Christmas in June, and Haydn Too!

I got a bit of good news last week. NAL is going to reissue my Christmas novella Upon a Midnight Clear in October! This first appeared in the Regency Christmas Magic anthology, and now gets new life along with 3 other random novellas (though I don't know what they are). I am very excited about this, as UAMC was one of my favorite stories I did at Signet, the tale of an injured Naval captain and a reclusive Jamaican woman who find love and new life together on a chilly Christmas in Cornwall.

I always really looked forward to the Signet Christmas anthologies. There's just something cozy and fun about Regency+Christmas! I get out my collection every holiday season and pile them up by the tree. Whenever the crazy season gets to me, I curl up with a cup of tea and an old favorite story. That sounds nice on a 90+ degree day like this one.

In other news, May 31 is the 199th anniversary of the death of composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809). Though he was a native of Austria, and spent most of his career in the service of the Esterhazy family, following them as they moved from palace to palace, he did enjoy some very productive visits to England between 1791 and 1794.

In 1790, Haydn's employer Prince Nicolas Esterhazy died and was succeeded by a thoroughly un-musical prince who fired the whole musical establishment and put Haydn out to pasture with a pension. Haydn was then able to accept a lucrative offer from Johann Salomon, a German impresario, to visit England and conduct new symphonies with a large orchestra.

These visits were a huge success, with audiences flocking to Haydn's concerts. Charles Burney wrote of the first concert, "Haydn himself presided at the pianoforte; and the sight of that renowned composer so electrified the audience, as to excite an attention and a pleasure superior to any that had ever been caused by instrumental music in England."

Haydn was also inspired to create some of his best-known works, such as the Surprise, Military, Drumroll, and (of course!) London symphonies, the Rider quartet, and the "Gypsy Rondo" piano trio.

So, in honor of Christmas coming early, what are some of your favorite holiday traditions? Or some favorite pieces of music (holiday or otherwise?)

Sports Geek

Business out of the way first: I am in the final 100 pages of revising my manuscript to send to my *NEW* agent, that should be to her very, very soon (my MIL is in town, so it's hard to revise heaving bosoms, so it's a mite delayed).

But tonight, I plan to Sports Geek out, only there are TWO events happening simultaneously:

The sixth game of the Boston Celtics vs. the Detroit Pistons (basketball, folks) and the finals of the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

I am so torn! Tall, thin men versus words! How do I choose?!?

Basketball is my favorite sport (to watch--I've never played), and I am usually a Knicks fan, but this year, for a variety of reasons, I am rooting for my hometown Celtics.

But then--oh, be still my beating heart--there's a site where you can see if you would have advanced through the first round of the Spelling Bee, on through to the finals (I've made it through the first round, thank you very much, although I don't have enough time today to see if I make it further).

But basketball! With people that look like this, all mean and intense and TALL and focused:



I think I will be flipping between the two, hardly the only one out there, I am sure.

Do you like sports? What teams do you root for? What Regency pastime would you like to try? Which of your obsessions surprise people when they discover it?

Megan

What if...

Those two words, plus Let's Pretend... are part of the essential writer's toolbox (or those of the average six-year-old, meaning that writers haven't quite grown up yet).

So I like to play a game where I try to translate everyday life into the Regency, partly to amuse myself and partly as research or background building. Take getting up in the morning, for instance. Now my routine is pretty simple. I can get myself up and out of the house (usually with clothes on the right way out and right way around although there have been notorious lapses), with time to check e-mail, in about forty-five minutes.

But in the Regency... first I'd need someone to lace me into my stays, unless I was fortunate enough to own a pair of front lacing stays (at left)--rare in collections, but they did exist. And chances are there would be people around, because people did not live alone, and I'd have a servant or someone to help. In fact there might be rather too many people around. Let us pass over the bathroom issue, but assume some washing might well take place.

Choosing something to wear would probably be quite easy because either I'd opt for morning dress (i.e., slopping around the house wear), or I'd put on the clothes I wore yesterday and every other day except Sunday.

Next, the urgent need for a cup of tea. If I was unlucky the fire might have gone out, although I hope I would not have been so slatternly as to forget to bank it the night before. I might have to pump water. If I had someone to boil the water I'd still be the one to make the tea because I'd have the all-important tea caddy and its key. Someone would also have to look out in the street for the milkmaid and her cow so I could have milk in my tea.

As for breakfast itself--assuming there was anything to eat in the house with the price of bread at an all-time shocking high--if I were higher up the social scale I'd have toast or cake. All more labor intensive than you might think, certainly more fiddly than putting an English muffin (yes, there were things called muffins in England, but the English muffin is neither English nor a muffin) in the toaster. No peanut butter either.

I suppose the equivalent of e-mail would be reading a newspaper (although possibly several days old, passed on by someone I knew) or receiving the day's post.

And leaving the house for work?--chances are I'd stay home doing piecework, and trying to keep my grandchildren out of the fireplace (note to daughter: this is not a hint). Or I'd leave to clean someone else's house.

Think of what you'd do at any given time of day. What do you think you'd be doing if you lived in the Regency? What would you miss most? What do you think you'd enjoy most?

Reading Habits

In Megan's recent post on To Have and to Hold she talked about needing to have just the right bookmark before starting a book. It got me thinking about reading habits.

I am afraid my children and I are not fussy at all about bookmarks. In fact, all of us are so eager to dive into a good book we forget to provide ourselves with one. In my kids' books I've found "bookmarks" including facial tissue (unused, thankfully!), doll clothing, hair ties. I'm not much better. If I can't find an appointment reminder postcard, I just search all of our current books. Yesterday I thought I lost the case for my reading glasses; later I found it stuck in a book. The silly thing is that I have so many nice bookmarks: beaded and bejeweled ones I've gotten as gifts, author bookmarks I've gotten at conference booksignings. Every once in a while I make an effort to remember to use them...

In our household, the bathroom is a favorite reading location. Where else can you be truly alone? My oldest stayed in the bathroom over 45 minutes after bringing home the first Harry Potter. We finally had to send a search party... I also like to read in the kitchen, if I'm eating a meal by myself (we've got a rule about trying to be sociable at meals) or if I'm waiting for water to boil. I've come close to ruining dinner a few times but the good thing is my kids would understand and forgive me!

Sometimes on the weekends when I'm sick of the honey-do list, I will actually sit down, either on the couch in our family room or (now that the weather's nice) on our closed porch, and just read for an hour or two. Heaven!

I can read any number of non-fiction books at a time but I can only read one novel. I can't read romance at all while I'm actively writing. It's not because I worry that someone else's voice will infect mine. (I've never caught myself writing like someone else--I'd have to work really hard to do that, I think.) It's really because when I'm reading or writing romance, I like to identify with the heroine and fall in love with the hero. I just can't do that with two couples at once! So I read romance in between drafts.

I used to finish every book I started. If I didn't like the beginning, I always hoped (for my sake and the author's) that it would get better. I've finally realized that it hardly ever does. I don't mind if the plot develops slowly but the characters must interest me. If not, I don't bother finishing. Life is too short and my TBR list is too long!

So how about you? Do you have any reading quirks? What are your favorite places and times to read? Can you read multiple books at once? Do you always finish? Do share!

Elena

http://www.elenagreene.com/

Regency Cats

I have been talking about getting a cat for a while now... Probably a little kitten, who will be a perfect angel and never miss the litter box, and who'll do the dishes without being reminded and all that other perfect kitten stuff.

And after saying "we should really get a kitten soon" for quite a while, we finally have a date: next weekend.

As it has been several years now, we are surely over the death of our last perfect kitty. He, too, never missed the litter box, could play the complete works of Shakespeare on the piano, and would have done the dishes without a reminder had he only possessed thumbs and the ability to understand English.

(And just to prove how unbiased I am, I will now reveal the fact that one of my sainted cat's previous housemates referred to him as S.O.S., short for "Spawn of Satan." Just another example of how not everyone loves Shakespeare.)

With all this cat cogitation going on, I've been thinking about cats during the Regency.

