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Category: Interviews

Interviews with authors and industry professionals

Since I’m going to be messing around on planes and stuff today (off to the JASNA AGM in Montreal, which I’ll tell you Carol Roddy - Author  all about next time) I invited debut author Caroline Warfield to visit. You’ve gotta love a writer whose tagline is “love is worth the risk.” Caroline will be giving away a kindle copy of her book Dangerous Risks (many choices of entering below) and I’ll announce a winner on Monday.

Find out more about Caroline on Twitter @carowarfield, Facebook, and Pinterest.

coverHere’s a snippet of what the book is about:

Lady Georgiana Hayden has struggled for years to do scholarly work in the face of constant opposition and even outright derision from the scholarly community at Cambridge. Her family ignores her as long as she doesn’t draw attention to herself.

A little Greek is one thing; the art of love is another…

What brought you to writing romance?
Like most writers, I read. I read omnivorously, but I usually have a non-fiction (almost always history or biography) and a romance in process. What you read finds its way to what you write, and historical romance became inevitable.

What was the idea behind Dangerous Works?
I began with a “what if.” Women’s history and women’s literature have been much studied in recent years. I wondered what would have happened if a woman had tried that line of study in 1815. I pushed the year forward to give the hero, Andrew, some time after Waterloo. He is weary, wounded, and looking for meaningful scholarly work.

Your storyline is obviously influenced by Persuasion. What are your other inspirations?
It tickles me when people make that comparison. I had no thought of that when I was writing, but Persuasion has always been my favorite of the Austen books. My big influences are writers that explore the emotional growth of mature, complex, but damaged or imperfect characters: Mary Balogh, Carla Kelly, Mary Blayney.  Can I brag a little? When Ms. Balogh read the book she said. “Bravo! …a day of happily absorbed entertainment.”  That was super affirming.

Tell us about something interesting you turned up in your research.
From locri Pinax_with_Persephone_and_Hades_Enthroned,_500-450_BC,_Greek,_Locri_Epizephirii,_Mannella_district,_Sanctuary_of_Persephone,_terracotta_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art_-_DSC08242Of course I spent some time looking for women poets in ancient Greece. In the midst of it I was very intrigued to learn about Locri, a Greek colony in what later became Italy. It was the center of a women’s cult around a temple to Aphrodite and also Persephone. In Dangerous Works, The heroine, Georgiana, struggles to translate epigrams by Nossis of Locri for two reasons. One is her lack of an understanding of some of the names and images. The other is her inexperience in love. Faced with a choice between ‘love’ and ‘eros’ to translate a particular word, she chooses ‘desire’ instead.

Nothing is sweeter than desire
All other pleasure is second to it.
Even honey I spit from my mouth.

800px-Favourite_PoetImages in the rest of the poem about Aphrodite and those whom she does not or has not loved are full of possible double meanings and improper implications she has to puzzle out.

Tell us about the Dangerous Series. How are they linked, other than by title?
The heroes of the books grew up together, went to war together, and are all now trying to make a life for themselves. Dangerous Works will be followed by Dangerous Secrets, scheduled for Winter 2015. It tells the story of Andrew’s good friend Jamie Heyworth, a down on his luck former major. He longs to please and worships his friends, but a huge mistake fills him with shame so great he has run off to Rome to hide from them. Dangerous Weakness, still in process, covers Georgiana’s brother and Andrew’s good friend, the arrogant, interfering Marquess of Glenaire who thinks he can control everything. He is Mr. Perfect and I’m having fun tripping him up and leading him into folly. He will chase the heroine across the Mediterranean to Constantinople. Those two stories will be followed by a Christmas novella about their cheerful friend Will, an earl who would rather be a farmer.

What’s the last great book you read?
So many books; so little time! The last great book I read was probably The Island in the Center of the World, a history of New York. I’m hesitant to list the fun books I’ve read recently (aka historical romance) for fear of leaving someone off.

