Paisley Kirkpatrick, you’re the winner of the signed copy of The Gamekeeper’s Lady. Please send your snailmail address to riskiesATyahoo.com.
Paisley Kirkpatrick, you’re the winner of the signed copy of The Gamekeeper’s Lady. Please send your snailmail address to riskiesATyahoo.com.
Today we welcome Ann Lethbridge to the Riskies to talk about her latest, The Gamekeeper’s Lady. Frustrated Lady Constance becomes attracted to the virile gamekeeper Mellors and they run around naked in the rain threading flowers through each other’s–NO! Wrong book.
A lovely twist on the Cinderella theme. Her likeable characters entertain….. Romantic Times Ms. Lethbridge has created two wonderfully flawed characters, and whilst they are among the crème de le crème of ton society, each stand out, not for their fair appearance, but rather their honesty, honor, and individuality. Heroes and Heartbreakers
Ann, congrats on the release, and I should mention here that your yummy hero received the Romantic Times K.I.S.S. (Knight in Shining Silver) hero award for May 2011. What was the origin of this book?
Interestingly enough, the book started off being about Robert, the hero. He was such a bad boy in that opening scene. But as the book progressed it clearly became Frederica’s journey. I tend to see a scene and then just follow along with the characters. For this book it was the scene where Robert is in bed with his mistress thinking everything in the garden is perfect, only to have everything go down hill fast. Funnily enough, I wrote that scene by hand in the car on a long journey to visit my daughter at University. On the way home, I read it to my husband. We had driven quite some distance with me reading, when he jerked in his seat, stared out of the window and said, “I have no idea where we are. We missed our turning.” The words were less polite, but that was their meaning.
I thought that was a very good omen.
(Yes, but did he stop and ask for directions?) What’s the appeal of the black sheep character for you?
Redemption, I suppose. I think we all hope to do better, to be better, and the redemption of the black sheep character plays into that basic human desire. They are also fun to write, because they are a bit wicked and never quite lose that charm.
Your heroine is an artist. Were you thinking of any particular artist of the period? eg Elizabeth Vigee Lebrun?
How did you guess? Probably because there were so few well-known female artists at this time. The idea of her being an artist came from the character herself, it was what she wanted to be. Then I had to go and look and see if it was possible. I was thrilled to find Elizabeth and a few others who made the idea a workable proposition. 
There was an English woman in an earlier century, Anna Maria Sibylla Merian who painted studies from nature, and then Elizabeth who painted mostly portraits.
Do you feel your upbringing in England gives you an insight into the complexities of the class system?
I always said that if I had been born in the Regency, I would have been the upstairs maid, or the tenant farmer’s wife. My grandmother always said we came from British yeoman stock, although l in more recent history my family had a military tradition. That might have been the result of two world wars, however. Coming from there, one certainly tends to understand how British Society works, who fits where and how, but the system itself has never been completely static. I think my upbringing in England gave me a deep-rooted feel for the history of the country and a feel for the countryside and it is that which I tap into for my books.
Did your research for the book turn up anything interesting?
I did quite a bit of research on the role of the gamekeeper which in turn led me to a book in an old bookshop in England on the art of poaching. In the end, it wasn’t relevant, but I was quite fascinated to learn how to tickle a trout. Perhaps it will find its way into a book one of these days. A poacher would have to be a bit of a black sheep — perhaps a gypsy. I do love a good gypsy story. Uh oh.
If you were in charge of casting for the movie version, who would you pick?
For Robert, it would have to be Richard Armitage, he has an edge I really like, but can be sensitive too. For Frederica, I would pick Emily Blunt I think. She carries off the female of the era who goes beyond the normal expectations for a woman very well.
What sort of music do you listen to when you write?
Oh dear, I really don’t. I can manage with a bit background noise if I have to, but my preference is silence. I prefer to listen to the characters in my head. I have been known to use music to drown out other noises in the house when people are home. In that case, I like anything classical without words. Words tend to insinuate their way into my mind and I find myself singing along, instead of writing.
