Extroverted Introvert

As you can tell, ALL of the SIX Risky Regencies are in San Francisco at the RWA National Convention.

There have been excellent workshops, squee-worthy author sightings, some lovely gowns (and pantaloons! Go Amanda!) and the occasional cocktail. Ahem.

But I am not here today to talk about the fun we're having.

No, as is my wont, I am here to talk about dealing with things that are outside of our normal ken--in my case, dealing with loads of people.

I live in Brooklyn, New York, a city that is quite bustling. I see many different types of people during the course of my daily routine. But, and this is the difference between my usual routine and now, I DON'T SAY HI TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.

Nor do I have to look and act friendly. Or look good, if I don't want to.

But here? Here I am wearing my sartorial best, each and every day, wearing make-up each and every day, smiling, saying hi, remembering people's names and what genres they write, each and ever day.

It's exhausting. And draining for someone as introverted as me.

But Conference--and its accompanying sturm und drang--comes but once a year. Like Christmas. A gynecological exam. A birthday.

So I remind myself that this is my community, I can suck it up for just a few more days, and I sneak up to the room for naps and alone time.

But I look forward to being back in New York City, where I can finally be alone.

What about you--do you need alone time? Or thrive on company? And do you have any tricks for remembering people's name without having to stare at the nametag on their chest?

Megan

PS: The pic is relevant in that it is a small crowd, but more to the point, has the heroes of both my WIPs--Djimon Hounsou and Sean Bean--together. How cool is that?

Historical Writers Conference report

Hello from SF and the 1st Annual Historical Writers' Conference (put on by the Beau Monde and the Hearts Through History Chapters). I'm drowning in riches here--so many appealing workshops that I long for the Time Turner Hermione Granger uses in Harry Potter III!

The first workshop I attended was "Black Powder Weapons Through the Ages", by Gordon Frye, who brought examples of all sorts of period pistols, muskets, rifles and also swords and demonstrated how they were carried, loaded etc... Very, very cool, and many of us fell in love with the small Regency era pistol, perfect for a heroine to tuck into her reticule.

It seemed only natural to segue to the workshop on "Trauma Surgery" by Scott Moore, where I learned, among other things, how gunshot wounds were treated, how arrows were extracted and how amputations were actually performed (Hollywood usually gets it sooooo wrong). This was particularly interesting to me since my mess-in-progress features an army brat hero and also many ex-soldiers among the secondary characters.

"Sex Through History" by Delilah Marvelle was also brilliant and chock-full of interesting tidbits, naughty language and naughtier pictures that prove there's nothing new under the sun. I am quite dying to go explore some of the sources in her bibliography!

Next many of us enjoyed "Kickshaws: Regency and Victorian Refreshments" by Kalen Hughes. We sampled rout cakes, pound cakes, seed cakes, Banbury cakes and much more. Yum! I'm so glad the handouts include recipes.

After I finish this post: dinner, booksigning and the soiree. I'm sure we'll be posting many pics soon. And it's been great meeting Keira, Jane George, Doglady aka Pam aka Louisa and others--wish all our Risky friends could be here!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

The Beau Monde Conference is tomorrow!!!

Today I'm flying to San Francisco.

Tomorrow I'm attending the conference put on by the Beau Monde (the Regency chapter of Romance Writers of America) and Hearts Through History (RWA's historical romance chapter).

Then Thursday through Saturday is RWA's annual conference!!!

Busy, busy, busy. And I can't wait!

I'll see friends I haven't seen in years.

I'll be a suave gamester, and teach piquet and cassino and loo at the Beau Monde's soiree. (I'll wear my Regency gown, and maybe I'll even have time to dance, too!)

I'll attend fantastic workshops, acquire fabulous novels and research books, and probably share friendly mutual gripes about the elevators or the air conditioning or some other hotel feature. (Griping about elevators is a great way to bond.)

I'll try desperately to write more of my novel-in-progress.

And I will buy many, many books.

Now off to write madly...

Cara
Cara King, author of MY LADY GAMESTER, which contains huge tracts of piquet

Diane in San Francisco

I'm in San Francisco!
I flew in yesterday and my travel was about as problem-free as you could expect. Then my niece Leila, who lives here, came to take me on the town. We walked from the hotel to Pier 39 for dinner, stopping at a Craft Fair on the way and lots of little shops. Then we went on the Alcatraz night tour and received real VIP treatment, because Leila works there. We went on a special private tour of Alcatraz, including the hospital wing where the movie, The Rock, was filmed, and underground, where the foundation for the original Civil War era fort can still be seen.

While we were on the boat I heard, "Diane!" It was Lori Wilde, who writes for Blaze and Grand Central. She and her husband joined our little private tour of Alcatraz.

Some pics:
Entrance to Alcatraz


Diane and Leila








Lori Wilde and Bill


Lori and Diane in jail









Today Leila and I will explore the city and ride cable cars. And tomorrow Keira and I will do our own tour of San Francisco, meeting up with Amanda and later with Deb Marlowe, Michelle Willingham and a bunch of others to end our day at O'Neills Irish Pub.

I wish you were all here, but I'll take comfort in knowing all the Riskies will be together and we'll see many of our Risky friends at our 'breakfast' at the RWA conference. More about that next Monday.....

Anglophile Saturday

As you all know, this is the weekend before RWA. Therefore, it's the weekend that I spend running around my house screaming "Conference is coming! I'm not ready!" before falling over on the floor, having a glass of Chardonnay, and watching Pride and Prejudice for the 2,143rd time. (Which version? Doesn't matter. Any. All!). I could be devising a way to fit all my shoes and evening handbags into my suitcase, working on the WIP (of which I have approximately 50 more pages to write), or researching the next book (wherein I will move from this WIP's Regency Bath to that book's Elizabethan Christmas at Whitehall. Plus a frost fair!).

Or I could have some more Chardonnay and find some fun Anglophile things on the Internet to share with all of you. I think I will go with that option.

First up, we have Kooky Royal Fashion. Since I have an absurd love for royalty, I really enjoy this!

We all re-wear our clothes, yes? Especially fancy things that cost a lot, and which we love but seldom get to take out of our closet. Princess Anne is no different. She took the dress AND hat she wore in 1981 to Princess Diana's wedding and wore it a few weeks ago to another wedding, that of the Duke of Gloucester's daughter Lady Rose Windsor. Because surely no one will remember a dress/hat combo that looks like a fried egg and was worn at possibly the highest profile event EVER! I actually think it looks better now, without that big choker, but she could have at least changed out the hat...







And speaking of hats! Then there was Princess Beatrice and her butterfly hat, also sported at a wedding. I love me a crazy hat, but this one might be a bit much even for me...










I also like to waste time looking for interesting real estate in the UK. I found this one, Shakespeare House in northern Buckinghamshire, near a village called Grendon Underwood. It was built as a coaching inn in the 1570s, since it was at a convenient spot halfway between Stratford and London. Called The Ship back then, it's said that Shakespeare would stay there on his journeys back and forth (though I don't see how this could possibly be proven, it's still fun to think about living someplace Shakespeare slept!). Back then, it had 20 bedrooms as well as several public rooms with large fireplaces. Even though it's been altered since then, it would still make a good place for Risky retreats!

According to tradition, Shakespeare stayed at The Ship several times over the years, though one night the inn was full and he slept on the local church porch before being chased off by the local constable, an incident that inspired the characters of Dogberry and Verges in Much Ado About Nothing. The inn has gone through fire, neglect, and rebuilding in the intervening years, but the little room is still there, up a narrow oak staircase past a priest's hole and blackened beams. It's also said his image appears in the window of this room on St. George's Day, the anniversary of his birth and death, though I think if that happened every place he ever stayed his ghost would be tremendously busy...

This is the room Shakespeare was said to stay in, with the oval window (but I prefer the lighter chamber in the other pic!)

It has a lovely garden, too, where the current owners host Midsummer Night's Dream themed parties, and is for sale for only 2.325 million pounds. A bargain!









Speaking of Shakespeare, I'm busy planning the 3 and a half days I'll have in London after my trip to Paris this fall. One night I have tickets to see Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe! One day I'm going out to visit Hever Castle, family home of Anne Boleyn, and one day going to the Harlequin Mills & Boon offices in Richmond. That leaves--one and a half days for other things. I read a travel review where a family said they had 2 days in London and visited the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, the Imperial War Museum, the Tower, Kensington Palace, and the V & A. By my calculations, they must have spent about 2 hours in each place, which doesn't sound helpful or enjoyable to me! But I do want to make the most of my time. Any suggestions?



But one trip at a time. I will see many of you in San Francisco next week, and will keep the rest of you up-to-date on conference doings!

I Am A Dud

People can be fanatical about things such as coffee, Clive Owen, black hooded sweatshirts, silver hoop earrings.

Yes, that's just me. But that's okay, this is MY day to post, and I've got packing to do, and a darn house to clean, and San Francisco to get to, and introvertism to overcome, and--yeah. You know.

One thing I am not fanatical about is getting to see or read stuff early. Honestly, it makes me feel like a dud. For example, I still haven't seen The Dark Knight; I'll get to it eventually (maybe Monday!), but it hasn't been burning a hole in my chest or anything.

Likewise, Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn is pre-ordered from Amazon, but not because I plan on reading it as soon as it ships--no, I just like the pre-order price discount. I'm cheap, not fanatical.

And the X-Files movie opens today. And Josh Whedon's Dr. Horrible has been online and causing havoc and frenzy. And Nas's record came out. And the iPhone. And Sherrilyn Kenyon's Acheron. And loads of other pop culture things that other people are so excited about, and I am, too, but I'm not as early adoptive.

