So today the weather finally dipped below 100 degrees here! In fact–it is actually in the 80s, and raining! I can go outside again! Hooray! It also appears my reading and post-RWA writing slumps are done (for now, anyway). I’ve passed the halfway mark on the WIP and am also fiddling around with the 1920s project, and have read not one but TWO wonderful books: the historical mystery The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (a terrific early 1950s British setting and a smart-mouthed “detective” combined with seriously witty writing) and the Restoration romance Libertine’s Kiss by Judith James. (When I finished it, I immediately ran to the email and lured Judith James to the blog–she’ll be here next Tuesday, the 31st, to tell you all more about this fabulous, fabulous book).

And until I got a box of author copies yesterday I forgot I have a September release! Improper Ladies is another re-issue of two of my Signet Regencies, The Golden Feather (a Bookseller’s Best Award winner) and The Rules of Love (a RITA nominee!). Isn’t the cover girl’s hair gorgeous?? (I’m giving away a copy over at my own blog–tell me about your favorite Regency story for a chance to win…)

I also read that on this day in 1847, Charlotte Bronte finished writing Jane Eyre. Like many history junkies, this is one of my all-time favorite books ever, and one I never tire of re-reading. I vividly remember my first encounter with Jane. I was about 9 or 10, and had been long hooked on stuff like The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, and the Betsy-Tacy books, so was always looking for stories with similar settings. (I had also just read my very first Austen, Emma, and was ripe for more 19th century literature). I found a battered paperback copy of Jane Eyre in a box at a garage sale, thought “Yes, I’ve heard of this!” and dragged it home to start reading. I stayed up all night (yes, with a flashlight, hiding under the bed) reading, and was shocked (shocked!!) by Bertha in the attic. I was totally addicted.

My mother then aided and abetted this obsession by finding a VHS tape of the Timothy Dalton Jane Eyre series, which I watched over and over, and I used my allowance to buy as many Victorian novels as I could find at the bookstore. (I tried Wuthering Heights next, but was still too young for it–I didn’t come to appreciate it until much later. But I did like Bleak House and Mill on the Floss, strangely).

There are many, many (many, many, many) versions of Jane Eyre to be found out there. In movies, there’s a silent version from 1915 called The Castle of Thornfield and a 1926 German film called Orphan of Lowood (I haven’t seen it, but have these wonderful visions of JE as Cabinet of Dr. Caligari), a 1963 Mexican feature called El Secreto and a 1972 Indian movie Shanti Nilyam. Here are a few a little closer to home:

1983–Timothy Dalton as Rochester and Zelah Clarke as Jane (still my favorite version, since I saw it first! I love how so much of the dialogue from the book is in place and how true it is to the spirit of the story…)

1997–Ciaran Hinds (Captain Wentworth!) and Samantha Morton (I like this one, but not as much as I thought I would when I first starting watching it)

1996–A Franco Zeffirelli-directed version starring William Hurt and French icon Charlotte Gainsbourg (it’s been so long since I’ve seen this I remember very little about it)

1944–Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine (and a very young Elizabeth Taylor)

2006–Toby Stephens as “Mr. Rochester as hottie” and Ruth Wilson

And one coming soon in 2011, starring Mia Wasikowska (from Alice in Wonderland) as Jane

Plus there are sequels, continuations, inspired-by books, Jane as paranormal hero, muscials, operas, etc etc….

When did you first read Jane Eyre? What’s your favorite of the adaptations? And what good books have you read lately???

First of all–new covers!!! Regency Christmas Proposals–isn’t it pretty? Doesn’t it look wonderfully Christmas-y? (even though Christmas seems years away…). I’m very excited about my story Snowbound and Seduced (a Diamonds of Welbourne Manor spin-off! We met Mary Derrington and her girlhood sweetheart Dominic, Viscount Amesby, in Charlotte and the Wicked Lord. Now they have to reunite to chase after her sister and his cousin as they attempt to elope in the midst of bad weather and right at Christmas), and the thought that someday it will be cool outside again (after weeks of 100+ weather here). It’s out in November, along with my new “Undone” story, To Court, Capture, and Conquer (I also just found out I’ll be doing an “Undone” story with a 1920s story–stay tuned!). November will be fun!