What’s up next for you?
Thank you for asking. I have a follow up book to The Gamekeeper’s Lady out in June. It is about Robert’s brother, Charlie, the responsible twin, and called More than a Mistress. In the Fall some time there is a follow up book to my very first book with Harlequin, another bad-boy brother which is titled Lady Rosabella’s Ruse. Currently, I am working on a story set in the Highlands of Scotland where my characters seem to be engaged in a tale of catch as catch can and I am madly trying to keep up with them.
Thank you so much for inviting me to visit with the Risky Regencies, Janet. Now it is my turn to ask a question of your readers. I would like to know~
Who is your favourite black sheep character? Or what kind of hero do you prefer?
I have a copy of The Gamekeeper’s Lady waiting to wing its way off to a lucky commenter, picked randomly by Janet. Thank you for dropping in and Happy Mother’s Day.
Today we welcome multi-pubbed author Delle Jacobs back to the Riskies, here to talk about her latest release LADY WICKED and offering one free download as a prize.
Lady Wicked is not only a wonderful romance, it’s also a fantastic mystery. As this compelling novel goes on from hysterical scenes to dramatic ones, all while developing a captivating romance, readers may well wonder if Jacobs has created a Mr. Darcy for this generation. RT Book Reviews, four and a half starred review.
Welcome, Delle! Tell us about Lady Wicked.
Thanks, Janet and all you Riskies for inviting me! I love dropping by one of my favorite blog sites. I think the easiest way to describe LADY WICKED in with a short blurb:
Returning home to redeem his wasted life, Viscount Savoury rescues a lady in distress, only to learn she is the abandoned wife of his worst enemy. Despite the mutual enmity, need and attraction turn into friendship and trust. Then Davina discovers she must make a horrible choice: Savoury’s destruction, or hers. How can she choose?
I think we tend to forget how powerless women could be when a marriage went wrong in the Regency. Why did you choose this theme?
I love a story that’s full of drama, danger and adventure, and I love strong heroines. While for most heroines of Regencies, marriage to the love of their life is the desired outcome, that wasn’t always the way it worked out in real life. The plight of a woman caught in a disastrous marriage in the early 19th century is only rarely mentioned in romance fiction, but there are few situations in that period of time that could potentially present so much danger to a woman.
My favorite question is always, “But, what if…?” What is the supposed, ordinary, logical, even fairy-tale outcome? “But- what if that expected Happily Ever After- isn’t happy? What if something goes wrong? From that point on Davina surfaced and told me her story. She is a woman who would never see herself as strong, only as putting on a strong, willful face that keeps the predators at bay. She knows how scared and lonely she really is, but knows she can’t let her secret out. Lord Savoury, a total rascal who is down on his luck, is the last man she should ever trust. But he’s all she’s got. And he has to find the man he really is in order to be the man she needs.
Was this a hard book to sell?
Many risky stories don’t succeed, and that’s kind of sad. But a story that must reach beyond the ordinary cannot play it safe. If you take a big risk and it pays off, that’s great. But if it takes ten years of rejections, near misses and disappointments, yet it’s still the one story you just can’t give up on, that’s something else again.
Some stories are just that compelling for their authors, and LADY WICKED was that way for me. I think its biggest risk is in the hero and heroine, who are not standard fare for most successful Regency stories. Both of them are Beyond the Pale for the Ton in general, and Davina is considered an adulteress who has been cast aside by her husband, despite her innocence. Heroes can be rakes, but they really need to be successful ones, and Lord Savoury has, shall we say, not found his true self. He believes himself to have no morals, but in fact what he has are so deeply ingrained that they consistently surface in spite of himself. He is, as Davina characterizes him, a knight in tarnished armor. For bot h of them, outcasts of society, their ballroom days are over. But to me, this is what makes them so beautiful. When it comes to triumphing over adversity and growth of character, those who must struggle hardest for it are the heroes and heroines I love most.
