenes from Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and North and South. Kinda sappy (okay, really sappy), but fun!



An article on how to make your own green evening gown from Atonement, if you're so inclined. And if you are, I'll buy it from you! But will someone please give Keira Knightley a cheeseburger, immediately!!! (Bertie, can I count on you?)

Tartx jewelry--I think I've talked about this site before, but I just love it so am doing so again! The necklaces are beautiful, and the quality terrific, too (I own a couple of pendants, Marie Antoinette and Jane Austen, plus keep a wishlist there!)



Richard Armitage Online Because I got my own DVD of North and South for Christmas, and I've been watching it way more than is good for me this last week. It almost makes me want to write a Victorian-set story! Maybe I'll rewatch P&P, too.



A short trailer for the movie The Duchess. I'm still trying to figure out if that bit with the pillared balcony is set at the assembly rooms in Bath (Diane and Deb, what do you think??)



Happy New Year, everyone! What are your resolutions? I have the usual. Go to yoga class more. Eat more vegetables (french fries don't count). Write 10 pages a day. Okay, 8. And, for now, cut back on watching North and South. I also have a new dress for the New Year's party, but sadly things on that holiday never seem to go like in that cheesy-but-great movie The Cutting Edge. You know--sparklers, music, a handsome hockey player-turned ice skater to kiss at midnight. But I have hopes for this year...

See you in 2008!

Megan's Missing -- Maybe Make a Movie

Megan's not missing, but I needed the alliteration. She's merely stuck in New Jersey and unable to blog today. So I thought it would be a good idea to go to a movie.

Like PS I Love You (I can't believe that a Gerard Butler movie has been out for one week and I haven't seen it yet. )

















Or Sweeney Todd with the versatile Johnny Depp (Is there nothing Depp cannot do?)

Or Keira Knightly and dreamy James McAvoy in Atonement

Or Juno or Enchantment or National Treasure or The Golden Compass or....several more. This is a great week for movies. Have you seen any of these yet? (I haven't seen a one, but I might get to PS I Love You tomorrow!)

If you could go to the movies tonight, which movie would you see?

Read Well And Respond Urgently

That was the header of a piece of spam I received recently that struck my fancy because I think it pretty much sums up what happens when you read a good book.

And here's picture/map that I think is so charming I decided to post it, although know nothing about it; I don't know the artist or title--I'd guess it's eighteenth or nineteenth century. It's so clever! I've been wanting to share it ever since I first found it. Do any of our learned and esteemed visitors and friends know any more about it?

Other than the random nature of this post, I wanted to talk about my 2007, which has been a real learning experience, both good and bad. Here are some of my highlights, although some of them are things I've known for years but thought you'd like to know:

• Running out of tea is a state of national emergency.
• You really don't need to clean your bathroom more than once every six months but it's easier if you do it more often.
• TV is for folding laundry.
• It's possible for a publisher to contract a book as one subgenre and market it as another and not tell the author.
• Google is for other things than looking up your own name.
• If you buy a case of toilet paper and live in a small house, after a while you get used to the box in the living room.
• If you squeeze a couple of pages out every day it amounts to more than if you don't.
• When a cat sleeps on your bed with you, s/he expands to about a yard wide and 200 degrees.
• No one ever wants the last cookie, so go for it. You're doing them a favor.
• No one ever wants to eat sardines or beets, but they don't want you to eat them either.
• You should always carry reading material.
• Make sure you have sufficient dust bunnies, books, and old newspapers under the bed for any contingency.
• If you or the man in your life buys navy blue socks in bulk they will never match once they're worn and washed.
• If you can't avoid visitors, plug in the vacuum cleaner and leave it ostentatiously in the middle of the room. They will actually believe you are halfway through cleaning. (Of course, if you can't find the vacuum cleaner you're out of luck.)
• If there is a cold going around at work, avoid any bowls of candy on your colleagues' desks.

Read well and respond urgently--share your pearls of wisdom with us!

Receive a great honking pearl of wisdom every month with the Riskies newsletter: sign up by sending an email with NEWSLETTER in the header to riskies@yahoo.com. And while we're in the small, eye-catching italic section, check out what Pam Rosenthal is giving away in her contest; and read an alternate ending to The Rules of Gentility and enter to win a prize at janetmullany.com.

Happy Boxing Day!

Happy Boxing Day!

Of course, I'd heard about Boxing Day before but since I never needed it for a story, I had only a vague idea that it had to do with giving presents. In boxes, of course. So exactly what is Boxing Day and what are the associated traditions? I googled and found a delightful explanation on the website of the Woodlands Junior School in Tonbridge, Kent. Boxing Day is a time of charity. During the Regency, people would give gifts to their servants and to the poor. According to the website, an "'Alms Box' was placed in every church on Christmas Day, into which worshippers placed a gift for the poor of the parish. These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas, which is why that day became know as Boxing Day."

Other traditional Boxing Day activities include fox hunting, indoor games or appropriate wintry outdoor pursuits. There is also a custom of hunting the wren, a bird one was not allowed to hunt any other day (though why one would wish to hunt wrens is beyond me).

Today, I will not be foxhunting, nor ice skating, nor hunting wrens. Instead, I'll be on a family outing organized by my parents to see a dinner theatre performance of "White Christmas". The group will include all 5 grandchildren ranging in ages from 5 to 11. I don't know if my parents know what they are letting themselves in for! My own children are among the older ones and they will behave (or risk, as Dumbledore put it, "a very painful death"). But as for the others--all bets are off. Plan A: pretend we don't know them. Plan B: drink heavily.

So what are you doing to celebrate Boxing Day?

If you are looking for something to do, why not send a postcard to the Woodlands Junior School? (Here's the address.)

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

The Eggnog Made Me Do It

Merry Christmas, to those of you who celebrate Christmas! And happy 25th of December to everyone else!

For quite a few years now, I have included a satirical "faux holiday letter" in my holiday cards -- and as this year I have the honor of writing the Risky Regencies Christmas post, I thought that instead of sharing a lovely informative bit on Christmas in the Regency, or anything useful like that, I would post my silly letter instead. So here it is! Proof of just how weird I am...

CARA'S ANNUAL HOLIDAY LETTER IN WHICH SHE EXTOLS THE SUPERIORITY OF HER STUFFED CAT AND TELLS YOU ALL ABOUT PEOPLE YOU'VE NEVER MET BUT WHO ARE OBVIOUSLY WAY COOLER AND WAY SPIFFIER THAN ANYONE ON EARTH EXCEPT MAYBE CARA'S STUFFED CAT

Hello, O Fortunate Recipient of this yearly literary gem! Here is an abstract of all the clever things I did this year; the actual paper has been submitted to Phys Rev Letters and will be peer-reviewed as soon as they locate someone who will admit to being my peer.

JANUARY: I attend the annual Jane Austen Ball. The pleated hem of my Regency gown is so brilliant that it finds a solution to global warming. Unfortunately, someone steps on my hem while dancing Mr Beveridge's Maggot, and the solution hits a snag.

FEBRUARY: I appear as Paulina in Caltech's production of THE WINTER'S TALE. My wig is massive enough to nearly start a nuclear implosion. Todd's wig, however, actually does implode, creating a quantum black hole. This quantum black hole travels back through time, turning things that should be benign into hugely destructive forces (e.g. squirrels, computer solitaire, and SUV drivers who tailgate while talking on cell phones and eating pastrami.)

MARCH: As the hottest new trend involves combining two different
popular genres (e.g. the recent television hits "CSI: Shakespeare" and
"Superman vs. the Sopranos"), I write several installments of "Austen Trek: or, if Jane Austen Wrote Star Trek" for my blog. My blogmates all pretend to enjoy these (their ecstatic compliments range from "that's really just...bizarre" to "who's Yeoman Rand?"), but Jane Austen threatens to sue.

APRIL: I pretend to work on my new young adult novel.

MAY: Having lived in our condo for almost five years, Todd and I decide to finally put our posters up. Exhausted by our bout of decision-making, we put off the actual putting-up for another five years.

JUNE: Todd and I visit Nice, but not before 2,306,973 people tell me that they hear it's very nice there.

JULY: The new Harry Potter book is released, making Britain the world's second-greatest economic power, right behind Walmart.

AUGUST: Todd becomes Associate Chair of his department. This takes up huge amounts of his time which might otherwise be used for important things like watching DVDs from Netflix and writing witty comments on my blog.

SEPTEMBER: We receive our millionth charity solicitation and billionth offer to refinance; we have now papier-mâchéd an additional room onto our condo, which would look perfect except that it really needs some posters on the walls.

OCTOBER: I attend what may be the last ever Genesis concert at the 18,000-seat Hollywood Bowl, which is followed by an exodus of incredible numbers of people trying to trample the Kings (and Rubins and a Brun), which leads to a few lamentations on our part. Crowd control at the Bowl must be an incredible job, but whoever judges that it's okay for us to get mobbed like that is pretty ruthless, if you ask me.

NOVEMBER: Todd and I see Ian McKellen play King Lear. My favorite part is when Lear disinherits his annoying youngest child, Pippin, in favor of Frodo and Merry, but Todd's favorite part is when Edgar pretends to be a mad creature named Gollum who wears nothing but a loincloth and a lot of dirt.

DECEMBER: Someone informs me that just because WGA writers are on strike doesn't mean that there's any reason for me to not write. My explanation of how my brain refuses to cross the picket line having failed, I am now procrastinating by doing important things like writing my holiday letter and talking to my stuffed cat.

There you have it! Until next year, I remain...Cara King.

And it's absolutely true. I do remain Cara King. (Though come to think of it, I'm not really sure why; it probably has something to do with metaphysics...or maybe kilophysics...)

And don't forget! Next Tuesday, we're discussing the 1986 version of NORTHANGER ABBEY!!! So it'll be a Northanger New Year's Day!

Cara

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve!

I’m a happy little elf. My family are all well and we’re together. My niece and nephew are also in town, so we’ll see them for Christmas dinner at my sister’s house. I don’t have to cook (yay!). I’ll do dishes, but, since I’m convinced in a past life I was a Regency scullery maid in a fine English country house, dishes are no problem at all.

Other nice things....

Cataromance gave The Vanishing Viscountess 4.5 Stars! Here’s part of what the reviewer, the wonderful Debby, said:

"Looking for a book with passion, love, action, danger and surprises? Look no further; The Vanishing Viscountess is perfect for you. Diane Gaston will grab your emotion with this one. "

Oh that feels GOOD!

