Prepare for the Regency Bicentennial

(First I gotta give a big huzzah for Colin Firth winning the SAG Awards for best actor and for The King's Speech winning best picture. So perfect!!! Just had to get that out of my system)

On February 6, 1811, the Prince of Wales signed papers making him Regent and unknowingly marking the official beginning of a period in history that, among so many other things, has spawned an entire genre of Romance novels, of which I am proud to include my books. We at Risky Regencies celebrate the time period every day, year in and year out, but to mark this very special 200 year anniversary, I'd thought I'd share my thoughts on why we are still enthralled with such a specific, and brief, time in history.

In honor of the Regency Bicentennial, I'm giving away a copy (albeit a used copy) of J.B. Priestley's The Prince of Pleasure to one lucky commenter (although the cover might be different than pictured here). The winner will be chosen at random tomorrow so give me your comments before 1/31/11 12 noon ET

On my first blog with the Riskies I mused about why the Regency is such a popular genre in Romance. This blog is an adaptation of that one and, I thought, a good introduction to Regency Bicentennial Week.

First of all, the Regency was a beautiful time period. The lovely Classical architecture and decor of the Georgian age became more varied and colorful, but avoided the excesses of the Victorians. The Regency was a time of great wealth, of beautiful Country houses and gardens, of lovely, elegant fashions. Gone were powdered hair, white wigs, and heavy make-up of the Georgian age. Regency women wore beautifully draping empire-waist silks and muslins, dresses that would still be considered lovely today. Men’s clothing also became more like our modern clothing, the bright-colored brocades and laces of the 1700s giving way to the simplicity, cleanliness, and perfect tailoring Beau Brummell insisted upon. Men and women rode though Hyde Park in fine carriages drawn by perfectly matched horses. The titled elite gathered in exclusive places like Almack’s and White’s. Men sported at Gentleman Jackson’s Boxing Saloon or Tattersal’s. Ladies made “morning calls” in the afternoon, and made their curtsey to the Queen in opulent gowns.

Exciting people lived during the Regency. My favorite is the truly great but imperfect Duke of Wellington, the man who defeated the Emperor Napoleon, but there is also the Prince Regent (“Prinny”), Lord Byron, Beau Brummell, Jane Austen, Caroline Lamb, Harriette Wilson (who Amanda wrote about in her April 15 blog about courtesans), and so many more fascinating people.

The Regency time period echoes our World War II era in my mind, a time of great courage, honor, and drama, and one that eventually led into great social change. The drama of the long war with Napoleon, culminating in Waterloo, a battle still discussed, written about and fictionalized today. Also occurring at this time was the War of 1812, less victorious for the British, events in India, and the humming of impending social change, the beginning of the decline of the upper classes and the growth of wealth from industry and trade, social unrest nipping at the heels of the class system.

The Regency is a transitional period between the decadence of the 18th century and the repression of the Victorian Age. As such there are elements of both, providing rich opportunities for dramatic conflict. For example, it is an age when the idea of marrying for love came to the fore, and yet, marriages of convenience still took place. Women--married women, that is--were still allowed to enjoy a sexual relationship, although more discreetly than did their Georgian mothers. Their poor Victorian daughters were not so lucky. Roles and behavior were more fluid in the Regency, less defined than the eras before or after, allowing the novelist great license to explore.

The Regency is an accessible period: Distant enough to provide an escape from every day life into a world of beauty and conflict, but familiar enough to be able to imagine ourselves living in it.

I love going into the world of Regency England every time I sit down to write. It often becomes as real to me as if I truly lived there. I aspire to bring the Regency vividly alive in my books so readers might love it as much as I do.

It is great to be among this wonderful group of authors who feel that same love of the Regency and that same desire to explore it in new, exciting, and “risky” ways.

Now, for a chance to win The Prince of Pleasure, tell us what you love about the Regency....or comment about anything, like Colin Firth and The King's Speech!

Guest Blogger Julia Justiss

The Riskies are happy to welcome back guest blogger, Harlequin Historical author Julia Justiss! She'll be giving away a copy of her new release, Society's Most Disreputable Gentleman, to one lucky commenter. For more info, visit her website, where she is also giving away Godiva chocolates...

The Romance of Lace

Many thanks to the Riskies for inviting me to talk about my February release and share a bit about that loveliest of fabrics, English lace!

First, a bit about that new release, Society's Most Disreputable Gentleman. Fired from his job as estate manager and then abducted and pressed into the Royal Navy. hero Greville Anders (brother of heroine Joanna of From Waif to Gentleman's Wife) returns after 8 month's service at sea a radically different man. Eager to obtain his release and pursue an honest career, he has little interest in the idle Society he used to frequent. But despite his vow to reform his rake's ways, how could he help but flirt with his host's beautiful daughter Amanda? For her part, Amanda Neville has dreamed since childhood of becoming a brilliant Society hostess. She's not about to risk that by dallying with a younger son of little fortune, no matter how scandalously attractive he might be!

When Greville finds himself marooned in the Devon countryside while he recovers from wounds suffered during a battle with privateers, he's happy to further his flirtation with Amanda by having her give him a tour of her father's vast estate.

Along with fields planted in corn, mining on the Dartmoor, and flocks of sheep and cattle, Amanda's father acts as a factor for his tenants who produce handicrafts. One of the most famous Devonshire handicrafts was Honiton lace, which was produced by craftspeople in their home cottages and then sent to the town of Honiton, where merchants marketed it to London and other large towns in England.

It's thought that lacemaking originated in Italy in the 16th century and then spread throughout Europe. Some credit the lace-making tradition in Honiton to Flemish weavers who came over to pursue the cloth trade, for the town had been a center for the weaving of wool and flax since medieval times. Whether Flemish weavers brought the techniques or not, by the time that Charles II was making lace collars and cuffs fashionable, the lace makers of the Honiton area were developing their unique style of embroidery, drawn-thread, and cutwork.

Honiton lace is best known for its floral and leaf motifs, which were the result of several craftsmen's group efforts. The flower or leaf design would be made by one designer; then the pieces, called "sprigs," would be stitched together in larger pieces. The lace patterns were made using pairs of slender pointed bobbins. The lacemaker would prick out a design on parchment, which was pinned atop a small, firm pillow stuffed with straw or sawdust. Pins would be inserted into the design, around which the threads would be woven and plaited to create the design. These flower pieces were then stitched to a net background.

During the mid-18th--19th centuries, it was estimated that nearly half the population in the area were engaged in the lace business. However, like many handcrafts lacemaking suffered after the introduction of power looms.

Queen Victoria did her part to revive the craft. When she married Prince Albert in 1840, her dress was to be trimmed with Flemish lace, but the Queen insisted the lace on her gown be English instead. An order was placed with Tuckers in the nearby town of Branscombe, who was then the largest employer of lace makers in the area. When the couple's first child was born, the christening gown was also trimmed with Honiton lace; the gown was used for royal christenings for many years, until the cloth became too fragile. The royal family continues to order Honiton lace for special occasion; in 1981, Lady Diana Spencer's gown was trimmed with Honiton lace.

