Happy Tuesday morning, everyone! I hope it’s nice and cool where you are–it’s another 100+ scorcher here (I am sooooo ready for autumn), perfect for staying in the AC and getting some work done. Like Diane, I’m still recovering from RWA and missing all my friends and the fun we had. It’s not always easy to settle down to working on the WIP and getting used to my quiet house. (Though I did have fun hitting the school supply sale at Target this weekend! I bought new pens and pretty, shiny new Disney Princess notebooks, perfect for this new book…)

I had a ridiculous amount of fun on my one day at Disney World, which really was a “magical day”! (Big thanks to Michelle Willingham for introducing us to the “Unofficial Guide” plan, which means never waiting in long lines and getting to see everything in a reasonable amount of time!). I loved the rides, seeing the adorable children in their costumes (especially the tiny pirate twins sword-fighting on the sidewalk), and eating lunch at Cinderella’s Castle. I must, must, must get back there for a real vacation ASAP! One thing I was especially struck by was the storytelling of many of the rides (and also how clean and tidy everything was). The details of rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, and Snow White’s Scary Adventure were amazing, and a good lesson in building worlds and adding depths and layers to our own stories.

One of the best rides for this was the Haunted Mansion. I’m glad I did a little reading about it before we left, because it’s so easy to get caught up in the moment and miss lots of fun, clever little details! I think the Mansion at Disney in France actually does feature a narrative through the whole ride (a tale of a bride and a Phantom), but the Orlando attraction is more of a vignette-style, but a good example of storytelling for all that. Here is a little of what I observed from my “Doom Buggy”:

The Haunted Mansion opened in 1971, and underwent a large refurbishment in 2007. It can be found in Liberty Square, a portrayal of colonial America, and the exterior is built in a “Dutch Gothic Revival” style reminiscent of millionaire’s mansions in the Hudson River Valley (according to the Disney World site…). On the walk in you go by a hearse and a little graveyard, which includes a tombstone for Madame Leota which is supposed to open its eyes and blink at you (though I didn’t catch that feature!). Once inside the crowds are pressed into an octagonal room hung with portraits and the wall behind you slides closed (the scariest part of the whole ride, IMO!). A ghostly voice intones “Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion!” and goes on to say “Is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it your imagination, hmmm?” The walls do stretch upwards, revealing humorously macabre scenes in the portraits–then the lights go out, lightning flashes, and there’s a glimpse of a hanged silhouette on the wall. I think I did shriek a little at that point…

They say if you hang back a little in the stretching room you can hear the gargoyles on the walls whisper and a voice telling you “Get out!”–but the staff doesn’t want you to linger. They hustle you along a dark hallway with portraits that turn from people into ghouls as you watch and into your two-person “Doom Buggy”. (I now like to imagine what riders would see of my WIP if they rode a doom buggy through the pages…)

There are rooms of Escher-like stairways floating in mid-air, floating candelabras, talking portraits, a library with moving ladders and flying books and a stormy forest beyond the windows (while “Grim Grinning Ghosts” plays throughout in the background). The Buggies spin backwards to reveal new scenes, like a conservatory full of dead flowers and a coffin with someone trying to get out (while nails hang out of the coffin’s roof!), with a raven looking on. A corridor is full of ghosts trying to escape, knocking, swirling around, breathing doors, and a demonic clock that chimes 13 as the hands spin backward and a claw’s shadow passes over it.

Then there is my favorite part–the ballroom! Diners sit around a table consuming a phantom feast, while a ghost plays the organ and ghostly couples spin around and around (and latecomers arrive in an open coffin on a hearse). I loved the portraits of the two dueling men, which shoot at each other across the wall. Then comes the attic, full of dusty items and portraits of a murderous bride with her various husbands (each husband morphs into being headless as a voice intones “Until death do we part!”). The buggies go out a window and into a cemetery where so much is happening it’s impossible to keep track–I glimpsed a king and queen on a teeter-totter, children on swings, a tea party, a dog, an arm coming out of the crypt holding a wineglass, spirits on bikes.

As you exit, a tiny girl ghost above the door whispers “Hurry back! be sure to bring your death certificate if you decide to join us. Make final arrangements now. We’ve been dying to have you…” Very creepy. And then an uninvited guest joins you in the buggy to follow you home….

I loved this ride! If only I could have gone on it at least a couple more times to catch some of the details I missed. (I found out after I got home there is a whole fan site for this ride, Doom Buggies, with lots of great info!)

Have you been to Disney World? What is your favorite ride there, and what little details have you noticed? Where have you found some unexpected inspiration???

(Note from Amanda: One of the not-so-fun aspects of deadlines is not having enough time to read! I have a TBR mountain growing in my living room. But after RWA I felt the need to read a romance, so I ran to the bookstore and treated myself to a pile of even more new books. One of them was Judith James’s Libertine’s Kiss, which I had read such good things about and which has a Restoration setting–I love the Restoration! I brought it home and devoured it in one weekend. It’s one of those absolutely gorgeous books I want to run around yelling about to all my reader friends. Then I ran to the computer and emailed Judith begging her to visit the blog, and she kindly agreed to do an interview today, despite currently residing in Deadline Hell. Comment for a chance to win a signed copy, and for more information you can check out Judith’s website here…)

“Heartrendingly beautiful…there is really nothing out there quite like this.” –All About Romance, DIK Review

Amanda: Welcome to the blog, Judith! I am so excited you were able to be here today. Tell us about Libertine’s Kiss…

Judith: Thanks so much for inviting me here today, Amanda! Libertine’s Kiss tells the story of two childhood sweethearts, William de Veres and Elizabeth Walters. William, the handsome son of a hard-drinking cavalier and a stern Puritan mother, was abandoned at an early age to a brutal school system and a predatory tutor. He soon discovers the escapes of poetry, literature, sex and alcohol, and the defenses of a sharp sword and a lacerating wit. By the time he graduates he is thoroughly debauched. As a titanic struggle erupts between Parliament and King, William takes up arms in the Royalist cause and pursued by Cromwell’s men, finds himself seeking shelter from a sober young Puritan woman in a cottage deep in the woods.

