Welcome Erica Ridley

HIS TOUCH HOLDS HER CAPTIVE...
From the ravens circling its spires to the gargoyles adorning its roof, Blackberry Manor looms ominously over its rambling grounds. And behind its doors, amid the flickering shadows and secret passageways, danger lies in wait.

TO HIS EVERY DARK DESIRE...
Evangeline Pemberton has been invited to a party at the sprawling estate of reclusive Gavin Lioncroft, who is rumored to have murdered his parents. Initially, Gavin's towering presence and brusque manner instill fear in Evangeline...until his rakish features and seductive attentions profoundly arouse her. But when a guest is murdered, Evangeline is torn. Could the man to whom she is so powerfully drawn also be a ruthless killer?

TOO WICKED TO KISS!

A big welcome to the Riskies, Erica. Tell us how you made your sale.

As luck would have it, I got The Call while I was in Costa Rica for a month. More accurately, I missed the call while I was in Costa Rica, because the last time I'd traveled, I'd managed to rack up a $600 bill in roaming charges, and had decided not to use my cell phone. One day, I'm checking my email in an internet cafe, and I open one from my agent that says, "What do I have to do to get you to call me back??? I've been leaving you messages for days. We have an offer for your book!!!" (After I picked myself up off the floor, I decided that this phone call would have been worth the long distance roaming!)
What was the inspiration for your book?

I was sitting in a conference workshop where the speaker explained the term "High Concept" as the juxtaposition of two disparate things, such as a cross between Movie A and Movie B, or two things that don't normally go together, such as "killer dinosaurs in Disney World" (Jurassic Park). I immediately began daydreaming unusual elements to bring into the world of Regency-set historicals, and ran with a "Dead Zone" style heroine caught up in a house party murder. The first draft was okay, but when I blank-page rewrote it in a more Gothic voice, I fell in love.

What do you love about the Regency--and what do you dislike about the period?

What I love about the Regency could fill pages! I love the fashion, the attitudes, the parties, the various coping mechanisms used to deal with the political instability in England and the reality (and aftermath) of the Napoleonic wars. I love the attention to detail, from the letters discussing sandwiches with ham sliced whisper-thin to the fashion plates with every button and flounce done just so. Above all, I love the many, many rules--from the unwritten societal norms to the laws regarding rights and inheritances--and I love characters who try and bend them. The only thing I dislike about the period is the unfortunate lack of methods to record more details. How I would love to see video footage of a ball, or listen to a taped conversation between unsavories using true canting slang!

What do you like to read and who has influenced your writing?

The very first romance I ever read was a historical (Johanna Lindsey) and from that moment, I was hooked. I inhaled Julie Garwood, Jude Devereaux, Judith McNaught (er... apparently only people whose first name begins with J. I knew I should've taken a pen name!) From there, it was an addiction, and I read every Regency author I could get my hands on. Before I discovered romance, however, my shelves were mostly filled with thrillers, mysteries, and paranormal horror novels by authors like Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Those roots are definitely where I get my love of a strong suspense element, but now that I found my home in Regency England, I cannot imagine life without an emotional love story and an HEA!

What's risky about your book? (The Standard Risky Question!)

Some of my favorite Regencies take place in the world of the ton, where the heroine falls in love with the titled hero as they dance and swirl about a London ballroom (or seek a clandestine corner in which to steal a kiss or two.) Too Wicked To Kiss, however, features a rich but untitled hero who lives apart from Society in his remote, forbidding mansion. He's dark, dangerous, and likes it that way--the perfect antihero for the very Gothic tone and feel of the novel. The heroine, Evangeline Pemberton, has her own risky element--she's cursed with psychic visions that come with skin-to-skin contact. And then there's that murder...

What's next for you?

A connected book tentatively titled Too Sinful To Deny will be released in 2011, featuring one of the main characters from Too Wicked To Kiss. (There's even a sneak peek chapter in the back of 2W2K!) This heroine definitely does not have her best foot forward in Too Wicked To Kiss, and will have to deal with some hard truths about herself before she can live happily ever after with the sexy (pirate!) hero of Too Sinful To Deny.

TOO WICKED TO KISS has been selected as a March book club pick for Barnes and Noble! Erica will be at the book club forum all month long, so please stop by to say hi or to talk about the book!

Get extra content and bonus features for Too Wicked To Kiss on the Unauthorized Scandal Sheet. For contest, blogs, embarrassing photos, and other fun stuff, check out Erica's author web site . Please join Erica for lots of games and prizes on Facebook. And if you have Twitter, please come tweet with Erica.

But before you rush off all over the Blogosphere, make your comment here and enter the drawing for a signed copy of Too Wicked To Kiss.

Just My Imagination

Whoa. So, so late posting today.

See, I woke up with the bestest of intentions, but then NYC called a Snow Day for schools, and suddenly I had to be a Good Mom and take my son sledding. And then we ended up about twenty blocks away from our house, and I couldn't exactly jump onto the computer there with any kind of aplomb, so--here I am.

But that has been par for the course this week anyway, so why did I think today would be different? I've been feeling yukky all week, haven't written a stitch, and have just generally been moping.

BUT since I subscribe to the 'today is the first day of the rest of your life,' because if I didn't, I would be even more self-deprecatingly acerbic than I am now, I have to pretend this week didn't happen. Ergo, this post is not happening. You are imagining all of it. So just go ahead and imagine I'm all brilliant, and stuff, and all of us will walk away unscathed. Look how I just turned that into a surrealistic Borges moment!

I return next week, I promise, with discussion on writing, books, fun, etc.

Megan

What Do Readers Really Want?

There's much excitement over at Salon.com with Laura Miller's Readers' Advice to Writers, which has generated both cries of Philistinism! and Yes, my reading life is justified. Ms. Miller, by the way, is qualified to give advice as a reader, not a writer.

I don't have time to wade through over one hundred responses, but there's one statement from Ms. Miller that resonated with me:

Desire is the engine that drives both life and narrative.

While other pieces of advice, for instance, Remember that nobody agrees on what a beautiful prose style is and most readers either can't recognize "good writing" or don't value it that much, I absolutely disagree with. I don't want to read anything that shouts beautiful prose style but if it strikes me as beautiful that's an added bonus (and may keep me reading). And even if a reader doesn't acknowledge or care about style, clunky prose may well give them that odd, seasick feeling that makes them close the book without really knowing why they couldn't keep going. Shouldn't good writing be something that flows and that you don't really notice because it is so appropriate to the narrative?

Ms. Miller's article was inspired by the Guardian's two-part Ten Rules for Writing Fiction which was actually much more interesting from my point of view and I haven't read all of it, but I did pick up a few gems that I wanted to share. The article was prompted by the releases next month of Elmore Leonard's book of the same name and his ten basic rules begin the article.

I went first to the writers I liked and then browsed around. I had a grudging admiration for Philip Pullman's contribution:

My main rule is to say no to things like this, which tempt me away from my proper work.

