Back to Top

Category: Risky Book Talk

Posts in which we talk about our own books

When I think of risky Regencies….

Updated on by
Hello! This is Laurie Bishop. Great cover, Cara!
I’ve been reading everyone else’s comments and trying to decide how I would qualify what makes a Regency risky. I find it isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. But since I have to come up with something 😉 , to me a risky Regency is one in which the heroine, and/or the hero, do something extraordinary for their sex/time/station—or must act in an unexpected way to address their dilemma. Also, in addition to this, they must do or be in this way without violating the attitudes of the time.Hence the trickiness.Let us say that I want my heroine to be courageous and able to take command to save the family estate. She might come to the traumatic conclusion that she must ruin herself by becoming the mistress of Snidely Whiplash; and she can acknowledge this by having all of the appropriate thoughts and feelings about what she feels forced to do. But…she will not use language that a gently reared young lady does not use, and she will otherwise behave with all the decorum within her power that she has been raised to use. And she will not know something that a gently reared young lady does not know.

Of course, if she is not a gently reared young lady, we have a different bucket of peas. She will have the perspective of a farmer’s daughter, a soldier’s daughter, or what have you. And that can be quite different. Even middle class daughters were different than the daughters of the highest peers. In PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, the Bennett daughters walked to town alone. Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s daughter would never been allowed to do such a thing.

In my first Regency, THE BEST LAID PLANS, the heroine was a very independent-thinking American heiress who was not raised in high English society. She was therefore allowed to be a little outrageous—and was a ball to write!

Laurie

WHEN HORSES FLY Oct. 2005
LORD RYBURN’S APPRENTICE Jan. 2006
Posted in Regency, Risky Book Talk | Tagged | 7 Replies

Branding and Covers

Updated on by

I know branding is important and yet I struggle with it.

When I first put out my sexy Regency novella, Lady Em’s Indiscretion, as an e-book, I had several choices regarding cover. I could use a similar cover treatment to Lady Dearing’s Masquerade, the only e-book I had out at that time, or do something different. Being naïve, I thought that because the sex scenes in the novella weren’t really any hotter than those in the other book, a similar cover treatment would be fine. The problem is that while Lady Dearing’s Masquerade is a long book with many plot elements besides the sex, Lady Em’s Indiscretion is a short story where sex is the plot. Kind of like dessert without the meal, which is what was intended.

The other thing I didn’t realize is how many readers buy based on author name and a thumbnail. So although I described the story in the blurb, some readers were surprised that what they bought wasn’t like Lady Dearing’s Masquerade or my “Three Disgraces” trilogy. My bad. I need to fix that.

So here’s the range of my covers. I have my split style for most of my books, which are in that medium-sexy range. I intentionally asked for a different style for the reissue of my novella, The Wedding Wager, to indicate that this was a sweeter style book.

Much as I like the current cover for Lady Em’s Indiscretion, I think it needs to change to help it reach readers who enjoy the other end of the sweet/hot spectrum.

I recently read this interesting post at Dear Author about the cover evolution for Midnight Scandals, the new anthology from Courtney Milan, Sherry Thomas and Risky Carolyn Jewel. Now I’m especially aware that the cover needs to look striking (and different from my others) even as a thumbnail.

I’d be interested to know what people think. If I end up changing the cover, look forward to a celebration giveaway.

Also a bit of news. Authors Gail Eastwood and Susanna Fraser have kindly agreed to do some occasional guest posts for me. So you can look forward to a bit of variety on Fridays, while I am looking forward to a little extra writing time to help finish my balloonist story. 🙂

Elena
www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene
www.twitter.com/ElenaGreene7

Posted in Reading, Risky Book Talk, Writing | Tagged , | 10 Replies

Top Ten Reasons to buy Hidden Paradise

Updated on by

I’m absolutely the worst self promoter in the world because Hidden Paradise has now been available on amazon for two days and I somehow missed my own release date (which for the rest of the world may be September 25 or October 1). So today it’s all about the book. First, here’s the booktrailer in which I make my debut as a porn voiceover star:

This was made on iMovie which comes with the standard Mac bundle of software and it’s an extremely nifty little program. All sorts of visual effects and you can fade music in and out and I recorded  the voiceover with the puter’s inbuilt mic when the guys next door weren’t using their power tools.

You can read an exclusive excerpt on Heroes & Heartbreakers and learn more about my inspiration for the book at the RT Daily Blog.

And the Top Ten Reasons to buy the book:

10. There’s stuff about Jane Austen in it. Really. (As well as the sex.)
9. There’s a lot of stuff about paint analysis (well, it floats my boat).
8. People dress up in Regency clothes (and have sex).
7. They eat authentic Regency food (and have sex of no particular historical period).
6. There’s horseback riding and boxing (and … you know).
5. Also country dancing (and, you guessed it).
4. Glimpses of downstairs life among the team of hot footmen (no, not like that, though probably it should have been, but you do get that elsewhere).
3. It’s funny sometimes (even during the sex. Did we mention the sex yet? Oh yes, we did).
2. And sometimes it’s sad (by the way, did I tell you that…)
1. Because you know you want it real bad.