Because they certainly had cats. They even had spoiled little pet cats, like my perfect kitten will be. (Though I suspect that Regency kittens played Mrs. Radcliffe on their pianofortes, and helped with painting fire screens.)

There have been plenty of kittens in Regencies -- particularly Regency novellas, which (if you think about it) are already kitten-sized. But I've done little actual research into the lives of perfect Regency cats.

And I've always wondered what they did for litter-boxes. With no clumping litter, did they bother? Did they just make the cat go outside?

Does anyone know?

(By the way, I just thought I should mention that my sainted ex-kitty always refused to play that "thrice the brindled cat hath mewed" part on the piano. I think he didn't understand that brindled merely meant tabby -- which he was, complete with the "M" on his forehead which stood for Multitudes of Mischief -- but instead thought that brindled was some sort of slur against cats, perhaps one meaning "refuses to do the dishes until he's allowed to finish off all the ice cream.")

Oh, and if you have any cat information, either Regency or nowadays, please share!

All comments welcome!

And be sure to stop by next Tuesday, when we will be discussing the movie Clueless!

Cara
Cara King, who can only play Cymbeline on the kazoo

Bookshelves

Diane Report:

Number of pages written since past rant of two weeks ago: I have no idea
Daily average: I have no idea
Daily goal: totally not met
Number of pages to go: 139
New Daily Goal: 20 pages
New Deadline: June 16 (I broke down and asked for 2 more weeks)

Megan's talk of organizing bookshelves got me to wishing for time to organize mine. I'm still in crazy mode of writing (see above) which automatically increases my desire to organize my bookshelves. I believe the urge will pass as soon as the book is turned in.

Speaking of bookshelves, I was in my local Borders Express recently and again got burned up. They shelve the Romance novels against the side wall, floor to ceiling. This makes it impossible for a woman of average height (me) to reach or even see the top shelves, and nearly as difficult to reach what is on the bottom. There is a stool nearby to climb on to reach the top shelf but even I am wary of falling. It is far easier to confine my search to books within easy reach.

This means, of course, that authors such as Gaelen Foley and Elizabeth Hoyt were unreachable and thus were less likely to sell.

When I first encountered this new shelving, the cashiers told me it was a corporate decision. Whoever made the decision certainly did not think it through that it was possibly not a good idea to make the best-selling genre hard to reach, especially when women are the most likely purchasers and most likely to be too short to reach the top shelves. "You can ask a cashier to help," I was told, but when was the last time you saw cashiers wandering around the bookstore waiting to climb up on a stool for you? And would you be likely to ask them to browse the shelves for you? What's more, some romance readers like to browse with a little more privacy, not out in plain view so everyone in the store can see you are looking at books with "man-titty" covers (as Janet would call them).

I can see it all now...the stores will sell fewer romance novels and will thereby convince the corporate decision-makers that romance novels are not selling as well as they used to. Then they will decrease the shelf space for romance novels and order fewer of them, thereby making the sales go down even more.

When I first saw this I asked the cashiers for a phone number to call to complain. They gave me a corporate number, they said, but it was a wrong phone number. This time I didn't bother to ask because the unhappy-looking cashier who waited on me had been reading "Resumes for Dummies" and I supposed he didn't want to hear me rant about romance novels.

Has anyone else encountered shelving like this? What do you think is most conducive to selling romance novels?
And (totally self-serving question) does shelving Harlequin Historicals in with the other Harlequin series books make it easier to find them or more difficult?

On this Memorial Day take a moment from your fun and remember all soldiers who dedicated their lives to their country -- like my father!)

Waiting For Winners!

Alyssa, Debora Dennis, Crystalgb, Kathy, Santa, and Traveler, you have all won copies of Elizabeth Hoyt's To Taste Temptation! Please email riskies@yahoo.com with your snail mail address to claim your prize...

True Love

This week seems to have been All About Love in my world! Love of all sorts. Love of the start of summer, of warm weather, sundresses, cookouts, hammocks, concerts in the park. Love of Starbucks Green Tea Frappucino, and re-reading old favorites (like I Capture the Castle and Middlemarch).





Love of weddings! My baby brother was married off last week to a woman who is kind, thoughtful, smart, and pretty, and their wedding was a joyful occasion. Laid-back and relaxed (after months of stressful planning, of course!), with lots of music, good food, and margaritas. Now I fear she is stuck with him, and the rest of us McCabes, forever! (I will post pictures next week...)

Love of a new perfume. Among the samples I ordered after reading Perfumes: The Guide was Guerlain's Apres L'Ondee. It was described as having the delicate, tender scent of a garden after a rainstorm, and it does! It's delicious, and actually smells good on me (a rarity). Love at first smell. Sadly, my new love us elusive. It's no longer imported into the US, so when I go to Europe this fall I am tracking it down.

And love of writing! In the course of researching my latest Bath-set WIP, I found out you can actually get married at the Pump Room. How much fun would that be?? (As long as you didn't make the guests toast with the water...)




You can also get married at the Brighton Pavilion. While I would wear a white muslin dress at the Pump Room, maybe with a little veiled bonnet, at the Pavilion I would go with something grander. Lace and velvet with a train, and a big tiara!









Or there is Hever Castle, family home of Anne Boleyn. The grand Tudor hall is available only in the winter months, so I can picture a white satin 1530s gown, with fur-lined sleeves and a pearl and crystal trim.






And last but not least, you can make a run for Gretna Green! Yes, you can actually elope (well, elope after considerable paperwork) over the border to an all-inclusive wedding chapel. I think they even have an anvil. Not sure what I would wear for this one, but it sure looks like fun!





What are you in love with this week? Which of these wedding choices would you go with?

To Have And To Hold

Okay, so I freely admit to being a little compulsive when it comes to certain things: I won't start reading a book unless I have a bookmark in hand. And it can't be just any bookmark; the bookmark has to suit the book, using my own idiosyncratic categorization system (IOW, mystery bookmarks do not get put with mysteries; it's far more complicated than that).

So I know it's a little nutty to be so obsessive about the way the books are organized, but I am, and they are. I spent some time a few weeks ago getting *my* books in order. My father-in-law, a former contractor, built me a bookshelf specially for my paperbacks, and he accommodated my heinous habit of double-stacking. I had thrown the books in there when I first got the shelf, and only now have gotten to organize it the way I wanted to.


But now? Now is BLISS!

I'm posting pictures, which is really about as exciting as seeing stills of someone singing, but IT'S WHAT I'M BLOGGING ABOUT, PEOPLE! Which might say something about how exciting this topic is also, but I digress.

So I organized these pbs not alphabetically, but in a more Frampton-specific fashion: Friends (Myretta Robens, Carolyn Jewel, Tracy MacNish, Meljean Brook, Colleen Gleason) are at eye-level with Loretta Chase (an annual dinner friend) and Eloisa James (a 'gave me a blurb, says hi at conferences' friend). The Riskies' books are, of course, mixed in there also but that darn Jane Lockwood had to come out in trade pb, which screwed me up a little. I know there are more friends up there, but that is off the top of my head. As everything is.


Anne Stuart's books are both back and front because I think I must have about sixty of them, and I am KEEPING them ALL!

Books I want to read are in front, keepers are in the back. Collections are always together--Lee Child, Bernard Cornwell, Mary Balogh--regardless of whether I've read them all or just some.

And the reward? Every time I look at my bookcase, it feels like a little piece of zen is unleashed in my heart. I cannot overstate just how delightful and amazing it is to have space for the books, and that they are put away just the way I like them (the last pic is of non-romance, since I have a sizeable noir bleeding into gritty mystery collection, too).

Do you organize your books? How do you do it? Do you think about it a lot, or just have "R" and "TBR" piles?

Megan

A bit of everything

First off, some news. The Rules of Gentility won the 2008 HOLT Award for Best Romantic Comedy, woohoo! I have a lovely silver wotsit that I think would look cool on the xmas tree.

Next is that I have sold a novella for an anthology tentatively titled Bespelling Jane, paranormal takes on Jane Austen, with the following Big Girls: Mary Balogh, Susan Krinard, and Colleen Gleason! All I know at the moment is that it will be published by Harlequin sometime in the future, and mine is a contemporary take on Emma. Since I haven't written it yet, I can't tell you a whole lot more...

