Author Archives: Janet Mullany

Happy Thanksgiving, it’s The End!

Updated on November 26, 2009 by Janet Mullany

No, not an early post for Thanksgiving according to the Mayan calendar.

I finished, sort of, my book called … well, it doesn’t actually have a name yet but it’s about Jane Austen in Bath, vampires and a French invasion, with guest appearances by the Prince of Wales (later the Prince Regent), Beau Brummell, and Colonel Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington). Guess which one is a vampire. Coming from HarperCollins in fall (?) 2010.

So on Monday night I left work early and went home with my head stuffed full of the last three thousand words or so and started to write.

First phone call: from a worthy organization I told to take my name off their call list.

Phone call #2: daughter wanted to borrow my pretty pie dish (she is the official Thanksgiving pie maker) and I told her it was cracked, probably not a good idea.

Phone call #3: the person who had kindly invited me to attend the local Jane Austen Society birthday event as her guest. This necessitated me making a call to find out what day a possibly conflicting event was on–I am such a social butterfly–and finding out that I could attend neither the Austen event or event #3 that I really wanted to go to.

Phone call #4: from a worthy organization who hung up before I answered.

Phone call #5: my daughter again, asking if it was ok to ask our hosts if she could bring the office Thanksgiving orphan (there’s always one) and I said yes, good idea.

Somehow, fielding more phone calls than I usually get in a week, I got to the point where I typed THE END. Yeehah.

Frantic editing and fact checking will follow and then straight into the next book. But I celebrated the end the next day by going to see the Pennsylvania Ballet’s Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center, a last minute invite from my daughter the pie baker. Lots of fun!

Happy Thanksgiving, Risky friends (US) and happy Thursday to Risky friends elsewhere!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Thanksgiving | 8 Replies

Guest Lori Brighton

Updated on November 22, 2009 by Janet Mullany

A great big Risky welcome today to debut author Lori Brighton who will give away two signed copies of her book today! Your comment or question enter you into the drawing.

Like a breath of fresh, rain-washed air after a thunderstorm, Wild Heart awakens the senses and speeds up the heart rate…. A great read! Long and Short Romance Reviews

Lori, tell us the story behind the story: what inspired this book?

This is going to sound odd, but the Disney Cartoon Tarzan. My son was watching the movie a few years back. Around the same time, I saw a documentary on Discovery or some equally educational channel about feral children. I’d seen them both rather close together and thought, hmm, what it would it be like if my hero had been lost in the wild during his childhood? I also tend to like more alpha males and you couldn’t get a male more alpha than one who had survived on his own in a foreign country.

How easy did you find it to build paranormal elements into your setting and what makes your paranormal elements stand out?

I didn’t set out to make it paranormal but it just kept bugging me, insisting to be let in. I’ve had reviewers say that the paranormal element is subtle and blends well, which is exactly what I wanted.

Leo, the hero, lived a sort of animalistic life in the wilds of India. At first Ella, my heroine, was merely going to be an animal lover, but then I realized, why not make it paranormal? What if Ella had powers to control and sense the feeling of animals? Since Leo is more animalistic than most humans, she would be able to sense his emotions. I thought it would make the story more unique and connect Leo and Ella in a way they wouldn’t have been.

I’ve started calling the book “Heroes set in the Victorian Era.”

Did you discover anything particularly unusual in your research that you’d like to share?

Hmmm, I wrote the book such a long time ago, it’s hard to remember! I’ve had to do a lot of research into the Indian culture and history for this first book and even more so for the second book. So the entire culture as a whole was interesting and new to me.

As for Wild Heart, the one thing that sticks out was how hard it was to take away a person’s title. Leo’s cousin is out to get Leo’s rightful title and the fortune that come with it. The problem was how to get that title from Leo without having him die. Come to find out, it was pretty much impossible to get a title taken away from someone, even if they’d done horrible things. The closest I came was my understanding that if someone was insane, a board might be appointed to take on the responsibilities.

Whom did you identify with most closely when you wrote this book–your hero or your heroine? Why?

Leo, my hero, is very alpha, very blunt very much a left brain sort of man and so very different from me. But I’ve also thrown in some unique qualities to soften him, such as his love of art. Art is definitely something I’ve always enjoyed.

But overall, Ella is more like me. I think in most instances the author associates with the same sex character. Not always, but in most instances. And so far I associate more with my heroines than heroes. Ella loves nature and travel, like me. And like most women, Ella is caring, often at the expense of herself.

What drew you to the Victorian era?

I’ve always loved the Victorian era, probably because it’s the era most noticeable in the United States, especially the Midwest where I grew up. Big, old Victorian homes and those gorgeous dresses and ornate furniture. It was a very elegant time period, but also an era when people were expanding on their knowledge and environment. It was a big era of travel, antiquities and natural science. It’s also the first time period in which you have women leaving the home to work, so in that way there’s more freedom. Everything about it intrigues me.

And as I said in another interview—corsets and tight riding breeches, can’t get much sexier than that!

(Mmmm. Ahem.) Is there anything about the Victorian era you don’t like or that you have trouble incorporating in your writing?

