Congratulations, doglady! You have won an autographed copy of SHOW ME by Celia May Hart!
Just send your contact details to riskies@yahoo.com and your prize will soon be on its way…
Congratulations, doglady! You have won an autographed copy of SHOW ME by Celia May Hart!
Just send your contact details to riskies@yahoo.com and your prize will soon be on its way…
Okay. Friday on Megan’s blog, I exposed my family’s “non-shopping” habits as we prepare for the Christmas holiday. It isn’t that I don’t LOVE to go shopping; it’s just that I’m not very good at selecting gifts.
I think my problem is that I need to go shopping in Regency England–I will, of course, possess the fortune of one of our fictional dukes and I’ll start my shopping in Mayfair.
I’ll stop at Hatchard’s and select the perfect books for my friends, perhaps some books “By a Lady.” Perhaps I will climb the stairs and find the book I desire there. In my two trips to England, I can remember feeling awed that I was shopping for books at Hatchard’s and climbing stairs I can imagine being climbed by Byron and Brummell and all sorts of Regency characters.
I’ll walk around the block and stop in the Floris shop and purchase some scent for my sister, Marilyn. I actually did this on my 2005 trip to England and the store was wonderful. I thought I’d stepped back into the Regency. The shop was bare except for a long mahogany trimmed glass counter, with two young men in black suits waiting behind the counter to assist me. At first I thought there would be nothing there I could afford, but I told the young man my price range and he found me a lovely gift.
My friend Mary Blayney says that you can never go wrong if your gift is something good to eat, so perhaps I could stop in Fortnum and Mason and purchase some lovely jams and cheeses. Or the new-fangled tinned foods that are such a novelty.
I never made it to Fortnum and Mason on my England trips, preferring to spend my shopping time in Hatchard’s, but there is always next time.
Perhaps I’ll buy my husband a hat at Lock’s, where both Admiral Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington purchased their hats.
I’d give anything if I could also visit some shops that no longer grace the streets of Mayfair. I’d love to pour through the prints at Ackermann’s, to pick out a lovely ruby necklace at Rundell and Bridge, be fitted for a new ball gown at Mrs. Bell’s. I think a visit to Gunter’s for an ice would be the perfect end to my shopping day.
So, my excuse for being a lousy gift shopper is that I cannot shop in Regency England.
If you could be transported to Regency England, like Celia May Hart’s heroine, where would you want to shop?
Check out my website for the December updates and my contest, the Grand Finale of the Contest Countdown to The Vanishing Viscountess. 
If you simply cannot wait until January for The Vanishing Viscountess, it’s available now from eHarlequin and from MillsandBoon.co.uk
The Mills and Boon version has a special bonus included in it – The Mysterious Miss M!
Our special guest today started out writing traditional Regencies under one name, but has now made quite a different name for herself — Celia May Hart, to be exact — writing Regency-set erotic romance. Her third novel with Kensington Aphrodisia, One More Time, debuts this month. Romantic Times Magazine named it one of their Top Picks, raving: This scorching roller-coaster of a read is an erotic page-turner. It has romance, intrigue, licentious nobility, a Greek god come to life and an unexpected ending. Feisty Abby and sensual Myles are the perfect couple to surmount the obstacles in their way. This may have been the first book I’ve read by Hart, but it certainly won’t be the last!
Welcome, Celia May! Tell us about One More Time. What inspired this book? And was it an easy or a difficult book to write?
One More Time is about a modern-day heroine, Abby, who is flying herself to her new job as a hotel manager in the English countryside. She ends up landing in Regency-era England instead. She meets our hero, Myles, who is looking for a fabled statue that will get him entrance into the Dilettanti Society. Given that they have no clue how to get back to her own time, she helps him look for the statue, and shares the goodies she brought with her from the future (specifically, sex toys)
As for inspiration, I was pitching ideas for my next contract and nothing was grabbing my editor so I started getting outlandish. I sent off the idea of a time traveling heroine who hooks up with a charming adventurer and oh, by the way, a Greek god comes to life, and sent it off, thinking she’d never go for it.
She went for it. So I had to figure out in a little more detail how it was going to work. I had the beginning sorted out (I usually do) but figuring out what to do with Greek god was the hardest thing about this book to write. It ended up being a hard book to write, despite the easy start!
What advantages did writing a modern heroine in Regency times give you, as an author? And what new things did it let you play with?
I love time travel. I love the whole fish out of water aspect. And for the majority of the book, Abby has to conceal her true self in order to fit in. Although, she’s not particularly good at it. I loved doing the mix of modern and Regency-speak, and I think one of my favorite scenes is early on when Myles is trying to figure out the zipper.
What do you think is the greatest creative risk you’ve taken in this book?
Throwing in so many different elements. I spent most of the time writing the book calling it “The Kitchen Sink” because it seemed to me it had everything but the kitchen sink in there. And it was the first time I’d done more than a simple time travel story. This has some big paranormal elements in it, and working them in and describing them without, you know, data dumping, was a challenge.
One More Time includes an appearance by some characters from one of your earlier books. Did you find it easy to blend them into the new story? Or did you find that some scolding was necessary?
