Didya look?
Heh. I am filling in for Janet today. Late, but hey. It’s still daylight here on the Left Coast.
In the comments, please, list your favorite historical romances. Up to, say, three. The ones where, if you were to be thrown into a dungeon (assume a source of light) you would not mind reading over and over in between taking breaks to tunnel your way out.
I would like to know if I’ve missed any great ones.
Thank you. I will tally the results later next week.
I’m taking Megan’s slot today on account of on Sunday the Riskies are having a Celebration of Cats and a Super Secret Cool visit from Liz Carlyle (squeeee!!!!). Her publisher will be donating to a cat rescue non profit so you’ll want to stop by to leave a comment this coming Sunday. In the meantime, since I haz kitties and Megan does not, I am sharing stories and pics of the Jewel household cats.
First up: Jake.
Jake was born under the neighbor’s barn at the bottom of our driveway. There were two litters of kittens, but we were able to find homes for them all. I was living in San Francisco and the time and I took the smallest kitten because I wanted, doh, a small cat to keep my other cat, Jasper (AKA Devil Cat) company.
Jake is 15 pounds of adorable lap cat. The vet believes he must be at least part Maine Coon cat. This past February, he lost his best buddy, my 22 year old Tonkinese, Jasper. After Jasper died– I am still sad about that, but he had a very long life — Jake slept by the food for 5 days, thinking, I believe, that Jasper would eventually show up there. On the 6th day, Jake moved out of my room and basically lived in the kitchen for 3 months where he demanded (and got) lots of love and attention from everyone. Just about when I’d given up on him ever setting paw in my room again, he staked out my printer as the place to be. And my lap.
Here’s Jasper when he was younger, my friend and companion for 22 years:
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| Jasper (Devil Cat) |
Jasper is the only purebred cat I’ve ever had. The Tonkinese is a cross between Siamese and Burmese and as you can see from this picture, he took after the Siamese in him. He was very inexpensive as Tonks go because his eyes were not quite the neon blue they should have been. The lady advertised them as “Personality Plus” which he was! He earned the nickname Devil Cat. But he was also extremely affectionate. ALWAYS on my lap! He knew when I was due home from work (said those who were already home) and waited by the door for me.
Left to right:
Missy Mara — Jake’s mother, a feral cat who we finally managed to trap and get to the vet to treat a badly wounded eye and get spayed. For a year she lived in the box spring of the mattress in this room but finally decided people were OK. She rarely leaves this room, actually.
Whiskers aka Nightmare: Whiskers is another rescued cat. At about 3 weeks old she got separated from her mother at the ranch where my son was taking Aikido. She had such a loud meow that some of the students heard her and found where she’d been trapped in a woodpile. And yes, I showed up with my son in time for his class and came home with a kitten . . . small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. She had to be bottle fed and manually stimulated so she could eliminate.
Tiger: My son’s cat. He’d wanted a cat of his own for a very long time, but none of the cats and kittens we saw were right for him. At a soccer tournament, we had time between games and we went to a nearby mall for lunch and some window shopping. We came home with Tiger. She is an odd little cat who doesn’t know she’s a cat. She plays with my dog.
Do you have cats or did you? In the comments, tell us about your cat(s). Bonus points for linking your story to the Regency. And come back Sunday for the Cat Extravaganza!
Here’s the list of books that people would take to the dungeon with them to read in between bouts of tunneling out. In bold and purple means I have read it. They are in the order they appeared in the comments. A number in parenthesis is the number of people who mentioned the book. I’ve read most of the authors on the list, but perhaps not the listed book. A couple of the books I started but did not finish. But a few are now to me.
So, what’s missing? Anything?
We welcome Shelley Munro all the way from New Zealand here at the Riskies today with her new release from Carina Press, The Spurned Viscountess. Your question or comment could win you a free download, so let’s get chatting.
Cursed with the sight and rumors of witchcraft, Rosalind’s only chance at an ordinary life is marriage to Lucien, Viscount Hastings. She doesn’t expect love, only security and children of her own. Determined to go through with the wedding, she allows nothing she encounters at the gloomy Castle St. Clare to dissuade her.
Recently returned from the Continent, Lucien has no time for the English mouse his family has arranged for him to marry, not when he’s plotting to avenge the murder of his beloved Francesca. He has no intention of bedding Rosalind, not even to sire an heir.
