Category: Giveaways

Posts in which we or our guests offer a giveaway.

New Book Out!!!

Updated on January 10, 2013 by Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

Between all the holiday madness/eating/parade watching/deadlines/revisions/last-minute wedding plans, I realized I have a book out now!!! It was available November 20, and, if I do say so myself, it would make a great holiday present for any romance reader. 🙂

The Scandalous St. Claires series is one to follow. In a genre best known for it’s fairly rigid underpinnings it is refreshing to find an author who so skillfully colors outside the lines.
—Fresh Fiction review

Two Sinful Secrets is the second in my “Scandalous St. Claires” series by my slightly naughtier other half Laurel McKee. I’ve loved working on this series–it gives me the chance to delve into the Victorian period, both the glitzy side of wealth and fashion and the seamier side of theaters, brothels, and gambling clubs, thanks to the feud between the ducal Huntingtons and the theater owning St. Claires. In the first book, One Naughty Night, I used the quietest member of the St. Claire family, Lily, as my heroine–now I use the most outgoing, flamboyant, charming sibling, Dominic (who has a much darker side). I loved seeing him gobsmacked by love with the beautiful, independent Sophia Huntington! She really took me by surprise in so many ways….

Laurel McKee is a truly talented author, bringing to life her characters in this awesome tale.
—Under the Covers review

Ms McKee writes a very Shakespeareanesq novel.. it is hard to describe how her characters face life in ways that only Shakespeare could really understand. She has dark and sinister villains, complex heroes, feuding families and yes great romance. I liked how she intertwined these themes with the fact that her characters were a family of actors..

This was a wonderful story and many times I had tears in my eyes.. I wanted so much for Sophia, I wanted her to have it all.. and it was wonderful to watch her work for it.
–Bodice Rippers, Femme Fatales, and Fantasy

I have to say, I think this cover is one of my most favorite ever. And I got to set the first half of the book in Paris!! What could be more romantic than Victorian Paris? 🙂

So I’m giving away a signed copy today to one lucky commenter! Do you like family feud romances? Heroes from the wrong side of the (Victorian) tracks? Independent heroines?? What do you look for in a holiday read?

Amazon
B&N
My site

Posted in Giveaways, Risky Book Talk | Tagged Laurel McKee, Two Sinful Secrets | 15 Replies

Winners!

Updated on January 9, 2013 by Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

Just realized I am way behind on my winner announcements!!! So…winners, I has them…

For my Two Sinful Secrets the winner is…Melody May! Since I have your email, watch your inbox for more info

The winner of Sarah Mallory’s The Illegitimate Montague is…Barbara E! Please send us your info at riskies AT yahoo…

Posted in Giveaways | 2 Replies

It All Comes Back To Jane Austen

Updated on January 9, 2013 by Diane Gaston

Welcome to our new home! We expect our new home to be ever more comfortable. I watch a lot of HGTV – House Hunters, Property Virgins, Property Brothers, Love It or List It – so I see lots of new homes. Let me assure you, the Riskies have moved in to space that is more “open concept” and all of our appliances are stainless steel and our counters, granite….Or the Regency equivalent.

And who better to invite to our new home but Jane Austen, who will stay with us until her birthday December 16. In honor of Jane, we thought we would each take turns discussing What Jane Austen Has Meant to Me.

There will be prizes – including a grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card! My prize today is the British Library Writers Lives edition of Jane Austen by Deirdre Le Faye. Eventually we will be using Rafflecopter for giveaways, but I don’t quite know how yet, so I’ll randomly choose a winner from the comments on this blog.

I’ve mentioned before that I came late to loving the Regency, not until I started writing in 1995. I’d read Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility in some English class along the way, but it wasn’t until my writing pals Helen and Julie introduced me to Georgette Heyer and Regency Romance (the Signets and Zebras) that I began to really fall in love with the Regency.

One event clinched it.

Helen, Julie, and I went to see the 1995 Amanda Root/Ciaran Hinds movie Persuasion, which had been a BBC TV production in the UK but released in theaters in the US. It was this movie adaptation of a Jane Austen book I’d never read that made the Regency come alive for me.

From the country house of the Elliots to the chic rooms in Bath to the simple seaside abode of the Harviles, the Regency world the move depicted seemed so real to me. Maybe it was because the whole movie was filmed on location, but, even so, the details were not prettied up for film. The livery of the Elliot footmen looked a bit shabby, as it would have for a baronet whose fortunes were dwindling. Skirts and boots got muddy during country walks, as they would have in a time without paved walkways. The dancing was boisterous but not polished and practices, as professional dancers would have performed. The hero and heroine were attractive but not “beautiful people.”

