Regional accents in England

No sooner said than done, Carolyn!

I was wondering what to post about today because I'm all in a tizzy with Jane and the Damned and Bespelling Jane Austen released two days ago and I still haven't gloated over them on a shelf in a store (although I may do so today even though it's pouring with rain). I'm going to spend the entire weekend talking about them and giving away copies so I hope you'll stop by.

So ... regional accents. I've frankly never seen such bizarre treatments of regional accents as in romance, where a sort of one-size-fits all generic vaguely Cockney reigns, unless the character is Scottish, in which case he or she assumes the one-size-fits all generic Scottish accent. What complicates matters is that we know accents change over time. We don't really know how people spoke two centuries ago. Should we care? Yes. Should we try to make them sound "right"? Yes, because an accent, or rather, the way someone speaks reveals a lot about them, not only where they grew up, but also their education, their background, and everything else that goes into defining their place in the English class system--and their role in your book.

Take a look, and listen, at Sounds Familiar? at the wonderful British Library website. This demonstrates particular pronunciations and dialects of the twentieth century, after radio and TV dulled things down a bit. It's more likely in pre-industrial revolution England that there would be even more accents; I visited an area in the Midlands one time where there were subtle changes in accents every five miles or so.

Another good source may be IDEA, International Dialects & Accents of England, which I've just discovered (I'm at work with a computer that has no sound).

Yes, but ... this is a huge scholarly research area. How did our characters speak? My theory--and it's only a theory, and it's mine (suppresses inner John Cleese)--is that it's quite likely our aristos talked one way with their peers, but could lapse into local dialects when at home in the country. Why? Children were raised by servants, not by their parents. My sole source for this theory is Kipling's Stalky & Co., a book about a group of cool, subversive, inventive boys at a public school in the late nineteenth century. They adopt the lingua franca of a Devonshire accent when they visit the local village; one of them, of Anglo-Irish descent, had his native accent bullied out of him when he joined the school.

We know that the Londoners of the Regency probably used the interchangeable Vs and Ws of Dicken's characters, because Dickens was writing the dialect of his youth.

So how do we differentiate the way the lord speaks from his valet? If the valet was particularly ambitious, they might sound pretty much alike. It's more a question of diction, vocabulary, phrasing, than anything else.

I find attempts to duplicate dialect are really annoying, particularly those generic Scottish ones. You don't want your reader to have to slow down deciphering dialogue. Also, I don't know how attuned the American ear is to English dialects anyway--I know that I can just about tell a southern US accent from a Boston one and I've been here for years.

Now you can hear me all over the place--I narrate my book trailer, for instance, and I have soundbites on my website (and a new contest, while you're there). If you have the RWA conference tape to which Carolyn referred, you'll hear me and Miranda Neville, who also has a new release this month and will visit weekend after next. Can you tell the difference between us? She's much posher than I am. I have more of a multipurpose, upper lower middle class southeastern urban accent.

The pic I used for this post is also from the British Library site, which has a whole wonderful section on cookbooks and recipes from the past, very useful stuff. Enjoy.

What do you think about simulated dialects in books?

Procrastination and Other Spiffy Writing Techniques

I'm about to dive into what I will call The Next Historical until such time as I have a working title. I've also been listening to the RWA 2010 Conference DVD. Right now I'm going through the craft track sessions. For those who don't know, the RWA National conference records nearly all the workshops which are then available for purchase as a DVD or individually. There are sessions on writing craft, the business of writing, chats with major authors, publisher spotlights and keynotes.

Quite often the craft workshops give me horrible hives and make me feel inadequate as a writer. I've skipped a few workshops because the subject matter was not something I was interested in (how to shop your MS, for example).

Today I listened to the workshop on historical dialog given by, among others, Madeline Hunter and the Riskies own Janet Mullaney. It's a GREAT workshop. I could listen to Madeline Hunter talk about writing for hours, and I wish Janet had had more time to talk about regional dialects (please take this as a hint for a future post, Janet!) I'm not kidding when I say that so far this is one of the best workshops I've listened to so far.

There's also a workshop on Pantsing that contained some really fascinating information backed up by solid research. This is dear to my heart because I am a pantser; a seat of the pants writer. I'll listen to that one again. I cannot plot a novel in advance. Not if my life depended on it. That's just the way it works for me.

Writing The Next Historical

All of which gets me back to The Next Historical. I can't sit down with no idea whatever. Before I start writing, I will do things like set up the new folder and put in all the base documents. For a historical, that includes my chronology of Regency Events, a blank cast of characters where I will note the names of my characters (as they appear) their birthdates, eye and hair color so if I forget I can look it up. Subject to change and deletion. I also have a template for a list of scenes (set up to automatically number, which I use for about half the novel, after which I almost never need it.