The truth about general hygiene at the time would certainly take the romance away from the story. So it’s always nice to leave out the fact that they probably only took a bath once a week. Let’s not even discuss women and their lack of shaving their legs and underarms. And can you imagine dental hygiene? Have I ruined it for you yet, because I can keep going…lol.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of the Victorian era is the fact that women were suddenly working outside the home, you have a rise of the middle class. There’s a lack of romances novels that focus upon these working women and the long hours and horrible jobs they had to do just to survive. Perhaps that will be my next heroine!

What is there in Wild Heart that you consider risky? (the Risky question!)

Definitely having the paranormal element is a little risky. I’ve tried combining two of the most popular genres- historical and paranormal. I know most readers want either straight historical, or straight paranormal but I had to take that risk because it felt right and I’m hoping it worked, that lovers of both genres will give their nod of approval.

As for the story itself…there’s also a rather risky scene in a Greek folly and then later in a carriage…but I won’t go into detail 😉

What’s next for you?

I have ideas for three new series that I can’t wait to get started on! The problem is deciding which to start first.

As for the next book that will be released, it will be a spin off of Wild Heart. The book isn’t titled yet but it will be out near the beginning of 2011 and will feature a secondary character from Wild Heart as the hero. It takes place in India; it’s very much an action adventure and still contains that paranormal and romance. I’m really excited about it.

Lori will drop by today to chat more about her book, the naughty Victorians, and paranormal romance, so please ask away and your comment or question will enter you into the drawing for a prize.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged india, Lori Brighton, paranormal romance, victorian romance, Wild Heart | 19 Replies

Ladies Day at Riversdale

Updated on November 19, 2009 by Janet Mullany

I know I should be writing something erudite about the latest Harlequin-RWA debacle but I’m also reading Terry Pratchett and I think it’s coloring my perception. Truly, this is something that belongs in Discworld. I am also in the thick of deadline hell and am about to behead Jane Austen so you can see I’m rather distracted.

So I’ll tell you instead what I did last weekend, which was to attend the Ladies Day at the federal-era Riversdale House Museum, a wonderful day of activities centered around Rosalie Stier Calvert‘s love of gardening and typical flower-related activities. Here are all the ladies in costume (once again my maid neglected to clean and iron my gown in time), with a rather beautiful golden glow that looks like candlelight but is in fact a result of the failing battery in the camera.

We made perfume using essential oils and yes, vodka, and mine has a bergamot base because I like the name rather than the smell, but I hope it improves over the next couple of weeks.

One very exciting part of the day was a lecture by Stacey Hampton, an expert on nineteenth-century hairstyles and hair ornaments. She gave us a terrific list of resources, including the website Timely Tresses.

She brought in a selection of Regency hair ornaments from her collection which we were allowed to touch, and she also gave a demonstration, on fake heads, of how to build a Regency hair style.

Also on display where these three beautiful bonnets decorated with flowers, constructed by Riversdale’s historian Dr. Ann Wass. You can see in the background the original front doors of the house, a source of great pride for Rosalie Calvert, who boasted that not even Tommy Jeff in the White House had real solid mahogany doors.

In the afternoon we had afternoon tea with scones, neither of which are period, but are just plain good; we made the scones and we also attempted to sugar petals as decorations for the cupcakes, for which we made very runny icing (those egg whites would not stiffen. I spent a long time outside in the cool air with a bowl and a whisk). Sorry about the pic blurred with greed. We had spiced pear compote made with Riversdale’s own pears and an interesting Swedish carrot marmalade for the scones.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. What are you up to? And, aargh, it’s Thanksgiving next week. Are you ready? I’m off the hook since I don’t have a working oven…

Another bit of news. You can buy my next Regency chicklit book IMPROPER RELATIONS in advance at 55% off at bookdepository.com! Still no final cover but I know it will be pretty. The release date is February, 2010.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Improper Relations, Riversdale House Museum, Rosalie Calvert, Stacey Hampden | 11 Replies

Flying through the air

Updated on November 12, 2009 by Janet Mullany

A first.

I post Mantitty on the blog.

This is none other than Jules Leotard, who on this day in 1859 performed the first flying trapeze act in Paris, thus revolutionizing the circus. His act lasted twelve minutes in which he turned a somersault in mid-air and jumped from one trapeze to another. A pile of mattresses served as a safety net.

Although he’s not wearing it here, the leotard, which he invented, is named after him. Not a whole lot is known about his life; he was born in Toulouse, France, around 1839, the son of a gymnastics instructor, and as a baby was calmed by being hung upside down. Although his father wanted him to enter the law, young Jules ran away to the circus. He made his debut at the Alhambra Music Hall, London, in 1861, and his New York debut in 1868. He died in 1870 in Spain of smallpox or cholera.

Inspired by Carolyn’s Googlebooks adventures, I went searching for references to Jules Leotard, and found this from Chambers’ 1891 Journal of Popular Literature, Science and Arts:

Jules Leotard was a splendid specimen of manly beauty—a perfect figure united to a strikingly handsome face, always grave and reposeful.