Okay, Mr. Pullman. Moving on. Nearly everyone agreed a writer should read:

Read like mad. But try to do it analytically – which can be hard, because the better and more compelling a novel is, the less conscious you will be of its devices. It's worth trying to figure those devices out, however: they might come in useful in your own work. Hilary Mantel

When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else. Zadie Smith

Except for Will Self, who claims it's too late:

Stop reading fiction – it's all lies anyway, and it doesn't have anything to tell you that you don't know already (assuming, that is, you've read a great deal of fiction in the past; if you haven't you have no business whatsoever being a writer of fiction).

Zadie Smith gives this cogent piece of advice (yes! yes!)

Work on a computer that is disconnected from the ­internet.

And then mentions that Jean Plaidy used to write five thousand words before lunchtime and spend the afternoon writing fan letters. Just thinking about it makes me want to lie down.

I loved these gems from Roddy Doyle:

Do keep a thesaurus, but in the shed at the back of the garden or behind the fridge, somewhere that demands travel or effort. Chances are the words that come into your head will do fine, eg "horse", "ran", "said".

Do, occasionally, give in to temptation. Wash the kitchen floor, hang out the washing. It's research.

And again from Zadie Smith:

Don't panic. Midway through writing a novel, I have regularly experienced moments of bowel-curdling terror, as I contemplate the drivel on the screen before me and see beyond it, in quick succession, the derisive reviews, the friends' embarrassment, the failing career, the dwindling income, the repossessed house, the divorce . . . Working doggedly on through crises like these, however, has always got me there in the end. Leaving the desk for a while can help. Talking the problem through can help me recall what I was trying to achieve before I got stuck. Going for a long walk almost always gets me thinking about my manuscript in a slightly new way. And if all else fails, there's prayer. St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers, has often helped me out in a crisis. If you want to spread your net more widely, you could try appealing to Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, too.

Have you read either of these articles? What did you think?

If you're a writer, what's the most valuable piece of advice you were ever given?
And as a reader, what advice would you give writers?

Guest blogging and giving away a copy of Improper Relations (later) today at Lust In Time, and tomorrow I'm a guest at Victoria Janssen's blog. And don't forget my contest.

Risky Read Along -- The Book! Your Opinions Requested

The people have spoken. Our read along choice is Heyer's Venetia.

How about a start-reading date of March 10?

I think that should give everyone time to get to their favorite library, bookstore or online retailer to obtain a copy.

It occurs to me that some of us may be the Thrive Under Pressure types and may feel the need to delay reading until the very last minute and then engaging in a Venetia fest of page turning. Others of us may be the Steady As She Goes type who will adore a schedule.

I don't wish to force anyone into an unsuitable reading style and yet we must accommodate the group. The goal, of course, is to reach a point when we have all read the book and can then yak away about what we think whilst having our minds blown from the insights and opinions of other esteemed Read Alongers.

Therefore, I propose a reading schedule with ongoing discussion of the book over the course of, say, 2 to 3 weeks. Anyone who wants to read the book in a big gulp toward the end can certainly do that, but no complaining about spoilers. We Risky types can deal with a little chaos, I'm sure.

I also propose that we be amenable to change -- if it turns out we're all a bunch of over achievers and everyone reads the book by the first weekend, then we adjust accordingly.

Do please weigh in with your suggestions, thoughts, time frames etc., in the comments.

Also, I feel compelled to mention that I elected to obtain the HQN edition of Venetia and while it has a lovely cover and must say I'm disappointed with the quality of the paper. It's newsprint. For the money, I expected something a bit more durable. I suppose I won't feel about about writing notes on the pages. I haven't started reading yet . . .

Comment away.

Michelle Willingham Winners!

As promised, we have three winners from Michelle's visit!

An Accidental Seduction--Jane Austen!

Accidental Countess--Daphne!

Accidental Princess--Keira Soleore!

Please send your snail mail address to us at riskies@yahoo.com, and congrats!

Sir Joshua Reynolds

In looking around for a blog topic for today (I was feeling especially lazy, having just finished revisions and spending waaaay too much time watching the Olympics!), I found out one of the preeminent Georgian portrait artists, Sir Joshua Reynolds, died on this day in 1792 at the age of 69. I love Reynolds's work whenever I'm lucky enough to see one on a museum visit, and enjoyed taking a closer look at his life! (Also today marks the anniversary of the death of Keats--I have a small tribute to him on my own blog, and I did a post on his death here at the Riskies a couple of years ago)

Reynolds was born on July 16, 1723 in Devon, one of 11 children of a village schoolmaster and clergyman. He showed an interest in art early on, and was apprenticed in 1740 to fashionable portraitist Thomas Hudson, where he stayed for 3 years. From 1749 to 1752, he studied the Old Masters in Italy and had a grand time, but sadly also caught a bad cold that left him partially deaf (in his self-portraits, he's often seen with his ubiquitous ear trumpet). For the rest of his life he lived in London, rarely even taking a holiday from his studio. But he was never lonely--he was a sociable man with a wide and intellectual circle of friends such as Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, David Garrick, Angelica Kauffmann, the Thrales, Edmund Burke, etc. He was one of the founders and the first president of the Royal Academy, an early member of the Royal Society of Arts, and a founder of the Society of Artists. He was knighted by George III in 1769. And yet he still had time to paint an estimated 3000 portraits (for which he could command between 80 and 100 guineas). He was well-known for his dynamic and life-like scenes.

Reynolds never married, though he had reputation as a nice and laid-back (though not very handsome!) man. His sister kept house for him and he seems to have been rather close to his family. There were rumors of liaisons with some of his artistic subjects, such as Nelly O'Brien and the actress Kitty Fisher, but nothing was ever proved. Boswell (who dedicated his Life of Samuel Johnson to Reynolds) stated, "He said the reason he would never marry was that every woman whom he liked had grown indifferent to him, and he had been glad he did not marry her." He died in 1792 at his house in Leicester Fields in London and was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. A good resource about his life is Martin Postle's Joshua Reynolds: The Creation of Celebrity (2005) and numerous art history volumes. A good source for discussion on his art can be found here. Here are just a few of his many, many Society and demi-monde portraits:

Nelly O'Brien


Elizabeth Gunning


Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and her daughter


George III


Sir Joseph Banks

The Waldegrave sisters


Mrs. Sarah Siddons


Samuel Johnson


Johnson's friend Hester Thrale and her daughter

Mary Robinson


Kitty Fisher

What is your favorite Reynolds portrait, or favorite historical artist? I've often thought it would be fun to dress up and have my portrait painted like one of these--what would you wear for your own portrait???

Winning the Bronze

Jane Austen ("our" Jane Austen, not the real one) clued me in to the ArtsJournal website, which gathers interesting articles about the Arts from all over. Besides such fascinating topics as how insomnia shrinks the brain or, correspondingly, how napping makes you smarter, this article caught my eye, Why You're Better Off Winning A Bronze Medal Than A Silver.


The logic is quite understandable. From the article:

"Third-place winners have upward thoughts ("at least I won") that increase satisfaction, researchers have found, whereas those who come in second tend to have downward "if only" thoughts that decrease happiness."

I think just being an Olympic athlete is a great achievement.

