Author Archives: Mary Blayney

About Mary Blayney

I have been writing both contemporary and regency romances since 1986, first with contemporary romances for Silhouette and later with historicals set in the Regency period. Family will always play a strong part in my books since, for me, family relationships are as fundamental as the love between a man and a woman.

What a Character!

Updated on August 17, 2015 by Mary Blayney

As I begin the series that has been the subject of the occasional post here on Risky Regencies, I’ve been thinking about my hero and heroine, John and Mimi, and what makes them the unique and intriguing people they are. I’ve got it now but I won’t spoil the fun by talking about it when you can read about them before too long.

In the process of working it out I gave some thought to my past characters and what they have in common.

Anyone who knows me can guess that the key element they all share is “honor at the core of their being.” Though I could argue that Mia in COURTESAN’S KISS was right on the edge of honorable. She was just a bit too manipulative and selfish. Hopefully her loving relationship with her half-sister and her difficult youth made her behavior understandable and acceptable. And, in the end, of course, love conquers all.

At the other extreme of honor at the core has to be Michael Garret, the continuing character (not the hero) in the series I am writing now and the hero of LOVER’S KISS. Michael abandoned his religious training and joined the army rather than accept a living that would have made him a puppet. Even as a spy (see TRAITOR’S KISS) he knew the cost of his work and helped his colleagues whenever the need arose, even when it threatened his own safety. He is settled now, responding fully to his call as a vicar (though an unconventional one) and finds great joy in the world around him. (And yes, Michael looks a lot like Liam Neeson.)

But there is one other element that my characters share and it’s what makes them unique in their world. Almost all of them defy the social norm in some way. Michael as an unconventional vicar. Mia, in her extreme, way insisting that she would become a courtesan.

Then there is Lady Olivia, the daughter of a duke, who loves the kitchen, especially baking. Her brother, Lord David, decides to go into business despite the fact that gentlemen did not. The list goes on and includes either the hero or heroine and sometimes both in my “Kiss series” (Check out my website for titles and details: MaryBlayney.com)

So now what I am wondering is what element your favorite characters share whether you be reader or writer? I bet I know what Diane Gaston will say.

Posted in Regency, Writing | 5 Replies

The Sage of Waterloo

Updated on July 20, 2015 by Mary Blayney

How many books have been written about Waterloo? Leona Francombe, the author of THE SAGE OF WATERLOO estimates over two hundred with her book one more entry into the field. And a very unique entry it is.

The Sage of Waterloo is a rabbit named William. With an anthropomorphic bent which I usually dislike the author gives a unique view (wow that’s stating the obvious) of a battle that is as well known as DDay.

Waterloo is not a subject that I have studied extensively (hello Diane Gaston!) But I think even the well-educated student of the war will find this book fascinating and beautifully written. William hooked me on page 6 “If you just stumble across Hougoument the scene is quite unremarkable….Until you see the three chestnut trees. Two are dead, the third not far behind them. They look like freaks…and then you realize they’re over three hundred years old, and the only remaining witnesses to the fighting and you understand. Place your hand on one – even a dead one, and you will feel a pulse.”

William’s home is the farm that was the scene of the earliest fighting at Waterloo, a battle that claimed close to fifty thousand dead and wounded (counting both sides together) and ended a war that was as all involving as the World Wars that came over 100 years later.

William’s story manages to cover some of the more familiar aspects of Waterloo including the Duchess of Richmond’s Ball, but what fascinated me the most is his recounting of what happened at the once elegant and serene chateau/farm of Hougoument the day before the Waterloo.

“Go there yourself and you will feel it: the knowing wind…and a strange sort of peace that is not peaceful at all. Sometimes, …it’s as if a worn curtain is shifting and through a tear in the fabric you can see something unimaginable for such a sleep backwater.”
Who can resist reading on after that? The New York Times reviewer, Laline Paull, says that “will hinge on whether its premise instinctively charms or alienates.”

Obviously I was charmed.

What is your favorite recounting of the Battle of Waterloo and why has the battle never been made into a movie?

Posted in History, Places, Research, Risky Regencies | 6 Replies

For a Good Time Read a Regency

Updated on June 29, 2015 by Mary Blayney

Our guest blogger today is Deb Barnhart, a long time friend and fellow romance reader. I asked her to tell us why she reads Regencies and her answer follows. But I also encourage you to check out her Pinterest site to see some of the lovely Regency images she has collected. Thanks Deb for the kind words and your thoughtful response

Regency historicals touch my romantic soul at its deepest level. Whenever I enter that time period through the imagination of favorite writers, like Mary Blayney, Loretta Chase, Cathy Maxwell and Lorraine Heath, there is a level of intimacy present that I don’t find in contemporaries or other historicals.
For me, that early 19th century time frame offers so much more freedom in character and story where it runs the gamut of dark to light, sweet to sexy, drama to comedy. I love that kind of variety when I’m looking for a good read and Regency authors always provide it.

Of course, Jane Austen is still a favorite of mine and Georgette Heyer is always good company, but I have read every one of Mary Blayney’s Pennistan series and the Braedons with the same level of joy and pleasure. Loretta Chase’s LORD OF SCROUNDRELS could not be sexier or more fun to read, unless I’m reading Janet Mullaney. I recently reread THE RAKE by Mary Jo Putney and found it as fresh as when I first read it.

