Hello everyone! Welcome to the start of the blog tour for the launch of Harlequin Historical’s new line of ebooks, “Undone”! These stories are only available at eharlequin–though one lucky commenter here will win a free download of all 4 stories. And here to introduce them are the Undone authors! (Oh, and eharlequin is having a special, .89 downloads for November!)

Nicola Cornick: My Harlequin Historicals Undone e-book is a sexy, scandalous Regency tale, The Unmasking of Lady Loveless!

Erotic author Lady Loveless is scandalizing the Ton with her shocking tales that are based on rel-life hijinks of society. Engagements are being broken, inheritances lost as a result of her wicked pen and the gentlemen decide that enough is enough–she may spin the most naughtily seductive tales, but Lady Loveless must be stopped!

Lord Alexander Beaumont is convinced that the outrageous Lady L. is none other than his estranegd wife Melicent, for the manuscripts are coming from the Yorkshire village where she took refuge after the end of their brief, bitter marriage. Alex travels to Yorkshire determined to unmask his errant wife and put a stop to her wicked ways. But when he reaches the beautiful village of Peacock Oak, Alex finds that Melicent–and Lady Loveless–are not what they seem. Will Christmas in the countryside reunite Alex and the bride he lost years before?

The Unmasking of Lady Loveless is set in the same fictional village of Peacock Oak that I used for the background for my July HQN release Unmasked, and also features some of the same characters. I wanted to write a Christmas story, and the idea of the beautiful Yorkshire countryside under the snow seemed the perfect setting!

Amanda McCabe: When I was asked to write an “Undone” short story as a spin-off from my January ’09 book High Seas Stowaway, I knew right away who the hero would be–Carlos de Alameda. Carlos is a Spanish nobleman, an official of the Crown at the island town of Santo Domingo in 1535. He is also a dangerous spy, with secrets of his own to protect. He appeared briefly in the action of High Seas Stowaway, but I was intrigued by his intelligence and mystery. What was he really up to?

In Shipwrecked and Seduced, I got to find out! Maria Gonzales is the one who is shipwrecked, but in the end they are both seduced. Maria is a maidservant, headed to Santo Domingo with a Spanish contessa, Isabella, who is journeying to her wedding. A terrible shipwreck kills all aboard except Maria, and she is soon mistaken for the contessa herself–and taken to Carlos’s island fortress! She knows very well that an affair with the sexy, mysterious man will threaten her masquerade, but she’s drawn to him irresistibly. What will happen when he discovers the truth?

Bronwyn Scott: In Libertine Lord, Pickpocket Miss Sophie DuPlessy has everything to gain–and Julian Burke has nothing to lose.

Vienna of the 1820s is Europe’s new glittering capital both in culture and politics. No one knows the potential of such a setting better than Sophie DuPlessy. Europe has been ravaged by Napoleon’s wars and re-structured by the Vienna conferences and Europe’s statesmen. Kingdoms have been absorbed, national boundaries redrawn. In the wake of upheaval, heirlooms have been ost. In certain circles of dubious repute, Sophie has earned a reputation for discreetly recovering such objects. Now, she’s been hired by an Italian count to retrieve a set of jewels, a supposed heirloom of his family. This will be her last job. The reward promised guarantees her the financial resources to re-make her life as a horse breeder. But she is not the only one looking for them.

Julian Burke, second son of an earl, has been sent on crown business to Vienna to ferret out the truth to the rumors that an heirloom, once part of the royal treasury during the time of Charless II, has surfaced in Vienna. When the crown wants something badly, Julian is the man for the job. He is the most dangerous of men; a man with nothing to lose. No wife to protect, no estate to risk, a fortune so large he cannot be bribed, no care for his reputation and no heart to break.

But Sophie is about to change that!

Hope you enjoy their cat-and-mouse game! The most challenging part of writing in a condensed version is making the characters’ attraction to each other real in a short time frame. Not only does it need to be physical, but it needs to be based on something more without having the normal amount of time to discover what that ‘more’ is…

Michelle Willingham: On a trip to Dublin two years ago, I visited an archaelogical museum in order to research medieval artifacts. To my surprise, I saw an amazing display of Viking lore, including preserved bodies that had been found in a bog! I’ve always been intrigued by Viking raiders, and though most of the true Viking era took place in the 9th and 10th centuries, I found evidence that a Norse king, Magnus the Barefoot, attempted to take over Dublin in 1101. Such a daring move made him a fascinating historical figure, and as I plotted my Viking story, I imagined that such a king might a ruthless foe for a Viking warrior.

