(The Riskies welcome HQn/Harlequin Historicals author Nicola Cornick for the first time to the blog! Be sure and comment for the chance to win a copy either of Unmasked or The Last Rake in London. Yes, it’s a two book giveaway this week…)

Riskies: Welcome to the blog, Nicola! Tell us about Unmasked (I love the Russian heroine…)

Nicola: Thank you so much for inviting me to visit Risky Regencies today! I’m so excited to be here.

Unmasked is a story about friendship and liberty as well as being (I hope!) a very tender and passionate love story. The heroine, Marina Osborne, was born a Russian serf in the house of a British diplomat, the Earl of Rashleigh, in St. Petersburg. He educated her as an experiment and brought her up to be an English lady, but when he died and his son inherited, the new earl forced Mari to make an unholy agreement–she had to become his mistress to buy her family’s freedom from serfdom.

When the story begins, Rashleigh has just been murdered and Mari is the prime suspect. She has come to England and re-invented herself as a respectable widow living in the Yorkshire countryside, but there are so many secrets in her past that it seems impossible she can escape them. The earl’s cousin, Major Nick Falconer, is sent to try to uncover the truth about the murder. Nick is a soldier, as honorable as his cousin was evil. As he starts to discover the truth about Mari he is hugely attracted to her and desperate to help her heal, and she is equally desperate to keep her secrets while at the same time she wants to trust Nick–and is falling in love with him.

It’s a very tender and moving courtship, and I hope readers find it moving, too. I should add, though, that I have leavened the story with some of the humor I always like to put in my books. For example, Nick suspects Mari of being the leader of the Glory Girls highway-women. But then he sees her fall off a horse because she is such a poor rider, and he realizes his assumptions about her might be quite wrong!

Riskies: LOL! Where did you get the initial idea for this story? Was there anything interesting or unusual you came across in the research?

Nicola: The year 2007 was the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery in the British Isles, and it was that that gave me the idea for the book. I knew that I wanted to write a story about slavery and freedom, and how being a slave would affect a person’s feelings about themselves and their identity.

The research into the slave trade was fascinating and horrifying. Even though the trade was abolished in 1807, existing slaves were not freed until there was further legislation in 1833. Nor did abolition stop the trade. Some captains who still traded in slaves would throw them overboard to avoid fines if they were in danger of being caught by the Navy.

Riskies: And we always have to ask–what is “risky” about this book?

Nicola: There are a couple things about the book I think are risky. First, it features a group of highway-women, and I know that not all readers like heroes or heroines who break the law. I hope that with the Glory Girls I have demonstrated why they feel so passionately about injustice and inequality, and feel moved to break the law in order to right some of the wrongs in society.

Second, the book has a very strong theme of slavery and abuse, and I know that with such a powerful and emotive subject there is always the possibility of upsetting readers who might have strong views on the subject themselves. So I hope I have dealt with this very sensitively in the story.

Riskies: How did you get started writing? What draws you to the Regency as a setting?

Nicola: I started writing when I was at college, and I used to read chapters of my books to my friends over late night cups of coffee as an antidote to our studies! One of my friends swears she is still in love with the hero of my very first book, True Colors, because he made such an impression on her at the age of 18!

I’ve always loved the Regency period. I find it a fascinating period of history with a glittering world of privilege at one end of the social spectrum and a desperate fight for survival on the other. It feels like a complicated and dangerous society in which to live, and it’s great to be able to set a book against those contrasts.

Like so many other readers, I was introduced to the Regency period via the works of Georgette Heyer. My grandmother recommended her books to me, and I was so entranced I read my way through all of them. From there, I moved on to UK Regency authors such as Sheila Walsh and Alice Chetwynd Ley, whose books I adore. I read every Regency-set book I could get my hands on until I ran out! Then I discovered that US authors also wrote Regency historicals, and I was a very happy reader.

Riskies: Does living in the UK have a large influence on your work?