(here’s the whole review)

In my last-minute Christmas shopping expeditions I’ve visited two bookstores and in both, The Vanishing Viscountess was on the shelf! Over a week early. I turned them out so my hero’s bare chest showed to best advantage.


I also received my author copies of the UK edition of The Vanishing Viscountess. This is a special edition released to celebrate Mills & Boon’s 100th Birthday. Its embossed in gold and is as thick as a Diana Gabaldon book because it contains a free bonus book--The Mysterious Miss M.

You can order the UK version of The Vanishing Viscountess, if you are so inclined, either through Amazon.ca
Or Amazon.co.uk

And my little Christmas gift to you, a poem written by John Clare (1793-1864), an English poet who grew up in extreme rural poverty in Northamptonshire, rising from the working class to write some celebrated poetry, only to fall back into obscurity and madness at the end of his life. In recent years there’s been a renewed interest in his poetry.

I love this poem for its vivid description of an old English country Christmas.
(Warning. It's long)




Christmas Time by John Clare

Glad Christmas comes, and every hearth
Makes room to give him welcome now,
E'en want will dry its tears in mirth,
And crown him with a holly bough;
Though tramping 'neath a winter sky,
O'er snowy paths and rimy stiles,
The housewife sets her spinning by
To bid him welcome with her smiles.

Each house is swept the day before,
And windows stuck with evergreens,
The snow is besom'd from the door,
And comfort the crowns the cottage scenes.
Gilt holly, with its thorny pricks,
And yew and box, with berries small,
These deck the unused candlesticks,
And pictures hanging by the wall.

Neighbors resume their annual cheer,
Wishing, with smiles and spirits high,
Glad Christmas and a happy year
To every morning passer-by;
Milkmaids their Christmas journeys go,
Accompanied with favour'd swain;
And children pace the crumpling snow,
To taste their granny's cake again.

The shepherd, now no more afraid,
Since custom doth the chance bestow,
Starts up to kiss the giggling maid
Beneath the branch of mistletoe
That 'neath each cottage beam is seen,
With pearl-like berries shining gay;
The shadow still of what hath been,
Which fashion yearly fades away.

The singing waits — a merry throng,
At early morn, with simple skill,
Yet imitate the angel's song
And chaunt their Christmas ditty still;
And, 'mid the storm that dies and swells
By fits, in hummings softly steals
The music of the village bells,
Ringing around their merry peals.

When this is past, a merry crew,
Bedecked in masks and ribbons gay,
The Morris Dance, their sports renew,
And act their winter evening play.
The clown turned king, for penny praise,
Storms with the actor's strut and swell,
And harlequin, a laugh to raise,
Wears his hunch-back and tinkling bell.

And oft for pence and spicy ale,
With winter nosegays pinned before,
The wassail-singer tells her tale,
And drawls her Christmas carols o'er.
While 'prentice boy, with ruddy face,
And rime-bepowdered dancing locks,
From door to door, with happy face,
Runs round to claim his "Christmas-box."

The block upon the fire is put,
To sanction custom's old desires,
And many a fagot's bands are cut
For the old farmer's Christmas fires;
Where loud-tongued gladness joins the throng,
And Winter meets the warmth of May,
Till, feeling soon the heat too strong,
He rubs his shins and draws away.

While snows the window-panes bedim,
The fire curls up a sunny charm,
Where, creaming o'er the pitcher's rim,
The flowering ale is set to warm.
Mirth full of joy as summer bees
Sits there its pleasures to impart,
And children, 'tween their parents' knees,
Sing scraps of carols off by heart.

And some, to view the winter weathers,
Climb up the window seat with glee,
Likening the snow to falling feathers,
In fancy's infant ecstacy;
Laughing, with superstitious love,
O'er visions wild that youth supplies,
Of people pulling geese above,
And keeping Christmas in the skies.

As though the homestead trees were drest,
In lieu of snow, with dancing leaves,
As though the sun-dried martin's nest,
Instead of ic'cles hung the eves;
The children hail the happy day —
As if the snow were April's grass,
And pleased, as 'neath the warmth of May,
Sport o'er the water froze to glass.

Thou day of happy sound and mirth,
That long with childish memory stays,
How blest around the cottage hearth,
I met thee in my younger days,
Harping, with rapture's dreaming joys,
On presents which thy coming found,
The welcome sight of little toys,
The Christmas gift of cousins round.

About the glowing hearth at night,
The harmless laugh and winter tale
Go round; while parting friends delight
To toast each other o'er their ale.
The cotter oft with quiet zeal
Will, musing, o'er his bible lean;
While, in the dark the lovers steal,
To kiss and toy behind the screen.

Old customs! Oh! I love the sound,
However simple they may be;
Whate'er with time hath sanction found,
Is welcome, and is dear to me,
Pride grows above simplicity,
And spurns them from her haughty mind;
And soon the poet's song will be
The only refuge they can find.

I feel like I can see these people and I'm sharing their day!

I wish our whole Risky family a happy holiday, filled with the joy, and peace, and love, and hope that is symbolized in this day. You all are a very precious gift to me!

Book Year in Review

I have to admit--I haven't read much fiction this year! The reason is simple. I've had tight deadlines, and when I'm working on my own stuff I avoid other novels. My ego is fragile enough as I try to finish a story, I don't need a fabulous book giving me a breakdown. I would end up spending all my writing time sobbing "My book will never be as good as this! Never, I say!" So, I buy books and put them on my teetering TBR mountain, and save them for a bribe for finishing the book before deadline. Or at least on deadline.

On my romance TBR pile right now are: Janet's Rules of Gentility (soon to be joined by Diane's Vanishing Viscountess and Michelle Willingham's Her Warrior King), Elizabeth Hoyt's second two books of the Prince trilogy, Juliet Landon's The Warlord's Mistress, Kathryn Albright's The Angel and the Outlaw, and Lisa Kleypas's entire "Seasons" quartet (yes, I'm a bit behind). I've also been re-reading Mistletoe Kisses for the holiday season, which includes Diane's novella Twelfth Night Tale. It's perfect for escaping from modern-day holiday madness!

I've been mostly reading non-fiction, research type books, but there have been several real gems this year. I had to cut my list down to the Very Best, and here are just a few:



Janet Todd's Death and the Maidens: Yes, yet another book about the Shelley circle, but Todd (who also has great bios of Mary Wollstonecraft and Aphra Behn to her name) centers her story on the rarely-seen Fanny Wollstonecraft, go-between, smoother-over, overlooked first daughter of MW, who killed herself at age 22. It's also a meditation on the role of all women in this sphere, which makes me feel lucky to have only known them through books!



Janet Gleeson's Privilege and Scandal: a biography of Harriet Spencer, Countess of Bessborough, sister and inseparable friend of Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire, mother of Caroline Lamb, lover of--well, lots of people. Her life in many ways mirrored that of her sister--turbulent marriages, massive debts, illness, travel, dramatic love affairs. All written in a riveting style that turns these long-ago lives into fascinating soap opera!



Lucy Worsley's Cavalier: A Tale of Chivalry, Passion, and Great Houses: Worsley is Chief Curator of Britain's Historic Royal Palaces (a job I envy deeply), this detailed book centered on the 17th century William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, shows her work in every loving, lavish detail of his houses and all the people who lived in them. A fabulous resource for the period. (For more of this family, check out Katie Whitaker's terrific biography of William's author wife Margaret, Mad Madge)





Linda Colley's The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: I recently saw that the NY Times listed this as one of their Top Ten books of the year, which surprised me. Not because this isn't a great book, which it is, but because I thought I had found a hidden gem, LOL! This book chronicles the obscure but extremely adventurous life of 18th century Elizabeth Marsh. She came from a seafaring family who rose to prosperity thanks to an ambitious uncle in the Admiralty. At 20, she was captured by Barbary pirates and nearly ended in the Morcocan sultan's harem. She married a British merchant, and went through times of prosperity and high living followed by bankruptcy and a new life in India (where she spent 18 months touring the country in the company of a dashing officer who was not her husband!). And these were just a few of her adventures...



And Georgina Howell's Gertude Bell, Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations: Another book about an adventurous woman! Gertrude Bell is not obscure like Elizabeth Marsh, but I find the details of her life fascinating. Born into England's 6th richest family, she was a poet, historian, archaeologist, mountaineer, gardener, linguist, and politician who was vital in shaping the early 20th century Middle East (which also makes her story very timely for today).



As far as films go, for most of the year I was pretty disappointed by the movies I saw. Then, in the last few weeks, I've seen 4 great ones! Atonement, Juno, Enchanted, and the DVD of the Edith Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose. All very different, but all highly recommended. :)

So, that is my reading year in review! I just hope 2008 is just as great. What have been your own favorite reads this year? What are you looking forward to in the coming months??

Megan's Favorites, 2007-Style

Anyone who stops by on Friday knows that Organization is not my middle name (for the record, it's Alyssa).

So trying to remember what media I've loved during 2007 is hard; as usual, I'm going to freestyle:

Meljean Brook had two amazing books this year: Demon Angel and Demon Moon. Wow. Brook writes intense, complicated, just insanely good books filled with terribly wonderful characters.

Not to be all sycophantic, but I also loved Jane Lockwood's Forbidden Shores. Who knew a menage a trois could be so fun? I really liked this one, and also Amanda McCabe's A Notorious Woman, which blends just the right amount of romantic angst, setting, and intriguing characters. Go us! (Note: I have Diane's Innocence and Impropriety yet to be read on the shelf, and I still haven't read the Rules of Gentility, hence no props to them yet).

I continued my love for Elizabeth Hoyt with the Leopard Prince and The Serpent Prince. My biggest complaint about historicals these days is that they keep a distance between the reader and the story--not so Hoyt. Her writing is lively and fresh, and I love her flawed characters.

Although I didn't love Lover Revealed and Lover Unbound as much as previous J.R. Ward books, I still devoured them like dark chocolate on a hot night. Yum.

This year, Myretta Robens introduced me to Julia Spencer-Fleming. The first book is In The Bleak Midwinter, and read this opening line: "It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby." Wow. The series continues on, with a new hardcover slated for March, 2008.

Although their first collaboration was a DNF for me, I loved Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer's Agnes And The Hitman. Totally delicious, breakneck prose with crazy-fun characters.

Anne Stuart had two releases this year, only one of which I've read: Ice Blue. Not her best work, but still pretty damn impressive. Sign me up in the Stuart fan-girl list, for sure. I am saving Ice Storm for when I really deserve a treat.

Liz Carlyle's Never Deceive A Duke was up to Carlyle's usual standards, which is to say the book was lush, dense, complex and compelling. I liked Never Lie To A Lady, too.



