This week, I started work on a new book (up to page 22 now!). It’s the third of what I call my “Renaissance Trilogy,” which started with A Notorious Woman and continues with A Sinful Alliance in April (the story of Nicolai Ostrovsky). This 3rd, unnamed book, is Balthazar Grattiano’s story, and takes place mostly in the Caribbean in the 1530s. I’m hoping that imagining warm islands and sandy beaches will help me through the cold, gray winter days!

This first part of a book, the first step, Chapter One, is very exciting. All those blank pages–anything can happen! It’s also very, very scary. All those blank pages–disaster can happen. Like the first day of a long-planned, much-anticipated vacation. For this book, hopefully I’m fortified by lots of research (including the trip to visit Diane in Virginia last summer!), and by the feeling that I know the characters very well. They’ll usually show me where they want to go.

Every writer starts a story in a different way, I’m sure, but mine always seem to start with a character. Sometimes the hero, sometimes the heroine. Then I have to find them a story, a frame, and their right match. These 3 stories happened to start with heroes (2 of them heroes I never intended to write a story for, until they insisted!). But their heroines came to me vividly soon after. In Notorious Woman, there’s Marc the ship’s captain and Julietta the perfumer, both with secrets to hide; in A Sinful Alliance, Nicolai the actor and spy, and Marguerite–well, she’s a spy, too. She tries to kill him in a Venetian brothel, and then they meet again a year later at the court of Henry VIII! Balthazar, the pseudo-villain of ANW, is now seeking to redeem himself in the New World, until he meets tavern owner Bianca, a woman he may have wronged in his misspent youth…

As you can tell, I really like characters with Secrets, with a dark side they must overcome through the power of love and self-realization. I often like characters who are “outsiders” in some way, who march to their own beat despite what society might expect. Characters who are–risky, I guess. Sometimes they’re harder to get to know, but they always take me to such interesting places. Both as a writer and a reader. (BTW, Elizabeth Mahon, a frequent RR visitor, has a great blog about such real-life historical “characters” at Scandalous Women)

This particular journey, with these characters, is just starting. Wish me luck.

Who are some of your favorite characters???

Don’t forget to join us tomorrow, as Diane launches Vanishing Viscountess (and gives away a copy)! Keep up with all our characters, risky or otherwise, by signing up for our newsletter at riskies@yahoo.com…

What I’ve been doing this week:

1) Working on the new book. Up to page 56 now! And watching Caribbean vacation shows on the Travel Channel and calling it research. Never mind that the story is set in the 1530s, and it’s doubtful there were any all-inclusive resorts with cabanas and unlimited mango margaritas, it’s the atmosphere I’m after.

2) Deciding what books to order to celebrate my birthday, which is on Tuesday! Mango margaritas all around!

3) Mourning the loss of the Golden Globe awards. No gowns! No jewels! No hilarious tipsy acceptance speeches! January will be blah indeed.

4) Watching the DVDs of the BBC series Robin Hood, which I got from Netflix. My North and South DVD needed a rest, so I thought I would give this one a try. So far–interesting. More thoughts later. In the meantime, my friends are sick of me constantly yelling “Mr. Thornton! You are being such a meanie! And wash your hair!” at the TV screen.

And, in case you thought my week was totally wasted, I found out January 12 is the anniversary of the founding of the Royal Astronomical Society.

The RAS’s website states that it “…encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar system science, geophysics, and closely related branches of science.” Anyone over 18 who proves acceptable to the Society can apply for a fellowship even today. It all began at a dinner at the Freemason’s Tavern on January 12, 1820, when it was just the Astronomical Society (it received a charter from William IV in 1831). It was formed by mostly “gentlemen astronomers” to support and further their research.

The minutes of this meeting record: “On this day several gentlemen…met together by appointment at the Freemason’s Tavern, Great Queen Street, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, to take into consideration the propriety and expediency of establishing a Society for the management and promotion of astronomy.” 14 attended this meeting. The Duke of Somerset was elected president, but resigned a week later. His friend Sir Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society, thought a new Astronomical Society might drain resources from the RS. William Herschel then became president, with Francis Baily secretary and Daniel Moore chairman.