Allhallow's Museum, a 13th century former chapel that is the oldest building in Honiton, contains an extensive collection of historic lace. There are also many shops in town specializing in lace and the local pottery for which Honiton is also famed.

After Amanda gives Greville a tour of her father's estate, he's almost as impressed by his host's vast and varied enterprises as he is by his beautiful hostess! I hope you will find Greville and Amanda's story equally engaging.

So, how do you feel about lace? Is is a sweet luxury that whispers romance--or when trimming lingerie, something naughtier? Or an old-fashioned fabric that should give way to modern textiles? I wish I might offer one responder a piece of Honiton lace, but will have to limit myself to a copy of Disreputable!

Backstory, Info Dumps and Character Intros

I recently edited the beginning of my mess-in-progress, pruning out some backstory that didn’t need to be in the first scene.

When I first joined RWA, the standard advice for newbies was to avoid the Dreaded Info Dump in the first chapter and just trickle in details from the characters' past as needed. And I generally follow this advice, as I did this time.

But I never became No-Info-Dump Purist (or a Goal-Motivation-and-Conflict Purist, or a H/H-Must-Meet-On-First-Page Purist) or really bought into any of the hard and fast rules beloved by some critique groups. The reason is early in my RWA education I also read some amazing books that broke rules. Intelligently, of course.

On one end of the backstory spectrum is Loretta Chase’s LORD OF SCOUNDRELS. It starts with a summary of the hero’s life from birth onwards. I have heard NID Purists protest—maybe they are just jealous. Readers in general and the judges of the 1995 RITA didn’t care. I think the beginning works because 1) it’s fast-paced and entertainingly written and 2) it really does help prepare the reader for Dain’s beastly behavior.

I found the opposite extreme in another favorite, Laura Kinsale’s FOR MY LADY’S HEART. The most heartwrenching details of the heroine’s backstory are held back until near the end of the book. Readers who love this book sense that there is something tragic that caused the heroine to develop such strong and sometimes sinister defenses. When it is revealed, it makes for a very powerful scene.

Anyway, how do you like your backstory served up? Any favorite rule-breaking stories?

Frozen Friday

So we got a little snow over the past couple of days--maybe you've heard? My son got a snow day yesterday, in fact, and NYC public schools NEVER have snow days, so it was a big deal.

But that did not stop me from finding the romance! Last night, I went to the book launch party for Eloisa James at WORD in Brooklyn, a romance-friendly bookstore. Eloisa talked about her books, including her new release, When Beauty Tamed The Beast, and then signed books for fans. Despite the evil weather, the event was standing-room only, and it was cool to hear Eloisa's inspiration for this book, a mash-up of "Beauty And The Beast" and House.

And speaking of mash-ups, here's an NSFW video of a sign language student signing Cee-Lo Green's amazing song:



I love mash-ups. For me, juxtaposing the high culture with low is just brilliant. Perhaps one of the first ones of those I ever encountered was Alexander Pope's poem "The Rape Of The Lock," which equates cutting a piece of hair from an object of affection with something much more serious.


Other than that, however, all I've done lately is work at the New Day Job and try to navigate home life so all the Framptons have clean laundry and such.

So--what crazy mash-ups can you think of? Are you a fan of mash-ups? Do you ever get the chance to go to book launch parties, or if you're an author, have them yourself?

Stay warm!

Megan

Top Ten Things I Learned From Romance

Yes. There will indeed be Ten Top Things, but before we get there, here's some blatant self promotion for the release next week of Mr Bishop and the Actress:
A CONTEST!
And here's the cover. Isn't it pretty! You have two ways to enter: go to my Facebook page, read the excerpt and then share it and post me the link on the comments. And/or, sign up for my mailing list here.
THE PRIZE
Your choice of a book from my backlist (with the exclusion of Dedication, which is selling for ridiculous prices online and which will support me in my imminent old age. Sorry).

Although the official release date is February 4, those naughty scamps at bookdepository.com have Mr Bishop & the Actress on sale now--free shipping worldwide!

And now back to our regularly scheduled program....

Last week I talked about the challenges of writing contemporaries. This week I want to tell you what I've learned from reading (some of) them.

It is a fact universally acknowledged that...

1. You can qualify as a doctor within one year.
2. If you're teaching English at college level and feel like a change of pace you can avoid all that agonizing search committee stuff by calling a friend because he'll have an opening in the department.
3. If a single woman moves to a small town there will always be a hot, single sheriff/bartender/mechanic/rancher. Occasionally there's a squad of white-collar single hot guys too.
   
4. If a white single woman moves to a small town there will be no other ethnic groups there.
5. If a black single woman moves to a small town there will be no other ethnic groups there.
6. Most heroes are mysteriously rich (but not through illegal means) and their flair for interior design does not impugn their masculinity.
7. If the hero tells the cops the heroine has been kidnapped, they immediately spring into action, even if it's just a hunch (and to give them credit, she's never just gone out to the convenience store. He's right).
   
8. A voluptuous heroine is a size 10 (US). Ha.
   
9. If a heroine loses ten pounds she immediately has to go shopping with her best friend for a new wardrobe.
10. And the final and most exciting one: All heroes wear boxers except for cowboys who apparently can't risk all that fabric bunching up around their manly bits in the saddle and wear jockeys. It's the law.

The great thing about this is that it makes the Regency view of history seem well, almost realistic. Twenty hot rich single thirty-year-old dukes in London at one time? Why not?

What have you learned from reading romance?

Finding the Story

It's been a tough week for me at the Riskies. First I had to stave off the claims of canine ancestry -- folks, this is not the blog where I talk about werewolves for crying out loud. Unless they're hot Regency werewolves and that's not what today's post is about. Everyone else got cool ancestors and I get . . . a dog? Then Risky Janet implied in a comment that I'm not housebroken. Well, if no one Googled me before inviting me to join the Riskies, whose fault is that?

I've been working on The Next Historical and I keep forgetting how much I love/hate the early part of novel writing. Nothing sucks yet because I haven't written it. The future is bright and shiny. THIS book will rock! It will be easy, I know exactly what's going to happen. Yay!

And then I start writing and my hero and heroine typically spend an inordinate amount of time pretending they're in different novels. I have to be very careful not to write too far ahead of myself because until the hero and heroine agree to be in the same book, I'll just have to delete those scenes.

And the writing, oh, the writing is thin and weak and there's either not enough dialogue which means there's way too much boring narrative or there's too much dialogue and no details. They're all just talking heads floating around bumping into random things.

I end up freaking out over being behind on my word count and getting hives, and looking for anything that's more fun than writing, which, lucky me, is just about everything.

Invariably, as I'm slogging through the early bits, deleting crap, trying to find the emotional core of the two characters, I'll write a scene where I go, ooh. That's it. And then my hero and heroine are in the same book in that scene and I adjust everywhere else and then I get to worry more about plot.

