The winner of A Talent for Sin is…….
Virginia!!
The Winner of Tessa Dare’s free download of The Legend of the Werestag and a signed coverflat of Goddess of the Hunt is……
Keira!!
We’ll be emailing you with instructions!!
The Riskies
The winner of A Talent for Sin is…….
Virginia!!
The Winner of Tessa Dare’s free download of The Legend of the Werestag and a signed coverflat of Goddess of the Hunt is……
Keira!!
We’ll be emailing you with instructions!!
The Riskies
The unofficial beginning of summer, weekend of swimming pool openings, the Indianapolis 500, spectacular sales at the mall, picnics, clogged highways, and excursions to the beach.
Lest we forget, Memorial Day began as Decoration Day, a day to honor the Civil War dead by decorating their graves with flowers. Although there were early accounts of memorial activities around the country, the “official” birth of Decoration Day stems from an idea by Henry C. Welles, a small town druggist in New York state, to decorate the graves of the Civil War dead. A year later, with the help of General John B. Murray, a civil war hero, the idea got off the ground and on May 5, 1966, the town not only decorated the graves, but the whole town and held a solemn march to the cemeteries.
In 1868, the commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic proclaimed May 30 to be a day for “decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land.”
By 1882, the day became more widely known as Memorial Day. In 1966 that New York town was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day. In 1971 its date was changed from May 30 to the last Monday of May.
The name of that New York town where Memorial Day originated and the reason why this is relevant to Risky Regencies??
Waterloo, NY
I’ve been steeped in research into the battle of Waterloo and so am more acutely aware than usual of the sacrifices of soldiers. Then and now.
My father was a soldier. He luckily was not required to engage in battle as much as other soldiers in WWII, but he did devote his life to being an Army Officer. So this is a thank you to him, to the soldiers of Waterloo, to those in the Civil War, and to those fighting and dying today.
Do you know a soldier, past or present? Tell us about him or her.
Next week, I’ll bring news from Book Expo America, where Amanda, Deb, and I will be signing The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor! See my Media page for the time and place.
I am so delighted to introduce my very good friend, Lavinia Kent. I met Lavinia years ago when she came to one of her first Washington Romance Writer meetings. We ate lunch together and, as sometimes happens, I knew instantly that I’d made a new friend. Lavinia, Mary Blayney (Strangers Kiss, Sept 2009), Julie Halperson, and I were all writing Regencies and we had regular lunches together and yearly all day talk-fests at Mary’s house. Still do!
Diane
But this is an exciting debut for more than one reason! Read what others have said of A Talent for Sin. 
I was captivated by every page of A Talent For Sin by Lavinia Kent, a masterfully written book that brims with style and vitality—it is a sexy and emotional experience that will sweep you off your feet!”– Lisa Kleypas, New York Times Bestselling Author
“a refreshing romantic dynamic.”– Publisher’s Weekly
“4 1/2 Stars”– The Romantic Times
1. This is your debut novel, Lavinia! Tell us about your book.
I started writing this book because I wanted to do something different. As I’ve gotten a little older myself I’ve had a greater desire for more experienced heroines. One of the greatest things about being a writer is that when you long for a character you can create one.
Violet, Lady Carrington has actually existed since my first (unpublished) regency manuscript. I was shocked when I realized how much of her character I’d already laid out – three dead husbands before she was twenty-one, wealthy widow, likes younger men, very independent.
I took the basic idea of her and combined it with the desire to try to write a book that started with a sex scene – a relevant one. The first scene in the book – the excerpt on my website – is all about my hero showing he would do anything for Violet. All he wants is to make her happy.
2. We love to hear about a new author’s journey to publication. Tell us about yours and include your “The Call” story! Did being a four-time Golden Heart finalist help?
I’d actually gotten The Call after my first Golden Heart final and had turned the offer down on my agent’s advice. I don’t know if I would do the same thing again. I love where I’ve ended up, but it was an awfully nerve-wracking couple of years in between.
When I got The Call this time the biggest thing I felt was relief. I’d spent over two years wondering if I’d made a huge mistake. I actually got called by another publisher before Avon and was about to accept then when Avon called. It felt like a real dream come true moment. I think I danced for a week.
3. What was risky about your book?
I think the heroine was the riskiest thing about my book. I know that the romance world has changed, but writing about an unapologetic experienced woman who doesn’t have any wish to marry again still felt like it was pushing some boundaries.
There is also a risky scene where the heroine is being forced to sleep with another man. I wasn’t sure until I finished writing the scene what would happen. All I knew for sure was that the hero would love her anyway.
3. I read A Talent for Sin’s tantalizing excerpt and can guess about how you researched that! But tell us something about your other research for the book.
It sounds strange, but what I ended up researching the most was whether I could move the book forward a year in time. I’d written this book to follow an earlier book that had to happen over a certain period of dates. When this became the book that sold and it was separated from the first book all that changed.
One of my following books begins with George IV’s coronation and I needed the right amount of time between the books. I had to go through everything in this book to remove any reference that would have made changing the date impossible.