I envy people that passionate devotion to things. I was pondering just what would make me get all fluttery, so passionate I had to not only GET the thing (like a book), but sit down and ingest it right away. Nothing. J.R. Ward, I get as soon as it releases, but I usually wait to read it, just because I'm in the middle of another book. Movies? I've got a nine year-old, and a workaholic husband--you do the math.

Makeup? Nope. Shoes? Uh-uh. I do like hearing music as soon as it's out--and sometimes before (the benefit of having a music reviewing husband)--but I don't chase it down. I do proselytize, as in the case of Adele, Duffy, Alice Smith and Rufus Wainwright (back in the day, before his first record came out). But I don't HAVE to hear it day-of-release.

I think I might get crazy when Clive Owen (my favorite, duh) is finally starring as Philip Marlowe (one of my favorite fictional detectives) written by one of my favorite authors (Raymond Chandler), directed by Frank Miller (Sin City!). Then I might make sure the babysitter's lined up. Might.


What are you fanatical about? Do you get or see or hear things as soon as they are released?

Finished, again

I think I've finished my book A Most Lamentable Comedy. At least, I hope I've finished my book as I have to send it off before I leave for SF.

But I wanted to tell you about some odd things that happened with it, particularly in the last couple of weeks. Elena's post last month about bears apparently lodged in my brain because the hero's manservant suddenly reappeared, after quarreling with his master, with a dancing bear in tow. In fact the bear, a male called Daisy which is a very un-Regency type of name, did turn out to be a factor in the resolution of the plot.

There was also a scene, a sudden, wonderful surprise, where the heroine flies a kite.

But the main change was in what happened to the heroine. She's about to be arrested for her debts when a duke steps in and saves her, on condition she becomes his mistress. Only he doesn't intend for her to actually become his mistress--it's a ploy to keep her out of the way of the hero (for various reasons). Now, originally, she didn't realize what was going on and would wonder why the duke prefers to sit around talking to her about sheep and antiquities (his hobbies) rather than do anything else.

But as I got to know Caroline I realized that of course she'd know something was going on. She's smart enough to smell a conspiracy (which it is, involving her friends) a mile off. And also, although my idea originally was to keep it a secret from the reader (which is why I'm not giving away huge amounts of plot here), I realized they'd want to know where the hero is. So I let everyone except the heroine, who works it out for herself, know and the hero is involved in the narrative by a series of letters that were lots of fun to write. (This is all about my entertainment, remember. Yep, it's almost an epistolary novel here and at one point, if the editor allows, there's a short play within the book.)

Lots of other things changed too, which is why I think it's always wise to write a very short, vague synopsis.

Writers, tell us about something unexpected that happened in a book.

Readers, tell us about your favorite surprise in a book.

And come on over to the Wet Noodle Posse today where I'm blogging about how to remember names and faces, in preparation for Nationals and the Risky Breakfast on Friday morning (next week)!

Risky Rendezvous at RWA!

I don't know about the rest of you that are going to RWA National in SF, but I passed anxiety a few days ago and I'm now in full-blown panic. I am excited but so not ready!!!

I've just barely gotten the house back in order after the "toga party" last weekend and I'm also in the throes of planning a religious education committee retreat at my UU church for the week after I get back. (Yes, I've become a "church lady" but sans hair net, I promise!) This doesn't count the usual craziness of keeping up with camps, music lessons and playdates.

So here's my getting-ready-for-RWA status report.

I have: lost about 10 pounds (though I'd like it to be more); gone out and bought new makeup, tossing stuff I've been using for years (yes, I know Carmindy would shudder); figured out the all-important question of What to Wear every day of the conference and especially the awards night; straightened out a snafu with the scheduling of my children's summer camp, thereby ensuring childcare for next week.

I have not yet: checked over my Regency gown to see if it fits and/or needs any repairs; made up new business cards; even looked at the workshop schedule.

But it will all get done. Some things I'm really looking forward to:

• the fantastic lineup of workshops, including tasting of period foods and presentations by reenactors at the First Annual Historical Romance Writers' Conference, put on jointly by the Beau Monde and Hearts through History
• workshops during the main conference
• a possible excursion to the Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles
• seeing friends again that I haven't seen in years
• meeting new ones I've met on this blog.

We hope many of you will mingle with us at the Evening Soiree on Wednesday. Many of us will be in costume so there should be some great photo opportunities! Besides, who could resist the chance of being fleeced by Cara at the gaming table or partnered by a Risky in an English country dance? I may have two left feet but I've not actually trodden on anyone-yet! :)

Our next scheduled get together will be Friday morning at the continental breakfast (7:30-8:30). We would love to have as many of you as possible drop by to chat. We'll mark the table with some sort of signage so you can find us. And we'll have some fabulous Risky buttons to give out, too!

So anyway, here's a timetable of Risky rendezvous at RWA:

Wednesday, July 30 (2:30-3:25)
"Keeping It Real: Making Your Historical Characters Come Alive" workshop by Megan Frampton, Amanda McCabe & Andrea Pickens

Wednesday, July 30 (5:30-7:30PM)

"Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing

Wednesday, July 30 (8:45-11PM)
Evening soiree with dancemaster

Friday, Aug 1 (7:30-8:30AM)
Breakfast with the Riskies

Saturday, Aug 2 (8:30-9:30AM)
"Writing the Hot Historical" with Janet Mullany, Helen Breitweiser and Pam Rosenthal

Saturday, Aug 2 (12:45-1:45PM)
"Doddering Butlers, Pert Housemaids, and Faithful Retainers: Busting the Servant Myths" with Janet Mullany

If I missed any Risky events here, please let me know.

For those who are going to RWA, are you ready? What are you most looking forward to? For anyone who is not coming, you will be missed!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Reminder to our winners!

Congratulations to Santa and Cheri2628!

If you haven't done so already, please email riskies@yahoo.com your snail mail addresses to receive your magnets and copies of LADY IONA'S REBELLION by Dorothy McFalls.

Sara Lindsey, please email riskies@yahoo.com to receive your copy of THE LAST RAKE IN LONDON by Nicola Cornick. If we do not hear from you by Friday we will pick another winner.

Thanks to everyone for checking out these great interviews!

The Riskies

Sophisticated Gamesters?

Because I'll be teaching Regency card games at the Beau Monde soiree next week (ack! NEXT WEEK?), I've been refreshing my memory of the rules of cassino, speculation, and the like.

Which leads me to the question of the day, which is:

Were Regency gamesters sophisticated?

It is your job to examine the evidence!


FACT ONE: Piquet players kept score (and piquet scores go quite high, and are constantly changing) without writing anything down, or pegging anything, until the end of the hand. This is HARD. Even Trusty Todd, who can do Tensor Calculus in his head, can't do this.

Okay, yes, in the "old" days, people were a lot more accustomed to doing arithmetic in their heads. But still. This is HARD.


FACT TWO: Read the game rules in a Regency Hoyle's, and you'll constantly trip over passages like the following:

Any person playing with less than four cards must abide by the loss, and should a card be found under the table, the player whose number is deficient, is to take the same.

I guess rules like "don't drop your cards under the table" are a little too hard for these folks.


So, here we have two warring pictures:

That of the very clever, James-Bond-like gamester...

And that of the Three Stooges, constantly dropping cards on the floor.

So: which is it? Let the voting begin!

Cara
Cara King, author of MY LADY GAMESTER, who neither counts piquet in her head nor drops cards on the floor...

Is There Something in the Water?

Reading about Dorothy's upcoming Five Star Regency, The Nude, made me suck in a fast intake of air. Her premise, if I'm reading correctly, involves an artist and a nude painting. The book-I-just-turned-in ALSO involves and artist and a nearly nude painting. Yipes!

How many times does this happen? We come up with an innovative plot and BOOM! discover someone else has thought of something similar? I think someone else has a Regency that deals with gossip and the newspapers, like my next one, Scandalizing the Ton...can't remember who at the moment.

I am very confident that Dorothy's book and my book will each be unique, but it makes me wonder. Why do we authors come up with similar ideas at the same time?

I mean, think about Cara's My Lady Gamester and my The Wagering Widow. Both were released in 2005.

Here is the blurb for My Lady Gamester:
MY LADY GAMESTER is the story of an aristocratic card-sharp in Regency London—who just happens to be a woman.
Atalanta James is the daughter of the late Viscount James, who bankrupted his family in a single night of cards. Now Atalanta has arrived for a London Season, and seems to be as determined a gamester as her father.
The Earl of Stoke wants above all things to protect his family from the kind of gambling madness that infected both his father and older brother. Why, then, is he so fascinated by Atalanta James? And why does he feel such a strong urge to protect her from the sharks that swarm around her—and even from herself?

Here is the blurb from The Wagering Widow:
Guy, Lord Keating, laden with his father’s debts, elopes with “heiress” Emily Duprey...only to discover she is as poor as he! Now his only hope of saving his family and dependants is a reluctant return to the gaming tables. Emily needs to escape this marriage to a gamester like her father. But she needs more money than she can win as Lady Keating - so she becomes Lady Widow, a card-playing masked seductress! Then Guy recognizes the beautiful Widow as his quiet, mousy wife - and their inconvenient marriage takes an unexpected turn...

There are lots of similarities!

Cara and I are on opposite sides of the country and we have never been critique partners and yet our stories had similar elements. What wisp of creativity was in the air and traveled a whole continent and hit us both?


