Posts in which we or our guests offer a giveaway.
I have a looming deadline, a box of ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies) for Jane And The Damned, I’m out of cat food, and the house is a mess. So let’s have a contest!
I’ll be giving away two copies.
Find me on Twitter. Follow me (Janet_Mullany). RT my message with #JaneandtheDamned and I’ll pick two winners at 10 pm EST tomorrow, Friday. And next week I’ll have a real post.
(And no, this isn’t the cover which is fab and beautiful and which you’ll see later!)
In case you didn’t hear, the RWA National conference was last week. I know, I know! You’re so welcome. I’m happy to have told you.
In good news, my historical Indiscreet won the Bookseller’s Best award for Best Short Regency Historical. That’s right. I am now an
and that means that from now on whenever someone calls me an award winning author I no longer have to sheepishly tell them that I’m not because now I am! Not that I’m proud or tickled pink or anything like that. I know it’s probably old hat for the other Riskies, but it’s a first for me and I’m working it!
As expected, fellow Risky Amanda McCabe rocked the joint with cute dresses. So did Risky Megan, actually. One of these days I’m going to stage a break-in to our hotel room and steal all her stuff, except her shoes because they wouldn’t fit me. I didn’t see as much of Risky Diane or Risky Janet, alas, but we got together for breakfast and I did run into them a couple of times for good times.
I have other news but it’s unofficial at this point so all I can do is tease you mercilessly. Heh.
Other than that, how about an ad hoc comment contest?
Answer the below question in the comments and I’ll choose some winner(s) to get a copy of Indiscreet and/or Scandal.
I will select the winner(s) next Wednesday (August 11) so watch this space. Void where prohibited.
Question: At a huge gala affair, you win an award called “The Jewel Prize” What did you win it for, who presented it to you and what did you win?
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| Author Elizabeth Hoyt |
Today author Elizabeth Hoyt visits the Riskies to share her wisdom and insights with this sedate and proper set of ladies and readers.
We sat down to a virtual tea at which I served delicious petit-fours and my best gunpowder black. Then I asked her a few polite questions and she was gracious enough to answer them.
One lucky commenter will win a copy of her latest release, Wicked Intentions. To get your name in the running, leave a comment in which you answer the question at the end of this post. Yours truly (that would be Risky Carolyn) will choose a winner next Wednesday. You have have until Midnight Pacific Tuesday August 24 to leave a comment!) Void where prohibited.
Before we get to the interview, here’s a bit about Elizabeth Hoyt, let it never be said you weren’t properly introduced! This is a respectable blog.
Miss Hoyt is a New York Times bestselling author of historical romance. She also writes deliciously fun contemporary romance under the name Julia Harper. Elizabeth lives in central Illinois with three untrained dogs, two angelic but bickering children, and one long-suffering husband.
And now, A polite Risky Welcome to Elizabeth!
Q. Tell me about your book.
A: Back copy:
Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London’s most notorious slum. Widowed Temperance Dews knows the area like the back of her hand—she cares for its children at the foundling home her family established. Now that home is at risk. . .
Caire makes a simple offer–in return for Temperance’s help navigating the perilous alleys of St. Giles, he will introduce her to high society so that she can find a benefactor for the home. But Temperance may not be the innocent she seems, and what begins as a cold bargain soon falls prey to a passion neither can control—and may well destroy them both.
Find out more about Wicked Intentions
(Temperance. I may steal that name for a heroine of mine. Thanks, Elizabeth!)
Q. Your name is Elizabeth. Do you ever wake up thinking you’re QE1 or QE2? Why or why not? Would you want to be? Why or why not?
Dear God, at first I thought you were calling me a CRUISE SHIP. Yes, I think I ought to be QE2 because she’s always color-coordinated and wears such interesting hats. Also, she has a pack of Corgis and I would totally be into a pack of Corgis had I footmen to walk them.
(Oh yes. Without the footmen, what would be the point of anything? But now I’m wondering, do you ever wake up thinking you’re a cruise ship? Because that would be weird.)
Q. What’s a few of your favorite things about writing historicals? Is it the clothes? Exciting history? Gender roles? The cool shoes? Or something else?