The book has such a vivid sense of place. What locations inspired you?
Ah! An easy question! When I was looking for a walled manor of medieval age, a friend suggested Haddon Hall, so I checked it out. Other than the lack of a portcullis, it fit almost perfectly, so I began research that expanded into a total fascination with the place. I collected books, engravings and photos. I read about its history and studied its layout. Then in 2004, I made my first trip to England, with Haddon Hall as my top priority. I can’t express adequately what a thrill it was to walk over the stones of the courtyard, up the worn stone steps in the hall, seeing what I had written, feeling the ambience I was sure was there. I think it was when I saw a small leather child’s shoe that had been found on the grounds and knew it was the very one I had transformed into the one my hero found while going through ancient rubbish that I felt I had been there before. My research had indeed become real to me.
Who would you cast in the movie version?
It took me a bit to cast this one. Most of the actors I usually love to watch are either too old now or are not a good fit for my two unusual characters. But then I remembered Henry Cavill, who played Henry VII’s best friend Charles Brandon in The Tudors. I think it’s his way of showing humor, but also his ability to portray a man such as my Viscount Savoury, who discovers a depth of courage he never knew he had.
Both Natalie Portman and Penelope Cruz could play Davina well. Davina is a very strong woman, extremely independent, and has a hard edge to her public face that keeps people at bay and protects her frightened, soft inner person. She is very complex and contradictory, and I think it would take an actress of unusual skill to really capture her. It would be so easy to simply play her according to the stereotype she attempts to show to the world, and never catch her in the lies that hide her true essence.
What are you working on now?
I have too many projects! I’m doing a lot of cover art these days, and it really keeps me busy. I’m planning on indie-publishing two paranormal historicals this summer, and one Regency Historical. I’ve had such great success with the backlist I’ve published on Amazon and Smashwords, I’m going to try two original, unpublished works. The first, SIREN, is a novella length sea fantasy, told entirely from the hero’s point of view. The second, FAERIE, is a paranormal with a real kick-ass heroine in a medieval world where the beliefs and superstitions of the age are real. I’m probably going to release two more Regency historicals in the fall, one a backlist and the other an original unpublished story.
I’ve also been invited to do a novella length Regency romance based on a letter that is life-changing for one of the characters. Since I already had the perfect story half-finished, I’ll be working to meet that deadline too.
Delle will drop by to chat and answer questions; your comment or question today will enter you into the drawing for a prize of a free download of LADY WICKED.
In honor of Charlotte Bronte’s birthday and as a followup to last week’s post about the latest movie version of Jane Eyre, I’m recycling a post from 2005 about the book.
Even people who haven’t read Jane Eyre know what it’s about. They know who Mr. Rochester is, they know about the mad wife in the attic, they know the heroine is a friendless governess. I found this out after writing an alternative erotic novella based on JE (called Reader, I Married Him, one of the book’s most famous lines)–and I showed it to a few other writers for critique. They immediately knew what it was about whether they’d read JE or not. (In my version, btw, it’s Mr. Rochester who’s chained up in the attic.)
[Update: I did finally publish Reader, I Married Him, and it’s a finalist in Passionate Ink’s contest for pubbed books, The Passionate Plume. Huzzah!]
It’s not my favorite Bronte–that’s Villette, also by Charlotte Bronte, a real kick-ass book that is even more brave, puzzling, difficult, and frustrating than JE.