As I write each chapter, I write a sentence or two about what happens  and whose POV it's in (because so far I only do one POV per chapter.) This is also subject to massive change and deletion. It gives me a quick way to check for arc and see what chapters might need to move where as my writing fleshes out the story and the conflicts that arise. I also put in the master document template and the template for chapters and the document where I will track my daily word count. I also keep a list of Action Items which will be a list of Things That Need to be Fixed But Not Right This Minute. I'd say 80% of that list gets written out-- that is the problem goes away as I continue writing.

Daydeaming and staring off into Space

 I also spend a lot of time doing things that aren't writing, but are definitely thinking about my characters. In the car. In the shower. When I'm cooking, doing a crossword, reading some unrelated book. . . . I'll jot what if notes, lots and lots of them. My mind wanders a lot. I'll do some web surfing on things I think I might put in the story -- historical facts, locations, events, etc. Basically, I muse and daydream because of course the synopsis I provided to my editor is fake, in that it's not the story I will write because I cannot plan in advance.

For me, the characters drive everything. If my hero and heroine relate to each other in such and such a way, what things could happen that would stress that relationship-- put the two of them in the kind of conflict in which they also learn about the things they admire in each other? I mull over these situations and imagine them in my head.

About now you might be saying, Carolyn, that sounds an awful lot like planning. Except none of that will happen. Here's what happens instead:

I reach a point where the weight of the characters in my head is so great I have to start writing. Often there is a goodly measure of deadline panic involved as well.  So I sit down and start writing a scene where something has just happened and my hero and heroine are now in conflict with themselves and each other. It's not likely to be any scene that I imagined. It will be a scene that is required in order for the nature of their relationship to explode.

I'll write and someone will say or do something I didn't think of before and I can see how that's interesting so I follow. If it's not interesting to me, I don't write it. Or delete it as quickly as possible. Because it doesn't matter if it's a necessary precursor to their coming emotional and physical intimacy, it matters if it's interesting to me because only then do I care about making it even more interesting for them. And me.

Right now, The Next Historical is a huge weight and I have to start writing about them. At the moment (completely subject to change) they don't like each other. She has a very good reason (which I expect will be revealed much to my great surprise) to think he's not nice. And he is in denial about something. Probably her. There's only one way for me to find out and that's to get the two of them on the page and let them show me.

Geeking out

As a somewhat geekish aside, I use a master document with each chapter a subdocument. Each chapter exists as a separate file, each of which can be worked on individually. When I'm done for the day, I expand all the chapters into the master document. This is awesome because I have set up automatic page numbering and automatic numbering of the chapters as well as all the necessary headers. I NEVER have to worry about having the wrong page number or chapter number anywhere in the document. When I'm done, I condense the master document so that any changes are saved back to the individual files.

With the master document expanded, I can do a quick word count, change ALL the instances of someone's name to something else, spell check everything etc. This is how I quickly know if I've hit my word count, particularly if I've worked in multiple chapters. Moving chapters into the correct place to adjust the story arc is more or less trivial. (not quite but I won't bore you with the details.)

Tuesday Fashion

Book due at the end of the week! Can't think, can't think! It's Deadline Days at the McCabe/McKee house, and that means the place is a mess and there is no food in the fridge. So I am falling back on my favorite deadline blog post--looking at pretty dresses from the "Random Gowns" folder on my computer. I love all of these. Which is your favorite? (and bonus points if you can tell us the time periods...)

Back next week with a proper post, I promise!

The French Revolution

Last night I watched a Netflix/History Channel documentary on the French Revolution .

The French Revolution must have impacted "our" time period. The English aristrocracy must have looked with horror upon the events of the Revolution, especially the Reign of Terror during which 16,000 to 40,000 people were guillotined.

Knowing what happened during the French Revolution helps me understand the draconian measures the British Parliament invoked during the social unrest after the Napoleonic Wars--suspension of habeas corpus, the Seditious Meetings Act, the restrictions on newspapers, etc.

(The conflict between social justice and social stability was essentially the conflict between my heroine and hero in Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Mistress, by the way.)

Random thoughts after watching the documentary:

1. Something had to give. The disparity between the suffering of the poor and the excesses of the monarchy were too great. Desperate people do desperate acts. I cannot blame the French people for the revolt, nor the French people's pride in seizing control of their fates.

2. Helping to fund the American Revolution helped to bankrupt France and led to the suffering of the French poor. How ironic is that?

3. There was a mix of altruism and fanaticism in the Revolution. Marat seemed to always have been a fanatic, spurred on by his own internal rage, having little to do with reality. Robespierre seems to have been an idealist who was corrupted by his own power.

