Monthly Archives: June 2009

May I Have The Honor of an Introduction?

Updated on June 3, 2009 by carolyn

I feel as if I’ve finally obtained those coveted tickets to Almack’s! Goodness. I’m really here. At the Risky Regencies. (fanning self) Everyone here is so deliciously wonderful, a few are even notorious. Is my gown is fashionable enough? What if I say the wrong thing to the person, or the right thing to the wrong gentleman? What if no one asks me to dance? Should I have the ratafia or the orgeat? Perhaps it would be safer to have nothing and refuse all offers to dance. I might fall or otherwise make a spectacle of myself. Life is fraught, I tell you. Simply fraught.

Hello there. I’m Carolyn Jewel and this is my Riskies debut. Be gentle for this is my first time in the social whirl that is the ton.

A little bit about myself, then. Right. Carolyn Jewel, as mentioned. I write historical romance for Berkley Sensation. My most recent historical is Scandal and Indiscreet will be out this October. I write paranormals, too, but not Regency set ones, so ’nuff said.

I love the Regency era and I very much look forward to posting about all things Regency and Risky. While I was writing Indiscreet I learned a great deal about Britain’s presence in the Ottoman Empire during the time period. Any opinions on a post or two about this subject? Until next time,

Carolyn

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged books, debut post, Ottoman Empire | 16 Replies

Risky Lady Madeleine de Scudery

Updated on June 2, 2009 by Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

I’m currently off having fun in New York with Diane and Megan! Next week I hope to have some pics and an account of our time here (BEA, museums, theaters, Lady Jane’s Salon, oh my!). But I’ve left this post about a most Risky lady of history, the author and salon hostess Madeleine de Scudery (who died on this day in 1701).

Madeleine was born in Le Havre in 1607, where her father was captain of the port. He died when she was about 7, and she went to live in Rouen with an uncle who had spent time at Court and possessed a large library, which she avidly explored. Sometime after the death of her mother in 1635, she went to live with her playwright brother Georges in Paris. With her brother she attended Catherine de Rambouillet’s famous salon. Eventually she formed her own salon, the Societe de samedi, and became known as the first bluestocking of France.

She wrote many immensely long volumes, both under her own name and the pseudonym pf “Sapho,” including Artamene (10 volumes, 2.1 millions words, 1648-53), Ibrahim (4 volumes, 1641), and Almahide (8 volumes, 1661-3). They are set in the classical world or an imaginary Orient, but their language and plots reflect the life of 17th century Paris, full of philosophical conversations and many abductions of heroines. The characters were often based on Madeleine’s own friends and acquaintances, such as her lover Paul Pellison.

For more information, her biography and correspondence were published in Paris in 1873, and there is a chapter about her in AG Mason’s The Women of the French Salons. I find her fascinating, and would love to write a saloniste heroine someday!

More news from New York next week…

Posted in Risky Regencies | Tagged Uncategorized | 6 Replies

Elizabeth Rolls Winner

Updated on June 2, 2009 by Diane Gaston

Winner of Lord Braybrook’s Penniless Bride is….

Eleni Konstantine!!

Eleni, email us at riskies@yahoo.com with your address so we can send you a copy of Lord Braybrook’s Penniless Bride!

Posted in Risky Regencies | Tagged Uncategorized | 3 Replies

New York New York. It’s a Wonderful Town

Updated on June 1, 2009 by Diane Gaston

Greetings from the Big Apple!

Amanda and I are having a wonderful time. We arrived in NYC Thursday and had dinner with fellow regency author, Andrea Pickens and afterward the three of us went to Lincoln Center to see American Ballet Theatre‘s Le Corsaire.

Friday we went to the Metropolitan Museum and spent lots of time looking at 18th and 19th century paintings and sculpture. Then Andrea and our very own Risky, Megan joined us for lunch and a long tour of the decorative arts section of the museum. Here’s just one example of the sort of items we oohed and aahed over.

Friday night Amanda and I attended a special viewing of the Heart of a Woman exhibit, celebrating 60 years of Harlequin books cover art. My favorite cover was an old one, Love Me and Die. We met Max Ginsberg, cover artist for many of the past Harlequin covers. On display were several of his works, all worthy of being hung in art galleries as fine art.

Saturday was Book Expo America, where Amanda and I signed The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor. Deb Marlowe, the third author of our anthology, was supposed to come with us but she got sick and couldn’t travel to NYC. We missed her!

Harlequin treated us very well, though, and in no time at all we gave away every copy of our book that the publisher provided.

Sunday we went to The Strand Bookstore where Amanda and I bought lots of research books. Our friend Kwana (who took the booksigning photo above) went with us, but she only bought a couple of books. Kwana had also gone to Book Expo and came back with three totebags full of free books. Amanda and I did not get any free books at BEA.

Megan and Kwana joined us for dinner. Also with us was my good friend, Hope Tarr, whom I haven’t really seen since she moved from DC to NYC.

Tonight is Lady Jane’s Salon where Amanda and I will be reading excerpts from The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor. All our New York friends, Megan, Andrea, Kwana, Hope, and others will be there too.

Wish us luck on our readings!

Do you have a favorite place in New York City? Or one place in the city you would most like to see? (Mine is the Metropolitan Museum!)

I can’t wait to welcome our newest Risky, coming this Wednesday, June 3!

Winner of Elizabeth Roll’s Lord Braybrook’s Penniless Bride will be announced tonight.

The Unlacing of Miss Leigh, my Undone short estory, hit number one on the Harlequin eBook Best Seller list again last week!

Stay tuned to discover if Deb Marlowe’s An Improper Aristocrat or my The Vanishing Viscountess or Scandalizing the Ton won the Desert Rose Golden Quill contest. Winners should be announced today!