The Viking’s Forbidden Love Slave tells the story of Tharand Hardrata, a memer of the Norse warrior class who steals an Irish noblewoman from her clan. He intends to trade Aisling O Brannon for his sister’s life, after she was taken by King Magnus. If Aisling succeeds in pleasing the king with her body, Tharand believes Magnus will let his sister go. But the Irish captive enslaves him with a pleasure he’s never known before. If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to be carried off by an amazingly hot Viking, then I hope you’ll enjoy this fantasy story!

When the tale ends, Aisling asks Tharand to help her discover what happened to her brothers during the Norse raid. Their tale continues in Her Warrior Slave, the story fo Kieran O Brannon, on sale now at Harlequin Historicals.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this taste of 4 very different tales! Do you enjoy revisting characters and places from books you’ve read? What kinds of stories would you like to see in this form?

This isn’t the last stop on our Undone blog tour! Join us at the following sites for more fun and more chances to win:
November 3–Romance Bandits (The Battle of the Heroes)
November 7–UK Regency Readers Blog
November 10–Writeminded
November 11–Romance Vagabonds (The Heroines’ Tea Party)
The Good, The Bad, The Unread (The week of Nov. 3)

I had another post all ready to go, but then last week one of my favorite authors, Tony Hillerman, died at age 83. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak at an authors’ event in Albuquerque many years ago, and he was entertaining, articulate, inspiring, an all-around class act as well as a superlative writer.

I lived in New Mexico as a child and early-teenager, and still visit the state as often as I can. It’s a very special place, one of immense and strange beauty and a great sense of creativity and spirituality that is like nothing else I have ever seen. I was first drawn to Hillerman’s books because of this same deep affinity for the land, which he evokes so perfectly through the very different characters of Leaphorn and Chee. But I stayed for more than that–for his evocative yet unadorned writing style, for his intricate plots and vivid characters, for his beautiful descriptions of Navaho ritual and the vastness of the irresitible landscape.

According to one of the many tributes that came pouring out last week, Hillerman used Chee and Leaphorn to introduce “readers to a landscape of bold physical, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions.”

The first Hillerman I ever read was Skinwalkers, which is still my favorite. I also love Coyote Waits, Talking God, Thief of Time–all of the Leaphorn/Chee mysteries, really. He also has a memoir, Seldom Disappointed, childrens’ books, and some great non-fiction, including The Spell of New Mexico and The Mysterious West.

Jim Benciveng, in one of those tributes, defends Hillerman’s place among the timeless greats of the mystery genre. “First, Hillerman is a master of style. His sentences are lucid, yet subtle, as sunlight in the high desert where Navaho tribal detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee patrol. He creates a vivid, austere sense of place. Second, Hillerman probes the metaphysical implications of crime, religious taboo, and moral weakness in human nature. His point of view is always compassionate. He taps an innate hunger for justice and harmony. Third, Hillerman explores misunderstanding and conflict inherent in cross-cultural mores. This more than anything else sets him apart from mystery writers of his generation.”

Hillerman and his work will be greatly missed. (For an obituary, you can go here; or here for a full bibliography)

Do you read Tony Hillerman’s novels? If so, which is your favorite? And do you also feel like you’ve lost an old friend when a favorite author dies?

Be sure and visit Risky Regencies tomorrow to read about the new Harlequin Historical Undone ebook line! There will be lots of fun and chances to win free downloads of the 4 launch stories. Also, there are lots of updates at my own website, including an excerpt from High Seas Stowaway and some “behind the scenes” research info…

And in case you haven’t noticed (ha!) Election Day is Tuesday. Be sure and vote!!!

And the winner is…..

m, you have won Julia’s prize, signed copies of both The Lost Duke of Wyndham and Mr. Cavendish, I Presume.

Email us at riskies@yahoo.com and give us your address.
Let us hear from you by Nov 5
Congratulations!

(I meant to have it ready for today, but I was kidnapped by a masked man who kept me busy with vocal warmups all evening…)

Now, the topic of the day:

Gateway Regencies!

After all, if a gateway drug is something that lures the inexperienced on to using more and more drugs…

then a Gateway Regency is clearly a Regency that gets a reader hooked on the genre.

So…what Regencies were your Gateway Regencies?