4. I don't like Marat. He gratified his need to be important by stirring up the people with plots and conspiracies which did not exist. Ironically, his murderer, Charlotte Corday who only wanted to stop Marat's influence, made him a Revolutionary icon.

5. How did the Revolutionary heroes like Robespierre justify the Reign of Terror? Even 16,000 people executed is a massive number. And how could he justify killing men who were once allies, just because they disagreed with him? (of course, he wasn't the only one in history to do this...)

6. How scary it must have been for even ordinary people at the height of the Reign of Terror. It seemed like almost anyone could get a person guillotined just by saying they were against the Revolution.

7. Robespierre sealed his own fate. When those close to you fear that they are next on your list, you rise to number one on their list!


8. I feel sorry for Marie Antoinette. Surely she had no power and no understanding of what the lives of the poor were like.

Do you have any random thoughts about the French Revolution? What do you think was its affect on the Regency?

Remember. I'm blogging at Diane's Blog on Thursdays.

And be sure to visit the new Harlequin Historical blog on eHarlequin.

Shelley Munro and The Spurned Viscountess

We welcome Shelley Munro all the way from New Zealand here at the Riskies today with her new release from Carina Press, The Spurned Viscountess. Your question or comment could win you a free download, so let's get chatting.

Cursed with the sight and rumors of witchcraft, Rosalind’s only chance at an ordinary life is marriage to Lucien, Viscount Hastings. She doesn’t expect love, only security and children of her own. Determined to go through with the wedding, she allows nothing she encounters at the gloomy Castle St. Clare to dissuade her.

Recently returned from the Continent, Lucien has no time for the English mouse his family has arranged for him to marry, not when he’s plotting to avenge the murder of his beloved Francesca. He has no intention of bedding Rosalind, not even to sire an heir.

Though spurned by her bridegroom, Rosalind turns to him for protection when she is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents and haunted by terrifying visions. Forced to keep Rosalind close, and tempted into passionate kisses, Lucien soon finds himself in grave danger of falling in love with his own wife…

Shelley, welcome! Tell us about the book--your inspiration and how you came to write it. (And what a gorgeous cover!)

Thank so much for having me to visit today. The Spurned Viscountess is my first historical, and my story came about after I participated in a writing exercise at the Auckland chapter meeting. I’m a member of Romance Writers of New Zealand and we used to have writing exercises each month. I forget what the topic was now, but the first scene in my story came from this exercise.

I wrote about a long lost son who has found his way home after a long absence but he has no memory of his family. He’s scarred in mind and body and all he wants is to discover the identity of his wife’s killer. The last thing he needs is an arranged marriage foisted on him. He tries to scare off his intended bride, but the move to Castle St. Clare is a fresh start for Rosalind, one she’s determined to embrace.

Once I had my first scene, I needed to know what happened next. Eventually I ended up with a complete novel. This is the second home for The Spurned Viscountess, and I was thrilled to join Carina Press.

The Spurned Viscountess is set in 1720. What is it about the Georgian period you like and why did you choose it as a setting?

In my pre-published days, Jo Beverley was one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed her Malloren series, which is set during the 1700s. I find the Georgia era a little bit naughtier than the Regency era, and I adore the clothing from the Eighteenth century. 1720 England allowed me to use smugglers in my plot as well. I really wanted to write about smugglers.

What are your favorite research books for the period?

I did a lot of research, but some of my favorite books include: Historical Fashion in Detail by Avril Hart and Susan North, The Art of Dining – a history of cooking and eating by Sara Paston Williams, and The Art of Dress, Clothes & Society by Jane Ashelford. I also find Liza Picard’s books Restoration London and Dr. Johnson’s London very useful and interesting, although they didn’t quite fit my chosen time period.

I was really impressed by how much you’ve published. How hard was it to make the switch from contemporary/paranormal erotic romance to a historical romance?

I’ve always read different romance genres rather than concentrating on one so it seemed natural to me to swap around a little bit when it came to writing. It’s much easier to experiment in the e-pub world so experiment I did. I tend to write mainly contemporary and paranormal stories but recently my interest in historicals has fired to life. I’ve concentrated on the Georgian era (18th century) and World War II England, two time periods I find very interesting.
I think that swapping genres helps keep my writing fresh because I’m constantly challenging myself.

If you had to hire actors for a movie version of your book, who would they be?

This is a really hard question. I’m a real Sean Bean fan, but he doesn’t quite fit for my hero, Lucien. Joseph Fiennes would work, I think. Keira Knightley or Catherine Zeta-Jones would both make a very good Rosalind. Maybe even Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame would work for Rosalind.