Clothes. Definitely the clothes. Big wonking skirts, some of them worn by women. Also, wigs. Why aren’t wigs worn by men anymore? We’ve entered into a very boring time for men’s fashion in general.
And I happen to write during the Age of Enlightenment (which merits Capital Letters) when people were making all sorts of discoveries, both mechanical and mental. Very interesting times!
(Good point there about the wigs. And men’s fashion. I miss the periwig.)
Q. Do you have a favorite scene or line from your current book and would you be willing to share that that is?
A:
Caire took her arm and escorted her roughly out the door. Temperance blinked as he began hauling her back down the passage. As they neared the ballroom, the sound of the crowd inside grew.
She attempted to withdraw her arm from his grasp. “Caire.”
“What the hell were you doing going to a dark room with that ass? Have you no sense?”
She glanced at him. There was a reddened spot on his jaw, and he looked livid. “Your hair has come undone.”
He stopped suddenly, pushing her up against the wall of the passage. “Never go anywhere with a man not of your family.”
She arched her brows up at him. “What about you?”
“Me? I am far, far worse than Sir Henry.” He leaned close, his breath brushing against her cheek. “You ought never to be near me again. You should run right now.”
His bright blue eyes blazed and a muscle in his hard jaw ticked. He was truly a frightening sight.
She stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips against that tic. He jerked and then stood still. She felt the muscle jump once more beneath her mouth and then subside. She slid her lips toward his mouth.
“Temperance,” he growled.
It was strange. Another man had just kissed her on the mouth, but this pressing of lips with Caire was entirely different. His mouth was firm and warm, his lips stubbornly closed against hers. She placed her hands on his wide shoulders for leverage and leaned a little closer. She could smell some kind of exotic spice on his skin—perhaps he’d rubbed it on after shaving—and his mouth tasted of heady wine. She licked the seam of his lips, once, gently.
He groaned.
“Open,” she breathed across his lips, and he did.
She probed delicately, licking the inside of his lips, across his teeth, until she found his tongue. She stroked across it and retreated. He followed her tongue into her mouth, and she suckled him softly, raising her palms to frame his lean cheeks.
Something in her shifted, crumbling apart and re-forming into a new and wonderful shape. She didn’t know what that shape was, but she wanted to keep it. To stay here in this dim hallway and kiss Caire forever.
The murmur of voices came from the far end of the passage, drawing nearer.
Caire lifted his head, looking toward the ballroom.
A door opened and closed and the voices stopped.
He took her hand. “Come.”
“A moment.”
He turned to look at her, one eyebrow raised, but she darted around him. His black velvet tie was nearly out of his hair. Carefully, she unknotted it and combed through the silver strands with her fingers before retying the ribbon.
When she came back around him, he still had that eyebrow cocked. “Satisfied?”
“For now.” She took his arm and he led her back to the ballroom.
(Well, now I have to get my hands on this book. Oh, wait. I bought it last Saturday! Score!)
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| Carolyn has Wicked Intentions |
Q. You have pets at your house. Do they like to help you with the writing? Are there any cute pet pictures or stories you’d like to share?
I have three dogs, in descending size: Max (a black lab mix), Fritz (an orange terrier) and Rue (a rat terrier.) All came from the shelter, so their parentage is in doubt. No, they do not like to help. They like to sit by my side and whine at me to go out, even when they’ve just been out five minutes ago–perhaps the yard has changed in that time.
(Rue is VERY cute!)
For more pics of Elizabeth’s cute doggies, go here.
Q: Best writing moment of your life?
The first time someone recognized me (or rather my name tag) in an elevator and was so excited that she missed her floor.
Q: What’s your favorite type of historical hero? Can be personality, physical attributes or anything.
A guy who thinks he knows everything, but is brought low by the heroine who DOES know everything. Also, guys who aren’t too pretty.
Q: I’ve noticed you tend to be very mean to the heroes of your novels. They often have tortured backgrounds. Why are you so mean?