It doesn't matter how detailed a synopsis I wrote-- and I can tell you that the synopsis for this story is long out the window but for the hero and heroine's names-- until I get the characters on the page in actual writing I don't know what the story will be about.

In happy news, I'm about to write the doorknob scene.

But I leave you with this, Werewolf-news.com
Because Janet is right. I'm not housebroken.

Tuesday Musings

I've been drifting around online since I got up this morning, trying to find a good blog topic for this cold Tuesday! Having found nothing (or rather, so many things I couldn't decide) I thought I would borrow ideas from Megan and Janet and just tell you some of the stuff I've been thinking about lately....

1) Writing! Like always. Just finished up an Undone short story set at the court of Mary Queen of Scots and diving back into the full-length Scottish story, plus organizing my "ideas folder." I'm often distracted by bright, shiny new ideas that try to tempt me away from the WIP, so I jot them down in a special notebook to come back to later (not that they always stop pestering me). I've also been sorting some new research books I picked up at a booksale last week! Fun fun. Inspired by Diane, I may also do a little genealogical research...

2) The Oscars! I do love Oscar nomination day, which happens to be--today. (See a full list of the noms here). Out of the ridiculously bloated 10 movie Best Picture field, I've seen 5, Black Swan, The King's Speech, The Kids Are All Right, The Social Network, and the vastly overrated Inception. My personal favorite of those is King's Speech, but I predict Social Network will win (with Colin Firth and Natalie Portman winning Acting honors). I will probably see True Grit soon, but as much as I love James Franco I think 127 Hours would be too intense for me. The noms for Best Costumes are Alice In Wonderland, I Am Love, The King's Speech, The Tempest, and True Grit. No arguments there, though I might have liked to see Black Swan there. Those Rodarte tutus were awesome.



3) Like Megan, I've been thinking about Vampire Diaries! New episodes finally start again on Thursday and I can't wait. It feels like I've been waiting forever to see what will happen next in the twisty plots (or which Salvatore brother will take his shirt off first)


4) Today is the (probable) anniversary of the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, a secret shotgun wedding complete with baby bump in 1533. Er--happy anniversary? (For more information on this event, check this post in The Anne Boleyn Files, an awesome blog that you should check out anyway!)

5) It's also Burns Day! Poet Robert Burns was born on this day in 1759, which is celebrated every year in Scotland (and by people who just like his work!). A local pub here does a special dinner for it every year, which I will be attending tonight. In honor of his poem "To A Haggis" it's traditional to serve haggis, which I will not be partaking in. (Check here for more info, and a recipe for haggis if you're feeling brave)


6) Reading, of course! I'm in the middle of Carol Carr's new historical mystery India Black, about a Victorian madam solving a murder. I love it so far, a great heroine and witty writing. I also have a new biography of Voltaire, and some birthday gift cards from Barnes and Noble burning a hole in my pocket as I try to decide how to spend them. Any recommendations??

Now I'm running out to yoga class so I won't feel so bad about the shepherd's pie and whiskey tonight! What are you thinking about today? Any favorite Oscar movies or predictions?

Famous Ancestors, I Fancy

I've been researching horse racing for an Undone story, checking through Google Books, finding
Royal Ascot: its history & its associations by George James Cawthorne and Richard S. Herod. I had to chuckle when I read this:

No one did more to promote the interests of the Turf and to establish horse racing as a national pastime than Tregonwell Frampton, of Moreton, in Dorsetshire. "The Father of the Turf," as he has been called, was born in 1642, and was keeper of the Royal Running Horses....Mr. Frampton was the cunningest jockey of his day, but his methods were not always above suspicion. In the celebrated match between North and South...Mr. Frampton attempted to deceive his rival by adding 7 lb. to the agreed weight

Who knew Megan's "ancestor" was a jockey, a sometimes crooked one?

That got me thinking....If I searched Google Books what sort of "ancestors" would I find for the other Riskies?

I decided to search Full View only, between the years 1700 to 1900, but it quickly became apparent that "McCabe" was only going to yield authors named McCabe. I altered the plan to include only Google Books in "my library." There were no McCabe ancestors in "my library" and no Mullanys either.

Here's what I found for Greene in A History of the Peninsular War, Volume 5 By Charles Oman and John Alexander Hall:

Gardiner's, Douglas's, Lawson's, and Elige's [now temporarily under 2nd Captain W. Greene, Elige having been killed at the Salamanca forts] companies were present at Salamanca, as was also the Reserve Artillery, but the last-named was not engaged. Elige was shot through the heart on the second day of the siege of the Salamanca forts. 2nd Captain W. Greene commanded the company at the battle of Salamanca

Leave it to Elena to have a heroic "early relation."

But what of Carolyn? I found Jewel immediately in Nimrod's Hunting Tours

There are three bitches in Mr. Villebois' kennel which must not be passed over—namely, Priestess, Madcap, and Jewel; ...Jewel is by Foreman (sire of Lady)out of Jezebel. Jewel is the dam of Juryman and Jovial, two uncommonly fine hounds...Jewel has got a bone in the mouth of her stomach, which she cannot get rid of, and which prevents her hunting; but from her blood and shape she is invaluable in the stud.

Somehow I don't think that Jewel could possibly be Carolyn's "ancestor" (and OMIGOSH did you notice one of the dogs in the painting is relieving itself????).

Do you use Google Books? Do you have a favorite? I think mine is Waterloo Days by Charlotte Eaton.

Creative and rambling minds.

Today I have nothing to talk about because I'm Getting Creative. Oxymoronic? Well, yes. Everything goes inward and the mind rambles. For instance, in the false starts that began this post, all mercifully deleted, my mind wandered on the following topics: Bill Nighy, Facebook, Goodreads, Voldemort, grammar, Judging the Big Contest That Shall Not Be Named, lunch, houseplants, and back to Bill Nighy.

I really like Bill Nighy.

But this Getting Creative thing: What do I want to do next, what might sell (I'm clueless), what will stop me getting bored. This time around I'm approaching from the opposite direction to my usually haphazard process. I'm planning. I will be messing with file cards and diagrams and pencil scribbles. I might actually get to know characters before I pluck their names out of the air and drop them into a story.

And I have the books to read for the Contest That Shall Not Be Named. I have a clutch of books I've never even heard of and even though it's only a handful it reminds me how many thousands of books are out there and how easy it is for a good book to be overlooked. This is a scary, inexplicable business.

I'm happy to mention, though, that I've done some things I decided on at the beginning of the year: I went to the National Gallery in Washington DC to see the exhibit The Pre-Raphaelite Lens which I enjoyed. I started tidying my office. I started thinking about getting ready to tidy the house. I might, even, gasp, sort out my books and decide which ones I really am never going to look at ever again to make more space (and not buy again).

So I pose a challenge to you: track your thoughts and see where they go, as I did at the beginning of this post, and see what you can come up with.

Obsessions!

Hey, don't freak out and think it's later than you thought (not that that makes sense); Janet is doing her best imitation of a poultry-type without a braincase, so I am posting today, not Friday, as is my usual wont.