And now the contest: I’m giving away two signed copies (US only) if you enter with a coherent sentence about … just about anything, and I’ll pick names and announce on Sunday. So if you’re not planning to visit on Sunday, leave an emasculated version of your email, eg riskies at yahoodotcom so I can contact you. Usual restrictions apply.

Posted in Giveaways, Jane Austen, Risky Book Talk | Tagged , , | 11 Replies

Title help and giveaway!

Updated on by

I just got the second proof copy of the Print-on-Demand version of Lady Dearing’s Masquerade. The first copy had a few problems, which I’ve fixed and this copy looks great! Even though I believe e-books are real books, having a copy I can hold in my hands is still really, really cool.

So now I am looking at this proof copy. Susanna’s post last week,  Trouble with Titles reminded me of how I’ve been struggling with a title for my balloonist story. The connection: I’d be delighted to give away this copy in exchange for some help brainstorming.

Note: this is just brainstorming–I’m going to pick a winner at random, not based on who gives the best title advice. I won’t necessarily use any of the names we come up with.  I still have a few months’ work to finish the story, so the Perfect Title Fairy might still deliver.

Just tell me what you think of my ideas so far and let me know if any new ones come to you.

To give you an idea of the story, here’s the tiny blurb I currently have up on my website, which sounds kind of trite (quick pitches are another thing I struggle with).

My hero, Gil, is a Waterloo veteran turned aeronaut. Not trusting the future, he lives for the moment, while my heroine, Emma, is a village schoolteacher so weighed down by past tragedies she has forgotten how to enjoy life. Together they deal with ghosts from their pasts, a saboteur and a passion that won’t be denied.

My initial working title was Heaven Sent. He crashes into the meadow behind her cottage and changes her life. Clever, huh?  Not so much. There are at least eight books on Amazon with that title, mostly romance in various sub-genres but also one book that was religious in nature.

I decided I was not in love with that title anyway.

So I took out my journal and trusty blue gel pen and started brainstorming:

The Angel and the Aeronaut — too traditional Regency!  Too much sex in this book for that title.

Then I thought of playing with Flight of …. something.  Flight of Fancy?  Flight of Passion? But I also found a few books with titles like that.

OK, maybe The Height of something?  Folly? Passion? Desire?

Or something to do with rogues–my hero seems like a bit of a rogue and rogues are sexy, right?  Rescued by a Rogue?  Or does that sound too Regency again?

That’s where my brainstorming petered out.  So for the chance to win the final proof copy of Lady Dearing’s Masquerade, let me know what you think of these title ideas.  New ideas warmly welcomed!

I’ll announce the winner next Friday.

Elena
www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene
www.twitter.com/ElenaGreene7

Posted in Giveaways, Risky Book Talk, Writing | Tagged , | 19 Replies

New Book! Born to Scandal

Updated on by

I have a new book out!
Born to Scandal is my homage to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. It’s the story of a governess and a lord complete with secrets and betrayal.

From the back cover:

“People talk as if there is something wrong about Lord Brentmore. Something about his past.”Lord Brentmore–half Irish peasant, half English aristocrat–grew up under a cloud of scandal. Even money and a title aren’t enough to stay the wagging tongues of the Ton. But he’s vowed that his children will never experience the same stigma.
After the death of their infamous mother they need a reputable governess. Anna Hill is too passionate, too alluring, but she fills Brentmore Hall with light and laughter again–and its master with feelings he’d forgotten.
But a lord marrying a governess would be the biggest scandal of all!

I’ve received some reviews!

5 Stars! “Beautifully written, with a delicious romance, Born to Scandal by Diane Gaston was written to be savored and enjoyed as we do with all fine wines.” — Debby, Cataromance

4 Stars! “Like the original, Gaston’s homage to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre is a story about lies and betrayal with a governess at the center. This one is well written, brimming with emotion and populated with characters readers will come to care about and root for. And, best of all, the governess gets her happy ending!” — Maria Ferrer, RT Book Reviews

We often ask our guests where the idea for their books came from. I am not sure where the idea for Born to Scandal came from. In fact, I can’t remember writing the first chapter. My friend Julie brought back a full manuscript of mine that she had in her possession. Loose inside it was this first chapter. I didn’t even remember it. After reading it, I did remember my idea for the story, my desire to tell a governess story, like Jane Eyre.

So when I needed a new story idea, I went with this one.

Another thing I liked about it was the challenge of writing a story where not much happens except the hero and heroine working out their relationship. There’s no villain, no battle scenes (sigh!), no road trip–except a short one.

To celebrate the release of Born to Scandal, I’m giving away one signed copy to one lucky commenter.

What do you remember about the first time you read Jane Eyre?

 

Posted in Giveaways, Risky Book Talk | Tagged , , | 16 Replies