What do you do when you’re not writing?
My husband and I recently moved to the Philadelphia area to be near our grandson. We’re able to indulge the things we love most: time with the grandbuddy, history, and genealogy. We have along list of houses, museums and battlefields to tour that keeps us anchored, but Europe and more exotic locales are calling.

What’s risky about your book?
Love is risky! In the case of Dangerous Works, the heroine Georgiana has to overcome her fear of losing her independence and learn to trust a man who hurt her in the past.  The hero, Andrew, risks his hope of a scholarly career by helping a despised amateur; he also risks his heart, trampled once before when he dared to love Georgiana. Family interference looms over them both. She is the daughter of a duke; he is a schoolmaster’s son.

Wow! Scholar heroines, exotic settings (in future books, not Cambridge!)–tell us what you like about those tropes.

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MistressOfMerrivale72webToday we welcome Shelley Munro and her new release Mistress of Merrivale to the Riskies. Shelley is giving away two digital copies of one of her historical backlist books, and there are a zillion ways to enter (see below!)

A marriage of convenience…full of inconvenient secrets.
Jocelyn Townsend’s life as a courtesan bears no resemblance to the life she envisioned in girlish dreams. But it allows her and her eccentric mother to live in relative security—until her protector marries and no longer requires her services.

Desperate to find a new benefactor, one kind enough to accept her mother’s increasingly mad flights of fancy, Jocelyn is nearly overwhelmed with uncertainty when a lifeline comes from an unexpected source.

Leo Sherbourne’s requirements for a wife are few. She must mother his young daughter, run his household, and warm his bed. All in a calm, dignified manner with a full measure of common sense. After his late wife’s histrionics and infidelity, he craves a simpler, quieter life.

As they embark on their arrangement, Leo and Jocelyn discover an attraction that heats their bedroom and a mutual admiration that warms their days. But it isn’t long before gossip regarding the fate of Leo’s first wife, and his frequent, unexplained absences, make Jocelyn wonder if the secrets of Merrivale Manor are rooted in murder…

Warning: Contains mysterious incidents, a mad mother who screeches without provocation, scheming relatives, and a captivating husband who blows scorching hot and suspiciously cold. All is not as it seems…and isn’t that delicious?

OK, I’ll bite. Tell us about the screeching mother.

Thanks so much for having me to visit today.
Jocelyn’s mother has a form of dementia, a disease that would be diagnosed as Alzheimer’s during our modern times. Her memory is gradually going, and her behavior is becoming erratic. Jocelyn’s two older sisters want to send Elizabeth Townsend to Bedlam, but Jocelyn hates the thought of her mother in a place like that, and she takes measures to keep her remaining parent safe with her.
Elizabeth isn’t above screaming when she wants attention, and she screeches when she doesn’t get her way. She’s very trying at times, yet Jocelyn gets the odd glimpses of her mother of old and she keeps hoping her parent will improve. She never does.

You’ve written so many books and in so many subgenres–what got you into writing historicals?

My first love as a reader was always historical romances, but gradually I started reading other genres. Once I started writing, I followed the same path. I tend to get bored writing the same genre all the time. While this isn’t the best plan, I need to enjoy the process of writing too, hence my dipping into the historical romance arena.

I do have a super-secret idea for a new historical series, and I hope to start working on that later in the year.

What is it that attracts you about the Regency?

My favored period is actually the 18th century, which I like because I think they were a little naughtier than the Regency era. It was a time of great change, which makes it interesting, and lastly, I adore the clothes.

You have a courtesan heroine. How difficult was it to make this trope fresh?

I didn’t think about making the trope fresh. It was more a case of writing my heroine the way I thought she should be written, and my story, the Mistress of Merrivale, emerged. Can you tell I’m a pantser rather than a plotter?

What’s your favorite scene in the book?

I like the scene when Leo and Jocelyn have their first meal together after being reunited and consummate their marriage. They both want their marriage, and they’re attracted to each other, but everything is new and strange for both of them. This makes for fun scene as they learn about each other.