And . . . we're off!

I still haven't found time to write. The day job is a lot of fun, but requires attention and time, and then there's all the other stuff.

But the commute. The train commute! Ah, how I love thee.

Last week I read the first of Karen Marie Moning's Fever series. The final book in the series, Shadowfever, came out this week, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about (okay, 'fess up: Who here just imagined some grouchy lady in an apron waving a rolling pin while she said that? JUST WHAT I LOOK LIKE RIGHT NOW, BY THE WAY).

It was a lot different than what I'd expected. I never actually expected, given the beginning of the book, to like the heroine, but by the end of the book, I admired her and wished I had more of her spunk. I am still doubtful if we'd be friends if we met in real life, but I bet if we had a few cocktails we'd be hanging out in no time.

In fact, I'm surprised by how much I am thinking about the book after finishing it. That speaks well to its ability to survive as a series, not to mention the multitude of people in my Twitter stream who stayed up all night/stalked the UPS guy/called in sick at work to read Shadowfever. I'm just psyched I have more books to look forward to.

I finished the first Tasha Alexander book I was reading last week, And Only To Deceive, which I enjoyed--it has a romantic element to it, but it's mostly about a Victorian woman discovering her own interests and expressing her own opinion in a time when most women did not.

And now I am currently reading the Regency-set historical Provocative In Pearls by Madeline Hunter. It is delicious, and I am in awe of Hunter's ability to weave a complex series of conflicts on a very simple premise. I am two-thirds of the way through, and don't quite see what might happen yet, which is fun.

Thanks in no small part to listening to Amanda McCabe (aka Laurel McKee), I started watching the Vampire Diaries, which has been so much fun. She and I have emailed a few times with me speculating what might happen and her probably biting her tongue not to tell me.

We both agree, however, as to how beautiful the eyes of Ian Somerhalder, who plays Alpha Vamp Damon, are.

Yeah, so, no writing, but lots of reading, and lots of looking nice almost every single day, which is a change from usual, and lots of interacting with pleasant co-workers, which I haven't had in a long time.

What is engrossing your leisure time lately?

Can we Reconstruct the Social Past?

I had an interesting conversation recently regarding present-day misconceptions about the past. In this conversation we floated the idea that historical romance had created its own, essentially false, depiction of life during the Regency. We talked about whether or not these inaccurate ideas were so deeply embedded that an accurate depiction of them could be roundly denounced.

There is a difference between history and historical fiction. In the case of the former, the point, one hopes, in writing about history, is to be accurate. Fiction serves a different role. Fiction, at some level, has to recognize the ways in which, say, a Regency Romance, privileges the needs of modern readers over historical accuracy.

What I constantly find odd, however, is that way in which we sometimes talk about the past as if those people were a different species. There is, I think, a speed at which evolution progresses -- over millions of years, punctuated by the odd catastrophe that challenges the very survival of a species, and the speed at which social culture evolves. Millennia vs. a few years.

The human sex drive is an evolutionary survival tactic and our bodies have evolved to make procreation likelier than not. The way human cultures deal with that fact seem to be fairly fluid. I think historical researchers sometimes conflate cultural sexual norms with the human sexual drive.

In the West, we have this notion of sexual repression that comes to us from the Victorian age -- women weren't supposed to like sex, everyone was all uptight and people, particularly women, who appeared to embrace their sexual nature were punished. We could talk all day about the ways in which Western cultures have attempted to control and repress human sexuality. There is plenty of evidence of that.

However, no amount of social repression negates the fact that sex feels good. Our bodies are hard wired for sexual desire and to experience sexual pleasure. Repression is bound to fail. It cannot help but fail. We exist today because it did, in fact, fail.

My point, after all that, is that this trope of the innocent, unsexual female who has no curiosity or drive to engage in sex (and I do mean the act) seems to me to be fundamentally false. Of course there were people who refrained from sex until marriage, but there simply had to be a lot of people who didn't. The idea that women didn't have any non-social way to control their fertility also seems suspect to me.

The Heyer-esque innocent, however compelling she is on the written page, with an almost complete denial of female sexual agency sometimes bothers me and is, I think, more a representation of Heyer's social millieu than the actual Regenecy -- In other words, she wrote about a world as her culture norms imagined it ought to have been. Lydia in Pride and Prejudice is an example of that tension.

So, after all these ill-formed thoughts, what do you think about the accuracy of Regency Romance and do you care?

Dance Fever

I hope you're all having a lovely Tuesday! I am about to jump back into writing an "Undone" short story I've been buried in all weekend (I sorta forgot it was due soon, but don't tell!), and my head is full of Renaissance-era Scotland, but right now I get to take a break and hang out at the Riskies.

There's new book out next month that looks like a lot of fun, Fall in Love Like a Romance Author--and I have an essay in it about dating as a single writer! (If I had to find one word to describe dating--interesting. I may have to post about dating tips for romance authors here soon...). Since I'm incurably nosy about other people's life stories, I can't wait to read the other essays. And it's just in time for Valentine's Day too!

And since the Golden Globes were this weekend, of course I have opinions! I posted about the red carpet fashion on my own blog--it was one of the most interesting rc's in a while, and bodes well for the Oscars!

As part of my New Years resolutions, I've been going to more dance classes as well as teaching on Saturday, and it's been very--challenging. Especially since, after several years off, I've decided to get the pointe shoes out again since I've been strengthening my feet and legs. My toes are not thanking me. But here is a brief look at the history of the pointe shoe:

In the Renaissance era, court masques were all the rage, where courtiers could put on elaborate costumes and act out allegorical stories amid fantastical scenery, and dancing was a huge part of that. When Catherine de Medici married into the French royal family, she brought this ballet de cour ("court ballet") to Paris and, being French, they took to the spectacle right away. In the 1600s this art form reached a pinnacle under Louis XIV, who danced in them himself as a young man. He founded the Academie Royale de Danse (later the Paris Opera Ballet). At that time, the men did most of the elaborate dancing, while women, in heavy gowns and heeled shoes, were merely set dressing.

But by the 1730s, dancing of this sort was more theatrical than court, and a style known as "danse haute", involving leaping and twirling, became the rage. Marie Camargo started a trend by taking the heels from her shoes and heavily darning the toes. Skirts got shorter and turns got faster. By 1830, Marie Taglioni took the dance world by storm. In that year, she danced the very Romantic ballet La Sylphide on the tops of her toes, and what had just been a sort of trick before became the norm of artistic expression. (In Russia, her fans even sometimes cooked her used shoes and ate them with sauce--ugh).

The 19th century was when the classical ballets were know so well today (Giselle, Swan Lake, La Bayadere) came into being, and so many of them feature a central heroine who is an ethereal being, a spirit not bound to the earth, and pointe shoes allowed the ballerina to create this illusion by seeming to hover and skim over the stage as if weightless, while the earthbound hero is enraptured. (But it usually ends badly, alas! Though I love the endings of Giselle and Swan Lake, where love can endure even death).