Nicola: Living in the UK is very useful in the sense that the history is all around me, and that is very inspiring. I like to visit historic towns such as Bath, soak up the atmosphere and the architecture, and visit the museums. Stately homes are also a huge source of inspiration to me–I work as a guide at Ashdown House, which is one of the most beautiful houses in the country. The stories associated with those places are a wonderful source of ideas.

On the other hand, so much of writing is about creativity and imagination, and I don’t think one has to be based in a particular place for the imagination to spark. Some of the best historical romances I’ve ever read have been written by US-based authors and Australian authors who have the excitement and energy and creativity in their writing to make the period really live.

Riskies: You have another book on the shelves recently–The Last Rake in London! I see it has an unusual setting. Tell us about this story!

Nicola: Thank you for asking about TLRIL, and giving me the opportunity to mention my lovely hero, Jack Kestrel. He does seem to be a bit of a hit with readers!

Harlequin Mills & Boon asked me to write an Edwardian-set book as part of their centenary celebration this year. This was quite a challenge for me, as I hadn’t studied that part of history since I was at school. But when I did my research I realized what an interesting era the Edwardian period was, and I wondered why there aren’t more books set in that time. I loved the fact that we were entering the modern period, and there were elements of the period still recognizable today, such as the London Underground, and that there were cars on the streets and the King using the telephone to call up and his friends and tell them he was coming to visit! The potential it gave for the story was enormous. My heroine, Sally Bowes, is the owner of an exclusive London nightclub, and Jack, the last rake of the title, is a self-made businessman, as well as the descendant of the Duke of Kestrel.

Riskies: I also read that one of your favorite historical heroines is Anne Boleyn! She’s also a great favorite of mine (Amanda’s). What draws you to her story? Are there any other historical women you admire?

Nicola: It’s great to meet another admirer of Anne Boleyn! I think she is a fascinating character. I love strong heroines, so what draws me to her is probably that she was such a strong woman at a time when women’s roles and positions were even more constricted than in the Regency. She was brave, she was clever, and she was evidently enormously charismatic. I have a very powerful sense of justice and hate the fact that she was brought down on the basis of false evidence. She would be one of my dream dinner party guests–I would love to meet her!

When I was studying for my MA in Public History we discussed the fact that women are absent in so much of recorded history, not because they did nothing but because, as Anne Elliot says in Persuasion, history was largely written by men! So it is great to find female role models to admire.

Another of my heroines is Elizabeth of Bohemia, the Winter Queen. We tell her story at Ashdown House. After she and her family were exiled from Bohemia in 1620 and her husband died, she brought up her 10 children alone and acted as a focal point for those loyal to the restoration of her son’s ancestral lands. She was another strong and charismatic woman.

Riskies: And what is next for you?

Nicola: I’m currently working on the second book of a trilogy that is linked to Unmasked and features some of the same characters. The first book in the series, Confessions of a Duchess, will be out next summer from HQN Books. I’m also finishing a short story for Harlequin’s new “Undone” e-book series, which will be on sale in November. And I have a first-person Regency coming out in the spring form Harlequin Historicals. It’s based on the classic story Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, and was lots of fun to write!

Happy Saturday, everyone! I’m very excited, because after a few weeks of work the New Look of my website is ready to go. Check it out here! (It’s still a WIP, so any comments/suggestions are most welcome)

And so, last week was the finale of The Bachelorette. I admit I don’t usually watch a whole series of Bachelor/Bachelorette. I go on enough boring dates in real life to not want to sit through it on TV! (Plus it’s Monday, Gossip Girl is on!) Yet there is something about the finale that pulls me in. The cheesy, faux-romantic sets! The tears and angst! The copious picking up and twirling around! Despite the Bachelorette DeAnna’s slightly surprising choice of the “shredding” snowboarder Jesse over predictable Jason, it was kinda sweet and enjoyable.

But I’m always struck by the difference in tone between the Bachelor and Bachelorette, aka the difference between what happens when the men have to chase the woman vs. when the women chase the man. The Bachelor tends to end with awkward hugs and vows of ‘getting to know each other better.’ The Bachelorette seems to end in declarations of soulmate-dom, of True Love Forever. (I sometimes get the sense that the Bachelor, after being wildly pursued by 20 beautiful, and often tipsy, 24-year-olds, feels that he is far hotter than he actually is, and thus why should he settle down with just one? Whereas the Bachelorette is a rare prize to be fought over).