Here are some pics of my visit to England a couple of weeks ago, me with my brother Martin, my nephew Tom and his lovely girlfriend Sam, at a pub overlooking the Avon Gorge and Brunel's famous Clifton suspension bridge.

And I wondered what everyone was reading these days. I've just read two superb books. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin is about a female forensic doctor, set in twelfth century England. Yes, it sounds unlikely but it's so well done I had very few come on! moments. (Sorry, I still don't believe that there was a Body Farm in Sicily using pig carcasses when most of the doctors were Jewish.) It's beautifully written, and the dialogue is amazing--the characters don't speak in pseudo-medieval talk, but Franklin captures both a believable local dialect and the speech of churchmen and crusaders.

The other one is Saturday by Ian McEwan (who wrote Atonement), about one day--on the eve of the Iraq invasion--in the life of a surgeon and his family. His son is a blues musician and his daughter Daisy a poet, and I liked this passage, which defines the achievement of this wonderful book:

But is there a lifetime's satisfaction in twelve bars of three obvious chords? Perhaps it's one of those cases of a microcosm giving you the whole world. Like a Spode dinner plate. Or a single cell. Or, as Daisy says, like a Jane Austen novel.

What have you read and enjoyed recently?

Old Books and Google Books

I love new books: the pristine covers, unbroken spines, the sense of anticipation, especially when a friend's name adorns the cover. But I also love old books, whether novels or reference. I have a bunch at home and regularly check more of them out of the local university library. I've found that newer books, while they may contain new information and insights, don't always have the period focus I like. For instance, I recently found a Victorian history of ballooning which covers the Regency period in much more detail than most modern books on the subject have space for.

I also love old books for less logical reasons. I love their embossed covers, their yellowed pages, the titles that seem to go on and on. I love the fonts, even the ones in which s's look like f's. I even love how they smell. They make me wonder where they've been and who read them before me.

And a new love is Google Books. Being a certifiable history geek, I am delighted to find treasures that would otherwise remain semi-hidden in special collections in places I don't have the time or money to visit regularly. Even though I miss the smell and feel, I love to find obscure gems like:

Commentaries on the Surgery of the War in Portugal, Spain, France and the Netherlands, from the Battle of Rolica, in 1806, to that of Waterloo, in 1815, by G. J. Guthrie, 1855. Full of details on how military heroes and their compatriots could have been wounded and what could have been done for them. Gory but useful.

An Account of Five Aerial Voyages in Scotland by Vincent Lunardi, 1786. It's full of the period ballooning details I need. Lunardi seems to have been quite the charmer:

"In going to the Baronet's we had to cross over the bridge at Glassart, where about thirty young blooming lasses had ranged themselves on each side to have a sight of this comely Adventurer. All of them appeared well pleased: there was one, however, not the least lovely of the number, whose sensibility led her to express herself more strongly than the rest: 'How pretty he is! I wish I had been with him.' Mr. Lunardi was too attentive to let slip an opportunity to say a civil thing to our fair Countrywoman: he patted her cheek, whispering, 'My Angel, and so do I.'"

How about you? Do you love old books, too? Have you found any obscure gems on Google books or elsewhere? Please share!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Amy Pierpont Answers Your Questions!

(This is a continuation of Monday's blog! You all asked so many great questions, and now we have your answers...)

What does Grand Publishing not want to see in a historical?

I'm a big advocate of never say never. Other than settings which have proven unsuccessful in the marketplace (England and Scotland are still the most popular settings), we're open to all plot lines and characterizations. As long as there's a strong love story with a dynamic hero and heroine, strong conflict and engaging drama, as well as strong secondary characters and intriguing secondary plots, we're happy to take a look. The key to remember is to stay true to the heart of historical romance--an incredible love story set against a lush, fully-realized historical backdrop that makes readers feel as if they've stepped into another time and place.

What are some of the Romantic Suspense books that you have coming out soon? I really lean towards that genre in reading.

We've got an exciting array of Romantic Suspense writers on our list. Just out now is Karen Rose's debut hardcover, SCREAM FOR ME, which is heart-stopping suspense at its finest! In June we're publishing Susan Crandall's chilling PITCH BLACK, which is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. If you like military heroes, you'll love our October release NO ESCAPE by Shannon Butcher and Marliss Melton's TOO FAR GONE, which hits the shelves in November. And for readers who like a splash of paranormal with their suspense, we have Samantha Graves's OUT OF SIGHT publishing in August, and Rita Herron's INSATIABLE DESIRE in November.

I am a rabid reader of historical romances but am equally excited to read about your contemporaries and what you look for in one.

We're looking for contemporaries that create a fully-fleshed out world inhabited by an extended cast of characters and a setting readers will want to return to time again. Meeting our hero and heroine's family and friends, getting to know their town and their neighbors, really builds a sense of community in the stories, and it's this sense of community that readers embrace. Heroes and heroines with challenges and conflicts that reflect readers' own lives and fantasies is also something we look for.

I am curious. What is it about "voice" that speaks to you? What does it tell you about an author and the possibilities? And what sort of voice gets your attention?

To me a stellar voice is one that leaps from the page. From the first sentence, on the first page, I feel like I can hear the characters speaking to me, telling me their story, guiding me through their setting so that I feel as if I'm walking alongside them. Voice often goes hand in hand with a lyrical writing style--which equates to utilizing varied sentence structure in your writing, and striving for a story that sounds as good when read aloud as it does when read on the page. What voice tells me is that the writer fully knows their characters and setting, and although much hard work and time has gone into writing the story, the words flow effortlessly onto the page.

It sounds as if you are one of those fortu nate people who managed to find their dream job. Does it ever get tiresome or disenchanting? What do you do to recharge yourself when and if that happens?

I am indeed fortunate, and still pinch myself to think that I get paid for doing what I love--reading! In terms of recharging, it's something everyone needs to do, I think, and I do it with...more books! I love to read narrative non-fiction and practical non-fiction like gardening and cookbooks. I catch up on the latest literary thriller or book club selection, peruse my dusty shelves of novels from the 50s, domestic dramas that hold a real nostalgic charm, dive into my ever growing stack of vintage crafting books, the list goes on and on!

I know I am asking way too many questions, but I am so excited that you are here!

Where do you think the trends in historical might go? Spy adventure novels? Comedy of errors novels? Historical with a touch of paranormal? I read voraciously to keep up with what is out there. I have noticed a number of novels where the hero and heroine leap into bed in the first chapter. "Hello, how are you? Shall we leap into bed? Oh yes, please. Jolly good show!" What is your take on that?

I really think there are no limits as to where historical romance can go--as long as the stories stay true to the traditional tenets of romance. As for the more "sensual" historicals, I feel they've been around forever (Skye O'Malley anyone??), and there will always be readers who are looking for a steamier read. What I look for in a steamier read is one in which the "steam" is organic to the story. It makes sense that the characters would choose the actions they take based on where they are in their character arc and what the plot commands. I don't feel"steam" for "steam's" sake is as effective.

I really enjoy paranormals and I hope this trend continues. I'm seeing a lot more historicals, too. Are there any subgenres that aren't selling right now?

We do wonder where all the romantic comedy readers went off to. I suspect that many of them have been enjoying the tales told by trade paperback (formerly known as chick-lit!) writers. I'd like to think there's enough call for both mass market romantic comedies and trade paperback tales, but at the moment that doesn't seem to be the case.

Winners of TO TASTE TEMPTATION!

Congratulations to the winners of TO TASTE TEMPTATION by Elizabeth Hoyt:

Doglady
Stefanie
Alyssa
Debora Dennis
Crystal
Jane
Kathy
Kammie
Santa
traveler

Please send your snail mail address to riskies@yahoo.com to claim your prize.

Thanks to Amy Pierpont and Grand Central Publishing for the interview and books!

JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB: Cranford (2008)

Welcome to an impromptu edition of the Risky Regencies JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB!

Today, we're going to branch out beyond Jane Austen adaptations, and talk about the recent adaptation of CRANFORD.