This got me thinking about the Romance Writing contests that abound at this time of year. Not only RWA's Golden Heart for unpublished manuscripts and the RITA for published, but the RWA chapter contests, like my home chapter's Marlene Contest. Does the logic fit romance contests? I actively used contests to reach my writing goals, both when unpublished and published and I've been successful at both, winning both of RWA's top prizes, the Golden Heart and the RITA.


For the published author contests, like the RITA, the Holt, NRCA, Golden Quill, etc., there is typically only one winner. Reaching finalist status does feel like an achievement, like winning the Bronze. Same is true for the Golden Heart.

But when I was entering lots and lots of unpublished contests, my feelings were different. If I was lucky enough to make the finals, I always prayed that I would at least get second place. To me, the Bronze merely meant my manuscript wasn't good enough.

Now isn't that silly?

The more rational part of me knows that, like in the Olympics where some events are measured in fractions of seconds, there may not be much difference between first place and third. I also know that reaching the finals is some validation of one's writing skill, but not reaching the finals does not mean your manuscript isn't just as good. Like figure skating, there is a subjective element. If your manuscript doesn't reach the finals, then it may mean you got judges who subjectively scored it lower than other judges might have. I know I missed the finals on some unpublished contests because judges scored me low for what they assumed were errors in research, which, in fact, were not. These things happen, just like in some events of the Olympics, where judges might make mistakes because they know only what they subjectively see.

So, have you writers out there entered any contests this contest season? What are your hopes for the contests? What have you entered in the past? Have contests made you feel encouraged or discouraged about writing?

For readers, does it make a difference to you to know a book has won a contest? Does it make it more likely for you to read it, or does it make little difference? What contests mean the most to you, if any?

The Riskies Welcome Back Michelle Willingham!

"A keen sense of the era and delightful characters that keep readers coming back for more!" --RT Book Reviews on An Accidental Countess


The Riskies are happy to welcome back Michelle Willingham, to talk to us about her new direction--into the Victorian era! We'll have three winners this weekend, as Michelle is giving away copies of The Accidental Countess, The Accidental Princess, and a free download of her Undone story An Accidental Seduction!

Riskies: Welcome back, Michelle! You have your Victorian hat on this time. Tell us about your new series...

Michelle: Every author has a "book of her heart," and for me that was The Accidental Countess! I kept beating down publisher's doors, trying to sell my first Irish medieval, and in the meantime I wrote a more traditional setting of Victorian England. So The Accidental Countess was technically the second book I ever wrote. I kept trying to sell it, but the heroine was a little too "snarky" for many folks. She was a joy to write, and how often do you get a heroine who considers poisoning the hero on the first page because he forgot he was married to her? I had far too much fun. I wrote it for myself and didn't worry about the rules. I simply wanted to be entertained. I didn't have a clue who the villain was until the last chapter, and I think that made the suspense plot believable. It took me selling another 4 books before I offered Countess to Harlequin, and even then my editor wanted to hold off on the release date. She asked me to write a connecting book which became The Accidental Princess. I knew the heroine of Countess had a sister, but she was off at finishing school and I didn't know much about her. I decided to do a secret royalty story, along the lines of a Gothic romance. I wanted a true fairy tale with a possible prince and a woman who was trapped in the rigid life of a Victorian lady. Since neither heroine ever dreamed she would become a Princess or a Countess, that's how the "Accidental" part was born!

Last, my editor wanted me to write a connected novella for the Harlequin Historical Undone line. I ended up writing a prequel, telling how the hero and heroine in Countess actually got married, and that was the story of An Accidental Seduction. The novella has its own happy ending, but then Countess starts about 3 months later, and their marriage is tested to the limit...

Riskies: What was the inspiration for these books?

Michelle: The Accidental Countess reminds me a bit of The Bourne Identity with a hero who doesn't know what happened during 3 months of his life. Unfortunately, he happened to elope during that period, and he remembers nothing about his wife! The story is about falling in love all over again. The Accidental Princess was inspired by all the Victoria Holt fairytale romances I read as a teenager, and it's a Cinderella reversal where the hero is a common soldier who may or may not be a prince. I was able to incorporate elements of Titanic with the developing romance continuing on board a steam ship bound for Germany. I loved researching the interiors of Victorian steam ships, and they were incredibly luxurious with chandeliers, ballrooms, and promenade decks.

Riskies: I love the recipes on your website! (especially the yummy-sounding sugar gingerbread). How does that fit into the story?

Michelle: The heroine of Countess is a Cinderella figure whose family suffered through poverty, and she had to cook for the family in order to survive. In the book, I wanted to include some of Emily's recipes, so I consulted some historical cookbooks, made some of my own changes, and tested some of the recipes. It was fun, and I ended up finding a favorite gingerbread recipe for Christmas as a result! Technically the title is "Molasses Cookies" but there's a tablespoon of ginger in the recipe, so that makes it a perfect gingerbread cookie dough. The recipes are here on my website!

Riskies: What other research did you have to do? Was it a challenge to change gears from the Medieval era to the Victorian?

Michelle: The etiquette and clothing of Victorian England are completely different from Medieval times! Also, I found the pacing of the romance was very different--more subtle, but it could definitely be scandalous in its own way! Out of all the research I really enjoyed learning about steam ships the most (used in The Accidental Princess). I visited the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Virginia and asked for primary source photographs of ships from 1855. I used The Great Eastern ship as a model for my boat. Although my ship was only traveling from London to Bremerhaven, in my mind it could also make transatlantic voyages. Okay, so there was a little creative license there, but I wanted the more luxurious interiors!

Riskies: These covers are gorgeous! Do they reflect the stories?

Michelle: It's a good thing I have nothing to do with covers because otherwise there would be stick people on the front! Princess is probably my favorite of the 3, because the heroine truly is a strong woman. I love the expression on her face, as though she's already behaving like a princess. Countess had a bit of controversy surrounding the cover. Originally, the woman was lifting her skirt and baring her stocking. The art department ended up nixing the scandalous leg, and I'm glad. I like the gorgeous dresses! Overall, I would say they're a good representation of the stories.

Riskies: What's next for you?

Michelle: In September this year, my last book in the MacEgan Brothers miniseries will be published. Surrender to the Irish Warrior tells the story of Trahern MacEgan, and it was the most challenging book I've ever written. The heroine is the survivor of a brutal tragedy, and the two of them have to heal their broken lives and find love in each other. It took a lot of emotional energy out of me, but in the end I think it came out well.

Thanks so much for letting me visit again! I'd like to offer 3 prizes today--a free download of An Accidental Seduction, and signed copies of The Accidental Princess and The Accidental Countess. For a chance to win, just post a comment or a question and tell me what's your favorite fairytale?

Improper Relations Winner!!! Sphinx63

Congratulations!
Sphinx63

You are the winner of Improper Relations signed by Janet Mullany.

Since you provided your email address, we'll be in touch!

The Riskies

Make It All Better, Please

Since last week's I AM WRITING, GOSH DARN IT post, I have been . . . writing! Yay!

Not to mention doing the other things I do, such as taking care of my son, my husband, the house, my addiction to Scramble, the odd financial detail and therapy. What--you thought my neuroses were organic? Heck, no, they're carefully cultivated!