What was the most difficult part of the book to write?

When I first wrote this book it ended up at just over 50K words. I subbed it to one of my editors and received a rejection. I never give up, and I liked this story a lot. Since I was about to go on holiday, I set the story aside. On my return I reread it, and decided I needed more plot to make the story stronger and be true to my characters. In the end Mistress of Merrivale ended up at 86K words. Working out what to add and how to do it was the tough bit, but it was worth it. I’m pleased with the end result.

What are you working on right now?

I’m percolating my super-secret historical series idea in my head while I’m working on a sci-fi series which is contracted with another publisher. I’m busy writing the third book in this series and the words are stuck in a swamp in the depths of my brain. At least that’s what it feels like today!

What are you reading right now/last great book you read?

I’m listening to an audio book at present – Shades of Gray by Maya Banks. As for the last great book I read, I can’t tell you the name of the author or the title since it was one of the books I judged in the RITA. I love it when I discover new authors, especially if they come with a back list!

Your task: Enter the contest via the magic of Rafflecopter, or ask Shelley a question about her book, or, since she lives in New Zealand, you could ask her about, for instance, rugby players. Or Lord of the Rings. Or, share with us a new author you’ve discovered recently.

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Susanna here.

Today my critique partner Rose Lerner visits Risky Regencies to talk about her new release, Sweet Disorder.

Rose Lerner

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly says that “Lerner’s distinctive and likable cast of parents, siblings, reluctant suitors, and political opponents feels integral to the story…This rich and memorable Regency romance brings its setting and characters perfectly to life.”

One commenter on this post will be chosen at random to receive a free e-book of Sweet Disorder (your choice of format), and one commenter will be chosen from the entire blog tour to receive an awesome prize package that includes tie-in pinback buttons, bookmarks, bacon-scented candles, a bookstore gift card, and much, much more! (You can see the full list and pictures of her fabulous swag at her blog. This drawing is open internationally. Void where prohibited!)

Welcome, Rose!

Tell us about Sweet Disorder…

SweetDisorder

What’s risky about the story?

Nick is a beta hero. AND he’s dealing with a mild new disability, AND there are no ballrooms anywhere (except in one small scene set at the local assembly rooms). But I think the thing I’m most nervous about is that the plot revolves around party politics, always a charged topic. While the heart of the story is the romance, and while I’ve tried to avoid any Star-Trek-style heavy-handed Special Messages (although I do enjoy them on Star Trek!), and while the political parties and issues of the Regency don’t really correspond to those today, given that political radicals of the time were pushing for–gasp!–universal male suffrage…well, I just hope I don’t turn off too many readers! Or at least that there will be plenty of readers who like what I’m doing, to compensate.

Phoebe, your heroine, isn’t of the aristocracy or gentry, but neither is she the kind of desperately poor waif or urchin that in my (completely unscientific) impression as a reader we most often see for a commoner hero or heroine. Instead she feels very relatable, an ordinary person working for her living like most of us are today (only I’m very glad chores like laundry have become so much easier). How did you decide on her background?

Well, I knew I needed Phoebe to be struggling financially enough to need money from Nick’s family when she has a family crisis, and I knew I needed her to be middle-class enough that her father was a voter. In the Regency, the vast majority of voters would not be in the desperately poor category, although I’m sure there were exceptions, especially in freeman boroughs (in most other borough types there were actual income/property requirements). So I had a range to work with…and then I made her father a lawyer who did a lot of pro bono work because my mother was a lawyer who did a lot of pro bono work.

I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR MY WASHING MACHINE OMG.

Sweet Disorder centers around a parliamentary election. Phoebe can’t vote herself, but if she marries her husband will gain that right. I gather this only happened in a select few boroughs. Can you share where you learned that this was a real thing? I was fascinated by how the political parties were known by their colors, sort of like red for Republicans and blue for Democrats today, only I got the impression that your village had its own variations. (Basically I’d be glad to hear any fun political trivia!)