The story of the great gymnast’s career has seldom been told. A native of Toulouse, in the south of France, young Leotard passed many of his earliest years in the beautiful city of the sunny south. His father kept a swimming-bath, having several skylights that were opened and closed by long ropea. It was young Leotard’s office to open and shut these skylights, and he was in the habit of swinging from one rope to the other, doing so with so much grace and skill as to attract much attention from the visitors to the establishment. His first public appearance was as an amateur at the Municipal Fete. It so happened that among the people who witnessed the performance was the director of the Cirque d’Iimperatrice at Paris. This gentleman was astonished at the skill and grace of the young athlete, and also at the novelty of the performance; and the next morning he made his way to the Leotard swimming baths and had an interview with the father. A few days hence and Jules Leotard set out for Paris. On his arrival in the gay city he was taken to a theatrical costumier, and a gay doublet of crimson velvet and gold spangles was fitted over the snow-white tights he had brought from the country.

“Take it off!” he said to the costumier. “I am not going to play the clown.”

“Take it off ! mon petit, the beautiful doublet ? See how well you look in it—grand, magnificent, superb!”

“Think you so? I’ll never wear spangles like a harlequin.”

“Ah ! mon Dieu ! Eh bien ! mon petit, what is it, then, you will wear? You must have a doublet of some kind.”

“Have you any black velvet?”

A roll of plain black velvet was produced, and out of this material was made the young aspirant’s doublet. And subsequently M. Leotard always wore the simple and elegant dress of a black velvet doublet over snow-white tights ; a dress that served admirably to display the magnificent form of the gymnast. The debut of the young athlete in the Paris arena was a veritable triumph, which was renewed on his first appearance in London. The flying trapeze became the rage, and a whole host of flying trapezists appeared at the music halls, none of whom, however, had the skill and marvellous ease of the master.

And yes, Leotard inspired the song The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, recorded by, among others, Bruce Springsteen.

I think this nineteenth century circus illustration explains why female trapeze acts were so popular.

Have you ever fancied running away to the circus or flying through the air with the greatest of ease, which you can learn to do at Trapeze School in Washington DC or other major cities?

Do you think that facing up to a physical fear–like flinging yourself into the air on a trapeze–will help you overcome other fears? Have you ever done anything like that?

And do you think Manhaunch will ever replace the popular Mantitty on romance covers?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bruce Springsteen, circus, Jules Leotard, leotard, Mantitty, trapeze, Trapeze School | 8 Replies

Happy Guy Fawkes Day

Updated on November 5, 2009 by Janet Mullany

Occasionally people ask me if Halloween is celebrated in England and I tell them that now it’s quite a big deal. I’m surprised that the sweet-loving English took so long to figure out that any day when candy is given away is worth adopting. But when I was growing up we preferred to burn Catholics in effigy. You can read some earlier Risky posts about the Gunpowder Plot, Diane’s in 2007 and mine in 2005, so today I thought I’d talk about fireworks (and who hasn’t written a Vauxhall Gardens scene with fireworks?)

Like so many other inventions, fireworks originated in China, possibly as early as the ninth century, the legend being that common kitchen ingredients, saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal (ugh) combined to explode. So the early emphasis was on loud bangs, thought to scare off evil spirits. When fireworks came west and were adopted by the royal courts of Europe in the Renaissance, the color scheme was somewhat limited at first, mostly in shades of amber, so the emphasis was on elaborate structures built to display the fireworks. The Italian style featured fake buildings, decorated with painted allegorical figures or flowers, whereas the German (Northern School) preferred one centerpiece, such as a figure of Cupid, from which the fireworks emerged.

By the eighteenth century more colors were added to the repertoire and public firework displays became elaborate affairs, often with music, and frequently lasting a couple of hours. The illustration at left is a detail of a fireworks display in Green Park, London, in 1763. One of the most interesting things about this print is that it’s an early 3-D experiment known as a vue d’optique–the words inside the explosion are Vivat Rex in reverse, because the print was designed to be viewed through a mirrored viewer. You can read more about it here.

One of the most famous public fireworks displays was the one in 1749 to celebrate the end of the war for Austrian succession. Handel was commissioned to write the music (Music for the Royal Fireworks), the “machine” from which the fireworks were to be set off took four months to build and 11,000 fireworks were designed by an Italian team led by the noted Gaetano Ruggieri. But the English technicians appointed to set off the fireworks got in a fight with the Italians and half of them were set off prematurely. The rest were never set off. Several spectators died in freak accidents–drowning, falling out of trees. When Princess Di and Prince Charles married in 1981, an attempt was made to replicate this firework display, and it was a dud then, too–“Wedding 6: Fireworks 0” according to the Evening Standard.

One intriguing fact that came out when I was reading about fireworks was that many of the manufacturers were family businesses that spanned several generations. Brocks Fireworks, the oldest English company, was founded early in the eighteenth century and started a tradition of public firework displays for the general public in 1826, and given at the Crystal Palace after 1865. The company was eventually bought out by the now defunct Standard Fireworks. More info on English firework companies and some quite gorgeous artwork here.