Of course, media means more than books (ha! See how clever I am?), so I have to say Eastern Promises was an amazing movie, not just for the nude Viggo scenes. I am loving the David Cronenberg/Viggo Mortensen collaboration (first in A History of Violence, now here), and Eastern Promises was easily the best movie I saw in 2007.

In music, Alice Smith's For Lovers, Dreamers & Me blew me away. She has as rich and soulful a voice as Alicia Keys, with some of the same earthy elements, but her soul is more elemental, less poppy. I can not stop listening to this record.

Also in music is stripped down hip-hop artist Lady Tigra, whose Please Mr. Boombox is excellent throughout, no fancy tricks or gizmos, just honest, basic beats with her skillful rhyming.

I know that once I publish this I'll think of a baker's dozen more media I loved this past year, but this was what sprang to mind this busy Friday morning. Thanks for sharing YOUR favorite media with us, too!

Janet reads too much, again

I'm a steady reader since I have a commute by metro to work and also need to read before I can fall asleep at night, so it was hard to pick only a few books I enjoyed this year. I blogged on Mary Shelley's birthday about Passion by Jude Morgan, and I can't wait to read his next one, Symphony, about the love affair between Berlioz and Harriet Smithson (hint to nearest and dearest--it's on my Amazon wishlist). I also loved The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James whom the Riskies interviewed earlier this month.

OK, first, let's get the literary crack out of the way. Read this hilarious spoof by the Smart Bitches and you'll know what I mean--I find JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series immensely entertaining, embarrassingly addictive, and I just about still respect myself in the morning. I can give them up any time I wahnt (a joke, not a typo). Same with Anne Stuart's Ice books, where--what's not to love--phenomenally good looking male operatives are trained to be so good at sex that they can make women do anything. And they do. Terrific escapist fun, both series.

My friend Robin L. Rotham published her first book Alien Overnight this year--it's funny, sexy, and very well-written and has a hilariously over the top cover. Carry a big stick, har har. How's this for a killer opening sentence: "Notice the slight emergence of the male's accessory sexual organ, or what the Garathani refer to as a breeding spur."

Well, what can I say. I'm in love with another species myself. I pooh-poohed the idea of dragons in the Napoleonic wars when Megan blogged about them last year, but I read all four of Naomi Novik's fabulous Temeraire books in less than two weeks. I take it all back. These are a brilliant blend of fact with fantasy, and I'm absolutely in love with both Temeraire the dragon (whose neck fringes are infinitely better than Gerard Butler's and everything is much much bigger) and the wonderful, gentlemanly Captain Laurence.

I also enjoyed new books by two favorites--Making Money by Terry Pratchett (check out the macroeconomic model in the basement of the bank) and Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next--First Among Sequels. If you don't know these two writers you're in for a treat; Pratchett writes (sort of) satirical sci-fi; Fforde writes about an investigator for the Department of Jurisfiction in an alternative literary England. I'd suggest trying to read them in order, although Pratchett has a huge amount of books in print.

I was also thrilled that Jennifer Crusie and Bob Meyer's second collaboration, Agnes and the Hitman, was right on the money; great, funny stuff, although I still can't get used to the idea of Jennifer Crusie writing about the mafia. Maybe Bob wrote those bits. You really can't tell, with such a seamless collaboration.

I discovered a new author, Fiona Neill, whose book Slummy Mummy is about that most hideous phenomenon, London yuppies in reproductive mode. As well as the obvious jokes involving high-powered women putting their formidable talents into child-rearing, this book had a lot of heart and wisdom. I recommend it highly.

I finally got around to a 2006 release, Mozart's Women, about the women he loved and the music he wrote for them, and I desperately want the gown Nannerle his sister is wearing on the cover. Also in nonfiction, London in the Nineteenth Century by Jerry White, which was excellent, although disappointing in only very brief mentions of servants and the black population. I don't think it's available yet in the US.

And finally, The Elements of Internet Style for anyone who's interested in literacy, books, the web, and where everything online and in print seems to be going. It's entertaining and smart, and I wrote a section of it.

Have you read any of these? What's on your wishlist?

All contests all the time. Check out what Pam Rosenthal is giving away in her contest; read an alternate ending to The Rules of Gentility and enter to win a prize at janetmullany.com.

Elena's Best Reads of 2007

There are fewer romance novels on my list this year than usual. I've been writing very intensively and have trouble reading and writing romance at the same time. I read romance only in brief binges between drafts and during vacation. I did get to enjoy a few of the Riskies' recent releases, but some are still on my TBR pile. I won't mortify myself any further by telling which ones or trying to pick favorites! Anyway, the best non-Risky romances I read during this year's vacation were NOT QUITE A LADY by Loretta Chase and THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION by Pam Rosenthal, both highly recommended.

I have managed to do a lot of reading out of genre, since it's my second year with a book discussion group. My favorites among this year's selections included: ORDINARY HEROES by Scott Turow, DIGGING TO AMERICA by Anne Tyler, THE BIRTH HOUSE, by Ami McKay and WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen. Probably of most interest to Riskies and friends was MARCH by Geraldine Brooks, the story of what the father of Louisa May Alcott's LITTLE WOMEN experienced during the year he was away from his family. I love Brooks's use of period language and detail. I also found the portrayal of the adult Marches very illuminating: not idealized as seen through their daughters' eyes but with human imperfections revealed but still consistent with the world Alcott created. Having rather recently become a Unitarian Universalist, I also found it interesting and inspiring to read about these early Unitarians and their concern for social justice and the abolition of slavery.

This year I've probably read more research books than most, because this current mess-in-progress is a veritable research hydra. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a masochist to come up with a hero who's an army brat turned balloonist. But I love him. I digress. Back to the books.

My favorite new reference is LIFE IN WELLINGTON'S ARMY by Antony Brett-James. It's chock-full of wonderful details on all those aspects of military life that are glossed over in the big histories: how they camped, ate, marched, what they did for fun. It's so vivid the theme music from the Sharpe series kept playing in my head as I read.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Three Books and a Movie

This week is devoted to our favorites of the year -- and I've decided to add a movie to mine. (I'm not sure if this is breaking the rules, but I have Blogger at my fingertips and I've gone mad with power!)

There were lots of great books this year, both by my fellow Riskies (who, as we all know, are fabulous writers) and by other folks...but end-of-year time-crunch panic has set in for me (Todd is sick again and I'm picking up the slack with my hey-wait-I'm-lazy-why-are-we-working hands), so I'm just going to talk about a few of them: one book series, and one movie.

My friend Heather (book pusher extraordinaire) turned me on to Megan Whalen Turner's Attolia books. And -- wow.

First off: no spoilers! This is one set of books where spoilers are especially spoiling!

Second off: these are high fantasy, though the kind without huge amounts of magic. The world is sort of Greece, a ways in the past. The hero of the first book is a clever, vain, lazy, charming thief who has more heart than he likes to let on. I'm not going to say who the later books are about, because that would be spoilage!

Anyway, there are three books in the series so far:

1) THE THIEF
2) THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA
3) THE KING OF ATTOLIA

And because this is a romance blog, I'll just mention that at least one of the books involves a really well-done romance -- and one that's so unusual, I can't think of anything similar I've seen in any book. The characters and relationship have been in my head ever since, and I think about them a lot.

So, in short, I'm saying: read these books -- and avoid any spoilers (including back-cover blurbs, jacket synopses, or reviews on Amazon) while doing so!

We've previously talked about the movie AMAZING GRACE, with Ioan Gruffud as Wilberforce, so I won't repeat what's been said.

But it just a really interesting, very enjoyable, and gorgeous to look at movie. (And all the gorgeous actors in it don't hurt.)

Well, there you have it...my abbreviated "I have to exchange those books then wrap them then mail them then mail the other things then wrap those others and do my cards and then OOPS I was also going to do this and this and that" list of favorites of 2007...

Cara
who has nothing clever to say in her sig line today

Congratulations to ROBYNL!

You have won a copy of JANE AUSTEN'S WORLD by Maggie Lane, courtesy of Amanda. Please email riskies@yahoo.com to claim your prize.

Thanks to all who helped us celebrate the divine Jane's birthday!

Stuff Diane Has Read

First of all, let me tell you why Megan has been absent from the blog for two weeks. Sadly, her father passed away, very unexpectedly.

Our Riskies community knew Megan's father through her eyes and most movingly from the Mother's Day tribute she gave to him here . Wasn't this blog post voted a Megan favorite? For good reason.

Megan assures us she is doing well, but our hearts go out to her and her family. Her dad was only 65, so it feels like he's been snatched from her way too soon.

Megan's personal blog has been keeping us informed. For those who wish to offer condolences, why don't you leave a message for Megan there? I do encourage you to scroll down on Megan's blog and read about the amazing man who was her father (or click here).


Very special thanks to Myretta Robens, Regency author and friend to Megan, who graciously jumped in to blog about Pride & Prejudice last Friday. We're still getting comments!


Megan will return to the Riskies when she is able, maybe even by Friday. In the meantime, hugs to her from all of us.


This week we're talking about our favorite reads of the year.

Sigh.

Compared to the other Riskies and, I'm sure, our entire Riskies community, I am definitely the least well read. I just don't read many books at all and I rarely keep track and I have a horrible memory. So this is a hard blog.

I can say that of the fiction I've read two of my very favorites are Amanda's A Notorious Woman and Janet's Rules of Gentility. A Notorious Woman had the rich atmosphere of Venice and was an exotic and different read for me. Rules of Gentility was sooooo clever, sparkling and bright. I'm proud as I can be that my fellow Riskies wrote such wonderful books.

I've been mostly reading nonfiction this year, reading for research and inspiration. My favorite book about the Regency (well, BEFORE the Regency) was Paula Byrne's biography of Perdita. I knew virtually nothing about Mary Robinson and I found her life very remarkable. Lovely to know that there were strong, complex, talented, surviving women in that time period!

I've also been reading some other sorts of books for research, books about psychic ability. I've read Allison Dubois's books, We Are Their Heaven and Don't Kiss Them Goodbye. The TV series Medium is based on Allison Dubois's life. Verrry interesting.


Because Amanda saw it on a library shelf, I also read Terry Iacuzzo's Small Mediums At Large: The True Tale of a Family of Psychics. Really fascinating!

I've read a couple more books in the same vein. Why? you ask. Well, I have this idea for books which include what I consider "real" psychic phenomena-clairvoyance, psychic healing, mediums, telepathy. Real, as opposed to things like vampires, werewolves, and shape-shifters.