What's your favorite scene in the book?

I’m partial to the very first scene in The Spurned Viscountess since this was how my story started. It’s a short one.

East Sussex, England, 1720

“Hastings, the carriage is coming. Your betrothed has arrived.”

Lucien rose from a square-backed chair, flicked the lace at his cuffs and studied the elderly man stepping away from the window—the man who claimed him as son. “My name is Lucien.”

The earl ruffled up like a feisty bantam cock. “Stuff and nonsense! George is your christened name. If it’s good enough for the king, it’s good enough for you.”

Lucien strolled past shelves of books and paused to finger an amber figurine from the Orient. From what he’d heard since his arrival in England, people disapproved of the king, who hailed from Hanover. The man didn’t even speak English. Lucien looked the earl straight in the eye. “My name is Lucien,” he repeated, his tone implacable and determined. “Lucien. Not George or Hastings.”

“Damn it, boy, why do you persist with your gainsaying?” The Earl of St. Clare’s voice held a trace of pleading. “Can’t you see the likeness in the family portraits?”

Lucien grimaced. If he studied the portraits with one eye shut and the other squinted—certainly there were similarities. He replaced the figurine and stalked across a blue Persian rug to gaze out a window overlooking the courtyard.

The family and the faithful servants all backed up the Earl of St. Clare’s assertion, but the role didn’t feel right to Lucien. Living in the gloomy pile of rocks called Castle St. Clare made him edgy and apprehensive.

They were all mistaken.

He was not the Earl of St. Clare’s son.

The idea was laughable. Him—the long lost heir, Viscount Hastings. He didn’t recall any of the stories they told him of his childhood or growing up at the castle.

The study door flew open. Lucien spun around in a defensive stance, only relaxing when the honorable Charles Soulden bounded into the room. “Hastings…” He faltered when he intercepted Lucien’s glare. “I mean, Lucien! Your betrothed comes.”

“So I’m told.” Lucien sauntered toward Charles, his newly discovered cousin. “By all means, let us greet the woman brave enough to wed a man with no memory.”

What's next for you?

I’m juggling several projects at present. I’m writing the final story in my Middlemarch Mates series (a group of feline shapeshifters who live in the small country town of Middlemarch), I’m working on a follow-up to my contemporary The Bottom Line and I’m busy plotting/researching my next Gothic historical romance. I like to keep busy.

Let's get chatting! I'm dying to know the story behind the camel pic...

This Was The Week That Was

This week has been busy; one of my closest friends got engaged, as well as had a birthday, Scott and I celebrated 15 years of marriage, my son had a complete meltdown about middle school and my agent asked me to revise a not-dead-yet manuscript.

Whew!

So I have been hunkering down and trying to Get It All Done, which means I have been going without as much leisure time reading, watching British dramas and sleeping (hate that one!).

There are some things, however, without which I will not do:

--Coffee (the picture of me is when I am pointing to where there is no coffee at a conference a few years ago. My expression says it all).

--Playing Scramble 2 on my iPhone. I like playing until I place in the top 3, which doesn't take long on off hours. During peak times, it never happens--I'm just not good enough.

--Twitter. I love interacting with friends there, and I usually get book recommendations, too.

--Exercising. I'm trying to work out five times a week (the summer was unusually weighty for me, and I am too cheap to buy new clothing).

--Fun errands--yes, they exist. A couple of days ago, I took my bike to Sunset Park, the Chinese section of Brooklyn, where I bought a ginormous container of soy sauce for less than $4. And more sambal oelek, a necessity for our spicy-loving house. Then yesterday I headed the opposite direction to an artisanal cheese shop, where I got three different types of nifty cheese to pair with Pinot Noir or Syrah. Fun errands do tend to be food-related.

So if you had to pare everything down to the necessities, what would be the necessary frivolities you'd keep in your schedule?

Agent Rose's life in the shadows and a book trailer

I'm in a combination of deadline hell and getting ready for the Baltimore Book Festival, where I'll be talking and signing this Saturday with a whole bunch of other writers from my local chapter. And I'm getting excited about the release of Jane and the Damned and Bespelling Jane Austen, both of which come out in just a few days on September 28.

So this is going to be a short post, but first I wanted to share a story that I heard on the news yesterday. Eileen Nearne died, poor and alone in Newquay, UK, and it was discovered after her death that she was "Agent Rose," a hero of World War II who worked with an elite spy force helping the French resistance. She was captured by the Gestapo, did not break under torture, and was sent to a concentration camp. One tough, courageous lady. Here's an account of her life and how she was honored with a full military funeral from the Guardian.

