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Author Archives: Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

About Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

Writer (as Amanda McCabe, Laurel McKee, Amanda Carmack), history geek, yoga enthusiast, pet owner!

Researching the Regency With Elaine Golden

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Note from Amanda: Thanks to my computer choosing last weekend to have a Complete and Utter Meltdown, I was not able to post Elaine Golden’s guest blog! She has graciously agreed to reschedule for today–and is offering a giveaway as well! Welcome to the Riskies, Elaine…

One of the things I love most about writing historical romance is the research. Oh, I don’t particulraly care about poking around in dusty tomes, but I do love to learn little tidbits about how things were, how people thought and lived differently than they do today. I’ve been known to get lost randomly flipping around in an encyclopedia, or the modern day equivalent by following curious links in Wikipedia. I even keep a Historical Trivia page on my blog filled with odd historical facts (as well as blurbs and excerpts!).

The old author’s adage suggests to “write what you know.” Research is an essential tool to understand the dynamics of the era, and to present a story that will immerse readers in the culture and trappings of an historical romance.

The Internet is such a vast resource for historical research. There are wonderful bloggers who share their knowledge of the era, digitized maps and images and period publications, and there are endless photographs from tourists and travelers. So very many resources available at our fingertips!

And such interesting things I have discovered as I research the Regency era for my Fortney Follies series published by Harlequin Historical Undone!
–The British Regency nearly began 22 years before the Regency Act was passed on February 5, 1811. The reigning George III suffered several bouts of mental illness during his reign and in 1789 Parliament almost passed the Regency Act after a great deal of debate. Only a swift recovery from the King at that time stopped things. I blogged about it earlier this month on the Harlequin Blog.

–When researching the origin of the Regency phrase “in the pink” I discovered the phrase’s origins–and a whole lot more. Dod you know the color pink was considered a “masculine” cover until the 1940s? I blogged about all things to do with pink on my site…

–The Prince Regent loved Brighton and taking the waters there. And he had a favorite bather, a local character named Martha Gunn. I’ve also blogged about bathing in Brighton, Prinny, and Marth on my site!

Earlier this month Diane Gaston posted some great links on Regency research. In addition to those wonderful sites, some of my own favorite Internet links include:
—The Online Etymology Dictionary: Not a traditional dictionary, but an explanation of the origin of words and what they meant at various points in time. Ever wonder if a word is historically accurate? What it meant to the Regency hero or heroine? You’d be amazed at how the meaning of a word can change so radically over the centuries!

–Historical Map overlays with Google Maps: Match historical avenues and parks to today’s view of the world!

Do you have a fun bit of Regency trivia to share? Favorite website for Regency research?

Comment on this blog post for a chance to win an electronic copy of my debut Regency romance, An Imprudent Lady! I’ll select two winners at random at 6 pm Pacific time on Wednesday, February 23…

And do check out other Undones! These short sexy romances are perfect when you have limited time but want a great romance to read. Michelle Styles generously shares this month with me, offering a sexy Roman-era romance with The Perfect Concubine

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The Healthy Author

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So how was everyone’s Valentine’s Day?? I ran into one of the usual V-Day perils–having to wait 2 hours for a table even with a reservation! Luckily I had some cute new pink ankle-strap shoes and lots of good people-watching (plus a protein bar in my purse!) so all went well.

And I have to send out thanks to Michelle Willingham for sending me this link to Cataromance’s Reviewer’s Choice Awards, which named To Catch a Rogue one of their favorites of the year. Happy Valentine’s Day to me!

And in weather news here–the snow is finally GONE (for now, anyway), and the temp is in the 60s and 70s this week. But for a couple of weeks I was pretty much stuck in the house, and for a few days I basically sat around eating potato chips, taking naps, and reading stuff I downloaded to my Kindle. Then I started to feel pretty yucky, and I realized it was because I had missed my exercise. I’ve always been allergic to anything that feels like “exercise”–maybe it’s flashbacks to the hell that was middle school PE class. I will run on the treadmill when I have to, or even take a spin class if I’m feeling especially ambitious, but I prefer things that feel more like fun, like dance. And I absolutely swear by yoga. When I make it to class at least 3 times a week, I feel calmer, more energetic, and more creative, and my jeans fit better. It also helps me avoid the dreaded Writer’s Butt Syndrome.