And in our upcoming schedule: the first Tuesday of June (June 3), we'll talk about CLUELESS...and the first Tuesday in July (July 1), we'll talk about the 1980 miniseries of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, the one with David Rintoul and Elizabeth Garvie. Please join us!

So...did you watch any of Cranford? What did you think?

Cast etc are listed here for your discussing convenience:

CAST:

Miss Deborah Jenkyns -- Eileen Atkins
Miss Matty Jenkyns -- Judi Dench
Mary Smith -- Lisa Dillon
Dr. Harrison -- Simon Woods
Harry Gregson -- Alex Etel
Martha -- Claudie Blakley
Dr. Morgan -- John Bowe
Miss Pole -- Imelda Staunton
Mrs. Forrester -- Julia McKenzie
Mrs. Jamieson -- Barbara Flynn
Caroline Tomkinson -- Selina Griffiths
Miss Tomkinson -- Deborah Findlay
Bertha -- Hannah Hobley
Jem Hearne -- Andrew Buchan
Helen Hutton -- Hester Odgers
Lizzie Hutton -- Rosy Byrne
Sophy Hutton -- Kimberley Nixon
Walter Hutton -- Haydon Downing
Reverend Hutton -- Alex Jennings
Mr. Carter -- Philip Glenister
Mr. Johnson -- Adrian Scarborough
Lady Ludlow -- Francesca Annis
Captain Brown -- Jim Carter
Jessie Brown -- Julia Sawalha
Sir Charles Maulver -- Greg Wise
Miss Galindo -- Emma Fielding
Margaret Gidman -- Bessie Carter
Bella Gregson -- Emma Lowndes
Malachi Gregson -- Andrew Byrne
Mrs. Rose -- Lesley Manville
Major Gordon -- Alistair Petrie
Mrs. Johnson -- Debra Gillett
Job Gregson -- Dean Lennox Kelly
Clara Smith -- Finty Williams
Mr. Holbrook -- Michael Gambon
Kate -- Imogen Byron
Bessie -- Hannah Stokely
Mulliner -- Roger Ennals
Gypsy Woman -- Patricia Leach
Farmer Graves -- Andrew Westfield
Jack Marshland -- Joe McFadden
Assistant Auctioneer -- Adam Henderson Scott
Mrs. Goddard -- Andy Rashleigh
Peter Jenkyns -- Martin Shaw

SCREENPLAY: Heidi Thomas
DIRECTOR: Simon Curtis and Steve Hudson


All opinions welcome!


Cara
Cara King, who has more than two candles

The Riskies Welcome Grand Central Publishing!

(Today's interview questions were graciously answered by Amy Pierpont, Editorial Director of the Forever line at Grand Central Publishing! She has also donated 10 copies of Elizabeth Hoyt's To Taste Temptation, to be given away to 10 lucky commenters)


Risky Regencies: Welcome to Risky Regencies! First, tell us a bit about the Grand Central program in general. How many romances are released each month? Where do historicals fit in? What settings and time periods are you looking for? What is your submission process? And are there any exceptions to the "agented-only" rule? (We like to start out with lots of questions here!)

Amy Pierpont: It's great to be here! We release 3 titles per month, with one being a "super release" lead title. There are no hard and fast rules about the number of historicals we publish, but we are also publishing romantic suspense, paranormal romances, and contemporary romances, so we have to be selective!

We don't definitely rule out any time period, but we do tend to focus on England and Scotland, as we know readers love those settings best.

Our submission process starts when an agent pitches one of our editors who expresses interest and asks that the manuscript be sent. We ask for all our submissions by email because we have Sony eReaders as part of our company's "green" initiative, which makes things easier for everyone. The editor will read the submission--we try to do so within a month--and if they like it they will negotiate with the agent for the rights.

We try to stick to our requirement for agented manuscripts as much as possible. It really is best for both parties when it comes time to negotiate a contract. However, a couple of informal exceptions come to mind: when we judge contests we may discover a new unagented writer, and when we get a recommendation from one of our own authors about a manuscript by a friend, we do read them. And it's always exciting when we are able to publish a first book from an author!

RR: What is your own background? What brought you to editing, and to GCP? What's a typical day like for you? And what's your favorite/least favorite part of the job??

AP: I'm a bookworm at heart. As a teenager I worked at the local library, where I read every single romance I could get my hands on! My background as a reader of romance (and of horror and gritty suspense!) helped me land my job at Pocket Books, where I happily edited women's fiction for 12 years. The thrill of working with authors I grew up reading, like Jackie Collins and VC Andrews, was a real dream come true! I also have a healthy appetite for non-fiction, and my first job in publishing and my most recent stint as garden/lifestyle editor at Clarkson Potter allowed me to explore those interests as well. The opportunity to blend my experience as a romance editor and my passion for the genre as Editorial Director of Forever at GCP was an offer I just couldn't pass up! Forever has a wonderful group of editors and authors, and it's an honor to work with such dedicated and talented people.

A typical day for me includes a long train ride to and from NYC from Connecticut--I don't have time to read in the office between meetings for cover art, cover copy, marketing and publicity, production and sales, so it's a great opportunity to get some reading and editing done. The least favorite part of my job is writing rejection letters. I know how much heart and soul--not to mention blood, sweat, and tears!--goes into writing every word on the page, and when I have to reject a project because it's not right for our list or the genre, I'm aware that I'm stomping on someone's dream. I hold out hope, though, that they will find a perfect match at another house. And by far the favorite part of my job is calling an author with good news--whether it's about acquiring another book, winning an award, or reporting great sales. It's so rewarding when you've had a small part in creating a career for an author.

RR: What are you personally looking for in submissions, particularly historicals?

AP: I encourage all the Forever editors to look first for great storytellers. We're here to help with subject matter, plotting, and other technical aspects of writing, but the natural talent of knowing how to tell a story is something we can't teach.

In historicals, there is the added skill of getting the setting and tone correct for the period. It's a talent I admire, and I can provide some suggestions, but ultimately the ability to immerse the reader in the past is what we depend on the writer for, and why we end up choosing their submission over others.

RR: Is there any kind of book you would love to see but haven't? What "trends" do you see in romance?

AP: That's the most difficult question of all! I am always looking for an engaging story that's told in a fresh and innovative way, and I'm a real sucker for voice. I've been known to fall in love with a story that doesn't have much of a plot simply because the writer is a superb storyteller with a strong voice. Of course, then I work long and hard with the author to make sure there's a plot to go along with the incredible voice!

Bookstores tell us paranormals are continuing to be strong, and that historicals are on the rise. And the sexier the better; we are looking for super-erotically charged romances. But, like any other business, the popularity of genres seem to be cyclical in nature, so I don't encourage an historical writer to switch to paranormal just because that seems to be working. There is a real power to sticking to what you know and love to write.

RR: Tell us about GCP's new covers!

AP: Since coming on board as editorial director, I've been working with the art and design team to make the Forever covers sexier than they ever have been! This is the super-sexy paranormal romance Pleasure Unbound by a new author for us, Larissa Ione. And for some books, we have spiced it up by adding our first-ever stepbacks, like the one for To Taste Temptation by historical author Elizabeth Hoyt.

RR: What are some upcoming GCP books we should look for?

AP: This June, look for Pitch Black, romantic suspense from our returning author Susan Crandall, and contemporary romance by Jane Graves in Tall Tales & Wedding Veils.

In July, I've already mentioned debut novel Pleasure Unbound, and we're also excited to be publishing Wendy Markham's new contemporary romance, That's Amore, as well as Shari Anton's wonderful medieval historical Magic in the Night.

In August, we're publishing the superbly sexy My Wicked Enemy by Carolyn Jewel, the chilling paranormal/romantic suspense Out of Time by Samantha Graves, and the enchantingly romantic A Highlander Never Surrenders by Paula Quinn.

It's going to be a hot summer! Enjoy!

Regency Weddings

Amanda is attending her brother's wedding today so I volunteered to blog for her. I hope she'll show us photos of her dress, but until then, let's talk about Regency weddings.