I hate the fact that JE runs away from Rochester because he wants her to become his mistress–the fact that he’s lied through his teeth to her and taken advantage of her lowly status and lack of connections doesn’t really seem to bother her as much. The sexiest part of it is not the love scenes with Rochester (which I find cringeworthy), but life at Lowood. I remember reading it during adolescence and getting all steamed up in the early part of the book and bored with the rest of it, and couldn’t really understand why. Wasn’t it Mr. R who was supposed to float my boat? Although I have to admit that first meeting with the hound and the mysterious figure on horseback has a wonderful, mythic quality to it. The first sentence of the book is extraordinary for an era that specialized in purple prose (in which Charlotte Bronte did pretty well)–blunt, atmospheric, spare:
There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.
Very fitting for a book that is about repression, choices made from necessity, and the lack of opportunity for action.
My daughter, a tough, cynical sophomore (and English major) [in 2005] told me she was quite shocked by JE. Why? Well, there’s all that talk about mistresses, she said. It is an extraordinarily frank book in that regard–although of course all of Mr. R’s messing about took place on the Continent, where Englishmen went to behave like, well, foreigners. That makes it all the more shocking when he sets out to entrap Jane into a bigamous marriage. As for the fate of the first Mrs. R, it does make you wonder how many mentally ill female family members were quietly tucked away under the eaves. Better than sending them to a mental hospital, of course, but the same treatment could be meted out to disobedient or eccentric wives.
JE may be the first historical regency gothic. It was published in 1847, and is placed somewhere in the regency period. There are a few hints–a reference to a novel by Walter Scott, for instance–that place the novel anywhere in the first twenty-five years of the nineteenth century. I think Bronte is being deliberately obscure–it’s set in that period when England hovered on the brink of change that came about with the 1832 reform bill. It was a period that fascinated the Victorians–much of Dickens and George Eliot is set in the late 1820s–because afterward, everything was different. She’s writing about a time that is now history, from the perspective of the present, deliberately manipulating fact to fit fiction.
So, I really can’t avoid this: JE as a great love story. Well, yes, but… There’s Jane’s capitulation and surrender (on an emotional, not physical level) to Mr. R–almost–she’s always holding herself back, playing it safe, exercising caution and control. Jane is constantly reminding us of Mr. R’s brooding physical presence, his size, and ugliness, a Beast she cannot tame. It’s only when he’s debilitated by the fire that he become safe enough to domesticate. I don’t necessarily agree with the favorite theory that it’s more than his arm and eye that got damaged in the fire (and then how on earth did Jane get pregnant–I mean, I wonder anyway, but really, that’s just dumb…), but now Jane is the strong one, the heroine who makes the choice to begin her journey with him.
Comments, anyone?
Yikes, I’m late. It’s spring. I saw a bee today, the first one I’ve noticed, and I’ve been dealing with all sorts of vegetation problems outside, the result of several years’ neglect while I wrote, or, more likely, lurked around inside thinking about starting to write. But never mind all that.
I finally got to see Jane Eyre, weeks after everyone else, and I think it’s a good enough interpretation that it could stand a little more discussion. So I loved it, unreservedly, and reader, I would marry this movie given half the chance.
And Jane herself–well, I’ve never liked any of the others, such as the permanently cross and overbitten Ruth Wilson in the 2006 BBC version, the too-pretty Charlotte Gainsbourg (1996), and I thought at moments in the 1970 version with Susannah York that she almost got it. But Mia Wasikowska was amazing; she portrayed such a sense of inner passion behind the mask.
One scene that was omitted, which surprised me at first, was that in which Jane’s wedding veil is ripped in half by Bertha (uh, you do know she’s the mad wife in the attic, right? oops, spoiler). But it made sense in the understated interpretation, abandoning the more obviously gothic elements.
There were some lovely moments–the sexy, and again, understated scene after the fire when Jane and Rochester almost kiss (they rub noses. Aaaw); when Jane’s wedding gown drops around her feet, mirroring the earlier scene where her “fine clothes” are taken from her at Lowood.
The locations and lighting and soundtrack were incredible. Most of it was filmed in Derbyshire, and here are some of the locations. Haddon Hall, left, is Thornfield:
Have you seen the movie? What did you think? What was your favorite scene?