Category: Reading

Posts in which we talk about reading habits and preferences

Regency Heroines Redoux

Updated on February 12, 2013 by Diane Gaston

I am finishing up my revisions for my Governess and Marquess story, now titled Born To Scandal, due today, so I’m recycling an early blog of mine. It first appeared in June of 2006 (Have we really been doing this blog for so long?), but my thoughts about Regency Heroines are much the same.

Here’s the recycled blog:

Several weeks ago when I had the good fortune to join Risky Regencies (this was an early blog!), I prosed on forever about Regency heroes, fictional and those appearing on cover art (not to mention GB*Gerard Butler*). It is time I spoke about Regency heroines.

When I conceive a story in my head it almost always starts with the hero. Heroes are so much easier for me. Apart from the obvious reason that I love to fantasize about dishy Regency guys, I think it is because the men in those times were able to lead such interesting lives, while the women had very few options, unless they were willing to risk social ostracism or give up on respectability altogether and live in the demimonde.

In some ways I love to explore women who were willing to risk being shamed (Morgana running a courtesan school in A Reputable Rake, for example; Emily gambling in The Wagering Widow. I like even more to imagine what life would be like for those women outside of respectable society (Maddie, the ruined girl, in The Mysterious Miss M). My next Mills & Boon features a singer as the heroine (that would be Innocence and Impropriety).

All of these heroines require a mindset quite different from today’s woman, and it is sometimes hard to find that point where the modern reader can identify with the Regency woman’s predicament. Why be afraid you are going to wind up a prostitute? the modern woman might say. Why not just get a job?

The reality was, the Regency woman could not just get a job. She had to have references, even for such lowly positions as house maid or shop girl. And once ruined, any respectable employment was denied her.

There are plenty of weak, victim-like Regency heroine stereotypes – governesses (writing one of those now–but not stereotypical!!), servants of any sort, impoverished vicar’s daughters, ladies companions, abused wives – but I think today’s reader wants the heroine to be strong, not a victim. I truly believe there have been strong women in every era of history, certainly in the Regency as well. I like to explore how women of the time period rose above their constraints and refused to be victims.

You know what else? It is hard finding reasons for Regency heroines to engage in “intimacies” with those hunky Regency men. I think the Regency woman’s mindset about sex had to be quite different from our own. She’d worry about pregnancy each and every time, no doubt. No respectable man would want a society girl if she went and had sex with another guy first.

I’m rambling because I need to write proposals for my next two books and I don’t know who the heroines will be! My next Mills & Boon has a marquess for the hero (that would be The Vanishing Viscountess). I want to devise a strong heroine for this hero, whom I know down to the birthmarks on his—
(nevermind)

So! What kind of Regency heroines do you all like the best? Which ones are you tired of? Do you want that sexy read or doesn’t it matter?

Cheers!
Diane

(expect a brand new episode next week!)

Posted in Reading, Risky Book Talk, Writing | Tagged heroines, sex in Regencies | 6 Replies

Cara Elliot at Lady Jane’s

Updated on February 12, 2013 by megan

Amanda is off dealing with computer stuff, so I am filling in today!

Let me tell you what I did last night. Nope, it wasn’t stay at home and cajole the middle-grader to get his homework done; that’s every other night!

I went to Lady Jane’s Salon, a monthly event in New York City that has since spread to other metropolises. Lady Jane’s is a social gathering where romance authors come to read from their upcoming or current works, usually about three authors in total, and always a vast mix of genres.

Cara Elliot, whose Too Tempting to Resist is out April 24, was one of the three reading authors last night, and her scene, where the heroine inadvertently gets herself stuck into some velvet-padded handcuffs, was delicious! The hero attempts to get her out of them–you know, as heroes do–only he is entirely unclothed, they are in his bedroom, and they’ve already shared one passionate kiss.

Ahem. Let’s just say, it was one frisky scene.

We’ve talked about it before, but let me reiterate that there is something profoundly special about spending real time with people who read and love the same things you do. Having authors share their passion to a room full of devoted romance readers is an incredible experience, and I am preordering Cara’s book today.

Have you gotten to see any authors read before? Who was it, and did it give you a deeper understanding of the book?

Posted in Reading | Tagged Cara Elliott, Megan | 3 Replies

Happy Endings

Updated on February 12, 2013 by Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

I can’t believe it’s the weekend already!! (and many thanks to Megan for pitching in for me on Tuesday…hopefully now that deadlines are looking reasonable again, and warm weather is here, I won’t go down in my writing hole quite so often…). And Happy Easter to everyone, too.

