March kicks off a very exciting (and busy!) spring for me with the release of 2 stories! One is Scandalous Brides, a re-release of two of my Signet Regencies (my first two books, Scandal in Venice and The Spanish Bride), with a beautiful new cover! And the other is a Harlequin Historical Undone short story, To Bed a Libertine, which launches my “Muses of Mayfair” series in the US (To Catch a Rogue, April 2010; To Deceive a Duke, May; To Kiss a Count, June).
In celebration, I’ll give away a copy of Brides and a free download of Libertine to two commenters on today’s post!
As every writer knows, the Muses are 9 goddesses who inspire artistic creation (when they feel like it! They often seem quite fickle to me, even when I try to lock them up in my office and make them help me…). According to the Theogony of Hesiod (7th century BC) they’re the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, goddess of memory.
Although in some traditions there are only 3 or 4 Muses, in traditional stories of Hellenistic times there are 9. Calliope (chief of the Muses and in charge of epic poetry); Euterpe (lyric song); Clio (history); Erato (poetic poetry); Melpomene (tragedy); Polyhymnia (sacred song); Terpsichore (dance); Thalia (comedy/bucolic poetry); and Urania (astronomy). In ancient Greece they were usually evoked at the beginning of a poem or song, asking for their help or giving them credit. (Maybe I should try that sometime…) Even later poets utilized this tradition, such as Dante (“O Muses, o high genius, aid me now!”) and Shakespeare (“O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention”).
In my “Muses of Mayfair” trilogy, the 3 Chase sisters (Calliope, Clio, and Thalia) are mortal women of the Regency era with the misfortune of having classical scholars for parents who saddle them with these names (though they each have elements of their namesakes!). In To Bed a Libertine we meet a real Muse, Erato, Muse of erotic poetry. She and her sisters have taken on the Chase heroines as a special project since their births, and when she checks in on them in her magic reflecting pool on Mount Olympus she sees Calliope is in danger of losing her true love Lord Westwood.
So Erato takes herself off to Regency London to help reverse this catastrophe–only to find herself falling passionately in love (for the first time in her very long life!) with Lord Tristan Carlyle, a handsome, rakish artist in need of her brand of inspiration…
I had so much fun writing To Bed a Libertine, and all the Muse books! (And I confess, I fell a little in love with Tristan myself! Plus I’m thinking of growing my hair long and dying it red after getting this cover). I got to combine 2 great loves, Regency England and ancient Greek myths, plus meet 4 hunky Regency heroes. It was also a blast to imagine what a Greek goddess might think of the London ton (naturally the first thing she does is go shopping for some fabulous clothes and a bright yellow phaeton!).
What would your own personal Muse look like? Do you use any good luck charms to get your creativity flowing? (on my desk I have a little jeweled elephant, a Hello Kitty figurine, a Jane Austen action figure, and a little Dorothy doll. They must all be in their correct places before I get started)
And be sure and check out my website, which has updates for all these upcoming stories, plus another contest! (enter to win all 3 Muse books, plus a Calliope pendant from Tartx)
Wow, sounds like Cleopatra hitting London in the Phoenix and Amulet stories by E Nesbit (when Cleopatra hits a town, it stays hit!). What a fabulous series it sounds – I will look out for them!
My personal muse, though I’m not a writer, is tall, dark and handsome… with blue eyes and a velvety voice. I’m not cheating. That’s how my personal male muse (do they exist? how are they called?) look like. Somewhat like Mr Armitage?
Jokes apart ( March madness ), I’d love to be entered for this giveaway. Is it open worldwide? If it is, count me in, please!
Congrats, Amanda, on your upcoming releases – the Muse Series sounds fun and the covers are delicious!
As a writer of a newsletter that, in part, promotes Hawaii, my current muse is Pele, the Volcano Goddess. She is impatient, temperamental, and selfish … yet she makes things happen on the island.
As a reader of historical romances, my muse is that brooding military hero, serving Crown and Country. At present, he is on a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Hawaii (which happens to fly the Union Jack), engaged in undercover surfing (and showing off his washboard abs).