Anyway, in therapy, we've been discussing low frustration tolerance, the tendency for someone to seek "immediate pleasure or avoidance of pain at the cost of long-term stress and defeatism." Apparently, I have it, because I try to fix things as soon as they are uncomfortable for me.

While I try to sit with the uncomfortable feelings for longer than I have been able to in the past, I've also been thinking about LFT in terms of my writing; specifically, my need to make everything better for my characters. Which, oddly enough, results in pretty boring plots. I mean, who wants to hear about someone who has a hiccup in their life that's solved easily in the next chapter?

My answer to that would be: "No one."

So while I'm adjusting my LFT in real life, I'm also examining my plot to make sure I sustain uncomfortable moments for longer so the resolution is ultimately more satisfying. To that end, in my current WIP, I am going to kill off a beloved character (well, beloved by me, at least) because it serves the story better, even though it makes me sad.

How's your FT? What books have you read where the uncomfortable feeling has been well-sustained? At what point in the books you read or write do you like to resolve things?

Janet's Improper Relations

Diane here, with the absolute delight of interviewing Riskies own Janet Mullany about her Little Black Dress release, Improper Relations, released today! If you haven't already, hurry over to Book Depository (with its free shipping) or any UK book vendor and order this book.

I read Improper Relations and I am absolutely in awe. I don’t think I’ve read anyone who reminded me more of Georgette Heyer, except Janet writes like Heyer after a few drinks.


But don't just listen to me. Here's a review of Improper Relations

What I continue to love about Janet Mullany's books is how she manages to convincingly tell her story in first person from both her hero and her heroine's perspective. The first person narrative gives an extremely refreshing take on the insanity which populates the plot; from the way her heroine observes the foibles of her own family, to the slowly beautiful dance it takes the hero to discover he's in love. I can't wait to see where she goes next--Stacey, Publisher's Weekly, Beyond the Book.

Janet will give away a signed copy of Improper Relations to one lucky commenter chosen at random. Without further ado, here's Janet!

Janet, what were you doing? Channeling a very naughty Georgette Heyer? Tell us about Improper Relations!I brought a conversation at a conference to a total embarrassed stop when I told a group of writers (who I'd never met before) that I really wasn't very interested in men because relationships between women were so much more interesting and that's what I was currently writing about! To clarify my out-of-the-closet confession, I wanted to write a romance where a friendship between two women is as central to the book as the romantic relationship itself, and loyalty, to the friend or the husband, cause the conflict that drive the plot. And I have to admit I really wanted to start a book with the sentence: My story begins with a marriage.

You did such a clever job of tying all the threads together. It made me very curious about your plotting process. Did you figure it all out ahead of time? Or did you fly by the seat of your pants?
A bit of both. I sold it on proposal, so I knew roughly what was going to happen, but I trusted to luck about how everything would tie in. There was a character, a rather horrible old lady, who appeared quite early on and she turned out be very significant later. I blogged about that at the Riskies after I'd written a scene with her in the middle of the night as an example of trusting your instincts when writing, which I really did with this book. I tend to spend a lot of time thinking about fixing to get ready etc. to write and my first drafts are usually very clean, which is just as well.

Your voice is so distinct. Were there any writers in particular who inspired your style?
I've read a lot, but mostly outside romance. I write romance because I think what I write fits in with the genre (which is huge, there's room for a lot of variants and niches!) so I don't think I ever fell into the trap of writing as though I were writing a romance (does that make sense?). I don't analyze what I do a lot, but I've always been able to make people laugh. Apparently John Cleese realized that his repressed anger was the inspiration for Monty Python sketches that involved people shut up together shouting at each other (The Argument Sketch here). I tend to like getting groups of people behaving badly together, and I don't quite know what that says about me (it was at the core of my last book, A Most Lamentable Comedy, where they were all engaged in amateur theatricals in the country). The huge resolution scene in Improper Relations has about six to ten people coming in and out of a room at an inn.

I didn’t see any special research in Improper Relations. Was there any?
Uh. No. Originally Shad, the hero, started off as a military officer, but I was reading Nelson: A Personal History, by Christopher Hibbert (wonderful historian) while I was writing it and so he became a naval man.

What is risky about Improper Relations?
I don't think it is a particularly risky book, to be honest, other than in style and structure. It's all very conventional stuff, but I think the risk comes in the delivery. With all my books, either readers are going to get it or they're going to be confused--I hope more of the former than the latter! If there is an element of risk, it's in having a heroine who allows herself to be manipulated by someone she loves--and it's not the hero or another man, it's her best friend. Oh, and the hero and heroine end up in bed at the end of the book and go to sleep instead of having a boinkfest. I wanted them to fade into domestic tranquillity.

I’m in awe about how you included just about every Regency cliché there is. How did you do that?
I had a sort of shopping list of things I wanted to include, as well as the first sentence! I wanted to do a marriage of convenience because I thought the sex would be interesting to write about; I also wanted a duel, a Vauxhall Garden scene, the heroine to be transformed by a makeover into a ravishing beauty, a John Thorpe, a Wickham ... I make absolutely no secret of the fact that I'm writing for my own pleasure and entertainment. And, yes, there's sex in this, but sex as practiced by uptight Georgian people in an era where men married good girls and had sex for procreation, and paid bad girls for anything else. So great sex in marriage is a delightful, if worrying, surprise.

What amazingly clever, wickedly irreverent, riotously funny book is next for you?
My next Little Black Dress book, for spring 2011, is going to be called Mr. Bishop and the Actress--it's funny that with all three of the books for Little Black Dress the title has come first or very early in the process. And I hope it's all of the above! I don't know if this is generally known outside England, but if you tack on "...as the actress said to the bishop" to an innocent statement, it immediately makes it obscene. For instance, "Do you think it will snow today?" "Yes, we're supposed to get six inches ... as the actress said to the bishop." (The same thing works with fortune cookies, if you add "in bed.") Possibly Shad and Charlotte (hero and heroine of Improper Relations) will appear as secondary characters.

In April, I have a Loose-Id e-novella, Reader, I Married Him, a dirty version of Jane Eyre, and then in October I have Jane & the Damned from HarperCollins and my novella which may or may not be called Little to Hex Her, based on Emma, in the anthology Bespelling Jane with Mary Balogh, Susan Krinard, and Colleen Gleason.


I can't wait!

Remember, everyone, comment for a chance to win a copy of Improper Relations. Ask Janet a question or see how many Regency conventions we can list. What are your favorites?

Risky Read Along -- Poll Results

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Read Along Poll!

Venetia is by far the popular winner with 9 of 40 votes. There is not, however, a Kindle version. Sourcebooks doesn't seem to have released this book at all (yet) so there's no digital version available from them either. Paper copies can be purchased just about anywhere and there are library copies available as well.

The next two vote getters are Cotillion and Regency Buck with 5 votes each. There are Kindle versions of each of these as well as Adobe eReader versions available from Sourcebooks.

Google Books has several copies, but none are available for viewing so we're out of luck there.

There are paper versions available for all these titles.

The Riskies will discuss amongst ourselves, considering any feedback you may care to leave, so please do so in the comments.

I'll start the comments off by saying it seems a shame not to read the runaway vote getter, even though I totally understand wanting to read it digitally and would probably prefer to do so myself.