Regency brides did wear white, but they didn't have to. In the Regency, white gowns were popular for many occasions. Other colors like pale pink and blue were also worn at weddings. The older the bride, the darker the color. Wedding dresses were worn after the wedding, too. By the time Queen Victoria became a bride and wore white, the white wedding dress was well on its way to becoming a tradition.

Princess Charlotte, who wed Prince Leopold in 1816, wore a dress of silver lamé, embroidered in silver.

Sites that tell more about Regency Weddings:

Jessamyn's Regency Costume Companion

Regency Weddings

Quick facts about Regency Weddings:

1. Weddings could take place after reading of the Banns, a license, or a special license. Banns must be read for three consecutive Sundays in the parishes of both the prospective bride and groom. A license, purchased from the bishop of the diocese, did away with the banns but the couple still had to be married in the parish church. A special license, purchased from the Archbishop of Canterbury, allowed the couple to be married in a location other than a church and without banns. Licenses were never blank; different names could not be substituted.

2. Scottish weddings went by different rules. In Scotland couples could be married by declaring themselves married in front of witnesses, by making a promise to marry followed by intercourse, or by living together and calling themselves married.

3. Weddings could not be performed by proxy. Both the bride and groom had to be present.

4. Ship captains could not perform marriages. Couples could be married aboard ship, but only by clergy. (How many times have you read that plot?)

5. Brides had wedding rings; grooms did not. The bride could give the groom a ring as a wedding gift, but it was not part of the ceremony and didn't symbolize he was married.

Do you want a Regency Wedding? There are many sites on the internet offering custom made Regency wedding dresses:

Regency Reproductions

Fashions in Time

Or if you are handy, like Cara, you could make your Regency gown:

McCall's Pattern 202 Regency era Empire Waisted Wedding Gown

I was married a Brazillion years ago, before a bride would even DREAM of a strapless gown. Before I married, I'd never read Georgette Heyer or Regency Romances and it had been a few years since I'd read Jane Austen.

Take a look at my wedding dress.
It's a little hard to tell here, but it has an empire waist. It's a Regency Dress!

Do you have any questions about Regency weddings?

Did anyone else have a Regency wedding dress?

Don't forget to stop by on Monday for Grand Central Publishing editor Alex Logan

And while you are blogging on Monday, stop by The Wet Noodle Posse. My friend Darlene Gardner is blogging about researching character occupations.

Accessible Beauty

Brace yourselves--I have an actual topic today!


As we might have mentioned, Amanda and I are presenting a workshop at this summer's Beau Monde Conference entitled, Keeping It Real: Making Your Historical Characters Come Alive. Here's the brief description:

Just because you’re writing in a distant time period doesn’t mean your characters should be distant to your readers. Join award-winning historical authors Amanda McCabe and Megan Frampton as they discuss how to make your characters come alive through dialogue, attitudes, description and actions, while still remaining true to the period.

Amanda and I will be working on the outline/presentation in upcoming months, and when I saw this article, I realized there were some aspects of 'keeping it real' I hadn't thought of:


Hollywood's Changing Face of Beauty
From Greta Garbo to Kate Hudson, How Beauty Has Changed in America

The article says that while classic beauties were popular before, quirkier, more "accessible" beauty is what Americans find attractive.

Which, of course, led me to consider what readers find attractive in heroines. If you're Of A Certain Reading Age, you likely read a lot of those '80s romances where the heroine was beyond gorgeous: Perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect teeth (!--we are reading about English people, remember). The thing that usually wasn't perfect about them was how they didn't know they were perfect. Or something lame and punting like that.

Now our heroines have flaws, flaws that make them more real: Their hair is too curly, their hips are too big, their mouths are too wide, their eyes are just plain brown, they are too short or too tall, or whatever. We, as readers, want to read about women who are like us, not perfect goddesses on pedestals.

What do you think our changing attitudes about beauty reveal about us? Do you find Angelina, the Jessicas, Jennifer, Megan F(ox)--not me!, Halle, et al stunning? What do you like about those old romances in terms of their heroines' descriptions? What do you like about current heroines' looks?




Thanks for your comments!

Megan

Excellent adventures at Basildon Park

On my trip back to England last week to visit the old man who is not a tree (renamed the Retired Admiral because of his luxuriant white beard) I also visited Basildon Park near Reading. It's the house that was used as Netherfield in the 2005 Pride & Prejudice.

The house was designed by architect John Carr for a rich nabob, Francis Sykes--apparently Berkshire, close to London, was a favorite retirement spot for those who had made their fortunes in India. It changed hands several times for the next century and a half, narrowly escaping demolition and development in the early twentieth century. At one point it was offered to the American market, as a house to be dismantled and erected across the Atlantic, but 1929 probably wasn't the best year for such an offer. The house was taken over by the military during World War II. Consequently it was fairly messed up when Lord and Lady Iliffe acquired it in 1951 and set to restoring it. You can see what a beautiful house it now is by checking out the photo gallery (copyrighted material so I'm leaving it alone).

Here's the outside of the house. I'm lurking in the shade under the tree (and my brother forgot to set the butt filter, as you can see).

There's a whole exhibit dedicated to what they had to do to prepare the house for filming P&P--fragile carpets were rolled and removed from the first (that's second to you Americans) floor by forklift and great pains were taken to protect the house's delicate features. The furniture was made specially for the movie.

So how authentic is the house inside? I was a bit disappointed, to be honest. Lady Iliffe, who we heard a lot about--she died only a year or so ago, and lived on the premises while the National Trust maintained the house--decorated the house to her taste. Altogether it's a bit of a mish-mash of style. The Oxagon Drawing Room, for instance, has a Victorian ceiling, and Lady Iliffe, with the help of her cook, lined the walls with red felt to show off her paintings better--and of course colors like Pompeian red would have been very fashionable. But underneath the red felt is the blue green color that Georgians also loved. To give her credit, Lady Iliffe plundered other houses designed by Carr, going on expeditions to Yorkshire, where most of his work is, and loading a truck with doors and fireplaces.

Here are some more views of the exterior. As you can see it was a gorgeous sunny day.

The statues are of Alcibiades's dog, and, according to my brother, the goddess of leprosy.

Naturally after a stroll through the house and garden we had to have afternoon tea. I had Victoria sponge and my brother had chocolate cake. That's my arm in the pic. My brother was also very anxious that his shot of the toilets be included (in the stable block) so here they are.


And what else did I do over there? I'm happy to announce that I did get to Sir John Soane's Museum--cleaning that place must be a nightmare--met with my editor, took a tour of Shakespeare's Globe and saw part of a rehearsal of Midsummer Night's Dream, and visited St. Paul's where Wellington is buried, and heard the choir at Evensong. We also had a trip to Bristol, one of my favorite places.

What have you been doing this week?

I'm blogging today at the Wet Noodle Posse on how to research historical costume--come on over and take a look!

Georgiana

Ever since it came out, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, the Whitbread Award winning biography by Amanda Foreman, has been on my TBR list. A few weeks ago, I caught up with it.

I already knew a little about Georgiana before reading the book. I knew that she was active in Whig politics, married young, amassed enormous gambling debts and lived in a ménage à trois with the Duke and her friend (and possibly lover) Lady Elizabeth Foster for over twenty years. I also knew, through my research on the history of childbirth, that she was an affectionate mother and breastfed her first child, a girl, for over a year despite family pressure and "their impatience for a son and their fancying I shan't so soon if I suckle." I was intrigued by all these things and not judgmental (it’s not surprising that a girl married at 17 to a man with little affection for her should run into trouble) but until I read the bio, I didn’t get a clear sense of how all these aspects of Georgiana merged into a complex and fascinating woman. I’m not going to go on and on about it, since many of you have probably already read the book. For any who haven’t, I highly recommend it.

One thing that struck me while reading is how much the raciness of the Georgian period echoed through the Regency and has influenced characters in Regency fiction, especially older heroes/heroines or the parents of younger ones. The mother of the hero of Georgette Heyer’s False Colours is much like Georgiana, married young to a man who did not appreciate her, unable to control her gambling. In Heyer’s Sylvester, the hero’s mother, a duchess, is crippled like Georgiana’s sister, Lady Bessborough and like Georgiana, writes poetry. There’s also a thread of Georgian looseness (liberal politics, playing with gender roles) in modern Regency set romances like those of fellow Risky Janet and Risky friend Pam Rosenthal. I like it. A lot.

