Back to Top

Author Archives: diane

About diane

Diane Gaston is the RITA award-winning author of Historical Romance for Harlequin Historical and Mills and Boon, with books that feature the darker side of the Regency. Formerly a mental health social worker, she is happiest now when deep in the psyches of soldiers, rakes and women who don’t always act like ladies.

Megan is swamped and unable to blog today, so here is a little nonsense for a Risky Regencies Friday.

A Google Alert came in to my email. I google alert many things– my book titles, my author names, Gerard Butler. Today an alert came in for Diane Perkins. It led to a blog by Elisa Rolle who led to a website that promoted Italian books. (I can’t make that link work anymore, though. You can give it a try) This month the releases were by these authors: Jeanne Savery, Sophia Nash (my pal), Diane Perkins, Sara Blayne, Lois Greiman & Sandra Heath

Diane Perkins! My alter ego!

I had to go back through my records to see that, yes indeed, The Marriage Bargain by Diane Perkins had sold to an Italian publisher. So here, Risky Regencies Readers, is the Italian bookcover and what the website said about the book:

785. Diane Perkins – Contratto di nozze (The Marriage Bargain)
Un matrimonio per interesse può diventare un amore per sempre?
Emma Chambers accetta di sposare Spencer Keenan. All’apparenza sembra un ottimo affare per entrambi: Emma otterrà completa libertà, Spencer avrà chi si occuperà della sua tenuta. Ma quando il giovane viene gravemente ferito in un duello, Emma è al suo fianco per assisterlo: la timida fanciulla che ha preso in moglie per convenienza è diventata la donna che ha sempre sognato. Riuscirà ora a convincerla del proprio amore e a farsi concedere una seconda possibilità?
Nota di MarchRose: Un tenero e commovente romanzo regency sul tema degli amanti separati dalle vicende della vita che si ritrovano ad anni di distanza, più maturi, diffidenti ed amareggiati ma anche più forti ed appassionati. La Perkins, che scrive anche sotto il nome di Diane Gaston, è un’autrice molto abile e sensibile, capace di creare personaggi sfaccettati e davvero credibili dal punto di vista umano, le cui vicende riescono a coinvolgere emotivamente in profondità il lettore.
Livello di sensualità “caldo” (warm)

Nice, huh?

Do you Google Alert something? Care to ‘fess up?

Here’s how to set up your very own Google Alerts

Cheers!
And do not forget to join us for our Jane Lockwood interview on Sunday. Doesn’t Jane look familiar????

We’ve got lots and lots of winners….

I have the great pleasure of announcing the winners for our Risky Regencies Second Anniversary celebration. And there are a lot of ’em.

But first….
The winner of Claudia Dain’s October book, The Courtesan’s Daughter, is…Maggie Robinson!

Congratulations, Maggie!

Our Weekly Winners are:

Monday KimW!

Kim, you win Diane’s hardback/bookclub version of The Marriage Bargain, A Reputable Rake (a rake, not a book) and a hand-embroidered handkerchief for your sniffles.

Tuesday
Lois!

Lois, this is such poetic justice! It is too funny that you will have to make a DECISION on which prize you want from Cara:

PRIZE A: A new, never-read, still-in-its-shrinkwrap softbound copy of A PASSION FOR PERFORMANCE: SARAH SIDDONS AND HER PORTRAITISTS published by the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Or

PRIZE B: A Regency novel grab-bag, including two copies of Cara’s award-winning MY LADY GAMESTER, signed and dedicated to whomever you choose; used paperback copies (varying amounts of wear) of Carla Kelly’s SUMMER CAMPAIGN, Carla Kelly’s MISS CHARTLEY’S GUIDED TOUR, Jasmine Cresswell’s LORD CARRISFORD’S MISTRESS (a Fawcett Coventry Regency from 1980), and Patricia C. Wrede’s MAIRELON THE MAGICIAN (a fantasy novel set in Regency England.)

Wednesday Haven!