I must be doing this all wrong. All I have around me when I write are cats and they obstruct, never help.
Amanda, what an exciting month, season, year for you! You make me tired….or maybe it is because I’ve been working on revisions – have barely moved from the couch in 48 hours…
The muse series sounds like a lot of fun. It reminds me of a musical from the 1940s, Down to Earth. Muses always seem to have fun and get everything a little mucked up before everything works out, making it perfect and fun for a romance!
Hello, Amanda! That is a beautiful cover for “Scandalous Brides”! I actually have 7 muses…my 7 cats : ) Each has a different personality, unique facial expressions, and their own way of being quite distracting. They are all rescue/abuse cases, and they are quite devoted!
This series sounds great. I’m not a writer but I love historical Heroes: tall dark, mysterious and ruggedly handsome. Preferably English (love that accent) and with a title.
Alison, when I was a kid I loved Mesbit’s books but somehow I missed the Cleopatra stories! I must look for those–they sound wonderful.
Maria, I think Mr. Armitage is the perfect muse! I often find a specific “hero muse” when I’m working on a story, and I find that when that happens it makes things much easier…
And I have 4 pets, 2 cats and 2 dogs, but they don’t help me out very much! Usually they sit and stare at me when they want their dinner, or bring in squeaky toys to distract me 🙂
Amands, congralations on your new books!
Woo-hoo! What a busy spring for you, Amanda! Congrats on all the new books and gorgeous covers. May the Muses inspire lots of new sales!
Great post! Congrats on your new release! You have been on busy lady! I like the tall dark and handsome muse myself! Lately I have been into the cowboy muse but I have run out of them. So on to something else!
Hello Amanda,
I’m feeling a little smug because I’ve already read -and very much enjoyed- your three Muses stories. There was such a variety in the settings, from damp grey Yorkshire to the sunshine of Sicily and then Bath, with a more gothic element brought in to give a new slant on the place. As my heart always beats faster when I see a dimple, my favourite hero was Marco, but they were all gorgeous and their Muses full of spirit.
Thank you for some really enjoyable stories.
Hi, Amanda! Congrats on the upcoming releases! The muse series sounds awesome!
As for my own personal muse I like to keep all kinds of music around and romance novels. Both inspire me all the time.
princessbryn(at)gmail(dot)com
My own personal muse would look a lot like Emma Grant in Jane Austen Ruined My Life. A strong, academic minded women who occasionally does stupid things, but feels deeply.
Amanda, I’ve read the first in your muse series and enjoyed it greatly. I loved the art theft angle, but hey I <3 to read about art theft. How much research did you do into the art theft aspect? I ask because according to Robert Spiel Junior, who wrote THE guide to art theft (The FBI uses it as a manual) said that most art theft fiction is quite accurate to how art theft really happens. So the FBI is encouraged to read it. Obviously it's different when it's a historical piece, but historical thefts have happened and still have consequences on today. Letters stolen from France in the 1800s just resurfaced at a university in PA. The university contacted the institute they were stolen from when they found out they had been stolen and offered them back for nothing. The institute is giving them $20,000 for being so open and honest. As a person who researches art theft I think this is one of the best possible out comes for a tragic story like this.
The premise for these books sounds so interesting! I’ve wanted to read more of your work after The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor. Thanks for introducing me to these stories! I’m also envious of your Jane Austen action figure. Talk about the favorite regency muse. Mine is an angel plaque that my grandmother gave me when I published my first novel. I hung it in my office. My sister-in-law brought back a geisha doll in Japan and she sits on my desk. I also keep pictures of my family there. As far as motivation is concerned, they’re the best muses and positive reinforcement I could ask for!
Great post!
Whatever Hello Kitty and the geisha are telling you to do, keep it up!
My Professor Snape action figure now resides under glass in the Wardian case next to my desk because my cat Mr. Darcy discovered that knocking him over was a great way to get my attention.
But if I had a real muse, it would look like a bathtub.
Congratulations on your releases, Amanda!