This post is getting CRAZY long, but I did a blog post explaining the pre-Reform Act of 1832 political system and women’s voting rights in detail over at History Hoydens a while ago. The short version is that it may not have been THAT rare–basically in freeman boroughs, anyone who had the freedom of the city could vote. Each city and town made their own rules for how to get this freedom, but ways typically included purchase (expensive), completing an apprenticeship to a freeman, or by inheritance (the son of a freeman is a freeman) or (in some boroughs) marriage.

What that means is that in some places marrying the daughter or widow of a freeman could get a man the freedom (sometimes only during her lifetime). In Lively St. Lemeston, only the eldest daughter of a freeman who died without heirs can pass the freedom along to her husband (there was at least one borough I came across where this was the rule), because I wanted Phoebe to be the only one in her town and therefore the focus of a lot of attention during a close electoral race.

Honestly, the colors for the political parties were more like sports teams! I don’t believe the national Whig and Tory parties had particular colors (although I do vaguely remember reading about an eighteenth century party where all the Whiggish ladies wore elaborate white gowns to indicate their political stance about some issue or other). But it was very common for local political parties–which were not really branches of the national Whig and Tory parties, although they usually were loosely affiliated with one of the national parties and their supporters often voted along those lines in national elections.

But national elections were rare (and in many constituencies, even more rarely contested) and most political activity was conducted at a local level, so one’s local political loyalties tended to come up much more often, and since most people didn’t vote, politics really was a spectator sport! People who couldn’t vote often still rooted passionately for one side or other. Elections were major events, and voters had to go to a central location to poll. So an election was really a lot like a big game day now, where you see huge groups of people in team colors hanging out, sometimes filling the street, drinking, cheering on their side, getting out of control and breaking things, starting fights with supporters of the other side, etc.


Covent Garden Market – Westminster Election, 1808. Via Wikimedia Commons.

This Rowlandson print illustrates the atmosphere nicely, I think. There seems to be an actual parade going on here, with floats and contingents from various parishes! Check out the people who’ve climbed the hustings (that distinctive slope-roofed temporary wooden structure, from which candidates gave their speeches and frequently where voters were polled) and are lying on their stomachs on the roof.

If your hero and heroine lived in 2014, what would they do with their lives? Both work in fields that still exist today, but would they follow a similar path if they had a modern array of career options?

I could see Phoebe doing the same thing–having been married to someone who owns a local newspaper and working on that while they were married, then writing children’s books. She’d probably need a day job, though. I could see her doing office/administrative work or something, especially in a law office or school. Nick…I don’t think Nick would be in the army. He was an upper-class kid with no idea what he wanted from life, and he only joined the army in the first place to spite his mother, because it sounded more interesting than the church or the law, and because you could just buy a commission. I can’t see him making the decision to go to Sandhurst (the British officer training academy). I think it’s more likely that a modern Nick would have volunteered for a British analogue of the Peace Corps.

Sweet Disorder is your first book since early 2011, after your first two books were released during Dorchester’s slow death spiral. If you’re comfortable doing so, please share what it was like to have such a long layoff.

Not fun! I spent a lot of time worrying that I would never be published again, or at least that by the time my next book came out all the momentum and buzz I got for In for a Penny would be lost.

Fortunately self-publishing took off right around the time Dorchester went under, and digital’s market share was growing dramatically (as it continues to do), so I knew that I had options if I couldn’t find another New York print publisher willing to take a chance on my books. Without that, I think I would have felt pretty hopeless.

I don’t even regret publishing with Dorchester, because I’d been trying for a long time and gotten a lot of rejections, and Dorchester got the books out there and started my career. My editor was wonderful, and she got me great reviews and really promoted the book, and every person I interacted with in the office was helpful and enthusiastic. I made lasting friends there.