All of a sudden there seem to have been several Courtesan books out in close proximity. Because books are written one or two years before their release, it isn't possible that writers were copying each other's ideas.
The earliest copyright date I found was Julia Justiss's The Courtesan (2005)but there are more, like Anna Campbell's Claiming the Courtesan (2007). Again, the stories are not the same, but something was in the air telling writers to write Courtesan books.

What do you think? Do you see these waves of similar topics? Or am I nuts.....

(Next Monday I'll be in San Francisco, a pre-conference visit with my niece. I'll give you all a report!)

Dorothy McFalls Joins the Riskies!

(We're very excited to welcome Regency author Dorothy McFalls! Comment for a chance to win of four prizes--two copies of Lady Iona's Rebellion and two magnets featuring Dorothy's beautiful covers)

Riskies: Hello, Dorothy! Welcome to Risky Regencies. Tell us about Lady Iona's Rebellion. (I'm very intrigued by the artistic heroine...)

Dorothy: Thank you, Amanda and Riskies, for inviting me to talk about my books! (As you already know, I'm a big fan of yours. I'm halfway through your latest, A Sinful Alliance, and am enjoying it. It has intrigue, spies, and a gorgeous, mysterious hero! So naturally I was thrilled when you emailed me about spending some time here!) (Note from Amanda: Blush. And I didn't even have to pay her, lol!)

My current release, Lady Iona's Rebellion, is a Regency-set romance published by Cerridwen Press. And yes, it does feature a sculptress heroine! Ever since my husband discovered his artistic side and returned to college to study sculpture, the characters in my books have been a bit more artistic. His work has been rubbing off on me, I think! Luckily, thanks to his art history classes, he's also a great resource for my research.

When I started to write about Lady Iona, she insisted right away she was no shrinking violet. Though everyone believed her to be a paragon of virtue and, well, terribly dull, she secretly ached to step out of the mold her family and society put her in. And for her, art (which was an acceptable endeavor for ladies of the Regency) was her way of expressing herself without shocking anyone.

But when her father arranges a marriage for her, fully expecting her to happily bow to his wishes, she decides it is high time to put her foot down and assert her independence. Only, she doesn't know how. She seeks out Lord Nathan Wynter, a handsome rake with a shocking reputation for thumbing his nose at society's rules, and asks him to teach her to be a bit more like him.

While Iona is seeking adventure, Nathan is doing his best to reform his ways and repair his disastrous relationship with his family. Winning the very proper Lady Iona for a wife would go a long way to achieving that end. So he agrees to her wild scheme of giving her lessons in debauchery.

The more he tries to protect her from running head-long into disgrace, the more he admires her daring spirit and unpredictable antics! Instead of returning her to the obedient world she was raised in, he encourages her blossoming passions. Such a move is surely going to lead them both to ruin. But for love he is willing to risky anything...

Riskies: What was the research like for this story? Did you come across any great new sourcs?

Dorothy: Lady Iona's Rebellion takes place in Bath, and what a fun place to research! I was able to find some great sources for the period and the area. Perhaps the most useful was the Georgian Bath Ordnance Survey Historical Map and Guide published by the Ordnance Survey, RCHME, and the Bath Archaeological Trust. The map includes the historical property lines within and around the city as well as outlines of the building footprints that are color-coded by whether the structure was built by 1727, 1776, and 1830. While writing the book I had the map, which isn't small, spread out on the floor of my office, so I could visually trace the activities of the characters. There are similar maps available for other areas of England. It's a source I highly recommend!

I also searched UK online bookstores for historical books on Bath and found some great resources that way. I found the Bath Historical Society wonderfully generous in answering my emailed questions about the workings of the baths in the Regency. And of course the Beau Monde and Hearts Through History chapters of Romance Writers of America came through whenever I hit a research roadblock or couldn't find some bit of information in my files.

Riskies: Tell us about your other releases!

Dorothy: Just try and stop me, LOL! My debut novel, The Marriage List, was published by Signet in 2005. Viscount Redford Evers makes a list of his requirements for a wife. Humble tenant May Sheffers meets none of these, so why does his heart beat madly at the sight of her?

Because Regency society was really a small world, some of the characters from The Marriage List show up in Lady Iona's Rebellion. TML is no longer in print, but you can pick up a used copy at Amazon for less than a dollar--what a bargain!!

I've also dipped my toe into the erotic romance ebook market, and have two very different books currently available. Lady Sophie's Midnight Seduction, from Whispers Publishing, is a sort but very steamy Regency tale. Sophie, a self-avowed spinster, has been happy with with her independence for many years--until Lord Benton-Black enters her world. Now she finds her nights haunted by this man who is determined to seduce her and make her his wife!

Neptune's Lair, also from Whispers, is a contemporary paranormal romantic suspense. If you like these "strange but true" pocket books that you used to be able to pick up in the grocery store checkout line in the '60s that told about ordinary people learning extraordinary powers, I think you'll enjoy this book. It's worse than a bad hair day! Dallas St. John's new lover is taking control in the bedroom, an unworldly force if threatening her soul, and she has just learned she isn't quite human.

I also have several free short stories available on my website, dorothymcfalls.com. They're a mix of mysteries and paranormal. No Regencies have landed there yet! Those usually bloom into full-blown novels.

Riskies: What has your experience been like with epublishing versus traditional publishing?

Dorothy: Both experiences have been pretty great! With the right editor, I have found lots of creative freedom in the e-publishing route, and through this format I've been able to reach some fabulous readers all over the world. However, there are still lots of readers who aren't familiar or comfortable with ebooks. So I've been a little frustrated that some of my print-only readers haven't been able to read Lady Iona!

Personally, I'm an ebook convert. I'm such a heavy reader, and the small print is difficult on my eyes. I use a Cybook e-reader (bookeen.com), which is about the size of a hardback book, and I keep it loaded with ebooks. In fact, I just returned from vacation and was able to bring about 100 books with me on the ebook reader. My favorite feature is the ability to turn any book into a large print book!

It also seems like most of the major publishers now offer their books in ebook format (which is how I bought A Sinful Alliance!). I love the convenience of that!

So, while the readership of ebooks is currently a bit limited, I believe it's a fast-growing sector of publishing that is filled with possibilties, and I'm very excited to be a part of it.

Riskies: What is it that draws you to the Regency period as a setting? What are some of your favorite Regency-set novels or period movies?

Dorothy: I love the pageantry and the beautiful language of the Regency! I grew up in beautiful, historic Charleston, SC (a city whose heyday was during the Georgian period), and I think being immersed in that history from a young age is the reason writing Regency romances feels comfortable to me.

And I ask you, what woman can resist a rogue in leather pants?? Not this one! Sigh...

Some of my favorite authors include Catherine Coulter, Tracy Anne Warren, Sophia Nash, Jo Beverley (her latest novel has a Papillon dog in it!), and the list simply goes on and on, depending on who is in my TBR pile at the moment.

Movies? I don't know. It was great fun to watch the Jane Austen collection on PBS a while ago, and compare each movie to the book!

Riskies: What's next for you?

Dorothy: I have a new release, The Nude, on the horizon from Five Star/Gale/Cengage. It'll be coming out in May 2009. This is the book of my heart. It's a love story I wrote for my husband several years ago. It won the Daphne DuMaurier Award for Unpublished Historical Romantic Mystery/Suspense back in 2003. After a few false starts, it finally found its publisher. I'm really, really thrilled to know this book will soon be in print! And yes, there's an artist involved.

After Elsbeth,m Countess Mercer's husband died fighting in the Peninsula, the young widow hoped to quietly spend the rest of her days with her uncle and his 2 spirited daughters. She never expected to find herself at the center of a public scandal.

An exhibition of a painting titled "The Nude" that looks shockingly like Elsbeth has set all the tongues of Regency London wagging. This isn't the first time the painter, Dionysus, has caused havoc in her life. Though she's never met him, she fell hopelessly in love with him through his haunting landscapes a decade earlier. Like Cyrano using his poetry to lure a woman to love another, Dionysus used his paintings to trick Elsbeth into marrying the wrong man. She refuses to let him hurt her again, and she vows to find him and force him to prove her innocence.

Nigel, Marquess of Edgeware, a reclusive but powerful figure in the ton, has connections with Dionysus and reasons to protect the artist's true identity. When Elsbeth sets out to find Dionysus, Nigel abducts the widow and insists she accept his help. When she stubbornly refuses, he decides that seducing the lady might be the swiftest and most effective means of diverting her attentions. Elsbeth soon discovers she is torn between the artist who owns her heart, and the man who can set it free...

Author Sophia Nash gave a quote for this book: "McFalls deftly balances romance and mystery in this masterful story!"

This was fun, Riskies! I love all things Regency, and historical for that matter, so I never turn down an opportunity to talk about it. If anyone has questions about the resources I've used for my research, I can be contacted through my website at dorothymcfalls.com

What Makes A Classic?

A few weeks ago, I saw a list of "new classics" issued by Entertainment Weekly. It's movies released since 1983 that they consider to be, well, new classics (is that an oxymoron?). You can see the list here.

I love lists like this, mostly because I enjoy arguing with them! This list inevitably includes some movies I don't like (Pretty Woman); some I just don't think will be remembered enough to be "classic" (Speed, Gladiator); some I like but am also not sure they're "classic" (Office Space, Napoleon Dynamite). And then there are some I totally agree with (Room With a View, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Lost in Translation, This is Spinal Tap, Moulin Rouge). And, of course, some glaring omissions (no Shakespeare in Love? No Princess Bride? No Babe??)

