Category: Giveaways

Posts in which we or our guests offer a giveaway.

LOLRegencies 2010 Contest

Updated on January 9, 2013 by Janet Mullany

Imagine my shock and horror when I realized we haven’t had a LOLRegencies contest in two years!

LOLRegencies? Yes, indeed. As your friendly Thursday blogger this means that I am destined to blog on Thanksgiving Day, and relating that to the Regency is a bit limited. Yes, they had turkeys in England. Yes, they were interested in Turkey. And yes, it’s around the time of George Eliot’s birthday usually, but I’ve talked about all of those. So in 2008 I held a contest and on the right is the picture that started it all, Lord Elgin on a collection rampage in Europe.

Our winner was Maggie, who produced this little beauty (one of a number of little beauties):

You can view Maggie’s other masterpieces and the entries here.

So how does it work?

See icanhazcheeseburger.com for the LOLcats (and other animals) cultural phenomenon.
Find a Regency print online (hopefully one without copyright) and caption it and send it to riskiesATyahoo.com by Monday, November 22 with LOL Regencies in the subject line.
Use a low-res jpg and don’t make your entry too big–the Elgin one, for example, is 245px x 300px. If it’s too huge and I shrink it down the caption will shrink down also.
Mention how you would like your name to appear with your entry.
You can caption a picture using Paint as well as more complicated programs like photoshop.

And the prizes: I have a truckload of Georgette Heyer books to give away, so I’m offering two Heyer Grab Bags. Most of the books are new, a couple are slightly used.

Obligatory self promotion: I’m signing at Borders, Annapolis this Sunday, November 6, 2-4 pm. Come and say hello and buy books. My buddies Kathy Love, Christie Kelley, Stephanie Draven, and Robin Kaye will be signing too so there’s something for everyone!

Posted in Giveaways | Tagged Georgette Heyer, LOLRegencies | 4 Replies

Release Day! Janet interviews Janet

Updated on January 9, 2013 by Janet Mullany

Today at the Riskies we’re pleased to welcome back Janet Mullany (contest details and excerpts on her website) whose Regency chicklit Mr. Bishop and the Actress is officially released tomorrow but is available right now at bookdepository.com, free shipping worldwide.

Hi Janet!

Tell us about the book.

You know what it’s about.

[Go on, pretend]

[Heavy sigh] Mr Bishop and the Actress, a work of staggering genius, stark unrelenting beauty, and fierce, unbridled passion between a man, a woman, and the regiment who loves them–oh sorry, wrong book. It started with the title and a first line, Sorry, darling, it’s either you or the horses. That actually became the first line of chapter 2. It’s about an actress–

An actress? Again?*

So? Yes, an actress who’s a mistress being discarded, hence the first line of chapter 2.

Maybe we should talk about what’s new for you in the book.

Okay. There is a prologue in third person omnipotent point of view, past tense.

Really?

I think that’s what it is. There’s also childbirth, death, a virgin hero, annoying parents, runaway children, bad jokes, and a look into the marriage of Shad and Charlotte from Improper Relations after three children.

No dancing bears?**

Very few animals. There are some dogs, a pig whose best friend is a dog, and a donkey whose best friend is a horse, and some poultry with Shakespearian names, but that’s about it.

That’s disappointing.

Not really. There is a bearded lady whose stage name is Fatima the Bearded Woman of Constantinople but who is really called Sylvia Cooper and who comes from Wapping.

That makes a nice change. How about sex?

Absolutely. Here’s an excerpt from page 46.

“Do you wear those spectacles all the time, Mr. Bishop?”

“Yes, except when I’m in bed.”

She smiles and rises to her feet. She reaches for the spectacles and removes them.

And then?

Explicit details follow in chapter four.

Finally.

Chapter four is one page long.

Moving on, can you explain the title?

It’s an English joke. If you add “as the actress said to the bishop” to an innocent statement, it can sound quite dirty. It’s rather like the pleasing effect of adding “in bed” to a fortune cookie motto, which improves it no end (even if it’s a bible quote).

So please give us your example of an innocent sentence corrupted by the addition of “as the actress said to the bishop.” Janet will give away two signed copies of the book, winner to be announced on Saturday.

*A Most Lamentable Comedy, The Rules of Gentility
**A Most Lamentable Comedy

Posted in Giveaways | Tagged Mr Bishop and the Actress | 24 Replies

Meme Friday

Updated on January 9, 2013 by carolyn

Carolyn here, filling in for Risky Megan. And since Megan starts with M what else can I do but declare this Meme Friday.

Answer or complete the following questions in comments, or at your blog and leave a link to your blog in a comment:

1. When I think of Mr. Darcy, he _____________.

2. Lord Masterful greets YOU at a ball. You look down to see what he’s staring at and discover ________________________.

3. One of my favorite Regency-set novels is ___________.

4. If you could meet Lord Byron, what would you ask him?

5. You wake up and find yourself in a Regency historical novel. What’s the plot?

6. A Regency fairy-godmother grants you three Regency wishes. What are they?

7. If you could change ONE fact about the Regency what would it be?

8. Napoleon writes you a letter. What does he say?

9. How many exquisite slippers are in your wardrobe?

10. How do you take your tea?

I will come back later and add my answers…

Go. Perhaps there will be a prize for a commenter. Yes, I think so!