Writing is an entirely sedentary job. When I’m close to a deadline, my muscles start to ache, I feel tired, I eat bad stuff, and I start talking to my cats like they know what I’m saying. (I also start shopping online more). Yoga and dance helps me stay flexible and alert–the fees ought to be tax deductible, because they’re a big key to feeling creative and keeping me from falling behind on my schedule. I just have to make myself do it, which is usually easier said than done.

But then there are days when I can’t make it out, and that’s when I break out the exercise DVDs. Here are a few I like:

The Bollywood Dance Workout (so much fun!)

Ballet Conditioning

Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss

The New York City Ballet Workout (this one is kind of a toughie, but it’s a great workout)

Getting enough sleep, eating right, and meditating are also important for me if I want to stay healthy and get the writing done, especially this time of year when I just want some sunshine, darn it!

What do you do to keep the creativity flowing and stay in shape?? Any tips for fun things to try? (A friend of mine swears by Zumba, which I have yet to try…) And what did you do for Valentine’s Day?

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Valentine’s Day Pre-Show

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Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope everyone had a good weekend (I went to a friend’s annual Superbowl Party, but I ended up just eating too much junk food and then watching Puppy Bowl with their kids. I do love Puppy Bowl!). I dug out from under last week’s storm, but they say snow is coming back tonight and I’m headed to Target and the wine shop to lay in supplies.

But being stuck in the house is not so very bad. It makes me stop procrastinating and get productive on the WIP and the website (which has updates finally! Including some Behind The Book history on The Shy Duchess!) I hit the halfway point on the Mary Queen of Scots WIP, and this is about the time the characters start to get out of control, going off on plot pathways I did not plan. It’s also about the time (in this story anyway) that things start to really heat up for the hero/heroine, and I realized I actually have a few rituals I do before writing a love scene. A few possibilities that usually work well:

–Drink a glass of wine and watch a Vampire Diaries episode
–Do a little imaginary shopping on the Agent Provocateur website (and then taking my real budget to Victoria’s Secret)
–Listen to some Miles Davis or the Marie Antoinette soundtrack (depending on the mood of the scene)

These usually work wonders. They’re also good for getting in the mood for V Day. As probably every romance writer (and every poor husband/boyfriend who forgot to order flowers early and is now scrambling) knows, next Monday is Valentine’s Day! Flowers, candy, diamonds, and restaurants that are way too crowded and have overpriced prix fixe menus. If you’d rather stay home, order in and watch a movie, there are tons of sites out there with “top romantic” movies lists. Here are just a few sites I found if you’re looking for suggestions:

All Women’s Talk (50 Most Romantic)
Celebrate Love (100 Most Romantic)
Cinema Blend (15 Romantic Movies Men Should Like)
The Holiday Spot (16 Romantic Movies for Valentine’s Day)

And here are a few movies I find to be romantic (or at least have romantic scenes!) and that I would be happy to watch anytime. (I just stuck with feature films here, not BBC-type costume dramas or we would be here until the Fourth of July…)

—Room With a View
—Moulin Rouge
—Persuasion/Pride and Prejudice (for the Austen crowd!)
—Shakespeare in Love
—Bringing Up Baby
—Breakfast at Tiffany’s/Roman Holiday
—It Happened One Night
—Last of the Mohicans
—Say Anything (one of my favorite movies as a teenager–I never did find a Lloyd Dobler though…)
—Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
–The tango scene in Mask of Zorro
–The Pere Lachais scene in Paris Je t’aime
—Bright Star
—Phantom of the Opera

But usually I end up watching Romeo and Juliet (the Zeffirelli version) around this time of year! The costumes, the music, the balcony scene–sigh…

