My first order of business is to apologize for the brevity and lack of visual interest for this post, but I am on the Jersey shore, and typing on an iPhone. The second is to say I have been reading a lot, since that’s what you do vacation (or any spare moments, actually). I am currently relishing every minute of former Risky interviewee Tessa Dare’s Goddess Of The Hunt. Wow. It is amazingly delicious, and the characters are so real. While on the beach, I have noticed nearly everyone–including adults–reading Stephenie Meyer. Some of the male holdouts are still reading Patterson et al. But they’re reading, and that’s cool. We have only a few more days here, so I’ll scoot, but ask before I go: what is the book you associate with your best holiday? Mine would be Pamela by Samuel Richardson, which I read on my honeymoon.

I found out this week that my house is filled with junk. Oh, it doesn’t look too bad–I’ve lived here about 6 years, and things have found niches and hidey-holes so it can at least appear a sane person lives here. Behind cupboard doors, it’s another story. I’m doing a major cleaning-out, and it’s not going too badly if you discount all the angst about giving away some books, and the tragic afternoon I found my prom dress and made the mistake of trying it on. (It has shrunk! That’s my excuse, anyway…)

I need Diane’s favorite show Clean Sweep to come and help me out.

So, it seems appropriate that tomorrow marks the anniversary of one of the biggest ‘clean sweeps’ in history, the Great Fire of London. It began around midnight on September 2, 1666 in the Pudding Lane bakeshop of Thomas Farynor (baker to King Charles II). The baker and his family escaped, but one panicked maid was not so lucky.

In the 16th century most London houses were made of wood and pitch, packed close together, and after a dry, hot summer it took no time at all for the fire to spread. It leaped to the hay piles in the yard of the Star Inn at Fish Street Hill and spread to the Inn itself. A strong wind was also blowing that night and spread the sparks to St. Margaret’s Church and Thames Street, with riverside warehouses and wharves just filled with food for the flames (hemp, oil, hay, timber, coal, and liquor). By the next morning the fire had spread halfway across London Bridge, and the only thing that stopped it from moving into jam-packed Southwark was the gap caused by a fire in 1633 and never rebuilt.

The standard firefighting procedure of the day was create “fire breaks” by destroying structures in its path. The Lord Mayor, though, was too worried about the cost of rebuilding the demolished houses, and by the time a royal command came down it was too late. The fire blazed on for another 3 days before halting near Temple Church. Then it sprang to life again, continuing toward Westminster itself. The Duke of York had the presence of mind to order the Paper House destroyed, and the fire finally died out.

Shockingly, the loss of life was fairly minimal (some sources say about 16, though recent studies have said the lower classes were not counted so it could be much higher), but the loss of property was immense. 430 acres, about 80% of the city, was destroyed, including some 13,000 houses, 89 churches (including St. Paul’s Cathedral), and 52 Guild Halls. One positive effect was the halting of the plague, which had ravaged London the year before, due to the destruction of the rat population.

Charles II quickly appointed 6 Commissioners to redesign the city, with plans providing for wider streets and buildings of brick. By 1671, 9000 houses and businesses were completed and Sir Christopher Wren set out to oversee construction of 50 churches (including the rebuilt St. Paul’s, with the dome we know today). Wren also designed a monument to the Fire, said to stand at the site of the bakery where it started.

I have a few sources of info about the Great Fire on my shelf, including:
Neil Hanson, The Dreadful Judgement: The True Story of the Great Fire of London
TF Reddaway, The Rebuilding of London After the Great Fire
Adrian Tinniswood, By Permission of Heaven: The Story of the Great Fire of London

So, does anyone have any advice for me about the most-organized way to clean out a house? Any criteria for keeping/getting rid of a book? Any interesting facts about the Fire???

Last month at RWA in Washington DC, the Riskies went to the Sirius studios to record a roundtable discussion of the blog and our books! It was tons of fun, and now you can listen in on Sirius 117 or XM 163.