Anyway, it made me think--what would a list of the "classics" of romance novels look like? What would be the criteria? I suppose there could be books that sort of defined the genre (Heyer, natch; The Flame and the Flower, Whitney My Love). There could be books readers still remember and talk about, long after they first read them. Ones that help break out new sub-genres in a bigger way (like paranormal, or chick-lit). It could be anything, really, and every reader's list would be different. Just like lists of "classic" movies.

My own list would be not only the books I keep, but ones I re-read and think about long after my first encounter with them. Some of these would be:

Loretta Chase's Lord of Scoundrels
Laura Kinsale's For My Lady's Heart and Shadowheart
Lisa Kleypas's Dreaming of You
Mary Balogh's Thief of Dreams and Christmas Bride
Taylor Chase's Heart of Deception
Judith Ivory's Sleeping Beauty and her Judy Cuevas book Dance
Carla Kelly's Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand
Mary Jo Putney's Shattered Rainbows

I do re-visit all of these, despite my TBR mountains. I guess that makes them my own "classics" of the romance genre.

What would your classics be?

Heroes

We could be heroes/Just for one day

--David Bowie

Today is opening day for The Dark Knight, a movie set to surpass all kinds of records. Critics everywhere are praising the "film noir morality tale." And what makes this Batman so compelling?

His flaws.

He's not Superman, felled only by an external element from a faraway planet; he's got a darkness inside him, warring with his pure intentions. Batman has flaws, just like all of us (and if you don't think you have flaws to admit, then there's your flaw right there: Arrogance).

Amanda McCabe, Andrea Pickens and I are doing a presentation (very soon! Eek!) on how to make historical characters seem relevant, "real," in current vernacular, to readers. As we've been discussing what makes characters real--or not--I was struck by how much heroes have changed in the past 30 or so years. In the '80s, heroes were alpha males, dazzlingly handsome, overly confident, proud, arrogant, blah, blah, blah.

Now, they're just as likely to be flawed. Sure, they can still have many of those attributes, but they also have something else, something that makes them REAL to the reader. Whether it's insecurity about their looks (Elizabeth Hoyt's The Raven Prince, Loretta Chase's L0rd ofScoundrels) because they truly are not handsome, too fast about their business (Eloisa James' Your Wicked Ways), they're illiterate (Connie Brockway's As You Desire), or drunk (Eloisa James, again, in The Taming of the Duke), drunk again (Mary Jo Putney's The Rake), missing a limb (Adele Ashworth's Winter Garden) or whatever, today's heroes are a far cry from the perfect pirate/lords/princes of the past.

According to one psychologist, superheroes and their weaknesses "make helpful metaphors for the challenges we humdrum humans face." Superheroes'--and heroes'--flaws make them seem more real, more human, just like us.

What heroic flaws would you like to see explored? Which heroes' flaws were most interesting to you? Which flaws do you not wish to see in a romance novel? How hot is Christian Bale? And do you have a favorite superhero, and why?

Megan

Let's talk about shoes!

As I'm blogging today over at the Wet Noodle Posse on shoe and footcare for the RWA National Conference, I thought I'd talk about Regency shoes and provide you with some sites for your viewing pleasure and time-wasting.

Here's a nice timeline from the University of Texas showing the progression of shoe design from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century, with the change in shape, from high-heels to flats, and in fabrics, embroidered silks to leather. The gorgeous high heels above are from the early 1700s, embroidered silk with a wood heel covered in red moroccan leather (yum). I rather fancy this nice pair of pink and black kidskin slippers from the 1790s that still have a cute little heel. You can get a closer look at these shoes and study the change from heels to flats at allaboutshoes.com.

Here are the Empress Josephine's slippers from her 1804 Coronation. Totally flat, oh the pain, the lack of support. I hope she didn't have to spend too much time on her feet. These are made of silk taffeta.

These shoes look old-fashioned but they are the ultimate f*** me shoes of 1800 that belonged to one Rose Marshall, wife of the upstanding Thomas Hay Marshall of Perth, who was responsible for much of the Georgian development of the city. Rose went off to have a wild affair with the Earl of Elgin (yes, he of the marbles) and was divorced in 1803. According to Captain Thomas Watson Greig, an, uh, amateur shoe enthusiast and author of both "Ladies Old-Fashioned Shoes" (1885) and "Ladies Dress Shoes of the Nineteenth Century": Let us hope this actual pair of shoes did not carry their fair owner away to a chimerical happiness from the path of duty which appeared prosaic in the face of flattery and attention from one whose position far exceeded that of the burgher's wife.

Some good sources for pix of shoes: The Kyoto Institute, which has this pair of shoes in the collection from the 1830s with braids of straw and horsehair, silk trimming and cockade, and lined with silk taffeta, the Bata Shoe Museum of Canada, and Shoe-Icons.

If you fancy a pair of shoes yourself, check out Burnley and Trowbridge, located near Williamsburg, VA. I rather like the look of these elegant, sturdy eighteenth-century shoes; maybe if Mrs. Marshall had worn this sort of red shoe she wouldn't have dallied with the Earl. The site is a delight, with information on workshops, patterns, and materials--hand dyed silk ribbons, anyone?

Share your favorite shoes with us? (Amanda, remember other people may want a turn!)

Which Greek goddess are you?

I mentioned earlier that I'm planning a Greek mythology themed children's party. My husband calls it a toga party for kids, though perhaps that might make some parents nervous!

Like people during the Regency, a lot of kids are into mythology. My own love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, books featuring modern-day children born of gods and humans that go to a Camp Half-blood, kind of like Harry Potter with Greek mythology rather than witchcraft.

So this weekend we're going to have the guests take a Greek Goddess quiz, participate in a goddess fashion show (with appropriate props, like that Athena helmet I have still to make!) followed by Greek food, cake, grape juice in wine glasses, etc... Here's the quiz, in case anyone would like to try it!

Which statements best describe you?

A) I am smart. I give good advice to everyone I know.
B) I like to go my own way but I will also protect anyone I see being picked on.
C) I am beautiful and everyone loves me.
D) I like wealth and order. I protect what is mine.
E) I am caring and nurturing.
F) I am easy to be around. I want everyone to be comfortable.







Your favorite activity is:

A) Arts and crafts
B) Sports
C) Clothes shopping
D) Gossiping and plotting
E) Gardening
F) Relaxing by a fireplace









Your favorite thing to wear is:

A) Clothes that are neat and practical
B) Clothes I can play sports in
C) Anything pretty and girly
D) Anything with a designer label on it
E) Anything with a flowery pattern
F) Pajamas and bunny slippers



What is your favorite animal?
A) Owl
B) Deer
C) Dove
D) Peacock
E) Butterfly
F) Cat


If someone does something to annoy you, what do you do?

A) I try to get him to see wisdom. If he doesn’t, I declare war on him.
B) I turn him into an animal and hunt him down.
C) I charm him into doing what I want.
D) I send snakes after him.
E) I freeze up.
F) I forgive him.










How do you feel about boys?

A) I like them as friends, but only if they are smart and study with me.
B) I like them as friends, but only if they let me play sports with them.
C) I love them, especially if they are cute.
D) I like them as long as they do what I want. Otherwise I hate them!
E) I love them if they are kind to everyone around them.
F) I like them as friends and appreciate them just the way they are.

Count up how many responses you got for each letter. Match the letter you had the most responses with the goddess. A=Athena, B=Artemis, C=Aphrodite, D=Hera, E=Demeter, F=Hestia.

And here's an adult Greek Goddess quiz at Paleothea. For our visitors of the masculine persuasion, there's also a Greek God quiz, too. We all know Bertie must be Adonis reincarnated, but I would love to know which Greek God Todd most resembles!

Anyway, I tested out as Athena on the kids' quiz and a mix of Aphrodite and Gaia (associated with Demeter) on the Paleothea quiz. I must be complex. :)

So any of us into Greek mythology? What do you think is the appeal? And if you have time, let us know which Greek god or goddess you most resemble!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

The Value of an Unread Book

Something occurred to me today.

I can understand collecting pristine, unused stamps -- keeping them safe, away from light, and only looking at them now and then.

And I can understand collecting postcards which have never been sent, never manhandled or crushed or stained in the mail.

I can even understand keeping collectible action figures in their original, unopened packages. (My Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde action figures are still in theirs, though I have very nearly decided to let them free so they can run about the house and nibble on erasers and whatever else unsupervised action figures do...)

But for some reason, I am quite disturbed by the thought of books remaining untouched and unread so that they keep their value.

To me, an antique book with pages that have never been cut, and must never be cut (to keep the value high), is like a bottle of fine wine which is kept so long it spoils. It just seems wrong.

I'm not certain if there's a logic behind this feeling of mine, or only my emotional attachment to reading. After all, why not have an unblemished first-edition on the shelf, and read a cheaper, battered copy?

And am I being hypocritical? After all, I have on occasion read a library copy of a book I own, to keep mine in tip-top shape. (Or, as tip-top shape as my books are ever in. I do try, but I've moved too many times to keep the dust jackets perfect.)

So...what do you think? Do you approve of can't-be-read collectible books? Do you ever read cheaper/newer/library copies to keep your treasured books in good shape?

All answers welcome!!!


Cara
Cara King, who thinks people should feel free to read a first-edition copy of MY LADY GAMESTER anytime they wish

Nicola Cornick winners!!!

CONGRATULATIONS

to

Sara Lindsey

who has won a copy of Nicola Cornick's THE LAST RAKE IN LONDON

and

Gillian Layne

who has won a copy of Nicola Cornick's UNMASKED.

Please email riskies@yahoo.com to claim your prizes.


The Riskies

What's Diane Doing Now?