Hee hee. I'll bet my reading list is unique!
What have you been reading this year? Have you read any of these books? What did you think of Rules of Gentility and A Notorious Woman?
What books are you buying for gifts? I'm thinking of buying The Dangerous Book for Boys for my son...who is an adult.

"She is almost too good for me"

For the past week here in Oklahoma, we've been having rather unpleasant weather. Ice, snow, rain, and no sun. My TV and Internet were down, the pets huddled in their fleece beds by the heating vents, but I've had a lovely time re-reading Persuasion. It was Austen's last novel, published after her death, and it's my favorite of all the books. With Pride and Prejudice a very close second, and all the others tied for 3rd. Or maybe Mansfield Park is 4th. Janet is right--it is literary Big Girl Panties. Though I would a thousand times rather read it again than read, say, Moby Dick.

Anyway, Persuasion. What a beautiful book. If MP is big girl panties, and Moby Dick is fried liver and onions, Persuasion is rich, dark hot chocolate on a cold night. In college, I once wrote a paper contrasting Persuasion and MP, and Anne Elliot and Fanny Price. I'm always struck by how different the two books are, in tone and theme as well as character. Anne shares Fanny's dutifulness and loneliness, but has a warmth and sweetness, a hidden spirit, Fanny lacks. (Anne also doesn't go around lecturing people and ruining their fun, even when they richly deserve it!). Fanny 'wins' by not changing, by upholding the status quo; Anne wins by doing the exact opposite.

But let's start at the beginning. Persuasion is about, well, love. Real, lasting love and what it means. About self-deception, the messes families make, narcissism and the unknowability of other people. Communication and the lack thereof. Snobbery and honor. The importance of not jumping off walls. Aging, the passing of time, change and regret.

Anne Elliot is on the shelf. She is in her mid to late 20s, living an invisible life with her insufferable family. Her father, Sir Walter Elliot, "was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage...he could read his own history with an interest which never failed--this was the page at which the favorite volume was always opened: 'Elliot of Kellynch-Hall'." He is only interested in himself and what reflects him. His daughter Elizabeth is "very like himself", and Mary has "acquired a little artificial importance" because she is married. But Anne, "with an elegance of mind and sweetness of character, which must have placed her high with any people of real understanding, was nobody with either father or sister: her word had no weight...she was just Anne." Her father "had never indulged much hope, he had none now, of ever reading her name in any other page of his favorite work"--to not be in the book was simply not to be, and thus Anne doesn't really exist. But his profligacy has driven the family into near bankruptcy, and they're forced to rent out Kellynch-Hall and retreat to Bath, which Anne, like her author Austen, does not like.

Her friend and surrogate mother, Lady Russell, is a "benevolent, charitable, good woman, and capable of strong attachments," but she also holds "a value for rank and consequence, which blinded her a little to the faults of those who possessed them." It is mainly she who persuaded Anne, years ago, to refuse the offer of the young naval officer Wentworth, something Anne has regretted ever since. But they will soon meet again.

Regret and the passing of time, of course, are a big theme in Persuasion. I once read an essay that compared Persuasion to Shakespeare's late romances (Winter's Tale, The Tempest, Cymbeline), and this seems apt. They both share a bittersweetness, an 'autumnal' quality of poignancy and sadness, and the dream of second chances. The story begins in "summer 1814" (the only Austen book set in a specific time). It is "more than seven years...since the little history of sorrowful interest reached its close." It is a big turning point for England as well as Anne. She had "been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older." Like Anne, everything is in a condition of change. All the old stabilities (family, parents, social rank and property, respected names) are called into question. New values are rising to take their place, and change Anne's life. Nominal gentlemen (like Sir Walter and the odious Mr. Elliot) are shown to be, well, not very gentlemanly at all. Not compared to men like Wentworth and Admiral Croft.

At Lyme, Louisa Musgrove is "convinced of sailors having more worth than any other set of men in England; that they only knew how to live, and they only deserved to be respected and loved." (Aside from the youthful hyperbole, Anne would agree--"She prized the frank, the open-hearted, the eager character beyond all others").




By the end, of course, wrongs are righted, miscommunications (of which there have been many) are cleared, and Anne and Wentworth are united at last ("There they exchanged again those feelings and those promised which had once before seemed to secure every thing, but which had been followed by so many, many years of division and estrangement. There they returned again into the past more exquisitely happy...than when it had been first projected"). But unlike previous Austen marriages (the Darcys with Pemberley, Fanny Price and Mansfield, Emma and her two houses), endless stability is not on the horizon for the Wentworths. War is threatened; the new values, not secured by property and conventional society, will be tested. "She (Anne) gloried in being a sailor's wife, but she must pay the tax of quick alarm for belonging to that profession which is, if possible, more distinguished in its domestic virtues than its national importance." We have to trust in their own constancy and emotional stability to see them through.

What do you think of Persuasion, of Anne and Wentworth and their brave new world? We're so glad you've joined is for our Austen Week! It's been so much fun to share our love of these books.

Be sure and comment for a chance to win a copy of Maggie Lane's Jane Austen's World! (One of those books I ordered not realizing I already had a copy. Oops!). And keep up with these special events and giveaways by signing on for our newsletter at riskies@yahoo.com .

Pride & Prejudice, with guest blogger Myretta Robens

"I hope you received my little parcel by J. Bond on Wednesday evening, my dear Cassandra, and that you will be ready to hear from me again on Sunday, for I feel that I must write to you today. [...] I want to tell you that I have got my own darling child from London." - Jane Austen to her sister, Cassandra, Friday, January 29, 1813

My book is Pride and Prejudice, and it is a bit daunting to talk about Jane Austen's "darling child," and perhaps the darling child of most of her readers. For what percentage would readily admit that Pride and Prejudice is their favorite of the six novels? And in what context has the opening line, ""It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife," not been paraphrased. If any book is part of the English-speaking world's collective unconscious, Pride and Prejudice is it.

Shall I summarize it for you? Is it possible you don't know about Elizabeth and Darcy's prickly early encounters and gradual journey into love? Do you not know that Lydia eloped with George Wickham and that Darcy made him marry her? Haven't you heard that despite Darcy's early efforts, his friend Bingley returned to Hertfordshire to marry Jane? If you haven't read the book, surely you have seen one of the many adaptations.

Pride and Prejudice is the iconic love story wrapped in a delicious comedy of manners. No one handles the English language like Jane Austen, and no one wields a sharper pen.

"My reasons for marrying are, first, that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to set the example of matrimony in his parish. Secondly, that I am convinced it will add very greatly to my happiness; and thirdly -- which perhaps I ought to have mentioned earlier, that it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honour of calling patroness. Twice has she condescended to give me her opinion (unasked too!) on this subject; and it was but the very Saturday night before I left Hunsford -- between our pools at quadrille, while Mrs. Jenkinson was arranging Miss de Bourgh's foot-stool, that she said, 'Mr. Collins, you must marry. "

In my opinion, no funnier proposal has ever been written.

Contrary to Jane Austen's satiric "Plan of a Novel," wherein the angelic heroine and her long-winded father are harried from one European country to another by the anti-hero and a series of importunate lovers, the plan of Pride and Prejudice is practically a perfect paradigm for the modern romance:
1) Haughty, upper-class Hero enters the realm of the less exalted Heroine.
2) Hero and Heroine take an immediate dislike to one another.
3) Friends of Hero successfully detach him from the Heroine, but not before he has had second thoughts about her attractiveness.
4) Hero detaches friend from Heroine's sister.
5) Hero girds his loins and proposes to Heroine, who still thinks he is an interfering snob and shoots him down.
6) Hero absorbs reproof and goes about reforming himself to be worthy of the woman he once thought it "a punishment" to dance with.
7) Heroine and Hero meet again, heroine has change of heart, but before she can make her feelings known,
8) Heroine's foolish sister elopes with a scoundrel, later to be rescued (sort of) by Hero. Hero also restores detached suitor to Heroine's sister.
9) The two meet again, Hero proposes, and they live happily ever after.

A good writer, can take that outline and deliver a delightful, modern Regency Romance. Some have and, I daresay, more will.

Although I would never classify Jane Austen as a romance writer, there is little doubt that she can write romance. And there is little doubt she has inspired several generations of romance writers. Jane Austen, and particularly Pride and Prejudice, is the reason I began to write Regency Romance. And the reason I continue to do so.

So, is this your favorite Jane Austen novel? Is it because of the romance? The humor? The sheer perfection of it? Is it, as Jane Austen said, tongue in cheek, too "light, bright and sparkling?" Is it the reason you read (or write) in the Regency?

Myretta Robens

www.myrettarobens.com

Mansfield Park

You heard it here. Mansfield Park is the Austen equivalent of big girl panties.


I chose Mansfield Park because I was afraid no one else would want it, and I was interested in seeing what I thought of the book decades after my last attempt at reading it. Briefly, it is the story of Fanny Price, who is raised by her wealthy relatives the Bertrams in their luxurious home Mansfield Park (thought to be based on Cottesbrooke Hall), where [i]f tenderness could ever be supposed wanting, good sense and good breeding supplied its place.

I read the Oxford University Press edition--not my first choice but the local library didn't have a copy and I couldn't find my collected Austen. No helpful notes or introduction, and so I was left to my own interpretation. First, I had trouble figuring out what is the book really about--it's unlike Austen's other works in that it covers so much ground and so many themes, and the point of view shifts frequently; I believe it's the only one of the novels that uses multiple points of view. It's the only one of the novels that is concerned in a major way with fashionable mores of the ton and has more titled characters, at least mentioned in passing, than you can shake a stick at.

Is it a comedy? Sort of. Mrs. Norris, the only truly funny character, isn't that funny after a time as you realize how mean-spirited she is and as you see her fall out of favor with the powerful Sir Thomas Bertram. There's also the stagestruck Mr. Yates who really really likes his blue dress (no, not that sort of dress) and pink satin cloak.

Is it a love story? Sort of. Edmund and Fanny slide into marriage--and the one thing I do remember from earlier readings is that these two are well matched in vapidity and longwindedness. The moral of the book?--that if you wait, all things will come to you?--Fanny must have a horse, a fire in her room, and ultimately a husband (the cousin marrying thing was not nearly as icky as you might think). That virtue is rewarded, certainly; Miss Prism (The Importance of Being Earnest), whose definition of fiction was that the good end happily and the bad unhappily, probably enjoyed Mansfield Park.