The second meeting on February 8, at the Geological Society rooms in Bedford Street, Covent Garden, boasted 83 members. The Monthly Notices began publication in 1827 (prior to this reports of their meetings were found in the Philosophical Magazine). It wasn’t until 1915 that a Supplemental Charter admitted women to the Society.

So, if we can’t see stars on the red carpet, at least we can still see them in the sky! What have you been up to this week?

So, in the news this week–the Oscar nominations! The nods for Best Costume Design are:

Atonement

La Vie en Rose

Across the Universe

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Sweeney Todd
The only one that really surprised me was Across the Universe. I might have guessed Becoming Jane or maybe Pirates of the Caribbean 3. My personal pick might be Elizabeth, but my crystal ball says Sweeney Todd. As for the other noms–too close to call. 🙂

In entertainment news in 1790, there was the premier of Mozart’s Cos fan tutte.

According to Henry W. Simon’s book Festival of Opera, CFT “has been sung under more names than any other opera in history.” For example, the Metropolitan has called it Women Are Like That (the translation I’ve heard the most often). In England, it was once called Tit for Tat. In Denmark, Flight From the Convent, in France The Chinese Laborer (funny–I don’t recall convents or Chinese laborers in the story at all!). And in Germany, lots of different things, such as The Girls’ Revenge and The Guerillas.

Under whatever name, it had its premier at Vienna’s Burgtheater January 26, 1790, with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte and music by Mozart (the two had also collaborated on Le nozze di Figaro, my personal favorite Mozart opera, and on Don Giovanni.) The source of the story is not known, though there is a (probably apocryphal) tale that it was suggested by Emperor Joseph II based on a high society scandal of the day. Whatever the inspiration, the Emperor did commission the work, requesting a comedy. Mozart was paid 450 guldens for it, and it was nearly his last opera (only La clemenza di Tito and Magic Flute, both 1791, are later).

During the 19th century, the plot was considered rather risque and the opera was rarely performed. It’s an ostensibly lighthearted look at the twists and turns of romantic love. It begins in a Naples cafe, where two young men, Ferrando and Guglielmo, argue with Don Alfonso that their fiancees, the sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi, would never betray them. Aided by Despina, the sisters’ saucy maid, the men hatch an elaborate plot to test the womens’ loyalty. They disguise themselves as Turkish soldiers and woo each other’s girlfriends, eventually winning over the at-first reluctant sisters. In the end, the disguises are revealed, and all is forgiven–though just how happy such marriages can be is anyone’s guess.

At the premier, Adriana Ferrarese and Luisa Villeneuve played the sisters; Francesco Bennuci and Vincenzo Calvesi their lovers; Dorotea Bussani was Despina; and Francesco Bussani Don Alfonso.

So, we have News in Entertainment 2008 and 1790! Which movie do you call for Best Costumes (or any other nominee)? Do you have a favorite opera? And Happy Saturday! (I always do love Saturday…)

I don’t watch many reality TV shows. I’ve never gotten sucked into Survivor or American Idol or The Bachelor, but when I do find one I like I tend to get a wee bit obsessed. And the two I love are Dancing With the Stars (sadly not on right now!) and Project Runway. Last week’s episode was wondrously fabulous! It involved making prom dresses for picky 17 year olds! Woo hoo!

I didn’t agree with the winner or the loser of that challenge, but that was beside the point (though I have to say, honestly Christian, what were you thinking??). The point was designing a beautiful dress that was also age-appropriate, and also pleasing and flattering to the client (even if the client was a bit of a looney). It made me think of my own prom dress, and the terrible angst involved in shopping for it, and finding the right shoes and jewelry and hairdo. And the great joy of talking it over with all my friends every day for a month before the Big Night! (The talking and shopping were actually more fun than the actual prom itself, but that’s another story…)

It made me wonder what was out there for today’s Prom Girl, so I did a Google search for ‘prom dresses.’ Here are a few I found, along with various historical figures who might have worn them.