She said this of her experiences as a spy, which I think could well be attributed to our fictional men and women who experienced great danger during the Napoleonic wars, as spies or fighters. How would they adapt to "real life" after such events and how they would they see the world?

It was a life in the shadows. I think I was suited for it. I could be hard and secret. I could be lonely, I could be independent, but I wasn't bored. I liked the work. After the war, I missed it.

And now for something completely different, as they say. Here's the book trailer for Jane and the Damned. Things to look out for: On the soundtrack, a French soldier saying Ton pere est un hamster (Your father is a hamster) and a depiction of me carrying a flag in the last frame (my initials are on my apron).

Can you identify any of the music?

Fictional Kitties

Hello all!

No, do not adjust your computers; it is Wednesday, which is normally the day Carolyn Jewel posts here, but since she actually owns cats, she posted on Friday to allow me to find a topic that wouldn't include bemoaning the fact that I can't have cats (or dogs, for that matter) due to ferocious allergies (that was not a bemoan, just a statement of fact).


So today I wanted to talk about some of my favorite fictional cats! Probably the first fictional cat I encountered was the Cat In The Hat, that sassy troublemaker created by Dr. Seuss. Because I am a worrier, I was always concerned that the kids and that destructive Cat wouldn't get everything cleaned up in time before the mom arrived home. Of course, the Cat had powers beyond normal Cat-dom, so everything turned out all right. Whew.



Later on, I dove into Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, which stars the Cheshire Cat, one of the creepiest cats in literature. That smile! That sardonic wit! Gives me the shudders just thinking about it now. It probably didn't help that my parents had the Annotated Edition, which attempted to explain why Lewis Carroll created the cat that way (yes, once again, super-egghead parents freak Megan out).




I met Catwoman in Batman, and have to say, is there anything more seductive than Michelle Pfeiffer in that latex suit? Whoa. And when she acts all feline, it's devastating (just ask my husband!). Holly Golightly's companion in Breakfast At Tiffany's is a cat as careless as Holly is, only Holly actually takes responsibility for her pet.

In Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, Harry Dresden lives with a 30-lb. cat named Mister (I would not say Harry owns Mister, nor that Mister owns Harry; it is a reciprocally beneficial relationship). Mister is a fantastically written cat, which is to say disdainful, proud and clearly opinionated.

But probably my favorite cat is the the feline in The Cat Returns, a film by Hayao Miyazaki. The Cat, voiced by Cary Elwes, is charming, rogueish, clever and witty. Swoon. PLUS he saves the day for the heroine.

Yay for fictional cats! If you could own any fictional cat, which would it be?

Megan

A Very Fine Cat Indeed

I am now on the downhill slide to writing The End on the WIP (two of the sweetest words in the writing world!), so my brain power for blog-writing is strictly limited at the moment. But I'm loving all the cat posts of the last few days, and I especially love all the support for cat rescue shown by our guest Liz Carlyle and her commenters! I do like hearing stories of everyone's fabulous, unique, quirky pets....


I'm an equal opportunity pet owner here, two cats and two dogs who live together in (mostly) harmony. My tiny Poodle Abigail has set herself up as Pet Boss, and when they listen to her all goes smoothly. When they don't--not so much...

This is my youngest cat, Minnie, who is about 5 or 6. She started out as an outdoor stray, who would come around for food and pets once in a while until she looked in the front window and decided this was Catopia, with soft cat beds, food in bowls all the time, squeaky toys, and clean litter boxes. Then she was determined she wouldn't stop until she lived in the house all the time. She is my sweet lap-sitter and keyboard-tapper, but she does let Abigail bully her! She would be the shy debutante in a Regency (unlike my late, lamented, brilliant Siamese mix Diana, who would have been a bossy Almack's patroness...)

And this is my old boy Gilbert, who is about 14! He was found by a friend of mine living behind a dumpster, poor baby, and when her spoiled cat took against him I let him come live with me. I love him dearly. He's a beautiful gray striped kitty with a white paw, he loves Gilbert & Sullivan songs (especially The Mikado!) and has always spent most of his time sleeping on the bed, recovering from his hard kitten-hood. He is very cautious and affectionate. I think he would be the crotchety old man with gout sitting in the corner of the ballroom complaining about young people these days.

All of this cat business made me think of one of the most famous felines in English history--Samuel Johnson's cat Hodge (who has his own statue now outside Johnson's house!). Most of what we know about Hodge (who ate mostly oysters fetched from market by Johnson himself) comes from Boswell, of course. Here is a passage about Hodge from his Life of Samuel Johnson:

"Nor would it be just, under his head, to omit the fondness which he showed for animals which he had taken under his protection. I never shall forget the indulgence with which he treated Hodge, his cat: for whom he himself used to go out and buy oysters...I recollect him one day scrambling up Dr. Johnson's breast, apparently with much satisfaction, while my friend smiling and half-whistling, rubbed down his back and pulled him by the tail; and when I observed he was a fine cat, saying, 'Why yes, Sir, but I have had cats whom I liked better than this;' and then as if perceiving Hodge to be out of countenance, adding, 'but he is a very fine cat, a very fine cat indeed.'"