I am such a Regency fan girl. The authors I mentioned, and the many I have not, have seen me through good times and bad. Regencies have allowed me to experience the Peninsular War, weekends in English country houses and evenings in infamous gaming hells. But from my very first Regency, what I love most about them is the romance. I adore stories about Dukes who find love for the first time and ladies who want nothing to do with it.

I love happy endings and Regencies do that best of all. They sweep me away from whatever crisis I am experiencing and into a past where pelisses are all the rage, women are feisty, love is always new and happy is ever after.

Since you read this blog you read Regencies. So tell me was it Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer or Regency history generally that inspired you to write or read that genre?

Is there a Regency that you have read that has a special memory for you personally as a reader or a author?

Posted in Guest, Reading, Regency, Risky Regencies | 18 Replies

“I love deadlines…

Updated on June 15, 2015 by Mary Blayney

…I love the wooshing sound they make as they fly by.” I wish I’d written that but alas, no. Douglas Adams said it (author of HITCHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.) But if I thought of it I would have said it. I find deadlines a challenge. I thought eliminating the contractual deadline from my life would make writing more fun. It might. If I ever got around to actually writing.

As you may (or may not) recall from my past two posts I have a new story brewing. I anticipate that it will be novella — something under 100 pages and I will epublish it.

The story is in my head, growing and changing every day. I know it will have no external conflict cause Bella Andre has proved that external conflict is not essential to a readable story. Especially a short one.

I’ve blogged about it. I’ve entered the first page at a Retreat I attend every year (Yeah, they liked it and it was an anonymous submission so it was not my warm and generous nature that won them over)

Since the hero and heroine are the names of people I know (by request) I invited one of them over to hear the outline of the story and get her okay to the use of her name in connection with a woman who has a questionable past and use her husband’s name for a hero who has suffered a tragic lost.

Mimi LaCouture is a successful artist. One of her painting is below and here is the link to her website(http://mimilittle.com/index.html) Mimi understands the pain of criticism and the value of a suggestion. She said “Fine, sounds like a good story and wouldn’t it be interesting if …. ” and she went on to supply a plot idea that was great and that I had not thought of (might have, but she saved me the effort)

So I am all set to put Mimi and John’s story on page. The title has been a big question. It’s (hopefully ) a series so do I name it for the lead two characters, where they live, what they do and with a sub title re this story? Or simplify, cause really a thumbnail cover is pretty small. Still mulling that one over but, let’s face it, I can come up with a title anytime in the next 100 (or so) pages

The house is clean (thanks to house cleaning professional, Michele for that,) the laundry at an acceptable state of overflow. I’ve mastered crock pot cooking so no one starves and I’ve learned to leave lots of white space on the calendar (probably the biggest challenge of all)

Ready, set, STALL. Instead of writing I spent some time last week figuring out how to remove a scorch mark from a cotton dress shirt. (A few drops of ammonia, layered over with a peroxide dampened cloth and then pressed with a medium hot iron. It takes a while but it worked). Then I removed the cloudiness from a crystal vase (white vinegar ), and then, heaven help me, I started daily weeding of our yard as if it was a mission only I could take on.

What is going on here? Do I actually need a deadline to produce anything. I will keep you posted on this great question. But more important: what is your favorite (or most insane way) to put off the moment when you BEGIN? Not a question just for writers. I do believe this is an experience shared by all. Right Mimi?

Posted in Anything but writing | 8 Replies

What I Don’t Know Could Fill a Book

Updated on May 18, 2015 by Mary Blayney

Sandra’s post on May 11th regarding her exhausting (in both contexts) research on Roman history and life is the perfect lead in to my much less ambitious undertaking.

Here is the link to her post: https://riskyregencies.com/2015/05/06/fictionalizing-the-past/

Really, after fifteen years of researching regencies, and writing them, I thought I knew all I needed to know. I’ll be honest and admit I wrote around the subjects that did not interest me too much (Parliament and politics for one) but felt I had a good handle on how MY Regency set characters lived.

In fact, writing a historical requires its own sort of world building. Not as totally as, say science fiction, but certainly there is a lot of room for the imagination. In the end the writer interprets the regency lifestyle based on her understanding of history and her own view of life, or how she would like life to be. Without a doubt the importance of the history of time and place matter more to some authors and readers than it does to others.

It’s important to me. I was a history major in college (American history unfortunately) and brought that fascination with me when I decided to write a regency. I have been forever grateful to early blogs I participated in. They gave me a chance to share the information that I never used in a story but could not abandon before I knew way too much about said subject.

Now I’m faced with a challenge. I’m starting a series I referred to in my last blog post. Here is the link if you want to catch up: https://riskyregencies.com/2015/04/20/writing-and-reading-a-series/

I find I need to know everything I can about the life of an Anglican vicar. From the get go I can see MY vicar is not cast in the usual mode. The spiritual life and general well-being of the people in his village are more important to him than an invitation to the right homes or parties (definitely not a Mr. Collins.) I can deal with that. But, because of it, I want to get as much of the rest of his world right.

I’ve pulled all possible books off my shelves including a treasure titled A COUNTRY PARSON 1759 to 1802. Too bad it’s before the war with Napoleon but it should still be useful, don’t you think?

In the meantime here is what Pennsford looks like. I’m sure I can count on you to ignore the modern roadway.

The picture above, after the third paragraph, is a hand-stitiched image of one of Pennsford’s cottages

Please tell me how you start researching a subject you know little about and, as reader, how important to you is the accuracy of the world a regency author builds. And if anyone knows any specific books about a vicar’s life around 1817 please share!

Posted in History, Research, Risky Regencies | 16 Replies