Posted in Giveaways | Tagged meme | 10 Replies

Colleen Gleason

Updated on January 9, 2013 by Janet Mullany

I’m thrilled today to welcome Colleen Gleason to the Riskies. Colleen is known for her Gardella vampire series, about a Regency vampire hunter and she also leads a double life as Joss Ware, author of the Envy Chronicles, post-apocalyptic urban romances (try saying that with a mouthful of popcorn). But now she’s back to the Regency with a whole new world of vampires who mingle with the haute ton in 19th century London. Called the Draculia, these vampires are strong and sexy, and a match for any mortal…except for the women who love them.

The first in the series is The Vampire Voss and Colleen is giving away a signed copy to one lucky winner who comments or asks her a question today! (And happy St. Pat’s. Note the green questions.)

Welcome Colleen! How are these vampires different from the vamps in your Gardella books?

Because I wanted to write vampire romance novels this time around, meaning I wanted there to be a romance with the vampires, the mythology had to be different. In the Gardellas, there are no good vampires. None of them are dukes or viscounts or even heroic at all—so I had to think about the mythology and come up with a way to make it different from the Gardellas, yet not to completely destroy the world I created with them as well.

In this series, the vampires are part of a secret society that is beholden to Lucifer. Each member of the Draculia has sold his or her soul to the devil at some point, and now they are living an immortal life with everything they could ever want: pleasure, money, power, and all without the fear of death.

Each book is about one vampire in particular who falls in love, and, in this context, realizes that his/her soul belongs to Lucifer and is no longer their own.

But–as I’m sure the Regency fans out there will appreciate–along with the vampire aspect, readers can expect everything else we love about the Regency-era: balls and masquerades, the haute ton, titled bad boys and brooding earls.

What was your original inspiration?

My publisher was interested in me trying my hand at sexy vampires in a Regency setting. So, that was the kernel of my inspiration.

And then I had to think about how I could have both good and bad vampires…and then I had to think about the overall issue of an immortal falling in love with a mortal and the ways in which that might be resolved.

Why do you think the Regency works as a supernatural setting?

Oooh….I think for me it has to do with the coaches and carriages, the balls and masques…and of course, foggy, mysterious London. All of those aspects can give the era a sense of the mysterious and of intrigue. Plus the fact that Society at that time really lived late in the day and well into the night—a perfect setting for an immortal who can’t go out into the sunlight!

Of the three Draculia books, which is your favorite hero? Why?

I think Dimitri (April, 2011) is my favorite hero, only because I love, love, love the brooding, grumpy, closed-off hero who meets his match.

But I adore Voss too, for he is just so fun…until he realizes that things aren’t just fun and games. He has a rude awakening.

You must have been writing your Joss Ware books at the same time as these. How did you switch mentally between the two very different series?

I love being able to switch between two series, two time frames. It helps keep me from being bored, and it also forces me to think about things in each series from the perspective of the other. I might be writing in one series, but something will spur me to think about the other series. It helps me to become more well-rounded in the series.

Do you like to listen to music while you write? What did you listen to for these books?

I love to listen to instrumental music when I write, or things that are chantlike. That way I can get into the feel of the music, but there aren’t any words to distract me.

I listen to soundtracks a lot when I work—particularly Harry Potter and also some meditative music.

Here’s book #3 The Vampire Narcise (May, 2011). Don’t you love that she’s on top?! What do you think of vampires in the Regency? Here’s your chance to pick Colleen’s brain about (zombies, sorry), vamps, vampire-hunters and the evil–or otherwise–that lurks in the depths of foggy London.

Posted in Giveaways | Tagged Colleen Gleason, Regency Draculia | 12 Replies

Hey! Look Over There! Also Giving Away a Book

Updated on January 9, 2013 by carolyn

I had this HUGE HUGE HUGE project at the day job that took weeks of testing and preparation across multiple departments– this was at the same time I was finishing a book. (Can you say STRESS?) As the database administrator, my job included making sure everything worked as it did before. This meant that there were application developers who simply had to test in the new environment. They swore up and down that they did, but when the day comes? Their application logins fail. Well, that can only mean they did not test. Fine. But why lie about it?

Anyway, I lived a life of remarkable stress on all fronts for a long time. But the project is over, the book is turned in and . . . . I got sick.

I knew that would happen, of course. I spent most of last week fighting something off and well, I have been having my own illness pity party for the last 3 days and am now hyped up on medications such a decongestants etc.

What this means is that as I type this, I am not at the top of my game in any sense of the word.

So, it also turns out that I have managed to acquire two copies of The Kyoto Costume Institute’s Fashion which has amazing pictures and content in it. It covers the 18th to the 20th century. I have two copies because, as it turns out, there are different versions of the book, a one volume version and a 2 volume version. The covers are COMPLETELY different but the content is identical.