You probably have noticed by now that I think there are too many Dukes in Regencies.
(Of course, if I were to receive an offer for some work of mine contingent on bumping the hero to a duke, I will probably end up eating these words!)

The same goes for stories with “millionaire” or “billionaire” which a friend who is into contemporaries told me is becoming more common. I like variety and I can believe in a happy ending as long as the hero and heroine have the means for a comfortable life. The Regency hero needn’t be a duke to provide that. How about Mr. Darcy and his “beautiful grounds”?

But here’s my confession. Part of my love of Regency romance is about the wealth, because it’s the fantasy of living like Mrs. Darcy. Although I’m happy with my life as it is, sometimes I wish for more time to do things I love. So how would I do as a Regency lady of leisure?

I swim and ski. OK, not so Regency. But my other favorite forms of exercise are walking and horseback riding (though I haven’t done the latter in many years). Check.

My favorite indoor amusements include reading, music and just about any sort of arts and crafts. Check. And ditto on not having as much time for them as I’d like, especially music. I’ve been living vicariously through my kids on that one.

My favorite entertainment: plays and concerts. Check. I can’t complain about being deprived, since we’re once again regulars at the local Cider Mill Playhouse and Binghamton Philharmonic. But wouldn’t it be fun to have the means to be a real patroness of the arts?

But my fantasy Regency happy ending wouldn’t be all frivolity. Without all that pesky housework to contend with (or the snow shoveling!) it shouldn’t be hard to be an attentive mother, as Lady Torrens, pictured here with her children, was reputed to be (The New Monthly Magazine, 1820):

“Lady Torrens has, with great success, directed the powers of her fine understanding to the most useful of all objects, that of practical education. She has six children ; and it is impossible to contemplate the quickness of their understandings, and the docility of their dispositions, without feeling how much may yet be done for society, by early training, and a proper attention to the circumstances which are calculated to awaken the mind and to regulate the temper.”

Though I don’t know if I’d want six!

I also sometimes wish I had more time for social issues that concern me. In my Regency fantasy, I might get political.

So how would you spend your time in your Regency happily-ever-after fantasy?

Elena

I pride myself on not taking anything for granted (though the Spouse might disagree if I do or not), and I enjoy every Season; the stark, snowy ravages of winter, the delicious crisp smell as fall arrives, the steamy summer where I can go for months without wearing socks.

But Spring is special. And this Spring, with the winter the Northeast has had, is extra-special. I cannot wait for it to arrive.

Earlier this week, on my day off, I headed out to the library to pick up more books I don’t have time to read (it’s a sickness), and on my walk home, I noticed some brave little green shoots poking out of some folks’ front yards.

Crocuses? Daffodils? My breath caught. I think it’s early days yet, but I do think Spring is on its way, and the first sign, the absolute very first sign, for me is usually the first sighting of crocuses. Not even the flowers, yet, just the green parts edging up from the ground.

Oh, yay. It’s been a long winter. I’ve liked the winter, but I’m okay with it being done. I’m tired of being cold. I want to wear a coat that’s chosen for how cute it is, not how much warmth it offers.

What about you? Any signs of spring in your area?

Megan

P.S.: And I found time to write again this week! Second week in a row! Yay!

Due to technical difficulties with Amanda’s internet connection, we must reschedule Elaine for another Sunday.

I’m working on a fight between the hero and heroine in the balloonist story. I’m pretty happy with it so far and looking forward to the makeup sex that comes next. 🙂

But I realized while writing this that I don’t often write this sort of scene. IMHO one has to be careful with arguments and fights and use them only where they make sense.

I’m not a fan of stories in which the characters are constantly squaring off, unless there’s a really good reason. I have trouble imagining a happy ending when people can’t work anything out. There’s an idea out there that there are couples who constantly fight and make up and it makes things exciting. But the one couple I know in real life who are like that (and I was told early on that this was “just their way”) are fighting more bitterly as they get older. They are afraid to separate and yet neither is willing to compromise, apologize or forgive. It is not romantic. It is tragic. I want better for my heroes and heroines!

I also like story setups in which the hero and heroine are thrown together and try to get along toward some common goal, while there is some other problem that they have to solve before they can be together. Conflict doesn’t always have to be adversarial.

Anyway, what do you think makes a conflict work well? Do you sometimes enjoy a good fight (fictional, of course)?

Elena

Two hundred years. So this year we’re celebrating the ascendancy of the Prince Regent (how much is enough? minimal, unlike the person of His Highness), surely one of the more useless and despicable members of the doltish dullards who were the Hapsburgs.

The actual Regency itself–those nine years–were not the best of times. Political oppression, check. Galloping inflation, check. Warfare, check. Gowns dropping the lovely Grecian simplicity and developing silly frills at the hems, check.