After he died, Hodge was eulogized by Johnson's neighbor Peter Stockdale, who wrote "Who, by his master when caressed, warmly his gratitude expressed, and never failed his thanks to purr, when'er he stroked his sable fur"

Who is your favorite historical cat (or modern-day cat)?? Do you have any favorite animals in novels? (I admit that when I start a book with an animal character, I have to skip to the end to make sure nothing happens to it before I continue...)

Can You Stand Another Cat?

Wow! What a day we had with our guest, Liz Carlyle! Over 100 comments! Bless Avon and Liz for offering this opportuntiy and thanks to each and every one of you who commented. That's a lot of kitty litter.

So...can you stand another cat story? This one I can't resist.

My son came over on Saturday, bringing his girlfriend, who I only met once years ago. So first I greet her, then see my son holding this little guy:

"Oh, a kitten!!!!"
I don't remember if I even greeted my son.

The kitten spent the afternoon with us, while son helped husband powerwash one side of the house. The kitten did not stop playing, not even once. He ate our cats' food, used their litter boxes (thank goodness) and explored everywhere.

He absolutely terrified our "tough guys"


The cat who lives on the kitchen table was cordial at first, but then she hissed.

Only our "Mr. Good Guy" was friendly

It was a glorious afternoon.

Alas, the kitten had to go; he belonged to my son's girlfriend. She rescued him and two of his siblings when they were about three weeks old. They'd been born of a feral cat that she couldn't catch. She got them in time, because this little guy was calm and friendly, no match for my neurotic felines.

Oh, I love kittens!

When was the last time you held a kitten?

Liz Carlyle and her BFF

A big Riskies welcome today to Liz Carlyle and her Best Furred Friends.

Today your comments and questions are very important. Not only will you have fun and enter to win the drawing for a copy of Liz's book, but Avon has very generously agreed to donate $1 per comment to Cat Angels, Liz's favorite animal rescue organization. HarperCollins will donate up to $3,000, but you will only be counted once in the entire blog tour, not by the number of comments you make. But please don't let that inhibit you today! Get talking and become a furry godmother.

Grace's tenacity, wit, and compassion make her a very believable, multidimensional character and the perfect match for Ruthveyn's brooding and dark secrets. The romance sizzles, its unpredictability propelling this complex story far beyond its contemporaries. Starred review, Publishers Weekly.

First, let's talk cats. Are there any cats in the book?

I do love to have animal characters in my books, and Lord Ruthveyn is definitely a cat person. So I gave him a pair of solid silver tabbies, in honor of Pelham and Mary, two of our rescue cats. Ruthveyn's silver cats are named Silk and Satin. They sleep on his bed, and love only him -- isn't that so cat-typical? Here's a picture of Pel and Mary just a few days after they came to us as terrified feral kittens. They have really blossomed since, but I think they will always be a little more shy than most cats.

(Aaaw) And these other adorable critters belong to Liz. What are they gazing at so intently? But let's get to the book: Tell us the story behind the story of ONE TOUCH OF SCANDAL. What sparked the original idea for the trilogy?

I think the spark came from spending too much time in the British Museum, and reading too many books. But I’ve always been fascinated by psychic gifts, and the many forms such talents can take across the broad sweep of world cultures. One of my older novels—THREE LITTLE SECRETS—was about a young boy who had inherited “the Gift” from his Scottish ancestors, and he is the character around whom this new series is very loosely built. His book is the second in the series, ONE WICKED GLANCE, which will be out in late May, I believe.

What's your favorite scene in the book?

Strangely, I think it’s a quiet little scene in Hyde Park where Grace and Ruthveyn must confront their mutual doubt and distrust. For the first time in his life, Ruthveyn has found himself in a relationship in which he is “blind”—he cannot read Grace, which is at once a relief to him, and a bit unsettling. He realizes he has reached a turning point in his life; that he must learn to trust his ordinary human instincts, which tell him that Grace is a woman he can believe in. A woman he can love. This is all very new for him. It makes for a very emotional scene; a moment of bonding, if you will.

What's the appeal of the Victorian age for you?