What am I doing now that I turned in my book? Yes. In case you missed it, my work is no longer in progress but is DONE! I emailed it off to Mills & Boon on Thursday. Whoo hoo!

The good news is, I liked the final result. When I read through one last time, the book held together pretty well. It even has some surprises. Of course, my editor and her readers at M&B may see things differently, but it is out of my hands until revision time.

I've had a lot of other stuff that I'd put off to deal with, like getting my webmistress (the incomparable Emily Cotler and her team at Waxcreative Design) new material, including my new bookcover! Take a peek! There were a couple of other promotional things to take care of. Including one I almost forgot! On July 21 I'm going to be a guest at Rosa is for Romance, a blog for Italian and English-speaking readers who love romance.

I also loaded more CDs onto my ITunes, including my favorite CD of Strauss. The Blue Danube always makes me smile. I imagine my hero and heroine gazing at each other lovingly and then starting to dance with joy. Of course, The Blue Danube was written in 1867, but I imagine it anyway.


I also created a new bookmark. Back in June my husband bought me a new laptop (for our anniversary. It was easier than getting me flowers) and now I can use software to design my own bookmarks! I love my new computer. It's pink.

And I had the great pleasure of realizing my clothes are too big. Most of my pants and jeans are TOO BIG!! I have been dieting but I haven't lost that last 10 lbs I wanted to lose before RWA. Still, I went down a dress size! So I went into a flurry of trying on my clothes to see what fit and what didn't and I ran out to Macys to buy some more things, including a pair of black pants with a light pinstripe marked down to $20 from $109! I also stopped in the lingerie dept and bought new...lingerie, including some Flexees so I can look 10 lbs thinner even if I'm not.

I think I am ready for RWA. I might be able to fit into this dress for the Beau Monde Soiree (Left)

But maybe not this one. (Right)

Hmmmm. Maybe I'll run upstairs and try that light blue one on again.......

I can't wait to see all of our Risky friends at RWA. Only a couple weeks to go!!

There is still time to enter my contest on my website. But if you want to read the Sneak Peek of Scandalizing the Ton you'd better hurry. It is going to disappear soon.

All this month the Wet Noodle Posse are giving RWA tips. So come visit. My topic posted today is Don't Be Shy: RWA Survival Skills for the Very Very Bashful

Nicola Cornick Visits the Riskies!

(The Riskies welcome HQn/Harlequin Historicals author Nicola Cornick for the first time to the blog! Be sure and comment for the chance to win a copy either of Unmasked or The Last Rake in London. Yes, it's a two book giveaway this week...)

Riskies: Welcome to the blog, Nicola! Tell us about Unmasked (I love the Russian heroine...)

Nicola: Thank you so much for inviting me to visit Risky Regencies today! I'm so excited to be here.

Unmasked is a story about friendship and liberty as well as being (I hope!) a very tender and passionate love story. The heroine, Marina Osborne, was born a Russian serf in the house of a British diplomat, the Earl of Rashleigh, in St. Petersburg. He educated her as an experiment and brought her up to be an English lady, but when he died and his son inherited, the new earl forced Mari to make an unholy agreement--she had to become his mistress to buy her family's freedom from serfdom.

When the story begins, Rashleigh has just been murdered and Mari is the prime suspect. She has come to England and re-invented herself as a respectable widow living in the Yorkshire countryside, but there are so many secrets in her past that it seems impossible she can escape them. The earl's cousin, Major Nick Falconer, is sent to try to uncover the truth about the murder. Nick is a soldier, as honorable as his cousin was evil. As he starts to discover the truth about Mari he is hugely attracted to her and desperate to help her heal, and she is equally desperate to keep her secrets while at the same time she wants to trust Nick--and is falling in love with him.

It's a very tender and moving courtship, and I hope readers find it moving, too. I should add, though, that I have leavened the story with some of the humor I always like to put in my books. For example, Nick suspects Mari of being the leader of the Glory Girls highway-women. But then he sees her fall off a horse because she is such a poor rider, and he realizes his assumptions about her might be quite wrong!

Riskies: LOL! Where did you get the initial idea for this story? Was there anything interesting or unusual you came across in the research?

Nicola: The year 2007 was the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery in the British Isles, and it was that that gave me the idea for the book. I knew that I wanted to write a story about slavery and freedom, and how being a slave would affect a person's feelings about themselves and their identity.

The research into the slave trade was fascinating and horrifying. Even though the trade was abolished in 1807, existing slaves were not freed until there was further legislation in 1833. Nor did abolition stop the trade. Some captains who still traded in slaves would throw them overboard to avoid fines if they were in danger of being caught by the Navy.

Riskies: And we always have to ask--what is "risky" about this book?

Nicola: There are a couple things about the book I think are risky. First, it features a group of highway-women, and I know that not all readers like heroes or heroines who break the law. I hope that with the Glory Girls I have demonstrated why they feel so passionately about injustice and inequality, and feel moved to break the law in order to right some of the wrongs in society.

Second, the book has a very strong theme of slavery and abuse, and I know that with such a powerful and emotive subject there is always the possibility of upsetting readers who might have strong views on the subject themselves. So I hope I have dealt with this very sensitively in the story.

Riskies: How did you get started writing? What draws you to the Regency as a setting?

Nicola: I started writing when I was at college, and I used to read chapters of my books to my friends over late night cups of coffee as an antidote to our studies! One of my friends swears she is still in love with the hero of my very first book, True Colors, because he made such an impression on her at the age of 18!

I've always loved the Regency period. I find it a fascinating period of history with a glittering world of privilege at one end of the social spectrum and a desperate fight for survival on the other. It feels like a complicated and dangerous society in which to live, and it's great to be able to set a book against those contrasts.

Like so many other readers, I was introduced to the Regency period via the works of Georgette Heyer. My grandmother recommended her books to me, and I was so entranced I read my way through all of them. From there, I moved on to UK Regency authors such as Sheila Walsh and Alice Chetwynd Ley, whose books I adore. I read every Regency-set book I could get my hands on until I ran out! Then I discovered that US authors also wrote Regency historicals, and I was a very happy reader.

Riskies: Does living in the UK have a large influence on your work?

Nicola: Living in the UK is very useful in the sense that the history is all around me, and that is very inspiring. I like to visit historic towns such as Bath, soak up the atmosphere and the architecture, and visit the museums. Stately homes are also a huge source of inspiration to me--I work as a guide at Ashdown House, which is one of the most beautiful houses in the country. The stories associated with those places are a wonderful source of ideas.

On the other hand, so much of writing is about creativity and imagination, and I don't think one has to be based in a particular place for the imagination to spark. Some of the best historical romances I've ever read have been written by US-based authors and Australian authors who have the excitement and energy and creativity in their writing to make the period really live.

Riskies: You have another book on the shelves recently--The Last Rake in London! I see it has an unusual setting. Tell us about this story!

Nicola: Thank you for asking about TLRIL, and giving me the opportunity to mention my lovely hero, Jack Kestrel. He does seem to be a bit of a hit with readers!

Harlequin Mills & Boon asked me to write an Edwardian-set book as part of their centenary celebration this year. This was quite a challenge for me, as I hadn't studied that part of history since I was at school. But when I did my research I realized what an interesting era the Edwardian period was, and I wondered why there aren't more books set in that time. I loved the fact that we were entering the modern period, and there were elements of the period still recognizable today, such as the London Underground, and that there were cars on the streets and the King using the telephone to call up and his friends and tell them he was coming to visit! The potential it gave for the story was enormous. My heroine, Sally Bowes, is the owner of an exclusive London nightclub, and Jack, the last rake of the title, is a self-made businessman, as well as the descendant of the Duke of Kestrel.

Riskies: I also read that one of your favorite historical heroines is Anne Boleyn! She's also a great favorite of mine (Amanda's). What draws you to her story? Are there any other historical women you admire?

Nicola: It's great to meet another admirer of Anne Boleyn! I think she is a fascinating character. I love strong heroines, so what draws me to her is probably that she was such a strong woman at a time when women's roles and positions were even more constricted than in the Regency. She was brave, she was clever, and she was evidently enormously charismatic. I have a very powerful sense of justice and hate the fact that she was brought down on the basis of false evidence. She would be one of my dream dinner party guests--I would love to meet her!

When I was studying for my MA in Public History we discussed the fact that women are absent in so much of recorded history, not because they did nothing but because, as Anne Elliot says in Persuasion, history was largely written by men! So it is great to find female role models to admire.

Another of my heroines is Elizabeth of Bohemia, the Winter Queen. We tell her story at Ashdown House. After she and her family were exiled from Bohemia in 1620 and her husband died, she brought up her 10 children alone and acted as a focal point for those loyal to the restoration of her son's ancestral lands. She was another strong and charismatic woman.

Riskies: And what is next for you?

Nicola: I'm currently working on the second book of a trilogy that is linked to Unmasked and features some of the same characters. The first book in the series, Confessions of a Duchess, will be out next summer from HQN Books. I'm also finishing a short story for Harlequin's new "Undone" e-book series, which will be on sale in November. And I have a first-person Regency coming out in the spring form Harlequin Historicals. It's based on the classic story Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, and was lots of fun to write!

The Dating Life, 2008 vs 1543

Happy Saturday, everyone! I'm very excited, because after a few weeks of work the New Look of my website is ready to go. Check it out here! (It's still a WIP, so any comments/suggestions are most welcome)

And so, last week was the finale of The Bachelorette. I admit I don't usually watch a whole series of Bachelor/Bachelorette. I go on enough boring dates in real life to not want to sit through it on TV! (Plus it's Monday, Gossip Girl is on!) Yet there is something about the finale that pulls me in. The cheesy, faux-romantic sets! The tears and angst! The copious picking up and twirling around! Despite the Bachelorette DeAnna's slightly surprising choice of the "shredding" snowboarder Jesse over predictable Jason, it was kinda sweet and enjoyable.

