Author Archives: carolyn

About carolyn

Carolyn Jewel was born on a moonless night. That darkness was seared into her soul and she became an award winning and USA Today bestselling author of historical and paranormal romance. She has a very dusty car and a Master’s degree in English that proves useful at the oddest times. An avid fan of fine chocolate, finer heroines, Bollywood films, and heroism in all forms, she has two cats and a dog. Also a son. One of the cats is his.

Hey! Look Over There! Also Giving Away a Book

Updated on January 9, 2013 by carolyn

I had this HUGE HUGE HUGE project at the day job that took weeks of testing and preparation across multiple departments– this was at the same time I was finishing a book. (Can you say STRESS?) As the database administrator, my job included making sure everything worked as it did before. This meant that there were application developers who simply had to test in the new environment. They swore up and down that they did, but when the day comes? Their application logins fail. Well, that can only mean they did not test. Fine. But why lie about it?

Anyway, I lived a life of remarkable stress on all fronts for a long time. But the project is over, the book is turned in and . . . . I got sick.

I knew that would happen, of course. I spent most of last week fighting something off and well, I have been having my own illness pity party for the last 3 days and am now hyped up on medications such a decongestants etc.

What this means is that as I type this, I am not at the top of my game in any sense of the word.

So, it also turns out that I have managed to acquire two copies of The Kyoto Costume Institute’s Fashion which has amazing pictures and content in it. It covers the 18th to the 20th century. I have two copies because, as it turns out, there are different versions of the book, a one volume version and a 2 volume version. The covers are COMPLETELY different but the content is identical.

Leave a comment (See below) if you would like a chance to win the one volume book from me. It’s a high quality soft-cover (really stiff cover).

You have until Midnight Pacific, June 15th to comment. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Winner chosen at random.

Your comment should be about something. Just something, OK? Your favorite superhero. The merits of Skarsgard vs. Patel

Oh, here are some pictures for reference:

Or you could comment about how ardently you pray for my complete recovery from this cold.

Or something.

Winner!

Updated on June 3, 2011 by carolyn

The winner of the Amanda and Carolyn double the fun post is::::

LibraryPat!

Can you please email your mailing address to carolyn AT carolynjewel.com so Amanda and I can get your prize winging its way to you?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged contest winner | 1 Reply

Napoleon, he was FRENCH!

Updated on June 1, 2011 by carolyn

I have two new fashion books, both of which are awesome for different reasons. The first one is Napoleon and the Empire of Fashion, 1795-1815 by Cristina Barretto and Martin Lancaster (Skira) 2010. It was published for an Italian exhibition of period clothing. The translation into English is rocky at times, but this book has some of the most amazing pictures I’ve ever seen. There are close ups of the fabrics that are just luscious. There are frustrations, too, in that some pictures are just too small.

I tried reading the text but found it hard going and then downright strange. As mentioned, the translation is not very good, but some of the history struck me as not trustworthy and I’m still struggling to understand why there’s a picture of a bare-busted porn star. Yes, she has big tits, but she’s in a book on Empire and Directoire fashions, why?

I just rolled my eyes at the concluding remarks which more or less blamed the CIA for Modern Art. I blame Matisse, but that’s just me.

Anyway, the gowns in this book are beautiful and the book is worth it for the pictures. Incoherent political ramblings are just a side benefit. (Napoleon was amazing! The Best Dictator General Ever!!! He was ~~Sicilian~~ French!!! Vive La France) OK, so he had that little thing at Waterloo that didn’t work out so well, but LOOK! Here’s an amazing purple velvet royal cloak and . . . That cloak is amazing. It’s worth the price of the book.

You can flip through this book– I don’t recommend reading much, it will only give you a headache and make you hate American Cultural Imperialism (that’s an anagram for the C.I.A., did you notice that?] French, you know, was the language of diplomacy until some how English got free of the Norman Cultural Imperialism (which any student of irregular English verbs can tell you still haunts us today) and now everyone speaks English even though French is way better –and really get a sense of how idiosyncratic gowns could be.

One point made early in the book before I was sobbing in hot tears about how Jackson Pollock ruined art all because of the Marshall Plan (which idea the US stole from Napoleon) was that gowns were custom-made and therefore fit the wearer precisely. Then they said the female form was actually different and that somehow between Napoleon and the rise of the CIA, women’s boobs moved lower on the torso. And I kept waiting for them to clarify that they meant foundation garments gave the female shape a different form, but no. Then I flipped back to the porn star picture and her boobs didn’t look like they were lower on her chest, but there was silicon involved I think, plus she had her arms crossed underneath all that bounty so maybe she was pushing them up the way they did in the Regency.