Taglioni's shoes were soft satin slippers that fit her feet like a second skin, with a leather sole and heavy darning on the sides and underside. I can't imagine going en pointe on such a shoe. By the end of the 19th century, the new Russian ballets (choreographed by Marius Petipa in the French tradition) demanded more technique, and the Italian school pushed athleticism over all. The Italians also had 2 secret weapons--the technique of spotting for turns and a better shoe. They also had shorter skirts. (When La Zucchi danced in St. Petersburg in a short skirt against the Imperial Ballet's strict regulations, it caused a scandal!). The Russians adapted all of this, and even strengthened the shoes. Even today, Russian shoes are usually stiffer, better for the Russian technique of pouncing onto pointe rather than rolling through. (The Danish school, on the other hand, demanded a technique that required softer shoes for more bouncy jumps and elaborate footwork but fewer sustained balances and pirouettes en pointe).

The shoes themselves haven't developed a whole lot from the 19th century, though they are harder and boxier in the toe. They're still made from leather, paper, burlap, glue and nails with a final layer of satin. They're held together by 3 soles, or shanks, the outside and middle ones made of leather and the inside of cardboard. Then, with the edges of the satin and canvas between, they're glues and nailed together. In order to wear them, they have to be broken in (there's a brief glimpse of this brutal process in the movie Black Swan), and a professional dancer will go through several pairs a performance.

If you'd like to know more about any aspect of ballet, I highly recommend Jennifer Homan's new history of the art, Apollo's Angels. It's a fascinating book.

So there you have it, a brief glimpse of the history of the ballet shoe! I feel like I need to go off and practice some plies now. What is your favorite ballet? And how are your New Years resolutions holding up now that it's almost February? And what was your favorite gown at the Golden Globes???

Are You Watching Downton Abbey?

I love this new BBC series playing on our PBS stations' Masterpiece Theatre! Downton Abbey is an original series, that is, not adapted from period fiction, but written for TV. The "inciting incident" is the sinking of the Titantic taking with it 2 heirs in line to inherit, one who the eldest daughter was obligated to marry. The premise of this show is wonderful, because it, like the Regency, takes place at a period of social change. The earl had to marry an American heiress to save the estate. They, alas, did not have a son. Now when the earl dies, the millions the heiress brought to the estate will go to a distant cousin.

We see some familiar faces on the series:

Maggie Smith, of course as the dowager Countess

Hugh Bonneville as the earl, whom we saw in Miss Austen Regrets

Dan Stevens (with the incredible blue eyes) as the new heir who was Edward in BBC's Sense and Sensibility

My two favorite characters (so far) are:


Daisy, the scullery maid, played by Sophie McShera. Daisy so perfectly knows her place as the lowest of the servants, yet she is lively and happy and optimistic. I believe I must have been a scullery maid in a past life. I mean, why else would I not mind washing dishes? (Just don't ask me to cook). I like to believe I would have been the same sort of scullery maid as Daisy.






Bates, the earl's new butler and his former batman from the Boer War. Bates is played by Brenden Coyle, who did such a marvelous job as Nicholas Higgins in North and South (which I finally watched, by the way. Sigh!!!!!!) I fell in love with Bates immediately. He's such a wonderful character, an obviously strong, proud man made vulnerable by an injury that makes him lame. When he almost has to leave--omigosh, what an emotional scene.

I am hooked!!!!

I'm delighted that BBC has renewed this series. Could it become the new Upstairs, Downstairs?

For an entirely different opinion of the series see Number One London. Kristine and several of her commenters did not like it too much. One comment was that it was like a soap opera, but, frankly, that's one of the things I like about it!

Have you seen Downton Abbey? Do you like it? Who's your favorite character?

Happy Birthday to Amanda and Period Furniture Obsessions

First, let’s all lift a glass of pink bubbly and have a slice of virtual cake in honor of Amanda’s birthday. Wishing you a year of health, happiness, and much reading and writing!

Now to my post…

Ever since I started looking at decorating magazines and histories of furniture, I’ve been drawn to certain styles of furniture. I used to think I ought to like Victorian furniture, but although some items are pretty, some get too fussy for me. Later, when I started studying Regency styles, I realized that was what I like best.

One item that appeals to me especially is shield back chairs. Here is an illustration of late 18th century shield back chairs designed by Sheraton or Hepplewhite. I love the shape, though I’m not sure why. At a conference, I met a psychic who said historical romance authors were trying to relive past lives. If so, perhaps I was once very happy in a house with shield back chairs. I know that once I’d seen one, I wanted a set.

Of course, I cannot afford the Real Thing, nor would I feel comfortable sitting on anything so valuable! But my husband and I saw these early 20th century reproduction chairs at an antique show. We discovered that they were both less expensive and better made than the new dining room furniture we had been looking at. So we snapped them up and have been happy with them ever since.








Another period furniture obsession is the chaise longue. I've just written my second scene with characters misbehaving on one. There is something I find sexy about all those elegant curves. Here is an example dating from 1810. Sadly, I do not own one even a reproduction. Maybe someday...

What are your favorite furniture periods? Do you have favorite items or styles?


Elena

An Education

First off: I have not yet found time to write, but I have found time to open my work-in-progress and look at it to remind myself of my characters and where I last left them. Hopefully that writing time will come soon.

Second, commuting into and out of a job means I have time to read (as though I didn't find time on my own anyway!). Reading on the subway is its own special pleasure, since there is, literally, nothing else you can possibly do besides be on the subway. No dishes, no laundry, no clamoring spouse/child/etc.--nothing but being on the subway going to your destination.

So while I wouldn't hope for a subway slow-down, it's not the worst thing ever if it happens.

This week, I began reading the first book in Tasha Alexander's historical mystery series, And Only To Deceive (recommended to me by Cara Elliott), featuring Emily, Lady Ashton. Emily is an inquisitive woman, but has not been accorded an education in anything beyond needlework, languages and indifferent piano playing.

Within the first few pages, Emily is told the story of Paris and that damn golden apple and the three goddesses he has to choose to give it to. That startled me, since that story--and myths in general--were part of my upbringing, as integral to my knowledge base as the math tables and that there were fifty United States.


I pride myself on not taking anything for granted, but in terms of what I've been exposed to, I definitely have. What if I hadn't been allowed access to books and knowledge? What if I were Lady Emily, bred to be a pretty ornament to a man's home? No wonder our heroines are regarded as so unusual within their own society--they think and speak for themselves, chafe at their restrictions, and devour knowledge as greedily as Venus took that apple.

So while I have not found time to write (see how I brought that back around? I am all about the callback), I have found time to be grateful to be given the tools to enable me to write. And, eventually, I will utilize those tools.

Meanwhile, pity poor Paris, who had to make the hardest decision ever: Which vain, gorgeous goddess was the most gorgeous (and therefore would be the most vain)? Poor guy.