The book is also making me more interested in the upcoming film starring Keira Knightley, which is said to be adapted from the book. Of course I have some qualms as to how far it will be adapted. Georgiana’s life was so interesting it shouldn't need the Hollywood treatment. As for Keira Knightley, I like her as an actress but I’m not sure about her in this role. But we’ll see and I’m sure we will talk about it!

Another thing I really want to do now is read some of the published letters of her daughter Harriet (“Hary-O”), who seems to have been a clever and interesting woman and even rather sane considering the milieu to which she was born.

If you read Georgiana, what did you think? What are your favorite period bios? Are you looking forward to this film?

And do you like a splash of Georgian in your Regency?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

I Prefer Not To

We all have our tastes, our preferences, our prejudices. (I know I do.)

And one thing I've figured out: sometimes I have a preference (or, if you prefer, a prejudice) that has a clear reason for being -- a motivation, if you will -- but I haven't figured out what this reason is. (This leads to those "I really hate romances set on Greek Islands but I have no idea why" moments.) (You might also think it leads to those "I can't understand why you enjoy sugar in your tea" moments, but that's quite a different thing. I need no subtle motivation to know that sugar in tea is just a sad, sad thing.)

Why is this on my mind? Because I've just reasoned out the reason for one of my prejudices preferences.

And this makes me happy. Any sign that even the smallest part of my brain (or, indeed, any part of the world) is organized by something approaching logic makes me feel warm and snug and smug.

Now, I have mentioned that one might prefer to call this preference of mine a prejudice, right??? And I have made it clear that this is just my taste, my bias, one of my likes and dislikes??? (And I do have lots and lots of dislikes, particularly concerning vegetables and blue eye shadow.)

Because I honestly mean no criticism of anyone's books (even books I may have read). After all, my refusal to eat cauliflower in no way implies that I dislike, disparage, or disrespect the cauliflower on your plate! And I particularly don't disapprove of you for eating it (or reading or writing it.)

So...here it is.

I realized quite a while ago that I get surprisingly annoyed at reading historicals in which there exists perfect birth control... You know, the book where the virgin aristocratic heiress has a naughty aunt who teaches her (or provides her with) a fool-proof way to fool around with some hunky fool for as many months as she wants, with zero chance of pregnancy.

Now, it's not like I always insist on perfect historical authenticity or total realism...after all, I'm a big fan of Shakespeare and Georgette Heyer. (Yes, I know that when Viola and Rosalind and Leonie dressed up as men they would still have looked like girls...but I just don't care!)

So...why this great irritation on my part? Why does the better-than-the-year-2008 contraception in 1808 in just get under my skin? Well, I finally figured it out.

The way I see it, a huge amount of the psychology, sociology, laws, economics, and fashion involving middle and upper-class women in 1808 Britain was based on the fact that reliable contraception did not exist.

After all, think how much the invention of the pill affected social norms and behavior involving everything from cohabitation to premarital sex to middle-class wives working outside the home to romance novels to adoption.

So, for me, reading a historical with foolproof contraception is as bizarre as reading some of the science fiction written in the 1950's -- the kind where the fifty-year-old workaholic hero's wife has all her housework, shopping and entertaining done by robots, but she still doesn't have a job or even a hobby. (I'm sorry, but what does she do all day???)

So there you have it. When it comes to reading about perfect contraception in 1808 (or mindless housewives in 2828)...I simply would prefer not to.

Cara
Cara King, who once wrote an essay arguing Bartleby the Scrivener was a ghost

Another Manic Monday

Diane Report:

Number of pages written since past rant of one week ago: 32
Daily average: 4.5
Daily goal: 10 pages
Number of pages to go: 158
New Daily Goal: 12 pages

Deadline: June 2

Arrrrrgggghhhhhhh!





Good news! I have my new contract in hand. More books. More deadlines................

Investigation:

This is the book Amanda said she pines for. She mentioned it in Megan's Friday post.
Doesn't this look like Amanda?













(photo of Amanda from our Williamsburg trip)
Amazing!!!

I'll be back on Saturday - substituting for Amanda. I'll give you another update then--on my deadline, not on Amanda.

(Why did I ever get myself into this tight deadline--do you all get yourself into things like this deadline dilemma I've gotten myself into?)

Why The Chicken Crossed The Road

Here at Risky Regencies, we decided that once in a while we'd like to take a little break and have you, our wonderful visitors, take over! This month, we welcome Pamela Bolton-Holifield, aka Doglady, who is a 2008 Golden Heart finalist. Congrats, Pam, and welcome!

Hello, my name is Pam, and I am a Big Fat Chicken. There, I said it. Bwawk! Bwawk! Bwaak! Let me explain.

There are two things I have always done. I have always sung and I have always told stories. My Mom says I could sing every word of the Frosty Morning Bacon commercial when I was 3. Don't remember that one. I'm sure it was a toe tapper. Apparently about the same time I started telling stories. These weren't the "I didn't do it. The dog did it," kind of stories, but real stories with characters and adventures.

Here comes the chicken part. I was fine as long as my audience was doting grandparents and my adoring Dad, who thought I could do no wrong. I miss you, Dad, every day! Put me in front of an audience that has even one stranger in it and I clammed up like Ebeneezer Scrooge with his last penny. I sealed my lips, shook my head, and that was it. Not a word, not a note. Nothing. See? Chicken!!!

I wrote my first novel when I was 9. It was an 800 page romance novel about a half-breed Indian scout and the general's daughter. My Mom suggested I let the lady who drove the bookmobile in the English village where we lived read it. Nope. Not doing it. To this day not a soul has read I Hate You General Sir. Chicken syndrome strikes again. Although with a title like that I think my poultry imitation was justified.

When I was 12 there was a school-wide talent contest. The prize was a humongous book--The Complete History of Great Britain. We're talking a "his lordship was killed when his Complete History fell on him in the library. Killed him instantly and left a terrible port stain on the Persian rug" kind of book. I wanted that book. I did not want to sing in the contest. Bwaak! Enter my two best friends, Elizabeth Burt and Tammy Burton. They insisted I enter the contest. In fact, they signed me up for it without telling me. They picked the song--Wandering Star from Paint Your Wagon. They literally shoved me onto the stage when it came my time to sing. And I did, sing that is, and I won. I still have that book. If I can get to that book anyone who breaks into my house is a dead man.

Of course there were consequences. My teacher called my parents in for a conference. I knew I was in trouble. The song has the word "hell" in it. I was in trouble for singing the wod "hell" in a school assembly. I had my defense all ready. "They made me do it!" I was wrong. He told my parents I had real talent. Before I knew it I was talking music theory and piano lessons at the London College of Music. The rest, as they say, is history. My opera career took me all over the world. I sang in some of the best opera houses, cathedrals, and concert halls in Europe, and I had a ball. And I cannot tell you how many times I paused before I went onstage and thought "How did I get here??"

Fast forward a little over a year ago. My local bookseller sent me an email about the Avon FanLit event. "You should do this," she said. Nope. Not gonna. Bwaak! She bugged me. Worse, she called my BFF and got her to bug me. I finally signed up for it and entered the first chapter just to get them to shut up. They were relentless. Every round I entered, and every round I told them, "My stuff is crap." My chapter 3 crap won! So I decided to try writing again. I discovered that writing was like the bad boy you keep taking back. He leaves town, treats you bad, and you still take him back.

I entered Lost in Love in contests, and it made the finals in 3. It won the Royal Ascot, and I was thrilled. Then my BFF teamed up with my critique partner, Erin. They bugged me some more. They harassed me. They refused to let up until I said I would enter the Golden Heart. It became a big conspiracy. I had all kinds of people encouraging, aka badgering, me to enter, including some ladies you all know--Risky Regencies, The Goddess Blogs, the Wet Noodle Posse, History Hoydens, and Romance Bandits. How do you say no to two authors whose work you admire--Diane Gaston and Anna Campbell?