It is the Age of Empire, so we still have the elegant society of the Regency with dashes of expansionism and intellectualism. Science was becoming fashionable, India was exploding, steam and train travel were shrinking the world, we had a woman on the throne again, the Continent was in constant political turmoil—and then, oh my!—the clothes! Crinolines, corsets, bustles—and then there’s the incredible jewelry! Really, what’s not to like?

What do you find particularly challenging about the Victorian age?

I’m not quite as well-versed in the history of the era as I was the earlier third of the 19th century, so my research takes a little longer. The Victorian era spanned over six decades, a period of time during which almost everything we knew—society, science, literature, the role of women, the primacy of the aristocracy, even our cultural mores—was in flux. The phrase “it’s complicated” was probably coined in the Victorian era. It really is a lot to take on!

Tell us about your research and any favorite research books you use.

My fall-back source is always the good old Encyclopedia Britannica, but a fairly old edition, one which leaves out all the unnecessary stuff—like most of the twentieth century. My mother-in-law was a professor of European History, so I inherited a vast library from her. Over the years I’ve bought a lot of reference books from the National Trust—particularly in their shops around the UK, and I keep a membership with them which includes some wonderful periodicals that are always chock-full of inspiration. But there’s nothing like seeing something firsthand, so I travel as much as possible.

What the buildings are on your website banner--they're gorgeous!

That is a sort of mini-montage of photographs I shot several years ago in Castle Combe, an absolutely breathtaking village in Wiltshire on the edge of the Cotswolds. (I used to be quite the photographer, but digital has thrown me a bit.) Castle Combe is a little off the beaten path, but well worth the drive. It really is like visiting another century—which is just the sort of experience I aspire to give my readers. If you don’t like driving on the left, you can visit Castle Combe here!

What's next for you?

Oh, I’m so excited! Next I’ll be finishing the third book in the Fraternitas series, which will feature the impenitent scoundrel of the bunch—Lord Lazonby, a man who takes very little of life seriously. He’s served a long tour of duty in the French Foreign Legion, and spent several years in prison for murder. He also has a nasty—and somewhat undeserved—reputation as a bit of a card sharp. My critique partner Deb Marlow says Lazonby is the most unrepentant bad boy she’s seen in a while. But I’ve got just the character to flog Lazonby into shape—perhaps literally, if that’s what it takes. It’s too soon to tell yet, but I’ve got the whip to hand.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to visit with the Riskies!

Unfinished Works

I was looking through our craft bins for materials for a kid’s costume and ran across this oil painting I began over 15 years ago. It was while my husband and I were living in England. A friend of his visited and they planned a day of doing Manly Things (some sporting event or other), so I spent a blissful day working on this. (BTW the painting was inspired by a visit to Exbury Gardens, famous for its azaleas and rhododendrons.) But soon after, work got busy and I pretty much forgot about the painting, though somehow it managed to make it back across the Atlantic with us.

Now that I’m looking at it from a distance, it seems not half bad for a first attempt. Yet I don’t know about completing it. I don’t know if I could match the colors again. I kind of like it as it is; maybe I should just varnish it (to bring back the brilliance of the original colors) and frame it. Or maybe it should go back in the craft bin.

I am starting to work on writing again, and feeling the same ambivalence toward the works-in-progress I haven’t touched in the year and a half since my husband’s stroke. Around the time of the demise of the Signet Regency line, I was confused and getting contradictory advice from industry professionals as to what I should work on next, with the result that I have three works in varying stages of completion:

- My balloonist story (about half a close-to-final-draft, the rest rough)
- A Regency makeover story (three chapters)
- Another story (outline only) I’m not ready to talk about but which may be the most marketable of the three.

I also have an Idea File with a bunch of less-developed story kernels.

I just don’t know where to start. Although I have missed the writing so much it hurts, I’m feeling like someone reunited with a long-lost lover and suddenly not knowing what to say.

What do you think I should do? Revive one of these unfinished works? Start something new? Noodle around with multiple stories until a winner emerges?

All advice warmly welcomed, even though I don’t promise to follow it!

Elena

P.S. Don't forget to visit tomorrow when we host Liz Carlyle on her charity blogtour. She will give away a signed copy of her latest ONE TOUCH OF SCANDAL and Harper Collins will donate up to $3,000 ($1 per person per post on the entire blogtour) to Liz's favorite cat rescue charity, Cat Angels.

We Can Haz Kitties?

I'm taking Megan's slot today on account of on Sunday the Riskies are having a Celebration of Cats and a Super Secret Cool visit from Liz Carlyle (squeeee!!!!). Her publisher will be donating to a cat rescue non profit so you'll want to stop by to leave a comment this coming Sunday.  In the meantime, since I haz kitties and Megan does not, I am sharing stories and pics of the Jewel household cats.

First up: Jake.