And speaking of women chasing men and vice versa, on this date in 1543 Henry VIII married his sixth and last wife Catherine Parr. Poor Catherine–no final roses or fantasy dates in the Bahamas for her! She had already been married twice to much-older men, and Henry was gouty, crazy, and immensely fat, and in need of a devoted nurse (having dispatched 5 wives already). Catherine, despite being in love and nearly betrothed to the handsome, dashing, but in the end wildly idiotic Thomas Seymour, had no choice. She married the king at Hampton Court, in a quiet ceremony with 20 witnesses.

But she was not just a devoted nurse of elderly husbands. She was deeply interested in the reformed Protestant faith, and her scholarly achievements were impressive (her 1545 book Prayers and Meditations, was the first work ever published by an English queen under her own name. Another book, The Lamentation of a Sinner, was published after Henry’s death). She was also a devoted stepmother, both to the children of her second husband and to Henry’s 3 children, Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward, personally supervising their education.

It was her interest in the Protestant faith and encouragement of study within her household that nearly led her to the block in 1546. The conservative faction at Court had never been happy about her marriage, and the fact that she and her ladies were known to have banned books, the possession of which was grounds for arrest and execution on charges of heresy. The warrant was accidentally dropped, and seen by someone loyal to Catherine, giving her time to go to the king and claim that she only discussed and argued issues of religion with him so she could take his mind off his troubles. Playing to Henry’s ego was always a good thing, and she was spared from being the third queen executed.

After the king’s death in 1547, she married Seymour (a bad decision), and in 1548 died in childbirth at the age of 37. She was buried at her home at Sudeley Castle, with another of her young proteges, Lady Jane Grey, as chief mourner.

So, did you watch Bachelorette? What did you think of the ending, or of the Bachelor franchise in general? Any favorite wives of Henry VIII? (Catherine Parr is actually tied with Katherine of Aragon as my second-fave, behind number one Anne Boleyn!)

Risky Regencies: Welcome to the blog, Julia! Tell us about your July release, A Most Unconventional Match

Julia: Thanks for inviting me! A Most Unconventional Match is about finding yourself–and love–after suffering tragedy and heartache. As the story opens, Elizabeth Wellingford Lowery has lost her husband, an older man who placed her on a pedestal and took care of all the details of everyday life so she could pursue her painting. Suddenly left with no one to help her, as all her family is abroad, she is floundering when Hal Waterman pays her a call.

Possessed of a demanding, Society leader/Diamond of a mother, Hal has always carefully avoided Beauties, particularly Elizabeth Wellingford, siste-in-law of his best friend Nicky. He had an instantaneous attraction to her when they first met 7 years ago. But with her family absent at the time of her husband’s death, Hal feels obligated to stop by and offer his assistance. He intends to help Elizabeth settle her financial affairs and make a quick exit–until he meets her little boy, desolate with a grief Hal, who lost his own father as a child, recalls only too well.

So cautiously begins the dance of attraction between a gruff “man’s man” and a china-doll beauty who seem to have nothing in common–but come in time to realize they’re each other’s perfect complement! I hope readers will agree.

RR: How did you get started writing Regency-set books? What draws you to the period? And is there any other historical period you love and would like to write about?

Julia: I’ve loved the Regency since I read my first Georgette Heyer in college! Her humor, her exacting eye for the foibles of human nature played out against the backdrop of this exciting period immediately hooked me on the era. The wit and elegance of the language, the large number of unusual and interesting personages and events that give those years their characters continue to fascinate me. And of course, one day after reading a book that disappointed, I thought “I could write a better one!” So the challenge began…

I enjoy a number of historical periods. I have a Paris-set World War II book I’d love to do, another set during the Regency featuring the family of an emigre forced by the Revolution to flee France. I’d also like to do a contemporary suspense set in Texas, and a series about strong women in unusual professions that would kick off with a story about a female Navy fighter pilot.