Fanny develops from the poor, sickly relative into an attractive and well read young woman, although shy and given to longwinded rhapsodies on the beauties of nature etc. (this is a book of voluble characters. Edmund, bless him, goes on for pages and pages). She and her Bertram cousins are befriended by the worldly and ambitious brother and sister Henry and Mary Crawford, and Henry becomes involved with both of Fanny's female cousins, playing them off against each other, even though one of them is engaged. And Fanny finds herself befriending Mary, even though she isn't really sure she likes her or approves of her, and feels pretty much the same way about Henry.

One of the early crises of the book--ending with a splendid cliffhanger at the end of Volume I--is the amateur staging of a very naughty play, Lovers' Vows. Fanny refuses to take part; poor Edmund, in a crisis of conscience, decides it is his moral duty to take a part in the play. (I think, but I'm not sure, that you are meant to laugh here.) Much later you find out that Edmund very much enjoyed rehearsing with the fascinating Miss Crawford, with whom he's fallen in love, even though he suspects her moral code does not match up to his. And, yes, she really does say "What gentleman among you am I to have the pleasure of making love to?"

And then Henry Crawford tells his sister that his next challenge is to make Fanny fall in love with him.

Yikes.

Is Austen writing her version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses? Certainly Crawford, short, dark, flirty, and keen on farming as well as women, is no Valmont. Henry arranges for a promotion for Fanny's midshipman brother and even wrenches good behavior out of her uncouth family in Portsmouth. But Fanny holds firm--she won't marry a man she doesn't love, however persuasive he, his sister, and her own relatives are in gently blackmailing her to accept him, even if Henry does seem to be genuinely in love with her. Her instincts prove to be right.

Mansfield Park is possibly Austen's sexiest book, and I think this may be one reason--other than the yawn-inducing Fanny and Edmund--why it's her least favorite. I suspect it may be beyond many readers' comfort zones--it doesn't sound like dear Jane. There's a tremendously strong physical awareness between her characters:

... she gradually slackened in the needle-work, which, at the beginning, seemed to occupy her totally; how it fell from her hand while she sat motionless over it—and at last, how the eyes which had appeared so studiously to avoid him throughout the day, were turned and fixed on Crawford, fixed on him for minutes, fixed on him in short till the attraction drew Crawford's upon her, and the book was closed, and the charm was broken.

And the most blatant expression of physical desire of all of Austen's books:

...Maria, still feeling her hand pressed to Henry Crawford's heart, and caring little for anything else.

The characters are equally conscious of their physical presence indoors and outside. The book is full of references to space, horizons, the landscape improvements of Repton and others that open up vistas; and their movements around the house are like stage entrances and exits. There's an extraordinary scene, elaborately choreographed, involving a locked gate, when the Bertrams, Fanny, and the Crawfords visit the estate of Miss Bertram's fiance. When Fanny visits her family in Portsmouth you almost expect her to whip out a tape measure, so shocked is she by the humble dimensions of the rooms.

Enough from me. Have you read Mansfield Park? If not, why not? If you have, what do you think of it?

"a heroine whom no one but myself will much like"

This is how Jane Austen herself described Emma, her most flawed heroine. I'm going to focus on this issue because I think it's the crux of why there are such widely differing opinions on this book.

First I'll say this isn't my favorite Austen either. (PRIDE & PREJUDICE and PERSUASION are each my favorite, depending on which one I've read most recently.) When I first read EMMA as a teenager, I didn't like it much. Being insecure myself, I didn't want to identify with a heroine who made so very many embarrassing mistakes. At the time I would almost (hanging head in shame) rather identify with a Barbara Cartland heroine, though come to think of it they all had that embarrassing inability to complete a sentence in the hero's presence!

Anyway, once I had outgrown the desire for perfect heroines, Emma grew on me. I've become more comfortable with my own flaws so now I also prefer heroines who make mistakes as long as they have the saving grace of learning from them as Emma does.

I even think I've come to a better understanding of Emma's behavior toward Harriet Smith and her unkindness to Harriet's suitor, the farmer Robert Martin. Emma's most obvious motivation for "improving" Harriet appears to be an officious desire to manage everything. But reading between the lines, I wonder if part of the cause was loneliness. Emma's sister married and moved away, then Miss Taylor did the same. She was encouraged to befriend Jane Fairfax but really, Jane Fairfax was not the stuff of which BFFs are made. Even Mr. Knightley admits that she 'has not the open temper which a man would wish for in a wife.' That open temper was a quality I think Emma longed for in a friend.

So Emma tried to mold Harriet into something more like herself, with disastrous results. I can sympathise with this because I once made a similar mistake. All I can say is that both Emma and I meant well and we are brave enough to admit when we are wrong. That ought to count for something!

I don't find EMMA quite as romantic as P&P or PERSUASION, yet there's a part of the romance that works powerfully for me. I like that Mr. Knightley loves Emma enough to always want to bring out the best in her and that he appreciates her courage in admitting her mistakes. The line from the book, so beautifully delivered by Jeremy Northam in the 1996 film: "I have blamed you, and lectured you, and you have borne it as no other woman in England would have borne it" is one of my favorites. I love the idea of someone being totally honest with you and loving you despite--or even because of--your faults.

So anyway, EMMA has grown on me to the point that it's a strong #3 in my Jane Austen favorites list. But I still understand why it is last on many people's lists. I have seen reviews of Joan Aiken's spinoff JANE FAIRFAX (which I haven't read myself) written by readers who say they detested Emma in the original. Jane Fairfax is a much more obvious choice of heroine by modern romance terms: virtuous, impoverished, an obvious object for sympathy. But being a bit of a contrarian here...why shouldn't a heroine who is "handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition" have a romance too?

Let me know what you think about EMMA, either the main character or any others you'd like to discuss. And don't forget, we'll be giving away a copy of JANE AUSTEN'S WORLD to a lucky winner chosen from comments all this week!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

NORTHANGER ABBEY -- Jane Austen week continues!

Welcome to day two of Jane Austen week! In honor of Jane Austen's upcoming birthday, we're spending this whole week talking about her novels.

Today: Northanger Abbey!

I first read this novel in college. The only Austen I'd read before was Pride and Prejudice, and I'd found it wonderfully romantic. So I picked up Northanger Abbey one day. I was expecting an emotional, swoon-worthy, and delightfully short book. (I've always liked short books. Does that mean I'm lazy?)

The novel wasn't quite what I was expecting. In fact, I was initially quite disappointed. I'd wanted a smart heroine (like Lizzy Bennet) and a powerful, yummy hero (such as Darcy).

Instead, I got a staggeringly naive heroine. And, sure, naive heroines (particularly young ones) may transform themselves into impressive women, but it seemed to me that would require strength and intelligence, or at least industriousness. Catherine had no great claim to any of the three. No, her best quality was that she was, you know, nice. Pleasant. Friendly.

Gullible.

Tilney was a bit more attractive to my eighteen-year-old reading self, once I figured out that pretty much everything he said was a joke. But Austen refused to let me get romantic about Tilney, no matter how much I wanted to. Instead, she kept pointing out that one of the reasons he was falling for Catherine was that she quoted his opinions on art back to him:

...though to the larger and more trifling part of the [male] sex, imbecility in females is a great enhancement of their personal charms, there is a portion of them too reasonable and too well informed themselves to desire any thing more in woman than ignorance.

...she soon began to see beauty in every thing admired by him, and her attention was so earnest, that he became perfectly satisfied of her having a great deal of natural taste.

And that wasn't what I was looking for in a guy, either in literature or real life.

And yet, when The Official Risky Decision was made to blog about Austen's novels this week, my hand went up with an "oh, can I have Northanger Abbey, please please please?"

It's definitely one of my three favorite Austens (along with P&P and Persuasion.) And I'm pretty sure I lean toward it more than the average Austen fan.

So...what changed? Why do I love it now, when I was so disappointed at the outset?

I think one of the reasons is that I (extensively) revised my expectations. I no longer pick up the novel to have a wonderful romantic adventure, or admire a heroine or swoon over a hero.

I love the humor. The bright, sparkling, silly fun of the first half of the book is just great comedy. John Thorpe, always boasting... Isabella, so transparent in how she chases men... Mrs. Allen, who wishes she had some acquaintance in Bath... Mr. Tilney, who knows to what use ladies put nine-shillings-a-yard muslin.

And, really, what a lovely existence, in that first half of the book! The worst problems are rain and a bit of boredom, but Mrs. Radcliffe can always cure that. We have country dances and country walks, carriages and cravats, flirtation and quizzes -- and no work at all. Ah, yes -- that's the life I want. (Does that mean I'm lazy?)

I confess, I don't care for the second half of the book nearly as well. Sunshiny, dynamic Bath turns into dark, dreary Northanger Abbey, and most of the comic characters are gone. Tilney lectures Catherine a lot, and the ending is one of Austen's "I'll tell you what happened, but I won't give it to you in a scene" resolutions, like in Mansfield Park, which I always find less than satisfying.

But for me, nothing can equal the first half of the book. I want to be in Bath with the Tilneys and Thorpes and Allens, reading Gothic novels with Catherine and promenading in the Pump Room, with the comic spirit of Sheridan and the Eighteenth Century wits infusing everyone around me.

So...how about you? What do you think of Northanger Abbey?

(And remember, on Tuesday, January 1, we're going to discuss the BBC TV adaptation of Northanger Abbey -- so be sure to stop by!)

Cara
Cara King, author of My Lady Gamester, the story of a heroine who is so industrious that she makes me want to take a nap...then again, you all know how lazy I am...

Sense and Sensibility - Celebrating Jane Austen

This week, in anticipation of Jane Austen's birthday, we are each discussing one of her books. I chose Sense and Sensibility. At the end of the week, courtesy of Amanda, we'll be giving away a copy of Jane Austen's World to one lucky commenter. (Bertie's rules apply)

Jane was born Dec 16, 1775, and Sense and Sensibility was her first published book. She wrote the first draft, called Elinor and Marianne, when she was nineteen years old but the book we read today was first published in 1811.

from Wikipedia: Although the plot favors the value of sense over that of sensibility, the greatest emphasis is placed on the moral complexity of human affairs and on the need for enlarged and subtle thought and feeling in response to it.

It has been a few years since I've read any Jane Austen (being the worst-read of all the Riskies), so I came to Sense and Sensibility with fresh eyes. I discovered a few things:

1. Sense and Sensibility is primarily a love story. A Romance. No matter the other themes of the book, romance is central. From the beginning we root for Elinor and Marianne to find love and have a happily ever after.