The Civil War has cost the once high-spirited Elizabeth Walters her best friend and her father, leaving her unprotected and alone. She flees and unwanted marriage, seeking safe haven, but what she finds there is something she never imagined. Despite William’s gratitude and promise to aid her, Elizabeth never expects to see him again, but the Restoration of Charless II to his throne will bring her to the attention of both William and the King. Can a debauched Court poet and notorious libertine convince the wary Elizabeth he is capable of love, and can a promise long forgotten and a friendship forged in the past help two lonely people find themselves and each other? These are the questions asked by Libertine’s Kiss.

Amanda: What was the inspiration for this story?

Judith: While researching my previous book, Highland Rebel, which takes place 2 years after the death of Charles Stuart, I came across the poetry of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, as well as a first edition (1680) of bishop and historian Gilbert Burnett’s account of Rochester’s conversations with him while on his deathbed, which Burnett attended. I started researching the Restoration for a possible story based on that character and I fell madly in love with the time period, which I’ve always been interested in since I read Antonia Stuart’s biography of Charles II several years ago. The neglect of the Restoration puzzles me as there was so much going on with politics, religion, philosophy, and thought. The Restoration Court was filled with a host of colorful characters and was one of the most bawdy, hedonistic and lively courts in history. In terms of literature and science it rivaled the Elizabethan period. Women had more freedom during this period than they would for many years to come and there is so much room to develop characters and so much interesting material. John Wilmot exemplifies the times. Tall, dark, and handsome, a renowned rake, Court poet and wit, he wrote fearless and ferocious satirical verse that was profane, sometimes pornographic, and often very funny. Unfortunately, his lifelong promiscuity and early death make him unsuitable for any kind of happy ending, but his character and the things that shone about him made me ask–what if? That question led to Libertine’s Kiss and the Earl of Rochester was the inspiration for William and speaks through him with his poetry.

Amanda: The setting is so vivid and beautifully drawn, I was totally drawn into the Restoration world! Did you come across any good research sources for this book?

Judith: Thank you! I have a bookshelf full of Restoration sources. The diaries of John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys, and the memoirs of the Compte de Grammont are colorful, entertaining, and full of interesting eye witness accounts. Grammont is very witty, Sam is often unintentionally funny, and Evelyn is fairly serious, but his account of being attacked by highwaymen, Sam’s breathless description of the fire of London and how they escaped, and Grammont’s delightful anecdotes about the courtiers (he knew everyone) give a fascinating firsthand look at the life and times. For a more general view, I found Restoration London by Liza Picard very helpful, as well as Social Life in England from the Restoration to the Revolution by William Sidney and Daily Life in Stuart England by Jeffrey Forgeng. Of course I also read most of Wilmot’s poetry and some biographies of him, Charles II, and Oliver Cromwell.

Amanda: We always have to ask here–what is “risky” about this book??

Judith: Ah! Of course you do. 🙂 I think I did take a few risks with this book, although I wasn’t thinking of that at the time! So far they seem to have been fairly well-received. An obvious one was making the hero a poet and actually using Rochester’s and other 17th century poetry as part of the story. At times it even serves as dialogue or commentary. The story is also bookended by Spenser’s 16th century Faerie Queen. I really felt I was off the beaten track a few times with that and it made me anxious when I thought about it. My poor editor! To say Rochester’s poetry is satirical is putting it mildly. It is profane, angry, bitingly funny, and achingly jaded, and at times pornographic, every bit as complicated as the man himself.

Another was making the character as true as possible to a 17th century libertine, while still writing a love story. I would like to make a note here! I do peek on the boards now and then when I should be writing, and I see some reviewers making comments about certain behaviors on William’s part that might be off-putting to some romance readers. They are being careful not to reveal plot points, but some who read them have inferred that means William was abusive to Elizabeth. I even saw mention of forced seduction, etc. These are things no hero of mine has ever done or ever will do. William is never deliberately cruel to Elizabeth, they are childhood friends who love and respect each other, but he is true to his nature and honest with her about that.

The last risk was mixing in a fairytale element that carried over from their childhood games. Mixing poetry, fairytale themes, a dedicated libertine who drinks and “swives” along with royal personages and other real historical figures as secondary characters was a little risky I think. Did it work? I guess that’s for readers to decide…

Amanda: And what’s next for you?

Judith: Well, you might guess from my library collection and enthusiasm for the period I’ll be spending much of my time in the 17th century over the next little while! I’m currently working on The King’s Courtesan for late April of 2011. It tells the story of Captain Robert Nichols, a soldier who came to Elizabeth’s aid, and Hope Mathews, a minor courtesan to the king. I have one more book for HQN after that, but I’ve yet to decide what it will be about. If you have any suggestions, I’d be glad to hear them! I’ll be popping in and out throughout the day and look forward to any questions or comments you might have. Thanks again for having me here today!

(Another note from Amanda: If you’re intrigued by the life of John Wilmot after reading this, I’d suggest a look at the Johnny Depp movie Libertine! And don’t forget to comment for the chance to win a copy of Libertine’s Kiss…)