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Author Archives: Elena Greene

About Elena Greene

Elena Greene grew up reading anything she could lay her hands on, including her mother's Georgette Heyer novels. She also enjoyed writing but decided to pursue a more practical career in software engineering. Fate intervened when she was sent on a three year international assignment to England, where she was inspired to start writing romances set in the Regency. Her books have won the National Readers' Choice Award, the Desert Rose Golden Quill and the Colorado Romance Writers' Award of Excellence. Her Super Regency, LADY DEARING'S MASQUERADE, won RT Book Club's award for Best Regency Romance of 2005 and made the Kindle Top 100 list in 2011. When not writing, Elena enjoys swimming, cooking, meditation, playing the piano, volunteer work and craft projects. She lives in upstate New York with her two daughters and more yarn, wire and beads than she would like to admit.

Great Books I read in 2005

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I’m in trouble now.

Looking over those long, gorgeous lists by Amanda and Cara, I am terrified now to admit that my list is going to be far shorter. Maybe I’ll be forgiven if I say that between writing and raising two kids, I’m always feeling shortchanged on time. Not just on time to read, but to watch TV and go to movies and such. And I know that I can’t really blame it all on the kids, either. It’s me–my muse, my creative side, which occasionally produces things that make me proud but often skitters stubbornly away when I need her to work. Then I plod on alone, because sometimes that gets her to come back just to tell me that “I’m doing it all wrong.” But the process is painfully slooooowwwwww and time-consuming…

Anyway, I always have any number of great reads calling from my TBR pile. Right now, MR. IMPOSSIBLE by Loretta Chase, A KISS OF FATE by Mary Jo Putney are a just a few tempting me to blow off other responsibilities. At least I bought them in a timely manner. I’ve come to accept that I can’t keep up with my favorite authors, even Laura Kinsale, whose stories are so wonderful that it is worth waiting several years between books. But I do get to them eventually!

So I don’t dare do anything called “best reads of 2005”. That would imply I’d read enough books to compare. I’ll content myself with “great books I read in 2005”. Some of them came out much earlier (proof that I do get to my favorite authors’ backlists) and I haven’t included the Riskies, which were certainly among the best Regencies of 2005. But I’m not partial. Not at all! 🙂

So here ’tis:

VISCOUNT VAGABOND and THE DEVIL’S DELILAH, by Loretta Chase (repackaging of two Regencies circa 1990. Both witty, funny but always with an undercurrent of real emotion.)

ALMOST A GENTLEMAN by Pam Rosenthal (A 2003 Kensington Brava, sexy but with far deeper characterization than the admittedly few other Bravas I’ve read–loved the hero and especially the heroine!)

UNCERTAIN MAGIC by Laura Kinsale (First published in 1987–a bit lighter than the more recent Kinsales, but still bewitching and with the trademark tortured hero)

GAMES OF PLEASURE by Julia Ross (Yes, a 2005 release! And a pleasure it was. I find Julia Ross’s books consistently lush, complex and passionate, but this just may be her best yet.)

So there you have it. A short list but a good one. I thank all these authors for blessing me with these stories. May they (and all those whose books I didn’t get to) write many more to wobble on my TBR stack!

Elena
LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE, a Romantic Times Top Pick!
www.elenagreene.com

Posted in Reading, Regency | Tagged , | 3 Replies

A little beauty…

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I wonder how stressed Regency folk were during the holidays. I was thinking that perhaps they didn’t travel so much, and things might have been easier. But then I remembered all the accounts of people going for protracted visits to various country houses. Like the following snip from a letter Lord Aucklands sent his sister, Emily Eden, after a visit:

“Mary in such a fright you never saw—such a silence you never heard—room so hot you never felt—dinner so cold you never tasted—dogs so tiresome you never smelt.”

So maybe holiday visits weren’t so idyllic then, either. It isn’t much comfort as some of us head off to visit extended families for the holidays. It’s not only an issue of differing tastes and comfort levels; it’s the politics.

People who read and write romance love to see closure in relationships—problems worked out with love as the result. But in real life we can’t always have that. Not with relatives or friends who don’t want to work through the real issues. Sometimes the best I know to do is to paste a smile on my face, for the sake of outward peace. I put up with digs from a jealous sibling, because it’s stupid to brangle, and because I want my kids to enjoy a peaceful time with their grandparents.

But it takes a toll. It just feels so wrong to have to put up with nonsense at a time that’s supposed to be so wonderful. The way I cope is to take (or steal, if necessary) as many little moments of beauty, things that are, in their own way, perfect and wonderful.

In the Regency, I probably would have escaped out of doors whenever possible for a walk. Or if that wasn’t possible, I might have dived into a good book or some soothing embroidery.

