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.

I Dreamt I Went To Manderley Again

Updated on August 13, 2013 by diane

I watched Rebecca on TCM a few days ago. The movie opens with that line as, of course, does the book, which I read so many years ago I can’t remember. It has to be one of the best opening lines for a book ever:

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . . I came upon it suddenly; the approach masked by the unnatural growth of a vast shrub that spread in all directions . . . There was Manderley, our Manderley, secretive and silent as it had always been, the gray stone shining in the moonlight of my dream, the mullioned windows reflecting the green lawns and terrace. Time could not wreck the perfect symmetry of those walls, nor the site itself, a jewel in the hollow of a hand..

Who would not want to read on after such an opening?

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier was the hit of its day. First published in 1938, it has been continuously in print and as recently as 1993 was selling 4,000 copies a month. As we romance writers might expect, critics panned the book as “nothing beyond the novelette (The Times) or predicted that the novel “would be here today, gone tomorrow” (Christian Science Monitor ).

Books like Rebecca and other gothic romances (Phyllis A. Whitney, Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart) fueled my love of reading when I was young. I could not get enough of the woman-in-peril stories, the sinister mood and suspense–was the hero a villain or a saviour? I read as many as I could get my hands on. When the steamier historical romances became popular, I was ripe for them, too, and I quickly fell in love with Regency romances, the old traditional regencies, as well as Georgette Heyer, and back to Jane Austen.

Rebecca had early influences, not quite back to regency times, but it is clear the book was influenced by Jane Eyre. The innocent heroine, the dark “widower,” a mysterious servant, a big secret about the hero’s former wife, the fire at the end–all are there. I like that du Maurier wrote such a popular book based on a classic. I had my own Jane Eyre-inspired book, Born To Scandal, after all.

Daphne du Maurier has her own connection to regency times. Her great-grandmother was Mary Anne Clarke, former mistress of Frederick, Duke of York. It was Mary Anne Clarke who sold army commissions with the Duke of York’s knowledge, a scandal which forced Frederick to resign from his position as Commander in Chief of the Army. Du Maurier’s book, Mary Anne, is a fictional account of her great-grandmother’s life.

Have you read Rebecca? Or have you seen the movie? Can you think of any other great opening lines of books?

Posted in Reading | 4 Replies

Winner and Shoeblacks

Updated on August 5, 2013 by diane

I am so grateful to HJ who spent a great deal of time and effort to come up with a strapline for me to send to the UK Harlequin folks for use on my author page. HJ came up with many ideas, but this one is my favorite:

Rich, ravishing, reflective – award-winning Regency romances

HJ, you definitely win the $5.00 Amazon gift card. Look for an email from me.

I looked at Chambers’ Book of Days for a blog topic for today. The Book of Days was written in 1869 and contains a “A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar, Including Anecdote, Biography, & History, Curiosities of Literature and Oddities of Human Life and Character.” When stuck for a topic, I often go to the online version and search by the day’s date.

The August 5 entry tells about London Shoeblacks.

Shoeblacks or shoeshine boys appeared to go out of favor in the late Regency. Chambers talks of the last of the shoeblacks of that era, “as a short, large-headed son of Africa, rendered melancholy by impending bankruptcy, who might he seen, about the year 1820, plying his calling in one of the many courts on the north side of Fleet Street, till driven into the workhouse by the desertion of his last customer.”

During this time period, the shoeblack used a three-legged stool, and carried his tools in a large tin kettle which contained an earthen-pot filled with blacking (made of ivory black, brown sugar, vinegar, and water), a knife, two or three brushes, a stick with a piece of rag at the end, and an old wig. The wig was used to wipe the dust and dirt from the shoe before polishing.

Shoeblacks were seen on every corner of the street in London in those days. Apparently the manufacture of shoe polish by Day and Martin led to the demise of the shoeblack profession in London.

It was revived in 1851. Some philanthropists affiliated with the Ragged Schools had an idea to train boys who would otherwise be on the streets to shine shoes. They were dressed in red coats, attended a Ragged School at night and lived in dormitories.

During the Great Exhibition about twenty-five boys polished over 100,000 boots. During the first year the Shoeblack Society made £656.

Because of the Shoeblack Society hundreds of homeless boys were rescued from lives of privation or crime, but the occupation also became licensed and controlled. Unlicensed shoeblacks suffered harassment from the police.

Those boys who worked hard eventually were able to move on to other ventures, some even able to buy businesses of their own. After 30 years the Shoeblack Society earned almost a quarter million pounds. Their fame even reached the New York Times in 1881.

One might not find shoeblacks on every corner of London now, but you can still get a great shine from the stand at the Burlington Arcade

So…here’s my question for today. When was the last time you polished a pair of shoes?

P.S. the painting above is totally inaccurate for this post. It is called “Shoeshine Boys,” and is an 1889 painting by Polish-American artist, Karol D. Witkowski)

Posted in Regency, Research | 10 Replies

Wanted: A Strapline!

Updated on July 29, 2013 by diane

This must be our time for asking for help from our readers. Megan asked for help for finding examples of heroines for her HSCD (handsome, snarky, charming duke). Susanna asked for what risks readers thought Riskies should take. And I need your help coming up with a strapline.

1815 019 no 2 A strapline is a header that will run across the top of my author page at eHarlequin and Millsandboon.co.uk

Examples of straplines were things like:
“Fun, fresh, and flirty romance!”
“Sizzling stories that will keep you turning the pages…”
“Romance author fuelled by coffee and craziness”
“Cowgirl chick and western romance writer”

I would want mine to include that I write Regency Historicals and I want it to reflect my particular spin on the Regency.