Adding fuel to the fire, everyone in my writing group--Passion's Slaves (hey, Gillian, Erin, Terry Jo, and Marianne!)--decided to enter, too. Kind of like the group of friends who decide it's okay to streak across the quad naked if you do it in a large group. Not that I know about that sort of thing...

So here I am, a Golden Heart finalist, and no clue how I got here. The writing part is easy (most days), but letting my baby go out into the wide world--that is hard. Especially for the Queen of the Big Fat Chickens.

There are those who say romance novels are fairy tales written for grown women. I happen to like fairy tales. One of my favorite Broadway musicals is based on a fairy tale. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella has lyrics that describe how I feel about romance novels.

In my own little corner in my own little chair
I can be whatever I want to be.
On the wings of my fancy I can fly anywhere
And the world will open its arms to me.

My friends wouldn't let me sit in my little corner any more. I have lots of stories to tell and now I just might get the chance to tell them to the world.

Why did the chicken cross the road? She was shoved! And she thanks God for her pushy friends every day.

Tres Chic Saturday

This blog quiz I came across gave me the idea for today's post: What City Do You Belong In?

According to the quiz I belong in --Paris!

You Belong in Paris

Stylish and expressive, you were meant for Paris. The art, the fashion, the wine! Whether you're enjoying the cafe life or a beautiful park... You'll love living in the most chic place on earth.

What City Do You Belong In?

Since I am beyond excited about planning my fall France trip (which you will all get sick of hearing about, I'm sure!) this seemed appropriate. I decided to have a Paris-y, fashion-y night, and started by ordering some perfume samples from The Perfumed Court (I've been reading my way through Perfumes: The Guide and found several scents I need to test), and tried some craft-y stuff.







Usually crafts and I don't mix well. Things get glued or sewn together that are not meant to, messes get made. But I've been working on accessories for my costume for the RWA Beau Monde soiree this summer. I had a shoe dilemma--I have the perfect style of shoe, left over from a bridesmaid outfit several years ago, but it wasn't the right color. Yet they're too dark to re-dye. Megan advised me to put beads on it, so I borrowed my mother's glue gun (Warning!! Hot glue ahead!) and took a trip to Hobby Lobby to find some beads. This is the result--what do you think? And does anyone know where I can get some big, plummy ostrich feathers?

And it was on this day in 1774 that Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette ascended the throne of France! A candle was kept in the window of Louis's grandfather, Louis XV, who was dying of smallpox, to signal his demise. It was extinguished at 3 in the afternoon, and immediately "a terrible noise, exactly like thunder" (from Madame Campan's memoirs) as the courtiers ran toward the Dauphine's apartments to make their obeisances. The young couple (still practically teenagers) fell on their knees and prayed together, "Dear God, guide us and protect us. We are too young to reign."

But no one lingered at Versailles, due to the threat of contagion. By four o'clock the royal family was on their way to Choisy, leaving servants to clean up after the dead king, and a group of English tourists free to wander the chateau (they found the state apartments "dirty and neglected," but liked the rooms of the Mesdames Tantes with their books and musical instruments). Louis XV was hastily sealed up in his coffin and driven to St. Denis in Paris. Lady Mary Coke observed that the people along the road, rather than showing respect and concern, "whooped and hallooed as if they had been at a horse-race instead of a funeral procession." It was a new day in France.

What city do you belong in? Take then quiz and let us know!

Diane will be stepping in next Saturday--my baby brother is getting married that day, and I'll be buried in Family Things! But I'll be back the next Saturday with a full wedding report. Be sure and join us on Monday the 19th, when my Grand Central Publishing editor Alex Logan will be here to answer your questions and talk about the GCP romance program. See you then!

Mother's Day Wishes

Mother's Day is this Sunday. And since companies have been deluging us with advertising reminding us all of this fact since April, I won't ask if you mailed a card/figured out a gift/unplugged your phone.

I am a mother (And a daughter of a mother, for that matter). And, like a lot of mothers, what I really want for Mother's Day is some sleep, the freedom to take a nap (or two!). Maybe read uninterrupted by requests to get a glass of water, find someone's keys, weigh in on what Pokemon I'd like to be, or watch a sports highlight. Bliss.

It's hard, I think, for one day to bear the load of gratitude children and husbands and partners want to bestow on mothers--I know I always feel an inordinate amount of pressure to make sure my mother-in-law has a great day, and that I get some fun myself.

But, since we can, let's just imagine what we'd like best for a treat. I'll start:

an ARC of Loretta Chase's Your Scandalous Ways.

That bookcase, above (it only costs $3,990).

A Pucci scarf.



Not having to wait until December to see the movie version of Twilight, Stephenie Meyer's brilliant YA vampire book.


Iced coffee and a cupcake with my best friend, the Picky Vegetarian, who lives in Portland, OR.






. . . And an extravagant gift certificate to Amazon.

What are you longing for ? What are you doing for your mom? If you're a mom, what are you hoping for this Sunday?

Megan

Travel books and books for travel

My alterego Jane Lockwood blogged yesterday about a travel book she enjoyed recently, Sultry Climates: Travel and Sex by Ian Littlewood. It was a refreshing contrast to another book about travel, excerpts from The Countries of Europe Described, written by Mrs. Favell Lee Mortimer in 1849. She was also the author of what has been described as "one of the most outspokenly sadistic children's books ever written," The Peep of Day.

Edited by Todd Pruzan, and titled The Clumsiest People in Europe: Mrs. Mortimer's Bad-Tempered Guide to the Victorian World, this book has the attraction of a multi-car pile up. You keep reading in horrified fascination as Mrs. Mortimer can't find one nice thing to say about anyone. Abroad is populated entirely by dirty, shiftless, lazy, useless foreigners, most of whom are Catholics (which explains a lot). A town may look pretty as you approach it by sea, but when you get there it has mean narrow dirty streets, and so on. It's funny but at the same time it makes you cringe.

Mrs. Mortimer went abroad twice in her life--once, in fact, when she was a teenager in the late Regency to France (where they like being smart but are not very clean) and Belgium (not much to say because it is so like the countries on either side)--and that was obviously enough. After that she read widely.

Talking of which, I'm about to leave soon for the airport for my very short trip to England to visit my aged father who is not a tree--and I'm taking two books, Pamela by Richardson and my buddy Esri Rose's Bound To Love Her, a funny book about elves in Boulder--fairly typical for my travel reading, a weighty tome and something fun. I'll report back on all.

Update: arrived safely, gawd I'm jetlagged.

Canoeing, wine and writing!

Last weekend, my friends Kathleen and Therese from Writer Unboxed and I went on our fifth annual writers' retreat. This time, we invited a couple other friends. Picture five mommy writers descending on a vacation house in the Finger Lakes armed with food, laptops, writing notebooks, wine and chocolate, for a weekend away from family responsibilities. A weekend of self indulgent, blissful companionship and writing.

On these retreats, we aim for the perfect balance of productivity and fun. We ate meals together but the rest of the day we focused on writing activities: brainstorming, plotting, drafting, whatever was appropriate for each individual. My personal goal was to get a good start on the 4th draft of my balloonist story. We also took the occasional break for a thinking walk or (my favorite) paddle. The first evening we ate in (Kathleen made a wickedly good pulled pork, black beans and mango salsa-yum!) and the second night we went to a restaurant at a local winery.

In the evenings we got on our jammies, refilled our wine glasses and watched North & South. After all the raves I've heard from people about N&S, I knew I'd enjoy it but was also prepared for a slight letdown. In this case, all the hype could not prepare me for how good it was. We did discuss how, as writers, we could learn from the way the external historical events were intertwined with the romance and the character arcs. But mostly we just swooned over Richard Armitage. (Note to self: must use him someday.)

As to productivity, I came away with about 27 pages, having completed Chapter 1 and getting well into Chapter 2. And I'm very pleased with how the story is coming along.

As to the fun, see for yourselves. This picture was taken Saturday night after our winery trip by Therese (on the right) holding her camera at arm's length and doing her best to get us all in the picture.