Some of my favorite modern escapes:

  • Christmas videos. The original GRINCH—what a wonderful character arc! Some less well known pleasures: OLIVE THE OTHER REINDEER, with the voice of Drew Barrymore. So funny and cute! An unexpected pleasure: Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Christmas video, with a surprisingly intense villain (for Disney) and more of the same romantic chemistry between Belle and her tortured hero.
  • Music. ON YOOLIS NIGHT: Medieval Carols & Motets by Anonymous 4—wonderfully atmospheric and soothing. YULE, with Linn Barnes and Allison Hampton on Celtic harp, guitar and lute. And a new favorite: THE CHAPIN FAMILY CHRISTMAS COLLECTION, Volume II–new takes on old favorites.
  • Cookies! Each year I bake a few kinds, but not with the intent of impressing anyone with Martha-ness. I truly love squishing dough with my fingers, love frosting cookies in elaborate patterns. And of course, eating them. Regular standbys: medauninkai, a Lithuanian cookie sweetened with honey and laced with spices. Vanilla almond crescents, made with a ton of butter and covered in powdered sugar that gets all over dark clothing (I guess Megan might avoid them). Something chocolate, which varies—this year those grasshopper squares, like huge, rich after dinner mints. Moderation is for the New Year. Right now, comfort foods are OK as long as you’re not just inhaling them but really taking a moment to savor them.
  • And of course, diving into a good book. This year, I’m taking Julia Ross’s GAMES OF PLEASURE with me as I head home for the holidays.

What are your favorite holiday pick-me-ups?

Elena
LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE, an RT Top Pick!
www.elenagreene.com

Posted in Regency | Tagged , | 3 Replies

Perils of Ballooning and Winner!

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A few weeks ago I posted some fun stuff about ballooning but today I’ll talk about the risks taken by the early aeronauts.
Pilatre de Rozier, along with the Marquis d’Arlandes, was one of the first aeronauts to go up in a hot air balloon (Montgolfiere). He was also the first to die in a balloon accident. After a number of hot air balloon flights, De Rozier planned a Channel crossing. Since a Montgolfiere could not carry enough fuel for such a flight, he devised a hybrid hot air/hydrogen balloon. De Rozier himself may have been concerned about this combination of airborne furnace and a highly flammable gas, but nevertheless he and his companion, Pierre Roumain, set off in June of 1785. Accounts I’ve read vary as to whether the balloon actually caught fire or not. What is certain is that the balloon crashed, killing both aeronauts.
The earliest English balloonist, James Sadler, had many misadventures. During one flight, the balloon dragged him for several miles, illustrating the difficulty of landing in windy conditions. Another time he ended up in the Bristol Channel, where he was rescued by a boat. Sadler’s son Windham was the first to cross the Irish Channel in 1816. But sadly, he died in 1824 when his balloon struck a chimney stack during an attempted landing.
Another famous tragedy was that of Sophie Blanchard, the wife of balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard. After his death she continued ballooning, making over 60 ascents. However in 1819 her luck ran out. During an exhibition over the Tivoli Gardens in Paris, the fireworks she was letting off ignited the hydrogen. Her balloon crashed onto the roof of a house and she fell to her death.
Another English balloonist, Thomas Harris, died in 1824.  He was trying out a new safety mechanism: a gas discharge valve intended to quickly deflate the balloon and thus prevent the balloon from dragging the car (basket) and its passengers on landing. Theories differ on how it happened, but the valve must have discharged prematurely, setting the balloon plunging. Thomas Harris was killed but his companion, Sophia Stocks, survived. According to one account (possibly romanticized), Harris jumped out early to lighten the balloon and thus save Sophia’s life.
So now I leave it to you to guess which of these perils might threaten my balloonist hero.
And now congratulations to librarypat! You have won an ebook of your choice from my titles. Please email me at elena @ elenagreene.com (no spaces) and let me know which book and format you’d like.
Elena
Posted in Giveaways, Regency, Research | Tagged , , , , | 3 Replies

Jane Rocks!

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I just saw the recent P&P a second time. This time I heartily enjoyed it, having gotten over some of the surprises in this new adaptation. I was also with several people who had not read the book who thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It really made me think about some of the vehement debates that have gone on over the various artistic choices made in this movie re the costuming, adapted dialogue, changed settings, etc… It also made me think of how upset some people are when Jane Austen is said to be the first chick-lit author, or over broader reinterpretations of her work like Bridget Jones’s Diary and Clueless.

I have to admit part of me sympathizes. It can be fun to have special, esoteric interests that not everyone else understands. But more and more, I’m open to sharing Jane with the world, and happy that her stories are reaching broader audiences through all these new incarnations. This is why they’re classics.

Let’s not put Jane in a box, please. She was a woman of many interests, from the serious to the frivolous, and able to laugh at herself as well as at others. Here are some favorite Jane anecdotes and quotes.