What are your favorite romantic movies? What are you planning for Valentine’s Day? And what are some of your favorite fantasy shopping places??? (Or any love scene-writing tips, if you’d like to share, LOL)

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Guest Blogger Cara Elliott

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The Riskies welcome back Cara Elliott to the blog, to tell us about the story behind her new release To Tempt a Rake! Comment for a chance to win a copy…

Hi everyone! I’m so delighted Amanda invited me to stop by and visit with the Riskies today. I’m celebrating the release of my latest Regency-set historical romance, To Tempt a Rake, since it’s always a Cause of Joy to finally see a story hit the shelves. However, with all the dreary winter weather up where I am, I confess it’s been hard to feel in a real party mood. Looking like the Michelin Tire Man in sheepskin boots and layers of thick fleece sweatpants and tops does not make a girl feel very glamorous.

But knowing the fashionistas here, I figured this was a perfect place to add a little sparkle to the grey days by talking Regency glitter and bling, Vienna style!

Part of my story is set at the Congress of Vienna, the grand Peace Conference that convened in the fall of 1814 to reorder Europe, now that Napoleon was safely (ha!) exiled to the isle of Elba. Royalty from all over the continent were invited to the city on the Danube, and together with the leading statesmen of the day, they set themselves the task of hammering out solutions for a vast range of political and social questions. All very laudable, of course. But with such a scintillating array of celebrities gathered in one place, the work quickly turned into play. As David King notes in his book Vienna 1814, the movers and shakers had come to make love as well as peace!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that rich, powerful men attract beautiful, scheming women–and Vienna in 1814 was no exception. Some of the notable females included the Duchess of Sagan, the “Cleopatra of Courland,” who was carrying on a passionate affair with Prince Metternich, the Austrian head of the conference…but then she needed a favor from the skirt-chasing Russian tsar…only to become enamored of a handsome cavalry officer–you get the picture. One needs a scorecard to keep track of who was sleeping with whom. Her rival in holding the most influence with men at the conference was Princess Bagration, the Russian “Naked Angel of the North,” who wore only white muslin (well dampened) to cling to her svelte form.

So trust me, Vienna turned into the party town of the time. Masked balls, medieval jousts, outdoor balls danced under a blaze of fireworks, sumptuous sleigh rides, complete with a traveling orchestra–the daily entertainments were dazzling in the extreme. And of course, a lady has to dress for the occasion, right?

Here are a few of my favorite fashion tidbits:

–At the Emperor of Austria’s Welcoming Ball, one of the “decorations” was having the Duchess of Sagan and 23 of her friends come dressed as the Four Elements: Six ladies dressed as Water, wearing blue and green dresses festooned with pearls, coral, and seashells. Six wore bright red dresses and carried torches to represent Fire. Six wore thin, nearly transparent gauzy dresses and wore wings to be Air. And lastly, representing Earth, the duchess and her group wore brown velvet dresses and headdresses made out of golden baskets filled with jeweled fruit!

–At the Carousel, the recreation of a medieval joust, there were 24 Queens of Love appointed to cheer for their champions. Each queen wore an elaborate velvet dress with lace trim, and vied to have the most elaborate display of jewels adorning it. Princess Esterhazy’s gown was reputedly worth 6 millions francs, and one of the other ladies proclaimed, “We shall wear every pearl and diamond to be found in Hungary, Bohemia, and Austria!” Indeed one Prussian officer was moved to exclaim that 3 military campaigns could have been fought with the riches on display that night. (In keeping with the “bling” spirit of the evening, Lady Castlereagh wore her husband’s Order of the Garter as a tiara)

As you can imagine, this real-life history made a colorful backdrop for my fiction. I had a ball weaving some of the details and people mentioned here into Kate and Marco’s adventure–for me, research of what helps make a story come alive.

So, have you any favorite parties from history? And speaking of gala parties and fashion, the Oscars are coming up–who will have the most fabulous dress? (Amanda and Megan will have the skinny on this!) Please chime in! I’ll be giving away a signed copy of To Tempt a Rake to someone who leave a comment here…

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