Megan

Adventures in Contemporaryland

First, a bit of blatant self-promotion that is actually relevant to what I'm talking about today: I'm making a debut as a Harlequin Spice author in the summer (Tell Me More), under my own name since at my advanced age I have no innocence/innocents to protect (and before that, kicking and screaming, drag it out of me, then, Mr. Bishop and the Actress is being released next month. More on that later. Of course).

So I'm writing contemporaries for Spice which means I have to write in American, which is tricky. But what I found even worse was not having the gorgeous array of props and costumes you have at hand when writing historicals. Take this lousy passage:

The Duke leaned against the marble mantelpiece and raised his quizzing glass while taking a sip from the glass of brandy. [Internal Ed: careful, you know where this is heading] The sunlight from the open shutters turned his hair, carefully arranged in the latest windswept to burnished gold. He brushed at a tiny speck of dust on his skintight pantaloons [Internal Ed: oh crap, he does have three hands]. "My dear," he drawled, "I assure you marriage was the last thing on my mind." [Internal Ed: what!? Who's he talking to, anyway?]

Now, translate this into a contemporary:

The [Internal Ed: the what? Cop? I don't do cops. OK. The mayor? Nah. Come back to it later] leaned against his car [Internal Ed: we're outside, then? OK] and pushed his dark glasses further up his nose [Internal Ed: I can live with it but it doesn't imply anything to do with his status, only that he can't buy dark glasses that fit] while taking a sip [Internal Ed: sip? Are you sure? Gulp?] from his beer [Internal Ed: remember your responsibility to your readers! Is he going to drink and drive?]. The sunlight turned his mussed hair to burnished gold. [Internal Ed: zzzzz] He brushed at a tiny speck of dust on his skintight jeans [Internal Ed: see three hands, above, also sounds a bit gay and not in a good way, but then so does the Duke]. "Honey," he drawled, "I ain't talkin' about a weddin'." [What? Has this guy ever been inside a library in his life?]

And so it goes.

On the other hand, instead of this:

Heart pounding, she sat at her writing desk and sharpened a knife. On a clean sheet of paper she hastily wrote a note, scattered sand over it, and folded and sealed it. Reaching for the bell pull, she summoned the footman to deliver it to the Duke's house, warning him that he must return with his grace's answer immediately.

You have this:

She texted him.

And instead of this:

For three long days and nights the carriage lurched across rutted roads, stopping only for brief pauses to change the horses while the weary passengers took what refreshment they could, and several times alighting to help push the vehicle out of the filthy mud in the torrential rain [Internal ed: enough already]

You have this:

One hour and one packet of roasted nuts later, the plane landed. [Internal ed: long enough for her to join the mile-high club, surely? Call yourself a writer?]

What do you miss when you read contemporaries? What sort of details and how much do you like in historicals?

Backlist titles - The invisible Disruption

I have turned in my revisions for My Dangerous Pleasure (Book 4 of my My Immortals series) and am now FREE, FREE AT LAST for a while and can totally concentrate on The Next Historical, which is shaping up to be awesome. I am hoping I get to keep my malfunctioning door hardware scene.

Other Historical Book News

I have my rights back for two of my historicals, Lord Ruin and The Spare, and hope to be hearing something on another in about three months. My exciting news is that I am in the process of getting new cover art for Lord Ruin and hope to have that available in digital formats and POD by the end of this month or early February.

Publishers Not Leveraging Backlist

It's always been interesting to me that publishers and other industry professionals like to point out that Publishers make quite a lot of money on backlist titles. But they're always talking about Books We've Heard Of. Makes sense, since many of these titles sell a lot. To Kill a Mockingbird, anyone?

But there's a hidden backlist that publishers have not been taking advantage of, and that's the vast pool of genre fiction. For the purposes of this post, let's limit the discussion to Romance. There are out of print (OOP) titles that consistently show up on lists of reader favorite, years after they were first published. The only way to get these OOP books are to find them used (if you haven't saved your copy) or find a pirated version.

Invisible Demand for Out Of Print Books

There is a pent up demand for a lot of OOP Romance titles but it's largely invisible to publishers because the titles were mass market and intended to have a short life and, to my knowledge, publishers aren't tracking demand for used books-- which is (almost) the only way to get your hands on these OOP titles.

The reality is that publishers were wrong about the short shelf life. This might be true for certain titles or certain authors -- the book or writing is mediocre, let's say. (and this is true of literary fiction, too.) The reality is that there are genre authors who are talented, amazing writers and their stories are worth re-reading. I bet Amazon has the data that proves this, and I bet that data would be very interesting to see. I bet that data shows there are certain OOP titles that are in demand.

I believe Publishers have missed a revenue stream with genre fiction. Popular OOP titles are sitting there, entirely unmonitized except for used book dealers. Digital publishing has created a whole new way to monitize that wide pool, but publishers are in a difficult situation now because 1) they're blind to the demand and 2) the current system isn't suited to the digital reality. (And that's a whole other post!) They're also not looking at authors with backlist as potential partners in a different publishing scheme, again, a whole other post.

Meanwhile, savvy authors are moving faster.

Until recently, there was nothing authors could do to satisfy continuing demand for their OOP backlist, other than hope readers could find used copies. There wasn't much point in asking for a rights reversion, because, what would you do with the rights if you had them?

The Kindle changed everything.

Now authors can do something with backlist titles that publishers allow to languish. Now there's a very good reason for authors to get rights reversions for OOP titles. Those books can now be reintroduced into the author's stream of commerce, whether as a book that can be purchased or offered free as a way to seed front list sales. Or both.

If publishers were more agile and wired into their authors, maybe they would be thinking of ways to help send that stream of commerce their way. Right now, Amazon is doing that instead. From what I'm seeing and hearing from other authors, there's another disruption on the way, and that's the reintroduction of OOP backlist into what is a frontlist-like commerce stream.

I'm looking forward to the Future

I can't wait for the time when I can sit around yakking about great romances from the past and if a title being discussed intrigues me, being able to pull out my iPhone or eReader and get my hands on that book within seconds. I can't wait to read a book I love and be able to get my hands on ALL of that author's backlist within seconds.

What do you think?

Opine in the comments.

Cherished Books Etc

I love starting a new year with good news! I found out my second series writing as Laurel McKee has been accepted, so happy early birthday to me. (My b-day is this Saturday, and I will probably spend most of it working on the Mary Queen of Scots WIP, which is moving slowly along. But if anyone wants to drop by and have a glass of champagne, I could be distracted!). The new series is Victorian-set, 1840s and '50s (a new time period for me!), centering around a scandalous family of actors, gamblers, and all-around rogues, scoundrels, and charmers (even the women!). I am very excited about it.

I also found a fun book on my weekly trip to the library, Bound to Last: 30 Writers on Their Most Cherished Book. I love the "writers talking about favorite books" genre, because I often find new books I never came across before (like in this one--one author mentioned Kandinsky's Concerning the Spiritual in Art). But mostly I love them because they give me such a sense of--well, of belonging. Of being part of the Tribe of Readers.