Though spurned by her bridegroom, Rosalind turns to him for protection when she is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents and haunted by terrifying visions. Forced to keep Rosalind close, and tempted into passionate kisses, Lucien soon finds himself in grave danger of falling in love with his own wife…
Shelley, welcome! Tell us about the book–your inspiration and how you came to write it. (And what a gorgeous cover!)
Thank so much for having me to visit today. The Spurned Viscountess is my first historical, and my story came about after I participated in a writing exercise at the Auckland chapter meeting. I’m a member of Romance Writers of New Zealand and we used to have writing exercises each month. I forget what the topic was now, but the first scene in my story came from this exercise.
I wrote about a long lost son who has found his way home after a long absence but he has no memory of his family. He’s scarred in mind and body and all he wants is to discover the identity of his wife’s killer. The last thing he needs is an arranged marriage foisted on him. He tries to scare off his intended bride, but the move to Castle St. Clare is a fresh start for Rosalind, one she’s determined to embrace.
Once I had my first scene, I needed to know what happened next. Eventually I ended up with a complete novel. This is the second home for The Spurned Viscountess, and I was thrilled to join Carina Press.
The Spurned Viscountess is set in 1720. What is it about the Georgian period you like and why did you choose it as a setting?
In my pre-published days, Jo Beverley was one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed her Malloren series, which is set during the 1700s. I find the Georgia era a little bit naughtier than the Regency era, and I adore the clothing from the Eighteenth century. 1720 England allowed me to use smugglers in my plot as well. I really wanted to write about smugglers.
What are your favorite research books for the period?
I did a lot of research, but some of my favorite books include: Historical Fashion in Detail by Avril Hart and Susan North, The Art of Dining – a history of cooking and eating by Sara Paston Williams, and The Art of Dress, Clothes & Society by Jane Ashelford. I also find Liza Picard’s books Restoration London and Dr. Johnson’s London very useful and interesting, although they didn’t quite fit my chosen time period.
I was really impressed by how much you’ve published. How hard was it to make the switch from contemporary/paranormal erotic romance to a historical romance?
I’ve always read different romance genres rather than concentrating on one so it seemed natural to me to swap around a little bit when it came to writing. It’s much easier to experiment in the e-pub world so experiment I did. I tend to write mainly contemporary and paranormal stories but recently my interest in historicals has fired to life. I’ve concentrated on the Georgian era (18th century) and World War II England, two time periods I find very interesting.
I think that swapping genres helps keep my writing fresh because I’m constantly challenging myself.
If you had to hire actors for a movie version of your book, who would they be?
This is a really hard question. I’m a real Sean Bean fan, but he doesn’t quite fit for my hero, Lucien. Joseph Fiennes would work, I think. Keira Knightley or Catherine Zeta-Jones would both make a very good Rosalind. Maybe even Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame would work for Rosalind.
What’s your favorite scene in the book?
I’m partial to the very first scene in The Spurned Viscountess since this was how my story started. It’s a short one.
East Sussex, England, 1720
“Hastings, the carriage is coming. Your betrothed has arrived.”
Lucien rose from a square-backed chair, flicked the lace at his cuffs and studied the elderly man stepping away from the window—the man who claimed him as son. “My name is Lucien.”
The earl ruffled up like a feisty bantam cock. “Stuff and nonsense! George is your christened name. If it’s good enough for the king, it’s good enough for you.”
Lucien strolled past shelves of books and paused to finger an amber figurine from the Orient. From what he’d heard since his arrival in England, people disapproved of the king, who hailed from Hanover. The man didn’t even speak English. Lucien looked the earl straight in the eye. “My name is Lucien,” he repeated, his tone implacable and determined. “Lucien. Not George or Hastings.”
“Damn it, boy, why do you persist with your gainsaying?” The Earl of St. Clare’s voice held a trace of pleading. “Can’t you see the likeness in the family portraits?”
Lucien grimaced. If he studied the portraits with one eye shut and the other squinted—certainly there were similarities. He replaced the figurine and stalked across a blue Persian rug to gaze out a window overlooking the courtyard.