But I'm always struck by the difference in tone between the Bachelor and Bachelorette, aka the difference between what happens when the men have to chase the woman vs. when the women chase the man. The Bachelor tends to end with awkward hugs and vows of 'getting to know each other better.' The Bachelorette seems to end in declarations of soulmate-dom, of True Love Forever. (I sometimes get the sense that the Bachelor, after being wildly pursued by 20 beautiful, and often tipsy, 24-year-olds, feels that he is far hotter than he actually is, and thus why should he settle down with just one? Whereas the Bachelorette is a rare prize to be fought over).

And speaking of women chasing men and vice versa, on this date in 1543 Henry VIII married his sixth and last wife Catherine Parr. Poor Catherine--no final roses or fantasy dates in the Bahamas for her! She had already been married twice to much-older men, and Henry was gouty, crazy, and immensely fat, and in need of a devoted nurse (having dispatched 5 wives already). Catherine, despite being in love and nearly betrothed to the handsome, dashing, but in the end wildly idiotic Thomas Seymour, had no choice. She married the king at Hampton Court, in a quiet ceremony with 20 witnesses.

But she was not just a devoted nurse of elderly husbands. She was deeply interested in the reformed Protestant faith, and her scholarly achievements were impressive (her 1545 book Prayers and Meditations, was the first work ever published by an English queen under her own name. Another book, The Lamentation of a Sinner, was published after Henry's death). She was also a devoted stepmother, both to the children of her second husband and to Henry's 3 children, Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward, personally supervising their education.

It was her interest in the Protestant faith and encouragement of study within her household that nearly led her to the block in 1546. The conservative faction at Court had never been happy about her marriage, and the fact that she and her ladies were known to have banned books, the possession of which was grounds for arrest and execution on charges of heresy. The warrant was accidentally dropped, and seen by someone loyal to Catherine, giving her time to go to the king and claim that she only discussed and argued issues of religion with him so she could take his mind off his troubles. Playing to Henry's ego was always a good thing, and she was spared from being the third queen executed.

After the king's death in 1547, she married Seymour (a bad decision), and in 1548 died in childbirth at the age of 37. She was buried at her home at Sudeley Castle, with another of her young proteges, Lady Jane Grey, as chief mourner.





So, did you watch Bachelorette? What did you think of the ending, or of the Bachelor franchise in general? Any favorite wives of Henry VIII? (Catherine Parr is actually tied with Katherine of Aragon as my second-fave, behind number one Anne Boleyn!)

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

First off, I am not sorry at all if I planted Kool & The Gang in your head with the title of this post. Welcome to my nightmare (yup, Alice Cooper).

Next, let me admit that today I have even less to say than usual. I have been reading a lot, and writing some, and that is all good. My son and I are in Minnesota visiting relatives, and it's been a lovely time, the lack of stress meaning I'm less neurotic than normal. So I don't have any bees buzzing in my bonnet, or ants in pants, or fly in ointment, or any other kind of insect issue.

I am gearing up for National, and I told Amanda recently I hadn't even thought about what to pack. If I was one of our heroines, I'd probably be one of those governess-y types, the quiet, secretly witty ladies who would have only a few gowns, one good one to wear to dinner that would be way less lovely than all the other ladies, but the hero would only see my sparkling hazel eyes and the way my crooked tooth glinted in the candlelight.

But I'm not. So I have many decisions to make. Namely, what to wear.

Some men claim that women dress for other women, and perhaps that is so, but I dress for ME (which explains those glitter shirts, red snakeskin boots, Hello Kitty t-shirt and stretch jeans with the hole in the knee I wear), as well as women. And men. And anyone else who might see me and think, for a second, I'm as glamourous as I would like to be.

I will probably do my standard travel outfit of black separates, a few colorful pieces, and gowns from my grandmother's collection. I have been wearing her clothes for several Nationals now, and probably have to repeat, but I am hoping no-one but me (and maybe Amanda) notices.

My biggest concern is that I not look muttony, as in 'mutton dressed as lamb.' I'm not so old I should be wearing one of those dowager's purple turbans, but I'm too old to be rocking some clothes I love. I know that. Really.

Boy, I sure am rambling.

My Saturday night outfit--for the RITA awards--will most likely be a pink floor-length dress from the '60s made of stiff, almost upholstery-like, fabric; it's got an Empire waist with a cute little bow in the middle, no sleeves, and the fabric has flowers printed into it, is that passimenterie? Like a couch, only vertical, and fitting around my body. Sounds horrid, doesn't it? I promise it looks okay.

And if I were one of those governesses, I'd be so envious of the gowns my betters got to wear, when all I had was some drab hand-me-down in a color that didn't suit me.

Clothes--to get back to the Regency part, which is ostensibly why I'm here, although no doubt you are wondering just why I am here today--are one of the biggest reasons I love the Regency so much. The fashion was classic and simple, and you could imagine wearing some of the clothing today, at least I could.

I even like the men's clothes, especially because my husband would look hot in those skin-tight fawn-colored breeches, he's got long, gorgeous legs although I bet he'd rival Beau Brummell in how long it took him to get his cravat right (my husband is a modern-day dandy).

So no real questions today, except what aspect of Regency life zings you, the way the clothing does me? The architecture, the clothing, the art, the freedom of political expression, the horse culture, what?

Thanks for your patience as I blather on again.

Megan

Bad Girls

Who doesn't love a bad girl, or in romance-speak, a flawed heroine?

There was quite a lively discussion yesterday at Smart Bitches on favorite flawed heroines, following an article in The Guardian where Toni Jordan listed her top ten--a very odd list including Miss Haversham from Great Expectations. Not that many from romance, though, and I'm wondering if it's because one of the conventions of romance is that we want our heroes and heroines to change, transformed by love and self-knowledge.

Trouble is that quite often it's the badness of the heroine that keeps us reading, the My God what will she say or do next syndrome.

So how does your character undergo the necessary transformation without losing the vitality?

And here's my very own bad girl, Caroline Elmhurst, from the book I'm struggling to finish, A Most Lamentable Comedy (Little Black Dress, 2009), leaving London (having just escaped her creditors). She's promised her maid Mary an inside seat on the coach, but unfortunately only one is available...

"We’ll cut for the inside seat." I pull my pack of cards from the capacious reticule with which I travel. “High I go inside, low you go outside.”

She cuts a king, and cackles with glee as I pull a four. "High I go inside, low you go outside," I repeat, and push her toward the coach as she opens her mouth to howl protest. "And if you don’t keep quiet, I’ll tell everyone you stole my petticoats--why else would you wear four?"

I help her onto the roof of the coach with a vigorous shove to the arse, hand her the umbrella (I am not totally without feelings), and settle myself inside, opening the book of sermons I carry to repel male attention.

What bad girls in romance do you love, and do you love them more at the beginning or the end? How do their wild, wicked, impulsive etc. ways transform them or become transformed into something else?

Fiction and history

I once heard a reader complain about an author (not me) who wrote about a fictional house in Bath at an address that would have placed it in the river. I suggested to the reader that the author may have used a nonexistent address to avoid conflicting with a real house with its own history, also that very few readers would know Bath in enough detail to care about something like that. This sort of exchange that makes me think about the boundaries between history and fiction. We are making this stuff up, after all. At what point can it be called "historically inaccurate"?

I think it's a matter of scope and what is common knowledge.

Regency authors frequently invent English villages. I've done it several times myself, though I always based my fictional villages loosely on real ones in the county of choice. If one invented a new city to rival London or Bath, that'd be edging into alternate history territory; there'd have to be a good story reason to do it.

I have read some romances which featured fictional small countries, when the author wanted to write about a royal hero or heroine. This sort of verges on alternate history, but on the other hand, there really were quite a few little principalities and duchies. Inventing the Regency period equivalent of Liechtenstein seems OK to me if the story justifies it, as in Julia Ross's MY DARK PRINCE.

Another issue of scope could be military rank and achievement. Romance heroes are often captains or perhaps majors; going any further up the chain could start to conflict with real history. It took influence as well as performance to move up as fast as Wellington did--and who wants their hero to compete with that reality? Yet I'm OK with heroes who (like Sharpe) play a significant role in historic events. There I think we're in Author's Note territory.

One borderline area we've discussed before is the plethora of dukes in romance. There really weren't that many of them and fewer who came into their titles young enough to be typical romance hero material. To me inventing a new duke is like inventing a new country; it makes sense only if it's really going to drive the story. Otherwise, I think a lesser title or even (gasp!) none at all would be more realistic. After all, Mr. Darcy didn't need a title just to be hot. :)

What do you think? When do authors go too far in creating places and characters? When do you think an Author's Note is required and when does work cross over into alternate history?

Elena

www.elenagreene.com

How to Understand?

One can study history, and read memoirs and letters, and devour historical novels by the bushel...and yet I find there are still some aspects of how people really lived and thought which it is hard for a modern person to really thoroughly understand.

Oh, one can have an intellectual understanding -- but I mean a gut understanding, a real "feeling" for the way people lived, and thought -- an ability to mentally step into their shoes, and see through their eyes.