Regency woman had porn star boobs I guess.

Anyway, I couldn’t stop thinking about all those Modern Artists like, Marcel Duchamps (Oops French! but Joyce Kilmer totally hated him for Nude Descending a Stair) and that Pablo Picasso guy (lived in PARIS!), that Ce n’est Pas Une Pipe dude, Magritte (FRENCH!) that I started getting distracted about art.

The other book is The Art of Dress, Clothes and Society 1500-1914, by Jane Ashelford. (Abrams 1996). It covers a much broader period, but there are good photographs of actual clothing along with description and explanation. I wish there were more pictures. Or at least a world view unaffected by anything like facts.

Napoleon vs. Chuck Norris. Call it folks. Who wins?

(The answer is Jet Li.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Fashion, French Dudes, Napoleon | 11 Replies

Double Your Dangerous Lady Seduction Pleasure

Updated on May 29, 2011 by carolyn

Today is Double the Fun. Amanda and Carolyn both have releases this week and we are pimping them hard, giving you the inside scoop and revealing amazing details. Leave a comment for a chance to win a cool prize which will be awesome. Like a gift card for books, or maybe books or something else. Check out the rules at the bottom of this post then comment to enter!

About Lady of Seduction

It’s a mad, ill-advised journey that leads the usually-sensible Lady Caroline Blacknall to the legendary isle of Muirin Inish, off the windswept coast of Ireland. Even so, she doesn’t expect to find herself shipwrecked and then rescued by a man she believed she would never see again. A man who, long ago, held her life in his hands–and with it, her heart.

Reformed rake Sir Grant Dunmore knew he could never forget the beautiful woman he once endangered, nor will he ever forgive himself for placing her in harm’s way. But history seems doomed to repeat itself, for as long as Caroline stays on the island, she is trapped in a secret plot that could forever free Ireland–or turn deadly for all. And yet, now that she is in his arms again, how can he ever let her go?

Buy Lady of Seduction

Read an Excerpt

About My Dangerous Pleasure

TEMPT THE DARKNESS Strong-willed and independent, Paisley Nichols is used to taking care of herself. But when an insane mage begins tracking her every move and threatening her at every turn, she has no choice but to put her life in the hands of a demon.

RISK THE PASSION Burned by betrayal, demon assassin Iskander won’t get too close to anyone. He spends his days serving his warlord and his nights indulging in carnal pleasures . . . and that’s exactly how he likes it. But when a mage wages a wrenching psychic assault on his beautiful tenant Paisley, Iskander must defend her. Under his protection, she will be drawn irresistibly into his life and learn about her own mysterious powers. And not a moment too soon. The mage haunting her isn’t acting alone-and he won’t rest until he destroys both Paisley and Iskander.

Buy My Dangerous Pleasure

Read Chapter 1

Enter my Contest and read chapters 1-3

What they’re saying

Stellar writing, a charismatic hero and fearless heroine, an amazing blend of suspense, action, and romance, LADY OF SEDUCTION will entice, exasperate and enchant readers without mercy. Laurel McKee books are automatic Must Buys
— Romance Junkies

An unlucky human female becomes the focus of the next battle in the ongoing war between the Magekind and Fiends. Expert storyteller Jewel excels at developing rich and intriguing characters who face challenges of the most dangerous kind. Packed with the right dose of danger and treachery, this love story is the perfect escape from reality.
— Romantic Times, Reviewed By: Jill M. Smith

Your Dangerous Lady Seduction Pleasure is the BEST book I ever read. It has everything. Ladies. Danger. Seduction, Pleasure. Hot guys. TEN stars. No, a HUNDRED stars! A bazillion stars! Fictional novels just don’t get any better than this. Jewel McKeeCabe is a genius.
— A. Reeder

Tell me about your book

Amanda: Lady of Seduction is the third (and last!) of my Daughters of Erin series, and I’m so sorry to say good-bye to these characters! Though I like to imagine they are off living their HEAs and having lots more adventures. It’s set in 1803, and is (possibly) my favorite of the three stories. Caroline is my favorite sort of heroine (bookish, outwardly quiet and sensible, but adventurous and brave when she needs to be), and Grant is my favorite sort of hero, the villain-turned-hero (he was one of the bad guys in Duchess of Sin), scarred, dark and brooding, lives in a crumbling old castle (I blame my love of the Bronte novels).

It also has a windswept Irish island with ancient ruins and cliffs, and a “road romance” as Caroline and Grant have to make a run to Dublin with all sorts of danger chasing them. (There’s also a medieval manuscript that contains dangerous secrets). I had so much fun writing this book!