2. How masterfully Austen parallels Elinor's love story with Marianne's. They both fall in love with men they cannot have. They both have knowledge of the women the men must marry. What Marianne suffers openly and dramatically, Elinor conceals.

3. How deftly Austen can convey character-and with such wit and wisdom! It seems to take her a mere brush stroke. For example, of John Dashwood, Elinor and Marianne's half-brother, comes this: "He had just compuction enough for having done nothing for his sisters himself, to be exceedingly anious that everybody else should do a great deal..." I'm in awe of her skill.


4. The Marianne of the book is much less appealing than how she was portrayed by Kate Winslet in the Sense and Sensibility movie. Marianne is convinced that acting upon her own feelings at all times is the way to go; therefore, she is often rude and thoughtless and ill-mannered, even if her heart is in the right place toward her sister. Marianne is selfish in this way, to feel her emotions may be expressed at the expense of others.

5. It occurs to me that, in the end, Marianne learns to be unselfish, to think of others rather than herself. In the end, she understands that Willoughby needed something she was unable to give him, so she could forgive him. I think she might have learned some of this unselfishness from Col. Brandon, who seems always to think of her needs over his own. And, of course, from her sister, who is unselfishness personified.

6. Compared to most romance novels today, Austen's writing is denser, wordier, and its revelations seem to be slipped in when you least expect them. There is a lot of what we would call "Telling," but her prose still shines. You have to read it at a savoring pace, which was perfectly fine with me!

7. In Sense and Sensibility, Austen's subplot takes center stage and the main romance is almost in the background. I see this book as Elinor's story (although I'm sure that others could argue differently) and Elinor's love story is a quiet one compared to the drama of Marianne's love story. I can see 19th century readers turning the page to see what happens to Marianne, but in the end, it is Elinor's happy ending that resonates. At least for me.

8. Emma Thompson did a wonderful job of condensing the book into a movie. The book is, of course, richer and more detailed, especially of the minor characters, but Emma caught the spirit of the book.

Those are my random thoughts about Sense and Sensibility. What do you all think? What do you like about this story? What don't you like about it, if anything?


Come back every day this week for more discussion on Austen's books. If you want to know what we'll be up to in the future, sign up for our newsletter at http://www.blogger.com/riskies@yahoo.comand put "newsletter" in the subject field. And don't forget! The Vanishing Viscountess is available now on eharlequin and will be in stores Jan 1.

Lois wins UNTOUCHED by Anna Campbell

Riskies are pleased to announce that Anna Campbell has selected a winner of Untouched.

Lois!!

(You lucky ducky!)

Just email Anna at anna@annacampbell.info with your snail mail details and Anna will get your copy of Untouched off to you posthaste!

The Riskies Welcome Back Anna Campbell!

The Riskies are pleased to welcome Anna Campbell back to our drawing room! She is celebrating the release of her second book with Avon, UNTOUCHED...

1) It's wonderful to welcome you back to Risky Regencies. What have you been up to since the last time we chatted?

Amanda and Riskies, thank you so much for asking me back to chat. I had a fabuloso time last time I hung out (I hope you note the authentic Regency language here!). I’m looking forward to another fun day and to giving away a signed copy of the green monster to someone who leaves a comment.

Life since we last chatted has been absolutely nutsoid. Ah, more Jane Austen influence sneaks into my prose! I’ve written my third "Regency noir" for Avon which will come out in October 2008. Just handed that in on 1^st November. I’ve also had a big overseas trip. I had a month in the UK doing research. I soak up landscape and atmosphere and hang around stately homes and drive all the guides wild because I want to know EVERYTHING! I then went on to a week in New York followed by a week in Dallas for RWA Nationals where I got to meet some of my favorite Riskies in person. Although we didn’t get time to chat at length – something we’ll have to remedy in San Francisco next year. I’ve also joined a blog of Golden Heart finalists from 2006. There are 20 of us. When we started six months ago, four of us were published. Now we’re up to 11 which is a fantastic achievement. So generally these days, you can find me hanging out at Romance Bandits www.romancebandits.blogspot.com when I’m not trying to figure out a new way to torment my poor characters.

2) Your first book, Claiming the Courtesan, caused quite a stir! Were you expecting anything like that?

Ah, the famous hoo-ha, not to be confused with Jennifer Crusie’s equally famous glittery hoo-ha! Frankly, the scandal took me by complete surprise. When I wrote CTC, I was unpublished and I just assumed the book would go under the bed with all my other unpublished manuscripts. Then when I sold, I assumed nobody would pay any attention to my debut book at all! The longevity of the controversy astonished me. But then it was a true controversy – CTC divided people radically down the middle into lovers and haters.

3) The new book, Untouched, also has an unusual and intriguing set-up--a new widow kidnapped off the street and told she must seduce the "mad", reclusive hero under pain of torture and death! Can you tell us more about this story? What was your inspiration?

Honestly, Amanda, I have NO idea where these off the wall ideas come from. Apart from out of my off the wall mind I’m not sure if you’d remember from last time we spoke (wouldn’t blame you if you don’t!) but CLAIMING THE COURTESAN came to me absolutely out of nowhere after I’d decided I was going to try and make a career in Regency romantic comedy. Anyway, I thought I’d never come up with a premise as inherently sexy as CTC again, basically because I never had before. So feeling very sorry for myself, I was lying in the bath and this idea popped into my mind of this woman strapped to a table and told she had to ‘amuse’ a madman or die. Hmm, fairly sexy, I thought. Especially as the ‘madman’ was going to be a gorgeous hero. UNTOUCHED is VERY gothic, even more so than CTC. There were a stack of influences from fairytales like Beauty and the Beast to the 19^th century literary obsession with madness to old Victoria Holts I read as a teenager.

4) You might not think it from this unpromising beginning to True Love, but Grace and Matthew really felt like they "fit" together, they were meant to be. At least I, Amanda, felt like they did! How did you come up with these two?

Thank you, Amanda. That was a lovely compliment. I really try and make sure my hero and heroine have qualities in common that aren’t immediately apparent so there’s a soul connection as well as the immediate physical attraction. Sadly, there’s been a lot of serious illness in my family in recent years and I started thinking about heroism that moves beyond the obvious. You know, the sort of heroism that suffers and endures and requires endless, unspectacular courage. That’s the sort of heroism both Grace and Matthew demonstrate. So even though their outer circumstances are quite different, at a base level, they really have faced similar trials and emerged stronger for their suffering.

5) What are some of your favorite research sources for this 1820s period?

I love this decadent period before Victoria took the throne but after the Regency proper, although obviously for sales reasons, the books are marketed as Regency historicals. I first became interested in these years when I read the marvelous romances Loretta Chase set in the same era, although obviously LC’s books and mine have a completely different feel. The more nonfiction I read about the time, the more interested I became. It’s exactly the background for Regency noirs! For UNTOUCHED, I did a lot of research into the treatment of madness in the 19^th century (and goodness, would some of that curl your hair with horror!). A book I used a lot was Roy Porter’s MADMEN which was published in the UK under the much more evocative title of ‘Mind-Forg’d Manacles’.

6) So--what about that avocado farm? :)

Snort! I grew up on an avocado farm on the south coast of Queensland in Australia. A very beautiful spot, by the way. I can still spot any avocado variety at 20 paces. Strangely, not a skill that has yet earned me any money! Some interesting facts about avocadoes – our collie dog absolutely loved them and used to bump against the branches until the avocadoes dropped off. He’d worked out when they fell, they started to ripen (he was a VERY clever dog). He’d then come back when they were ripe and eat them so delicately that only the thinnest, most perfect skin was left and a completely bare seed. Neat, huh? Foxes like to eat avocadoes too! And we had terrible trouble with crows because they used to peck the fruit on the trees to see if it was ripe and if it wasn’t, they’d just move onto the next fruit. Of course, that damaged fruit was then unsuitable for sending to market. Crows were not popular with the family!

7) We're starting our "Austen Week" tomorrow, leading up to The Birthday on December 16th. What's your own favorite Austen novel?

Amanda, what a fantastic question. I adore Jane Austen. Actually I’ve yet to meet a romance writer who doesn’t love Jane and recognize her and the marvelous Brontes as the geniuses who are the source of our wonderful genre. My favorite JA is PERSUASION. There’s so much heart and feeling in that story. Although I waver because I love PRIDE AND PREJUDICE with all it sparkle and wit and has there ever been a better romance hero than Mr. Darcy? I think not! Speaking of the Jane Austen birthday, the Riskies have inspired me to have my own celebration on the 10^th December over at my regular blog Romance Bandits. I’ll celebrate all things Jane and give away an ARC of THE LOST MEMOIRS OF JANE AUSTEN by Syrie James. Pop by if you get a chance! And I’d love to come and play with you guys during your Austen week too! You can’t have too much Jane, can you?

(Definitely not enough Jane--and Persuasion is my favorite, too! --Amanda)

8) What's next for you?

I just handed in my third Avon historical romance TEMPT THE DEVIL which at present is scheduled for October, 2008. It’s another dark and sensual story that I’m calling a Regency noir AFFAIR TO REMEMBER. Although I suspect I’m the only person who will get the connection. It’s another courtesan story although the hero and heroine are older and more cynical than Kylemore or Verity. My pitch when I told my editor about it was that these two people have seen everything and done everything and yet felt nothing. Falling in love is the greatest risk they can take. My fourth book will probably be closer to the feeling of UNTOUCHED than TTD. I’m going to start serious work on that after Christmas. I’ve got a great idea for more tortured characters ;-)

Comment on the post to win a copy of Untouched (aka The Green Monster)! And to keep track of all the upcoming interviews and giveaways, sign up for the Riskies newsletter at riskies@yahoo.com...

Bertie the Beau's Holiday Guide

Greetings!

It is I, everyone's favourite Regency time-traveler, Bertram St. James.

(I am also known by a certain name which some of my intimates insist on using for me, Bertie the Beau. Of course, I have never encouraged this habit. After all, I am modesty personified!)

(Or...do I mean humility? I can never remember which is which. Though, come to think of it, what have I to be humble about? So perhaps I do mean modesty.)

Ahem.

Today, I am going to talk about what holiday gifts are certain to please any true gentleman of your acquaintance, and which would be destined only to be passed off immediately to the servants.

If you are on a tight budget, these gloves are a thrifty yet delightful gift. They are lined with cashmere, of course, because no real gentleman has skin that can withstand anything rougher. And how delightful -- they only cost $200! So you can buy several pairs to "stuff" (as modern folks so vulgarly put it) the silk stockings of your favorite gentleman.