Haven, you have another choice. Either Elena’s most recent release, LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE (Romantic Times Top Pick and Best Regency Romance for 2005) or HIS BLUSHING BRIDE, an early anthology Elena participated in, along with authors Alice Holden and Regina Scott (also a Romantic Times Top Pick).

Thursday diane!

(not me, Diane, but diane diane, who commented on Janet’s blog)

diane, you don’t have to decide. You get to win both a signed copy of Janet’s Dedication and The Rules of Gentility.

Friday AndreaW!

Andrea, your prize is a copy of Megan’s book, A Singular Lady, and a DVD of The Lady And The Highwayman, a Barbara Cartland adaptation starring Hugh Grant, and one of the worst movies Megan has ever seen. It is kind of her to dump…er…donate this DVD to you. And…Megan hints at something else she will include in your prize package.

Saturday doglady!

doglady, you win Amanda’s prize, an autographed copy of her August book A Notorious Woman (look for its sequel in April ’08, to find out what happens to Nicolai), plus a fancy beaded bookmark from Ganz (Trust her, it’s pretty)

That’s it for the weekday prizes. Congratulations, ladies!

Now for the Grand Prize winner…Drum roll, please…

Kim Giglio!

Congratulations, Kim! You have won our Grand Prize, a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate.

Our heartfelt Risky thanks to all of you who participated in our week-long Anniversary party. We are the real winners to have readers like all of you. Thank you all for making this the best Risky Regencies week ever!

Winners, send an email to riskies@yahoo.com to tell us where to mail your prizes. Include your real name and any other details we may have requested, like which prize you picked or how you want the books signed.

All our winners were picked entirely at random, just like Bertie told us to do. To see more of Bertie, stop by Risky Regencies often. You never know when he’ll show up.

This week we Riskies are celebrating our second anniversary! For two years we have been sharing our various and sundry thoughts about the Regency, about writing, life, and such. Sometimes we are brilliant and scholarly. Sometimes frivolous and silly. Sometimes even naughty, but always, we hope, interesting. I am the latecomer to this wonderful group, but I’m delighted to be here and delighted with the friends I’ve made. Our readers are wonderful!

We’d like to reward you for your friendship and your comments. You make this blog a conversation among friends and that is my favorite part about Risky Regencies. Each of us will offer a prize to someone who participates on our day. And we’ll also have a Grand Prize, an Amazon gift certificate for $25 for one lucky person picked at random from our newsletter list. Sign up for our newsletter by midnight Sunday, Sept 23 in order to be eligible for the Grand Prize.

My prize for today is an autographed hardback copy of The Marriage Bargain, one of my Diane Perkins books that was printed by Doubleday Book Club. Because I’ve decided to only write under the name Diane Gaston from now on, this promises to be a collectible (I should hope!). Added to that is A Reputable Rake–not my RITA book, but the promotional item I used when the book came out from Harlequin Historical, complete with a laminated copy of the cover. A Rake such as this (only smaller) was mentioned by Judy T recently. And if those items are not enough, I also am including a hand embroidered lady’s handkerchief, the sort a Regency lady might use to dab at her tears.

All you have to do is pick your favorite blog of mine over the last year and tell me why it was your favorite. Winner will be selected at random from the comments on my blog. Keep commenting all week. All our winners will be announced next Monday.

To assist you, I’m going to list five of my favorites. You can pick from this list or from another one of mine. Just be sure to give a reason why it is your favorite.

One of my favorites was “300 and the Regency” on March 19, 2007. Not only did it give me an excuse to post pictures of Gerard Butler in the flesh, so to speak, but it was fun looking at the movie from a Regency perspective.

A lot of my favorite blog postings seem to have something to do with handsome men. Another favorite was from January 29, “More on Covers – Men or Flowers?” I discuss one of my favorite topics: Romance covers. We all have our strong opinions about Romance covers.

Which leads me to another favorite. My postings of the interviews with Richard Cerqueira, both Interview 1 and Interview 2, March 11 and 12, which I’ll take credit for even though it is his interview.