Jane the Literary Diva

“I remember that when Aunt Jane came to us at Godmersham she used to bring the manuscript of whatever novel she was writing with her, and would shut herself up with my elder sisters in one of the bedrooms to read them aloud. I and the younger ones used to hear peals of laughter through the door, and thought it very hard that we should be shut out from what was so delightful…I also remember how Aunt Jane would sit quietly working (at needlework) beside the fire in the library, saying nothing for a good while, and then would suddenly burst out laughing, jump up and run across the room to a table where pens and paper were lying, write something down, and then come back across to the fire and go on quietly working as before.” (recollections of Marianne Knight, Jane’s niece)

Jane the Fashionista

“My black cap was openly admired by Mrs. Lefroy, and secretly I imagine by everybody else in the room.” (letter to Cassandra December 1798)

“I am amused by the present style of female dress;–the coloured petticoats with braces over the white spencers and enormous Bonnets upon the full stretch, are quite entertaining.” (letter to a friend in September 1814)

“I learnt from Mrs Tickars’s young lady, to my high amusement, that the stays now are not made to force the Bosom up at all; — that was a very unbecoming, unnatural fashion. I was really glad to hear that they are not to be worn so much off the shoulders as they were.” (September 1813)

Jane the Domestic Goddess

“My mother desires me to tell you that I am a very good housekeeper, which I have no reluctance in doing, because I really think it my particular excellence, and for this reason—I always take care to provide such things as please my own appetite, which I consider as the chief merit in housekeeping. I have had some ragout veal, and I mean to have some haricot mutton to-morrow. We are to kill a pig soon.” (letter to her sister Cassandra Austen, Saturday 17 Nov. 1798)

Jane, Queen of Snark

“Mrs. Hall, of Sherborne, was brought to bed yesterday of a dead child, some weeks before she expected, owing to a fright. I supposed she happened unawares to look at her husband.” (letter to Cassandra, October 1798)

“…I am very proud to say that I have a very good eye at an Adultress, for tho’ repeatedly assured that another in the same party was the She, I fixed upon the right one from the first… She is not so pretty as I expected; her face has the same defect of baldness as her sister’s, & her features not so handsome; she was highly rouged, & looked rather quietly and contentedly silly than anything else.” ( letter to Cassandra, May 1801)

“Miss Blachford is agreeable enough. I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal” (letter to Cassandra, Dec. 1798)

I don’t see Jane spinning in her grave about the screen adaptations of her stories. So undignified, don’t you think? Instead she might have some witty snark about changes she doesn’t agree with. Overall, though, I think she’d be flattered by all the attention. And poke a little fun at herself for being flattered.

Happy birthday, Jane!

Elena
LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE, an RT Top Pick!
www.elenagreene.com

Posted in Jane Austen | Tagged | 9 Replies

Too little, too much, or just right?

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Balloonists Close Up

Since I had a long break from writing due to the combination of holidays and the flu, I’ve gone back to line edit the completed parts of my balloonist story. Editing helps me to get back into the flow of the story; I’m looking forward to getting to new material next week.

Around the same time Megan posted Anachronism vs Anomaly, I was editing a section of the story with a lot of sex scenes. I mean lots. It took until almost the middle of the book for my characters’ attraction to overcome all the reasons they shouldn’t be together. But once they got going, I’m not sure I could have stopped them, even if I wanted to.

The discussion in Megan’s post was about all the activities right up to the actual deed, but it brought up a more general issue of what is believable in Regency-set romance. I’ve had these discussions before with other authors and with thoughtful readers. We’ve talked about what we know based on our research (but people didn’t generally write about sex) and what might have been (we’re writing fiction, after all). We’ve talked about keeping the awareness of the social consequences given the time period.

I have to say a lot of input I’ve specifically gotten from readers is more about their personal preferences. Some have complained about too much sex in my traditional Regencies. Although they complained about accuracy, I’m not sure that was really the issue, since most of the sex scenes were in the context of marriage. I think it was more a matter of comfort level. I’ve also had readers advise me to “sex it up” some more.

The problem is that once I’ve started a story, how soon, how often, how far the sex will go is driven by my characters, their experiences, and the story setup. A widow who thinks she’s infertile will act differently than an inexperienced heroine hoping to make a respectable marriage. The only way to really sex it up or down would be to write a new story.

I know some readers prefer to connect the dots between a fade out and smiles over breakfast the next morning. But I personally feel that it’s more powerful to show the sex as long as the scene is also revealing things about the characters and their relationship.

So I’m just forging on with the story, trying not to worry 1) that there’s not enough, 2) that there’s too much, 3) that it happens too late in the story, 4) that there’s too much in this one part, 5) that there’s not enough in the rest. (As you see I haven’t thought about it much.) I’m just hoping some readers will “get” my characters and enjoy the ride.

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

Posted in Regency, Writing | Tagged | 6 Replies
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