They wanted to come to the party. I checked with my editor if that was okay, and it was, so I let them loose and we had a lot of fun. I gained a better understanding of the Duke too. The Wintertons first appear in Show Me, and this is set after that.
Is there anything you wanted to include in the book that you (or your CPs or editor) felt was too controversial and left out?
Nope. Did I mention it was the Kitchen Sink book? Aphrodisia has some guidelines (similar to those of Ellora’s Cave), but other than that, we can do whatever we want.
Is there anything that any of the above wanted you to cut, that you decided to keep instead?
I don’t have a critique group and I never heard bo-peep from my editor when she got the book. I did restore some things from the copy-editor, but that’s par for the course and is minor stuff. (And actually, I think the copy-editor might’ve been right about something… Too late now!)
What is it about the Regency that makes it such a great setting?
It’s a time of transition — between racy Georgian to repressed Victorians; everybody looked good in their clothing (well, at least until the 1820’s) and there’s just this sense of adventure — a sense I picked up from Georgette Heyer and the characters of Horatio Hornblower and Sharpe.
Did you come across anything new or interesting when you were researching the book?
My editor recommended that I read “The Pleasure of the Imagination: English Culture in the Eighteenth Century” by John Brewer, and it’s a fascinating read. I learned about the Dilettanti Society in there, but I also learned how folks viewed art of all kinds. A mention of the Dilettanti Society got into the book. The rest, well, I love history, so it’s currently living in my subconscious somewhere, I’m sure.
What’s next for you?
That, as they say, is an open book. I’m playing with lots of different ideas: some of them are erotic, some of them are not. The idea I’m playing with now seems “different” to my previous ideas. I think I’m heading into new writerly territory and I sure hope I don’t screw it up. (Word to the aspiring authors out there — we never stop learning!)
Is there anything else you’d like the Risky Regencies readers to know about you?
I am doing a booksigning this Friday (December 7). If anyone’s in the SoCal area,
you’re more than welcome to come visit! (click here for info)
Thanks for having me!
Be sure to comment for a chance to win a copy of Celia’s earlier release, Show Me!
Readers of Risky Regencies know all too well I lurve Dancing With the Stars. My family says I’m “obsessed”, which is not true. Well, maybe a wee bit true. Alas, this season had its finale last week (yay, Helio and Julianne!), and my Monday and Tuesday evenings are bereft. But I do have 2 things to console me. 1) I came up with 3 new stories (2 sold!) inspired by the show! To see how I use a ballroom dancer, a racecar driver, and a speed skater as Regency and Elizabethan heroes, stay tuned. Because I’m not 100% sure myself yet. 2) I gave in to a long-held dream and started taking ballroom dance classes!
I’ve had lots of ballet, some flamenco, a bit of waltzing, but no Official Latin Dances. During the last DWTS season (the one Apolo and Julianne won), I signed up for an Intro to Latin class at the local community center. I enjoyed it so much I went on to the teacher’s school and enrolled in Beginning Latin. And Workplace Sweetie (who needs a new nickname, considering neither of us works there now!) has joined me there. In fact, tonight we’re going to “Latin Night” at a local club, to try out our mambo and cha-cha in public for the Very First Time. I have a new dress–if it fits after Thanksgiving. Keep fingers crossed I don’t fall or twirl the wrong way and knock people over! Those of you who have been to Beau Monde Soirees know this is a distinct possibility…
My favorite dance is the Samba, so just to save this post from total Me Me Me nonsense, here is a Brief History of the Samba:
The Samba is considered the “national dance” of Brazil. It became a society rage in the 1930s, and came to America courtesy of Carmen Miranda movies in the ’40s. It’s a lively dance in 2/4 time, but with 3 steps to every bar which makes it feel like a 3/4 timed dance. The basic components include walking and side steps (like the Volta, a step to the side with one leg passing over the other) taken on the ball of the foot, samba rolls, and a vertical bounce action through the knees. It’s a carefree, quick dance–it should look like you’re just dancing out of sheer happiness and NOT counting the beats. I still have trouble with that one, since I tend to worry as I step and cross and bounce!
Some good CD’s to start with include Batucada Brazileira and Let’s Dance: Samba. There’s also a segment on the DWTS workout DVD.
What are some of your favorite dances, either to watch or try? Wish me luck tonight! I’m going to need it.
Although I am not nearly as ambitious as Elena, who is GOING to have written 50,000 words in the month of November (right, Elena?), I am on my own little path to goaldom.
By the end of this weekend, I hope to type “The End,” and really mean it.
In the course of writing this book, I have discovered I can indeed write the kind of tortured dark hero I thought was above my talent; that my heroine has got a sharp temper; that John Donne’s poems make some delightful foreplay; and that my hero and heroine have strong opinions on how important choice, and the lack of it, is.
So. Here I am. While I anticipate that glorious moment, I am also thinking about holidays, and gifts, and such; what gift would you choose to reward yourself for a job well-done (or at least well-ended)? What are you hoping for this holiday season? What am I hoping for this holiday season? And what completed project has brought you the greatest satisfaction?