Jake was born under the neighbor's barn at the bottom of our driveway. There were two litters of kittens, but we were able to find homes for them all. I was living in San Francisco and the time and I took the smallest kitten because I wanted, doh, a small cat to keep my other cat, Jasper (AKA Devil Cat) company.

Jake is 15 pounds of adorable lap cat. The vet believes he must be at least part Maine Coon cat.  This past February, he lost his best buddy, my 22 year old Tonkinese, Jasper. After Jasper died-- I am still sad about that, but he had a very long life -- Jake slept by the food for 5 days, thinking, I believe, that Jasper would eventually show up there.  On the 6th day, Jake moved out of my room and basically lived in the kitchen for 3 months where he demanded (and got) lots of love and attention from everyone.  Just about when I'd given up on him ever setting paw in my room again, he staked out my printer as the place to be.  And my lap.

Here's Jasper when he was younger, my friend and companion for 22 years:

Jasper (Devil Cat)

Jasper is the only purebred cat I've ever had. The Tonkinese is a cross between Siamese and Burmese and as you can see from this picture, he took after the Siamese in him.  He was very inexpensive as Tonks go because his eyes were not quite the neon blue they should have been. The lady advertised them as "Personality Plus" which he was! He earned the nickname Devil Cat. But he was also extremely affectionate. ALWAYS on my lap! He knew when I was due home from work (said those who were already home) and waited by the door for me.

Left to right:
Missy Mara -- Jake's mother, a feral cat who we finally managed to trap and get to the vet to treat a badly wounded eye and get spayed. For a year she lived in the box spring of the mattress in this room but finally decided people were OK. She rarely leaves this room, actually.

Whiskers aka Nightmare: Whiskers is another rescued cat. At about 3 weeks old she got separated from her mother at the ranch where my son was taking Aikido. She had such a loud meow that some of the students heard her and found where she'd been trapped in a woodpile. And yes, I showed up with my son in time for his class and came home with a kitten . . . small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. She had to be bottle fed and manually stimulated so she could eliminate.

Tiger:  My son's cat. He'd wanted a cat of his own for a very long time, but none of the cats and kittens we saw were right for him. At a soccer tournament, we had time between games and we went to a nearby mall for lunch and some window shopping. We came home with Tiger.  She is an odd little cat who doesn't know she's a cat. She plays with my dog.

Do you have cats or did you? In the comments, tell us about your cat(s). Bonus points for linking your story to the Regency.  And come back Sunday for the Cat Extravaganza!

Cats and book giveaway

Bibliophile and Barbara E., you're the winners. Please send your snailmail address to my cat, elailah AT yahoo DOT com, and congrats.

In celebration of receiving my author copies of BESPELLING JANE AUSTEN, I'm giving away two copies, here, today! I'll pick winners at midnight EST (groan, I'm sure I'll still be up) and post them at the top of this post, so check back in.

To enter, tell me what sort of Regency character your pet would be.

This is by way of a build up to a terrific event this Sunday, September 19, when Liz Carlyle visits here on her charity blogtour, not only giving away a signed copy of her latest ONE TOUCH OF SCANDAL, but HarperCollins has generously offered to donate up to $3,000 ($1 per person per post on the entire blogtour) to Liz's favorite cat rescue charity, Cat Angels. Wow!

So, here's my cat. (Liz's, I assure you, are much cuter and there will be pics of them on Sunday).

This is her usual unpleasant expression, as she expresses concern that the landing really does need to be painted (I put undercoat on about ten years ago. You don't want to rush these things). She was a stray who, as soon as she realized she was getting three squares a day, ignored us for the next eight years or so except when she was hungry.

You think she looks cuddly? Ha.

But she almost died a few years ago and suddenly got friendlier, realizing that possibly I had something to do with her recovery.

As she ages she is getting slightly friendlier and although not a big sitter on laps (or a "real cat" in my terminology) likes to cuddle up next to you. Every morning she wakes me by affectionately digging her claws into my face and then accompanies me to the bathroom where she gnaws on my shins while I tell her to stop it. When I put food in her dish, which I gather is the whole point of the claws, biting etc. she walks away and sits staring into space.

If you stroke her in the wrong way, absentmindedly, or too much, she bites. Sometimes she just bites for the hell of it. She is absolutely terrified of everyone except me, my husband, my daughter, and inexplicably one of my daughter's friends a few years ago, who was photographed holding her. (He was also wearing my daughter's prom dress. It was a strange evening, I guess.)

I think she'd make a good old-style virginal Regency heroine who lives in a gothic mansion. One of those shy ones who then gets mad and throws things. Yep, timid but morphing into a feisty, passionate one with fish breath.

What sort of Regency character would your pet be?