But I have to admit, publishing with Dorchester scarred me too. The worst part was fielding questions from readers. Every time someone asked me where they could buy my books and I had to say that they were out of print, try interlibrary loan, and that no, I didn’t know when they’d be available again, no, I didn’t have my rights back yet, no, I didn’t know when I’d have another book out, I felt…not just sad, not even just embarrassed, but guilty. Ashamed. As if I’d done something wrong. I should have a better answer. I was letting people down.

Shame is an emotion that sneaks in and stays and is incredibly difficult to get rid of, like mold or an ant infestation. Now that I’m thinking about it, I realize that shame is kind of a running theme in Sweet Disorder. It’s an emotion with a peculiar ability to isolate people from each other, but also to connect them–because realizing that someone else shares the thing you’re ashamed of, or even just has their own secret shames and embarrassments, is one of the most liberating, intimate, powerful experiences in the world. That makes it especially interesting for romance.

Nick and Phoebe are both trying to figure out what the rest of their lives will look like. They’re both dealing with financial worries (even though Nick is from a very rich family, he’s had to leave his army career because of an injury and he’s temporarily living off the allowance he gets from his mother, which is sort of reliant on her being happy with him, and the idea of job-hunting while dealing with his new disability is really scary for him). They’re both filled with small, painful regrets, both trying to seem as if they’re calm and in control when really it feels as if everything is falling apart. I guess maybe it’s not a coincidence that I wrote this book after Dorchester.

What’s next for you?

My first two books, In for a Penny and A Lily Among Thorns, are being rereleased by Samhain in June and September. And then the second book set in Lively St. Lemeston, True Pretenses, is out early next year. It’s about a con man who decides to create a new respectable life for his beloved little brother by arranging a marriage of convenience for him with a beautiful philanthropist who needs to get her hands on her dowry. (She’s the daughter of Nick’s mother’s archnemesis Lord Wheatcroft, the head of the Lively St. Lemeston Tory Party.) But when a terrible family secret comes to light and his brother abandons him mid-scheme, the heiress demands that he marry her instead. Oh noes, what will happen?

Thank you so much for having me!

Susanna here again with a question for you readers: Which modern convenience would you miss most if you found yourself thrown back in time to the Regency? As a reminder, one commenter gets a copy of Sweet Disorder, and all are entered for her blog tour grand prize.

Diane here.

Sally MackenzieToday my friend, Sally MacKenzie returns to Risky Regencies to talk about her latest, Loving Lord Ash, the third book in her Duchess of Love series.

See what reviewers are saying about Loving Lord Ash:

Readers will love being treated to this lively, hilarious Regency romp in MacKenzie’s Duchess of Love series and will want all three books.” —Booklist

lovinglordashMacKenzie entices her readers into a funny, romantic tale with her protagonists at cross purposes, sizzling sensuality, a touch of poignancy and a surprise twist. This all adds up to a delightful read.” —RT Book Reviews

Sally will generously give away a signed copy of Loving Lord Ash to one lucky commenter chosen at random.

Welcome, Sally!

Tell us about Loving Lord Ash

Here’s the back cover copy:

A Little Misunderstanding…

Kit, the Marquis of Ashton, is in a sticky wicket. He married young and for love—how naïve. He discovered his mistake the very day of his wedding, but he is saddled now with a wife he’s reluctant to trust. And however much evidence he gathers against faithless Jess, he can’t seem to prove her guilt to the final judge—his foolish heart.

Jess knows she’s bobbled her marriage, however innocently. A fairytale wedding makes no difference if she hasn’t got the marquis charmed to show for it. Well, she’s had enough of accidental encounters with naked gentlemen and near misses explaining things to her husband. It’s time to buck up and go win her man back—even if she has to fight very dirty indeed.

***

I’m excited to say that Booklist gave Ash a starred review! And Eloisa James included Loving Lord Ash in her Romance Reviews column on March 3, “SF (Not) Seeking M.” You can find it here: http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Reading-Romance/SF-Not-Seeking-M/ba-p/12449

How does Loving Lord Ash fit into your Duchess of Love series?