A few areas that I think are particularly difficult for a modern person to truly grasp:

1) Just how different the attitude toward STUFF was. Nowadays, we have far too much stuff -- we're inundated by it, our homes overflow with it, we complain our kids have way too much junk... We have Jane Austen action figures and joke mugs just for the heck of it, our kids get cheap toys in cereal boxes and at the doctor, charities and realtors send us free notepads and coins and calendars and bumper stickers and postcards...

So how can we truly grasp a world where stuff actually cost money? Where things were used and reused and reused again? Where the Artful Dodger could hang for stealing a handkerchief, because handkerchiefs were actually worth something?

2) And how can a modern person raised in a democratic, multi-ethnic society ever entirely comprehend the mindset of a person who never (or rarely) met anyone who wasn't a supporter of monarchy, whose whole society believed that men were smarter than women, that aristocrats had superior blood and brains to commoners, that people's abilities were determined by their race and national origin?

3) And how do we, living in a world with good contraception, where women can support themselves (and their children, if need be) by working as a lawyer or doctor or police officer or computer programmer -- a world that has heard from Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan and Oprah and Jennifer Crusie and The Joy of Sex -- how do we get into the mindset of people who thought a woman's chastity, modesty and "virtue" were her crown jewels, and who thought a woman's duty was to obey her husband in the same way her husband obeyed the king?

Anyway, these are three areas that occur to me right off. Which of these seem hardest to you? Or what other things do you think are particularly hard to grasp?

All answers welcome!

Cara
Cara King, whose brain isn't hampered at all by its common blood

Winner of A MOST UNCONVENTIONAL MATCH

CONGRATULATIONS, flchen1!!!

You have won a copy of A MOST UNCONVENTIONAL MATCH by Julia Justiss.

Please email riskies@yahoo.com to claim your prize.


The Riskies

When will you meet your Waterloo?

Diane Report: Home from Georgia; STILL writing!!!!!!
It turns out the last chapter is harder to rewrite than it was (or seemed) when I stayed up all night writing the first version. I'm really close to having the book done but I want to take a few more days to go through it once more and polish it.
See? These struggles don't end once you are published, except having a deadline, even if you miss it, does make a person put butt-in-chair.

When I was packing for Georgia, I searched everywhere for my copy of Howarth's Waterloo: Day of Battle, but I couldn't find it. I especially wanted this book because it uses first hand accounts.

I grabbed a couple of other Waterloo books from my shelf and hoped they would do. My book ends at Waterloo. At least this version does. After revisions, who knows? I didn't need information about the battle, but rather what it would have been like for someone in Brussels before and after the battle.


The Waterloo Campaign by Albert A. Nofi, part of the Great Campaigns series of books, proved helpful in many ways. This treasure does explain the battle in terms I can almost understand, but it also has sidebar vignettes and explanations, biographies of the important players and information about such things as musketry, supplying the troops, and, very helpful to me, the weather.

Even when it didn't help me in my story, it proved very diverting just to read.

I even had my husband stop at a Borders along the way to see if they had Lady De Lancey's book, which I think I have, but by the time I thought of it, we were on the road.

Desperation breeds creativity, I'm convinced. In the hotel I did a search on Google Books and found this treasure: Waterloo Days; the Narrative of an Englishwoman Resident at Waterloo in June, 1815 by Charlotte A. Eaton.

This book was written by a Englishwoman who, in the company of a brother and sister, arrived in Brussels on June 15, 1815. She wrote a memoir, describing the trip, the city, the events of the days right before and after the battle. She and her brother and sister fled to Antwerp on June 17, like many of the English did, but my characters didn't so I had to use my imagination a little, but otherwise she gave a very vivid account of the uncertainty felt by the people who knew the battle was in progress, but did not know anything else. She even visited the battlefield several days afterward.

I highly recommend looking up this little book and reading it and saving it or bookmarking it. It was truly a gift from the Universe for me, just when I needed it most.

That's how I met my Waterloo (book).

What books have you discovered in that wonderful, accidental, just-in-time way?

The Riskies Welcome Julia Justiss!

Risky Regencies: Welcome to the blog, Julia! Tell us about your July release, A Most Unconventional Match

Julia: Thanks for inviting me! A Most Unconventional Match is about finding yourself--and love--after suffering tragedy and heartache. As the story opens, Elizabeth Wellingford Lowery has lost her husband, an older man who placed her on a pedestal and took care of all the details of everyday life so she could pursue her painting. Suddenly left with no one to help her, as all her family is abroad, she is floundering when Hal Waterman pays her a call.

Possessed of a demanding, Society leader/Diamond of a mother, Hal has always carefully avoided Beauties, particularly Elizabeth Wellingford, siste-in-law of his best friend Nicky. He had an instantaneous attraction to her when they first met 7 years ago. But with her family absent at the time of her husband's death, Hal feels obligated to stop by and offer his assistance. He intends to help Elizabeth settle her financial affairs and make a quick exit--until he meets her little boy, desolate with a grief Hal, who lost his own father as a child, recalls only too well.

So cautiously begins the dance of attraction between a gruff "man's man" and a china-doll beauty who seem to have nothing in common--but come in time to realize they're each other's perfect complement! I hope readers will agree.

RR: How did you get started writing Regency-set books? What draws you to the period? And is there any other historical period you love and would like to write about?

Julia: I've loved the Regency since I read my first Georgette Heyer in college! Her humor, her exacting eye for the foibles of human nature played out against the backdrop of this exciting period immediately hooked me on the era. The wit and elegance of the language, the large number of unusual and interesting personages and events that give those years their characters continue to fascinate me. And of course, one day after reading a book that disappointed, I thought "I could write a better one!" So the challenge began...

I enjoy a number of historical periods. I have a Paris-set World War II book I'd love to do, another set during the Regency featuring the family of an emigre forced by the Revolution to flee France. I'd also like to do a contemporary suspense set in Texas, and a series about strong women in unusual professions that would kick off with a story about a female Navy fighter pilot.

RR: What was the research like for A Most Unconventional Match? And what are some of your favorite research sources overall for the Regency?

Julia: Since Hal is an expert on business and finance, I needed to find out more about how capital was invested and how the canal system was developed. I also needed more details about the Royal Academy, its exhibitions and school. Generally I try to write the draft of the story without doing a lot of detailed research--since research is so fascinating, I could easily get distracted and never go back to the story! As I write, I keep notes on what I need to go back and check, then explore various sources and correct/adjust the draft as needed. Priestley's The Prince of Pleasure, Bryant's The Age of Elegance, and Life in Regency England are good general sources, but I find it's the small pesky details that are hardest to verify. I have a pretty large library of specific sources on everything from carriages to the art of Turner. If those fail, I appeal to the infallible source: the experts on the Beau Monde loop!

RR: We know all about that!!! And what is "risky" about this book?

Julia: Two things I suppose: since it's as much a story of a woman's recovering from grief and coming into her own as it is a love story, I risk alienating readers who prefer that the book focus solely on the interplay between hero and heroine. Second, since Elizabeth loved her late husband and is struggling with grief, the physical bond between her and Hal develops slowly. Maybe not the wisest approach in a market where the most popular books focus on hot sex early and often! But I had to do what fit the story best.

RR: I know in your "other job" you teach French! Do you have any French-set books in mind? And do you have any tips for time-management?

Julia: I'd love toi do the two previously mentioned--the Regency England/Restoration France tale, and the WWII Paris one. Beyond that--the heroine of the Regency story has a good friend who escaped the Revolution as a child and survived by doing all manner of things, from picking pockets to smuggling brandy. I'd like to do his story!

Time management--if I ever figure out how to do that, I'll let you know! :) It seems I'm always behind. Prioritizing, setting aside absolute hours for writing, having a basic schedule and timeline are all good, but no guarantee against the disruption of Real Life.

RR: What is next for you?

Julia: I'm currently working on the story of the third friend featured in my very first book, The Wedding Gamble. Nicky was the hero of that one; his friend Hal is in the current release, and their other friend Ned is now getting his turn. After that, I'll have a series of 3 unusual ladies who have secrets to overcome. My working titles (which will most certainly be changed!) are The Ruin of Miss Denby, The Redemption of Lady Winter, and The Rescue of Mrs. Gray. I also have a novella coming up, Christmas Wedding Wish in the Harlequin anthology One Candlelit Christmas in November!

On Stage Saturday

Life has been busy at chez McCabe this week! Here is what I've been doing:

1) Doing some more political campaign volunteering (though I still haven't found an occasion for a blue velvet suit and foxtail-trimmed hat, a la The Duchess!)

2) Writing. Lots. (natch)

3) Reading! (This week's read--The Lady Penelope, a new biography of Lady Penelope Rich by Sally Varlow. It has lots of good info, but not really the "you are there" feeling of bios like Georgiana and Perdita)

4) Getting book title news!! I always like this--it makes the book feel "official," somehow. Balthazar's book (out in January '09, just in time for my birthday!) is now called High Seas Stowaway. Ships, pirates, battles, and, as Anna Campbell put it "Historically accurate nookie!"

And the reissued Christmas novella from Signet, Upon a Midnight Clear, will be in an anthology titled A Homespun Regency Christmas (Regency on the Prairie??). The other 3 novellas are by Carla Kelly, Emma Jenson, and Sandra Heath.

5) And 4th of July-ing! Yesterday, in between eating hot dogs and cupcakes and watching fireworks, I took a friend's daughter to see Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. We both give it 2 enthusiastic thumbs-up, as did her American Girl doll, Samantha, who accompanied us. (Though she did want to know why Kit got the feature-film treatment, when she, Samantha, got only a cheesy TV movie...)

One of the previews was for the delightfully silly-looking Mamma Mia!. I may have to see this one, if only to watch Meryl Streep singing ABBA songs.

