Posts in which we or our guests offer a giveaway.
Diane here, welcoming back Michelle Willingham.
Michelle has returned to the Regency for the moment (taking a little break from her scrumptious Highlanders and Irish Warriors) and comes to talk about her latest venture, her first Montlake release, Undone By The Duke.
“Well written, aptly conveying a strong sense of family among the sisters, the quartet shows great promise.” –RT Book Reviews, 4 stars (HOT)
“A tender, exquisitely romantic tale. I so enjoyed this quietly intense and richly satisfying romance.” –Connie Brockway
Michelle has four giveaways today to four lucky commenters who will be chosen at random from all the comments. One lucky winner will receive either an ebook or mass market copy of Undone By The Duke (winner’s choice), but Michelle is also giving away one ebook each of The Accidental Countess, The Accidental Princess, and An Accidental Seduction. Read some exciting new information about these books at the end of the interview!
Welcome back, Michelle!
1. Tell us about Undone by the Duke.
Undone by the Duke is the story of an agoraphobic heroine, Victoria Andrews, who hasn’t gone outside in five years and a wounded duke who ends up
stranded on her doorstep in rural Scotland. This is the first book in the Secrets in Silk quartet, and it’s a cross between Little Women and Project Runway. Instead of sewing dresses, the sisters sew corsets and chemises. And, yes, the scandalous underwear is Victoria’s secret.
2. I think this is our first Montlake book. How was it to work with Amazon Montlake?
It was wonderful! Just to clarify, Montlake is a traditional romance publisher owned by Amazon. Some of Montlake’s authors include Connie Brockway, Kendra Elliott, Melinda Leigh, and Robin Perini, to name a few. There are a few differences in working with Montlake, namely that it’s a true team effort instead of just you and your editor. There is an acquisitions editor who buys for the house (Kelli Martin was mine). Then when it was time for editing, my book was edited by Shannon Godwin, who formerly edited for Harlequin. What I liked about this system is that the developmental edits were done by one person who wasn’t worrying about marketing, scheduling, acquisitions, or office meetings. Her focus was only on making my book the very best it could be. Then it went back to Montlake, had copyedits and galleys, and publicity was done by our in-house publicist. We also have an Author Team for any questions that come up along the way. It’s like a concierge where questions not involving the book can be handled. It’s great when you have a small question and don’t know who to ask.
3. You and the book got a mention in February’s issue of RT Book Reviews. Tell us about that.
We found out that RT was writing an article about historical underwear in the February edition, and since my book was released on February 12th, the timing was perfect! One of my favorite resources regarding unmentionables was The History of Underclothes by C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington. I also visited various museums, but the best research was when I attended a Beau Monde function, wearing a Regency re-enactment gown that was laced up the back. During that process, I learned how impossible it was to dress (or undress) yourself without help*. I used this experience in The Accidental Prince, where my princess heroine is stranded without a maid and has to sleep in her clothes.
(*Diane note: I think Michelle’s modiste that night was our Riskie Amanda!)
4. What is risky about Undone by the Duke?
Definitely the naughty underwear and the risk of scandal! These are four sisters whose parents are deeply into debt and Victoria believes her sewing can lead to prosperity for their family. But when she gets the idea to make the chemises and corsets out of silk and satin (instead of gowns), she never dreamed that the garments would take London by storm. There’s an enormous risk in keeping the secret of who is making the garments, for it will destroy their reputations if anyone finds out who is responsible.
In reality, it’s unlikely that women would buy underwear out of those fabrics, because the lye soap used during that time would burn right through it. You could only wear the underwear a few times and then you’d have to discard it. But there were women during that time who were so wealthy, they could wear a gown once and never wear it again. That’s where fiction and reality could intersect–because a woman rich enough to do this with a gown could certainly afford high-end underwear. So it was a fun concept to play with.
5. Did you come across any interesting research while writing the book?
Some Regency men wore corsets! The Prince Regent and many dandies sometimes wore a Cumberland corset with a whalebone back. And no, I will never put a hero in a corset. Can you imagine a scene with the hero and heroine trying to undress each other? The horror
6. What is next from you?
On February 19, The Accidental Prince will release from Harlequin Historical. This book is the third in a trilogy, and it’s a Cinderella reversal where the handsome prince becomes a pauper and must marry a
princess to regain his kingdom. The previous titles in the series have been discounted online from February 13-March 13 in e-book format. The Accidental
Countess (book one) and The Accidental Princess (book two) will be on sale
for $1.99. The prequel novella, “An Accidental Seduction” will be on sale
for $0.99.
Now I have a question for your readers. Since this is February, the month of Valentine’s Day, many people give flowers to their sweetheart. What’s your favorite flower to receive?