Hmm. What an interesting development, though. I think even a year ago we would not be discussing whether the lack of a (legal) digital copy mattered to a reading decision. The issue would have been whether there were sufficient copies available used or via a library, since this is an out of print title.

Mardi Gras Blog Party!

Happy Tuesday (Fat Tuesday), everyone! I hope everyone has dug out from under the snow and is ready for a party. It's been busy here, ending one writing project, starting another, revising another, but hopefully I can have a Hurricane and some King Cake while I settle in to watch the Olympics again tonight. I also got another new cover (for the US release of To Deceive a Duke in May!), and thanks to Julia Justiss who sent me a link to a new review of Countess of Scandal at All About Romance (A-, yay!), plus another new one at Single Titles. And I'm at the Unusual Historicals blog all week, giving away a copy...





Mardi Gras has a very long history. In mid-February the ancient Romans used to celebrate the festival of Lupercalia, and after the rise of Christianity the tradition of a winter-time party continued (though it was re-fashioned as one last hurrah before the deprivation of Lent). It came to America in 1699 along with French explorer Iberville, who sailed into the Gulf of Mexico to launch an expedition up the Mississippi River. By March 3 he had set up a camp about 60 miles south of current-day New Orleans, and remembered it was Mardi Gras in France (thus the site was named Point du Mardi Gras). The French tradition took hold immediately in the new French settlement, and by the late 18th century raucous masked balls and festivals were commonplace at this time of year, only to be curtailed when the Spanish came to power and banned masking. In 1803 New Orleans became US property, and the ban against masked festival continued until the local Creole populace convinced the governor to make masking legal again in 1823.

The first documented parade was in 1837, but soon things got way out of hand. The local press in the 1840s and 50s called for the end of the celebration, due to violence associated with the parties. In 1857 a group of 6 men took over and formed the Comus organization to keep things (somewhat) under control. They were the first group to use the word "krewe", and they also started the custom of having a parade with a unifying theme, a ball after the parade, and secret Carnival societies. In 1871 the custom began of choosing a Queen of Mardi Gras, and in 1872 Mardi Gras had a pivotal year. The Grand Duke Alexei Romanov of Russia visited, the krewe of Rex debuted along with the Knights of Momus, and the Queen was joined by a King of Mardi Gras. Purple, green, and gold became the official colors, and "If Ever I Cease To Love You" became the official song.

In 1882, the Krewe of Proteus debuted in an Egyptian-themed parade; in 1890 the first marching band, The Jefferson City Buzzards, marched (hard to imagined a parade without marching bands!), and things expanded with the first African-American krewe in 1894 (the Original Illinois Club) and the first all-female organization in 1896 (Les Mysterieuses).

This is only the very tip of the iceberg when it comes to the history of Mardi Gras, of course! It's a long, fascinating, and very special subject. You can find more here at MardiGras.com along with help planning your visit to New Orleans. You can have a party even if you're at home, though! Here is a recipe for King Cake:

• PASTRY:
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 
  
• FILLING:
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 
  
• FROSTING:
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
5. To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
6. Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10x16 inches or so). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm with the confectioners' sugar blended with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
   

And one for a Hurricane:

Hurricane recipe

1 oz vodka
1/4 oz grenadine syrup
1 oz gin
1 oz light rum
1/2 oz Bacardi® 151 rum
1 oz amaretto almond liqueur
1 oz triple sec
grapefruit juice
pineapple juice

Pour all but the juices, in order listed, into a hurricane glass three-quarters filled with ice. Fill with equal parts of grapefruit and pineapple juice, and serve.

And some music!

What are your plans for Mardi Gras??? Anyone else as obsessed by the Olympics as me?

Bound By Temptation Winner - RachieG

RachieG!

Congratulations. You are the winner of a signed copy of Bound By Temptation by Lavinia Kent!

Since you kindly provided your email address, I've emailed you directly to tell us where to send Bound by Temptation!

Diane

Romance, Junk, Feminism, and Snow

One more snow picture....That's me, age 2, sitting on a mound of snow in Buffalo, NY.

I'm pleased to report that the Washington, DC, area easily beat out Buffalo for the most snow this winter. I watched carefully as we inched up to the Syracuse totals...and passed them!!! Yay! We won the city with the most snow for the winter of 2009-2010.

And we totally toasted the 1898-1899 all time record. We're NUMBER ONE!!!

Being snowed in for a week is a discombobulating experience (Can you tell?). You'd think that I could get lots of writing done, but, then, the neighbors are shoveling and peer pressure demands I get my shovel out. Then there is exhaustion....Lots of looking outside, commenting on how high the snow has gotten, whether the Federal Government (and everything else) would be open or closed...lots of gazing at the Weather Channel.

In between writing, shoveling, checking email, eating, and various other things, I also discovered some interesting discussions about the romance genre, articles that made my brain work AND supported my beliefs (what could be better?).

The is by Jessica Tripler, a romance reader and philosophy professor, whose blog is called Racy Romance Reviews:
Feminist Critique of Romance: Ur Doing It Wrong

Jessica responds to an article in an academic journal. From the article's abstract:

This article ultimately endeavours to demonstrate that, textually, even the most recent incarnations of the Harlequin Mills & Boon brand fail to withstand feminist scrutiny. … Something of an antidote to the Harlequin Mills & Boon romance, Bridget Jones’s Diary explicitly answers and counters many of the low-brow romance’s perceived ideological failings--from THE BARRISTER’S BEDMATE: Harlequin Mills & Boon and the Bridget Jones Debate” by Rochelle Hurst, Australian Feminist Studies, Vol. 24, No. 62, December 2009

The books Hurst decided to contrast with Bridget Jones's Diary were the Harlequin Mills and Boon books of Emma Darcy. It may be just me, but I think it's a bit snarky to put down a fellow Aussie who has been such a phenomenal success. Or perhaps to an Australian who doesn't read romance, Emma Darcy is the only Australian Romance author, sorta like Nora Roberts...

Anyway, Tripler, with the help of Laura Vivanco of the Teach Me Tonight blog (more about her later) discuss several of Hurst's misquotes and misteps in her research. Fascinating stuff, even though we hear the same old stereotypes of romance debunked again.

Next, we're back to Yale. Andrea DaRif (Cara Elliott) and Lauren Willig are still calling attention to the romance genre with their very-first-ever Yale course on Regency Romance. This time The Yale Herald Online has an article by Katherine Orazem called In Defense of Romance: Proving the Stereotypes Wrong . Of course, the article is illustrated with a stereotypic parody of a Romance cover and this teaser: "Katherine Orazem investigates why romance novels do not get the respect (and love) they deserve." I mean, why stick the "(and love)" in there? Makes no sense when romance outsells all other mass market books.

Orazem's discussion is interesting and fun and the quotes by Andrea and Lauren and Susan Elizabeth Phillips are terrific. My favorite quote is from Harlequin Historical author, Louise Allen, in response to the feminism vs. romance novel issue: “Among the freedoms I insist upon as a woman is the right to my own fantasies.” Right on, Louise!