RR: What was the research like for A Most Unconventional Match? And what are some of your favorite research sources overall for the Regency?

Julia: Since Hal is an expert on business and finance, I needed to find out more about how capital was invested and how the canal system was developed. I also needed more details about the Royal Academy, its exhibitions and school. Generally I try to write the draft of the story without doing a lot of detailed research–since research is so fascinating, I could easily get distracted and never go back to the story! As I write, I keep notes on what I need to go back and check, then explore various sources and correct/adjust the draft as needed. Priestley’s The Prince of Pleasure, Bryant’s The Age of Elegance, and Life in Regency England are good general sources, but I find it’s the small pesky details that are hardest to verify. I have a pretty large library of specific sources on everything from carriages to the art of Turner. If those fail, I appeal to the infallible source: the experts on the Beau Monde loop!

RR: We know all about that!!! And what is “risky” about this book?

Julia: Two things I suppose: since it’s as much a story of a woman’s recovering from grief and coming into her own as it is a love story, I risk alienating readers who prefer that the book focus solely on the interplay between hero and heroine. Second, since Elizabeth loved her late husband and is struggling with grief, the physical bond between her and Hal develops slowly. Maybe not the wisest approach in a market where the most popular books focus on hot sex early and often! But I had to do what fit the story best.

RR: I know in your “other job” you teach French! Do you have any French-set books in mind? And do you have any tips for time-management?

Julia: I’d love toi do the two previously mentioned–the Regency England/Restoration France tale, and the WWII Paris one. Beyond that–the heroine of the Regency story has a good friend who escaped the Revolution as a child and survived by doing all manner of things, from picking pockets to smuggling brandy. I’d like to do his story!

Time management–if I ever figure out how to do that, I’ll let you know! 🙂 It seems I’m always behind. Prioritizing, setting aside absolute hours for writing, having a basic schedule and timeline are all good, but no guarantee against the disruption of Real Life.

RR: What is next for you?

Julia: I’m currently working on the story of the third friend featured in my very first book, The Wedding Gamble. Nicky was the hero of that one; his friend Hal is in the current release, and their other friend Ned is now getting his turn. After that, I’ll have a series of 3 unusual ladies who have secrets to overcome. My working titles (which will most certainly be changed!) are The Ruin of Miss Denby, The Redemption of Lady Winter, and The Rescue of Mrs. Gray. I also have a novella coming up, Christmas Wedding Wish in the Harlequin anthology One Candlelit Christmas in November!

Life has been busy at chez McCabe this week! Here is what I’ve been doing:

1) Doing some more political campaign volunteering (though I still haven’t found an occasion for a blue velvet suit and foxtail-trimmed hat, a la The Duchess!)

2) Writing. Lots. (natch)

3) Reading! (This week’s read–The Lady Penelope, a new biography of Lady Penelope Rich by Sally Varlow. It has lots of good info, but not really the “you are there” feeling of bios like Georgiana and Perdita)

4) Getting book title news!! I always like this–it makes the book feel “official,” somehow. Balthazar’s book (out in January ’09, just in time for my birthday!) is now called High Seas Stowaway. Ships, pirates, battles, and, as Anna Campbell put it “Historically accurate nookie!”

And the reissued Christmas novella from Signet, Upon a Midnight Clear, will be in an anthology titled A Homespun Regency Christmas (Regency on the Prairie??). The other 3 novellas are by Carla Kelly, Emma Jenson, and Sandra Heath.

5) And 4th of July-ing! Yesterday, in between eating hot dogs and cupcakes and watching fireworks, I took a friend’s daughter to see Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. We both give it 2 enthusiastic thumbs-up, as did her American Girl doll, Samantha, who accompanied us. (Though she did want to know why Kit got the feature-film treatment, when she, Samantha, got only a cheesy TV movie…)

One of the previews was for the delightfully silly-looking Mamma Mia!. I may have to see this one, if only to watch Meryl Streep singing ABBA songs.