(I confess, I have not yet quite grasped the need to ruin a good pair of stockings every year by filling them with presents, but as you see, I am trying to adapt myself to the customs of the year 2007.)

Here is what not to get for a gentleman, or, indeed, anyone with any claim to elegance.

Is this not the ugliest thing you have ever seen?

What grace? What beauty? What possible redeeming feature does this "watch" have?

Of course, all "wrist-watches" are inherently repellant, when it comes to aesthetic considerations. I have no idea why they were created.

If you must give a gentleman a watch, it should look like this. Graceful, pleasing, and made of precious metals.

Of course, no watch can have true elegance.

After all, why in the world would one need to know the time?

Very well, one might if one had agree to meet one's fellows at one's club at a certain time. But one could always rely on one's man to send one off in time for that.

(Unless one's man is a hedgehog, but that's another matter entirely.)

Think about it. Whenever you see a man with a watch, you immediately know that he is some kind of clerk, rushing off to do things with papers and money and other tedious and decidedly middle-class inventions.

This is by far the best thing to give to any gentleman.

A gigantic-screened TeleVision Device.

Heavenly.

And, yes, it is rather distasteful to look at. But only when it is not turned on!

This, by the way, is what a certain Beau of your acquaintance would prefer to be given this year.

And if I receive multiple copies of this "item" -- then all the better! I can watch several of my favourite "shows" at once.

Here is another example of what not to give a gentleman of elegance -- the most recent "cinema" version of Miss Austen's novel.

(Do I hear some shocked murmuring out there? Very well, I admit that there are rumours floating about here and there that Keira Knightley and I are secretly pledged to each other.

But let me assure you -- those stories were all put about by my eternally embarrassing aunt, and have no relation to earthly reality. For, as much as I respect Mlle. Knightley's dramatic talents, and envy her cheekbones, I must confess there have been no promises made between us. And if I have even met the young lady, I refuse to either confirm or deny.)

No, my prejudices against this Movie are all because of the disgraceful coiffures displayed therein.

Of which this is but one example. (Private note to K.K.: what were you thinking? The next time we see each other, I shall insist you buy yourself a comb.)

There you have it! Your shopping made simple. Yes on cashmere gloves and enormous TeleVision Screens, perhaps on gold pocket watches, and an emphatic no to wristwatches and Mlle Knightley's tangled mane.

Yours in elegance,

Bertram St. James, Exquisite

End of Week Events

Hello, everyone! Amanda here, sitting in for Megan on this cold, gray Friday. Most of you out there are probably contemplating shopping or baking or decorating, but the next few days hold a variety of interesting anniversaries in History Land (which seems to be where I live most of the time!). Since I'm tired of shopping and baking et al, I thought I'd just share a few...

December 8th is both the birthday of Mary Queen of Scots and the anniversary of the premiere of Beethoven's Symphony #7 (the birthday of Beethoven is also coming up on December 16--I'm sure everyone has their treble clef-shaped cakes ordered!).



Mary Stuart was born at Linlithgow Palace in 1542 to James V of Scotland and Marie of Guise. Her father, who was very ill, heard of the birth and declared "The devil go with it! It came with a lass, it will pass with a lass" (just as with Elizabeth I and her Hatfield oak tree, I'm not sure this is true, but it sounds good all the same. Very dramatic). Mary became queen when she was 6 days old, though of course she didn't exactly rule for some time--the Earl of Arran and then her mother served as regents.

When she was 6 months old, the Treaties of Greenwich were signed, promising Mary would be married to Henry VIII's son Edward, but Marie of Guise was strongly opposed to this plan (being French and all) and hid with the baby at Stirling Castle, where plans were made for Mary's coronation. This took place at the Stirling chapel in September, when she was 9 months old. She was dressed in heavy, miniature crimson velvet robes trimmed with ermine and a jeweled satin gown. She could sit up but not yet walk, and thus was carried to the throne and held there by Lord Livingston. A cardinal put the Coronation Oath to her, to which I presume she replied "Goo gah" and anointed her with holy oil, when she began to cry and fuss. Then, wearing the crown balanced on her tiny head, she accepted the oaths of fealty from various earls and prelates. After years of warfare with the English, she was sent at the age of 5 to France, where she spent more than 13 years.



To skip ahead a few hundred years, in 1811 Beethoven was going through a hard time. His music was popular, but his health was not so good, so he went to the spa city of Teplitz for a break. There he met the writer Goethe, and was inspired to start work on his Seventh Symphony. He conducted the premier in 1813 at a Vienna concert to benefit Austrian and Bavarian soldiers wounded at the Battle of Hanau (on a side note, this concert also was the premier of a short piece titled "Wellington's Victory," which I believe is rarely performed now). Beethoven himself called the 7th his "most excellent symphony" (and I doubt he was ironically quoting Bill and Ted...), and one music critic declared it "the richest melodically and the most pleasing and comprehensible of all Beethoven's symphonies." On the other hand, Carl Maria Von Weber found in it evidence that Beethoven was "now quite ripe for the madhouse", and Friedrich Wieck, father of Clara Wieck Schumann, said it could only have been written by someone seriously intoxicated.



In later years, the symphony found a fan in Wagner, who said the music was "the apotheosis of the dance...if anyone plays the Seventh, tables and benches, cans and cups, the grandmother, the blind and the lame, aye, the children of the cradle fall to dancing." It's said Wagner himself once danced to the Symphony, played by his father-in-law Liszt at the piano. That is something I would have paid good money to see.



And December 10 is the birthday of Emily Dickinson, born in her family's home in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she lived almost all her life (and which is now the Emily Dickinson Museum). At last count, she wrote some 1,789 poems, though in her own lifetime they were not widely known at all, except perhaps by her dog Carlo and he wasn't talking. Despite, or maybe because of, her eccentric style and sometimes strange metaphors (I still can't figure out that "hope is the thing with feathers" thing!) she is one of my favorite poets (along with Yeats, Keats, and Wallace Stevens, among many others).

Happy Birthday, Mary and Emily, and Happy Symphony Day, Beethoven! Who are some of your favorite poets and musicians (and monarchs, too)? And what would you celebrate today?

Guess who's coming to dinner

This is very belatedly in a response to a question someone asked when I or Jane Lockwood was guest blogging (and before I forget, you can enter Pam Rosenthal's contest to win a copy of Jane's book Forbidden Shores--the dirty one with the bodiceripper cover). The question was, who would I invite to dinner if I could have anyone from any time?

Great question, and it opens up all sorts of possibilities. As far as real people go, I'd like to invite Brummell, Byron, and Jane Austen, and watch her have fun with them both, possibly aided and abetted by Harriet Wilson. I think I'd serve shish kebabs... definitely something on skewers, to be followed by raspberries.

If you open it up to fictional characters, you could have a lot of fun mixing and matching characters--the Miss Dashwoods meet Toad of Toad Hall, for instance. The Bennett sisters enjoy rat pie and chips with the Watch of Ank-Morporkh, while one of Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler's sausages has a profound effect (but not the usual one) on Proust. Sir Walter Elliot and Mr. Micawber dine (on food bought on credit, cooked and served by servants who haven't been paid in months) and discuss matters of economy.

What do you think? Who would you invite to your literary (or otherwise) feast, and what sort of food and drink would you serve? Which characters would you like to mix and match for a dinner party?

Rough sketches

National Novel Writing Month ended last Friday, with a total of 1187,931,929 words being written worldwide. All over the internet people are blogging about their experiences. My friend Kathleen Bolton at Writer Unboxed is happy she created some good prose even though she didn't reach the 50,000 word NaNoWriMo goal. I'm happy too but in a different way. I did reach 50K though I'll admit most of the scenes will require heavy duty revisions.

Critics of the NaNoWriMo process question the point in writing madly to meet a quota. For me, it's not a matter of quantity versus quality because during my early drafts my goal isn't really to generate words so much as ideas. Quantitative goals keep me tackling scene after scene, concentrating on characterization and plotting and leaving stylistic issues for the rewrites.

I've been known to call my rough drafts primordial ooze. But they can also be likened to an artist's sketches. Consider this Da Vinci study for "Virgin and Child with Cat". Note the different positioning of head, limbs. The fluidity, the testing of ideas. OK, maybe it's pretentious to compare my scribblings to efforts of creative minds like Da Vinci. But I find it reassuring that their work went through messy phases--though sketches like this (unlike my rough drafts) have a beauty of their own.

Another artistic genius whose process fascinates me is Beethoven. A few years ago a librarian found the lost manuscript for a piano version of Beethoven's Grosse Fugue (the last movement in the string quartet in B flat major, Op 130). According to article in the Guardian the manuscript "shows the extent of Beethoven's reworkings and includes deletions, corrections and deep erasures - occasionally the paper is rubbed right through leaving small holes - smudged alterations and several pages pasted over the original or affixed with sealing wax." It even looks like there's blood on the page--don't we all know that feeling?! (The articles says it's red crayon.)

The Grosse Fugue is one of Beethoven's most innovative compositions, challenging to performers and listeners. Originally given a cool reception, it's still the sort of piece that requires concentration and reveals more each time one hears it. I took my budding violinist to a performance by the Guarneri Quartet and we were both blown away.

I personally find it reassuring to know that even great creative works sometimes go through an ugly birthing process. But I suppose it could be scary as well. What do you think? Or would you rather enjoy the final result without knowing about the messy bits? Are there any artists (of any sort) whose methods or process inspire you?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB: Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Welcome to the Jane Austen Movie Club, where like-minded people get together (virtually, if not always virtuously) to chat about, cheer for, or chastise a different Jane Austen movie or television adaptation on the first Tuesday of every month. Newcomers always welcome!

This month: the 2005 feature film of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE! Also known as:

(1) the one with Keira Knightley;

(2) the one with Matthew however-he-spells-his-last-name- oh-I-love-that-brooding-picture-of-him;

(3) the one with, you know, the, um, pig;

(4) the most-ranted-about Austen pic since Rozema's MANSFIELD PARK...