Wednesday, August 26 at 9pmE/6pmW
Friday, August 28 at 8 amE/5amW
Saturday, August 29 at 7 pmE/4 pmW

I’m so excited this week to show off the cover for my November Harlequin release, The Winter Queen! It features the new (subtle) branding of Harlequin Historicals, and I love the beautiful colors, the Christmas-y look, and the way it suits the story inside the cover so well. It takes place at the Court of Elizabeth I at Christmastime 1564, the winter that was cold the Thames froze through and there was a frost fair to distract everyone from the bitter cold. There’s nothing more glamorous–or dangerous–than a Renaissance Christmas! (My website has also been updated to include an excerpt and some historical research tidbits, as well as Elizabethan holiday recipes–if you decide to try them, let me know how that turns out. I’m not brave enough…)

I also have two releases in September! The first is actually a re-release, a “two books in one volume” of 2 of my old Regency titles from Signet. Spirited Brides is the perfect book for Halloween (hey, with Christmas and Halloween we have lots of holidays covered!). One Touch of Magic and A Loving Spirit are Regency romances with a touch of ghostly paranormal–I’ll be talking more about this next week, though I’ve heard it’s been glimpsed on bookstore shelves already. It’s also on Amazon.

And the third book in my “Muses of Mayfair” trilogy is out in the UK! To Kiss a Count is Thalia Chase’s story, and is set in Bath. These books will be out in the US in 2010 in April, May, and June, but if you can’t wait they can be ordered from Amazon UK or from the Mills & Boon website! In other news, the opposite is happening with my “Renaissance Trilogy” (A Notorious Woman, A Sinful Alliance, High Seas Stowaway), which has already been out in the US. In 2010 (February, April, and June) they will be out in the UK via Mills & Boons’ “Super Historical” line, which means there will be lots of extra content, historical notes, and, as a bonus, the “Undone” short story Shipwrecked and Seduced! I am sooooo excited to see these books out again!

And, on a totally (somewhat) unrelated note, I read an article last week about the niche-ification of TV. (Sorry no link–I can’t actually recall where I read it! But the concept has stuck with me). What the author meant by this was that no longer is there really one Must See show or moment that absolutely everyone watches and talks about. (Like “Who Shot JR?” or Luke and Laura’s wedding on General Hospital, or the finale of MASH). With the advent of cable and DVDs, there is something out there for everyone, and audiences for certain shows become much more specific. My own favorite shows, Mad Men, True Blood, and Gossip Girl, could be examples of this. They’re all highly buzzed-about, yet in the cases of MM and GG their actual ratings are far out of proportion to the talk. (The Season 3 premier of MM had about 2.8 million viewers; twice as many watched a re-run of How I Met Your Mother). It’s true these are not shows for everyone; they are very character-driven, and Mad Men expecially has very complex, slowly developing plots and themes. They require a certain dedication. But they inspire immense passion in the people who love them, far more than a bigger ratings hit like CSI seems to.

Anyway, the point of this is, I started wondering if this could also be said of books. Romance novels boast so many sub-genres now, far more than when I started reading them (not that I was aware of sub-genre at all back then–to me a romance was a romance, not necessarily a traditional Regency or Regency historical, contemporary comedy or romantic suspense). There are funny books; dark books; many, many kinds of paranormals (vamps, demons, dragons, urban fantasy, etc); “chick lit” in the big city, and cozy stories in small towns where people knit. Books for every reader, which is absolutely wonderful. But does it mean there are no Must Read books, no one big show everyone should know about?

What do you think? And what’s your “niche”?

Today the Riskies welcome Angela James, the very recently-appointed editor for Quartet Press. Quartet is brand new to the epublishing world, but its founders are well-versed in the digital age. Join us in welcoming Angela to the Risky Regencies!

A random commenter will be chosen to win a prize pack from Angela. Yay!

What is your position at Quartet Press?

I’m the editorial director for Quartet Press. Which is a fancy way of saying I’ll be helping Quartet build their editorial department from the ground up including staff, style guide, authors and schedule. No pressure, right?

What is Quartet Press’s editorial focus?

Right now, my two priorities for Quartet are acquiring quality submissions and quality staff (editors and copyeditors). Overall, editorial focus is going to be on joining the ranks of other digital publishers that readers and authors list as the publishers to shop at and submit to.

What is your background prior to joining Quartet?