And it just so happens that July 5, 1755 was the birthday of the Regency’s own version of Meryl Streep, Sarah Siddons. I doubt she ever had to sing Dancing Queen, though.

She was born Sarah Kemble, the eldest of 12 children of the actor-manager Roger Kemble (several of her siblings also became well-known actors). She married another actor, William Siddons, in 1773, and had her first professional role as Belvidera in Otway’s Venice Preserved. Things went a bit downhill from there–she was dismissed from Drury Lane, in her own words, “banished from Drury Lane as a worthless candidate for fame and fortune.” But after a very succeseful five-year run in Bath, starting in about 1778, she went back to Drury Lane.

Her appearance as Isabella in Garrick’s version of Southerne’s Fatal Marriage in October 1782 was a triumph. She soon took on her signature role, Lady Macbeth, as well as Desdemona, Ophelia, Volumnia, and the title role in Queen Catherine. For over 20 years she was queen of Drury lane, the greatest tragic actress in London, and a cultural icon.

In 1812, her farewell performance at Covent Garden, as Lady Macbeth, brought down the house. The audience refused to let the play go on after the sleepwalking scene. After this, she appeared only once in a while for special performances, making her last appearance in 1819.

She had 7 children, though only 2 outlived her, and ended up informally separated from Mr. Siddons. She died in 1831. I only have one book about her in my library, but it’s a good one with lots of pics–Robyn Asleson’s A Passion for Performance: Sarah Siddons and Her Portraitists.

So, happy birthday, Mrs. Siddons! And happy weekend to all of you. How have you spent your holiday? Seen any good theatrical performances lately?

I admit it, I had no idea what to write about today. It is summer, after all. I’ve been spending time dangling my feet in the kiddie pool I bought for my dogs, drinking lots of iced tea and writing, writing, writing! Reading, reading, reading! But what Janet said on Thursday was right–we Riskies do seem to love anniversaries. So, I did a search to see what was going on in the world a hundred or so years ago.

This is what I found: On this day in 1859, the first official dog show in the UK was held in Newcastle. The only breeds shown that day were Pointers and Setters. A show later in the year, in Birmingham, added Spaniels to the mix, and in 1860 hounds were added (thus paving the way for this year’s Westiminster winner, Uno the beagle). The first London dog show was in 1860, in Chelsea, with the official Kennel Club founded in 1873. (The Victorians did love their show dogs!).

I have 2 dogs of my own, a very bossy miniature Poodle mix (who loves to swim in her kiddie pool and bark a lot) and a much more laid-back Pug (that’s her in the pic!). Pugs were quite popular in the Georgian/Regency period, but their history goes much further back, to the Chinese Han and Tang Dynasty around 150 BC. Their path to Europe isn’t certain, but the earliest reference to them there comes around 1572, when a heroic little Pug woke his master, William of Orange, just in time to save him from Spanish raiders. In 1713, there was a portrait titled “Louis XIV and His Heirs,” with the appearance of a little fawn Pug (not named, and presumably not one of the heirs!)

English artist William Hogarth owned a series of Pugs and often painted them, especially his favorite “Trump.” In 1740, the sculptor Roubiliac modeled terracotta statues of Hogarth and Trump, which were later produced in porcelain by the Chelsea pottery factory.

Many famous historical figures have been owned by Pugs. Madame de Pompadour, Marie Antoinette, George III and Queen Charlotte, Empress Josephine, Voltaire, George Eliot, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Princess Grace, and Queen Victoria. Some of her Pugs included Venus, Olga, Fatima, Pedro, and Bosco (who has his own monument at Frogmore). My own dog is named Victoria in her honor.

And speaking of Queen Victoria, this is also the anniversary of her coronation! This happened in 1838. It is also the anniversary of Catherine the Great of Russia’s seizure of power from her crazy husband, in 1762. She might have owned Pugs, but I’m not sure. If not, she should have.

Do you have dogs (or pets of any sort?) Are they enjoying their summer?