Until then, my yard is withering from lack of rain, my cats won’t come out from the cool shade under the bed, and I watch way too much summer TV. True Blood, Mad Men, Vampire Diaries re-runs, History Detectives, Pawn Stars, Project Runway, On the Road With Austin and Santino…you see what a useless summer I’m having. But I also take breaks from being a TV lump on the couch to work on my WIP (working title–Elizabethan Theater Story) and doing some research. One great book on the period is Charles Nicholl’s The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe, and I was struck by one little piece of info I found there:

“Peter Shakerley was one of those self-publicizing Elizabethan oddballs who found their way into the popular imagination. There were others: an absurdly dressy Italian called Monarcho, the loquacious barber Tom Tooley, old Mother Livers of Stoke Newington, and so on. They were a bit crazy, and people laughed at them and talked about them, and their names remain like curious fossils in the pamphlets and ballads of the day”

Maybe it’s my summer TV time, but it occurred to me–these were Elizabethan reality stars! Crazy, laughable, well-known for doing–well, nothing really, except being odd and good at publicizing their oddness. They’re like the Kardashians of the 16th century. Today they would appear on Go Fug Yourself (especially that Monarcho guy–I’d love to see his outfits) and on the cover of US Weekly with Bachelors and Bristol Palin. If only there was a Big Brother where groups of them would be locked up in Hampton Court, or maybe a Victorian Project Runway where Charles Frederick Worth could be the Tim Gunn figure (only meaner). A Regency Work of Art, only with whiny, back-stabbing poets! A Georgian Top Chef where they have to prepare a 30-course dinner at the Brighton Pavilion–in only two hours!

That would be TV gold, and I’ve spent too much time this morning dreaming up new schemes. Who Wants to Marry Henry VIII? Lady Caro Lamb is the New Bachelorette–Be Careful, She’ll Stab You With That Rose If You Reject Her?

So you tell me! What historical reality shows would you like to see???

The winners of copies of The Smuggler and the Society Bride are—–Maureen and Kim Colby! Please send us your snail mail info at Riskies AT yahoo.com

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone! I hope it’s nice and cool where you are–it’s another 100+ scorcher here (I am sooooo ready for autumn), perfect for staying in the AC and getting some work done. Like Diane, I’m still recovering from RWA and missing all my friends and the fun we had. It’s not always easy to settle down to working on the WIP and getting used to my quiet house. (Though I did have fun hitting the school supply sale at Target this weekend! I bought new pens and pretty, shiny new Disney Princess notebooks, perfect for this new book…)

I had a ridiculous amount of fun on my one day at Disney World, which really was a “magical day”! (Big thanks to Michelle Willingham for introducing us to the “Unofficial Guide” plan, which means never waiting in long lines and getting to see everything in a reasonable amount of time!). I loved the rides, seeing the adorable children in their costumes (especially the tiny pirate twins sword-fighting on the sidewalk), and eating lunch at Cinderella’s Castle. I must, must, must get back there for a real vacation ASAP! One thing I was especially struck by was the storytelling of many of the rides (and also how clean and tidy everything was). The details of rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, and Snow White’s Scary Adventure were amazing, and a good lesson in building worlds and adding depths and layers to our own stories.

One of the best rides for this was the Haunted Mansion. I’m glad I did a little reading about it before we left, because it’s so easy to get caught up in the moment and miss lots of fun, clever little details! I think the Mansion at Disney in France actually does feature a narrative through the whole ride (a tale of a bride and a Phantom), but the Orlando attraction is more of a vignette-style, but a good example of storytelling for all that. Here is a little of what I observed from my “Doom Buggy”:

The Haunted Mansion opened in 1971, and underwent a large refurbishment in 2007. It can be found in Liberty Square, a portrayal of colonial America, and the exterior is built in a “Dutch Gothic Revival” style reminiscent of millionaire’s mansions in the Hudson River Valley (according to the Disney World site…). On the walk in you go by a hearse and a little graveyard, which includes a tombstone for Madame Leota which is supposed to open its eyes and blink at you (though I didn’t catch that feature!). Once inside the crowds are pressed into an octagonal room hung with portraits and the wall behind you slides closed (the scariest part of the whole ride, IMO!). A ghostly voice intones “Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion!” and goes on to say “Is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it your imagination, hmmm?” The walls do stretch upwards, revealing humorously macabre scenes in the portraits–then the lights go out, lightning flashes, and there’s a glimpse of a hanged silhouette on the wall. I think I did shriek a little at that point…

They say if you hang back a little in the stretching room you can hear the gargoyles on the walls whisper and a voice telling you “Get out!”–but the staff doesn’t want you to linger. They hustle you along a dark hallway with portraits that turn from people into ghouls as you watch and into your two-person “Doom Buggy”. (I now like to imagine what riders would see of my WIP if they rode a doom buggy through the pages…)

There are rooms of Escher-like stairways floating in mid-air, floating candelabras, talking portraits, a library with moving ladders and flying books and a stormy forest beyond the windows (while “Grim Grinning Ghosts” plays throughout in the background). The Buggies spin backwards to reveal new scenes, like a conservatory full of dead flowers and a coffin with someone trying to get out (while nails hang out of the coffin’s roof!), with a raven looking on. A corridor is full of ghosts trying to escape, knocking, swirling around, breathing doors, and a demonic clock that chimes 13 as the hands spin backward and a claw’s shadow passes over it.