For the past four years I helped start and build Samhain Publishing, first as an editor and then as executive editor. Prior to that, I started in publishing as a proofreader for Ellora’s Cave. I’ve been in publishing about six years. My first career was as an occupational therapist in mental health settings (both home health and a state psychiatric hospital). I’ve been lucky to do two careers that I really love, in a seemingly short period of time.

What is the one thing you wish people knew about digital publishing?

This is probably the toughest question you asked. I have filled a two-hour presentation with all the things I wish people knew about digital publishing. But if I had to pick just one, I’d say that despite the years digital publishing has been around, I think we all need to remember it’s still in its toddler stages, there’s going to continue to be changes, hopefully positive, and there’s definitely still room for a lot more growth. It’s an exciting time to be in publishing, and in digital publishing in particular because of that immense room for growth.

What is your own preferred e-reader? Why?

Right now I use the Sony 700, though I switch off with the Sony 505 sometimes. And I also read on my iPhone occasionally. I do have a Kindle 2, but I don’t use that. I used to be a dedicated fan of the Ebookwise! Currently, I prefer the Sonys over the Kindle because the Sony gives me more options for shopping at other online bookstores and also has superior file management over the Kindle. On the Sony, I can sort my books by whatever category I assign to them. As an example, by series name, genre, submissions, or maybe if I have an ARC. That was something I just couldn’t adapt to with the Kindle. I also like the ability to be able to put all of my books on a memory card and pop that card out when I want to show people my Sony, so I can keep my reading semi-private.

I do also read on the iPhone, though not regularly. But that’s where I read the free downloads that Kindle offers. I don’t buy books via Kindle normally, but I do like to take advantage of the free offerings!

I’m looking forward to seeing the new Sony Readers releasing soon, to see how they’ll compare to my current experience. And Sony is supposed to be announcing something on Tuesday. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a wireless reader, as I do think wireless is a nice feature, though I choose superior file management over wireless in my use of the Sony over the Kindle.

What’s the last book you bought?

Pitch Black by Leslie Kelly. Though I have to admit it was a small accident. I was trying out the new Books on Board mobile-friendly website on my iPhone and had no idea when I went through the process of adding the book to my cart that I’d somehow bought it. But since I was looking at it, I was definitely interested and I will read it! Now, if you’d asked me this question next week, I would have had a list of books to share. Tuesday looks to be an awesome release day.

The last book I read was One Scream Away by Kate Brady. Fabulous romantic suspense and I highly recommend it.

What’s funny is, the last book I read and the last book I bought make it look as though romantic suspense is my preferred genre, but it’s actually the genre I read least. But it does go to show that I like to read across genres, when I’m reading even a genre that’s not my favorite!

What are you looking to acquire?

Amazing books from authors who are interested in working with a professional publisher and building a career with them. Ha, the answer every author hates, no? Currently, I’m looking to acquire for the Quench imprint across the romance genres, from inspirational to erotic, contemporary to historical to paranormal, interracial to GLBT. And all of them in between.

We will consider both women’s fiction and YA, though I wouldn’t expect to see a plethora of them being released at Quartet.

We’re going to be doing two special sub-imprints of the Quench romance line: one for digital reprints of previously printed books and one for something I’ve long held a special spot for: fantasy/science fiction/urban fantasy with romantic elements. We’ll be targeting some extra marketing efforts at these sub-imprints as we get going because I think there’s a place for both in the digital world.

Who are your own personal favorite authors?

JD Robb, Julie Garwood, Patricia Briggs, David Eddings, CL Wilson, Jo Beverly, Ilona Andrews, and John Sanford are a good representative of my crazy reading habits and of authors I love.

Anything else you want to share with us?

I’m currently acquiring for both our launch day and our launch month releases, and response times are going to be fairly short turnaround as we look to get our frontlist built. I’m definitely interested in acquiring historicals for these slots. I’m excited about what we’re going to do with Quartet Press, and the sheer amount of knowledge and intelligence in the people who own the company is both awesome and intimidating. I’m looking forward to acquiring authors to help us build a strong digital publisher.

Also, I’m always open to questions about both digital publishing and Quartet Press, so anyone can email me now or in the future if there’s something you want to know. angelajameseditor@gmail.com I’m going to keep dragging people to the digital dark side one reader (and author) at a time.

Thanks for joining us, Angela!