5. What is it about the Regency era that draws you to it?
I must confess that I’d actually intended to write Medievals. I was drawn to the idea of physical strength and political power being tied closely together. When I actually started to write, many of my friends were writing Regencies and I got sucked in. It is such a wonderful period it would be impossible not to be drawn to it.
6. What’s next for you?
I have another Regency, Bound by Temptation, coming out in February 2010. It’s the story of Violet’s brother. He was never intended to be a hero – in fact was more of a villain, but something about him just captured my interest. I loved being able to explain his side of the story.
I am also working on a proposal for the youngest sister’s story (the one that caused the timeline change). She’s still young, but has been through some really rough patches. If things work out she’ll end up with my favorite hero of them all.
I also have a second proposal in the works – but that one will just have to be a surprise.
I cannot wait for A Talent for Sin. You have a chance to win a copy, just by commenting here. So ask Lavinia some questions!
Regency heroes and heroines worry so much about what people will say if they do certain things: Get married, not get married, drive in a carriage alone with a person of the opposite sex, wear an inappropriate garment.
It must’ve been horribly claustrophobic. And yet–I realized the other day that I, too, am living in a fishbowl, and I have to watch what I do and say (although I am continuing to dampen my chemise, thanks very much!). See, I live in a semi-attached house, which means that there are houses rightnext to me on either side. Our neighbors are both lovely couples, thank goodness, and they have kids younger than my son, which means he gets to be all authoritatively older, and he likes that.
But I am on Twitter, as are the two husbands on either side of me. And we follow each other, which is kinda fun. But if I Twitter something–ahem–inappropriate, they know. Like when I talk about things that annoy me about romance novels, like size issues and such. Like that.
Or something that might be construed as too personal: One day, a few weeks ago, I wrote a Tweet that said, “One should not begin a huge fight at 11:45 in the evening.” Being wryly acerbic, as is my wont. The next day, the wife of one of the guys said she’d heard about it, not in a gossipy kind of way, but just in an ‘I’ve been there, too’ way. But it was weird (we fight very quietly, however, so she didn’t know what it was about).
So–what fun facts do you know about your neighbors? Have you ever been surprised by what they know about you? What are you hiding from them? Do you like or dislike social networks because of the scrutiny?
Megan
PS: yes, I have talked about the internet being like the ton before, clearly I am obsessed.
One of the things I love about England is that you don’t get poison ivy. Poison ivy, ugh. I have a backyard full of it (plus other assorted vines for variety) and I’ve just spent a fun hour drinking coffee with a landscape architect and talking about gardening and writing.
Did you know Jefferson planted poison ivy for decorative purposes at Monticello? Of course, Jefferson himself didn’t actually plant it–he owned people to do that sort of thing for him. And the only saving grace of poison ivy is that it’s gorgeous in the fall. The rest of the time, ugh again. The only organic way of removing it is to get goats in to eat it.
England (and Europe and the Himalayas) does have one native plant with uncomfortable side effects, and that’s the stinging nettle. It may be native to certain parts of the US too; as ever, it’s a case of conflicting information. US nurseries often sell them in the herb sections. And the sting of a nettle is nothing compared to what poison ivy can do, unless you have an extreme allergic reaction or have the misfortune to fall naked into a patch of them (no I haven’t, but feel free to use in a book). Unlike poison ivy, nettles will sting you right away and you’ll know about it.
Here’s a close up of the business end of a stinging nettle–it’s those little hairs that do the damage.
But it’s a truly wonderful plant. Steamed or boiled, the nettle loses its sting and is edible, medicinal, and can be used to make fabric and rope. Regency country-dwellers and stillroom managers would certainly have known of the virtues of a plant that has been around for centuries, and almost always connected with human habitation. Here’s a quote from British naturalist and writer Richard Mabey:
The wooded sites of Romano-British villages on the Grovely Ridge near Salisbury are still dense with nettles subsisting on the remains of an occupation that ended 1,600 years ago.
Nettles can be used to make tea and beer, boiled like other greenstuffs, and are high in vitamin C. See A Modern Herbal for the many uses of the plant, including these couple of interesting functions.
Although in Britain upwards of thirty insects feed solely on the Nettle plant, flies have a distaste for the plant, and a fresh bunch of Stinging Nettles will keep a larder free from them.
If planted in the neighbourhood of beehives, it is said the Nettle will drive away frogs.
Nettles were also made to make cloth until early in the 20th century, and certainly in the Regency. Because the fibers are hollow, the fabric breathes, keeping you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Most nettle fabric is produced now in the Himalayas, and may well make a comeback now hemp and bamboo have become popular for clothing.
You can buy gorgeous nettle shawls at the Bamboo Fabric Store and the fabric in this section.
So my question of the day is do you own any nettle clothing or have you drunk nettle tea? Or eaten any foodstuffs that grow wild–young, tender dandelion leaves in salads, for instance? Or, share your poison ivy or stinging nettle experiences with us!