Then there is my favorite part–the ballroom! Diners sit around a table consuming a phantom feast, while a ghost plays the organ and ghostly couples spin around and around (and latecomers arrive in an open coffin on a hearse). I loved the portraits of the two dueling men, which shoot at each other across the wall. Then comes the attic, full of dusty items and portraits of a murderous bride with her various husbands (each husband morphs into being headless as a voice intones “Until death do we part!”). The buggies go out a window and into a cemetery where so much is happening it’s impossible to keep track–I glimpsed a king and queen on a teeter-totter, children on swings, a tea party, a dog, an arm coming out of the crypt holding a wineglass, spirits on bikes.

As you exit, a tiny girl ghost above the door whispers “Hurry back! be sure to bring your death certificate if you decide to join us. Make final arrangements now. We’ve been dying to have you…” Very creepy. And then an uninvited guest joins you in the buggy to follow you home….

I loved this ride! If only I could have gone on it at least a couple more times to catch some of the details I missed. (I found out after I got home there is a whole fan site for this ride, Doom Buggies, with lots of great info!)

Have you been to Disney World? What is your favorite ride there, and what little details have you noticed? Where have you found some unexpected inspiration???

The Riskies welcome back Harlequin Historicals author Julia Justiss as our guest blogger today! Julia is giving away not one but two copies of The Smuggler and the Society Bride to 2 lucky commenters….

When The Road To Adventure Is Aboard Ship: The Smuggling Lugger Versus The Royal Navy Cutter by Julia Justiss

My hero, Gabe Hawksworth, grew up on the Irish coast, sailing his passion from the time he was strong enough to grasp a tiller. So when the good army friend who saved his life asks him to take over a smuggling lugger until its injured captain recovers, Gabe cannot refuse. Not to mention, after kicking his heels at home under the scrutiny of his insufferable elder brother while he recovered from wounds suffered at the battle of Orthes, he’s ripe for a new adventure. Pitting his wits against the sea and the revenue agents sounds like just the thing.

During the heyday of smuggling in the 18th and 19th centuries, the small fishing vessels that had always toiled on the Cornish coast were adapted into swift vessels that could be up to 75 feet in length, stepped with 3 masts whose massive sails allowed the fastest to journey the one hundred miles from Cornwall to Brittany in eight hours. The luggers were worked by a crew of 30 and might be armed with 12 to 16 cannon, plus swivel guns loaded with grapeshot to ferociously resist any government vessels that attempted to capture the ship and its valuable cargo.

Given that hanging or transportation was the punishment for anyone convicted of smuggling, their fierce resistance is understandable. However, considering that a crewman would earn ten pounds for a successful run to Guernsey or Roscoff–more than a fisherman earned in 3 months–one can understand why captains had no difficulty manning their ships. It didn’t hurt either that the smugglers’ neighbors were usually more sympathetic to the men who braved the sea and the revenue patrols to bring them desirable goods than to the king’s men, and a Cornish journey would almost never bring a guilty verdict against anyone on trial for smuggling.

Ranged against the smuggling lugger in this contest was the Royal Navy or revenue service cutter. Built after a design adapted from the smuggling luggers of Folkestone, this craft averaged about 70 feet long and carried a crew of 40. Built for speed, the ships could deploy fore, aft, and square sails on their single mast and carried an armament of up to 10 18-pounder guns. However, since they had a deeper draft than the smugglers’ vessels they couldn’t operate close in to shore and so depended on finding their prey at sea, in transit between the supplier in France and the base in England.

A battle of wits and sailing skill would result, with the variables of wind, sea, and storm to make things interesting. The worst fate for the smuggling lugger was to be becalmed, sitting helpless on the windless sea, unable to escape while the revenue cutter lowered small boats to row over and search his vessel. Then a battle not of wits but of cutlasses and muskets would likely result. Just the kind of ruckus a hot-blooded soldier like my hero Gabe enjoyed!

What’s your transportation of choice when you want to set off on the road to adventure? So you drive to the shore or mountains? Fly to some exotic destination? Cruise to Bermuda or the Caribbean? Or are you an “armchair traveler” transported to adventure in the pages of your favorite book?