And it just so happens that July 5, 1755 was the birthday of the Regency's own version of Meryl Streep, Sarah Siddons. I doubt she ever had to sing Dancing Queen, though.

She was born Sarah Kemble, the eldest of 12 children of the actor-manager Roger Kemble (several of her siblings also became well-known actors). She married another actor, William Siddons, in 1773, and had her first professional role as Belvidera in Otway's Venice Preserved. Things went a bit downhill from there--she was dismissed from Drury Lane, in her own words, "banished from Drury Lane as a worthless candidate for fame and fortune." But after a very succeseful five-year run in Bath, starting in about 1778, she went back to Drury Lane.

Her appearance as Isabella in Garrick's version of Southerne's Fatal Marriage in October 1782 was a triumph. She soon took on her signature role, Lady Macbeth, as well as Desdemona, Ophelia, Volumnia, and the title role in Queen Catherine. For over 20 years she was queen of Drury lane, the greatest tragic actress in London, and a cultural icon.

In 1812, her farewell performance at Covent Garden, as Lady Macbeth, brought down the house. The audience refused to let the play go on after the sleepwalking scene. After this, she appeared only once in a while for special performances, making her last appearance in 1819.

She had 7 children, though only 2 outlived her, and ended up informally separated from Mr. Siddons. She died in 1831. I only have one book about her in my library, but it's a good one with lots of pics--Robyn Asleson's A Passion for Performance: Sarah Siddons and Her Portraitists.

So, happy birthday, Mrs. Siddons! And happy weekend to all of you. How have you spent your holiday? Seen any good theatrical performances lately?

Independence Day

As those of us in the States know, today is the Fourth of July, where we celebrate our Independence.

I'd like to take a moment to celebrate our individual independence, and ask you for your thoughts. I'll start:

I am grateful to be independent of:

--arranged marriages
--men making all my decisions for me
--having to wear body-covering clothing all the time, even when it's 90 degrees out
--worrying about how I can survive as a genteel gentlewoman with very little fortune
--dying in childbirth
--those tiny little sausage curls
--ill-fitting shoes
--listening to ladies who cannot play perform on the pianoforte
--not being able to get more education than what is provided by a governess
--feeling guilty for having sexual thoughts

I am grateful to be dependent on:

--air conditioning
--deodorant
--eyeglasses
--swimsuits
--indoor plumbing (you knew it was coming)
--razors
--makeup
--my iPod
--comfortable shoes
--albuterol for my asthma

So--what about you?

Megan

Happy birthday Robert Adam

Bring out the stylized, Italian-influenced birthday cake with the straight, delicately fluted candles. It's the birthday of architect and designer Robert Adam (July 3, 1728 – March 3, 1792), one of the great innovative designers of the Georgian period.

What made Adam so popular and influential? I like to think it's because he made the connection between how people lived and how rooms should look, and that furniture should blend harmoniously with the decor. He created chairs that were made to be sat in with some degree of comfort, lower, and with backs that moulded to the spine, like the lyre back and shield back chairs.

His work reflected the tastes of a generation that considered the Grand Tour the final polishing of a gentleman's education. He was the first designer to contract his work to other companies, notably that of Hepplewhite. There's a complete list of characteristics of his work here.

Here are some pictures of Nostell Priory in Yorkshire, which features furniture designed specifically for the house when it was built in 1733.

Even the dollhouse at right with its original fittings and furnishings, has Adam-Hepplewhite style furniture.

While I was poking around online trying to find--and choose between--the many examples of Adam's work, I found this antiques site, apter-fredericks.com, which has a wonderful timeline of furnishings--warning, I noticed some really awful mistakes in the history, but the furniture illustrations are wonderful.

Adam might not have been too easy to deal with--the National Trust site for Osterley Park, a Tudor house he was hired to modernize, describes him as "self-confident, brusque and with an unrivalled command of classical antiquity." You get the feeling Mr. Adam liked to get his own way and was right more often than his browbeaten clients.

And talking of antiquity, did you catch Antiques Roadshow recently when this fabulous Georgian box desk, from ca. 1805, was appraised? Check it out.

Have you visited any Adam houses? Share your thoughts on decoration and furniture. Tell us about your latest home renovation projects or your antique fantasy wish list. That box desk is at the top of my list...

Sex and the City

It seems sacrilegious to follow Cara's post on Pride & Prejudice with one on Sex and the City, but I finally saw it this weekend and can't resist the urge to discuss it with you. I promise to do my best to stay on topic!

I will not discuss Carrie's wedding dress. Or the possible hazards of sleeping in pearls. Or gladiator shoes. Or those horrific pants Samantha wears to the shower. I will not talk about the studded belt, or even about those gorgeous blue Manolos. No, I won't talk about any of these things!

What I'd like to talk about is predictability. Many of the official reviews of the film were negative and the single biggest complaint I noticed was that the plot was predictable. Yet many fans rave about this film and I loved it too. Apparently, predictability isn't the biggest issue for many people.

I think what saved it for fans is that they love the characters. The series established Carrie and her friends so well that we know all their flaws and quirks and can guess what challenges they're going to face as their relationships progress. But we still like spending time with them.

Being a writer, I couldn't help thinking about what might have been done to make the plot less predictable. Frankly, I was stumped. This was very much a character-driven series. It's not like a mystery or action/adventure series where you can vary things by introducing a new villain or new threat to world peace or whatever. The surprises in a series like this come from revealing new aspects of character. But with these characters we've passed many of the big revelations. It's more of a gradual evolution now as they don't change so much as become more themselves.

To have Carrie, her friends and their men behave unpredictably one would likely have to have them go out of character, which would have bothered fans of the series far more. To me, predictability seems a lesser crime than being untrue to your characters.

In a standalone film or novel, this isn't as much of an issue because the viewer or reader doesn't already know the main characters and it's easier to create surprises as layers get peeled away. But at some point, some readers (especially those who are also writers) can often predict what the characters' Black Moment is going to be and even how it might end. It's hard to keep the characterization true and also surprise a reader who takes the time to step back and make predictions. I aim for that but I also hope that my readers will become so engaged with my characters that they start seeing that world through the characters' eyes. Then hopefully they'll ache along with them and forget that they know better.

So what do you think about predictability in stories? If you saw it, did you enjoy SATC? And do you love these shoes as much as I do? (They're only about $1000. A bargain, right?)

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB: Pride and Prejudice (1980)

Welcome to the Jane Austen Movie Club!

We here at Risky Regencies love to talk about movie and TV adaptations of Regency-era novels...and today we're talking about the 1980 BBC version of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE! (Also known as "the one with David Rintoul.")

I watched this adaptation first when I was a teenager, and then again a decade later. The first time, I had already read the novel (at least once), but no other Austen. I recall liking it all right, but not being thrilled with it.

The second time, I had read all of Austen's novels at least twice, but not seen many adaptations of her works. My housemate (the oft-mentioned book-goddess Heather) and I started putting on Regency "teas" -- casual affairs where we would watch Austen adaptations and try out period recipes (I had a little trouble with the orange fool, but the syllabub was delicious.)

I recall our friend Jack (a Jane Austen Ball veteran -- when he dances a Trip to Paris, all the kittens run and hide so they don't get stepped on!) recommended this adaptation when we had our Pride and Prejudice tea -- if I recall correctly, he particularly liked David Rintoul's interpretation of Darcy.

I know I did like this version better that time than I had when I'd first seen it. Was it my greater knowledge of Austen, or of the period? Or was it the wine in the syllabub? Only Jane Austen knows!

I have now watched this adaptation a third time, so let the discussion begin!

To aid the discussion, I've listed the major credits below; tidbits about where else you may have seen the actor are in italics.

DIRECTOR: Cyril Coke

SCREENPLAY: Fay Weldon

CAST:

Sabina Franklyn: Jane Bennet

Elizabeth Garvie: Elizabeth Bennet

Garvie appeared as Diana Rivers in the 1997 version of JANE EYRE (the one with Ciaran Hinds.)

Tessa Peake-Jones: Mary Bennet

Peake-Jones played Bridget Allworthy in the 1997 TOM JONES.

Clare Higgins: Kitty Bennet

Natalie Ogle: Lydia Bennet

Moray Watson: Mr. Bennet

Priscilla Morgan: Mrs. Bennet

David Rintoul: Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy

Regency fans will also have seen Rintoul as Dr. Clive, ship's surgeon on two episodes of the recent HORNBLOWER series.

Osmund Bullock: Mr. Bingley

Marsha Fitzalan: Caroline Bingley

Jennifer Granville: Mrs. Hurst

Edward Arthur: Mr. Hurst

Irene Richard: Charlotte Lucas

Richard played Elinor in the 1981 SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, and Mrs. Fitzherbert in the 1996 A ROYAL SCANDAL.

Peter Howell: Sir William Lucas

Malcolm Rennie: Mr. Collins

Peter Settelen: Mr. Wickham

Andrew Johns: Capt. Denny

Michael Lees: Mr. Gardiner

Barbara Shelley: Mrs. Gardiner

Moir Leslie: Anne de Bourgh

Judy Parfitt: Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Emma Jacobs: Georgiana Darcy

Elizabeth Stewart: Lady Lucas

Desmond Adams: Col. Fitzwilliam

So...what did you think? And if you haven't seen it recently, how well did you like it when you last saw it?

All answers welcome!

And come back the first Tuesday of next month, when we'll be discussing the film MASTER AND COMMANDER!

Cara
Cara King, who can't think of anything clever to put in her sig line