Ash’s book is the last in the series and is about the oldest son—the heir to the duchy. Readers met Ash in the first book, Bedding Lord Ned, where they learned that he and his wife, Jess, have been estranged for years. He appears again in the opening pages of Surprising Lord Jack, but then he leaves to finally settle the question of his marriage. He’s just turned thirty; he needs to see to the succession.

A smart writer would have figured out why Ash and Jess were estranged before beginning the series. Apparently, I am not a smart writer. Or let’s just say I appear to be a confirmed “pantser.” I don’t plan in detail before I begin writing—no outlines for me! Instead, I trust my characters to show me the way. Sadly, Ash was rather uncooperative; he didn’t want to give up his secrets. He and I had to have a long talk about why he and his wife were separated before I could begin his story.

 Did you come across any interesting research when writing Loving Lord Ash?

Yes! I wanted Jess to have a large dog. For a while I considered a wolfhound, but decided I liked a Newfoundland better. But were there Newfoundlands during the Regency? I’m delighted to say there were.  Though they probably didn’t look exactly like modern Newfies, which is why I never come right out and say Fluff is a Newfoundland. He’s just a very large, black dog. BUT—Lord Byron had a Newfie! More than one Newfie, actually, as well as a number of other pets including a bear and a badger.

Byron’s most famous Newfie was Boatswain who died of rabies and with whom Byron wished to be buried. (Didn’t happen.) Bryon buried Boatswain at Newstead Abbey and erected a monument over the tomb on which he inscribed his “Epitaph to a Dog.” This site has a lot of fun information, though the poem quoted seems to be the opening lines that were actually written by Bryon’s friend, John Hobhouse: http://www.londondogforum.co.uk/lord-byrons-dog-boatswain-c753.html

What is risky about Loving Lord Ash?

Hmm. I’m not sure there’s anything terribly risky about Ash—or at least, not if you’re a “Naked reader” and used to my humor. This book has a group of gay characters, but that doesn’t really strike me as risky, though it might seem unusual to some readers. And I should say that they are secondary characters—I don’t focus on their love lives, though I know there’s a subgenre in romance today that does.

What’s risky—or I guess tricky might be a better word—to me about the entire Duchess of Love series is the way the books are closely linked. My Naked books were connected, too, but in a more haphazard way. When I planned—I suppose I should put quotation marks around that word—the Duchess of Love books, I decided they would all follow after the other in a comparatively short time frame. So Surprising Lord Jack picks up right where Bedding Lord Ned ends. Loving Lord Ash is a little more complicated. Ash appears in the beginning of Jack’s book, but then he leaves to go to Blackweith Manor and confront Jess. So the beginning of Loving Lord Ash takes place during Jack’s book. The reader doesn’t see this, but I needed to keep it in mind so the timing of Ash’s book would work out. Roughly halfway through Loving Lord Ash, Ash and Jess arrive in London—just shortly after Jack’s book ends.

I’ve heard you’ve just become a grandmother. Are you excited?

Can’t you see me jumping up and down? My eldest and his wife had twins—a boy and a girl—at the beginning of February. The babies are SO cute. And, no, I’m not at all prejudiced.

There’s actually a link between grandmotherhood and the Duchess of Love stories. I started writing the series back in 2009 or 2010. At that time, my oldest son was married. Now two of the four have wives. And after wives come…well, for me, thoughts of maybe someday grandchildren. And things that I’m thinking about sometimes find their way into my characters’ heads. So Venus, the Duchess of Love, has been longing for her sons to have children first because she wants them to experience all the emotions fathers feel for their children—and, of course, Ash needs a son to secure the succession—but then, yes, because she’d like to be a grandmother. And you’ll see when you read Loving Lord Ash, she gets her wish.