This is also the #1 most fun thing about writing--connecting with like-minded people and finding true friends. (Well, that and watching North & South over and over and calling it research work). When I was a child and a teenager, I was sometimes considered rather odd because I read so much and was so daydream-y all the time. I would just as soon read in the library (or on my closet floor or in the hammock) as do anything else, and most of my friends were either theater geeks or closet romance novel junkies like me. (We would sneak out to the parking lot to illicitly trade Johanna Lindsey and Virginia Henley paperbacks at lunch time). Teenage dating was a disappointing thing, due to the complete lack of dark, sardonic dukes at my high school (thanks so much, Barbara Cartland!). But there was no Internet yet, and I had never heard of RWA, so had no way of discovering the fact that My People were out there. Now I do, and I'm grateful for that every day.

I was trying to think of what my 'most cherished book' would be, but I just can't narrow it down. I remember the first book I read all by myself (Eloise in Paris), my first romance novel (Marion Chesney's At the Sign of the Golden Pineapple, picked up at a garage sale because I liked the cover girl's pink-striped dress. Little did I know I was about to fall into the Regency...). My first Austen (Emma), first Bronte sisters (Jane Eyre), the so-called "orphan porn" books I adored (Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, and anything that featured a boarding school), stuff like I Capture the Castle, Gone With the Wind, the Sunfire YA romance series--they all changed my life. Every book I read changes my life in some way.

If my house was on fire and I could only grab one book, what would it be? After much careful consideration, I think it would be Janet Arnold's Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd, because 1) it's an expensive book, hard to replace, and an invaluable research source, and 2) it was a a gift from a very dear friend who has since died. But I would mourn the loss of the other books, like that battered first paperback of Jane Eyre, a college copy of Middlemarch with all my underlinings and notes, an old book about Waterloo that was my grandfather's (who never read a book that wasn't about war or presidents!), Shakespeare's sonnets given to me by an old boyfriend, the list goes on and on and on.

What is your most cherished book?? Do you have a favorite memory of books?

I Survived....

One of my favorite TV shows is I Survived... on the Biography Channel. On this show a person sits against a black background and tells their story of survival. There's no reenactment, just flashes to photographs and videos of the locations where the story took place. It is surprisingly effective. Some people tell stories about surviving the elements, a snowstorm, the ocean, the jungle. Others tell stories of surviving abduction or assault by robbers or strangers. Too many stories are told by women who survived attempts to kill them by husbands or lovers.

This weekend I came across an "I Survived" story in a book I'm reading, London's Sinful Secret: The Bawdy History and Very Public Passions of London's Georgian Age by Dan Cruickshank. This book tells about the Georgian and Regency sex industry, the world of courtesans and prostitutes in which young and innocent girls were enticed or trapped by shrewd bawds.
In 1753, eighteen year old sevant Elizabeth Canning was abducted by two men and taken to a house where a gypsy woman tried to coerce her into prostitution. Elizabeth refused and was imprisoned in an attic room and given only bread and water to eat in an effort to wear down her resolve. The gypsy woman threatened to cut her throat if Elizabeth tried to escape. After 28 days, Elizabeth managed to remove a board from a window, to climb out and jump to the ground and to find her way back home. Her ordeal outraged the citizenry. The authorities made an effort to locate the house where she was imprisoned. Elizabeth identified the house and the gypsy woman who was arrested.

Here's where the story turns strange in a way that could only happen in this era. The gypsy woman vowed her innocence and soon the citizenry were taking sides. Who was guilty and who was innocent? The gypsy had an alibi and Elizabeth's story had inconsistencies. Ultimately, the gypsy was acquited and Elizabeth was convicted of perjury and was transported to New England.

But Elizabeth survived even this consequence. She eventually married a great-nephew of the governor of Connecticut and had five children.

This story was much more complex than I've described here, with Henry Fielding and others involved, but even if Elizabeth's story was not as she described (and never wavered from), she had survived something. Her condition when she escaped was "deplorable." Her hands and face were black, her ear was injured and bleeding. She was dressed only in a shift and petticoat.

I love survival stories. I love hearing about how people can endure the unendurable and make it through. We humans can be a tough lot, whether we live in Georgian England or in our modern, sometimes dangerous world.

This weekend, as the events of the Tucson shooting were unfolding and the fate of Congresswoman Giffords was uncertain, I thought of I Survived.... and the stories of so many people who had managed to survive shootings, stabbings, shark attacks, subzero temperatures, etc. Perhaps if they could survive, so would Giffords and the other injured victims. I pray so, and I pray for those who did not make it. My heart goes out to their families.

Do you like survival stories? Do you know of a good one?

Mythbusters

My family and I love this show. I think it’s great for kids as a demonstration of the scientific method in action. And the crew look they’re always having a great time, especially when blowing things up.

Some of my favorites include the duct tape episodes (they even built a boat out of it) and the one where they (sadly!) proved that Captain Kirk could not have built a bamboo cannon to defeat his Gorn Opponent in the “Arena” episode. Star Trek and black powder—what’s not to love?

Here's a period weaponry myth that I ran across in reading LIFE IN WELLINGTON’S ARMY by Antony Brett-James. I would love to see this one tested.

Biscuits appear to have arrived in one of three states: hard, jaw-breaking and alive with maggots, as Napier indicates forcibly enough, or crushed to crumbs and mouldered to dust, or sometimes good but old. One day in November 1813 each man in the 43rd Light Infantry secured a biscuit of American make: nearly an inch thick, they were so hard as to require the stamp of an iron heel or some such hammer to break them. These American biscuits were even thick enough to save a man’s life. During the march to La Petite Rhune a fortnight before Christmas 1813 the officers of that regiment ate some for breakfast at two o’clock in the morning, when Lieutenant Wyndham Madden remarked that their thickness would turn a bullet aside, at the same time stuffing one into the breast of his jacket. ‘Never was prediction more completely verified,’ wrote a brother subaltern, ‘for early in the day the biscuit was shattered to pieces, turning the direction of the bullet from as gallant and true a heart as ever beat under a British uniform.’

Mythbusters has boards on www.discovery.com where one can submit new myths. In the historical myths section, I found someone has posted something similar related to the American Civil War, so I added this Napoleonic bit to that thread. It would be fun to see this one tested!

Do any of you enjoy Mythbusters? Have any favorite episodes? Any myths, Regency related or otherwise, that you’d like to see them try to bust?

Elena

Suspension Of This Belief

As a writer (theoretically, at least), I think about my characters even when I am not actively engaged in continuing their stories.

With my new schedule (working four days a week at an office now, continuing other freelance projects), I am thinking WAY more than writing these days. Which is fine, only thinking doesn't do much for word count.

I think, and most of all worry, about my characters, who are alive in my head, at least. Are they okay? What will happen next to them? It's been a long time since they've eaten, are their tummies growling?

I am in the middle of at two books; in one, the hero and heroine are on the NYC subway following a fight with demons in a Chinatown restaurant. In the other, the heroine is grappling with her ex's debilitating illness, visiting him in the hospital in an unfamiliar city.

