Back to Top

Monthly Archives: May 2012

Guest Blogger Kae Elle Wheeler

Updated on by
 Amanda is out of town for a few days, but she has bribed, er persuaded, her friend Kae Elle Wheeler (a brand new author!) to fill in for the day!  Comment for a chance to win a free download of The Wronged Princess…..

I am flattered beyond words to be invited as a guest blogger for the Risky Regency followers by my very VERY good friend, Amanda McCabe. While I do not write Regency, I am, an avid reader and fan of the period. I also have written my own small series of historical, dated just prior to Regency, late 18th century.

I am actually the resident historical romance reviewer for Book End Babes, and have been since 2007. I loveRegency romance. Some of the stories make me want to dive into a Delorean Time Machine to be whisked back in time as a heroine in one of Suzanne Enoch or Teresa Medieros outrageous plots. Take Charming the Prince for example. This little Cinderella story was so cute, I actually bought several copies to loan out, making sure I kept one available for myself to read when the notion struck. (I’ve read it six times).

The same goes for Ms. Enoch’s London’s Perfect Scoundrel. That hero was so messed up you could not help but fall in love with him when he turned the corner, determined to make the heroine his own. The same could be said for Lady Rogue.
I’m sure you are probably thinking that those are the only two authors I read. NOT! Other favorites include, but are not limited to, Amanda Quick, Julia Quinn, Victoria Alexander, Madeline…well, I’m sure you get the picture. (Including my good friend, Amanda).
My question is, what constitutes the allure to this particular time period that is so enthralling for a reader? I have a theory (it’s my own, of course). Europe—UK, France, Spain, etc. holds such a rich history. Not that, we in the US don’t as well, but theirs is just so jam packed with Royalty, diverse culture, tradition—long long looooong standing tradition. Hundreds of years worth tradition. I mean, think about it—200 years versus 1000 years!
I think Jayne Ann Krentz must touch on this very thing in her futuristic “Jayne Castle” line where the world as we know it has been closed off to the characters. So that in a sense she’s given the US that same allure to the characters in her books as we do with the Regency period, if that makes any sense. Regardless, there are other fun things about the Regency period that draw my interest. The clothes, of course. The dialogue has to be quite clever. But I think my favorite enticement is the way the characters have to gage the attention of their men, somehow avoiding risk to their reputations. Because, if their reputations are compromised, it is extremely dire. So how the author has hero step up becomes important. And if he’s the one who did the sullying—better yet, if someone else sullied, how does the hero move past that hurdle for his true love—andconvince the reader it’s ‘till death do us part’.
Not an easy task. (This is why I have my staples that I read over and over. The Wicked Widow­—Amanda Quick; To Love a Thief—Julie Anne Long).
In addition, I love the moving pictures in my head when I read and write period romance. I love the twist on a fun fairy tale. You know—like when Cinderella’s shoe fits one of her evil stepsisters. The Wronged Princess – Book I. Or when one of the stepsisters takes out a horde of villains and has to deal with Prince Charming’s irresistible cousin, Sir Arnald. The Unlikely Heroine – Book II.And what if the batting-eyed sister overhears the man she’s had a deep-seated crush on for years tell his father “I would ne’er marry a woman who could cause an avalanche in the Pyrenees Mountains.” (Well, she was devastated, I can tell you.) The Surprising Enchantress – Book III.
La! I have a feeling that I am “preaching to the choir,” so I shall wrap up by saying, thank you for having me. Au revoir!

Bio: Kathy L Wheeler, while an avid reader, as stated, also writes Contemporary Romance. Her debut novel Quotable is due out June 6th through Soul Mate Publishing. An active member of the OKRWA, she has a novella The Color of Betrayal, tbr June 13, through Wild Rose Press as part of the Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll series.
Currently, The Wronged Princess – Book I, and The Unlikely Heroine — Book II are now available
Posted in Former Riskies, Giveaways, Guest | Tagged , | 14 Replies

Sleeping Beauty

Updated on by

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I can’t believe May is already halfway gone.  I am buried in revisions and new projects here, but like Megan I seem to have only one major thing on my mind lately: sleep.  I can never seem to get enough of it!  So I started to wonder (as I lay awake last night thinking about all sorts of things), what would characters in historical novels take to help them sleep?