I’m just a mean person. No! Um. . . well, I think it’s more interesting when the hero has an complicated (read: tortured) background. So many fun things to discover! And also a reason to brood in a dark, manly way.
(Brooding. ::sigh:: Dark and manly. . . . Where were we?)
Q: Anything else you want to share or tell us?
Yes! My next book, NOTORIOUS PLEASURES (out in February 2011–PREORDER!) has a hero who is NOT tortured. My first ever! I initially told my agent he was a bit of a wanker, but she said that perhaps that was not the most heroic description for him. Oh, well.
(Not tortured? A wanker? This I have to read!)
For a chance to win a copy of Wicked Intentions, answer the following question in the comments:
What men’s fashion do you think should come back into fashion?
Oh. Good question! Go!
We welcome Shelley Munro all the way from New Zealand here at the Riskies today with her new release from Carina Press, The Spurned Viscountess. Your question or comment could win you a free download, so let’s get chatting.
Cursed with the sight and rumors of witchcraft, Rosalind’s only chance at an ordinary life is marriage to Lucien, Viscount Hastings. She doesn’t expect love, only security and children of her own. Determined to go through with the wedding, she allows nothing she encounters at the gloomy Castle St. Clare to dissuade her.
Recently returned from the Continent, Lucien has no time for the English mouse his family has arranged for him to marry, not when he’s plotting to avenge the murder of his beloved Francesca. He has no intention of bedding Rosalind, not even to sire an heir.
Though spurned by her bridegroom, Rosalind turns to him for protection when she is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents and haunted by terrifying visions. Forced to keep Rosalind close, and tempted into passionate kisses, Lucien soon finds himself in grave danger of falling in love with his own wife…
Shelley, welcome! Tell us about the book–your inspiration and how you came to write it. (And what a gorgeous cover!)
Thank so much for having me to visit today. The Spurned Viscountess is my first historical, and my story came about after I participated in a writing exercise at the Auckland chapter meeting. I’m a member of Romance Writers of New Zealand and we used to have writing exercises each month. I forget what the topic was now, but the first scene in my story came from this exercise.
I wrote about a long lost son who has found his way home after a long absence but he has no memory of his family. He’s scarred in mind and body and all he wants is to discover the identity of his wife’s killer. The last thing he needs is an arranged marriage foisted on him. He tries to scare off his intended bride, but the move to Castle St. Clare is a fresh start for Rosalind, one she’s determined to embrace.
Once I had my first scene, I needed to know what happened next. Eventually I ended up with a complete novel. This is the second home for The Spurned Viscountess, and I was thrilled to join Carina Press.
The Spurned Viscountess is set in 1720. What is it about the Georgian period you like and why did you choose it as a setting?
In my pre-published days, Jo Beverley was one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed her Malloren series, which is set during the 1700s. I find the Georgia era a little bit naughtier than the Regency era, and I adore the clothing from the Eighteenth century. 1720 England allowed me to use smugglers in my plot as well. I really wanted to write about smugglers.
What are your favorite research books for the period?
I did a lot of research, but some of my favorite books include: Historical Fashion in Detail by Avril Hart and Susan North, The Art of Dining – a history of cooking and eating by Sara Paston Williams, and The Art of Dress, Clothes & Society by Jane Ashelford. I also find Liza Picard’s books Restoration London and Dr. Johnson’s London very useful and interesting, although they didn’t quite fit my chosen time period.
I was really impressed by how much you’ve published. How hard was it to make the switch from contemporary/paranormal erotic romance to a historical romance?
I’ve always read different romance genres rather than concentrating on one so it seemed natural to me to swap around a little bit when it came to writing. It’s much easier to experiment in the e-pub world so experiment I did. I tend to write mainly contemporary and paranormal stories but recently my interest in historicals has fired to life. I’ve concentrated on the Georgian era (18th century) and World War II England, two time periods I find very interesting.
I think that swapping genres helps keep my writing fresh because I’m constantly challenging myself.
If you had to hire actors for a movie version of your book, who would they be?