(Yes, I know we talked about this P&P when it came out, but that was SO long ago!) :-)

To make discussion easier, here are some names to help jog memories:

CAST LIST:

Keira Knightley -- Elizabeth Bennet

Rosamund Pike -- Jane Bennet

Talulah Riley -- Mary Bennet

Jena Malone -- Lydia Bennet

Carey Mulligan -- Kitty Bennet

Donald Sutherland -- Mr. Bennet

Brenda Blethyn -- Mrs. Bennet

Claudie Blakley -- Charlotte Lucas

Sylvester Morand -- Sir William Lucas

Simon Woods -- Mr. Bingley

Kelly Reilly -- Caroline Bingley

Matthew Macfadyen -- Mr. Darcy

Rupert Friend -- Mr. Wickham

Tom Hollander -- Mr. Collins

Judi Dench -- Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Rosamund Stephen -- Miss de Bourgh

Penelope Wilton -- Mrs. Gardiner

Peter Wight -- Mr. Gardiner

The DIRECTOR is JOE WRIGHT, who also directed the upcoming film "Atonement" (also starring Knightley), plus a TV miniseries about Charles II (starring Rufus Sewell -- wish I'd seen that!)

DEBORAH MOGGACH is the SCREENWRITER, and as far as I can tell it was her first screenplay for a feature (she has multiple television credits, including the 2002 version of "Love in a Cold Climate," in which Rosamund Pike [Jane Bennet] co-starred.)

In the past, I've often put some questions here to help start the discussion, but somehow I suspect that there is absolutely no need for them this time. :-)

So, what do you think?

Casting, costumes, screenplay, anachronisms, scenery, houses, bonnets, gloves, hair, accessibility, humor, etc?

Let the discussion begin!

Next month, we'll be discussing the BBC NORTHANGER ABBEY from 1986!

Cara
Cara King, author of My Lady Gamester and frequent hat wearer

Celia May Hart winner!

Congratulations, doglady! You have won an autographed copy of SHOW ME by Celia May Hart!

Just send your contact details to riskies@yahoo.com and your prize will soon be on its way...

Diane's Ideal Shopping Trip

Okay. Friday on Megan's blog, I exposed my family's "non-shopping" habits as we prepare for the Christmas holiday. It isn't that I don't LOVE to go shopping; it's just that I'm not very good at selecting gifts.

I think my problem is that I need to go shopping in Regency England--I will, of course, possess the fortune of one of our fictional dukes and I'll start my shopping in Mayfair.

I'll stop at Hatchard's and select the perfect books for my friends, perhaps some books "By a Lady." Perhaps I will climb the stairs and find the book I desire there. In my two trips to England, I can remember feeling awed that I was shopping for books at Hatchard's and climbing stairs I can imagine being climbed by Byron and Brummell and all sorts of Regency characters.

I'll walk around the block and stop in the Floris shop and purchase some scent for my sister, Marilyn. I actually did this on my 2005 trip to England and the store was wonderful. I thought I'd stepped back into the Regency. The shop was bare except for a long mahogany trimmed glass counter, with two young men in black suits waiting behind the counter to assist me. At first I thought there would be nothing there I could afford, but I told the young man my price range and he found me a lovely gift.

My friend Mary Blayney says that you can never go wrong if your gift is something good to eat, so perhaps I could stop in Fortnum and Mason and purchase some lovely jams and cheeses. Or the new-fangled tinned foods that are such a novelty.

I never made it to Fortnum and Mason on my England trips, preferring to spend my shopping time in Hatchard's, but there is always next time.



Perhaps I'll buy my husband a hat at Lock's, where both Admiral Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington purchased their hats.

I'd give anything if I could also visit some shops that no longer grace the streets of Mayfair. I'd love to pour through the prints at Ackermann's, to pick out a lovely ruby necklace at Rundell and Bridge, be fitted for a new ball gown at Mrs. Bell's. I think a visit to Gunter's for an ice would be the perfect end to my shopping day.

So, my excuse for being a lousy gift shopper is that I cannot shop in Regency England.

If you could be transported to Regency England, like Celia May Hart's heroine, where would you want to shop?

Check out my website for the December updates and my contest, the Grand Finale of the Contest Countdown to The Vanishing Viscountess.

If you simply cannot wait until January for The Vanishing Viscountess, it's available now from eHarlequin and from MillsandBoon.co.uk

The Mills and Boon version has a special bonus included in it - The Mysterious Miss M!

Interview with Celia May Hart

Our special guest today started out writing traditional Regencies under one name, but has now made quite a different name for herself -- Celia May Hart, to be exact -- writing Regency-set erotic romance. Her third novel with Kensington Aphrodisia, One More Time, debuts this month. Romantic Times Magazine named it one of their Top Picks, raving: This scorching roller-coaster of a read is an erotic page-turner. It has romance, intrigue, licentious nobility, a Greek god come to life and an unexpected ending. Feisty Abby and sensual Myles are the perfect couple to surmount the obstacles in their way. This may have been the first book I've read by Hart, but it certainly won't be the last!

Welcome, Celia May! Tell us about One More Time. What inspired this book? And was it an easy or a difficult book to write?

One More Time is about a modern-day heroine, Abby, who is flying herself to her new job as a hotel manager in the English countryside. She ends up landing in Regency-era England instead. She meets our hero, Myles, who is looking for a fabled statue that will get him entrance into the Dilettanti Society. Given that they have no clue how to get back to her own time, she helps him look for the statue, and shares the goodies she brought with her from the future (specifically, sex toys)

As for inspiration, I was pitching ideas for my next contract and nothing was grabbing my editor so I started getting outlandish. I sent off the idea of a time traveling heroine who hooks up with a charming adventurer and oh, by the way, a Greek god comes to life, and sent it off, thinking she’d never go for it.

She went for it. So I had to figure out in a little more detail how it was going to work. I had the beginning sorted out (I usually do) but figuring out what to do with Greek god was the hardest thing about this book to write. It ended up being a hard book to write, despite the easy start!

What advantages did writing a modern heroine in Regency times give you, as an author? And what new things did it let you play with?

I love time travel. I love the whole fish out of water aspect. And for the majority of the book, Abby has to conceal her true self in order to fit in. Although, she’s not particularly good at it. I loved doing the mix of modern and Regency-speak, and I think one of my favorite scenes is early on when Myles is trying to figure out the zipper.

What do you think is the greatest creative risk you’ve taken in this book?

Throwing in so many different elements. I spent most of the time writing the book calling it “The Kitchen Sink” because it seemed to me it had everything but the kitchen sink in there. And it was the first time I’d done more than a simple time travel story. This has some big paranormal elements in it, and working them in and describing them without, you know, data dumping, was a challenge.

One More Time includes an appearance by some characters from one of your earlier books. Did you find it easy to blend them into the new story? Or did you find that some scolding was necessary?

They wanted to come to the party. I checked with my editor if that was okay, and it was, so I let them loose and we had a lot of fun. I gained a better understanding of the Duke too. The Wintertons first appear in Show Me, and this is set after that.

Is there anything you wanted to include in the book that you (or your CPs or editor) felt was too controversial and left out?

Nope. Did I mention it was the Kitchen Sink book? Aphrodisia has some guidelines (similar to those of Ellora’s Cave), but other than that, we can do whatever we want.

Is there anything that any of the above wanted you to cut, that you decided to keep instead?

I don’t have a critique group and I never heard bo-peep from my editor when she got the book. I did restore some things from the copy-editor, but that’s par for the course and is minor stuff. (And actually, I think the copy-editor might’ve been right about something... Too late now!)

What is it about the Regency that makes it such a great setting?

It’s a time of transition -- between racy Georgian to repressed Victorians; everybody looked good in their clothing (well, at least until the 1820’s) and there’s just this sense of adventure -- a sense I picked up from Georgette Heyer and the characters of Horatio Hornblower and Sharpe.

Did you come across anything new or interesting when you were researching the book?

My editor recommended that I read “The Pleasure of the Imagination: English Culture in the Eighteenth Century” by John Brewer, and it’s a fascinating read. I learned about the Dilettanti Society in there, but I also learned how folks viewed art of all kinds. A mention of the Dilettanti Society got into the book. The rest, well, I love history, so it’s currently living in my subconscious somewhere, I’m sure.

What’s next for you?

That, as they say, is an open book. I’m playing with lots of different ideas: some of them are erotic, some of them are not. The idea I’m playing with now seems “different” to my previous ideas. I think I’m heading into new writerly territory and I sure hope I don’t screw it up. (Word to the aspiring authors out there -- we never stop learning!)

Is there anything else you’d like the Risky Regencies readers to know about you?

I am doing a booksigning this Friday (December 7). If anyone’s in the SoCal area,
you’re more than welcome to come visit! (click here for info)

Thanks for having me!

Be sure to comment for a chance to win a copy of Celia's earlier release, Show Me!

Everybody Dance Now!

Readers of Risky Regencies know all too well I lurve Dancing With the Stars. My family says I'm "obsessed", which is not true. Well, maybe a wee bit true. Alas, this season had its finale last week (yay, Helio and Julianne!), and my Monday and Tuesday evenings are bereft. But I do have 2 things to console me. 1) I came up with 3 new stories (2 sold!) inspired by the show! To see how I use a ballroom dancer, a racecar driver, and a speed skater as Regency and Elizabethan heroes, stay tuned. Because I'm not 100% sure myself yet. 2) I gave in to a long-held dream and started taking ballroom dance classes!






I've had lots of ballet, some flamenco, a bit of waltzing, but no Official Latin Dances. During the last DWTS season (the one Apolo and Julianne won), I signed up for an Intro to Latin class at the local community center. I enjoyed it so much I went on to the teacher's school and enrolled in Beginning Latin. And Workplace Sweetie (who needs a new nickname, considering neither of us works there now!) has joined me there. In fact, tonight we're going to "Latin Night" at a local club, to try out our mambo and cha-cha in public for the Very First Time. I have a new dress--if it fits after Thanksgiving. Keep fingers crossed I don't fall or twirl the wrong way and knock people over! Those of you who have been to Beau Monde Soirees know this is a distinct possibility...

My favorite dance is the Samba, so just to save this post from total Me Me Me nonsense, here is a Brief History of the Samba:

The Samba is considered the "national dance" of Brazil. It became a society rage in the 1930s, and came to America courtesy of Carmen Miranda movies in the '40s. It's a lively dance in 2/4 time, but with 3 steps to every bar which makes it feel like a 3/4 timed dance. The basic components include walking and side steps (like the Volta, a step to the side with one leg passing over the other) taken on the ball of the foot, samba rolls, and a vertical bounce action through the knees. It's a carefree, quick dance--it should look like you're just dancing out of sheer happiness and NOT counting the beats. I still have trouble with that one, since I tend to worry as I step and cross and bounce!

Some good CD's to start with include Batucada Brazileira and Let's Dance: Samba. There's also a segment on the DWTS workout DVD.

What are some of your favorite dances, either to watch or try? Wish me luck tonight! I'm going to need it.