The family and the faithful servants all backed up the Earl of St. Clare’s assertion, but the role didn’t feel right to Lucien. Living in the gloomy pile of rocks called Castle St. Clare made him edgy and apprehensive.
They were all mistaken.
He was not the Earl of St. Clare’s son.
The idea was laughable. Him—the long lost heir, Viscount Hastings. He didn’t recall any of the stories they told him of his childhood or growing up at the castle.
The study door flew open. Lucien spun around in a defensive stance, only relaxing when the honorable Charles Soulden bounded into the room. “Hastings…” He faltered when he intercepted Lucien’s glare. “I mean, Lucien! Your betrothed comes.”
“So I’m told.” Lucien sauntered toward Charles, his newly discovered cousin. “By all means, let us greet the woman brave enough to wed a man with no memory.”
What’s next for you?
I’m juggling several projects at present. I’m writing the final story in my Middlemarch Mates series (a group of feline shapeshifters who live in the small country town of Middlemarch), I’m working on a follow-up to my contemporary The Bottom Line and I’m busy plotting/researching my next Gothic historical romance. I like to keep busy.
Let’s get chatting! I’m dying to know the story behind the camel pic…
No sooner said than done, Carolyn!
I was wondering what to post about today because I’m all in a tizzy with Jane and the Damned and Bespelling Jane Austen released two days ago and I still haven’t gloated over them on a shelf in a store (although I may do so today even though it’s pouring with rain). I’m going to spend the entire weekend talking about them and giving away copies so I hope you’ll stop by.
So … regional accents. I’ve frankly never seen such bizarre treatments of regional accents as in romance, where a sort of one-size-fits all generic vaguely Cockney reigns, unless the character is Scottish, in which case he or she assumes the one-size-fits all generic Scottish accent. What complicates matters is that we know accents change over time. We don’t really know how people spoke two centuries ago. Should we care? Yes. Should we try to make them sound “right”? Yes, because an accent, or rather, the way someone speaks reveals a lot about them, not only where they grew up, but also their education, their background, and everything else that goes into defining their place in the English class system–and their role in your book.
Take a look, and listen, at Sounds Familiar? at the wonderful British Library website. This demonstrates particular pronunciations and dialects of the twentieth century, after radio and TV dulled things down a bit. It’s more likely in pre-industrial revolution England that there would be even more accents; I visited an area in the Midlands one time where there were subtle changes in accents every five miles or so.
Another good source may be IDEA, International Dialects & Accents of England, which I’ve just discovered (I’m at work with a computer that has no sound).
Yes, but … this is a huge scholarly research area. How did our characters speak? My theory–and it’s only a theory, and it’s mine (suppresses inner John Cleese)–is that it’s quite likely our aristos talked one way with their peers, but could lapse into local dialects when at home in the country. Why? Children were raised by servants, not by their parents. My sole source for this theory is Kipling’s Stalky & Co., a book about a group of cool, subversive, inventive boys at a public school in the late nineteenth century. They adopt the lingua franca of a Devonshire accent when they visit the local village; one of them, of Anglo-Irish descent, had his native accent bullied out of him when he joined the school.
We know that the Londoners of the Regency probably used the interchangeable Vs and Ws of Dicken’s characters, because Dickens was writing the dialect of his youth.
So how do we differentiate the way the lord speaks from his valet? If the valet was particularly ambitious, they might sound pretty much alike. It’s more a question of diction, vocabulary, phrasing, than anything else.
I find attempts to duplicate dialect are really annoying, particularly those generic Scottish ones. You don’t want your reader to have to slow down deciphering dialogue. Also, I don’t know how attuned the American ear is to English dialects anyway–I know that I can just about tell a southern US accent from a Boston one and I’ve been here for years.
Now you can hear me all over the place–I narrate my book trailer, for instance, and I have soundbites on my website (and a new contest, while you’re there). If you have the RWA conference tape to which Carolyn referred, you’ll hear me and Miranda Neville, who also has a new release this month and will visit weekend after next. Can you tell the difference between us? She’s much posher than I am. I have more of a multipurpose, upper lower middle class southeastern urban accent.
The pic I used for this post is also from the British Library site, which has a whole wonderful section on cookbooks and recipes from the past, very useful stuff. Enjoy.
What do you think about simulated dialects in books?