Here’s what I came up with so far:
“Mayfair, Almack’s, and the Regency Underworld! Award-winning Regency Romance”
“Mayfair, Almack’s and the Regency Underworld! Emotion packed Regency Romance”

What sort of strapline would attract you? Should I include the words “award-winning?”

The strapline cannot be more than 10 words.

So here’s the challenge. Help me come up with a strapline. Write me a new one or give your opinion of the two I came up with. Or give me guidelines to write a good one. Take a look at my website for ideas. There’s a $5.00 Amazon gift card for the winning strapline. Or, if I don’t pick the best one, I’ll choose one winner at random, winner to be announced next Monday.

And, in case winning a $5 gift card isn’t enough, enter our newsletter contest! Just sign up for our newsletter and you’ll be entered. For the prize we’ll pay off at least $40 of your Amazon Wish List! Janet will announce the winner on August 1.

Posted in Writing | 8 Replies

The Beau Monde

Updated on July 22, 2013 by diane

I’m back from RWA, all bone-weary and brain-dead, but also rejuvenated and ready to conquer everything about the Romance writing world. I did have a lovely time.

Before the RWA conference, though, there was the Beau Monde conference. The Beau Monde is the Regency chapter of Romance Writers of America and they had a one day conference before the big conference. It is a great time to reconnect with writing friends who love the Regency as much as I do.

Big thanks to Isobel Carr who made the Beau Monde published authors little pins of their latest bookcovers. I wore mine proudly the whole week–until I lost it the last day (sniff!!).

Every one of the workshops I attended at the Beau Monde conference was terrific.

The first was by our very own Risky Susanna Fraser who spoke on Your Hero’s Military History: Beyond Trafalgar and Waterloo. Susanna’s love of the Napoleonic War and its heroes equals (or maybe even exceeds) mine and she did a beautiful job of making a huge topic understandable and useful. Plus in her handouts she provided a fabulous set of timelines.

The next workshop I attended was A Quack or Dr. House by Sharon Lathan, RN, which made the different professions in Regency Medicine much clearer. Now I know the difference between a physician, a surgeon, an accoucheur (midwife) and an apothecary.

The afternoon began with Louisa Cornell, who is such a loyal friend of Risky Regencies. Louisa’s topic was A Great Proficient, about the performance of music in the Regency, especially what a proper lady or gentleman might do. One of the fascinating things about her topic was how similar music became popular then as it does in modern times. One heard music performed, say at Vauxhall Gardens, then ran to the lending library or music shop to get the broadsheet so it could be played at home. The real delight of this workshop, though, was getting to hear Louisa sing. I’ve known for years that she was once a professional opera singer who performed all over Europe, but I’d never before heard her sing!

Last workshop I attended was by our very own Risky, Janet, who talked about The Jewish and Black Communities of Georgian London. I won’t say too much about this one in case Janet wants to expand upon the topic for the blog, but she showed the stereotypes portrayed and some of the ways these groups were assimilated and accepted beyond stereotypic expectations. I will say that Janet was her usual very entertaining self and just listening to her was a pleasure!

The workshops I didn’t get to see were Regina Scott‘s What is So Grand About A Grand Tour, Historical Accuracy: When To Worry And When To Fudge with Anne Cleeland, Jade Lee, and Elizabeth Hoyt, and Ashlyn Macnamara‘s How To Play Whist. But I have the conference tapes so I can catch up on those later!

Later that evening we had the Beau Monde Soiree with Regency dancing. I love this part of the conference because so many of the members dress in Regency dress. I didn’t this year, but wore a long “Regency-esque” dress. One lovely part of the Soiree is that the Mills and Boon editors from the UK (Amanda’s and my editors) always attend. It just seems fitting that they should!

Of course I have NO PHOTOS. I’m terrible at remembering to take pictures until it is too late!

For more on the RWA conference-according-to-Diane, see my blog on Thursday.

If you attended the Beau Monde conference, what was your favorite part. If not, which of these workshop titles most appeals to you?

Posted in Regency, Research, Writing | 4 Replies

Travel Time

Updated on July 15, 2013 by diane

This week several of the Riskies and I will be traveling to Atlanta to the Romance Writers of America annual conference and the Beau Monde, RWA Regency Chapter, mini-conference. Our Janet will be presenting a workshop at Beau Monde, Jewish and Black Communities of Georgian London. Janet and I will also be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Wet Noodle Posse, the Golden Heart finalists of 2003.

But I’m not thinking of that today. Today I’m packing my pink fabric suitcase. Of course if this were Regency times, I’d be packing a trunk.

But I’d also need a cosmetic case-I have a matching pink tote that I use for all my cosmetics, but in the Regency, I might have a French Necessaire, like this one at auction here.

On Tuesday I’ll be taking an airplane, the fastest way to travel to Atlanta. In the Regency, I’d travel by stage coach, the era’s equivalent.

Now…what would be the Regency equivalent of a Romance Writers conference?

I hope to see some of our Risky commenters at RWA. Please come up to us and say hi!

At the Literacy booksigning, I’ll be participating in a Romance Trading Cards giveaway, along with several other authors. I’ll have albums and romance trading cards for A Reputation for Notoriety and Born To Scandal.

Posted in Regency, Risky Regencies | 4 Replies