By the way, in my previous blog on the Andrea and Lauren's Yale course, Andrea said she would post the syllabus and reading list when she could. It is now on her website. You'll notice Amanda's and Janet's names on the reading list! I'm just saying....

Laura Vivanco was also quoted in Orazem's article and has written some of her thoughts about it on the Teach Me Tonight Blog: musings on romance fiction from an academic perspective. Vivanco addresses Romance Novels: Literary Texts or Formulaic Stories? tackling the question of what makes a work literary or what makes it junk.

In her discussion, she quotes from Noël Carroll ("The Paradox of Junk Fiction. Philosophy and Literature 18.2 (1994): 225-241) who says "all cultural products contain a mixture of two kinds of elements: conventions and inventions." Conventions and inventions! I like that!

Vivanco further mentions another blog discussing Carroll's article about Junk Fiction--by Jessica Tripler on Racy Romance Reviews. Which brings me full circle. Another stimulating discussion...

What do you think? Do you like academic discussions about romance? Do you have pet peeves about romance stereotypes? Like always discussing present day romance as if they are exactly the same as the "bodice rippers" of the 1970s. Or that all romances are the same. Or that romance is about a woman subjugating herself to a man. What do you think?

Lavinia Kent and Bound By Temptation

Our Risky Regencies guest today is my friend, Lavinia Kent, whose second Regency Historical, Bound By Temptation, is out this month from Avon.

Kent hits the mark with a pure romance, allowing nothing to take away from the heated sensuality between the hero and heroine. Even the search for a missing sister doesn't detract from the sizzling conflict. Readers will applaud her mature characters, whose adult love story is simultaneously delightful and sexy--Kathe Robin, RT Book Reviews

Lavinia's impressive debut, A Talent For Sin is nominated for Best First Historical by RT Book Reviews. It looks like Bound By Temptation will be every bit as good.

Lavinia is giving away a signed copy of Bound By Temptation to one lucky commenter, chosen at random. So say hello again to Lavinia Kent!

Welcome, Lavinia. Tell us about Bound by Temptation.
Bound by Temptation is not the book I expected to write. I knew exactly what book was coming next – only then it didn’t. When I sat down to write, another story formed, the story of very strong, very seductive widow, Clara, Lady Westington, and Jonathan Masters, a man who should have been all wrong for her – only he wasn’t.

It’s the story of a couple who definitely don’t want to want each other. They both have very firm ideas about what they want in life. Clara, after several scandalous years, has decided to be a calm respectable widow. She definitely had no plans to marry again.

And Masters believes it’s finally time to seek a wife – a quiet young wife who will understand her place in his life.

The only problem is that they can’t keep their hands off each other, and when Clara decides to help Masters find a wife . . .

Bound by Temptation is your second book, and second books pose their own unique anxieties and challenges. Did you experience “Second Book Syndrome?" What were the unique challenges of writing a second book?
I certainly was more nervous writing Bound by Temptation than I was the first time around. It’s nerve-wracking when you reach the middle of the book, aren’t quite sure what should happen next, and know that there is a deadline looming.

That said, I also found it immensely satisfying because I hit a real “I am a writer” moment. I realized that I could think of a story and write on a schedule. I wasn’t sure that I could, until I actually did it. It was a great feeling.

In A Talent for Sin your love scenes go on for pages (not complaining...). Can we expect the same for Bound by Temptation? And, as a writer, how do you do that????
Definitely, there will be. I blame it on my characters. They seem to set the pace. I often plan a short love scene and then it just doesn’t end. I think it’s because I’m always trying to move the relationship along during a love scene so my characters talk and play around a lot – all sorts of play.

I try hard always to know what I want to show in a love scene. The only exception is occasionally the “reward” scene at the end of the book. In those I am just trying to show that my hero and heroine are going to keep having fun – that love is the beginning and not the end.

Sometimes, however, I’m not sure that I’m the one in control. I had one scene in Bound by Temptation that was incredibly erotic, but I just couldn’t get things to move along. My hero and heroine just wouldn’t take their clothes off. I finally realized that boots and dresses were staying on, and things moved along from there. Everybody ended up very happy.

Did you come across any interesting research while writing this book?
The most interesting research I’ve done is related to all my books. I’ve had a great puzzle of trying to figure out titles and relationships between my characters. In my first book I created a character, Lady Smythe-Burke, who is a real doyenne of society. I knew from the start that she was the maternal aunt of another character. That presented no problem. But, then, as I started my fourth book, I discovered that she was also the aunt of my new hero, the Duke of Strattington, and that his last name was simply Smythe. How to reconcile her title, his, and their surname?

I finally worked it out with honor titles, an extra earldom (we can all use an extra earldom), and a husband who died before inheriting the dukedom. I still not positive it all works, but it’s been a great puzzle to play with.

What is risky about Bound by Temptation?
The riskiest thing in Bound by Temptation is the hero, Masters. He was a villain in my previous book, A Talent for Sin. I’ve always loved villain-turned-hero stories, but I hadn’t originally planned for this to be one. It was great fun trying to understand Masters and trying to explain why he acted the way he did. It was even more fun creating the heroine who was strong enough to stand up to him and tantalizing enough for him to still love.

As a side note – I was very glad I was still in revisions with the previous book when I realized he was going to be a hero. It’s amazing how much more heroic he is at 6’2” than at 5’8”.

6. Since it is Valentine’s Day, what is the most romantic thing that ever happened to you?

I suppose I’d better choose something with my husband because he’s going to proofread this.

Seriously, I love the fact that he always gets me roses for Valentine’s Day. I always tell him not to. I explain with great care how silly it is because they cost so much more this one day of the year and the quality isn’t as good because there is such great demand for them. I always get him to agree not to – and then he does anyway. I love that sometimes the gesture is the most important thing. (And I love roses.)

What’s next for you?
I’m working on both my third and forth books at the moment. My third book, Taken by Desire, should come out next winter. I’m working on the revisions right now. It’s a story that runs parallel to events in Bound by Temptation, and I think will be a bit of a surprise.

My fourth book is still secret, but it will finally answer many of the questions left open in A Talent for Sin.

The one thing I can promise is strong heroines and lots of hot, sensuous moments.

Thank you so much for having me. It’s always so much fun!

We love having you, Lavinia!

Since it is Valentine's Day and Lavinia is known for long love scenes, tell us what you need in a love scene to make it...um....satisfying. Or just ask Lavinia a question. If she isn't too busy smelling the roses, that is!

Remember, you could win a signed copy of Bound by Temptation!

Dreams Made Flesh

Um . . . hi all.

Last night I had a heart-to-brain talk with my spouse, who's always been super-supportive of my writing. I told him I'd had a mini-panic attack that day because I actually had plans to write, which I haven't found time for lately.

You have to write. We're--all of us--sacrificing so you can follow your dream, he said.

Gulp.

But it's so hard, my whiny inner voice said (thankfully, I did not utter that out loud. Scott works 50+hours a week, PLUS does freelance writing).

A whole book? Writing a whole book? Again?

And then I put it in perspective; say I wanted to make movies. I'd have a camera, maybe a few friends who would tolerate being ordered around, and a few ideas. I couldn't ever make the movie of my dreams, not without a whole lotta money and some clout.