The Regency people in the story also acted in ways I believed were true to the period. The emphasis on status, on honor and obligation seemed genuine to me. There were bored privileged young women, proud impoverished ones, scheming social climbers. There were also “normal” people, like the Musgroves and the Crofts. And Ann and Wentworth, of course.

Jane Austen may have been exploring the role of persuasion throughout the story, but she also crafted a lovely, satisfying romance, with familiar Romance themes. Persuasion is both a reunion story (Ann and Captain Wentworth were once betrothed) and a Cinderella story (Ann, the put-upon sister finds great love in the end). The conflict was poignant – Ann regretted breaking her betrothal to Wentworth; Wentworth remained bitter that she threw him off in order to seek better prospects.

There’s a lovely villain in Ann’s cousin, William Elliot, who becomes intent on courting her, and more complications ensue when Wentworth considers himself obligated to marry the injured Louisa Musgrove. The steps Ann and Wentworth each make to find their way back to each other are subtle, but very satisfying and very typical of romance novels of today.

After seeing the movie, I had a picture in my mind that was my Regency. I read Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice and all of Jane Austen’s books, even Lady Susan. The social attitudes from Jane Austen’s books seeped into my brain, as did the language, the rhythm of the conversation.

So you might say Jane Austen helped create my Regency world!

Have you seen this version of Persuasion? What do you think of it? Comment for a chance to win today’s contest.

Holiday Giveaway! And also remember to enter the Harlequin Historical Authors Holiday Giveaway. Today’s day is Sarah Mallory’s. For more details, go here.

Posted in Giveaways, Jane Austen | Tagged Jane Austen, Persuasion | 26 Replies

Your “first”

Updated on January 9, 2013 by Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

I always love Jane Austen week here! (And not just because it reminds me that my mom’s birthday is also December 16 and I need to remember to get her a gift…) It gives me a chance to revisit these books that mean so much to me, and maybe do a little re-reading and reminiscing.

My “first” was Emma. I found an old, yellowed paperback copy at my grandmother’s house, it had a girl in a pretty dress on the cover so I decided to give it a try. I had already read some Heyer and a few Barbara Cartlands, so I knew a little about the Regency period (enough to know I loved it and wanted to live in that world, though not at that point much “real” history). I love, love, loved the story, and immediately ran to the library to find the rest of the Austen novels, plus a bio! I was amazed to find out the author had been dead over 200 years and wasn’t a writer working right then, her characters seemed so real and vivid to me. Some of their concerns were different from mine (marrying asap and to the right man, since there is no other choice!), some I could relate to (parents can be sooo annoying!), but the characters at their core seemed like people I knew and wanted to spend time with, and that has never changed.

Last night I went to a jazz concert, and listened to a 15-minute version of a song I love (“Take the A Train”), and heard things in it I never had before, and realized Austen has much in common with this other love of mine, jazz music. There are always variations on a theme in Austen, things that keep popping up on re-reading that I never saw before, things that resonate with me at different ages, and that means her books always repay revisiting. That’s her rare genius. And since I’m getting ready to get married on Saturday (a core concern of all Austen characters!) I am thinking I need to re-read some Pride & Prejudice or Persuasion to make sure I’m ready…

All commenters on today’s blog get put in the drawing for our grand prize (a $50 Amazon giftcard!), but I am also giving away an adorable Jane Austen puzzle! It would make a great holiday gift if you have an Austen fan in your life (or a great gift to yourself!). How did you get hooked on Austen? What was your “first”? (You never forget your first!!)

Posted in Giveaways, Jane Austen | Tagged Jane Austen | 17 Replies

Victoria Hinshaw is back and so are her Regencies!

Updated on January 9, 2013 by Diane Gaston

I’m so excited to welcome my friend Victoria Hinshaw to Risky Regencies. (Here we are at the Lawrence Exhibit at Yale in 2011) Some of you know her only from the fabulous blog Number One London, but you should know that Vicky was a fabulous Regency author long before the blog began. Well, now Vicky is BACK and two of her Regencies are back, too, re-released as ebooks and available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.