Diane here again. Remember, Michelle is giving away one copy of Undone by the Duke (reader’s choice of ebook or paperback) and one Kindle copy each of The Accidental Countess, The Accidental Princess, and An Accidental Seduction. So answer Michelle’s question or ask of question of your own or make another comment for a chance to win. I’ll randomly pick the winners after midnight on Monday Feb 19.
And if you are in the Washington, D.C., area today, Sunday, Feb 17, Michelle and I (and several other DC area Romance authors) will be attending the first ever Romance Lovers Get Together, where readers and authors can meet and chat, at Arlington Rooftop and Grill, 2:30 – 4:30 pm. If you can come, be sure to introduce yourself to me and tell me you read Risky Regencies!
And the winner of Anne Gracie’s The Autumn Bride is….(drumroll)…
CrystalGB!!
Crystal, look for an email from Anne Gracie.
Thanks, everyone, for making Anne feel welcome!
The Riskies
riskies@yahoo.com
Our guest today is multi-published English author Portia da Costa, whose witty, sexy, mischievous writing style is an absolute delight. She’s here to talk about the Ladies Sewing Circle. Sounds very respectable, doesn’t it … over to you, Portia. First, tell us about the Ladies Sewing Circle series.
The Ladies’ Sewing Circle is one of those happy accidents really. I never really meant to write a series, but the editor liked my first Victorian story and suggested that I write some more. The Circle is a group of fairly well to do Victorian women who meet regularly, with the ostensible purpose of practicing their sewing skill, taking tea and exchanging a bit of polite social chitchat. However, once they get together, not a lot of actual sewing goes on and the chitchat is far from polite, because they’re all too busy gossiping about scandal and comparing naughty sexual stories and fantasies. I think the group probably started out innocently enough, but it gradually grew bawdier and bawdier, especially when Madame Sofia Chamfleur became its unofficial grande dame and leader.
In A GENTLEWOMAN’S PREDICAMENT, as Mrs. Sofia Harewood, she’s an inquisitive widow who yearns to enjoy the bedroom pleasures she never really experienced with her late husband. Fortunately, a friend at the Circle knows just the place for her, and that’s the House of Madame Chamfleur, a discreet establishment for ladies in search of erotic fulfillment. Sofia pays a visit to the House, and to cut a long story short, it’s everything she’d hoped for and more. And to her surprise and delight, “Madame” isn’t a Madame at all and Sofia ends up marrying him!
The second story, A GENTLEWOMAN’S RAVISHMENT, features Prudence Enderby, one of the most incorrigible members of the Circle, whose dearest fantasy is to be abducted and ravished by a ruthless stranger. Needless to say, the new Madame Chamfleur, Sofia, is able to make that dream come true for her. A GENTLEWOMAN’S PLEASURE and A GENTLEWOMAN’S DALLIANCE are stories featuring other Circle members, Lucy Dawson and Mary Brigstock. Both these ladies have a daringly sensual encounter to recount to their friends over the needlepoint and the cups of Oolong.
IN THE FLESH is the first Sewing Circle novel, and it’s the story of Beatrice Weatherly, a newcomer to the group, and young woman who’s fallen into societal disgrace by posing nude for photographs. Beatrice accepts that her ruin is her own fault, but never one to feel sorry for herself, she makes the best of a bad job by accepting a scandalous “indecent proposal” from a devastatingly handsome and wealthy ladies’ man, Edmund Ellsworth Ritchie. He’s a friend of the Chamfleurs, and he’s fallen head over heels in lust with Beatrice after seeing her sensuous poses. But what starts out as an indulgent affair and a business arrangement quickly becomes much, much more… and Beatrice and Edmund must face both their deepening feelings for each other and a horrible tragedy from his past that haunts the present and their future together.
The second Ladies’ Sewing Circle novel is entitled DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH, and will hopefully be published later this year or early next year. Adela Ruffington is the Circle member in the spotlight this time, and the story describes her love/hate relationship with her distant cousin Wilson Ruffington, who’s both a scientific genius and heir to all the family’s fortune. This strong willed and mercurial pair must weather the stormy waters of a marriage of convenience on their way to eventual happiness.
What was it like making the transition from contemporary to historical?
It was very exciting, as well as a little scary initially. I’d always told myself I probably couldn’t write a historical novel, because I wasn’t a history scholar. But when I was encouraged to try, I really enjoyed the experience, and found it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I’d feared, because over the years, I’d subconsciously gathered a lot of the historical background I needed, through my longstanding interest in all things Victorian.
What is it that fascinates you about the Victorian period?