If I wanted to paint, I'd need a dedicated workspace, a lot of oil paints, training and someone willing to exhibit my work. Not sure how long it takes to paint a painting, but I bet it's a long time. And I am guessing the art world is harder to break into than the book world.

Or music; okay, never mind, it's easier to distribute music these days. But would I make money? (not with me singing, my son would be happy to point out) Probably not. And I would need to work with other musicians, and have time and training and expensive instruments and recording equipment.

But a book?

I can write the book of my dreams on my own (I've already got a computer. And an imagination). Theoretically, of course.

So today's post is short, since I've got to finish other work, and then get to writing. I've got a dream to follow.

Thanks for putting up with my whining,

Megan

Mousetraps and Sun-Pictures

I was inspired to write this post because of the question it raised, which I think is kickass. Today, February 11, is the birthday of William Fox Talbot (1800-1877) who is credited with being the inventor of photography.

As with many scientific discoveries, the bits and pieces of evidence--optical and chemical--were lying around for some time, and it took an enquiring mind to put them together.

The optical side of photography was provided with the Camera Obscura, which had been around for centuries as an aid to drawing. Leonardo da Vinci used it, and his contemporary Daniel Barbaro described it thus:

Close all shutters and doors until no light enters the camera except through the lens, and opposite hold a piece of paper, which you move forward and backward until the scene appears in the sharpest detail. There on the paper you will see the whole view as it really is, with its distances, its colours and shadows and motion, the clouds, the water twinkling, the birds flying. By holding the paper steady you can trace the whole perspective with a pen, shade it and delicately colour it from nature.

An early sci-fi novel by Charles-Francois Tiphaigne de la Roche (1729-1774), Giphantie, predicted the invention of photography.

For centuries people had been aware that some colors bleach in the sun, but it wasn't clear whether this was the effect of heat, air, or light. In the seventeenth century, Robert Boyle, a founder of the Royal Society, reported that silver chloride darkened with exposure. At the beginning of the nineteenth century Thomas Wedgwood of pottery fame experimented with capturing images but couldn't make them permanent.

The first successful picture was made with an eight hour exposure by Joseph Niepce in 1827, using material that hardened on exposure to light--he named it a heliograph. Rejected by the Royal Society, Niepce went into partnership with Louis Daguerre, who reduced the exposure time to half an hour and discovered that salt stabilized the image, and invented the daguerrotype.

Interestingly, neither Niepce nor Fox Talbot could draw, which is why they were so interested in artificial means of producing images. Niepce was forced to look elsewhere to continue his interest in lithography when his artist son went to war in 1814 (and may have died at Waterloo--something I couldn't confirm). Fox Talbot continued his own experiments, successfully producing his first photograph of the oriel window at Lacock Abbey,Wiltshire, in 1835.

The photograph at the top of this post is also by Fox Talbot, showing Nelson's column under construction in Trafalgar Square in 1843.

He nicknamed his cameras mousetraps.

In 1844-46 he published a collection of photographs, The Pencil of Nature (get your mind out of the gutter), demonstrating that this technology had both artistic and practical possibilities--in inventorying possessions, creating likenesses, and possibly also being of use in the legal system. He reminded readers:

The plates of the present work are impressed by the agency of Light alone, without any aid whatever from the artist's pencil. They are the sun-pictures themselves, and not, as some persons have imagined, engravings in imitation.

If Talbot Fox had been born earlier, or if he had been a particularly precocious teenager, we might have had photos of the Regency. So, the kickass question. Imagine you've gone back in time with your digital camera carefully concealed in your capacious muff or elegant reticule (or, okay, tucked inside your stays):

What would you photograph and why?

And in the shameless self-promotion area, I'm guest blogging today at the Knight Agency blog for their Valentine's Day celebration about my favorite pair of literary lovers and offering a copy of Improper Relations as a prize. Also check out my website which has been updated with excerpts, news, and a CONTEST!

Regency Read-Along - The Choices

All righty! We've had a spirited discussion in the comments about possible Heyer titles to read. I've made an executive decision and decided we should stick with Regency-set stories for now. In future, an Edith Layton title seems like an excellent suggested reading.

I went off to Wikipedia and swiped their descriptions of the Heyer novels people suggested. It's possible I missed some, but that would be inadvertent on my part, not a deliberate omission.

It happens that I have already read The Regency Buck and would like to expand my Heyer horizons. But I did really really really like it. Lots. Some of these stories sound just wonderful! I'm a sucker for Cinderella stories, which many of these are . . . ::swoon::

There's a poll at the bottom of this post. If there's a malfunction, leave your vote in the comments. Any ties or controversies will be settled among and by the Riskies.

A Civil Contract

Viscount Lynton comes home to find himself the heir to debts after the death of his father. Having no means of restoring his family home he contemplates selling it. The family lawyer, however, suggests a marriage of convenience as an alternative. Lynton meets with Mr Chawleigh, a common Cit, and with Jenny, his plain and exquisitely shy daughter, and eventually agrees to be married. However he remains in love with Julia Oversley who is the exact opposite of Jenny. While Julia is ethereally beautiful and elegant, Jenny is plain and dowdy. The marriage is not a very happy one, although Jenny, who has been in love with Lynton for a long time, tries to make his life as comfortable as she can. Mr Chawleigh makes it difficult for Lynton to forget he is in his debt and the young man often wishes he were free of his obligations to him.

A veteran of the Peninsular War (1808-1814), Lynton has followed the exile and return of Napoleon with keen interest. Having read about the forthcoming battle in Belgium, he decides to gamble on the stock exchange. As he had foreseen, shares plummet down, only to soar again at the news of Wellington's victory at Waterloo (1815). Lynton no longer needs his father in law's financial support.
In the meantime, Julia has married an older and wealthy suitor, whom she flaunts on a visit to Lynton's. The latter realizes with a guilty feeling that he will probably be much happier and comfortable with devoted Jenny than he would ever have been with beautiful but self-centered Julia.

An Infamous Army

In the early summer of 1815, while the Battle of Waterloo is just a threat, Brussels is the most exciting city in Europe and many of the British aristocracy have rented homes there. The novel opens in the home of Lord and Lady Worth, where several of their friends are discussing the precarious situation in Belgium. Everyone is anxious for the Duke of Wellington to arrive from Vienna. When the other guests leave, Lady Worth's brother, Sir Peregrine Taverner, (Perry) expresses his fears about remaining in Brussels, especially since his wife, Harriet is expecting their third child. In the end he decides that if his brother-in-law deems it safe to stay, then it must be safe enough. After he goes, Judith tells her husband about her hopes that Worth's brother, Colonel the Hon. Charles Audley (who is a member of Wellington's staff and is still in Vienna) will fall in love with her new friend, Miss Lucy Devenish. This leads her husband to accuse her of trying to play match maker and remark "I perceive that life in Brussels is going to be even more interesting than I had expected." More About This Title

Cotillion

Heroine Kitty Charing has been brought up in rural isolation by her rich and eccentric guardian, Matthew Penicuik, whom she calls Uncle Matthew. Uncle Matthew makes the whimsical decision to name Kitty as his heiress, but only if she marries one of his extensive collection of great-nephews, the offspring of his assorted and much-loathed sisters.