Carolyn: My Dangerous Pleasure is book 4 of my My Immortals paranormal series. The hero is Iskander, a demon and former blood-twin who entertains a different woman just about every night because he’s still learning how to live alone. Paisley Nichols is his tenant. She’s living her dream of owning her own bakery. To keep costs down, she rents a tiny apartment above her landlord’s garage. She doesn’t know her smoking hot landlord isn’t human. Then she finds out and things get hot.

Jewel MckeeCabe: My Dangerous Lady Seduction Pleasure is a book for the times. For all times. A sweeping saga that will bring you to tears while making you laugh. There are no clowns in this story.

What’s next?

Amanda: My Amanda McCabe self has a Harlequin Historical Undone short story out in August (Unlacing the Lady in Waiting), but you’ll have to wait until May 2012 for another full-length book! Laurel will have a new series, The Scandalous St. Claires, which will start in 2012 with book one, One Naughty Night. It’s a bit of a change, since this series is set in Victorian London and centers around an underworld family of gaming club owners, actors, and naughty bookstore owners. There will be great clothes, too….

Carolyn: I have two historicals slotted for 2012, Not Wicked Enough and Not Proper Enough. The two books are loosely linked by a locket reputed to have magical powers. In Not Wicked Enough Lily Wellstone comes to the rescue of her best friend and ends up falling in love with her friend’s brother. You can read Chapter 1 here. (Unedited and subject to update!)

Later this year, I expect to get the last of my reverted backlist titles online and available once again; my Crimson City novel, A Darker Crimson and my Crimson City novella, DX, as well as the very first book I wrote, a Georgian-set historical titled Passion’s Song.

Jewel MckeeCabe: In 2012, I will win several literary prizes for novels of staggering genius. In 2013, watch for six major motion pictures based on my fictional novels.

Who is your favorite queen of all time? Ever.

Amanda: LOL! Only one??? But there are so many. Catherine de Medici, Marie Antoinette, Elizabeth I, Victoria. I think I would have to go with Anne Boleyn, though. Beautiful, intelligent, strong-willed, brave, fiery-tempered and outspoken–yeah, I’m definitely a fan.

Carolyn: Queen Latifah. Because Amanda stole all the dead ones I like.

Jewel MckeeCabe: Uh, Queen is a band and there can be only one. Unless it’s me. I am queen of the fiction novel. Ask anybody.

If someone said you could live in any time period but your decision had to be based SOLELY on the clothes, what time period would you choose and why?

Amanda: Hmmm. For looks–the mid-18th century. I am crazy about those rich fabrics, big skirts and tight waistlines, ruffles and lace and ribbons. But for comfort–the Regency. Light corsets, high waists, thin fabrics, much better. But that’s two, isn’t it? Can I go with the 1920s, too?

Carolyn: Imperial Rome, because I really have a thing for Centurions and Legionnaires. Also, I would like to point out that Amanda is cheating with her answers.

Jewel MckeeCabe: Honey, I invent fashion. Everyone else just follows.

For this question, assume you would have all the necessary talent, skills and aptitude: If you weren’t a writer (PRETEND!) what would you be instead? In other words, non-writing dream job?

Amanda: When I was a kid I told everyone I wanted to be an opera singer, but I can’t actually sing so that was out. Then I thought I might like to be an actress, and did school and community theater. I had so much fun with it! So I would be an actress, but a stage actress not a movie actress. Or maybe a race car driver.

Carolyn: I’d want to be an artist, I think. Or else a physician. I really always wanted to be a singer, but I can’t sing and Amanda stole that answer, too.

Jewel McKeeCabe: I would be the world’s best number guesser. Then I would guess a couple of mega-winning lottery tickets and I wouldn’t need a job. You two are kind of slow, aren’t you?

The Contest

No purchase necessary.
Void where prohibited.
Deadline to enter is midnight Pacific May 31, 2011.

Leave a comment in which you:

Share your favorite Jewel McKeeCabe fun-fact or story. Don’t be shy. Jewel McKeeCabe isn’t! Or tell us your favorite queen–alive or dead….

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Interview, Lady of Seduction, My Dangerous Pleasure | 22 Replies

Link of the Week?

Updated on May 25, 2011 by carolyn

Threads of Feeling is a really remarkable site. 18th Century textile tokens left with abandoned babies at the London Foundling Hospital is a flash slideshow, so if you’re on an iThing, I believe you won’t be able to view the slideshow. But I highly recommend it. The bits of fabric that were left with the babies are poignant as are the glimpses of writing. The photographs are vivid and lovely.

More about The Foundling Museum which, as I discovered, houses a collection of the composer Handle’s original manuscripts.

Here’s another site I adore: Trovais If I just need to look at something pretty, I go here.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Pretty Things | 3 Replies