Which ones lured you to try more, and more, and more…

until reading Regencies was…

more than just a terrific means of entertainment…

more than just a great way to relax…

more than just a window on the past…

more than just a mentally stimulating pastime…

but became a way of life.

(Or a great fantasy life!)

Have you gotten anyone else hooked on Regencies?

If so, what Gateway Regencies did you supply them with…

or recommend to them?

Which books, which authors?

Did you ever recommend a fabulous book, which ended up being not the best book to hook someone with?

If a friend came to you today, and said she (or he) wanted to give the Regency genre a try…

and asked you what Regency to start with…

which book or books, or author or authors, would you recommend?

What sort of books in general would you recommend? (New, old, short, long, mostly history, mostly romance, mostly comedy, or what?)

Or are you of the opinion that Regencies are your private little world, and you don’t want your friends and family to read them too?

All answers welcome!

Cara
Cara King, who could be crushed under the weight of the Regencies she owns if there’s a big enough earthquake

First on this Saturday post–a little bit of Shameless Bragging! I finally got to see the cover for my January ’09 Harlequin Historical release, High Seas Stowaway (Balthazar’s story). I love it! The sense of movement, the drama and passion–it’s beautiful, and even suits the story. What do you all think???

And I also got an email with a new review for my last book, A Sinful Alliance, in the Chicago Tribune, which says “In A Sinful Alliance, her latest flawlessly crafted historical romance, Amanda McCabe expertly blends political and romantic intrigue into a captivating story.” Sigh. If only all reviews could be like that, for all of us! It would make this job easier sometimes…

And on Friday October 31, be sure and join me, along with Michelle Willingham, Nicola Cornick, and Bronwyn Scott as we launch our Blog Tour in honor of the debut of Harlequin “Historical Undone” ebooks! We’ll be at Greyhaus Literary Agency on that day, and here at Risky Regencies on November 2 (full schedule to come).

Now, when I was looking online for possible topics for today, I found out that October 25 had great significance in the lives of two men who had enormous impact on the history of this country–and the world. (Seems kind of appropriate to look at the beginnings of the USA, with the election only a little more than a week away!). On October 25, 1760, George III ascended the throne of England on the death of George II, and on October 25, 1764 John Adams married Abigail Smith.

George III was born in London at Norfolk House in 1738, the son of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, grandson of George II. His grandfather and father did not get along, and George II took very little interest in his grandchildren. Until the Prince of Wales unexpectedly died in 1751. Three weeks later, Prince George became Prince of Wales. In the spring of 1756, as he approached his 18th birthday, his grandfather offered him his own household at St. James’s Palace, but, guided by his mother and his advisor Lord Bute (who wanted to keep him close at home) he refused.

In 1759, he became infatuated with Lady Sarah Lennox, one of the extraordinary daughters of the Duke of Richmond, but, once again guided by Bute, he gave up thoughts of marrying her and turned to Princess Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He met her on their wedding day in September 1761, and they ended up with 15 (mostly troublesome) children. Two weeks after the marriage they were crowned at Westminster Abbey. (The madness and the loss of the American colonies all came later…)

John Adams met Abigail Smith when they were 17 and 26 years old, and fell in love pretty much right away, though the wedding would have to wait. Abigail’s mother, Elizabeth Quincey Smith (of the Quinceys) did not approve of the son of a mere farmer for her daughter, even though John was by then a lawyer with a new practice. But even when they were apart they wrote torrents of letters, over 1100 of which survive today to testify to this great romance and partnership. Including this one, dated October 4, 1762:

Miss Adorable,

By that same Token that the Bearer hereof satt up with you last night I hereby order you to give him, as many Kisses, and as many Hours of your Company aftr 9 o’clock as he shall please to Demand and charge them to my Account: This Order, or Requisition call it which you will is in Consideration of a similar order Upon Aurelia for the like favor, and I presume I have good Right to draw upon you for the Kisses as I have given two or three Millions at least, when one has been received, and of Consequence the Account between us is immensely in favor of yours,
John Adams

The wedding finally took place several years later, performed by her father, the Congregationalist minister Reverend William Smith. They then moved to the house in Braintree John inherited from his father and had 4 children who grew to adulthood. They were married for nearly 50 years.

And if you haven’t seen the HBO miniseries John Adams, run out and rent it right now! It is one of the best historical dramas I’ve ever seen.

Any other milestones on this October Saturday???