As one friend pointed out, that's a long time to be in a hospital. It's been at least six months since I've done anything but think about those characters.

I picture my characters frozen in their time, rather like the fighters in Asian films who get frozen in mid-air while fighting. (Side-note: For some super heroic action and adventure, often with romance, go delve into wuxia films, which feature the heroic adventures of martial artists).

I need to rescue them, though, bring them back down to the ground, or out of the subway or the hospital. As I become more accustomed to my schedule, I am going to look to Carolyn for inspiration, who is also a working mom who writes whenever she can find time, and produces actual books each year, not just leaving her poor characters to be suspended in neglect.

That's one of my goals this year, to integrate writing into working. Meanwhile, think happy thoughts for my characters, who really deserve some love after all this time spent alone. I hope next week to be able to report--proudly--that I have gotten some writing done.

Meanwhile, Happy New Year! And good luck to everyone else out there with New Year's Resolutions.

Megan

Happy New Year

Happy new year, everyone and big congrats to Carolyn on her release this week!

This was quite a week for me as I finished both my second Jane as a vamp book (no title yet) and revisions for my Harlequin Spice contemporary, Tell Me More (August 2011). I found Jane 2 an incredibly difficult book to write and it weighed me down like a millstone around my neck that I couldn't move forward on it--I had one major false start so I got off to a late start. I have been absolutely euphoric ever since Sunday night, when I sent it in, and pretty happy about the revisions that I sent in Tuesday.

So having spent the last few months in a state of whiny self pity squeezing out Jane 2 and Mr. Bishop and the Actress (Little Black Dress, next month!) and not allowing myself to do things because I had to write (I wasn't very productive but I spent a lot of energy agonizing), I really feel this new year is a fresh start.

I don't make resolutions, but this is what I hope to do in 2011:

• Go to things--the Smithsonian is on my doorstep (more or less)
• Hang out with friends
• Write at a reasonable pace
• Go to the library
• Update my website and try and develop a more cheerful, giggly and milk-chocolatey online persona
• Give back--judge a few contests. Also if you're considering entering WRW's Marlene contest and win the historical, you'll get a critique from me!
• Come up with brilliant ideas for next books and make huge amounts of $
• Exercise, watch what I eat, clean the house, get the ivy up in the front yard and do something about the back blah blah blah
• Paint stairwell I put undercoat on at least ten years ago and make my house a lurrrve nest

Sounds all fairly doable, right? But right now I'm going to take a nap. Happy new year, dear Risky friends. What are you up to today?

Regency Demons?

My Immortal Assassin

Book 3 of my My Immortals paranormal series is out! Quick, go buy it from one of the links on my website! (Because you can pick your favorite bookseller. I don't do any affiliate link stuff because it's one more thing to fail to keep track of.)

Believe it or not, I have a Regency link to this book which is that I modeled my hero on a Regency Romance hero, kind of like Mr. Darcy. He's all about decorum and awesome clothes, and the heroine is all -- not that stuff. So, it's a little like Mr. Darcy meets Buffy, if Mr. Darcy was a demon and didn't know about Elizabeth yet.

Revenge. It's all Grayson Spencer wants. Christophe dit Menart, a human with dark magical powers, destroyed the life she loved. She wants the pleasure of killing him, no matter the cost to her. If not for Durian, a dangerously sexy demon fiend charged with keeping Christophe alive, she would have succeeded, too. Now, she's certain all hope is gone. But he has a plan and an offer she can't resist...

Durian has spent his life as a trained and sanctioned assassin. His duty: to enforce the laws against demons harming humans. He's always prided himself on staying out of the fray, carrying out his orders and honoring his fealty to his warlord, but never getting attached. Never until Grayson, a spunky and determined woman clearly gifted with magic herself. He convinces her to swear fealty to him so he can protect her and teach her to use her magic to taste the revenge she so desperately wants.

They're soon bound together in a forbidden desire--a dangerous passion that calls into question Durian's oath of loyalty to his warlord. When he refuses to return her to Christophe, his disobedience threatens to inflame the tumultuous war between demons and the magekind. Can they--and their love--survive?

Read Chapter 1.

Reviews

Romantic Times 4 1/2 stars
The lines in the war between Magekind and Fiends continue to blur in the next installment of Jewel's exhilarating My Immortal series. The protagonists in this drama have both suffered terribly, giving them a common ground and enemy. Jewel provides her fans with a terrific tale that has action aplenty and drama to spare. Great stuff!
Jill M. Smith

Alternative Worlds
Fast-paced from the moment Gray and Durian meet on the streets of San Francisco
Read Full Review

Publisher's Weekly
Jewel's third paranormal (after 2009's My Forbidden Desire) is an exciting return to a world of demons and mages.

BookPage - Romance of the Month - Top Pick!
Dark, edgy and laced with thrilling desire, My Immortal Assassin will set readers' hearts racing.
Christie Ridgway

Book Reading Gals
Carolyn Jewel is a master storyteller. The world that she has created is in this reviewers humble opinion one of the best in the paranormal and romance genre. The conflict between the fiends and the mages is a perfect combination. The hero and heroine are a perfect complement to each other.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. Thanks for sharing the excitement with me!

New Week New Year!

I love this time of year! The holidays are behind us, and a new year always seems to promise a fresh start and a new way of looking at things (my birthday is also only a couple of weeks away, definitely a time for reassessing). I liked reading everyone's resolutions yesterday. My own are pretty much the same--I'm finally (finally!) within about 3 pounds of my Ultimate Weight/Dress Size Goal and now I'm determined to stay healthy. More yoga classes, more bike riding, more getting off my backside and going outside, finding more energy to write more books. And eating more salad! While I'm dreaming, I'd also like to travel more and spend more time with friends. And maybe start a tango class.

But my short term goal this week is just to get started on the new book. I finally finished revisions on old projects and am at a slow promo month (no book out until March!), so it's time to dive into a whole new project. I love it when they're all new and bright and shiny, no sagging middles yet, no rushed endings, no characters running out of my control, just brand new notebooks and possibilities.

This book is a sequel to my Elizabethan-set The Winter Queen, and is set at the Court of Mary Queen of Scots in the early 1560s. I'm excited to be re-visiting these characters in my first Scottish setting, and I'm even more excited about all the fun research! Next to my desk right now I have Anka Muhlstein's Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart: The Perils of Marriage, Antonia Fraser's classic Mary Queen of Scots, Jane Dunn's Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens, John Guy's Mary Queen of Scots, and (thanks to Michelle Willingham, who kindly brought it back to me from her Scottish trip last summer!) the Official Guide to Holyroodhouse. Guidebooks and postcards are invaluable for envisioning a setting. I've also been putting together my character collages and soundtracks and all the things that allow me to procrastinate on starting a book. :)

This is my setting:





And my hero and heroine!


And some musical inspiration:



And that's what I'm doing this week! What are you up to? What are you writing or reading this week?