This is a really hard question. I’m a real Sean Bean fan, but he doesn’t quite fit for my hero, Lucien. Joseph Fiennes would work, I think. Keira Knightley or Catherine Zeta-Jones would both make a very good Rosalind. Maybe even Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame would work for Rosalind.
What’s your favorite scene in the book?
I’m partial to the very first scene in The Spurned Viscountess since this was how my story started. It’s a short one.
East Sussex, England, 1720
“Hastings, the carriage is coming. Your betrothed has arrived.”
Lucien rose from a square-backed chair, flicked the lace at his cuffs and studied the elderly man stepping away from the window—the man who claimed him as son. “My name is Lucien.”
The earl ruffled up like a feisty bantam cock. “Stuff and nonsense! George is your christened name. If it’s good enough for the king, it’s good enough for you.”
Lucien strolled past shelves of books and paused to finger an amber figurine from the Orient. From what he’d heard since his arrival in England, people disapproved of the king, who hailed from Hanover. The man didn’t even speak English. Lucien looked the earl straight in the eye. “My name is Lucien,” he repeated, his tone implacable and determined. “Lucien. Not George or Hastings.”
“Damn it, boy, why do you persist with your gainsaying?” The Earl of St. Clare’s voice held a trace of pleading. “Can’t you see the likeness in the family portraits?”
Lucien grimaced. If he studied the portraits with one eye shut and the other squinted—certainly there were similarities. He replaced the figurine and stalked across a blue Persian rug to gaze out a window overlooking the courtyard.
The family and the faithful servants all backed up the Earl of St. Clare’s assertion, but the role didn’t feel right to Lucien. Living in the gloomy pile of rocks called Castle St. Clare made him edgy and apprehensive.
They were all mistaken.
He was not the Earl of St. Clare’s son.
The idea was laughable. Him—the long lost heir, Viscount Hastings. He didn’t recall any of the stories they told him of his childhood or growing up at the castle.
The study door flew open. Lucien spun around in a defensive stance, only relaxing when the honorable Charles Soulden bounded into the room. “Hastings…” He faltered when he intercepted Lucien’s glare. “I mean, Lucien! Your betrothed comes.”
“So I’m told.” Lucien sauntered toward Charles, his newly discovered cousin. “By all means, let us greet the woman brave enough to wed a man with no memory.”
What’s next for you?
I’m juggling several projects at present. I’m writing the final story in my Middlemarch Mates series (a group of feline shapeshifters who live in the small country town of Middlemarch), I’m working on a follow-up to my contemporary The Bottom Line and I’m busy plotting/researching my next Gothic historical romance. I like to keep busy.
Let’s get chatting! I’m dying to know the story behind the camel pic…
Today we welcome guest Abigail Reynolds, who’s here to talk about her latest in The Pemberley Variations, Mr. Darcy’s Obsession and give away a signed copy.
What if Mr. Darcy never had the opportunity to propose to Elizabeth Bennet at Hunsford, and did not meet her again until her circumstances were reduced? In Mr. Darcy’s Obsession, Mr. Darcy has an even greater social distance to bridge if he wishes to marry Elizabeth. Add in some Fitzwilliam relations with links to the Prince Regent and the loose morals typical of Regency high society who feel that Elizabeth is the material of which mistresses, not wives, are made, and Mr. Darcy has to make a painful choice between the demands of a decadent society and his personal moral sense. The background of this novel is the morally bankrupt ton which Jane Austen knew well, but did not describe in detail in her novels, perhaps because it was a given to her and her contemporaneous readers. Against this backdrop, the characters of Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet shine brightly as they seek to find an alternative to the bounds of decorum that constrain Darcy’s usual marital prospects.
Readers who can’t get enough of Darcy and Elizabeth will find that Reynolds does an admirable job of capturing the feel of the period in this entertaining diversion. – Booklist
Mr. Darcy’s Obsession is an adventurous variation that explores a different route with our beloved Pride and Prejudice. In my opinion, it is one of Ms. Reynolds’s more exciting novels complete with a street urchin spy, libertine uncle, eccentric aunt, many damsels in distress, and an honorable and praiseworthy hero! I most emphatically recommend! – Austenesque Reviews
For those that have been chomping at the bit for another Reynolds’ novel, Mr. Darcy’s Obsession does not disappoint! And to Darcy & Elizabeth lovers who have yet to discover her works, you must put this at the front of the queue! – Austenprose
Abigail, that’s a gorgeous cover. Congratulations on the new release and welcome to the Riskies. Tell us your publishing story. I believe you started off self-published?