I thought it was fun learning about the behind-the-scenes of a cover shoot, and I thought Richard was an interesting person in his own right.

Another favorite of mine was my posting of December 11, 2006, “Is it Lord Byron?” I shared the sketch I purchased at an antique shop and compared it with paintings of Byron. When I look at the blog again with the images side by side, I’m even more convinced I have a sketch of Byron.

And lastly, my rant about the movie Beau Brummell starring James Purefoy, “Brummell, Bio or Bust?” from May 2. In this blog I show just how hypocritical I can be, because I go on and on in indignation about the inaccuracy of his open-front shirt and then last week I turn around and rave about the open-front shirt on my The Vanishing Viscountess cover.

If I could add one more, I’d add my blog about Waterloo from June 18, “Waterloo, A Very Near Run Thing.”

I’d include that one because I think that was such a pivotal day in history, a day of incredible horror and incredible honor.

So, now it is your turn. What is your favorite Diane Gaston blog of the past year? You could win her Perkins book, her Reputable Rake, and a handkerchief to stick in your reticule.

Sign up for our newsletter by Friday for a chance to win our Grand Prize-a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. Just send an email to riskies@yahoo.com and put “newsletter” in the subject field.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 45 Replies

The Cover Gods have blessed me once again!

Take a look at my new cover of The Vanishing Viscountess, coming January 2008 from Harlequin Historical!

I am THRILLED TO PIECES!! Not only does the scene fit the story, but the models even look like the hero and heroine.

The Vanishing Viscountess is Tanner’s story. Tanner first appeared in Innocence and Impropriety and when he threatened to take over the book, I promised him a very special book of his own. He settled down and allowed Flynn to get the girl in the end. Just as I suspected, however, Tanner gave me a wonderful good time writing his story of rescuing a viscountess-on-the-run and aiding her escape to Scotland.

Oddly enough when I was planning Innocence and Impropriety, I chose this image for Tanner. I didn’t realize that I’d chosen Gerard Butler, nor had I yet seen Phantom of the Opera and embarked on my Gerard Butler obsession. But talk about foreshadowing! Who thought that I’d foreshadow Tanner’s abs!

I do realize that the shirt and vest are not Regency period correct (Regency shirts did not open in the front and I doubt a Regency vest would be that color). I know I’m hypocritical, because I did lament about the Innocence and Impropriety cover hero wearing his neckcloth tied in a bow, and I made a big deal about the Beau Brummell BBC TV movie showing an open-front shirt. I do not care. The Vanishing Viscountess cover strikes just the right tone for the story and I’m betting the bare abs will make browsing female bookstore patrons pick up the book.

But if a gorgeous, bare-chested guy on one book wasn’t enough, I also received the cover for the UK version of last year’s Christmas anthology, featuring my novella, A Twelfth Night Tale and stories from yesterdays guest blogger, Elizabeth Rolls and the very talented, Deborah Hale. The UK version will be released October 2007 and was renamed A Regency Christmas.

Isn’t it a lovely Christmas cover?

You can actually order this book from Mills and Boon right now!

Visit my website to hear me gush more about these books. My contest this month is to win one autographed copy of my RITA winner, A Reputable Rake, for yourself and another copy for a friend. The Cover Gods were good to me for A Reputable Rake, too.

Is this a good time to renew our cover debate?

Would you be as thrilled about The Vanishing Viscountess cover as I am or do you think it is too….mantitty?

What kind of covers do you like best?

Do covers influence whether or not you pick up a book in a bookstore?

If you are reading a romance in public, do you conceal the cover? (I confess, I used to, but now I hope someone notices and dares to say something to me!)

If you are near Williamsburg, Virginia, this Saturday, September 15, from 1 pm to 3 pm, I’ll be signing copies of Innocence and Impropriety, along with Romance Authors, Michelle Willingham, Marliss Melton, and Sydney Croft at The College of William and Mary Bookstore (Barnes and Noble), 345 Duke of Gloucester Street, Williamsburg. Mention Risky Regencies and I’ll have something special for you!