I keep my good luck charms/inspirational figures on my desk at work rather than at home where I write. The idea is to remind me of the dreams I’m chasing even while I attend to the practical reality of paying the bills. I have a Jane Austen action figure by my monitor, a Jesus bobblehead on my computer box, and a pair of model soldiers from a line of Waterloo figurines on my whiteboard–one redcoat and one rifleman. I wanted to get Wellington, but he was too expensive. Oh, and the Jesus bobblehead has a story of sorts behind it–I inherited him back when I worked in a hospital’s chaplaincy department from a colleague who was leaving the priesthood to go to culinary school.
The series sounds wonderful. I noticed you picked the most “normal” of the names to saddle your heroines with…the others may have been just too much of a burden to overcome!
Since most of my creative efforts are in textiles, my good luck charm is most often the pretty new piece of fabric or yarn that also serves as the muse for the piece.
“I loved the art theft angle, but hey I <3 to read about art theft. How much research did you do into the art theft aspect?"
I’m also totally fascinated by art theft and the trade in illegal antiquities! It’s a terrible thing, and though I tried to keep it “historically accurate” for the characters (not make them TOO modern in their concerns) I wanted to bring those aspects into the stories when I could. (There’s a lot of that in the second book, To Deceive a Duke,” where the action concerns a cache of ancient silver based on the “Morgantina Silver”). I list some resources on my website, and will have more up in May.
Jane George, there’s a Snape action figure??? I must get one! 🙂
“I noticed you picked the most “normal” of the names to saddle your heroines with”
LOL! I didn’t want to name one of them “Urania”–talk about getting picked on in the playground. 🙂 They do a younger sister named Terpsichore (“Cory”) who shoes promise as a budding artist in the second book. I would love to write her story someday, as an intrepid early-Victorian traveler in the Middle East…
Beth, I’m so glad you enjoyed the books!! I had fun coming up with the various settings for each heroine (didn’t want the stories to be too much alike…)
Congrats on your up coming release !
I hope i’m not too late to have my chance to win your book 🙂
” What would your own personal Muse look like? Do you use any good luck charms to get your creativity flowing? “
i don’t have any good luck charms. i just relax and enjoy the ride *g*
I agree about the cover. What a gorgeous red braid. I like the premise for the story line. I can imagine the chaos that would ensue if a real muse decided to come down and “assit” first hand.
Congrats on the releases, Amanda. You are one of the most productive writers I know!
My muse is a lady of a certain age who engages sarcasm. She’s a bit like the British actress Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marples.
Congrats on all the releases! I will definately take a peak at them. They sound absolutely fabulous I love the different take on this! a muse in Regency England (hope I got that right)
Hmmm… My muse, my muse… ok well… LOL! if it isnt having a 110 LB dog laying on my feet and a very annoying cat kneading the back of my head LOL! I would have to say a tall, black haired, well sculpted green eyed regency duke, with his cravat off and a wicked come hither grin. LOL! 80)
If I may I an aspiring Regency writer myself and a small group of blog friends are looking into the undone’s, our ultimate goal to eventually be published. Would they be a good place to start?
As well can you provide any useful links for regency research? there are so many out there I swear my favorites folder is bursting! but alot seem to conflict.
And finally this may not be the place but is there a rule on using nobility with your own names and fictional land ownership or should I choose a factual location? I just really dont want to go to far off the historical aspect and get denied because of it.
cheripye, how great that you and your friends are writing Regency! The Undones are a great way to break in. Look back at our interview with the Undone Senior editor, Linda Fildew.
http://tinyurl.com/ydhbo7k
And one from Word Wenches
http://tinyurl.com/yc8xrcy
And of course look on the eHarlequin website at the writersguidelines. And READ READ READ. The best way to learn what they want is to see what they have published.
I have a lot of Regency research links on my website:
http://dianegaston.com/blog.htm
Scroll down to Regency Online
And, I also have to recommend joining RWA
and its Regency chapter, The Beau Monde
Of course, come back and keep reading Risky Regencies!
Thank you so much for the wonderful information!