I got an early spring present this week–author copies of the May Harlequin Historical release, The Taming of the Rogue! I am very excited about this book–it’s my Elizabethan theater/playwright/spy story. Plus it has a gorgeous gown on the cover. I covet it–deeply. If you would like a sneak peek at the story, I’m having a contest to win a copy until Tuesday. (or check back here at the end of this month when I chatter on about it some more…)

In the meantime, I’ve been catching up on my reading. I just finished Pamela Druckerman’s Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting. (and no, I don’t have any kids–I just always seem compelled to read any book that tells me how to be more French). Among lots of other interesting (and practical) info, she has a great take on the difference between American and French children’s books:

In the American books, there’s usually a problem, a struggle to fix the problem, and then a cheerful resolution…Lessons are learned and life gets better.

Whereas in French stories, There’s a problem, and the characters struggle to overcome that problem but they seldom succeed for very long. Often the book ends with the protagonist having the same problem again. There is rarely a moment of personal transformation, when everyone learns and grows.

One of her daughter’s favorite books involves two little cousins, Eliette (who is bossy) and Alice (who is passive). One day Alice kicks Eliette to the curb, deciding she has had enough. Eliette begs her pardon, Alice takes her back–then Eliette jabs her with a needle again. The end.

Life is ambiguous and complicated. There aren’t bad guys and good guys. Each of us has a bit of both. Eliette is bossy, but she’s also lots of fun. Alice is the victim, but she also seems to ask for it, and she goes back for more. We’re to presume that Eliette and Alice keep up their little dysfunctional cycle, because, well, that’s what a friendship between two girls is like. I wish I had known that when I was four, instead of finally figuring it out in my thirties.

Also–there is a lot of nudity and love in French books for four-year-olds. She has a book about the romance between the boy who accidentally pees in his pants and the little girl who lends him her pants while fashioning her bandana into a skirt.

Now that is love.

I kinda like this idea of an ambiguous ending. It doesn’t mean everyone isn’t happy–it just means that this is life, and these people have learned to make a life together. Isn’t that what a romance novel ending is about? Two people who care enough about each other to stay the course no matter who pees in their pants? Why don’t we ever see that in the babies and bliss epilogues??

What are some of your favorite book endings? How did your favorite books turn out when you were four years old? (I had a picture book I loved about a princess with immensely long hair, who was always tripping up princes and courtiers and hapless hairdressers in those impractical tresses and finally had to trim it. I am not sure what that message is. Maybe my mom was just tired of making my French braids or something. I also loved Eloise, who dumped water down the mail chutes in the Plaza…)

Posted in Reading | Tagged Endings | 2 Replies

From the Cutty Sark to ereaders

Updated on February 11, 2013 by Janet Mullany

This month the Cutty Sark in Greenwich will be opened to the public once more. The 1869 ship has been in dry dock in Greenwich for over 60 years but a disastrous fire in 2007 closed it for repairs and a facelift. Go here and check out amazing pics of the new display and the collection of restored figureheads beneath. We’ve been talking this week about the Titanic and even a merchant ship like the Cutty Sark was a huge structure–the wonderful new display shows the extent of the ship underwater. I wish I could be there on 26th.

I also wanted to follow up on Carolyn’s post yesterday about the TBR pile. I don’t have one. But I do have a TBR collection on my Kindle, as well as many books that I got a page into and archived. I suppose it’s what happens when you lurk mostly around the free or $3.99 or less than pile. (Pile? See, we don’t even have the language for ereading.) I think I’ve bought maybe four or so ebooks that I adore and will read again. But after buying the Kindle and using it almost exclusively for my commute reading and sometimes my bedtime reading since last summer, I’m now yearning for real books. I want that experience of looking over the cover and the back cover blurb and feeling the heft of a real book in my hands. I want to go lurk around the library. I really, really miss the library. I want to go to a bookstore for something other than expensive coffee or birthday cards or a quick fondle of the new releases. (And I received a couple of B&N gift cards as late xmas/birthday presents so soon I’ll be able to do that.)

Yes, I’m feeling nostalgic for recycled tree products. Or am I? I think what I’m missing, still, is my local Borders and the community I experienced there, learning how to write and meeting other writers, signing, talking to strangers about books.