But books are written long before they arrive in bookstores. It wasn’t until after I’d finished Loving Lord Ash and handed it in, that my son and daughter-in-law told me they were expecting. (And you should have heard son’s voice when he called to tell us they’d heard TWO heartbeats. He was quite, um, surprised, lol!)

What is next for you?

I’ve just agreed to write a new series for Kensington. It’s very early days, so I can’t say too much about it yet. Right now, I’m calling it the Spinster House series and setting it in Loves Bridge, an imaginary village. It turns out our September trip to England was very inspiring!

By the way, you might have noticed that the dog on the cover of Loving Lord Ash is not a Newfie. Apparently the art department felt that a large dog would take over the cover–and they were probably right. I like to think this dog is Shakespeare, who was the main dog in Surprising Lord Jack and who does appear in Loving Lord Ash. So here’s my question: Are you a big dog or a small dog sort of person? Or are you a cat, ferret, fish, or lizard person? Tell us a funny pet story!

Diane here, again. Remember, one lucky commenter will win a signed copy of Loving Lord Ash. I’ll pick the winner by midnight Monday night.

 

 

Next week it’s all Austen all the time here at the Riskies as we celebrate Jane’s birthday (December 16) so we have a special guest to get you in the mood. We invited Karen Doornebos to talk about her release UNDRESSING MR. DARCY.
WP_000070As an ice-breaker to each leg of my Blog Tour for UNDRESSING MR. DARCY, I’m taking you along for a ride to England, where I traveled during the summer of 2012 to do some research for the book.

cocktavernWhere am I on this stop? Today I’m providing you a smattering of some of my London shots that inspired, but didn’t make it directly into the book. Since I’m visiting Risky Regencies here, I thought you’d enjoy the pub sign for Ye Olde Cock Tavern, for obvious, middle-grade humorous reasons! WP_000044I went into Fortnum & Mason, but my heroine’s friend Sherry, didn’t, and bemoaned the fact that my heroine wouldn’t let her! She certainly missed out.

9780425261392_UndressingMr_CV.inddHe’s an old-fashioned, hardcover book reader who writes in quill pen and hails from England. She’s an American social media addict. Can he find his way to her heart without so much as a GPS?

You can read the first chapter here!

Buy now at Berkley PenguinIndiebound – AmazonB&NKobo BAMiTunes

I’d like to thank you, Janet, for having me back at Risky Regencies!

I learned from your bio that you used to work in advertising, and I’m wondering whether that inspired your heroine Vanessa Roberts. Do you identify with her?

Vanessa works in PR, that infinitely more glamorous cousin of advertising. PR girls get to go to all the galas, fundraisers and schmooze the media with wining and dining. But yes, working in the ad world did in part inspire Vanessa’s character. In the worlds of both advertising and PR, everything is very fleeting, deadlines are looming multiple times per day, and you’re always busy. Too busy. Work doesn’t stay in nice tidy boundaries, but overflows into nights and weekends. Since Vanessa is an * older * heroine at thirty-five, it made sense that her busy-ness would have distracted her from falling in love and settling down. I identify with Vanessa career-wise, but I happened to have gotten married at age twenty-six and had two kids by the time I was her age of thirty-five!

One thing I loved about the book was watching Vanessa become a Jane Austen fan. What was your Jane Austen journey?

Thank you, Janet, I’m so glad you enjoyed her coming around to the Jane side! Here was my journey: read about Mr. Darcy at age sixteen; smitten for life. Seriously, though, my journey to appreciating Austen was much more typical than Vanessa’s. P&P was assigned in high school, and I have to say, I really did fall for Darcy within Austen’s first few lines about him, but of course, she deliberately hooked us all. I became an English major, read more of Austen, but I have to say I didn’t come out of the Austen closet until the 1995 version of P&P and then the Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant version of Sense & Sensibility. I discovered Republic of Pemberley online and had already, by 1997, had the beginnings of my first book, DEFINITELY NOT MR. DARCY, written. By 2008 I had joined the Jane Austen Society of North America…and felt like I had found my tribe!