Uncle Matthew expects that Kitty will marry Jack Westruther, his favourite great-nephew, and Kitty would be only too happy to comply: she has adored Jack for years. But Jack, while he intends someday to wed Kitty (believing that Uncle Matthew's money must be willed either to her or to him), prefers to lead a rakish lifestyle as long as possible. Confident that Kitty will not accept any of his cousins, Jack declines to attend the family party at which Uncle Matthew intends for his great-nephews to propose to Kitty.
. . .
The complications that ensue are reflected in the title: a cotillion was originally a dance for four couples. More About This Title

Friday's Child

The wild young Viscount Sheringham is fast running through his considerable income through gambling and other extravagant pursuits; and he cannot as yet touch the principal, unless he marries. As the lady with whom he currently fancies himself in love, the beautiful Isabella Milborne, is also an heiress, he proposes to her.

Isabella rejects him with contumely, citing his dissipated lifestyle. A lively quarrel then follows with his obnoxious widowed mother and her brother, who wish to retain control of his father's fortune themselves. The Viscount storms off in a fit of pique, vowing to marry the first female he meets.
This turns out to be the pretty but orphaned and shy Hero Wantage, who has secretly loved him since they were children, and who now lives with one of his neighbours in the position of Cinderella, complete with Ugly Sisters.

The rest of the novel, chronicling the Viscount's gradual transition to maturity and the realisation that the one he really loves is Hero (the "loving and giving" child of the title) is told with Miss Heyer's characteristic wit, and features some of her most memorable dialogue, plot twists and characters (such as the fiery but lovelorn George Wrotham, whose hobby is fighting duels).

Regency Buck

Judith Taverner is a beautiful young heiress who comes to London to join high society. She takes an instant dislike to her unwilling guardian, Julian, fifth Earl of Worth, who, having met her earlier in a small town filled with bucks watching a boxing match, treats her with a familiarity reserved for loose women. Judith soon becomes a sensation in London. She get many offers of marriage (including one from the Duke of Clarence). Worth does not permit her to marry any one of them. This initially makes Judith very angry, but she comes to appreciate it later. Judith has a younger brother named Peregrine (Perry) who is a young handsome boy with very little sense and a lot of money to spare. Hence, he is always getting into trouble. Perry and Judith's cousin Bernard Taverner seems always so kind and attentive, though there is little love lost between him and Worth.
. . .
The sparring and eventual love affair of Judith and Julian, against the backdrop of Judith's brother Peregrine's romance and danger, make up this novel. More About this Title.

Sylvester

Sylvester, a wealthy duke, is considering marriage. After discussing his prospects with his ailing mother, who thinks he is too arrogant towards the women he thinks are possibilities, he travels to London to discuss the matter with his godmother, Lady Ingham. Lady Ingham tells him of her granddaughter, whose mother (lady Ingham's daughter) was his mother's closest friend. He is disgusted by Lady Ingham's efforts at match-making, and departs for a hunt in the countryside.
It is at this hunt that he meets the father of the girl Lady Ingham offered him. Impressed by the man's hunting, Sylvester consents to being his guest. As the visit progresses, it is patent to Sylvester that the whole was engineered by Lady Ingham to make him fall in love with Phoebe, whom he considers insipid and talentless.
Phoebe, meanwhile, is terrified of being made to marry Sylvester. More about this title

The Foundling

A bored duke slips away from his overprotective servants and family and gets caught up in a variety of mishaps, eventually gaining self-confidence and a new outlook on life.

The Quiet Gentleman

Gervase Frant, 7th Earl of St Erth, returns to his family seat at Stanyon, having inherited from his father while abroad with the army against Napoleon.

Also residing at Stanyon are his stepmother are the Dowager Lady St Erth, Gervase's younger half-brother Martin, his cousin Theo and his stepmother's young friend, Drusilla, who is on a long-term visit.

Lady St Erth and Martin rapidly make plain to Gervase, in ways verging on the highly anti-social, that they are rather disappointed to see him home. They had expected him to die, as the officer death rate was high, and had wanted him to die, as Martin would have inherited instead.
. . .
More about this Title

The Reluctant Widow

The heroine, Elinor Rochdale, daughter of a ruined gentleman, accepts the role of a governess to sustain herself. Stepping into the wrong carriage at a Sussex village, Elinor finds herself in the wrong house, required by the sensible, sophisticated Edward Carlyon to marry his profligate cousin, Eustace Cheviot. In a somewhat dazed state, Elinor soon finds herself coerced into becoming the wife of a dying man, the mistress of a ruined estate and a partner in a secret conspiracy to save the family's name in only one night.

The Spanish Bride

From the moment that Harry Smith met the 14-year-old Juana in 1812 he was trapped, trapped by a love that was surrounded on all sides by the Napoleonic wars. From the Siege of Badajos to Waterloo Harry & Juana were virtually inseparable - even when separated.

The Talisman Ring

On his deathbed, Baron Lavenham arranges a marriage between his great-nephew, Sir Tristram Shield, and his young French granddaughter, Eustacie de Vauban. His grandson and heir, Ludovic, is on the run on the Continent, after allegedly murdering a man in a dispute over a valuable heirloom, the talisman ring. The romantic Eustacie, appalled by her betrothed's phlegmatic character, runs away and soon encounters a smuggler, who turns out to be her cousin Ludovic. The two take refuge at a local inn, after Ludovic is injured escaping from Excisemen. There they encounter an older lady, Miss Sarah Thane, who vows to help them. The subsequent plot revolves around proving Ludovic's innocence by finding the missing ring and unmasking the real murderer.

The Toll-Gate

After acting as an aide-de-camp at the Battle of Waterloo, Jack Staple is finding civilian life tedious. Following a formal (and somewhat boring) dinner party in honour of his cousin's engagement, Jack sets out by himself on horseback to visit a more congenial friend some 60 miles away. After getting lost in the dark and rain he reaches a toll-gate where a frightened 11-year old lad is acting as toll collector in the absence of his father. A combination of curiosity, compassion, tiredness, and dampness lead him to stay at the toll house overnight with a view to sorting out the situation in the morning.

Over the next few days Jack's circle of acquaintances rapidly expands to include a highwayman, a Bow Street runner, and the local gentry plus their devoted retainers. Other complications include a dead body, stolen treasure, and some masked villains. In the process of preventing a scandal, Jack also manages to identify the murderer, deal with the villains, retrieve the treasure, satisfy the law, provide for his friends, and resolve his own romance.

Venetia

Venetia Lanyon grew up in the country, away from the world with only her younger brother Aubrey, bookish and lamed, for company. Her peace and quiet is one day disturbed by the rakish Lord Damerel. She at first sensibly keeps away from him for his very discourteous treatment of her, but when Lord Damerel finds an injured Aubrey and not only takes him into his home to recover but treats him with great kindness, she revises her first opinion of him and they soon become the best of friends. When Venetia and Lord Damerel fall in love, however, Damerel is convinced that marriage with him would cause Venetia's social ruin. Venetia disagrees, and sets about creating her own happy ending.

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