Lots of things about the Victorian period appeal to me. The later years are my favorite part of the era, from around 1887 onwards, and I think that time in particular was an age in transition, especially for women, who were starting to see that they could be educated and independent, have rights, and pursue other kinds of work than just domestic service. The vote was a long way off yet, but women were definitely seeing as a goal to be achieved.
And, of course, the late Victorian fin de siècle was a very naughty time too, as the more risqué side of society emerged from the prim, family orientated façade of the middle years. Notorious figures like Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley and Sarah Bernhardt shone in the arts and ‘It’ girls like Lily Langry were idolized as Professional Beauties. Even the sinuous sultry, curves of 1890s Art Nouveau were an expression of eroticism in themselves.
I think what captivates me most about the period though, is the fact that despite it being a historical era, and thus an “unknown country”, we’re still very much in touch with it too. In the area where I live we’re surrounded by Victorian architecture, both great and domestic, and our British television has always provided a rich wealth of dramatizations of Victorian classics, all of which make it easy to step back in time. I think I’ve watched the Granada Television Sherlock Holmes series so often that it almost feels like 221B Baker Street is my second home. The late Victorian era is also linked to us by the advances in technology that were taking place then. The Victorians loved their cameras, so we see them as they were in their photographs, but in the period I’m writing about, sound recording and film were being developed too. I get shudders when I hear a recording such as this one of Big Ben and know that the announcer is an actual Victorian speaking to me from 1890, the year when Beatrice Weatherly and Edmund Ellsworth Ritchie meet. And it’s the same when I see this little clip, just a couple of seconds filmed by Louis Le Prince at Roundhay Park, not too far from where I live, in 1888. These moments aren’t from a costume drama; these are real Victorians too, goofing about in a garden for the camera, and I find that incredibly moving.
What did you find out in your research that surprised you?
Well, it’s not so much a surprise, more a happy, unexpected discovery, but in the course of watching Victorian set movies, I found Topsy-Turvy, and to my astonishment, I realized how much I love Gilbert and Sullivan. I’d never paid much attention to their operettas until then, and long ago in my junior school years, I’d actively disliked them because the whole school seemed to go G&S crazy for the annual production. However, coming to the music later, I was just blown away by the gorgeous melodies, the clever lyrics and smart social commentary, and the sheer, energetic artistry and bravura of Gilbert and Sullivan. I’m no singer, but when nobody is about, I’ve been known to trill along to “A Wand’ring Minstrel I”!
Do you find UK and US readers have different expectations in erotic romance? How about editors?
I’d never thought about it, to be honest. I just hope that what I write works for both readers and editors wherever they live, and I do my utmost to produce a story that’s well written, grabs the imagination, and has sympathetic, believable characters.
What’s your writing process?
Now I’m laughing. I wouldn’t dignify my way of working with the term “process”. Ideas come to me gradually and sort of gather together until I’ve got a rough idea of the story. Then I try and write an outline. An outline which I barely even look at when I come to write; it’s just there as a safety net in case I get stuck. I suppose I’m very much a pantser, really, but one who’s working with a general idea of the storyline in the background. I just potter along, pausing to go off on wild research tangents every now and again, chasing up facts that will never actually be in the book, but which I have to know for my own peace of mind. I’m a slowish writer, because my stories tend to unfold in quite a leisurely and very intense sort of way. I also sometimes have to backtrack and remove/rewrite sections because I don’t feel they’ve worked as well as I’d like.
What’s next for you?
Well, in terms of what I’m writing, I’m firmly back in the present day for the time being, working on a trilogy of contemporary BDSM Spice Briefs – THREE COLORS SEXY – that will appear at the end of the year. My next release upcoming will be another contemporary Spice Brief, out in July, called A VERY PERSONAL ASSISTANT. This one’s about a busy female executive who takes an afternoon off when she’s feeling burnt out, and ends up succumbing to the considerable charms and erotic expertise of her male PA.
As I mentioned before, I have DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH in the pipeline, and I’d absolutely love to write more Victorian fiction. But as the Spice Briefs line closes at the end of 2012, there probably won’t be any more Ladies’ Sewing Circle shorts, alas.
Like most authors, I’m waiting to hear about various ideas that are out with editors, and also I have one or two items of contemporary erotica and erotic romance that I’m planning to self-publish.
I have a print copy of IN THE FLESH to give away to one lucky commenter, and I’m happy to send it anywhere in the world.
Many thanks to the ladies of Risky Regencies for inviting me to visit!
Tell us what you love about the Victorian era–is it the clothes, the amazing corsets, or the naughtiness lurking beneath the respectable surface? Your comment or question for Portia will enter you into the drawing for the prize, and we’ll announce the winner on Monday at 7 EST.