It's fun to imagine us Riskies having a retreat at some gorgeous English country house. But until we are all pulling in the requisite six digit advances, a retreat like this is very doable. Split enough ways, a house or cottage rental will not break a modest budget. Just add good writing buddies, chocolate and wine and your muse will thank you. I highly recommend it!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB: Your Favorites

The first Tuesday of every month, Risky Regencies becomes the place to talk about Jane Austen adaptations, and adaptations of other Regency-interest novels.

Usually, we have one particular adaptation to talk about...

...but today is different.

Today is List Day.

I particularly like the number five today, so today we will do Lists Of Five.

So...

Of all the Jane Austen adaptations you've ever seen, on television or in the movie theatre...

What were your Five Favorite Adaptations?

Which were your Five Favorite Heroes To Swoon Over?

Which were your Five Least Favorite Casting Decisions?

(Of course, if you have fewer than five for any of these categories, that's also fine and dandy!)

Which Five Adaptations Are You Most Likely to Watch Repeatedly?

Which Five Heroines Were Your Favorites?

Which were your Five Favorite Comic Performances?

(Answer any of these questions, or all!)

Which Five Adaptations Did You Think Had The Most Wrong With Them?

What are your Top Five Cringeworthy Moments?

Your Five Favorite Moments?

And last, but not least...what five (or any) adaptations (Jane Austen or other) would you like to discuss in the future?

All answers welcome!

Cara
Cara King, who is currently debating the relative merits of the names Elliot and Ezra...

The Blank Page

You must not come lightly to the blank page--Stephen King

This will be a short post, because I can't take it lightly that I'm facing a blank page, and I have a great deal of writing to do to meet my June 1 deadline.

I'm starting a new series! At least three books about three soldiers. I don't want to say too much more about it, except that I'm at least one-third the way through it.

This has got me wondering, though...

How many pages do you usually write on the days that you write?

What is the greatest number of pages you have written in one day?

I am about to step up the pace and write more pages per day than I've ever done. I have no idea if I can do it! I'll give you a count next Monday.

Which brings me to another question.

What do you do when you look at the blank page and you can't figure out what comes next? What do you do to get over that hump when you don't have any time to fool around?

Of writing well the source and fountainhead is wise thinking--Horace

By the way, go see Made of Honor at the movies. It's great!

The Great Tagline Contest--results

congrats to our winner

Kim H

who has won a $25 Amazon gift certificate

the winning tagline is:

The original, riskiest, and forever the friskiest Regency Romance Blog

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Swimming Upstream

I turned in Balthazar's book last week (yay! I love writing The End and sending a story winging off) and have started my next book, or at least the preliminaries for it. This is the 3rd in my Regency-set trilogy "The Muses of Mayfair," and is set in Bath. So, I got out postcards and photos of the city to add to my Inspirations Board (pictured here).



But the Board is not quite complete. Like many writers, I do like to "see" my characters (or maybe I just like looking at pictures of handsome actors?), and thus have to add images of them to my Inspirations. My heroine, Thalia (the youngest of the 3 classical-scholarly Chase sisters) was easy enough. She is young, blonde, and very very cute. Her sisters compare her to a porcelain shepherdess, and she hates that. But she does like the advantage that appearing fragile and fluffy can give her. No one expects her to cause mischief, so she never gets in trouble for it. She looks a bit like Kirsten Dunst.

The hero, Count Marco di Fabrizzi, was harder to picture (hard to picture for a dark, sexy Italian, that is!!). I can see him in my mind, but my usual Hero Inspirations just weren't working quite right. Orlando was the hero of my last book--he needs a wee rest! So, when I mentioned my dilemma in the comments of Elena's Wednesday post, Elizabeth Mahon reminded me of Rodrigo Santoro. Perhaps he's best known for 300 (though totally unrecognizable there). I loved him in those Chanel No. 5 commercials with Nicole Kidman, the ones where she wears that big pink feather dress and goes running through the streets to live in a garret with him. Voila, I have my Marco! I am now ready for Chapter One, Page One. Maybe.

And it was on this day in 1810 that Lord Byron swam the Hellespont on his Grand Tour. This is still quite a feat today (every August, there's a Turkish Remembrance Day Hellespont swimming race), and Byron accomplished it despite his clubbed foot! And then he wrote a poem about it.

For me, degenerate modern wretch,
Though in the genial month of May,
My dripping limbs I faintly stretch,
And think I've done a feat today.

Do you swim? (I enjoy a few laps in the pool, but seriously doubt I could brave the Hellespont!) What do you do for Inspiration when starting a story?

Oh, and in my never-ending quest for the perfect English real estate, the place for great Riskies retreats, I found this property this week. Now I must go buy a lottery ticket...

Books Are Inspiring!

As anyone who's paid even passing interest to my posts lately knows, I've just moved. After 13 years of being in the same apartment.

So writing? No, not so much lately.

But I have set up my office, sort of; when Amanda was visiting, she helped me lug boxes of research and Regency books up to the second floor, where I sit typing now. Last week, I managed to get them onto the shelves.

I have a lot of books, especially for someone who admits she's not much of a researcher. What I do get from my vast collection, however, is inspiration; for example, I have a book I snagged from my dad's even vaster collection:

The Hell-Fire Club by Donald McCormick

I haven't even opened it (mostly 'cause it smells funny, the way old paperbacks do), but how inspiring is it, even from the cover? The top line on the book reads "The Weird Story of the Amorous Knights of Wycombe." Come on, how awesome would it be if one of our heroines snuck into the Hellfire Club? Or the hero was a member?

I also have on my shelf a book I've mentioned here before, the Regency Underworld by Donald A. Low (do you smell a trend? Yeah, I don't think I'll be writing about a traditional debutante and her Season anytime soon. My new agent likes it that I'm edgy, which is cool).

Another book that will be way useful, when I actually open it, is The Great North Road by Frank Morley, which my dad (my research partner) left notes in after writing me a huge document on all roads leading to London (I am writing a "Road To . . ." series, so my characters are traveling to and fro).

Mostly, though, I sit here and look up and smile because the two shelves look like they belong to a Regency Author', which is what I am.

What are your favorite history books? Besides the Regency, which are your favorite periods to know about?

Happy May Day!

Unite and unite and let us all unite,
For summer it is come unto day;
And whither we are going we all will unite
In the merry morning of May.

Yes, it's May Day. No one really knows the origin of the celelebration, although it almost certainly derived from the Celtic feast Beltane.

One of the rituals associated with the holiday is maypole dancing, one of the many popular pastimes Cromwell put an end to in 1644. You see--how shall I put this delicately for you Regency ladies--quite often the top of the maypole had a suggestive shape. Although May Day customs were revived after the Restoration, maypole dancing enjoyed a massive comeback in the Victorian era, when musicologists began collecting folk songs and rituals. The decorative ribbons and flowers stayed, and the whole thing became wholesome and practiced by schoolchildren.

As part of the May ritual, the celebrations began the night before with couples disappearing into the woods to gather may (hawthorne). They'd emerge the next morning with stupid grins and armfuls of flowers. A Queen of the May would be chosen, and sometimes a King of the May.

Sometimes the Queen of the May is not a person, but a special doll that is brought out each year and paraded around the community in a shrine of flowers made out of linked hoops. In some places you can find Morris dancers.

In Padstow in Cornwall, the Padstow Oss is paraded around the town to the beat of a drum while the song I quoted at the beginning is sung. Everyone gets really drunk. The song has references to St. George, rather like a mummers play, and is probably very ancient.

You can hear the song, read all the verses, and find out more about the Padstow Oss at its website, Blue Ribbon Oss.

May Day Traditions and Customs in England and Christine O'Keeeffe's May Day Customs sites are also great places to find out about the varied and strange May Day celebrations in England and beyond.

Have you ever joined in a May Day celebration? Or tried maypole dancing?--I have. It's really difficult! And once you're tangled up, there's no going back.

And a bit of shameless self promotion: The Rules of Gentility is a finalist in the National Readers Choice Awards!