People have had trouble sleeping since time began.  I have no idea what cavemen took, but in the ancient world (Egypt, Greece, Rome) there were various herbs and things that don’t sound effective at all, such as lettuce juice, mandrake bark, something called “herbane,” and the one thing that was very effective indeed, opium derived from poppies.  (Hypnos, god of sleep, was often portrayed holding a poppy).

Nothing any better came along for a long time.  In 1805 a chemist named Frederick Setumer synthesized opium, which didn’t really change the effectiveness of the drug but led to the synthesis of various other sedatives.  By the 1850s chloryl hydrate was developed in Germany and became popular, but like opium it had a myriad of side effects and it was easy to overdose (especially when mixed with alcohol).  There also came about a variety of bromides (originally meant to cure epilepsy, but they didn’t really work for that).

By the beginning of the 20th century barbiturates such as Veronal became available, but they also had myriad unpleasant side effects.  It wasn’t really until the ’70s that benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium were in widespread use.  Now the trend has swung back around to herbal solutions such as St. John’s Wort (which my liver doctor warns me not to try…)

What historical sleep solution sounds wackiest?  Lettuce juice?  What do you use to help you sleep?  Now I feel in need of a nap…

And now something that has absolutely nothing to do with this post but which i feel I must share:  I love this dress the Duchess of Cambridge wore last week!  I want to knock her down and steal it, if I didn’t know how ridiculous it would look on me since I am at least 2 feet shorter than her:

Posted in Former Riskies, Research | Tagged , | 5 Replies

Diamonds For the Jubilee

Updated on by

This year marks the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (as well as the Olympics, so if you are headed to London this summer yay for you!).  I found out that the exhibit this year at Buckingham Palace is, apropos enough, some of the Queen’s best diamonds.  I thought I would share a few pics of some of my personal favorite royal jewels, because, well, it’s Tuesday, I’m buried in revisions, and I love to look at some sparkly.  I tried to keep it to the Queen’s own jewels, not crown stuff or complicated things like the Cullinan diamonds or the crowns.  They deserve their own post later.

And if you’re still not done with style and sparkle, be sure and check out the crazy that was the Met Ball last night.  Gwyneth…why???

Jewel One: The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara (my personal favorite of all the royal tiaras!).  As you might have guessed, this was a wedding gift to Queen Mary from (yep) some girls of Great Britain and Ireland.  In her thank-you note, Mary wrote “I need scarcely assure you that the tiara will ever be one of my most valued wedding gifts,” and it has been ever since

Jewel Two: Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara. Because I am a sucker for anything “Russian”, and this was a silver wedding anniversary gift to Queen Alexandra (the empress of “never enough bling”), based on tiaras belonging to her sister Empress Marie of Russia…

Jewel Three: The queen’s 18th birthday bracelet…

Jewel Four:  Some brooches (because I couldn’t choose just one from a lady who loves her a sparkly brooch!).  But my own fave is the sapphire Prince Albert brooch, a wedding gift from Albert to Victoria and willed to the Crown after her death…

Jewel Five: The queen’s 3-carat engagement ring…

And Jewel Six: (yes, yes, it wasn’t the queen’s at all, but Princess Margaret’s, and was sadly sold after her death, but I am in deep, deep love with the Poltimore Tiara)

And there you have it!  Just a few examples from the vast royal treasure cave.  I like this because they have something personal about them and the queen seems to like them too.  What are some of your favorites??

Posted in Former Riskies, Frivolity, Research | Tagged , | 8 Replies