Catherine the Great

Emma Hamilton

Isabella of Spain

Marie Antoinette

Caroline Lamb

Elizabeth I

This one I’m not sure about–who do you think would wear it?

What was your prom like? Did you get your dream dress/date? What would you wear if you were going to prom now???

1) Tell us about Her Warrior King!

Her Warrior King was technically the first book in the MacEgan Brothers series. When I first wrote it, the book had some serious flaws and didn’t sell. I put it aside and wrote Her Irish Warrior which did sell. I had also written The Warrior’s Touch in the meantime, and with both of those books coming out, I wanted to resurrect Her Warrior King.

I polished the first three chapters, dumped the rest of the book, and started over. It was truly a hard book to write because I had to let go of my previous version and start fresh.

The hero, Patrick MacEgan, is a king struggling to rebuild his Irish tribe after they were defeated by Normans. The price of their lives was an alliance with a Norman bride. Patrick agrees to wed Isabel de Godred, but he refuses to let his bride play any part in their lives. But what he doesn’t count on is Isabel’s idealism and desire to be a true wife. She’s stubborn, spunky, and is not about to let her Irish husband isolate her upon an island. She does everything she can to help their tribe, trying desperately to fit in. But the tribe won’t have anything to do with her. Patrick begins to sympathize with her efforts, and slowly Isabel conquers his heart. Then Patrick is faced with having to choose between his people and the wife he has come to love.

I loved these characters, and Isabel kept surprising me with things she did to make her place among the tribe.

I think the most startling scene, for me, was when she couldn’t find a boat to escape the island and she swam across the channel!

2) How does this fit with your previous releases?

It’s being released as a prequel, and it’s technically book 1 in the series. I would have liked to have the books come out in chronological order, but the original version had too many flaws to be published first. It’s not necessary to read the books in any particular order, but I’m glad that all three stories will be told. For readers who wanted to hear about the story of Patrick and Isabel, they finally can learn what happened.

3) Did you come across anything interesting in your research for Her Warrior King?

At first, I had made Patrick’s rank a chieftain, but after consulting with an Irish archaeologist, he pointed out that Patrick commanded too many people to be a chief or chieftain. Instead, he recommended that I make him into a petty king. I was startled to learn how many kings there were in Ireland–hundreds at one point!

Most readers’ impression of a king is one person governing a country, but in Ireland, they would elect a High King from all of the provincial kings. Being king wasn’t necessarily a birthright, either, although often the previous king’s sons were the strongest candidates.

Patrick is a fictional provincial king from an imaginary kingdom not far from Waterford. This was where the Norman invasion took place in real life.

4) Your settings are so well-drawn! What is it about medieval Ireland that makes you want to set your books there?

Anyone who has ever visited Ireland knows that the country has a mystical sense of folklore and romance. When I visited some of the ancient ruins, I could imagine sexy Irish warriors riding through the grounds.

Scottish heroes are always popular, and I wanted to put my own spin on Celtic heroes. Medieval Ireland seemed to be an untapped wellspring, and then I had a great excuse to return to the country last year, to continue the research.

5) I know you have three kids AND a teaching job! I think I speak for all writers when I ask–what are your time management secrets???

Early bedtimes! My children aren’t aware that other kids don’t go to bed at 7:00 p.m. Shh! Don’t tell them! I use the night hours to write, but that’s been more challenging lately with the birth of my son this November. But I do try to write, edit, or revise every day to keep my head in the story. I love what I do, and it’s not truly “work” to me.

6) What’s next for you?

I am finishing a book that’s set in 1101 AD, tentatively titled SLAVE TO HER DESIRES. It’s about a slave who comes to love the woman betrothed to his master. Kieran is a woodworker, and there is a connection to the MacEgans…but readers will have to wait and find out what that is!

Thanks so much, Michelle, for visiting with us again (while your kids are asleep, LOL).

For a chance to win a signed copy of Her Warrior King, comment on this post and watch for tomorrow’s announcement of the winner.

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