In The Fontainebleau Fan, Miss Meg Hayward paints trifles to sell, a way to avoid poverty. When her copy of an antique fan is sold as the real thing, she must find it and make amends. Nicholas Wadsworth, the Earl of Wakefield, believes he was swindled by the lovely young artist. How could he know that spending weeks with her at his estate would lead him from anger and humiliation to sympathy and affection?

“Ms. Hinshaw is to be highly complimented for a well-plotted, well-written book with well-drawn characters…a gentle, lively, humorous and very picturesque reading experience”–Rakehell review.

The Eligible Miss Elliott is Miss Rosalind Elliott, an heiress who despairs of finding a husband who is not primarily concerned with her fortune. She encounters her childhood friend Philip Caldwell and their friendship blossoms into romance. Rosalind is surprised and delighted to learn of Philip has become wealthy, although his wealth is unknown to the ton. When the vigorous Bath gossip-mill catches wind of the budding romance, they condemn Philip as just another fortune hunter who desires Rosalind’s property. Rosalind and Philip decide to outwit the busybodies and prevent scandal, dishonor, and humiliation. Will they be able to meet the challenge and be together without misgivings?

“Victoria Hinshaw has written an entertaining and gently insightful Regency romance”–Romance Reader review.

Vicky will give away a free download (Kindle or Nook) of each new ebook, one to two lucky commenters chosen at random.

Welcome, Vicky!

Lovers of Regency Romance will be pleased to know you are re-releasing The Fontainebleau Fan and The Eligible Miss Elliott as eBooks. When you prepared these books for ebook versions, did you make any changes to the stories?

Not a word. I reread them and had some ideas, but then I thought maybe I’d just write a whole new book! So, no revisions. The new ideas may appear someplace sometime.

Did you come across any interesting research when writing these books?

I researched various methods of wall painting in the Regency era for The Fontainebleau Fan. Rather than the ancient practice of fresco (painting in wet plaster, like Michelangelo), it seemed that stately homes were more likely to have the walls covered with canvas first, though some painted directly on the wall. Since the wall that Meg Hayward is going to paint at Wakefield Hall is in a new conservatory attached to the house, that wall would have once been an exterior wall. Even if plastered over, the wall should be covered with canvas for a longer lasting picture in a humid setting where flowers grew.

As you can tell, research is one of my favorite aspects of writing regency…need I say more?

Tell us how you first became interested in the Regency time period?

You mean beyond loving Jane Austen forever? And Georgette Heyer? The real impetus came from reading the regency-set novels by Laura London. I fell in love with the period, not to mention the writing. Laura London is the penname of a couple here in Milwaukee. Sharon and Tom Curtis wrote The Bad Baron’s Daughter, The Windflower, Moonlight Mist and several more. All are lovely stories, very nicely written.

Tell us about your involvement in the Jane Austen Society.

I have taught JA in several venues – on-line, in high school, for seniors, and for civic groups. My talks have been featured at a number of JASNA AGMs, the annual gathering of our tribe in various cities in the U.S. and Canada. I am a member of the local groups in Wisconsin and in Chicago, and enjoy as many of the meetings as I can. I learn lots of new information every time.

You blog at Number One London about an incredible diversity of topics. How do you and Kristine Hughes decide what to blog there?

Sometimes the subjects just pour out of us with no shortages. Our only sticking point is to find enough time to research and write. We cover our own activities – travel, talks, exhibits and so forth. And we present various excerpts from period works. Right now we are carrying selections from Dr. Syntax, originally published in 1812.

What is next for you?

I have three active projects – a big surprise at Number One London, which we hope to start after the first of the year. I am writing another story set in 1840 and I have lots of regency ideas floating around. And I need to finish some of the genealogy I’ve started on my paternal lines from England. I have a GGGGrandfather who was with Wellington in the Peninsula and at Waterloo – actually a civilian mapmaker. My cousin and I saw a dozen of his intricately beautiful maps at the British Archives at Kew a few years ago, still carefully preserved.

And I will be promoting the rest of my regencies as e-Books and another novel published originally in 1983 by Pocket Books. It is a family saga titled BirthRights: A Dangerous Brew, the story of three generations of a fictitious Milwaukee Brewing Dynasty from 1870-1930, available now as an e-book at Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, etc.

Thanks, Vicky, for being our Risky guest.
Now, readers, you can ask Vicky a question….or tell us if you used to read the traditional Regencies and what you think of their resurgence as ebooks. Remember, two lucky commenters will win a download of either The Fontainebleau Fan or The Eligible Miss Elliott.