Yes, I took a very odd route to publication. My first books were posted for free on the internet in serial form. I couldn’t see Austen variations ever being published. I made an brief effort to secure an agent for my modern Austen-related novel, The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice, but that left me with a collection of rejection letters from agents who said they liked it, but that there was no market for Austen-related fiction. That was in 2003, and I don’t think I’d hear that today! Then some of my on-line readers said they’d like to get my stories in book form, so I self-published them, not expecting to sell more than a dozen, since who would buy a book that was available for free on the internet? Quite a few people, apparently. I sold several thousand, and was noticed by Deb Werksman at Sourcebooks, who made me a book offer.
What is it about P&P specifically and Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship that lends itself to such wonderful creative riffs?
P&P is a writer’s dream because Darcy and Elizabeth are such strong characters, yet Jane Austen leaves a great deal about them unsaid. We actually know very little about them or their history. That’s part of why so many people can identify with them, and also why writers can’t resist the chance to fill in some of those blanks. They’re such passionate characters that it’s easy for modern readers to relate to them, and they’re both simultaneously very admirable yet flawed in ways that aren’t threatening to us. The spirit of P&P is so bright and sparkly that readers long to return to its world.
Do you feel intimidated by “borrowing” Austen’s characters? She is a pretty tough act to follow!
She’s definitely a tough act to follow, but actually, I don’t feel intimidated because there’s no comparison. I know I’ll never be able to write them anywhere near as well as she did. It’s like if I were learning to play cello, I wouldn’t find Yo-Yo Ma intimidating, because he’s so far beyond what I could hope to achieve.
Do Austen purists approve? Can you tell us what sort of reactions you’ve had from readers?
Many Austen lovers are open-minded and willing to give anything a try, and others disapprove heartily. Oddly, though, many of the ones who swear they’d never read an Austenesque novel seem to know surprisingly well what happens in my books! Part of the problem with purists is that people read P&P so differently. Some people think it portrays a simpler, more innocent, more moral time. Others see the incisive wit and the implied criticism of society, and realize the Regency was an era of moral decadence. I’ve had astonishing conversations with people who insist that Darcy was a virgin when he met Elizabeth, which to my mind is about as likely as him being born in China. He would be such an incredible oddball for the time if he were. I’ve had an easier time with the purists lately, though, because my books seem positively mainstream to them compared to Pride & Prejudice & Zombies or Mr. Darcy, Vampyre!
Reader reactions are all over the map. Apparently Mr. Darcy’s Obsession is either my best book because it doesn’t include intimate scenes, or it’s a complete letdown for the very same reason! Some readers are so happy to have anything more of Lizzy and Darcy that I could write whatever I like, and others can’t stand having their images shattered.
What sort of research do you do and which books about Austen would you recommend?
I do a lot of online research since there’s a lot of excellent material about the time period available there. I tend to get caught up in researching odd historical details, most of which never make it into my books, but I need to know the details, like what kind of pommel a regency sidesaddle would have, to picture the scene accurately in my head. As for books about Austen, the most important thing to read is her letters. You see new sides of her in them and get a real feel for her thought process. I’d also recomment Emily Auerbach’s Searching for Jane Austen, a very readable and insightful analysis of Austen’s character and the development of the myth of “dear old Aunt Jane.”
Is there another Austen that inspires you to dream of sequels?
I’ve written a modern version of Persuasion, but publishers are much less interested in anything that’s not P&P. Sense & Sensibility also tempts me.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on another Pride & Prejudice variation, and sequels to both Mr. Darcy’s Obsession and The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice.
Thanks for inviting me! It’s been a pleasure to visit with you.
Let’s chat! Abigail will drop by to respond to questions and comments and we’ll be giving away a signed copy of her book.