You include real places and real people, including events and speakers at JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) conferences. What’s your best JASNA experience?

I have to say my best JASNA experience happened to be my first in 2008, but they have all been great, really. The first conference I attended was in Chicago, my hometown, and I presented a larger than life academic poster called How Not to Write a Jane-Austen Inspired Novel that you can see on my website here. But that wasn’t even the best part. The best part happened to be joining in on the Regency promenade and then, without any lessons, getting pulled onto the ballroom dance floor. Janeites are all very friendly!

On your research trip last year did you learn anything about London that surprised you?

I learned that London is still one of my top three places in the world. I didn’t really know that until I went back. What surprised me was that I promised myself another return trip very soon because I didn’t get to do everything I wanted—restored Globe Theatre, anybody?! I also wanted to try and find Benedict Cumberbatch.

(Hmmm. She’s not telling us whether she did or not!) Who is your dreamteam cast for the movie version of the book?

I’ll be dating my * old * self here, but I always saw Julia Roberts as Vanessa…hence the name Roberts. She’s a little too old to be playing a thirty-five year old, though. I could see Henry Cavill as Julian, although he needs to be a little older! Hugh Grant would be wonderful if he were a little younger. Johnny Depp could still play Chase!!!

What do you think is the enduring appeal of Mr. Darcy and P&P?

Janet, I wrote an entire essay on that subject for the January 2012 issue of Jane Austen’s Regency World Magazine. It boiled down to the vast size of Mr. Darcy’s…library! Seriously, though, Darcy is an avid reader, with a large and growing library. As I say in UNDRESSING MR. DARCY, he’s the smart girl’s pin-up boy. How clever of Austen to snare her female readers with a man who values reading! Nothing better than the image of a gorgeous specimen of a man reading a book on the settee!

What are you working on next?

Laundry. Frantically getting ready for Christmas! Really, I have to say that once again I have too many ideas for my next project. I need to get serious about which one is worthy. Not sure yet. They’re duking it out in my head.

WIN!

Risky Regency readers, comment below for your chance to win one of TWO copies of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY. What do you think makes Darcy so enduring and…sexy?

To increase your chances of winning you can share this post on your Facebook page or Twitter via our nifty Rafflecopter widget and enhance your social media pleasure by following Risky Regencies, Karen, and Janet on Facebook or Twitter. Contest limited to US entrants only.

Mr. Darcy’s Stripping Off…

grandprizeHis other stocking. At each blog stop Mr. Darcy will strip off a piece of clothing. Keep track of each item in chronological order and at then end of the tour you can enter to win a GRAND PRIZE of the book, “DO NOT DISTURB I’m Undressing Mr. Darcy” door hangers for you and your friends, tea, and a bottle of wine (assuming I can legally ship it to your state). US entries only, please.

KAREN BathminiKaren Doornebos is the author of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY published by Berkley, Penguin and available here or at your favorite bookstore. Her first novel, DEFINITELY NOT MR. DARCY, has been published in three countries and was granted a starred review by Publisher’s Weekly. Karen lived and worked in London for a short time, but is now happy just being a lifelong member of the Jane Austen Society of North America and living in the Chicagoland area with her husband, two teenagers and various pets—including a bird. Speaking of birds, follow her on Twitter and Facebook! She hopes to see you there, on her website www.karendoornebos.com and her group blog Austen Authors. You can also check out the other stops on her Blog Tour.

WIN!

Risky Regency readers, comment below for your chance to win one of TWO copies of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY…

What do you think makes Darcy so enduring and…sexy?

To increase your chances of winning you can share this post on your Facebook page or Twitter via our nifty Rafflecopter widget below! You can also increase your odds by following Karen and Janet on Twitter or Facebook, or, if you’re not already, following Risky Regencies on Facebook. Contest limited to US entrants only.

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