Now as you probably know, the life cycle of mass market paperbacks is incredibly wasteful, books periodically stripped of their covers to be returned and the pages shredded and recycled, while more are shipped to the retailers. If you read a lot, then an ereader makes more sense ecologically, but the manufacture and destruction of an ereader take a lot of energy. The Sierra Club has published an article on the environmental impact of real books vs. ereaders.

On the other hand the sentimentality about “real” books can be pretty silly as Paperwork Blog says:

When you ask people their opinions regarding e-readers vs. real books you find that there is a small section of society that can only be described as the Complete Collection of Literary Dickheads. They will talk about printed novels in an over-romanticised way and for some reason tend to focus on the physical act of turning the pages, the smell of books and how these can’t be replicated by digital versions. That may be true, but turning the pages of a novel isn’t an integral part of the story, it’s just something that you have to do.

Techfanatix has a nice, thoughtful piece about initial suspicion leading to enthusiasm leading to … indifference: “Did I mention that the experience isn’t half as fun as reading a real book?” I’m afraid that I too may be falling out of love with my Kindle.

I like this article from PureVision too:

There are just some things that I would not think twice about doing with a regular paperback that I would never do with a portable electronic device. Reading in the bath is example #1. Leaving it out whenever and wherever is #2. Reading in bed is a lot more uncomfortable and slightly ridiculous with a laptop or iPod. Not to mention some of the other uses that go beyond actually reading. What if I needed to start a fire in a worst-case survival situation and needed paper to get it going? What if I found a rare herb and wanted to preserve it by pressing it between pages of a book? What if I needed a makeshift doorjamb? The list goes on and I’m pretty sure in most of these scenarios, my $10 paperback would be more handy than an expensive e-reader.

So where do you stand on this issue? Are you with the Complete Collection of Literary Dickheads? Passionately involved with your ereader? Somewhere in between? Or looking to start an emergency fire?

Posted in Reading, Research | Tagged Cutty Sark, e-readers | 5 Replies

How To Love A Villain

Updated on February 11, 2013 by Diane Gaston

I’m a great fan of Downton Abbey and have faithfully watched each season. In fact, at this year’s Washington Romance Writers Retreat in April, I’m going to do a workshop on what Downton Abbey can teach us about writing Historical Romance. You’ll be hearing more on that later.

This week’s episode featured more on one of my favorite characters, Thomas, finely acted by Rob James-Collier. (Don’t worry, though. I won’t give any spoilers in case you haven’t seen it yet)

In season one, Thomas was a scheming footman who would manipulate anyone to put himself in a good light. He’d get the dirt on the other servants and use the information against them, if he thought it would serve his own ends. He had it in for Mr. Bates from the beginning, never missing an opportunity to make Bates look bad. He even put the moves on one of the handsome houseguests, the foreign royal who seduced Mary and dropped dead in her bed.

In other words, Thomas was a villain. Along with O’Brien, Lady Grantham’s ladies maid, Thomas was the character we were supposed to hate, the quintessential bad guy.

In season two, though, something changed. Thomas went from being a character I loved to hate to someone more complicated. By the end of the season he was one of my favorite characters and still is.

If you want to make a villain sympathetic, this is how to do it.

Motivate him

In season two it became clearer that Thomas was a lonely man who wanted better for himself and who really had nobody who cared about him and no opportunities to aspire to more than service in an country house. I suddenly understood why he connived and clawed his way in life. When he is duped in his profiteering scheme and he loses everything, he has to go back into service. By this time you know what a difficult thing that is for him.

Make him vulnerable

In season two we saw a different side of Thomas from the smart-talking conniver. He went to war and was terribly traumatized by battle, so much so he lifted his hand out of the trenches and waits for it to be shot. That fear and desperation touched my heart.

Show his pain

Also in season two Thomas fell in love with an injured soldier who he tried to nurse back to health. His kindness and sympathy towards this man was unexpected, but showed that he, too, could have feelings for another person. When the soldier killed himself, Thomas was shattered. In season three he also breaks down into tears when Sybil dies, telling Anna, “There are few people in my life who’ve been kind to me. She was one of them.”

Now I know what makes Thomas who he is and I can see beyond his scheming facade. That is the trick to making a good villain. Show who he is, why he is the way he is, and show something of his humanity. If you do it right, you can even make the villain a character I can love.

Do you have a favorite villain? Why is he or she a favorite?

Are you watching Downton Abbey?

I’ll be selecting Anne Gracie’s winner at midnight tonight, so there’s still time to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of The Autumn Bride.